Decembrists, Russian revolutionaries who raised an uprising in December 1825 against the autocracy and serfdom (they got their name from the month of the uprising). The Decembrists were revolutionaries of the nobility, their class limitations left a stamp on the movement, which, according to slogans, was anti-feudal and associated with the maturation of the prerequisites for a bourgeois revolution in Russia. The process of disintegration of the feudal-serf system, which was clearly manifested already in the second half of the 18th century. and intensified at the beginning of the 19th century, was the basis on which this movement grew. The weakness of the Russian bourgeoisie contributed to the fact that the "first-born of freedom" in Russia were the revolutionary nobles. The Patriotic War of 1812, in which almost all the founders and many active members of the future Decembrist movement took part, the subsequent foreign campaigns of 1813-14 were, to a certain extent, a political school for them.
Decembrists- representatives of the left wing of the nobility were the first who openly opposed autocracy and serfdom in favor of carrying out bourgeois-democratic transformations.
The origins of the ideology of Decembrism:
humanistic ideas of the French enlighteners and Russian freethinkers late XVIII in.;
patriotic rise and rise national identity after the war of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814;
disappointment in the internal political course of Alexander I, who curtailed liberal reforms.
The first pre-Decembrist organizations arose among the guards officers in 1814-1815.
In 1816 - 1818. there was a secret society "Union of Salvation", uniting about 30 people and headed by A.N. Muravyov. In 1818, on the basis of this society, the "Union of Welfare" arose, which was more conspiratorial and already united about 200 people. The meetings discussed the elimination of serfdom and autocracy, the introduction of a constitution and representative government. In 1821, due to disagreements and persecution by the authorities, the Union of Welfare was dissolved. On its basis, the "Southern Society" appeared in Ukraine, headed by P.I. Pestel and the "Northern Society" in St. Petersburg, headed by N.M. Muravyov (later K.F. Ryleev took the first role here).
The program document of the "Southern Society" was "Russian Truth" by Pestel, according to which the liquidation of the monarchy in Russia and the establishment of a republic with a unicameral parliament ("People's Council") was supposed. The executive power is the "State Duma" of 5 members, each of which would be president for a year. It provided for the complete abolition of serfdom, the introduction of democratic freedoms and the provision of equal suffrage for all men.
The program of the "Northern Society" ("Constitution" by N.M. Muravyov) was more moderate. Russia was supposed to become a constitutional monarchy, and the emperor - the head of the executive branch. Legislative power belonged to the bicameral parliament - the People's Council. Serfdom and the estate system were completely abolished, civil liberties and equality of all before the law were introduced. At the same time, suffrage was limited to property qualifications and landownership was fully preserved.
Both societies negotiated the coordination of their actions and planned to achieve their goals through a military coup and regicide, which was planned for the summer of 1826. These plans were confused by the unexpected death of Alexander I in Taganrog on November 19, 1825. His brother Konstantin Pavlovich, who secretly refused from the throne back in 1822. When this became known, an oath was appointed to the new emperor Nicholas I. The Decembrists decided to take advantage of the interregnum situation. It was decided to withdraw troops to the Senate Square in St. Petersburg and force the Senate, the Synod and the State Council not to swear allegiance to Nicholas, but to adopt the “Manifesto to the Russian People”, which outlined the demands of the conspirators.
On the morning of December 14, 1825, the troops loyal to the Decembrists stood in a battle square on the square (about 3 thousand soldiers and 30 officers in total). But they acted hesitantly, because. it turned out that the highest officials had already sworn allegiance to Nicholas, in addition, the appointed military leader of the uprising S.P. Trubetskoy did not appear on the square. Troops loyal to the government (12 thousand people and 4 guns) were drawn up against the rebels. Attempts to persuade the conspirators to disperse were unsuccessful, so the order was given to open fire to kill. The uprising was put down. Also, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment on December 29, 1825 in Ukraine ended in failure, because. the leaders of the "Southern Society" were arrested the day before.
In total, 579 people were involved in the investigation into the case of the Decembrists, of which 289 were found guilty. Over 100 people were exiled to Siberia, the rest were demoted and sent to fight in the Caucasus, 5 people (P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, K.F. Ryleev and P.G. . Kakhovsky) were executed.
Reasons for the defeat of the uprising:
the narrow social base of the uprising;
stake on conspiracy and military coup;
insufficient conspiracy and passive tactics at the time of the uprising;
the unpreparedness of the majority of society for serious transformations.
The significance of the Decembrist uprising lies in the fact that it was the first attempt to change the existing system. Their speech showed the presence of deep contradictions in the country and the need for reforms.
After the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, a repressive police regime was established in the country, any dissent was suppressed
Patriotic rise popular consciousness after the victorious Patriotic War of 1812, the influence of the educational works of Western philosophers and writers, the desire for the speedy implementation of reforms in the country, including the peasant one, created the basis for the start of the Decembrists' activities in the Russian Empire.
Causes of the Decembrist uprising
The Decembrists were a collection of various societies whose goal was the overthrow of serfdom in Russia and the reorganization of state power structures.
The Decembrist movement got its name from the large-scale uprising that was carried out by its active members in December 1825.
Initially, the Decembrists planned to carry out the uprising in the summer of 1826. However, the death of Emperor Alexander I (or his mysterious disappearance) greatly accelerated the planned uprising.
Immediately after the death of the Emperor, the country was in a short-term stage of confusion and confusion: for a long time it was not decided which date to choose for the oath of allegiance to the new Emperor of Russia, Nicholas I. Ultimately, December 14 was chosen as the date for the oath.
How did the uprising take place?
The unstable situation in the country decided to use the Decembrists. They decided not to allow the oath to Nicholas and demand from members of the government the right to publish the "Manifesto to the Russian people", in which the Decembrists set out the main requirements for power.
And the demands were as follows: abolish serfdom in the territory of the Empire, introduce universal military service, and provide all residents of Russia with a guarantee of political rights and freedoms.
Trubetskoy, the main organizer of the uprising, planned to persuade the officers of the garrison to renounce their oath to Nicholas.
The Petersburg garrison and members of the Senate were able to swear allegiance to the new Emperor, despite the efforts of members of the Decembrist Society. The rebellion was suppressed, and the officers were dispersed from the Senate Square.
An attempt by the Chernigov regiment to carry out an uprising in Ukraine, two weeks after the events in St. Petersburg, was also suppressed. Nicholas I personally led the investigation of active members of the Decembrists.
Participants and significance of the Decembrist uprising
The organizers of the uprising: Bestuzhev-Ryumin, P. Kakhovsky, P. Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol were sentenced to death by hanging. More than a hundred Decembrists were exiled to Siberia, some of the officers were demoted in rank and sent to fight in the Caucasus.
The Decembrist movement played a huge role in social life countries, even in spite of their defeat. The first revolutionary nobles could not resist the gendarme machine of Nicholas I, but they planted in the minds of people the ideas of revolution, the struggle for their civil rights and freedoms.
The Decembrist movement inspired many figures of art and literature. Many writers in their works, as if between the lines, conveyed to people the educational ideas of the Decembrists. And although only a few decades later, their followers were still able to achieve the abolition of serfdom and directed the course of development of the state towards liberalism.
After the death of the childless Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich, the next oldest brother, was to ascend the throne. However, Konstantin Pavlovich, fearing that he would be "strangled, as his father was strangled," decided to renounce the right to head the state, and therefore Nicholas, the third son of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna, was declared the heir to the throne. Alexander I indicated this in a secret manifesto on August 16, 1823.
Given that even Nikolai Pavlovich did not know about the exact content of the manifesto until the last, after the death of the emperor, the oath was taken to Konstantin.
Immediately began to mint coins with the image of the new ruler.
“As a faithful subject, I must, of course, mourn the death of the sovereign; but, as a poet, I rejoice at the accession to the throne of Constantine I,” wrote Alexander Pushkin enthusiastically. - There is a lot of romanticism in it; his stormy youth, campaigns with Suvorov, enmity with the German Barclay remind Henry V. Moreover, he is smart, and with smart people everything is somehow better; In a word, I hope a lot of good things come from him.”
Plans are falling apart
However, Konstantin Pavlovich announced that he did not intend to rule the empire. A few days later, Mikhail Speransky prepared a manifesto, according to which Nikolai became the head of state. The future emperor announced his accession to the throne, and the oath was scheduled for December 26.
On the same day, under the pretext of protecting the legal rights of Konstantin, an uprising of the Decembrists took place in St. Petersburg - an attempted coup d'état. The rebels wanted to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to Nikolai Pavlovich. The plans of the Decembrists included the establishment of a constitutional monarchy or republic and the abolition of serfdom. Some radical Decembrists acted
for the murder of Nicholas and even Tsarevich Alexander - the future emperor who abolished serfdom.
By 11 a.m., the rebels had taken to Senate Square troops, but Nikolai Pavlovich, who knew about the upcoming uprising, had already managed to take the oath and become the legitimate ruler of the state. The plans of the conspirators, who wanted to demand the introduction of a constitution before the oath, collapsed. The Decembrists did not know what to do next, and the troops simply remained on the square.
How Nicholas was not killed
The Decembrists appointed Pyotr Kakhovsky, a member of the Northern Secret Society, who, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, had an ardent character and love of freedom, as the murderer of Nikolai Pavlovich. On Senate Square, Kakhovskiy killed Governor-General Miloradovich, who went out to the rebels with a request to stop the rebellion, and Colonel Stürler, but did not dare to deal with the newly-made emperor.
Soon the rebels were surrounded by government troops, and a shootout began. Decembrist Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to build soldiers on the ice of the Neva and lead them to Peter and Paul Fortress, but the government army fired cannons at the rebels. Cannonballs pierced the ice, and many participants in the uprising drowned in the Neva.
The rebels took to flight. According to various estimates of historians, from 1.3 thousand to 1.5 thousand people died during the riot. However, there is an opinion that, since the government troops were ordered not to shoot the rebels, but simply drive them away from the Senate Square, the number of victims does not exceed one hundred people.
Civilized Europe and less cultured Russia
A few days after the rebellion, a Commission for Research on Malicious Societies was established - a body for investigating the Decembrist uprising. The commission, which Alexander Muravyov, a member of the Northern Secret Society, called "an inquisitorial tribunal without a shadow of justice or impartiality and with deep ignorance of the laws," involved 579 people in the investigation.
At the trial held in winter palace, the investigator was Nicholas I himself.
The emperor decided that five Decembrists should be sentenced to death, and 120 organizers of the uprising should be sent to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement. Interestingly, the defendants themselves were not present at the trial, they were invited only to announce the verdict.
“For me, Russia is now defiled, bloody,” wrote the poet Pyotr Vyazemsky after the trial of the Decembrists. “How many victims and what an iron hand fell on them.”
Sharp criticism of the trial of the rebels began in foreign society. " Imperial government, however, is severely mistaken if he thinks that a purely formal investigation carried out by a commission of eight members - courtiers and adjutants of the emperor - can arouse confidence in the civilized countries of Europe or even in less cultural Russia”, — wrote the British edition of The Times.
What to do in the link
According to Nicholas I, in exile the Decembrists would be doomed to spiritual death. However, the convicted rebels created their own "academy" in captivity, which includes lectures and the study of languages, reading and discussing books. So, Kuchelbecker led seminars on Russian naval expeditions, Bestuzhev - on the history of the navy, Wolf - on physics, chemistry, anatomy and physiology.
Soon, the Decembrists were allowed to read Russian and foreign publications, draw, and make music. In the conditions of hard labor and subsequent exile, Bestuzhev proposed the idea of a water-jet engine, Thorson designed a threshing machine and a machine for cutting straw, and Bestuzhev made an original design of a small-sized but accurate marine chronometer. In addition, the convicted Decembrists conducted climatological observations,
collected Siberian samples of flora and fauna, were engaged in chemical analysis of waters of mineral springs, carried out seismological measurements.
“Glancing over all their works, we see that they explored Siberia in an anthropological, natural, economic, social and ethnographic position, in a word, they did incomparably more than everything done during this time for any of the other Russian regions,” wrote publicist Ivan Pryzhov.
"This is the last novel I banned"
The image of the Decembrist, cherished by poets and writers of the 19th century, quickly acquired the features of a romantic rebel who fell victim to slander. Alexandre Dumas wrote about the rebels in the novel "Fencing Teacher" - and, of course, Nicholas I banned the work of the French author from publication in Russia.
“Nikolai entered the room when I was reading a book to the Empress,” recalls Princess Trubetskaya, a friend of the Empress. — I quickly hid the book. The Emperor approached and asked the Empress:
- Did you read?
— Yes, my lord.
Do you want me to tell you what you read?
The Empress was silent.
- Have you read Dumas' novel "Fencing Master".
How do you know this, sir?
- Here you go! This is not hard to guess. This last novel which I banned.
Decembrists become atheists
Leo Tolstoy wanted to write about the participants in the opposition movement several times. “My Decembrist must be an enthusiast, a mystic, a Christian, returning to Russia in 1956 with his wife, son and daughter and trying on his strict and somewhat ideal look to new Russia", - said the writer in a letter to Alexander Herzen. However, Tolstoy did not go beyond the fourth chapter - according to his contemporaries, he became disillusioned with the uprising and argued that
"The December rebellion is the result of the influence of the French aristocracy, most of which emigrated to Russia after the French Revolution."
It is interesting how the image of the Decembrist was transformed in the 20th century. Despite the fact that Lenin considered the rebels of the past cut off from the people, the participants in the February Revolution regarded them as their predecessors. The Decembrists remained included in the pantheon of heroes in Stalin's times, while their religious views (the vast majority of the rebels were Orthodox) were tried not to be mentioned.
However, sometimes the participants in the events of December 26, 1825 were described as fierce atheists.
A new surge of love for the rebels of the XIX century came in the 1970s. At this time, Vladimir Motyl's film "The Star of Captivating Happiness" is released, which tells about the fate of the Decembrists and their wives who followed their husbands into exile. The rebels of the last century become the inspirers of dissidents, the heroes of local history books and even low-grade romance novels.
Looking at the West, where serfdom was abolished long ago and a constitution was introduced, it became clear that the conditions in which serfs live are simply terrible. Their owners mocked them, regularly increasing dues and corvee, and in case of disobedience, they were exiled to Siberia, with the support of the tsar himself.
After the war, the industry recovered quite quickly, but it could not compete with the industry of European countries, since in Russia it was based on manufactories, and those, in turn, on manual labor. To establish production, a huge number of peasants had to be attracted. The landowners did not hesitate to take away their lands and attach them to their own, making the amount of quitrents incredibly high. The peasants refused to pay dues, and as a result, anti-serfdom movements began.
Military officers who had been abroad were frankly afraid that soon populace a riot will start, and it will cover the whole country. Many became disillusioned with state activities emperor, as he was a supporter of repressive methods of influencing the serfs.
The Decembrists believed and dreamed of democracy and freedom of speech. The main role model was France, where a revolution took place recently. The Decembrists also insisted on the distribution of power by branches, and not its concentration in one hand.
Decembrist uprising on Senate Square in St. Petersburg.
In 1825, the Decembrists went to Senate Square, it happened on December 14. Governor-General Miloradovich tried to calm the Decembrists, but one of the participants in the uprising wounded him. In the process, the Decembrists receive news that the army officers have long sworn allegiance to the new emperor, and they have no choice, they will have to surrender their weapons and be defeated. The Decembrists decide to die, still hoping that reinforcements are somewhere nearby. At this time, a struggle is started between them and the tsarist artillery. Cannons fired at the rebels. Some of the soldiers took to their heels.
After the suppression of the uprising, all participants were awaited by the trial. Three dozen officers were sentenced to death, 17 people were exiled to Siberia for eternal hard labor. The rest were demoted to soldiers or sent to hard labor for a certain period.
Consequences and results of the Decembrist uprising.
The historical significance of the Decembrist uprising is incommensurably high. The uprising of the Decembrists was the first association against the tsarist government. Thanks to him, the unshakable tsarist regime nevertheless shook, it contributed to the future development of the opposition in Russia.
On December 14 (26), 1825, an uprising took place in St. Petersburg, organized by the group like-minded nobles with the aim of turning Russia into a constitutional state and abolishing serfdom.
On the morning of 14 (26) December, the insurgent troops began to gather on the snow-covered Senate Square. The first to come were the soldiers of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, led by A. Bestuzhev, later they were joined by the sailors of the Guards crew and the Life Grenadiers. They were supposed to force the Senate to refuse the oath to Nicholas and offer to publish a manifesto to the Russian people, compiled by members of a secret society.
However, the action plan worked out the day before was violated from the first minutes: the senators swore allegiance to Emperor Nicholas early in the morning and had already dispersed, not all the planned military units arrived at the gathering place, and the chosen by the dictator S.P. Trubetskoy did not appear at Senate Square at all.
Meanwhile, Nicholas I was pulling troops to the square, delaying the transition to decisive action. Petersburg military general-governor, hero Patriotic War 1812 M. A. Miloradovich made an attempt to persuade the rebels to lay down their arms, but was mortally wounded by a shot by P. G. Kakhovsky.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Nicholas I gave the order to open artillery fire. Seven buckshot shots were fired - one over the heads and six at close range. The soldiers took to flight. M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin tried to organize the capture of the Peter and Paul Fortress by building soldiers running on the ice of the Neva, but his plan failed.
By the evening of the same day, the government completely crushed the uprising. As a result of the rebellion, 1,271 people died, including 9 women and 19 young children.
As a result of the investigation carried out on the case of the Decembrists, five of them - P. I. Pestel, K. F. Ryleev, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P. G. Kakhovsky - were sentenced to death through hanging. Early morning On July 13 (25), 1826, on the shaft of the crown work of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the sentence was carried out. Many participants in the uprising and members of secret societies who were involved in its preparation were sent into exile and hard labor in Siberia.
In 1856, the surviving Decembrists were pardoned.
Lit .: December 14, 1825: Memoirs of eyewitnesses. SPb., 1999; Museum of the Decembrists. 1996-2003. URL : http://decemb.hobby.ru ; Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern society, M., 1981; Troitsky N. Decembrists. Uprising // Troitsky N.A. Russia in the 19th century: a course of lectures. M., 1997.
See also Presidential Library:
Obolensky E.P. In exile and imprisonment: Memoirs of the Decembrists / Prince Obolensky, Basargin and Princess Volkonskaya. M., 1908 ;