Decembrist revolt. Decembrist uprising on Senate Square Polki participants of the December uprising of 1825

This day in history:

Decembrist revolt. Briefly

The Decembrist uprising was a forceful attempt by young representatives of the highest aristocracy of the Russian Empire, mainly active and retired officers of the guard and navy, to change the political system. The uprising took place on December 14 (December 26 according to the new People style) 1825 in St. Petersburg, on Senate Square and was suppressed by troops loyal to the authorities.

Decembrist revolt of 1825

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

Disappointment of noble intellectuals with the failure of the liberal reforms declared by Emperor Alexander I upon his accession to the throne.

Dissatisfaction with the gradual return of power to a reactionary, protective domestic policy

European education and upbringing received by representatives of the St. Petersburg Light, which made it possible to more sensitively grasp liberal Western ideas.

Most of the Decembrists studied in cadet corps, land, sea, page, and cadet corps were then hotbeds of general liberal education and were least of all similar to technical and military educational institutions *

The difference in the orders of European and Russian, learned from their own experience by officers who returned from foreign anti-Napoleonic campaigns

The unjust structure of Russian society: slavery, disrespect for individual rights, contempt for public interests. savagery of morals, rigidity of the people, the difficult situation of the Russian soldier in military settlements, indifference of society

Kuchelbecker, during interrogation by the investigative commission, admitted that the main reason that forced him to take part in the secret society was his grief over the corruption of morals discovered among the people as a consequence of oppression. “Looking at the brilliant qualities with which God has endowed the Russian people, unique in the world in glory and power, I grieved in my soul that all this was suppressed, withering and, perhaps, would soon fall, without bearing any fruit in the world *”

Decembrists

Prince, colonel, duty staff officer of the 4th Infantry Corps S. Trubetskoy (1790 - 1860)

Prince, Major General, commander of the 19th Infantry Division S. Volkonsky (1788 - 1865)

Collegiate assessor I. Pushchin (1798 - 1859)

Officer (retired) of the Guards Jaeger Regiment M. Yakushkin (1793 - 1857)

Poet K. Ryleev (1795 - 1826)

Commander of the Vyatka Infantry Regiment, Colonel P. Pestel (1793 - 1826)

Retired lieutenant Pyotr Kakhovsky (1799-1826)

Second Lieutenant of the Poltava Infantry Regiment M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin (1801 - 1826)

Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol (1796 - 1826)

Captain of the Guards General Staff N. Muravyov (1795 - 1843)

General A. Muravyov (1792 - 1863)

Poet W. Küchelbecker (1797 - 1846)

General M. Fonvizin (1787 - 1854)

Retired Lieutenant Colonel M. Muravyov-Apostol (1793-1886)

Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards M. Lunin (1787 - 1845)

Ruler of the chancellery under St. Petersburg Governor General F. Glinka (1786 - 1880)

Scientist V. Steingel (1783 - 1862)

Naval officer, director of the museum at the Admiralty N. Bestuzhev (1791 - 1855)

Naval officer, galleon commander K. Thorson (1793 - 1851)

Konstantin Petrovich Thorson participated as a midshipman in the battle with the Swedes in the Gulf of Finland in 1808. As a lieutenant on the sloop "Vostok" he circumnavigated the world. In 1824 he was promoted to captain-lieutenant - a brilliant career, a favorite of the fleet, close to the highest circles of the empire. After the defeat of the December uprising, in 1826, he was sentenced to hard labor. In the Nerchinsky mines, in the Petrovsky casemate, he pondered a program for the development of the productive forces of Siberia. During his eternal exile in Selenginsk, he set himself the goal of being useful to the region by introducing machines, and he himself built a threshing machine. He was engaged in melon growing. During his voyage to Antarctica on the sloop Vostok, Bellingshausen named the island after him, which was then renamed Vysoky

Lieutenant of Railways G. Batenkov (1793 - 1863)

Naval officer V. Romanov (1796 - 1864)

General Staff Officer N. Basargin (1800 - 1861)

Naval officer, teacher of the Naval Cadet Corps D. Zavalishin (1804-1892)………

Goals of the Decembrist uprising

Among its leaders they were vague. “When going out into the streets, (the leaders) did not carry with them a specific plan for government; they simply wanted to take advantage of the confusion at court in order to call society to action. Their plan is this: if successful, contact the State Council and the Senate with a proposal to form a provisional government... The provisional government was supposed to manage affairs until the meeting of the Zemstvo Duma... The Zemstvo Duma, as a constituent assembly, was supposed to develop a new state structure. Thus, the leaders of the movement set themselves the goal of a new order, leaving the development of this order to the representatives of the land, which means that the movement was caused not by a specific plan for the state structure, but by more boiling feelings that encouraged them to somehow direct the matter along a different track.”*

Chronology of the Decembrist uprising of 1825

1816 - A secret society was formed in St. Petersburg from guards officers of the general staff under the leadership of Nikita Muravyov and Prince Trubetskoy. Called the “Union of Salvation”, it had a vague goal - “to assist the government in good endeavors in eradicating all evil in government and in society.”

1818 - The “Union of Salvation” expanded and took the name “Union of Welfare”; the goal is “to promote the good endeavors of the government”

1819 - summer - riots in military settlements in Ukraine

1820, January 17 - Alexander approved instructions for managing universities. The basis is religion and education of obedience

1821 - due to the diversity of opinions of the participants, the “Union of Welfare” broke up into two revolutionary societies. The Southern Society in Kyiv was headed by P. Pestel; Northern, in St. Petersburg - Nikita Muravyov.

1823, January - a political program was adopted at the congress of southern society. called by its author Pestel “Russian Truth”

According to Russkaya Pravda, Russia was supposed to become a republic. Legislative power belonged to the unicameral People's Assembly. Executive power was exercised by the State Duma. Control functions belonged to the Supreme Council; it was assumed that serfdom would be completely abolished

1825, December 29 - 1826, January 3 - uprising of the Chernigov regiment, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin

1826, July 13 - In the morning, at the very time when physical execution was carried out over those sentenced to death, civil execution over other Decembrists, convicted sailors - two captain-lieutenants - K. P. Thorson and N. A. Bestuzhev, eight lieutenants, three midshipmen were sent from the Peter and Paul Fortress to Kronstadt.

At the fortress pier they were loaded onto two twelve-oared whaleboats, on which they could pass under the low St. Isaac's Bridge. The schooner "Experience" was waiting for them behind the bridge. The Emperor personally ordered that the sailing schooner be doubled by a steamship, “so that in the event of adverse winds there could be no interruption in delivering the criminals to Kronstadt to the admiral’s ship without fail at the appointed time.”

At six in the morning on July 13, 1826, the convicts were lined up on the deck of the flagship "Prince Vladimir", where, by a signal shot, representatives from all ships of the squadron (both officers and sailors) were called, who were also lined up on the deck of the flagship, on the mast of which a black flag was raised . The convicts wore uniforms with epaulettes. Above them they broke their swords, tore off their epaulettes and uniforms, and threw it all overboard to the beat of drums.

Many of the officers and sailors standing in the square around were crying, not hiding their tears...

“Emperor Alexander was childless; the throne after him, according to the law on April 5, 1797, should have passed to the next brother, Konstantin, and Konstantin was also unhappy in his family life, divorced his first wife and married a Polish woman; since the children of this marriage could not have the right to the throne, Constantine became indifferent to this right and in 1822, in a letter to his elder brother, renounced the throne. The elder brother accepted the refusal and, with a manifesto of 1823, appointed the brother next to Konstantin, Nikolai, as heir to the throne. (However) this manifesto was not made public or even brought to the attention of the new heir himself. The manifesto was placed in three copies in Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral, in St. Petersburg - in the Senate and in the State Council with the sovereign’s own inscription: “Open after my death”*.

On November 19, 1825, Alexander traveled to the south of Russia and died in Taganrog from typhoid fever. This death led to confusion: Grand Duke Nicholas took the oath to Konstantin, and in Warsaw the elder brother, Konstantin, took the oath to the younger, Nicholas. Communication began, which took a lot of time given the roads of that time.

The Northern Secret Society took advantage of this interregnum. Nicholas agreed to accept the throne, and on December 14 the oath of troops and society was appointed. The day before, members of the secret society decided to act. The initiator was Ryleev, who, however, was confident in the failure of the business, but only insisted: “we still need to start, something will come of it.” Prince S. Trubetskoy was appointed dictator. Members of the Northern Society spread the rumor in the barracks, where the name of Constantine was popular, that Constantine did not want to give up the throne at all, that a violent seizure of power was being prepared, and even that the Grand Duke had been arrested.”

Kakhovsky kills St. Petersburg Governor General Miloradovich

Progress of the uprising. Briefly

On December 14, 1825, part of the Moscow Guards Regiment, part of the Guards Grenadier Regiment and the entire Guards naval crew (about two thousand people in total) refused to take the oath. With banners flying, the soldiers came to Senate Square and formed a square. The “dictator” Prince Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, and they looked for him in vain; Ivan Pushchin was in charge of everything, and Ryleev was partly in charge. “The rebel square stood inactive for a significant part of the day. Grand Duke Nicholas, who gathered around himself the regiments that remained loyal to him and located near the Winter Palace, also remained inactive. Finally, Nicholas was persuaded of the need to finish the matter before nightfall, otherwise another December night would give the rebels the opportunity to act. General Tol, who had just arrived from Warsaw, approached Nicholas: “Sovereign, order the square to be cleared with grapeshot or abdicate the throne.” They fired a blank volley, it had no effect; They shot with grapeshot - the square dissipated; the second salvo increased the body count. This ended the movement of December 14th.”*

On December 29, 1825, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment began, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. On January 3 it was suppressed. 121 members of secret societies were sentenced in various ways: from execution to exile to Siberia for hard labor, to settlement, demotion to soldiers, deprivation of ranks, and deprivation of the nobility.

Pestel, Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Kakhovsky were sentenced to death and hanged on July 13 under Art. Art. 1826 in the Peter and Paul Fortress

The significance of the Decembrist uprising

- “The Decembrists woke up Herzen. Herzen launched revolutionary agitation. It was picked up, expanded, strengthened, and strengthened by raznochintsy revolutionaries, starting with Chernyshevsky and ending with the heroes of “Narodnaya Volya.” The circle of fighters became wider and their connection with the people became closer. “Young navigators of the future storm,” Herzen called them. But it was not yet the storm itself. The storm is the movement of the masses themselves. The proletariat, the only fully revolutionary class, rose at their head and for the first time raised millions of peasants to open revolutionary struggle. The first onslaught of the storm was in 1905. The next one begins to grow before our eyes” (V.I. Lenin. From the article “In Memory of Herzen” (“Sotsial-Demokrat” 1912)

The historian V. Klyuchevsky believed that the main result of the Decembrist uprising was the loss by the Russian nobility and, in particular, the guard, of political significance, political power, the power that it had in the 18th century, overthrowing and elevating Russian tsars to the throne.

Literature

*IN. Klyuchevsky. Russian history course. Lecture LXXXIV

A copy of someone else's materials

After the death of the childless Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich, the next oldest brother, was supposed to ascend to the throne. However, Konstantin Pavlovich, fearing that he would be “strangled, like his father was strangled,” decided to renounce the right to lead the state, and therefore Nicholas, the third son of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna, was declared heir to the throne. Alexander I indicated this in a secret manifesto on August 16, 1823.

Considering that even Nikolai Pavlovich did not know about the exact contents of the manifesto until recently, after the death of the emperor the oath was taken to Constantine.

Coins with the image of the new ruler immediately began to be minted.

“As a loyal subject, I must, of course, grieve over the death of the sovereign; but, as a poet, I rejoice at the accession to the throne of Constantine I,” Alexander Pushkin wrote enthusiastically. — There is a lot of romanticism in him; His stormy youth, campaigns with Suvorov, enmity with the German Barclay are reminiscent of Henry V. Moreover, he is smart, and with smart people everything is somehow better; in a word, I hope a lot of good from him.”

Plans fall 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 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 Constantine, the Decembrist uprising took place in St. Petersburg - an attempt at a coup. 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 spoke

for the murder of Nicholas and even Tsarevich Alexander, the future emperor who abolished serfdom.

By 11 am, the rebels brought troops to Senate Square, but Nikolai Pavlovich, who knew about the impending uprising, had already managed to take the oath and become the legal 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 in the square.

How Nikolai was not killed

The Decembrists appointed Pyotr Kakhovsky, a member of the Northern Secret Society, who, according to contemporaries, had an ardent character and love of freedom, as the killer of Nikolai Pavlovich. On Senate Square, Kakhovsky killed Governor General Miloradovich, who came out to the rebels with a request to stop the riot, and Colonel Sturler, but did not dare to deal with the newly made emperor.

Soon the rebels were surrounded by government troops and a firefight began. Decembrist Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to build soldiers on the ice of the Neva and lead them to the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the government army fired at the rebels from cannons. Cannonballs pierced the ice, and many participants in the uprising drowned in the Neva.

The rebels fled. According to various estimates by historians, between 1.3 thousand and 1.5 thousand people died during the riot. However, there is an opinion that, since government troops received orders not to shoot the rioters, but simply to drive them out of Senate Square, the number of victims did not exceed one hundred people.

Civilized Europe and less cultural Russia

A few days after the mutiny, the Commission for Research on Malicious Societies was established - a body to investigate 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 the Winter Palace, Nicholas I himself acted as the investigator.

The emperor decreed that the five Decembrists should be sentenced to death, and the 120 organizers of the uprising should be exiled to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement. It is interesting that the accused themselves were not present at the trial; they were invited only to announce the verdict.

“For me, Russia is now desecrated, bloodied,” 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. “The Imperial Government, however, is sorely mistaken if it thinks that a purely formal investigation carried out by a commission of eight members - the emperor’s courtiers and aides-de-camp - can arouse confidence in itself in the civilized countries of Europe or even in less cultured Russia,” wrote the British publication The Times.

What to do in exile

According to Nicholas I, in exile the Decembrists would be doomed to spiritual death. However, the convicted rebels created their own “academy” in captivity, including lectures and language learning, reading and discussion of books. Thus, Kuchelbecker conducted 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 printed publications, draw, and play music. In 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 the 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, carried out chemical analysis of mineral spring waters, and carried out seismological measurements.

“Looking at all their works, we see that they explored Siberia in the anthropological, natural, economic, social and ethnographic situation - 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 his novel “The Fencing Teacher” - and, of course, Nicholas I banned the publication of the work of the French author in Russia.

“Nicholas came into the room while I was reading a book to the Empress,” recalls Princess Trubetskoy, a friend of the Empress. — I quickly hid the book. The Emperor approached and asked the Empress:

- Did you read?
- Yes, sir.
- Do you want me to tell you what you read?

The Empress was silent.

— You have read Dumas’s novel “The Fencing Teacher.”
- How do you know this, sir?
- Here you go! This is not difficult to guess. This is the last novel I banned."

Decembrists become atheists

Leo Tolstoy wanted to write several times about participants in the opposition movement. “My Decembrist should 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 view of the new Russia,” the writer said in a letter to Alexander Herzen. However, Tolstoy did not get beyond the fourth chapter - according to his contemporaries, he became disillusioned with the uprising and argued that

“The December riot is the result of the influence of the French aristocracy, most of which emigrated to Russia after the French Revolution.”

It’s interesting how the image of the Decembrist transformed in the 20th century. Despite the fact that Lenin considered the rebels of the past to be out of touch with the people, the participants in the February Revolution viewed them as their predecessors. The Decembrists remained included in the pantheon of heroes even in Stalin's times, while they tried not to mention their religious views (the vast majority of the rebels were Orthodox).

However, sometimes the participants in the events of December 26, 1825 were described as rabid atheists.

A new surge of love for the rebels of the 19th century occurred in the 1970s. At this time, Vladimir Motyl’s film “The Star of Captivating Happiness” was released, telling the story of 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.

Decembrist movement (briefly)

The Decembrist uprising was the first open armed uprising in Russia against autocracy and serfdom. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded nobles, most of whom were guards officers. The attempted coup took place on December 14 (26), 1825 in St. Petersburg, on Senate Square and was suppressed by troops loyal to the emperor.

Background

The reason for the Decembrist uprising was the situation that developed with the succession to the throne after the death of Emperor Alexander I. This is because after the death of the emperor, his brother, Constantine, was to become sovereign. But, even when Alexander I was alive, Constantine abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. The fact that Constantine renounced was not publicly announced, and the people, the army, the state apparatus, due to a lack of information, swore allegiance to Constantine. When it officially became clear that Constantine had abdicated the throne, a re-oath was appointed for December 14, which the conspirators took advantage of.

Uprising plan

The plan for the uprising was adopted on December 13 during meetings of society members at Ryleev’s apartment in St. Petersburg. Decisive importance was attached to the success of performances in the capital. At the same time, troops were supposed to move out in the south of the state, in the 2nd Army. One of the founders of the Salvation Union, S.P., was chosen to play the role of dictator of the uprising. Trubetskoy, colonel of the guard, famous and popular among the soldiers.

On the appointed day, it was decided to withdraw troops to Senate Square, prevent the oath of the Senate and State Council to Nikolai Pavlovich and, on their behalf, publish the “Manifesto to the Russian People,” which proclaimed the abolition of serfdom, freedom of the press, conscience, occupation and movement, and the introduction of universal military service instead of recruitment, the destruction of estates.

Progress of the uprising

1825, December 14, morning - the Moscow Life Guards Regiment entered Senate Square, joined by the Guards Marine Crew and the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, totaling about 3 thousand people. Trubetskoy, chosen as dictator, did not appear. The rebel regiments continued to stand on Senate Square until the conspirators could come to a consensus on the appointment of a new leader.

Who knew about the preparation of the conspiracy, took the oath of the Senate in advance and, having gathered troops loyal to him, surrounded the rebels. After negotiations, in which Metropolitan Seraphim and Governor General of St. Petersburg M.A. took part on behalf of the government. Miloradovich (who was mortally wounded) Nicholas I gave the order to use artillery. The Decembrist uprising was suppressed.

On December 29, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment began under the leadership of S.I. Muravyov-Apostol. However, already on January 2 it was suppressed with the help of government troops.

Consequences

Arrests of participants and instigators began throughout Russia. 579 people were involved in the Decembrist case. 287 were found guilty. Five were sentenced to death (P.I. Pestel, K.F. Ryleev, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, P.G. Kakhovsky, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin). 120 people were sent to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement.

Causes of defeat

Lack of support from all sectors of society, which was not prepared for radical changes;

Narrow social base focused on military revolution and conspiracy;

Lack of necessary unity and consistency in actions;

Bad conspiracy, as a result the government knew about the plans of the rebels;

The unpreparedness of the majority of educated society and the nobility to eliminate autocracy and serfdom;

Cultural and political backwardness of the peasantry and ordinary army personnel.

Historical meaning

Having lost in the socio-political struggle, the rebels won a spiritual and moral victory and showed an example of true service to their fatherland and people.

The experience of the Decembrist uprising became the subject of reflection for the fighters against the monarchy and serfdom that followed them, and influenced the entire course of the Russian liberation movement.

The Decembrist movement had a great influence on the development of Russian culture.

But, based on the specific historical situation, the defeat of the Decembrists noticeably weakened the intellectual potential of Russian society, provoked an increase in the government’s reaction, and delayed, according to P.Ya. Chaadaev, development of Russia for 50 years.

Number of participants more than 3000 people

Decembrist revolt- attempted coup that took place in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on December 14 (26) of the year.

Prerequisites for the uprising

The conspirators decided to take advantage of the complex legal situation that had developed around the rights to the throne after the death of Alexander I. On the one hand, there was a secret document confirming the long-standing renunciation of the throne by the brother next to the childless Alexander in seniority, Konstantin Pavlovich, which gave an advantage to the next brother, who was extremely unpopular among the highest military-bureaucratic elite to Nikolai Pavlovich. On the other hand, even before the opening of this document, Nikolai Pavlovich, under pressure from the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Count M.A. Miloradovich, hastened to renounce his rights to the throne in favor of Konstantin Pavlovich.

Uprising plan

The Decembrists decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to the new king. The rebel troops were supposed to occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, the royal family was planned to be arrested and, under certain circumstances, killed. A dictator was elected to lead the uprising - Prince Sergei Trubetskoy.

After this, it was planned to demand that the Senate publish a national Manifesto, which would proclaim the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. It was supposed to make Count Speransky and Admiral Mordvinov its members (later they became members of the trial of the Decembrists).

Deputies had to approve a new fundamental law - the constitution. If the Senate did not agree to publish the people's manifesto, it was decided to force it to do so. The manifesto contained several points: the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government, the abolition of serfdom, equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms (press, confession, labor), the introduction of jury trials, the introduction of compulsory military service for all classes, the election of officials, the abolition of the poll tax.

Events of December 14 (26), 1825

It is worth noting that, unlike their brother, Alexander I, who regularly received reports about the growth of the spirit of freethinking in the troops and about conspiracies directed against him, Konstantin and Nicholas did not even suspect the existence of secret army societies. They were shocked and depressed by the events of December 14 (26). In his letter to Nicholas on December 20, 1825 (January 1, 1826), Konstantin Pavlovich wrote:

Great God, what events! This bastard was unhappy that he had an angel as his sovereign, and conspired against him! What do they need? This is monstrous, terrible, covers everyone, even the completely innocent ones, who did not even think about what happened!

However, a few days before this, Nikolai was warned about the intentions of the secret societies by the chief of the General Staff I. I. Dibich and the Decembrist Ya. I. Rostovtsev (the latter considered the uprising against the tsar incompatible with noble honor). At 7 o'clock in the morning, the senators took the oath to Nicholas and proclaimed him emperor. Trubetskoy, who was appointed dictator, did not appear. The rebel regiments continued to stand on Senate Square until the conspirators could come to a common decision on the appointment of a new leader.

Colonel Sturler and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich tried unsuccessfully to bring the soldiers into obedience. Then the rebels twice repulsed the attack of the Horse Guards led by Alexei Orlov.

A large crowd of St. Petersburg residents gathered on the square and the main mood of this huge mass, which, according to contemporaries, numbered in tens of thousands of people, was sympathy for the rebels. They threw logs and stones at Nicholas and his retinue. Two “rings” of people were formed - the first consisted of those who came earlier, it surrounded the square of the rebels, and the second ring was formed of those who came later - their gendarmes were no longer allowed into the square to join the rebels, and they stood behind the government troops who surrounded the rebel square. Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, understood the danger of this environment, which threatened great complications. He doubted his success, “seeing that the matter was becoming very important, and not yet foreseeing how it would end.” It was decided to prepare crews for members of the royal family for a possible escape to Tsarskoye Selo. Later, Nikolai told his brother Mikhail many times: “The most amazing thing in this story is that you and I weren’t shot then.”

Nicholas sent Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to persuade the soldiers. But in response, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov, the soldiers began to shout to the metropolitans: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... We don’t believe you, go away!..”. The metropolitans interrupted the soldiers' conviction when the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and the Guards crew, under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev and Lieutenant Anton Arbuzov, appeared on the square.

But the gathering of all the rebel troops occurred only more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky. But Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands and the encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times the number of the rebels, was already completed. In total, 30 Decembrist officers brought about 3,000 soldiers to the square. According to Gabaev’s calculations, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were collected against the rebel soldiers, in total, not counting the artillerymen called up later (36 guns), at least 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons, that is, 3 thousand sabers, were called up and stopped at the outposts as a reserve, that is, in total, another 10 thousand people stood in reserve at the outposts.

Nikolai was afraid of the onset of darkness, since most of all he feared that “the excitement would not be communicated to the mob,” which could become active in the dark. From the side of Admiralteysky Boulevard, guards artillery appeared under the command of General I. Sukhozanet. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. Then Nikolai ordered to shoot with grapeshot. The first salvo was fired above the ranks of the rebel soldiers - at the “mobs” on the roof of the Senate building and the roofs of neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley of grapeshot with rifle fire, but then they began to flee under a hail of grapeshot. According to V.I. Shteingel: “It could have been limited to this, but Sukhozanet fired a few more shots along the narrow Galerny Lane and across the Neva towards the Academy of Arts, where more of the crowd of curious people fled!” . Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilievsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive against the Peter and Paul Fortress. The troops lined up, but were fired at by cannonballs. The cannonballs hit the ice, and it split, many drowned.

Victims

By nightfall the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses remained in the square and streets. Based on the papers of Section III official M. M. Popov, N. K. Shilder wrote:

After the artillery fire ceased, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered Chief of Police General Shulgin to remove the corpses by morning. Unfortunately, the perpetrators acted in the most inhumane manner. On the night on the Neva, from the Isaac Bridge to the Academy of Arts and further to the side of Vasilievsky Island, many ice holes were made, into which not only corpses were lowered, but, as they claimed, also many wounded, deprived of the opportunity to escape from the fate that awaited them. Those of the wounded who managed to escape hid their injuries, afraid to open up to doctors, and died without medical care.

Arrest and trial

371 soldiers of the Moscow Regiment, 277 of the Grenadier Regiment and 62 sailors of the Sea Crew were immediately arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The arrested Decembrists were brought to the Winter Palace. Emperor Nicholas himself acted as an investigator.

By decree of December 17 (29), a Commission was established for research into malicious societies, chaired by the Minister of War

Decembrist revolt

Prerequisites

On November 27, the population swore an oath to Constantine. Formally, a new emperor appeared in Russia; several coins with his image were even minted. But Constantine did not accept the throne, but also did not formally renounce it as emperor. An ambiguous and extremely tense interregnum situation was created. Nicholas decided to declare himself emperor. The second oath, the “re-oath,” was scheduled for December 14. The moment the Decembrists had been waiting for had arrived - a change of power. The members of the secret society decided to speak out, especially since the minister already had a lot of denunciations on his desk and arrests could soon begin.

The state of uncertainty lasted for a very long time. After the repeated refusal of Konstantin Pavlovich from the throne, the Senate, as a result of a long night meeting on December 13-14, 1825, recognized the legal rights to the throne of Nikolai Pavlovich.

The plans of the conspirators. Southern and Northern societies negotiated on coordination of actions and established contacts with the Polish Patriotic Society and the Society of United Slavs. The Decembrists planned to kill the Tsar at a military review, seize power with the help of the Guard and realize their goals. The performance was scheduled for the summer of 1826. However, on November 19, 1825, Alexander I suddenly died in Taganrog. The throne was supposed to pass to the deceased’s brother Konstantin, because Alexander had no children. But back in 1823, Constantine secretly abdicated the throne, which now, according to the law, passed to the next senior brother - Nicholas. Unaware of Constantine's abdication, the Senate, guard and army swore allegiance to him on November 27. After clarifying the situation, they re-sworn the oath to Nikolai, who, due to his personal qualities (pettiness, martinet, vindictiveness, etc.) was not liked in the guard. Under these conditions, the Decembrists had the opportunity to take advantage of the sudden death of the tsar, the fluctuations in power that found themselves in an interregnum, as well as the hostility of the guard towards the heir to the throne. It was also taken into account that some senior dignitaries took a wait-and-see attitude towards Nicholas and were ready to support active actions directed against him. In addition, it became known that the Winter Palace knew about the conspiracy and arrests of members of the secret society, which in fact had ceased to be secret, could soon begin.

In the current situation, the Decembrists planned to raise the Guards regiments, gather them on Senate Square and force the Senate “good” or at the threat of arms to publish a “Manifesto to the Russian People,” which proclaimed the destruction of the autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, the establishment of a Provisional Government, political freedoms, etc. Some of the rebels were supposed to capture the Winter Palace and arrest the royal family, and it was planned to capture the Peter and Paul Fortress. In addition, P.G. Kakhovsky took upon himself the task of killing Nikolai before the start of the speech, but never decided to carry it out. Prince S.P. was elected leader of the uprising (“dictator”). Trubetskoy.

Uprising plan

The Decembrists decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to the new king. The rebel troops were supposed to occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, the royal family was planned to be arrested and, under certain circumstances, killed. A dictator, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, was elected to lead the uprising.

After this, it was planned to demand that the Senate publish a national manifesto, which would proclaim the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. It was supposed to make Count Speransky and Admiral Mordvinov its members (later they became members of the trial of the Decembrists).

After this, a National Council (Constituent Assembly) was to be convened, which was supposed to decide on the form of government - a constitutional monarchy or a republic. In the second case, the royal family would have to be exiled abroad. In particular, Ryleev proposed exiling Nicholas to Fort Ross. However, then the plan of the “radicals” (Pestel and Ryleev) involved the murder of Nikolai Pavlovich and, possibly, Tsarevich Alexander. [source not specified 579 days]

Progress of the uprising. From the early morning of December 14, officers-members of the “Northern Society” campaigned among soldiers and sailors, convincing them not to swear allegiance to Nicholas, but to support Konstantin and “his wife “Constitution”.” They managed to bring part of the Moscow, Grenadier regiments and the Guards naval crew to Senate Square (about 3.5 thousand people in total). But by this time the senators had already sworn allegiance to Nicholas and dispersed. Trubetskoy, observing the implementation of all parts of the plan, saw that it was completely disrupted and, convinced of the doom of the military action, did not appear on the square. This in turn caused confusion and slowness of action.

Nicholas surrounded the square with troops loyal to him (12 thousand people, 4 guns). But the rebels repulsed the cavalry attacks, and Governor-General Miloradovich, who tried to persuade the rebels to surrender their weapons, was mortally wounded by Kakhovsky. After this, artillery was brought into action. The protest was suppressed, and in the evening mass arrests began.

Uprising in Ukraine. In the South, they learned about the events in the capital belatedly. On December 29, the Chernigov regiment led by S. Muravyov-Apostol rebelled, but it was not possible to raise the entire army. On January 3, the regiment was defeated by government forces.

In details

Ryleev asked Kakhovsky early in the morning of December 14 to enter the Winter Palace and kill Nikolai. Kakhovsky initially agreed, but then refused. An hour after the refusal, Yakubovich refused to lead the sailors of the Guards crew and the Izmailovsky regiment to the Winter Palace.

On December 14, officers - members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. By 11 a.m. on December 14, 1825, the Moscow Guards Regiment entered Senate Square. By 11 a.m. on December 14, 1825, 30 Decembrist officers brought about 3,020 people to Senate Square: soldiers of the Moscow and Grenadier regiments and sailors of the Guards naval crew.

Inflicting a mortal wound on M. A. Miloradovich on December 14, 1825. Engraving from a drawing belonging to G. A. Miloradovich

Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, St. Petersburg military governor-general, Count Mikhail Miloradovich, appearing on horseback in front of the soldiers lined up in a square, “said that he himself willingly wanted Constantine to be emperor, but what to do if he refused: he assured them that he himself saw the new renunciation and persuaded them to believe it.” E. Obolensky, leaving the ranks of the rebels, convinced Miloradovich to drive away, but seeing that he was not paying attention to this, he easily wounded him in the side with a bayonet. At the same time, Kakhovsky shot the Governor General with a pistol (the wounded Miloradovich was taken to the barracks, where he died that same day). Colonel Sturler and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich tried unsuccessfully to bring the soldiers into obedience. Then the rebels twice repulsed the attack of the Horse Guards led by Alexei Orlov.

Nicholas sent Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to persuade the soldiers. But in response, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov, the soldiers began shouting to the metropolitans: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... We don’t believe you, go away!..” The metropolitans interrupted the soldiers’ conviction when the Life Guards appeared on the square Grenadier Regiment and Guards Crew, under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev and the Decembrist Lieutenant Arbuzov.

But the gathering of all the rebel troops occurred only more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky. But Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands, and the encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times larger than the rebels in numbers, was already completed. In total, 30 Decembrist officers brought about 3,000 soldiers to the square. According to Gabaev’s calculations, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were collected against the rebel soldiers, in total, not counting the artillerymen called up later (36 guns), at least 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons, that is, 3 thousand sabers, were called up and stopped at the outposts as a reserve, that is, in total, another 10 thousand people stood in reserve at the outposts.

Nikolai was afraid of the onset of darkness, since most of all he feared that “the excitement would not be communicated to the mob,” which could become active in the dark. Guards artillery under the command of General I. Sukhozanet appeared from Admiralteysky Boulevard. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. Then Nikolai ordered to shoot with grapeshot. The first salvo was fired above the ranks of the rebel soldiers - at the “mobs” on the roof of the Senate building and the roofs of neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley of grapeshot with rifle fire, but then they began to flee under a hail of grapeshot. According to V.I. Shteingel: “It could have been limited to this, but Sukhozanet fired a few more shots along the narrow Galerny Lane and across the Neva towards the Academy of Arts, where more of the curious crowd fled!” Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive against the Peter and Paul Fortress. The troops lined up, but were fired at by cannonballs. The cannonballs hit the ice and it split, many drowned.

Arrest and trial

Main article: Trial of the Decembrists

By nightfall the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses remained in the square and streets. Based on the papers of the official of the III Department, M. M. Popov, N. K. Shilder wrote: After the cessation of artillery fire, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered the Chief of Police, General Shulgin, that the corpses be removed by morning. Unfortunately, the perpetrators acted in the most inhumane manner. On the night on the Neva, from the Isaac Bridge to the Academy of Arts and further to the side of Vasilievsky Island, many ice holes were made, into which not only corpses were lowered, but, as they claimed, also many wounded, deprived of the opportunity to escape from the fate that awaited them. Those of the wounded who managed to escape hid their injuries, afraid to open up to doctors, and died without medical care.

By decree of December 17, 1825, a Commission was established for research into malicious societies, chaired by Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev. On May 30, 1826, the investigative commission presented Emperor Nicholas I with a report compiled by D. N. Bludov. The manifesto of June 1, 1826 established the Supreme Criminal Court of three state estates: the State Council, the Senate and the Synod, with the addition of “several persons from the highest military and civil officials.” A total of 579 people were involved in the investigation. On July 13, 1826, Kondraty Ryleev, Pavel Pestel, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and Pyotr Kakhovsky were hanged on the roof of the Peter and Paul Fortress. 121 Decembrists were exiled to Siberia for hard labor or settlement.

Reasons for the defeat of the Decembrist uprising

Narrow social base, orientation towards military revolution and conspiracy.

Insufficient secrecy, as a result of which the government knew about the plans of the conspirators.

Lack of necessary unity and coordination of actions;

The unpreparedness of the majority of educated society and the nobility for the elimination of autocracy and serfdom;

Cultural and political backwardness of the peasantry and the rank and file of the army.

Historical meaning

Having been defeated in the socio-political struggle, the Decembrists won a spiritual and moral victory, showed an example of true service to their fatherland and people, and contributed to the formation of a new moral personality.

The experience of the Decembrist movement became the subject of reflection for the fighters against autocracy and serfdom that followed them, and influenced the entire course of the Russian liberation movement.

The Decembrist movement had a huge impact on the development of Russian culture.

However, based on the specific historical situation, the defeat of the Decembrists weakened the intellectual potential of Russian society, provoked an increase in government reaction, and delayed, according to P.Ya. Chaadaev, development of Russia for 50 years.

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