In politics, as in all social life, not moving forward means being thrown back.

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich

The Decembrist uprising on Senate Square took place on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. It was one of the first well-organized uprisings in the Russian Empire. It was directed against the strengthening of the power of the autocracy, as well as against the enslavement of ordinary people. The revolutionaries promoted an important political thesis of that era - the abolition of serfdom.

Background of the 1825 uprising

Even during the life of Alexander 1, revolutionary movements in Russia were actively working to create conditions that would limit the power of the autocrat. This movement was quite massive and was preparing to carry out a coup d'état at the time of the weakening of the monarchy. The imminent death of Emperor Alexander 1 forced the conspirators to become more active and begin their speech ahead of schedule.

This was facilitated by the difficult political situation within the Empire. As you know, Alexander 1 did not have children, which means that the difficulty with the heir was inevitable. Historians talk about a secret document, according to which the elder brother of the murdered ruler, Konstantin Pavlovich, had long ago renounced the throne. There was only one heir - Nikolai. The problem was that as early as November 27, 1825, the population of the country took an oath to Constantine, who formally became emperor from that day, although he himself did not take any authority to govern the country. Thus, situations arose in the Russian Empire when there was no actual ruler. As a result, the Decembrists became more active, who realized that they would no longer have such an opportunity. That is why the Decembrist uprising of 1825 happened on Senate Square, in the capital of the country. The day for this was also significant - December 14, 1825, the day when the whole country was to swear allegiance to the new ruler, Nicholas.

What was the plan of the Decembrist uprising?

The ideological inspirers of the Decembrist uprising were the following people:

• Alexander Muravyov - the creator of the union
• Sergei Trubetskoy
• Nikita Muraviev
• Ivan Yakushin
• Pavel Pestel
• Kondraty Ryleev
• Nikolay Kakhovsky

There were other active members of the secret societies who took an active part in the coup, but it was these people who were the leaders of the movement. The general plan of their actions on December 14, 1825 was as follows - to prevent the armed forces of Russia, as well as state authorities, represented by the Senate, from taking an oath of allegiance to Emperor Nicholas. For these purposes, it was planned to do the following: to capture the Winter Palace and the entire royal family. This would place power in the hands of the rebels. Sergei Trubetskoy was appointed head of the operation.

In the future, secret societies planned to create a new government, adopt the country's constitution and proclaim democracy in Russia. In fact, it was about creating a republic, from which the entire royal family was to be expelled. Some Decembrists in their plans went even further and offered to kill everyone who is related to the ruling dynasty.

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

The Decembrist uprising began in the early morning of December 14. However, initially things did not go as planned and the leaders of the secret movements had to improvise. It all started with the fact that Kakhovsky, who had previously confirmed that he was ready to enter Nikolai's chambers early in the morning and kill him, refused to do so. After the first local failure, the second one followed. This time, Yakubovich, who was supposed to send troops to storm the Winter Palace, also refused to do so.

It was too late to retreat. In the early morning, the Decembrists sent their agitators to the barracks of all metropolitan divisions, who called on the soldiers to go to Senate Square and oppose the autocracy in Russia. As a result, it was possible to bring to the area:

• 800 soldiers of the Moscow regiment
• 2350 sailors of the Guards crew

By the time the rebels were taken to the square, the senators had already taken the oath to the new emperor. It happened at 7 o'clock in the morning. Such haste was necessary, since Nicholas was warned that a major performance was expected, directed against him in order to disrupt the oath.

The Decembrist uprising on the senatorial square began with the fact that the troops opposed the candidacy of the emperor, believing that Constantine had more rights to the throne. Mikhail Miloradovich personally came out to the rebels. This is a famous person, a general of the Russian army. He urged the soldiers to leave the square and return to the barracks. He personally showed a manifesto in which Constantine renounced the throne, which means that the current emperor has all the rights to the throne. At this time, one of the Decembrists, Kokhovsky, approached Miloradovich and fired at him. On the same day the general died.

After these events, the horse guards were sent to the Decembrists, commanded by Alexei Orlov. Twice this commander unsuccessfully tried to suppress the rebellion. The situation was aggravated by the fact that ordinary residents came to the Senate Square, who shared the views of the rebels. In total, the total number of Decembrists numbered several tens of thousands. Real madness was going on in the center of the capital. The tsarist troops hastily prepared carriages for the evacuation of Nicholas and his family to Tsarskoye Selo.

Emperor Nicholas hurried his generals to resolve the issue before nightfall. He was afraid that the uprising of the Decembrists on the Senate Square would be picked up by the mob and other cities. Such mass character could cost him the throne. As a result, artillery was brought to the Senate Square. Trying to avoid mass casualties, General Sukhozanet gave the order to fire blanks. This gave no results. Then personally the emperor of the Russian Empire gave the order to shoot with live and buckshot. However, at the initial stage, this only aggravated the situation, as the rebels returned fire. After that, a massive blow was inflicted on the square, which sowed panic and forced the revolutionaries to flee.

Aftermath of the 1825 uprising

By the night of December 14, the excitement was over. Many of the rebellion activists were killed. Senate Square itself was littered with corpses. The State Archives provide the following data on those who died that day on both sides:

• Generals - 1
• Staff officers - 1
• Officers of various ranks - 17
• Soldiers of the Life Guards - 282
• Ordinary soldiers - 39
• Women - 79
• Children - 150
• Ordinary people - 903

The total number of victims is simply enormous. Never before has Russia seen such mass movements. In total, the Decembrist uprising of 1805, which took place on Senate Square, cost the lives of 1271 people.

In addition, on the night of December 14, 1825, Nikolai issues a decree on the arrest of the most active participants in the movement. As a result, 710 people were imprisoned. Initially, everyone was taken to the Winter Palace, where the emperor personally conducted an investigation into this case.

The Decembrist uprising of 1825 was the first major popular movement. Its failures lay in the fact that it was largely spontaneous. The organization of the uprising was weak, and the involvement of the masses in it practically did not exist. As a result, only the small number of Decembrists forced the Emperor to suppress the rebellion in a short time. However, this was the first signal that there is an active movement against the authorities in the country.

ON JULY 25, 1826, 190 YEARS AGO, THE EXECUTION OF FIVE
THE LEADERS OF THE DECABRIST UPRISING.

A.S. PUSHKIN. 1827

In the depths of Siberian ores
keep proud patience,
your mournful work will not be lost
and doom high aspiration.

Unfortunately faithful sister,
hope in a dark dungeon
wake up cheerfulness and fun,
the desired time will come:

Love and friendship up to you
will reach through the gloomy gates,
as in your hard labor holes
comes my free voice.

Heavy chains will fall
the dungeons will collapse and freedom
you will be welcomed joyfully at the entrance,
and the brothers will give you the sword.

A letter with poems to the Decembrists was brought by the wife of N.M. Muravyov - Alexandra
Grigorievna. The Decembrist poet Alexander Ivanovich Odoevsky wrote a poem to Pushkin
savvy answer.

A.I.ODOEVSKY

Strings of prophetic fiery sounds
reached our ears...
Our hands rushed to the swords
and only found shackles.

But rest easy, bard! chains
we are proud of our destiny;
and behind the gates of the prison
in our hearts we laugh at kings.

Our mournful work will not be lost,
a spark ignites a flame,
and our enlightened people
gather under the holy banner.

We forge swords from chains
and the flame will ignite freedom again,
she will attack the kings,
and the nations will sigh with joy!

The accession to the throne of NICHOLAS 1 was marked by an uprising on Senate Square
December 14, 1825, the suppression of him and the execution of the Decembrists.
The Decembrist uprising is an unprecedented phenomenon not only in Russian history,
but also in the world. When the oppressed rise up in revolt, it is easier for them, if not
ravdat, then at least understand. But here the coup d'état was prepared highly
appointed military and hereditary nobles, among whom are many eminent personalities
news. For this reason, the phenomenon of Decembrism is far from an unambiguous assessment of how it
was in the 19th century, including in relation to their execution.
None of the Decembrists claimed power. Two of those executed (Pestel and
Muravyov-Apostol) were participants in the Patriotic War of 1812, were injured
and military honors.

Up to 600 people were involved in the case of the Decembrists. The investigation was carried out under direct
and the direct participation of Nicholas 1. He himself conducted interrogations in his office. Track-
The State Commission reported to Nikolai about every step in the course of the investigation. The court was only
a screen, the verdict was, in fact, the sovereign himself.
It was not the highest judicial body of Russia, the Senate, that administered justice to the Decembrists, but
created in circumvention of the laws at the direction of Nicholas1 the Supreme Criminal Court, where
the judges were chosen by the emperor himself.
Of the entire composition of the court, only Senator N.S. MORDVINOV (admiral, first naval
Minister of Russia) raised his voice against the death penalty to anyone, writing
special opinion. All the rest showed ruthlessness, trying to please the king.
Even 3 clerics (2 metropolitans and an archbishop), who, as he assumed
Speransky, "according to their dignity they will renounce the death penalty", did not renounce the sentence
five Decembrists to quartering.
The result of the work of the court was a list of 121 "state criminals"
divided into 11 categories according to the degree of fault. Outside the ranks were put
sentenced to quarter
PESTEL Pavel Ivanovich (1793-1826), colonel
RYLEEV Kondraty Fedorovich (1795-1826), second lieutenant
MURAVYOV-APOSTLE Sergei Ivanovich (1796-1826), lieutenant colonel
BESTUZHEV-RYUMIN Mikhail Pavlovich (1801/1804/-1826), second lieutenant
KAKHOVSKY Pyotr Grigorievich (1793-1826), lieutenant.

31 "criminals" of the first category (who gave personal consent to regicide)
sentenced to death by beheading. The rest were sentenced to various
terms of hard labor.
Later, the "first-rate" death penalty was replaced with eternal hard labor, and five
leaders of the uprising, quartering was replaced by the death penalty by hanging.
About 120 members of secret societies were subjected to extra-judicial repression (imprisonment
in a fortress, demoted, transferred to the active army in the Caucasus, transferred under
police oversight). The cases of the soldiers participating in the uprising were examined by Special Commissions.
these (178 people were driven through the ranks, 23 were subjected to other corporal punishment -
niyam, about 4,000 were sent to the army in the Caucasus). In 1826-1827. military courts
sent to hard labor and settlement in Siberia members of secret societies who did not
were directly connected with the Northern and Southern societies, but only shared
their views.
A.M. Muravyov called the Investigative Committee "an inquisitorial tribunal ... without
shadows of justice or impartiality..."
All sentences were accompanied by demotion, deprivation of ranks and nobility: over
the convicts broke their swords, tore off their epaulettes and uniforms and threw them into the fire
blazing fires.

July 25, 1926, in connection with the 100th anniversary of the execution, at the site of the alleged
burial place of the Decembrists, an obelisk was erected, Hungry Island was renamed
to the island of the Decembrists, and the Senate Square, where on December 14, 1825 there were
heavy regiments - to Decembrists Square.
In 1975, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the Decembrist uprising, on the shaft of the crown
Verka, a granite obelisk was built - a monument to the five best representatives
the first generation of Russian revolutionaries (architects V. Petrov, A. Lelyakov,
sculptors - A. Ignatiev, A. Dyoma). There is a bas-relief on the front side of the obelisk.
with profiles of the Decembrists, which was first made at the request of Herzen and
placed on the cover of his magazine "Polar Star". On the other hundred
the fiery words of A, S. Pushkin are carved on the Rhone - the last five lines from the poem -
niya "To Chaadaev".

A.S. PUSHKIN. TO CHAADAEV*.

Love, hope, quiet glory
deceit did not live long for us,
youthful amusements are gone,
like a dream, like a morning mist;

But we still have a burning desire,
over the yoke of fatal power
impatient soul
Fatherland heed the invocation.

We wait with longing hope
holy minutes of liberty,
how a young lover waits
minutes of goodbye.

While we burn with freedom
while hearts are alive for honor,
my friend, we will devote to the fatherland
souls wonderful impulses!

Comrade, believe: she will rise,
star of captivating happiness,
Russia will wake up from sleep
and on the ruins of autocracy
write our names!

The word "star" in the time of Pushkin symbolized the revolution. Poem
"To Chaadaev" is considered the anthem of the Decembrists. Pushkin did not plan to publish it
wat. But written down from the words of the poet while reading in a narrow circle of friends, it is not
was passed from hand to hand until it was published in the almanac "Northern Star"
yes "in 1929. Pushkin gained the fame of a freethinker, as a result of which
the poet twice went into exile by decree of Tsar Alexander 1.
* CHAADAEV Pyotr Yakovlevich - one of Pushkin's close friends from his lyceum years.

To hard labor for some of the Decembrists (Trubetskoy, Volkonsky, Nikita Murav-
yov and others) their wives voluntarily followed - young, barely managed to get out
married aristocrats: princesses, baronesses, generals (total - 12 people).
Three of them died in Siberia, the rest returned with their husbands after 30 years,
having buried more than 20 of his children in Siberian soil. The feat of these women was sung
in the poems of N.A. Nekrasov and the Frenchman A. de Vigny.

Reviews

Well, if the "Decembrists were not close to
people, but they were people of the advanced views of their time ... "- were not close to the people, and therefore to the interests of the people. Then what were their "forward views"? We need the same as in this article on execution , a detailed interpretation of these questions, without which millions cannot understand - in the name of what are such sacrifices? And why, in the name of what, does A. Pushkin speak so passionately about faith in the rising of the "star" (revolution)?

Thank you for your hard work, my heart. But to "tear" the Decembrists from the people's "aspirations" ... why then do the people know and remember these events? Logics? Sincerely -

The Decembrists are representatives of the nobility who demanded reforms. Having a high status, a good standard of living and a European education, they dreamed of changing life in Russia for the better. They proposed reforms that would bring the country closer to the most developed powers at that time.

The code of noble honor determined the behavior of the Decembrists. Many of them were officers - professional soldiers who went through a difficult path of trials and wars. They put the interests of the Fatherland at the forefront, but they wanted to see the structure of Russia in a different way. Not all of them considered the overthrow of the king the right measure.

How many Decembrists were there in Russia? 10, 20, 200?

It's very difficult to calculate. There was no single organization with a fixed membership. There was no reform plan. Even the algorithm of actions has not been developed. It all boiled down to simple conversations at the dinner table. Many nobles did not participate in the armed uprising for personal reasons. Others "fired up" with the idea, but "cooled off" after the first meetings and discussions.

The most famous Decembrists were P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muraviev-Apostol, K.F. Ryleev, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, as well as P.G. Kakhovsky.

The Decembrists became the first opposition in the country. Their ideological views were radically different from those existing at that time. They were not revolutionaries! They served the state and were representatives of the upper class. The Decembrists wanted to help Emperor Alexander I.

Societies and unions of the Decembrists

Historians consider secret societies not as paramilitary organizations. It's more of a way of socializing young people. After all, many were tired of the officer service, they didn’t want to exchange cards and “revel”. Discussion of politics made me feel like an important part of society.

Southern society

The assembly appeared in a small town called Tulchin, where at one time the headquarters of the Second Army was located. The young officers, who were well educated, decided to get together in a close circle and discuss political issues. Why not an alternative to cards, women and vodka?

Union of Salvation

It consisted of officers of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment. After 1815 they returned from the war and settled in St. Petersburg. Members of the "Union of Salvation" rented housing together. They even wrote down the details of everyday life in the charter: duty, rest, discussions. They were also interested in politics. The participants developed ways for the further development of Russia and proposed reforms.

Welfare Union

After a couple of years, the Salvation Union grew so much that it turned into the Welfare Union. It had much more participants (about 200). They never got together. Some may not even know each other by sight.

Later, the Union had to be dissolved, as there were too many people in it who did not bring any benefit to society.

Goals of the Decembrists. What did they want to achieve?

Many Decembrists took part in the fighting. They participated in foreign campaigns and saw how Europe lives, what orders are in other countries. They understood that serfdom and the existing system did not meet the interests of Russia. These are the "fetters" that do not allow the country to develop.

The Decembrists demanded:

• Carrying out drastic reforms.
• Introduction to the country's constitution.
• The abolition of serfdom.
• Creation of a fair judicial system.
• Equality of people.

Of course, the details of the plan differed. There was no clear and thoughtful algorithm of actions. For example, it was not entirely clear how the constitution would be introduced. There were also questions about how to hold a general election when the population cannot read or write.

The Decembrists raised questions to which there was no single answer. The political discussion was only in its infancy in Russia. The nobles were afraid of civil strife and bloodshed. Therefore, they chose a military coup as a way to change the government. The Decembrists believed that the soldiers would not let them down, that the military would unquestioningly carry out all orders.

Uprising on the Senate Square in 1825

The Decembrists needed a convenient moment to translate their "reasoning" into reality. It came in 1825, when Alexander I died. The place of emperor was to be taken by Tsarevich Konstantin, but he abdicated. Nicholas became the head of state.

Due to the lack of a clear and thoughtful plan, the Decembrists' idea of ​​​​an armed uprising was doomed to failure. In December 1825 they brought troops loyal to them to Senate Square. But it was too late, because all the decisions on the transfer of power were made.

There was no one to make demands. The general situation soon came to a standstill. The rebels were quickly surrounded by troops loyal to the government. A firefight broke out, due to which the rioters were divided. They had to flee. Historians have calculated the approximate numbers of those killed at that time from 2 sides. There were about 80 of them.

Trial of the Decembrists

A special body was created to investigate the causes and identify persons involved in the armed uprising. It was called the Secret Committee. A separate court was also established, which dealt with sentencing "rebels".

• For Emperor Nicholas I, it was extremely important to condemn the rebels strictly according to the law. The emperor had recently taken office, and a "strong hand" had to be shown.
• The difficulty was in the absence of such laws. There was no single code that would contain penalties for committing crimes. Nicholas I instructed Mikhail Speransky, his dignitary, who was distinguished by liberal views, to develop the system.
• It was Mikhail Speransky who divided the accusations into 11 categories (depending on the degree of guilt). The punishment was assigned depending on the category in which the accused was included.
• 5 main Decembrists were immediately sentenced to death. The quartering was changed to hanging.

The Decembrists could not defend themselves and have lawyers. They didn't even attend the meeting. The judges simply considered the documents prepared by the investigators and made the final decision.

Many participants in the uprising were exiled to Siberia. Only Alexander II, 30 years later, will have mercy on the Decembrists. Although many of them never made it to this point

For almost 200 years, the Decembrist uprising has attracted the attention of historians. A huge number of scientific articles and even dissertations have been written on this topic. As a result of the execution of the Decembrists, Russian society lost the very color of enlightened youth, because they came from families of the nobility, glorious participants in the war of 1812 ...

Who were the Decembrists?

A company of young nobles who dreamed of changing the state of affairs in Russia.

In the early stages, quite a lot of people participated in the Decembrist secret societies, and later the investigation had to think about who to consider as a conspirator and who not.

This is because the activities of these societies were limited exclusively to conversations. Whether the members of the Union of Welfare and the Union of Salvation were ready to take any active action is a moot point.

Decembrists at a mill in Chita. Drawing by Nikolai Repin. 1830s. Decembrist Nikolai Repin was sentenced to hard labor for 8 years, then the term was reduced to 5 years. He served his sentence in the Chita prison and in the Petrovsky Zavod.

The societies included people of varying degrees of nobility, wealth and status, but there are several things that united them.

Poor or wealthy, well-born or not, but they all belonged to the nobility, that is, to the elite, which implies a certain standard of living, education and status.

This, in particular, meant that much of their behavior was determined by the code of noble honor. Subsequently, this put them in a difficult moral dilemma: the code of a nobleman and the code of a conspirator obviously contradict each other.

The nobleman, being caught in an unsuccessful uprising, must come to the sovereign and obey, the conspirator must remain silent and not betray anyone. The nobleman cannot and should not lie, the conspirator does everything that is required to achieve his goals.

It is impossible to imagine a Decembrist living in an illegal position on forged documents - that is, the ordinary life of an underground worker in the second half of the 19th century.

The Decembrists are people of the army, professional soldiers with the appropriate education; many went through battles and were heroes of wars, had military awards.

All of them sincerely believed that their main goal was to serve for the good of the fatherland and, if circumstances were different, they would consider it an honor to serve the sovereign as state dignitaries.

The overthrow of the sovereign was not at all the main idea of ​​the Decembrists, they came to it by looking at the current state of affairs and logically studying the experience of revolutions in Europe (and not all of them liked this idea).

How many Decembrists were there?

In total, after the uprising on December 14, 1825, more than 300 people were arrested, of which 125 were convicted, the rest were acquitted.

It is difficult to establish the exact number of participants in the Decembrist and pre-Decembrist societies, precisely because all their activities were reduced to more or less abstract conversations in a friendly circle of young people who were not bound by a clear plan or strict formal organization.

Nikolai Panov's cell in the Petrovsky Zavod prison. Drawing by Nikolai Bestuzhev. 1830s Nikolai Bestuzhev was sentenced to hard labor forever, kept in Chita and Petrovsky Zavod, then in Selenginsk, Irkutsk province.

It is worth noting that the people who participated in the Decembrist secret societies and directly in the uprising are two not very overlapping sets.

Many of those who participated in the meetings of the early Decembrist societies subsequently completely lost interest in them and became, for example, zealous guardian officials; in nine years (from 1816 to 1825) quite a lot of people passed through the secret societies.

In turn, those who did not belong to secret societies at all or were admitted a couple of days before the rebellion also participated in the uprising.

How did you become a Decembrist?

To be included in the circle of Decembrists, sometimes it was enough to answer the question of a not quite sober friend: “ There is a society of people who want the good, prosperity, happiness and freedom of Russia. Are you with us?"- and both of this conversation could later be forgotten.

It is worth noting that conversations about politics in the noble society of that time were not encouraged at all, so those who were inclined to such conversations, willy-nilly, formed closed interest circles.

In a certain sense, the Decembrist secret societies can be considered a way of socializing the then generation of young people; a way to get away from the emptiness and boredom of officer society, to find a more sublime and meaningful way of existence.

So, the Southern Society arose in the tiny Ukrainian town of Tulchin, where the headquarters of the Second Army was quartered. Educated young officers, whose interests are not limited to cards and vodka, gather in their circle to talk about politics - and this is their only entertainment.

They would call these meetings, in the fashion of the time, a secret society, which, in fact, was simply a way of identifying themselves and their interests, characteristic of the era.

Similarly, the Union of Salvation was simply a company of comrades-in-arms of the Semyonovsky Life Guards; many were relatives. Returning from the war in 1816, they organize their life in St. Petersburg, where life was quite expensive, according to the artel principle familiar to the soldiers: they rent an apartment together, chip in for food and prescribe the details of common life in the charter.

This small friendly company will later become a secret society with the loud name “Union of Salvation”, or “Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland”. In fact, this is a very small - a couple of dozen people - a friendly circle, the participants of which wanted, among other things, to talk about politics and the ways of Russia's development.

"Russian Truth" by Pavel Pestel. 1824 Program document of the Southern Society of Decembrists. The full title is “The Preserved State Charter of the Great Russian People, which serves as a covenant for the improvement of Russia and contains a true mandate both for the people and for the temporary supreme government with dictatorial powers.”

By 1818, the circle of participants would expand, and the Union of Salvation would be reformed into the Union of Welfare, in which there were already about 200 people from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and all of them never met together, and two members of the union might no longer know each other personally.

This uncontrolled expansion of the circle prompted the leaders of the movement to announce the dissolution of the Welfare Union: to get rid of unnecessary people, and also to give those who wanted to seriously continue the work and prepare a real conspiracy to do it without prying eyes and ears.

How did they differ from other revolutionaries?

In fact, the Decembrists were the first political opposition in the history of Russia, created on ideological grounds (and not, for example, in the course of the struggle of court groups for access to power).

Soviet historians habitually began with them a chain of revolutionaries, which continued with Herzen, the Petrashevites, the Narodniks, the Narodnaya Volya, and, finally, the Bolsheviks.

However, the Decembrists differed from them primarily in that they were not obsessed with the idea of ​​revolution as such, did not declare that any transformations were meaningless until the old order of things was overthrown and some kind of utopian ideal future was proclaimed.

They did not oppose the state, but served it and, moreover, were an important part of the Russian elite. They were not professional revolutionaries living within a very specific and in many ways marginal subculture, like all those who later came to replace them.

They thought of themselves as possible assistants to Alexander I in carrying out reforms, and if the emperor continued the line that he so boldly began before their eyes, granting a constitution to Poland in 1815, they would be happy to help him in this.

What inspired the Decembrists?

Most of all - the experience of the Patriotic War of 1812, which was characterized by a huge patriotic upsurge, and the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army of 1813-1814, when many young and ardent people for the first time saw another life close by and were completely intoxicated by this experience.

It seemed unfair to them that Russia did not live like Europe, and even more unfair and even savage - that the soldiers with whom they won this war side by side were all serfs and the landowners treated them like a thing.

It was these topics - reforms to achieve greater justice in Russia and the abolition of serfdom - that were the main ones in the conversations of the Decembrists.

The political context of that time was no less important: transformations and revolutions after the Napoleonic Wars took place in many countries, and it seemed that Russia could and should change along with Europe.

The Decembrists owe the very opportunity to seriously discuss the prospects for a change of order and revolution in the country to the political climate.

What did the Decembrists want?

In general - reforms, changes in Russia for the better, the introduction of a constitution and the abolition of serfdom, fair trials, equality of people of all classes before the law. In the details, they differed, often dramatically.

It would be fair to say that the Decembrists did not have any single and clear plan for reforms or revolutionary changes. It is impossible to imagine what would have happened if the Decembrist uprising had been crowned with success, because they themselves did not have time and could not agree on what to do next.

First page of Nikita Muravyov's constitutional draft. 1826 The Constitution of Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov is the program document of the Northern Society. It was not officially accepted by the society, but it was widely known and reflected the mood of the majority of its members. Compiled in 1822-1825.

How to introduce a constitution and organize general elections in a country with a completely illiterate peasant population? They did not have answers to this and many other questions. The disputes between the Decembrists only marked the birth of a culture of political discussion in the country, and many questions were raised for the first time, and no one had answers to them at all.

However, if they did not have unity about the goals, then they were unanimous about the means: the Decembrists wanted to achieve their goal through a military coup; what we would now call a putsch (with the amendment that if the reforms had come from the throne, the Decembrists would have welcomed them).

The idea of ​​a popular uprising was absolutely alien to them: they were firmly convinced that it was extremely dangerous to involve the people in this story. The rebellious people cannot be controlled, and the troops, as it seemed to them, will remain under their control (after all, most of the participants had command experience). The main thing here is that they were very afraid of bloodshed, civil strife and believed that a military coup made it possible to avoid this.

In particular, this is why the Decembrists, bringing the regiments to the square, did not at all intend to explain their reasons to them, that is, they considered it unnecessary to conduct propaganda among their own soldiers. They counted only on the personal loyalty of the soldiers, whom they tried to be caring commanders, and also on the fact that the soldiers would simply follow orders.

How did the uprising go?

Unsuccessfully. It cannot be said that the conspirators did not have a plan, but it was not possible to carry it out from the very beginning. They managed to withdraw troops to the Senate Square, but it was planned that they would come to the Senate Square for a meeting of the State Council and the Senate, which were supposed to swear allegiance to the new sovereign, and demand the introduction of a constitution.

Decembrist revolt. Senate Square December 14, 1825. Painting by Karl Kolman. 1830s.

But when the Decembrists came to the square, it turned out that the meeting had already ended, the dignitaries had dispersed, all decisions had been made, and there was simply no one to make demands.

The situation reached a dead end: the officers did not know what to do next, and continued to keep the troops on the square. The rebels were surrounded by government troops, there was a shootout.

The rebels simply stood on Senatskaya, not even trying to take any action - for example, to storm the palace. Several buckshot shots from government troops dispersed the crowd and put them to flight.

Why did the uprising fail?

For any uprising to succeed, there must be an undeniable willingness to shed blood at some point. The Decembrists did not have this readiness, they did not want bloodshed. And it is difficult for a historian to imagine a successful rebellion, the leaders of which are making every effort not to kill anyone.

Blood spilled anyway, but there were relatively few casualties: both sides fired with noticeable reluctance, if possible over their heads. Government troops set the task simply to disperse the rebels, and they fired back.

Modern estimates of historians show that about 80 people died on both sides during the events on Senatskaya Street. The rumors that there were up to 1,500 victims, and about a bunch of corpses that the police threw into the Neva at night, are not confirmed by anything.

Who judged the Decembrists and how?

A special body was created to investigate the case - " the highest established Secret Committee to find accomplices of a malicious society, which opened on December 14, 1825”, where Nicholas I appointed mainly generals.

To pass the verdict, the Supreme Criminal Court was specially established, to which senators, members of the State Council, and the Synod were appointed.

Interrogation of a Decembrist by the Investigative Committee in 1826. Drawing by Vladimir Adlerberg

The problem was that the emperor really wanted to condemn the rebels fairly and according to the law. But, as it turned out, there were no suitable laws. There was no complete code indicating the relative severity of various crimes and penalties for them (like the modern Criminal Code).

That is, it was possible to use, say, the Code of Law of Ivan the Terrible - no one canceled it - and, for example, boil everyone in boiling tar or wheel them. But there was an understanding that this no longer corresponds to the enlightened 19th century. In addition, there are many defendants - and their guilt obviously differs.

Therefore, Nicholas I instructed Mikhail Speransky, a dignitary then known for his liberalism, to develop some kind of system. Speransky divided the accusation into 11 categories according to the degree of guilt, for each category he prescribed what corpus delicti corresponds to it.

And then the accused were assigned to these categories, and for each judge, after listening to a note on the strength of his guilt (that is, the result of the investigation, something like an indictment), they voted whether he corresponded to this category and what punishment to assign to each category.

Outside the ranks were five sentenced to death. However, the sentences were made “with a margin”, so that the sovereign could show mercy and mitigate the punishment.

Trial of the Decembrists.

The procedure was such that the Decembrists themselves were not present at the trial and could not justify themselves, the judges considered only the papers prepared by the Investigative Committee.

Decembrists only announced the finished verdict. For this, they later reproached the authorities: in a more civilized country, they would have had lawyers and the opportunity to defend themselves.

execution

Addressing the court about a possible way to execute the Decembrists, Nikolai notes that blood should not be shed. Thus, they, the heroes of the Patriotic War, are sentenced to the shameful gallows ...

Who were the executed Decembrists? Their surnames are as follows: Pavel Pestel, Pyotr Kakhovsky, Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The verdict was read out on July 12, and they were hanged on July 25, 1826.

Execution of the Decembrists. Pushkin's drawing in the manuscript "Poltava", 1828

The place of execution of the Decembrists was equipped for a long time: a gallows with a special mechanism was built. However, it was not without overlays: three convicts fell off their hinges, they had to be hung again.

In the place in the Peter and Paul Fortress where the Decembrists were executed, there is now a monument, which is an obelisk and a granite composition. It symbolizes the courage with which the executed Decembrists fought for their ideals.

Those who received a sentence of hard labor were sent to Siberia. According to the verdict, they were also deprived of ranks, noble dignity and even military awards.

More lenient sentences for the last ranks of convicts are exile to a settlement or to remote garrisons where they continued to serve; not everyone lost their ranks and nobility.

Those sentenced to hard labor began to be sent to Siberia gradually, in small batches - they were transported on horseback, with courier.

The first batch, of eight people (the most famous included Volkonsky, Trubetskoy, Obolensky), were especially unlucky: they were sent to real mines, to mining plants, and there they spent their first, really hard winter.

But here, fortunately for the Decembrists, they realized in St. Petersburg: after all, if you distribute state criminals with dangerous ideas among the Siberian mines, this also means dispersing rebellious ideas throughout the penal servitude with your own hands!

Nicholas I decided, in order to avoid the spread of ideas, to gather all the Decembrists in one place. There was no prison of this size anywhere in Siberia. They adapted a prison in Chita, transported those eight who had already suffered at the Blagodatsky mine, and the rest were taken there right away.

It was crowded there, all the prisoners were kept in two large rooms. And it just so happened that there was absolutely no object of hard labor, no mine. The latter, however, did not worry the St. Petersburg authorities very much. Instead of hard labor, the Decembrists were taken to fill up a ravine on the road or grind grain in a mill.

By the summer of 1830, a new prison was built for the Decembrists in Petrovsky Zavod, more spacious and with separate personal cells. There was no mine there either.

From Chita they were led on foot, and they remembered this transition as a kind of journey through unfamiliar and interesting Siberia: some of them sketched out drawings of the area along the way, collected herbariums. The Decembrists were also lucky in that Nikolai appointed General Stanislav Leparsky, an honest and good-natured man, as commandant.

Leparsky did his duty, but did not oppress the prisoners and, in what he could, alleviated their situation. In general, little by little the idea of ​​hard labor evaporated, leaving imprisonment in remote regions of Siberia.

Decembrist cell in the Chita jail.

If it were not for the arrival of their wives, the Decembrists, as the tsar wanted, would have been completely cut off from their past life: correspondence was strictly forbidden to them. But it would be scandalous and indecent for wives to forbid correspondence, so it didn’t work out very well with isolation.

There was also that important point that many had influential relatives, including those in St. Petersburg. Nicholas did not want to irritate this layer of the nobility, so they managed to achieve various small and not very small indulgences.

In Siberia, a curious social conflict has developed: although deprived of the nobility, called state criminals, for local residents, the Decembrists were still aristocrats - in manners, upbringing, education.

True aristocrats were rarely brought to Siberia, the Decembrists became a kind of local curiosity, they were called “our princes”, and the Decembrists were treated with great respect. Thus, that cruel, terrible contact with the criminal penitentiary world, which happened later among the exiled intellectuals, also did not happen in the case of the Decembrists.

A modern person, who knows about the horrors of the Gulag and concentration camps, is tempted to treat the exile of the Decembrists as a frivolous punishment. But everything is important in its historical context. For them, the exile was associated with great hardships, especially in comparison with the former way of life.

And, whatever one may say, it was a conclusion, a prison: for the first years they were all constantly, day and night, shackled in hand and foot shackles. And to a large extent, the fact that now, from a distance, their imprisonment does not look so terrible is their own merit: they managed not to stoop, not to quarrel, retain their own dignity and inspire real respect in others.

To bestow life, upon deprivation of ranks and nobility, to exile forever into hard labor. Leave in hard labor for 20 years, and then turn to a settlement in Siberia. In the modern Garden of the Decembrists at 30 Kim Ave., on the island of the Decembrists, there is a memorial sign to the Decembrists.

The Decembrist uprising is an unprecedented phenomenon not only in Russian history, but also in the world. The main thing that causes misunderstanding in the actions of the Decembrists so far is that they (none of them) did not claim power. Thus, he deprived the Decembrists sentenced to death of the right to be shot.

Southern Society of Decembrists

All the imprisoned Decembrists were taken out into the courtyard of the fortress and lined up in two squares: those who belonged to the guards regiments and others. Over 120 people of the Decembrists were exiled for various periods to Siberia, to hard labor or a settlement. But at the same time, he petitioned to alleviate the fate of other arrested Decembrists. Conducted propaganda among the soldiers, being one of the leaders of the Decembrists. The future Decembrist received a good home education, entered the service of the Cavalier Guard Regiment as a cadet, and in 1819 was transferred to the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, where he was promoted to lieutenant.

Decembrist leaders: 1. Pavel Ivanovich Pestel

He was buried along with other executed Decembrists on about. Starving. As for torture, they were not used against the Decembrists. In the first half of the 19th century, it was believed that the executed were buried on Goloday Island, which is now called the Island of the Decembrists. There were many other people who indicated Golodai as the final resting place of the Decembrists. Information about the location of the grave of the Decembrists is available in the diaries of Pushkin's acquaintance Gendra.

In 1862, after an amnesty was declared for all Decembrists, the St. Petersburg Governor-General Suvorov decided to ennoble the famous grave. In June 1917, the Petrograd newspapers exploded with headlines: "The grave of the executed Decembrists has been found!" A similar request was made to him by the newly created in Petrograd Society for the Memory of the Decembrists.

According to members of the Society for the Memory of the Decembrists, the best-preserved skeleton in military uniform belonged to Colonel Pestel. From the stories of contemporaries it was known how the Decembrists were executed and buried.

For almost 200 years, the Decembrist uprising has attracted the attention of historians. A huge number of scientific articles and even dissertations have been written on this topic. What explains such interest?

Another interest in the grave of the Decembrists was shown by Anna Akhmatova. Akhmatova believed that Pushkin depicted in these lines the Goloday Island, where the bodies of the Decembrists were secretly buried. Nevelev decided that Pushkin displayed "historical information about the execution of the Decembrists" here.

Convinced of his innocence, Nevelev suggested that, among many other drawings by Pushkin, there must also be an image of the grave of the Decembrists. The Leningrad poet Chernov in 1987 decided to find the grave of the executed Decembrists, guided by the instructions of Pushkin (or rather, Akhmatova and Nevelev).

so Miloradovich was

It became clear that there was a cemetery here, and the discovery of five coffins (according to the number of executed Decembrists) in 1917 was a pure accident. Opposite the island of the Decembrists, on the banks of the Smolenka River, is the Orthodox Smolensk cemetery - one of the oldest in St. Petersburg. As for the pedrility of Muravtev-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin (they were a couple) - it is well known, it is in the memoirs of the Decembrists and in the testimony to the investigation. 5 people (leaders) were put to shameful execution for officers. Decembrists-participants were exiled to Siberia, some were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

This was the condition of their activity. But two of them participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, had injuries and military awards - and now they were sentenced to a shameful death on the gallows.

The sailors-Decembrists were taken to Kronstadt and that morning they were sentenced to be demoted on the flagship of Admiral Kroun. The execution took place on the night of July 25, 1826 on the crown work of the Peter and Paul Fortress. During the execution, Ryleev, Kakhovsky and Muravyov-Apostol fell off their hinges and were hanged a second time.

He was arrested on the road to Tulchin after the uprising on December 14, 1825, was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress and after 6 months was sentenced to quartering, replaced by hanging. At a meeting on December 13, 1825, at Ryleev's, he was assigned the assassination of Nicholas I (because Kakhovsky did not have his own family), but on the day of the uprising he did not dare to kill him. He was a member of the "Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature", was the author of the well-known satirical ode "To the temporary worker".

Born in St. Petersburg and was the fourth child in the family of the famous writer of that time and statesman I.M. Muravyov-Apostol. In 1820, the Semyonovsky regiment rebelled, in which Muravyov-Apostol served, and he was transferred to the Poltava, then to the Chernigov regiment as a lieutenant colonel.

Seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner. Sentenced to death and hanged on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Under the bas-relief on the monument there is an inscription: “On this place on July 13/25, 1826, the Decembrists P. Pestel, K. Ryleev, P. Kakhovsky, S. Muravyov-Apostol, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin were executed.”

Preparations for the uprising

At the end of its activities, the court decided on sentences for each defendant, which were submitted for approval by the Highest. Instead of a painful death penalty by quartering, a definite verdict of the Court, hang him for his grave atrocities. Prince Meshchersky, Alexander Petrovich - an ensign, fled shortly after the start of the uprising and appeared before his superiors. Petin, Vasily Nikolaevich - appeared in Kyiv, declaring that he had fled from S.I. Muravyov-Apostol.

Re: Two faggots, murderer, embezzler and coward.

Sentenced to imprisonment in a fortress for 6 months, followed by assignment to the service. Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muraviev-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin did not renounce their beliefs or their role in organizing the uprising. Although his statements are known about how bitter and insulting it was for him to listen to confessions of treason against the Fatherland from representatives of the Russian elite - officers who bravely fought against Napoleon. And the tsar participated in the process in order to be sure: the materials that will be brought to him for approval were not rigged or falsified.

But at that time it was a common practice throughout Europe. On July 13, 1826, Ryleev, Pestel, Kakhovsky, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Muravyov-Apostol were hanged in the courtyard of the crown work of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The hypothesis that they could be buried on this island was put forward during the years of perestroika by the writer Andrei Chernov.

As you go to the seaside, there it is. Here they were all buried. And if ordinary people went in crowds to the place of burial of the Decembrists, then the relatives of the executed were even more so. Ryleev's widow often came to her dear grave. Bibikova, the sister of the executed Decembrist Muravyov-Apostol, asked to give her the corpse of her brother, to which Nicholas I replied with a decisive refusal.

A monument was erected at the site of the death of the Decembrists. But who knows where the grave of the five executed Decembrists is located? For example, the Decembrists Zavalishin and Shtein-Gel knew that the bodies of their dead comrades “…the next night were secretly taken to Golodai Island, and buried secretly there.”