In politics, as in everything public life, not to go forward means to be thrown back.

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich

Decembrist uprising Senate Square took place on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. This 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 to the 1825 uprising

Even during the life of Alexander 1, revolutionary movements in Russia actively worked to create conditions that would limit the power of the autocrat. This movement was quite massive and was preparing to carry out a coup at the moment of weakening of the monarchy. The imminent death of Emperor Alexander 1 forced the conspirators to become more active and begin their performance earlier than planned.

This was facilitated by the difficult political situation within the Empire. As you know, Alexander 1 did not have children, which means that difficulty with an heir was inevitable. Historians talk about a secret document according to which the elder brother of the murdered ruler, Konstantin Pavlovich, long ago abandoned the throne. There was only one heir - Nikolai. The problem was that on November 27, 1825, the population of the country swore an oath to Constantine, who formally became emperor from that day, although he himself did not accept 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, realizing 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 chosen for this was also significant - December 14, 1825, the day when the whole country had 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 Muravyov
• Ivan Yakushin
• Pavel Pestel
• Kondraty Ryleev
• Nikolai Kakhovsky

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

In the future, the 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 went even further in their plans and proposed killing everyone related to the ruling dynasty.

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

The Decembrist uprising began in the early morning of December 14th. However, initially everything did not go as they 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, a 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. Early in the morning, the Decembrists sent their agitators to the barracks of all units in the capital, 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 square:

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

By the time the rebels were brought to the square, the senators had already taken the oath to the new emperor. This happened at 7 o'clock in the morning. Such haste was necessary because Nicholas was warned that a major uprising was expected 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 man, General Russian army. He called on 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 shot him. The general died that same day.

After these events, the Horse Guards, commanded by Alexey Orlov, were sent to attack the Decembrists. Twice this commander tried unsuccessfully to suppress the rebellion. The situation was aggravated by the fact that ordinary residents who shared the views of the rebels came to the Senate Square. In total, the total number of Decembrists numbered several tens of thousands. There was real madness going on in the center of the capital. The tsarist troops hastily prepared crews 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 Decembrist uprising on Senate Square would be taken up by the mob and other cities. Such mass participation could cost him the throne. As a result, artillery was brought to Senate Square. Trying to avoid mass casualties, General Sukhozanet gave the order to shoot with blanks. This did not give any results. Then the Emperor of the Russian Empire personally gave the order to shoot with combat and grapeshot. However, at the initial stage this only aggravated the situation, as the rebels returned fire. After this, a massive attack was carried out on the area, which sowed panic and forced the revolutionaries to flee.

Consequences of the 1825 uprising

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

• Generals – 1
• Staff officers – 1
• Officers of various ranks – 17
• Life Guard soldiers - 282
• Common soldiers – 39
• Women – 79
• Children – 150
• Ordinary people – 903

The total number of victims is simply enormous. Russia has never seen such mass movements. In total, the Decembrist uprising of 1805, which took place on Senate Square, cost the lives of 1,271 people.

In addition, on the night of December 14, 1825, Nicholas issues a decree on the arrest of the most active participants in the movement. As a result, 710 people were sent to prison. Initially, everyone was taken to the Winter Palace, where the emperor personally led the 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 in nature. The organization of the uprising was weak, and the involvement of the masses in it was practically non-existent. As a result, only the small number of Decembrists allowed the Emperor to suppress the rebellion in a short time. However, this was the first signal that there was an active movement against the government in the country.

History knows many uprisings and coups. Some of them ended successfully, while others ended tragically for the conspirators. The Decembrist uprising, which occurred on December 14, 1825, falls precisely into the second category. Rebellious nobles challenged the existing order. Their goal was to abolish royal power and the abolition of serfdom. But the plans of the supporters political reforms were not implemented. The conspiracy was mercilessly suppressed, and its participants were severely punished. The reason for the failure was that Russia was not yet ready for fundamental changes. The rebels were ahead of their time, and this is never forgiven.

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

The Patriotic War of 1812 is notable for its massive patriotic upsurge. All segments of the population stood up to defend the fatherland. The peasants, shoulder to shoulder with the nobles, crushed the French. For the upper class this was a complete surprise, since they considered the Russian people dense and ignorant, incapable of high noble impulses. Practice has proven that this is not so. After this, the opinion began to prevail among the nobility that simple people deserve a better life.

Russian troops visited Europe. Soldiers and officers saw very closely the life of the French, Germans, and Austrians and were convinced that they lived better and more prosperous than the Russian people, and they had more freedoms. The conclusion suggested itself: it's all the fault of autocracy and serfdom . It is these two components that do not give great country develop both economically and spiritually.

The progressive thoughts of Western Enlightenment philosophers were also of considerable importance. The socio-philosophical views of Rousseau, who was a supporter of direct democracy, enjoyed enormous authority. The minds of the Russian nobles were also greatly influenced by the views of Montesquieu and Rousseau's follower, the Swiss philosopher Weiss. These people proposed more progressive forms of government compared to the monarchy.

It should also be noted that Alexander I in his domestic policy I didn’t try to change anything radically. He tried to implement reforms, but they were extremely inconsistent. In words, the emperor advocated for the freedom of the peasants, but in practice nothing was done to abolish serfdom.

All these factors were the reason why the opposition arose first, and then the uprising came. And even though it was defeated, it left an indelible mark in the minds of the Russian people.

The opposition movement originated in the Russian Empire in 1814

The origins of the opposition movement in Russia

One of the first organizations that set as its goal a radical change in the existing system was " Order of Russian Knights". Its creators were Major General Mikhail Fedorovich Orlov (1788-1842) and Major General Matvey Aleksandrovich Dmitriev-Mamonov (1790-1863). These people advocated a constitutional monarchy and in 1814 united like-minded people into a secret organization.

In 1816 it was created " Salvation Union"It was organized by guards officers. The leader among them was Muravyov Alexander Nikolaevich (1792-1863). Together with him, the founders were Sergey Petrovich Trubetskoy (1790-1860), Muravyov-Apostol Sergey Ivanovich (1796-1826), Muravyov-Apostol Matvey Ivanovich (1793-1886). The society also included Pavel Ivanovich Pestel (1793-1826) and Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov (1795-1843).

One of the members of the Union of Salvation, Mikhail Sergeevich Lunin (1787-1845), was the first to put forward the idea of ​​​​assassinating the Russian sovereign. Many officers opposed this proposal. They proposed their own program for the reconstruction of society, which excluded violence. These fundamental differences ultimately led to the collapse of the organization.

In 1818, instead of the Order of Russian Knights and the Union of Salvation, a single and larger organization was created called " Welfare Union". Its goal was the abolition of serfdom and constitutional government. But the secret society soon ceased to be secret and was dissolved in 1821.

Instead, two more well-covered organizations appeared. This " Northern society", headed by Nikita Muravyov and " Southern Society". It was headed by Pavel Pestel. The first society was located in St. Petersburg, and the second in Kyiv. Thus, a base was created for opposition action. All that remained was to choose the right time. And soon the circumstances turned out favorably for the conspirators.

On the eve of the uprising

In November 1825, Emperor Alexander I died in Taganrog. This sad event happened on November 19th. In St. Petersburg they learned about the death of the sovereign a week later. The autocrat had no sons. His wife bore him only two daughters. But they lived very little. Daughter Maria died in 1800, and daughter Elizabeth died in 1808. Thus, there were no direct heirs to the royal throne.

A new law on succession to the throne was issued by order of Paul I in 1797. He forbade women from sitting on the Russian throne. But the men were given the green light. Therefore, the wife of the deceased sovereign, Elizaveta Alekseevna, had no rights to the crown. But the Russian Tsar’s brothers had all the rights to the throne.

The second brother was Konstantin Pavlovich (1779-1831). It was he who had full right to imperial crown. But the heir to the throne married the Polish Countess Grudzinskaya. This marriage was considered morganatic, and, therefore, children born in it could not inherit the royal crown. In 1823, Constantine renounced all rights to the throne. However, only Alexander I knew about this.

After the death of the sovereign, the whole country swore allegiance to Constantine. They even managed to mint 5 ruble coins with his profile. The third brother Nikolai Pavlovich (1796-1855) also swore allegiance to the new emperor. But Constantine did not accept the throne and at the same time did not formally renounce it. Thus, an interregnum began in the country.

It didn't last long. Already on December 10, it became known that the entire country would have to swear allegiance to another emperor, that is, Nicholas I. Members of the Northern Society decided to take advantage of this situation.

Under the pretext of refusing to re-oath and allegiance to Constantine, the conspirators decided to revolt. The main thing for them was to attract the troops with them, and then they planned to arrest royal family and the release of the manifesto. It would have announced to the people the creation of the Provisional Government and the approval new constitution. After this, it was planned to convene Constituent Assembly. It was they who had to decide on the further form of government. It could be either a constitutional monarchy or a republic.

The rebel officers also elected a dictator. It became Guards Colonel Sergei Trubetskoy. It was he who was supposed to lead the country until the end of the Constituent Assembly. But in in this case the choice turned out to be unsuccessful, since the elected leader was extremely indecisive. But be that as it may, the performance was scheduled for December 14th. On this day everyone had to swear allegiance to the new emperor.

Decembrists go to Senate Square

Chronology of the uprising

On the eve of the scheduled date, the conspirators gathered for the last time at Ryleev’s apartment. It was decided to take the regiments to Senate Square and force the Senate to announce the fall of the monarchy and the introduction of constitutional government. The Senate was considered the most authoritative body in the country, so it was decided to act through it, since in this case the rebellion would take on a legal character.

Early in the morning of December 14, officers went to military units stationed in the capital and began campaigning among the soldiers, urging them not to swear allegiance to Nicholas I, but to remain loyal to the legitimate heir to the throne, Constantine. By 11 o'clock, the Guards Infantry Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, and the Guards Naval Crew entered Senate Square. In total, approximately 3 thousand soldiers and officers gathered on the square. The rebels lined up in a square near the monument to Peter I.

All further actions depended on the chosen leader Trubetskoy, but he did not appear, and the conspirators were left without leadership. However, it was not only that. They began to swear allegiance to the new emperor at 7 am, and the rebel regiments only finally gathered on Senate Square and lined up at 1 pm. No one made an attempt to capture the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Winter Palace and the Senate building.

Rebels or Decembrists, as they were later called, simply stood and waited for additional military forces to approach them. Meanwhile, many ordinary people gathered in the square. They expressed complete sympathy for the rebel guards. But they did not call on these people to stand next to them or provide assistance in any other way.

The new emperor decided to first enter into negotiations with the Decembrists. He sent to them the first person of St. Petersburg - Governor General Miloradovich Mikhail Andreevich. But peace negotiations did not work out. First, the parliamentarian was wounded with a bayonet by Prince Evgeniy Obolensky, and then Pyotr Kakhovsky shot at the governor. As a result of this shot, Miloradovich was mortally wounded and died on the same day.

After this, Kakhovsky mortally wounded the commander of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment Nikolai Sturler and another officer, but did not dare to shoot at the emperor, who was in the distance. He did not shoot at the church ministers, who also came to persuade the rebels to surrender. These were Metropolitan Seraphim and Metropolitan Eugene. The soldiers simply drove them away with shouts.

Meanwhile, cavalry and infantry units were drawn up to Senate Square. In total, they numbered about 12 thousand people. The cavalry went on the attack, but the rebels opened rapid rifle fire on the horsemen. But they did not shoot at people, but above their heads. The cavalrymen acted extremely indecisively. They clearly expressed soldier solidarity.

While there was a semblance of battle in the square, artillery was brought up. The cannons fired blank charges, but this made no impression on the rebels. The situation remained extremely uncertain, and daylight was running out. At dusk, a revolt of the common people could begin, who gathered in huge numbers near Senate Square.

Russian Emperor Nicholas I

At this time, the emperor decided to shoot at the rebels with grapeshot, and the Decembrist uprising entered its final phase. The cannons fired straight into the midst of the soldiers and officers standing in the square. Several shots were fired. The wounded and dead began to fall, the rest began to scatter. Not only the rebels fled, but also onlookers who were watching the uprising from the sidelines.

The bulk of the people rushed onto the Neva ice to get to Vasilyevsky Island. However, they opened fire on the ice with cannonballs. The ice crust began to crack, and many runners drowned in ice water. By 6 p.m., Senate Square was cleared of the rebels. Only the wounded and dead remained lying on it, as well as on the Neva ice.

Special teams were formed, and they removed the bodies until the morning, by the light of the fires. Many wounded were lowered under the ice so as not to have to deal with them. A total of 1,270 people died. Of these, 150 were children and 80 women who simply came to watch the uprising.

Uprising of the Chernigov Regiment

The Decembrist uprising continued in the south of Russia under the leadership of members of the Southern Society. The Chernigov regiment was stationed near the city of Vasilkov, 30 km from Kyiv. On December 29, 1825, he rebelled. The rebel companies were led by Sergei Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol. On December 30, the rebels entered Vasilkov and captured the regiment headquarters with weapons and treasury. The first assistant to the head was second lieutenant Bestuzhev-Ryumin Mikhail Pavlovich (1801-1826).

On December 31, the rebel regiment entered Motovilovka. Here the soldiers were introduced to the "Orthodox Catechism" - the program of the rebels. It was written in the form of questions and answers. It clearly explained why it was necessary to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic. But all this did not cause much enthusiasm among the soldiers. But the lower ranks began to drink alcohol in unlimited quantities with pleasure. Almost all the personnel were drunk.

Meanwhile, troops were deployed to the area of ​​the uprising. Muravyov-Apostol sent his regiment towards Zhitomir. But the forced march ended in complete failure. On January 3, not far from the village of Ustinovka, a detachment of tsarist troops blocked the road for the rebels. Artillery fire was opened on the rebels with grapeshot. Muravyov-Apostol was wounded in the head. He was captured, arrested and taken in shackles to St. Petersburg. This ended the uprising of the Chernigov regiment.

After the uprising

The investigation began in January. In total, 579 people were involved in the case. Moreover, investigative commissions were created in many regiments. 289 people were found guilty. Of these, 173 people were convicted. The most severe punishment was received by 5 conspirators: Pavel Pestel, Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Pyotr Kakhovsky. The court sentenced them to death by quartering. But then this terrible punishment was replaced by hanging.

31 people were sentenced to indefinite hard labor. 37 rebels were given various sentences of hard labor. 19 people were exiled to Siberia, and 9 officers were demoted to privates. The rest were imprisoned for a period of 1 to 4 years or sent to the Caucasus to join the active army. Thus ended the Decembrist uprising, which left an indelible mark on Russian history.

Briefly? The attempted coup is surrounded by so many events and characterized by so many nuances that entire books are dedicated to it. This was the first organized protest against serfdom in Russia, which caused a huge resonance in society and had a significant impact on the political and social life of the subsequent era of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. Nevertheless, in this article we will try to briefly cover the Decembrist uprising.

general information

On December 14, 1825, an attempted coup d'etat took place in the capital of the Russian Empire - St. Petersburg. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded nobles, most of whom were guards officers. The goal of the conspirators was the abolition of serfdom and the abolition of autocracy. It should be noted that in its goals the uprising was significantly different from all other conspiracies of the era of palace coups.

Salvation Union

The War of 1812 had a significant impact on all aspects of people's lives. Hopes arose for possible changes, mainly for the abolition of serfdom. But in order to eliminate serfdom, it was necessary to constitutionally limit monarchical power. The history of Russia during this period was marked by the massive creation of communities of guard officers, the so-called artels, on an ideological basis. Of two such artels, at the very beginning of 1816, the creator was Alexander Muravyov, Sergei Trubetskoy, Ivan Yakushkin became, and Pavel Pestel later joined. The goals of the Union were the liberation of the peasants and the reform of government. Pestel wrote the organization’s charter in 1817; most of the participants were members of Masonic lodges, therefore the influence of Masonic rituals was reflected in the everyday life of the Union. Disagreements between members of the community over the possibility of killing the Tsar during the coup d'etat caused the Union to be dissolved in the fall of 1817.

Welfare Union

At the beginning of 1818, the Union of Welfare was organized in Moscow - a new secret society. It consisted of two hundred people, concerned with the idea of ​​forming an advanced public opinion, create liberal movement. For this purpose, it was planned to organize legal charitable, literary, and educational organizations. More than ten union councils were founded throughout the country, including in St. Petersburg, Chisinau, Tulchin, Smolensk and other cities. “Side” councils were also formed, for example, the council of Nikita Vsevolzhsky, “Green Lamp”. Members of the Union had to actively participate in public life and try to occupy high positions in the army and government agencies. The composition of society changed regularly: the first participants started families and retired from political affairs, they were replaced by new ones. In January 1821, a congress of the Welfare Union was held in Moscow for three days, due to differences between supporters of moderate and radical movements. The activities of the congress were led by Mikhail Fonvizin and it turned out that informers informed the government about the existence of the Union, and a decision was made to formally dissolve it. This made it possible to free ourselves from people who entered the community by accident.

Reorganization

The dissolution of the Welfare Union was a step towards reorganization. New societies appeared: Northern (in St. Petersburg) and Southern (in Ukraine). Main role in the Northern Society they played Sergei Trubetskoy, Nikita Muravyov, and later Kondraty Ryleev, famous poet, who rallied the fighting Republicans around himself. The head of the organization was Pavel Pestel, guard officers Mikhail Naryshkin, Ivan Gorstkin, naval officers Nikolay Chizhov and brothers Bodisko, Mikhail and Boris took an active part. The Kryukov brothers (Nikolai and Alexander) and the Bobrishchev-Pushkin brothers took part in the Southern Society: Pavel and Nikolai, Alexey Cherkasov, Ivan Avramov, Vladimir Likharev, Ivan Kireev.

Background to the events of December 1825

The year of the Decembrist uprising has arrived. The conspirators decided to take advantage of the difficult legal situation that arose around the right to the throne after the death of Alexander I. There was secret document, according to which Konstantin Pavlovich, the brother of the childless Alexander I, next in seniority behind him, renounced the throne. Thus, the next brother, Nikolai Pavlovich, although extremely unpopular among the military-bureaucratic elite, had an advantage. At the same time, even before the secret document was opened, Nicholas hastened to renounce the rights to the throne in favor of Constantine under the pressure of M. Miloradovich, the Governor-General of St. Petersburg.

Change of power

On November 27, 1825, the history of Russia began a new round - a new emperor, Constantine, formally appeared. Even several coins were minted with his image. However, Constantine did not officially accept the throne, but did not renounce it either. A very tense and ambiguous interregnum situation was created. As a result, Nicholas decided to declare himself emperor. The oath was scheduled for December 14. Finally, the change of power came - the moment that members of the secret communities had been waiting for. It was decided to start the Decembrist uprising.

The uprising on December 14 was a consequence of the fact that, as a result of a long night meeting on the night of 13 to 14, the Senate nevertheless recognized Nikolai Pavlovich’s legal right to the throne. The Decembrists decided to prevent the Senate and troops from taking the oath to the new king. It was impossible to delay, especially since the minister already had a huge number of denunciations on his desk, and arrests could soon begin.

History of the Decembrist uprising

The conspirators planned to occupy the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace, arrest the royal family and, if certain circumstances arose, kill them. Sergei Trubetskoy was elected to lead the uprising. Next, the Decembrists wanted to demand from the Senate the publication of a national manifesto proclaiming the destruction of the old government and the establishment of a provisional government. Admiral Mordvinov and Count Speransky were supposed to be members of the new revolutionary government. The deputies were entrusted with the task of approving the constitution - the new fundamental law. If the Senate refused to announce a national manifesto containing points on the abolition of serfdom, equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms, and the introduction of mandatory for all classes military service, the introduction of jury trials, the election of officials, abolition, etc., it was decided to force him to do this forcibly.

Then it was planned to convene a National Council, which would decide the choice of form of government: a republic or If a republican form was chosen, the royal family should have been expelled from the country. Ryleev first proposed sending Nikolai Pavlovich to Fort Ross, but then he and Pestel plotted the murder of Nikolai and, perhaps, Tsarevich Alexander.

December 14 - Decembrist uprising

Let us briefly describe what happened on the day of the coup attempt. Early in the morning, Ryleev turned to Kakhovsky with a request to enter the Winter Palace and kill Nicholas. He initially agreed, but then refused. By eleven in the morning the Moscow Guards Regiment, the Grenadier Regiment, and the sailors of the Guards Marine Crew were withdrawn. In total - about three thousand people. However, a couple of days before the Decembrist uprising of 1825 began, Nicholas was warned about the intentions of members of secret societies by the Decembrist Rostovtsev, who considered the uprising unworthy of noble honor, and the chief of the General Staff, Dibich. Already at seven in the morning, the senators took the oath to Nicholas and proclaimed him emperor. Trubetskoy, appointed leader of the uprising, did not appear on the square. The regiments on Senate Street continued to stand and wait for the conspirators to come to a common opinion on the appointment of a new leader.

Climax Events

On this day, the history of Russia was made. Count Miloradovich, who appeared before the soldiers on horseback, began to say that if Constantine refused to be emperor, then nothing could be done. Obolensky, who had left the ranks of the rebels, convinced Miloradovich to drive away, and then, seeing that he was not reacting, lightly wounded him in the side with a bayonet. At the same time, Kakhovsky shot the count with a pistol. Prince Mikhail Pavlovich and Colonel Sturler tried to bring the soldiers to obedience, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the rebels twice repulsed the attack of the Horse Guards, led by Alexei Orlov.

Tens of thousands of residents of St. Petersburg gathered in the square; they sympathized with the rebels and threw stones and logs at Nicholas and his retinue. As a result, two “rings” of people were formed. One surrounded the rebels and consisted of those who came earlier, the other was formed from those who came later, the gendarmes no longer allowed them into the square, so people stood behind the government troops who surrounded the Decembrists. Such an environment was dangerous, and Nicholas, doubting his success, decided to prepare crews for members of the royal family in case they needed to escape to Tsarskoe Selo.

Unequal forces

The newly-crowned emperor understood that the results of the Decembrist uprising may not be in his favor, so he asked Metropolitans Eugene and Seraphim to appeal to the soldiers with a request to retreat. This did not bring results, and Nikolai’s fears intensified. Nevertheless, he managed to take the initiative into his own hands while the rebels were choosing a new leader (Prince Obolensky was appointed to them). Government troops were more than four times larger than the Decembrist army: nine thousand infantry bayonets, three thousand cavalry sabers were assembled, and later artillerymen were called in (thirty-six guns), in total about twelve thousand people. The rebels, as already noted, numbered three thousand.

Defeat of the Decembrists

When the Guards artillery appeared from the Admiralteysky Boulevard, Nikolai ordered a volley of grapeshot to be fired at the “rabble” located on the roofs of the Senate and neighboring houses. The Decembrists responded with rifle fire, and then fled under a hail of grapeshot. Shots continued after them, the soldiers rushed onto the ice of the Neva with the goal of moving to Vasilyevsky Island. On the Neva ice, Bestuzhev attempted to establish battle formation and go on the offensive again. The troops lined up, but were fired at by cannonballs. The ice was breaking and people were drowning. The plan was a failure, and by nightfall hundreds of corpses lay on the streets and squares.

Arrest and trial

Questions about what year the Decembrist uprising took place and how it ended will probably not be answered by many today. However, this event largely influenced the further history of Russia. The significance of the Decembrist uprising cannot be underestimated - they were the first in the empire to create a revolutionary organization, develop a political program, prepare and implement an armed uprising. At the same time, the rebels were not prepared for the trials that followed the uprising. Some of them were executed by hanging after the trial (Ryleev, Pestel, Kakhovsky and others), the rest were exiled to Siberia and other places. There was a split in society: some supported the tsar, others supported the failed revolutionaries. And the surviving revolutionaries themselves, defeated, shackled, captured, lived in deep mental torment.

Finally

The article briefly described how the Decembrist uprising took place. They were driven by one desire - to take a revolutionary stand against autocracy and serfdom in Russia. For enthusiastic young men, outstanding military men, philosophers and economists, prominent thinkers, the coup attempt became an exam: someone showed strengths, some were weak, some showed determination, courage, self-sacrifice, while others began to hesitate, could not maintain the sequence of actions, and retreated.

The historical significance of the Decembrist uprising is that they laid the foundations of revolutionary traditions. Their speech marked the beginning of the further development of liberation thoughts in serf Russia.

Uprising of December 14, 1825, results and significance

On November 19, 1825, Emperor Alexander I died suddenly in Taganrog. His sudden death gave rise to numerous legends and speculations. Many said that the king did not die, but simply left the throne in such an extravagant way. After some time, rumors appeared that the emperor lived under the name of the holy elder Fyodor Kuzmich and preached the Word of God. Some believed this, remembering that in last years Alexander I often spoke of his desire to retire and retire to a monastery.

Be that as it may, after the real or imaginary death of the emperor, a period of interregnum began, which resulted in a dynastic crisis. Alexander I had no children. According to the law on succession to the throne (1797), power was supposed to pass to the next of the sons of Paul I - Constantine. But he turned out to be a great original. Long before the death of his older brother, he renounced the crown (he was afraid to share his father’s fate), went to Poland and married a Polish aristocrat there. In 1823, Alexander I appointed his next oldest brother, Nicholas, as heir, but did not dare to publish this manifesto. Now Nikolai reminded of his rights, but the St. Petersburg governor, General M.A. Miloradovich advised him to obey the law and give up the throne to his older brother. On November 27, a unique event occurred. Nicholas, along with officials and troops, swore allegiance to Constantine, and he, in turn, swore allegiance to Nicholas. People in the capital started making nasty jokes about this.

The Decembrists believed that the dynastic crisis was given to them by fate itself. The authorities were at a loss, and the authority of the monarchy was falling every day. I.I. Pushchin wrote then: “The opportunity is convenient. If we do nothing, we will earn the name of scoundrels with all our might.” Let us remember that the coup was planned for the summer of 1826. We had to urgently change tactics and strategy.

The uprising was scheduled for December 14, 1825 - the day of the re-oath to Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich.

The coup plan was prepared by the colonel elected by the dictator - Prince S.P. Trubetskoy.

It was assumed that the rebels would simultaneously capture the Winter Palace (the arrest of the royal family), the Peter and Paul Fortress (its cannons control the city center) and Senate Square (in the Senate officials would gather to take the oath).

It was necessary to prevent the oath of office of senators and members of the State Council, and then force them to announce the “Manifesto to the Russian People” compiled the day before by Trubetskoy. This program document was the quintessence of P.I.’s “Russian Truth”. Pestel and “Constitution” N.M. Muravyova. It proclaimed the abolition of serfdom, declared political freedoms, created a Provisional Government, and appointed the convening of the Great Council, which was obliged to decide the fate of Russia.

Trubetskoy really counted on the support of Southern society, but he did not know that the day before (December 13) P.I. was arrested in Tulchin. Pestel.

The uprising began on December 14 at 11 am. Things went very badly. Instead of the planned six regiments, only three were raised (Moscow, Grenadier and naval crew). Capture Peter and Paul Fortress lost his temper. It turned out that the officials swore allegiance to Nicholas early in the morning. A.I. Yakubovich refused to arrest the royal family. Seeing that his plan was not being implemented, Trubetskoy did not go to Senate Square at all, where the main events unfolded.

The rebel soldiers formed a square in the square and shouted the slogan “Long live the Constitution!” The officers told them that the Constitution was the wife of Konstantin Pavlovich, from whom Nicholas took the throne. A huge crowd of onlookers had gathered. At first the emperor did not want to shed blood and repeatedly sent envoys to the rebels. Governor M.A. Miloradovich was shot by P.G. Kakhovsky. The youngest of Paul's sons, Michael, and Metropolitans Eugene and Seraphim also did not succeed in negotiations. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the emperor ordered artillery to be delivered to the square, already cordoned off by troops loyal to him. The Decembrists were shot point-blank with grapeshot. The death toll varies, according to various sources, from 100 to 1,300 people.

On December 29, 1825, the Chernigov regiment under the command of S.I. rebelled in Ukraine. Muravyov-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumina. The government sent troops of General F.K. against the rebels. Geismar. On January 3, the rebels were defeated.

The investigation into the case “about the riot in St. Petersburg and Ukraine” was conducted by a specially organized Secret investigative committee. A total of 316 people were arrested. Nicholas I personally interrogated some suspects. They most often did not hide the truth and did not shut themselves up, believing in the rightness of their cause. As a result, 289 people were found guilty. 88 officers were sent to hard labor in Siberia, 178 soldiers were sentenced to punishment by spitsruten, and five (K.F. Ryleeva, P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P.G. Kakhovsky) was sentenced to quartering by the Supreme Criminal Court. At the last moment, the quartering was replaced by hanging. On July 13, 1826, the sentence was carried out in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Historians are still arguing about the reasons for the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, citing convincing arguments about the unsatisfactory preparation of the enterprise, lack of coordination of actions, indecisiveness and even betrayal of leaders, cohesion conservative camp etc. But the main reason for the failure was formulated by A.I. Herzen, who stated that “there were not enough people in the square.”

Don't tell dreams. Freudians may come to power.

Stanislav Jerzy Lec

In the history of every country there are several dates known to everyone. In Russian history, these dates include December 14, 1825. On this day, conspirators-members of the Northern Society led several guards units to Senate Square, who followed them, convinced that they were going to defend Emperor Constantine, to whom they had already sworn allegiance.

The speech was not prepared. The date of the uprising was dictated by the news of the unexpected death of Emperor Alexander and information that the conspiracy had been discovered, all names were known to the government. The “dictator” of the uprising, elected by the Northern Society, Guards Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, did not appear on the square. For about five hours, the soldiers stood in a square on Senate Square, waiting for some decision on the part of the conspiratorial officers commanding them, who also did not know what to do. It was cold, the temperature dropped to minus 8. It was getting dark when Nikolai sent for artillery. A feature of the guards conspiracies of the 18th century. there was a lack of resistance on the part of the overthrown sovereigns: neither Anna Leopoldovna nor Peter III, nor Paul I defended themselves; taken by surprise, they lost power and, as a rule, their lives.

Nicholas I decided not to give up. Convinced of his right to the throne, he showed determination and energy in the difficult conditions of confusion caused by the double oath. Without ceasing to attempt negotiations with the rebels, he gathered forces. A different behavior of the emperor could have given victory to the “Decembrists”, despite their immobility.

After several volleys of grapeshot into a motionless square of rebels, the soldiers fled, losing killed and wounded. The rebellion was suppressed. On December 29, 1825, the Chernigov regiment rebelled in the south. The command was assumed by a member of the Southern Society, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol. On January 3, 1826, the Chernigovites were defeated. Arrests began throughout the country. Nicholas I, who closely monitored the investigation, believed that about 6 thousand people were involved in the conspiracy3. From large number those arrested were chosen as “leaders” - 121 people. They were tried, five were sentenced to death by hanging, the rest were sentenced to various terms of hard labor in Siberia. The leaders of the Southern Union were hanged - Pavel Pestel, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, the head of the Northern Union Kondraty Ryleev and Pyotr Kakhovsky, who mortally wounded Count Miloradovich on the square.

The execution of the leaders of the uprising shocked Russian society, significantly contributing to the birth of the legend. Elizabeth abolished the death penalty in Russia. At the same time, the Code of Tsar Alexei, published in 1649 and providing for the death penalty for 63 types of crimes, continued to operate in the country - not canceled by anyone and not replaced by anything. The Charter of Peter I was not repealed either: death for 112 types of crimes. In the 75 years preceding December 14, 1825, only Mirovich and the Pugachevites were executed. But thousands of people were beaten to death with whips, spitzrutens, and executed without trial. In July 1831, military settlers rebelled in Staraya Russa. 2,500 people were driven through the line, 150 died from spitzrutens. This did not cause any disturbance in society.

The execution of the Decembrists shocked society, because it was the execution of “our own”: brilliant guards officers, representatives of the most noble noble families, heroes of the Napoleonic wars. The conspirators were young ( average age those convicted were 27.4 years old) and educated: some of those arrested testified in French.

The martyrdom of five leaders of the movement, cruel punishments of other participants - hard labor, settlement, fortress, sending to the Caucasus as ordinary soldiers under Chechen bullets - turned the Decembrists into saints of the Russian revolutionary movement, into the forerunners of the liberation movement, into the first conscious fighters against autocracy.

After the massacre of the rebels, their names were banned in Russia; neither the movement itself nor its participants could be spoken or written: censorship closely monitored compliance with the ban. The first who began to speak openly about the Decembrists, the “phalanx of heroes” who rebelled for freedom, was Alexander Herzen, who lived abroad. The cover of The Polar Star, which he began publishing in London in his Free Russian Printing House, was decorated with profiles of executed Decembrists. Important role Polish emigrants who fled Poland after the defeat of the uprising of 1831 and found Russian sympathizers abroad - Alexander Herzen, Mikhail Bakunin, who called themselves followers of the ideas of the Decembrists - played a role in spreading the legend about the Decembrists. Thus, for Polish democratic emigrants, the Decembrists became an example of Russian democrats, brothers in the struggle “for our and your freedom.” Polish democrats will not stop looking for like-minded people and allies in Russia.

When creating the genealogy of his revolution, Lenin included the Decembrists in it. The scheme turned out to be simple and clear: “The Decembrists woke up Herzen,” Herzen woke up the Narodnaya Volya, and then Lenin had to wake up.

The uprising ended in failure. It is unknown what the conspirators would have done if they had seized power. Posterity was left with only their dreams, set out in sketches of programs, in conversations recorded by memoirists, in detailed testimony of the investigative commission.

The first society of future Decembrists was created in 1816, bore the long name “Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland,” but was known as the “Union of Salvation.” Its most prominent members are guards officers Nikita Muravyov and Pavel Pestel. Disagreements between the organizers led to the collapse of the Union of Salvation, on the ruins of which the Union of Welfare was formed in January 1818. “The initial intention of society,” as Pavel Pestel said about the goals of the Union of Salvation, “was the liberation of the peasants.” Then, however, the problem of radical social reform gives way to political problem. “The real goal of the first society,” as Pestel answered the investigators, “was the introduction of a monarchical constitutional government”4. Within the framework of the Welfare Union, the goal is narrowed - the Charter makes no mention of the liberation of the peasants, but expresses “hope for the goodwill of the government.” The moderation of the views of the Union of Welfare attracts young officers to it, but raises objections from a number of participants, led by Pestel, who from the beginning of 1820 raised the question of turning Russia into a republic. In 1821, the Welfare Union at a congress in Moscow decided to cease to exist. In place of the abolished union, two societies arise - the Southern, led by Pavel Pestel, and the Northern, led by Nikita Muravyov and Nikolai Turgenev.

All Decembrists agreed on the need for reforms in Russia. Everyone agreed that “the ladder is being swept from above”, that the necessary reforms (or even revolution, according to some) could only be carried out from above - through a military conspiracy. Shortly before the uprising, Pestel decisively asserted: “The masses are nothing, they will be what the individuals who are everything want.”

With complete similarity of views regarding the answer to the question: how to do it? There were heated debates regarding the answer to the question: what to do? The debate about the changes Russia needed can be boiled down to three main views. The ideologist of the Northern Society was Nikita Muravyov (1796-1843), who wrote a draft constitution approved by the majority of the “northerners”. Nikita Muravyov's project provided for the transformation of Russia into a constitutional monarchy. An extremely high electoral qualification (real estate worth 30 thousand rubles or capital worth 60 thousand rubles) sharply limited the number of electors to the upper house of parliament - the Supreme Duma. The Constitution declared that “serfdom and slavery are abolished.” The land remained with the landowners, the peasants received a small (2 dessiatines) allotment.

The second group of views was represented by Nikolai Turgenev (1789-1871). Soon after the formation of the Northern Society, he emigrated and did not take part in the uprising, but was sentenced in absentia to eternal hard labor - after the death penalty, this was the most severe punishment.

Very influential in Decembrist circles, Nikolai Turgenev, unlike Nikita Muravyov, considered the first priority to be the liberation of the peasants. One should, he said, begin with the establishment of civil freedom before dreaming of political freedom. "It is not permissible to dream about political freedom there,” wrote Nikolai Turgenev, “where millions of unfortunate people do not even know simple human freedom.”

Putting the liberation of the peasants at the forefront, Nikolai Turgenev sharply objected to Nikita Muravyov’s projects, which expanded the rights of the nobility. Since the absolutism of the monarch was seen by him as a factor restraining the desires of the nobility and landowners, and since slavery could fall, as Pushkin put it, “at the tsar’s mania,” he considered republican dreams premature.

The program of Pavel Pestel (1793-1826) can be considered a unique synthesis of the views of Nikita Muravyov and Nikolai Turgenev. The son of the Siberian governor-general, who was considered a bribe-taker even among governors-general, who made a brilliant military career (in 1821 - colonel), stood out among his contemporaries for his intelligence, knowledge and strong character, Pavel Pestel was the most prominent figure in all secret societies, starting with the Union of Salvation. His program, set out in the unfinished Russkaya Pravda, the code of laws of the future Russian republic, was the most developed and most radical document of the Decembrist movement.

Pavel Pestel suggested new way development of Russia. Mikhail Bakunin was the first to notice this. After the death of Nicholas I and the accession to the throne of Alexander II, who began a reform program, Mikhail Bakunin, who lived in exile, wrote the brochure “The People's Cause: Romanov, Pugachev or Pestel.” The old revolutionary, who believed in the possibility of a “revolution from above,” in the transformation of the country “according to the tsar’s mania,” called on Alexander II to convene a Zemsky National Council and at it resolve all zemstvo affairs, and receive the blessing of the people for the necessary reforms. There are three possible ways for the people (and for fighters for the people - revolutionaries): Romanov, Pugachev, or, if a new Pestel appears, then he. “Let’s tell the truth,” Mikhail Bakunin wrote in 1862, “we would most willingly follow Romanov if Romanov could and wanted to turn from the St. Petersburg emperor into the Zemsky Tsar.” The whole question, however, is “does he want to be the Russian Zemstvo Tsar Romanov, or the Holstein-Gothorpe Emperor of St. Petersburg?” In the first case, he alone, because “the Russian people still recognize him,” can carry out and complete a great peaceful revolution without shedding a single drop of Russian or Slavic blood.” But if the Tsar betrays Russia, Russia will be plunged into bloody disasters. Mikhail Bakunin asks: what form will the movement take then, and who will lead it? “The impostor-tsar, Pugachev or the new Pestel-dictator? If Pugachev, then God forbid that the political genius of Pestel is found in him, because without him he will drown Russia and, perhaps, the entire future of Russia in blood. If it’s Pestel, then let him be a people’s man, like Pugachev, otherwise the people will not tolerate him.”5

The revolutionary radicalism of Pestel's plans attracted Bakunin. The “political genius” of the leader of the Southern Society was manifested, according to the author of “People’s Cause,” both in the talent of a conspirator and in the program for “saving Russia.” Decembrist Ivan Gorbachevsky will write in his memoirs: Pestel was an excellent conspirator. And he will add: “Pestel was a student of Count Palen, no more and no less.”6 In 1818, the young guards officer Pavel Pestel met with General Peter Palen, the leader of the palace coup on March 11, 1801, which ended with the assassination of Paul I and the enthronement of Alexander I. 72-year-old Palen, retired and living on his estate near Mi -tavoy, often talked with Pestel and once gave him advice: “Young man! If you want to do something by secret society, then this is stupidity. Because if there are twelve of you, then the twelfth will invariably be a traitor! I have experience and I know the world and people."7

The “political genius” of Pavel Pestel did not manifest itself, of course, in the organization of a secret society, although the Southern society was better organized than the Northern one. Perhaps if Colonel Pestel had been in St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825, the conspirators would have been able to seize power. Without Count Palen, the conspiracy against Paul I would hardly have succeeded. Pavel Pestel left his name in the history of Russia as the author of “Russian Truth” - a project for the radical reorganization of the country. Nikolai Turgenev compared Pestel's program with the “brilliant utopias” of Fourier and Owen. The authors of “The History of Russian Utopia” are influenced by Pestel Mably, Morelli, Babeuf8.

Pestel solves two questions that occupied Russian society throughout the 18th century clearly and clearly: rejecting all forms of restriction of the monarchy, he proposes to make Russia a republic; “slavery must be decisively abolished, and the nobility must certainly forever renounce the vile privilege of possessing other people.” At the same time, all classes are destroyed: “... the very title of nobility must be destroyed; its members become part of the general composition of Russian citizenship.” Pestel’s program, when read at the end of the 20th century, attracts attention not only as historical document- evidence of the state of mind in early XIX century, but also the relevance of some decisions debated by Russian society 170 years after the death of the leader of the Southern Society.

Insisting on the liberation of the peasants, Pavel Pestel considered it necessary to preserve communal land ownership, which was supposed to exist alongside private ownership of land. Pestel’s reluctance to give all the land to private owners is associated with his sharp condemnation of the “aristocracy of wealth,” in other words, capitalist tendencies. The “aristocracy of wealth” seems to him to be much more harmful to the people than the feudal aristocracy.

Like all other utopians, the author of Russkaya Pravda does not believe that the people, whose happiness he is so concerned about, will be able to understand their own benefit. Therefore, Pavel Pestel devotes Special attention the creation of the Ministry of Police (“decency order”), the organization of a system of espionage (“secret search”), censorship, proposes to establish a corps of gendarmes (“internal guard”) of one thousand people per province, believing that “fifty thousand gendarmes will be enough for the entire state "

Issues of the administrative structure of the state occupy a lot of space in the project. The main administrative unit was supposed to be the volost. The country's population was divided between volosts, which became self-governing. The volost society provided land plots for the use of all citizens assigned to the volost.

The idea of ​​universal equality underlay Pestel's solution to the problem of managing an empire. He categorically rejected federalist ideas, which Alexander I could not get rid of until the end of his life. Pavel Pestel saw Russia as centralized, united and indivisible. “Russkaya Pravda” proposed to annex all of Moldova, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Far East and part of Mongolia to the empire. Pestel considered it necessary to resettle the rebellious Caucasian mountaineers who resisted Russian troops to central Russia. Orthodoxy was declared the state religion, the Russian language the only language of the empire.

Russkaya Pravda offered Jews a choice: assimilation or leaving Russia for the Middle East, where they could found their own state.

The above postulates of Pestel demonstrate the attitude of the head of Southern society to the imperial problem: the Russian republic seemed to him to be united centralized state with a single people made up of all the peoples of the empire. In fact, Alexander I turned Russia into federal state, granting broad rights to Poland and Finland. Pavel Pestel categorically rejects the principle of federalism. He consistently pursues this idea, offering his final solution to the “Polish question.”

Southern society, seriously preparing for a coup, began negotiations with Polish revolutionaries. For Pestel, who participated in one of the secret meetings, it was important to get the support of the Poles, who were expected to organize an uprising and the murder of Grand Duke Constantine in Warsaw simultaneously with Russia. Representatives of Polish revolutionary societies demanded recognition of Poland's right to independence. In 1825, a small radical group of conspirators merged with the Southern Society - the Society of United Slavs, whose members included both Russians and Poles. Their program dreamed of creating a federation of Slavic republics: its territory was washed by four seas - the Black, White, Adriatic, and Arctic Ocean.

The ideas that would soon acquire the name “Slavophilism” did not captivate Pavel Pestel. He agreed to the independence of Poland, but limited this agreement with many conditions.

First of all, the right of the Poles to unconditionally secede from Russia was rejected: the revolutionary provisional government, after the establishment of the republic, recognized the independence of Poland and transferred to it those provinces (provinces) that agreed to join the Polish state. Until this time, Polish territory continues to remain Russian property. When determining the boundaries of the future Polish state, Russia has a decisive vote. Poland and Russia sign a cooperation agreement, the main condition of which is the inclusion of Polish troops in the Russian army in the event of war. Government system administrative structure and the basic principles of the social system correspond to the principles of “Russian Truth”. Pestel wanted to prevent the influence of the Polish "aristocracy" on society and feared the Poles' attachment to the monarchy.

Northern society rejected Pestel's proposals on the “Polish question.” Nikita Muravyov believed that it was impossible to return the lands conquered by Russia, one should not enter into negotiations with the peoples inhabiting the state, and even more so it was impossible to agree with concessions in relation to foreign country, which in the future may show hostility towards Russia.

The “northerners” refused to accept all other points of Pestel’s program. The pretext was the colonel’s ambition, which frightened many “Decembrists.” There were reasons for this. Pestel's imperious character is noted by everyone who knew him. In addition, he foresaw the long dictatorship necessary for the construction of the Russian republic. In response to a remark by one of the Decembrists regarding a dictatorship that would last several months, Pestel sharply objected: “Do you think it is possible to change this entire state machine, give it a different basis, accustom people to new orders within a few months? For this you will need, at least, about ten years!”9. The possibility of having the author of Russkaya Pravda as dictator for at least ten years frightened members of the Northern Society. But most of all - and in this main reason refusal to accept “Russian Truth” by the “northerners”. - the extremism of Pestel’s program frightened me. The extreme nature of his views was revealed during interrogations of the leader of the Southern Society.

The Decembrists openly told investigators, including the emperor, about their views. On both sides of the investigative table sat “their own” - nobles, officers, often good friends, sometimes relatives. But it’s one thing to talk about your views, another thing to name your accomplices. The conspirators answered the question about the other participants in different ways. Pavel Pestel named everyone. Evgeny Yakushkin, the son of a Decembrist, who knew well his father’s comrades who had returned from exile and helped write their memoirs, expressed his opinion about Pestel: “None of the members of the secret society had such definite and firm convictions and faith in the future. He was unscrupulous about funds... When the Northern society began to act indecisively, he announced that if their case was discovered, he would not let anyone escape, that the more victims there were, the greater the benefit, and he kept his word. In the investigative commission, he pointed directly at everyone who participated in the society, and if only five people were hanged, and not 500, then Pestel was not at all to blame for this: for his part, he did everything he could for this”10.

A historian of Russian social thought wrote in 1911: “In Pestel’s project we have the first rudiments of socialism, which from the second half of the 19th century century became the dominant worldview among the Russian intelligentsia." Three quarters of a century passed after Pestel’s execution; six years remained before the revolution, which realized some of his ideas.

The Decembrists were tried by the Supreme Criminal Court, in which Speransky participated. He compiled a carefully developed classification of the types and types of political crimes, and he himself categorized everyone involved in the case of the uprising. This determined the degree of punishment. Historians reproach the famous lawyer for the fact that the reasons why the conspirators were assigned to one category or another are often illogical. But Nicholas I was pleased and wrote to his brother Konstantin in Warsaw that he had given “an example trial, built on almost representative principles, thanks to which it was proven in front of the whole world how simple, clear, sacred our cause is.” Konstantin, spoiled by life in Warsaw, believed that the trial in St. Petersburg was illegal, because it was secret, and the accused had no defense.

The basis for the sentence were three crimes committed by the convicts: attempted regicide, rebellion, and military mutiny. The five main criminals were sentenced to quartering, which in Russia in the 19th century. not applied. The emperor decided to replace quartering with hanging.

There is evidence that three hanged men fell from the gallows because the rope broke. Sergei Muravyov allegedly said: “My God, they don’t even know how to hang properly in Russia.”

There were no spare ropes, and it was early, so we had to wait until the shops opened. 25 participants in the uprising were sentenced to eternal hard labor, another 62 to various terms of hard labor, 29 were exiled or demoted.

Ordinary participants in the uprising - soldiers and officers - were also subjected to repression. Two types of punishment were applied to them. The first one is spitzrutens. The condemned man, tied to a gun pointed at him with a bayonet, slowly walked through a line of soldiers armed with long, flexible rods. Each soldier took a step forward and delivered a blow to his bare chest or back. Peter I introduced spitzrutens into Russia in 1701, borrowing from the cultured Germans. The number of blows ranged from 10 to 12 thousand (12 thousand blows, as a rule, killed the convicted person). 6 soldiers were sentenced to this punishment; in total, 188 people were punished with spitzrutens. The second punishment for the soldiers and officers of the rebel regiments was transfer to the Caucasus, where there was a war with the highlanders. 27,400 people were sent to the Caucasus11.

The English historian carefully notes that although the Decembrists were punished severely and were treated cruelly, the sentence cannot be considered disproportionate to the crime. They were tried for the most serious crimes found in any criminal code. They did not deny their guilt. In 1820, the English historian gives an example, Arthur Thistlewood organized a conspiracy aimed at killing all the ministers. The conspirators did not have time to do anything, they only planned. But the court sentenced five of the leaders to hang, and exiled the remaining participants to Australia. English public opinion was outraged not by the actions of the authorities, but by the criminal intentions of the conspirators12.

Russian society did not forgive Nicholas I for his reprisals against the Decembrists: their heroic aura grew as some ideas from their ideological baggage began to gain wide popularity in Russia.

Repression Soviet era demonstrated the relative nature of the threshold of cruelty, the horror of mass terror. Alexander Solzhenitsyn in “The Gulag Archipelago” compares the tsarist penal servitude with the “extermination-labor” Soviet camps: “At the Akatui brutal penal servitude, work lessons were easy, doable for everyone...”13. Varlam Shalamov in “Kolyma Stories” says that the norm of a Soviet prisoner was 15 times higher than the norm of a Decembrist convict. The Akatui penal servitude, where convicts mined silver, lead, and zinc, was a terrible place. But everything is learned by comparison. An extremely severe punishment for its time seems almost easy for contemporaries of the construction of socialism.

The impression made by the trial of the Decembrists was all the stronger because they knew the rebels by sight, or at least knew their names. The circle from which they came was very narrow. The Decembrist uprising, Mikhail Bakunin would say 30 years later, was “mainly a movement of the educated and privileged part of Russia”14. Vasily Klyuchevsky will say even more clearly: “The event of December 14 was of great importance in the history of the Russian nobility: it was the last military-noble movement.” The historian states: “December 14 ended political role nobility"15.

Subsequent events confirmed the accuracy of Klyuchevsky’s observation, who saw the reason for the weakness of the movement in the lack of real programs and the internal split of the conspirators. “Their fathers were Russians, whom their upbringing made French; The children were also French by upbringing, but they were the ones who passionately wanted to become Russian.”16

From the book Course of Russian History (Lectures LXII-LXXXVI) author

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From the book Russian History author Platonov Sergey Fedorovich

December 14, 1825 The taking of the oath to the new sovereign was scheduled for Monday, December 14; the night before, a meeting of the State Council was planned, in which Emperor Nicholas wanted to personally explain the circumstances of his accession in the presence of

From the book The Siege and Storming of the Tekin Fortress of Geok-Tepe (with two plans) (old spelling) author author unknown

IV Establishment of the 1st parallel. - Work from December 24 to December 28. - Tenintsev's foray on December 28. - Attack of the Grand Ducal Kala. - Sally of the Tekins on December 30th. - The heroic feat of bombardier Agathon Nikitin The battle of the detachment of Major General Petrusevich, December 23, capturing attention