Leadership of the uprising on Senate Square. Decembrists in Russia

Leadership of the uprising on Senate Square. Decembrists in Russia - who they are and why they rebelled

15.10.2019 This is interesting

The Decembrist uprising is one of the most famous events in Russian history, and one of the most incomprehensible.

Who are these Decembrists? Romantics who challenged autocracy? Noble madmen who sacrificed themselves for a brighter future? Why did the nobility need to destroy the feudal order? Are they heroes or terrorists?

Decembrists

Most of the Decembrists were guards officers, many of whom went through the 12-year war. People are brave, decisive, and able to take risks. Many were fully fed by power: generals, colonels. Of course, there were few of them. The main forces are junior officers: lieutenants, second lieutenants, captains. Many military men had ambitions and a desire to prove themselves in political life countries. But in the foundations of autocracy this is impossible to do.

The emergence of freethinking did not begin by chance. The history of the movement lasted for more than one year, starting in 1814, although numerous preconditions appeared in the second half of the 18th century, when a wave of palace coups swept across Europe.

Using the example of these coups, the Russian nobility realized one thing that was unpleasant for the authorities. It is a sin to oppose the monarch to whom you have sworn allegiance. But if it’s for the benefit of the country, then it’s possible. And this was proven by numerous coups in other countries.

There was a certain split in consciousness. On the one hand - the Fatherland, on the other - the Sovereign.

For the sake of a higher goal, for the sake of the Fatherland, the sovereign can be removed. Many Decembrists, when interrogated during the investigation, answered quite sincerely that they swore allegiance not to the Tsar, but to Russia.

Large role in the formation public opinion played a role in the French Revolution, and in general, campaigns in Europe. Enlightened, educated people saw that a system in which there is no serfdom, no despotism and silence is possible. It is quite possible to live without a monarch. At the same time, plants and factories are functioning and developing, trade is going on, no one is being exiled to Siberia.

All this gave rise to the desire to catch up with Europe in political, economic and moral development. Being military people, the Decembrists saw one way to achieve their goals, but they did not want blood, as was the case in french revolution. There is a well-known expression by Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, one of the leaders of the movement, who said: “Our revolution will be made military, and will not cost a single drop of blood.”
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The conspiracy existed for quite a long time. Beginning in 1814, the Decembrist movement constantly organized secret societies and movements:

➤ Order of Russian Knights (1814-1817)

➤ Salvation Union (1816-1817)

➤ Welfare Union (1818-1821)

➤ Southern Society (1821-1825)

➤ Northern Society (1821-1825)

➤ Practical Union (1825)

It is worth noting prominent figures in the movement. Those who went all the way: Guard Colonel Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy, Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel, Captain of the General Staff Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov, poet Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev, philosopher Mikhail Sergeevich Lunin, hero Patriotic War 1812 Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky.

Many nobles, entire families, including several generations, joined societies. For example, contemporaries joked that “seven Muravyovs from one anthill” took part in the movement.

The Decembrists put forward clear, well-drafted demands.

Main goals of the uprising:

➤ Abolition of the monarchy.

➤ Establishment of a provisional government.

➤ Introduction of the constitution.

➤ Legal equality, that is, the abolition of serfdom.

There were other demands regarding democratic freedoms. There was talk about the need to introduce jury trials. Military people did not ignore military service, wanting to make it mandatory for all classes.

December 14, 1825 - coup attempt

The main events took place on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg on Senate Square. This day was not chosen by chance. On this day Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich was supposed to become emperor of the Russian state. He had been waiting for this day for a long time and was preparing for it. Such was the will of his late brother, Emperor Alexander I.

Nicholas I was a man whom his contemporaries described briefly: “A martinet, inside and out.” He was distinguished by pedantry, discipline, and personal courage.

Of course, the authorities received information about unrest in the ranks of the military, but no concrete protest was put forward. This is also not surprising. The Decembrists planned to start an uprising the following year, 1826. They wanted to coincide with the performance - the 25th anniversary of the reign of Alexander I. But the emperor died earlier, and the conspirators decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

Although most of conspirators considered the act of killing the emperor unacceptable, a plan was developed according to which Pyotr Kakhovsky was to change into a prepared Life Guards uniform, enter the Winter Palace and kill Nicholas I. True, Kakhovsky refused to do this on the day of the uprising.

It was decided to act according to Trubetskoy’s developed plan. Three detachments had to carry out certain captures. One detachment went to the Winter Palace, the second captured the Peter and Paul Fortress, the third detachment went to the Senate and forced the senators to sign a manifesto to the Russian people declaring that everything had changed.

But here, too, everything went wrong. Yakubovich and Bulatov refused to lead their detachments to Zimny and Petropavlovka. Historians say that Yakubovich’s personal ambitions and grievances against Count Trubetskoy played a large role in this refusal.

Members of the secret society were left to conduct propaganda in the barracks. By 11 o'clock, about 800 people were brought to Senate Square. Then the Grenadier Regiment and sailors joined the rebels. In total there are about 30 officers and 3 thousand soldiers.

But there was discord and lack of coordination among the officers. Prince Sergei Trubitskoy, who was supposed to become a dictator and the first president of Russia, did not appear on the square at all. And although this hero was not a coward, apparently he realized that there would be no victory.

Nicholas I could only guess about the scale and number of rebel regiments. After all, at the time the riot began, only the Horse Guards and the Preobrazhensky Regiment had time to swear allegiance to him.

By order of Nicholas, the Preobrazhensky soldiers loaded their guns and followed the emperor to Senate Square. Nikolai walked under the bullets of the rebels on foot, like a simple foot officer. Such an act speaks of both his personal courage and his desperate situation.

It must be said that the new emperor tried with all his might, through negotiations, to bring some sense to the people who were confused in the political situation.

At first, Count Mikhail Andreevich Miloradovich tried to reason with the military, but they pushed him away for a long time and persuaded him to leave. Ultimately, Kakhovsky shot and mortally wounded Miloradovich.

Kakhovsky, who refused to shoot the Tsar, according to the first plan, seemed to be taking revenge. Being in the midst of a crowd of rebels, he shot at Nikolai Sturler, who was trying to bring the rebels to obedience. He was also mortally wounded.

I was in the square and younger brother Nicholas I, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.

The new emperor tried to use every lever of influence on the rebellious rebels. He sent Metropolitan Seraphim to the people and Metropolitan of Kyiv Evgenia. But their persuasion was in vain.

During the strange time of standing in the cold for five hours, Nicholas I managed to assess his strength and took the initiative into his own hands. His military forces outnumbered the rebels by no less than four to one.

What could the conspirators do? There is no point in attacking. Maneuvering is impossible. The rebels had only one hope - to wait until darkness.

The fact is that many of the attackers sympathized with the rebels, and under the cover of darkness they had a chance to leave the square virtually without losses.

But when it was already getting dark, government troops rolled out cannons and loaded them with buckshot. The distance between the rebel square and the battery was no more than one hundred meters. The guns fired point-blank into the dense soldier formation. Six shots were enough to knock over battle formations rebels. Soldiers and sailors rushed to retreat across the Neva. But the cannons rolled out onto the Embankment and the grapeshot, breaking the ice, hit the fleeing people. Those who managed to get to the opposite bank were cut down by the cavalry.

The uprising was crushed!

Reasons for the defeat of the Decembrists

Arrest and trial

All three thousand rebel soldiers, under the leadership of officers who are now commonly called Decembrists, were practically destroyed.

All the instigators were arrested. It must be said that here honor , so glorified by Russian writers and poets. Those who could flee abroad did not do so, considering such an act to be a betrayal towards their comrades.

Then the investigation began, during which the prisoners behaved very differently. The revolutionaries of the first time did not agree in advance on how to behave during the investigation. After all, they were sure that they would either win or die. They did not shield themselves or their friends. They were confident that they were right, that they cared about the Fatherland, and willingly gave evidence.

By order of Nikolai Pavlovich, the so-called code of Decembrists was compiled. This code was a hint to the emperor about what needed to be corrected in the country.

Separately, we can note the testimony of Pavel Ivanovich Pestel. He spoke as if he was addressing his descendants over his head, giving explanations for his actions.

In the end, the decision was made. Five of the ringleaders were hanged.

The rest were sent to Siberia, to hard labor and exile. different terms. But that is another story!

April 5th, 2015

I'm almost done posting more topics. This is already the ninth and penultimate topic. There were practically no volunteers to cover the second ten topics in the post, but the authors of the topics, in principle, can present them in the next vote.

So, today we have the topic of alternative history from a friend kisyha_74. The concept may not be entirely accurate, but there is certainly a certain current and direction that calls into question the official version of many historical events. History in general has always been a complex matter. And the further it goes into the depths of centuries, the more complicated it becomes. All these are just serifs and outlines for further independent study for those interested.

What claims are made against the well-known official version? On December 26, 1825, the Decembrist uprising broke out in St. Petersburg.

If you peel away the shavings of Soviet mythology, you can see a lot of interesting things.

1. The king is not real

In fact, the coup d'état took place not on December 26, but on November 27, 1825. On this day in St. Petersburg, the death of Emperor Alexander in Taganrog was announced and Konstantin Pavlovich, 2nd in seniority after the childless Alexander, was declared the new emperor. The Senate, the State Council and the entire capital hastily swore the oath to him. True, Constantine had no rights to the throne, since back in 1823 he abdicated the throne in favor of Nicholas, which was also formalized in Alexander’s spiritual will. Nikolai also took the oath to Konstantin under pressure from the military governor Miloradovich.

However, on December 3, Constantine renounced the crown. Either in St. Petersburg everyone decided to replay the game, or because Konstantin was afraid to share the fate of his father Paul I, he allegedly said: “They will strangle you, just like they strangled your father.” Nicholas was declared the legal heir to the throne. Everything that happened, of course, took place in an atmosphere of strict secrecy and gave rise to a lot of rumors.

2. Who is pulling the strings?

The oath of office to the new emperor was scheduled for December 14 (26). The Decembrists, who had previously not identified themselves in any way, timed their performance to coincide with the same date. They did not have a clear program, the idea was this: to bring the regiments to Senate Square that day in order to prevent the oath of allegiance to Nicholas. The main conspirator, Prince Trubetskoy, who was appointed dictator, did not come to the square at all; it is quite possible that the appointment happened retroactively. There was practically no coordination, Ryleev rushed around St. Petersburg, “like a sick man in his restless bed,” everything was done at random. It looks quite strange for a secret society that has been operating for several years, covering a significant part of the military elite, and having an extensive network throughout the country.

3. Orange technologies

Classic technologies were used to withdraw troops; today they would be called orange. So Alexander Bestuzhev, having arrived at the barracks of the Moscow regiment, already ready to take the oath, began to assure the soldiers that they were being deceived, that Tsarevich Konstantin had never abdicated the throne and would soon be in St. Petersburg, that he was his adjutant and was sent ahead by him on purpose, etc. . Having captivated the soldiers with such deception, he led them to Senate Square. In the same way, other regiments were brought to the square. At this time, thousands of people gathered on the square and near the embankment of St. Isaac's Cathedral. They worked easier with the common people, they spread a rumor that the legitimate Emperor Constantine was already on his way to St. Petersburg from Warsaw and was taken under arrest near Narva, but soon the troops would free him, and after some time the excited crowd shouted: “Hurray, Constantine!”

4. Provocateurs

Meanwhile, regiments loyal to Emperor Nicholas arrived on the square. A confrontation arose: on the one hand, the rebels and the incited people, on the other, the defenders of the new emperor. Trying to persuade the rebels to return to the officers' barracks, the crowd threw logs from a dismantled woodpile near St. Isaac's Cathedral. One of the rebels, the hero of the Caucasian War Yakubovich, who came to Senateskaya and was appointed commander of the Moscow regiment, cited a headache and disappeared from the square. Then he stood in the crowd near the emperor for several hours, and then approached him and asked permission to go to the rebels to persuade them to lay down their arms. Having received consent, he went to the chain as a parliamentarian and, approaching Kuchelbecker, said in a low voice: “Hold on, they are severely afraid of you,” and left. Today on the Maidan he would be considered a titushka.

5. “Noble” shot

However, soon it came to clashes. General Miloradovich went to the rebels for negotiations and was killed by a shot from Kakhovsky. The hero Kakhovsky, if you look at him through a magnifying glass, turns out to be a very interesting person. A Smolensk landowner, lost to smithereens, he came to St. Petersburg in the hope of finding a rich bride, but he failed. By chance he met Ryleev and he pulled him into a secret society. Ryleev and other comrades supported him in St. Petersburg at their own expense. And when the time came to pay the benefactors’ bills, Kakhovsky, without hesitation, fired. After this, it became clear that it would no longer be possible to reach an agreement.
6. Pointless and merciless

In Soviet times, a myth was created about the unfortunate sufferers - the Decembrists. But for some reason no one is talking about the real victims of this senseless riot. While few were killed among the members of the secret societies who stirred up this mess, the full charm of buckshot was felt by the common people and the soldiers drawn into the massacre. Taking advantage of the indecision of the rebels, Nikolai managed to transfer artillery, shot at the rebels with grapeshot, people and soldiers scattered, many fell through the ice and drowned while trying to cross the Neva. The result is deplorable: among the mob - 903 killed, minors - 150, women - 79, lower ranks of soldiers - 282.

7. Everything is secret...

Recently, the following version of the reasons for the rebellion has been gaining momentum. If you look closely, all the threads lead to Konstantin, in whom you can see the true customer. The Decembrist revolutionaries, who kept papers in their desks about the reconstruction of Russia, the adoption of a constitution, and the abolition of serfdom, for some reason began to force the soldiers to swear allegiance to Constantine. Why did people opposed to the monarchy do this? Maybe because they were directed by someone who benefited from it. It is no coincidence that Nikolai, having begun the investigation into the uprising, and he was personally present during the interrogations, said that they should not look for the guilty, but give everyone the opportunity to justify themselves, since he probably knew who was behind it, and did not want to wash dirty linen in public. Well, one more conspiracy theory and eloquent fact. As soon as Konstantin left Warsaw after the next Polish uprising and ended up in Vitebsk, he suddenly fell ill with cholera and died a few days later.

What other points are not only questioned, but perhaps more “not discussed”?

First of all, regicide.

Moreover, as S. G. Nechaev, the head of the “People’s Retribution” society, later said, “with the entire great litany” (today they would say “the entire payroll”) the august family, including the grand duchesses extradited abroad and their offspring, had to die. So that no one can lay claim to the throne.

The thought of the immorality of such a step, of course, occurred to the leaders of the conspiracy. And if they themselves were ready to step over mental anguish, then neither the crowd, nor numerous ordinary participants, nor even a number of high-ranking colleagues, for example, Prince S.P. Trubetskoy, shared bloodthirsty aspirations.

Therefore, the so-called “act of retaliation” had to be carried out. “doomed cohort” - a detachment of several people who knew in advance that they were sacrificing themselves. They undertook to kill representatives of the royal house, and then the new government of the republic would execute them, dissociating itself from the bloody massacre. So, A.I. Yakubovich promised to shoot Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, and V.K. Kuchelbecker - Mikhail Pavlovich. As the latter later told his brother: “The most amazing thing is that they didn’t kill us.”

The logic is well known: what is the death of one family compared to the happiness of millions? But the extermination of the reigning house seems to give a free hand for bloody atrocities in the rest of the country. The punitive authorities, the creation of which Pestel envisaged, were supposed to number 50 thousand people. Later, 4 thousand served in the Corps of Gendarmes, including the lower ranks - essentially internal troops. Why did Pestel need so much? In order to “persuade” compatriots who do not agree to a republic. So the royal family would be followed not by great, but numerous families. Is it only nobles? Experience of the beginning of the 20th century. shows that it is not far away.

How they handed over their

Historians are now studying internal strife in the circle of conspirators and know that at the Moscow Congress of 1821, for the first time in Russian history, the question of predatory expropriations - money for the revolution - was raised. That spying on each other and opening letters were not alien to the heroes of December 14th. Their behavior after their arrest in the fortress is so shocking to novice researchers that they had to come up with two mutually exclusive myths. The nobleman answers the first request, so the arrested did not hide anything, called their comrades, and told everything they knew.

Another option: the Decembrists wanted to give the impression of a large organization so that the government would be scared and make concessions. Thus, Prince S.G. Volkonsky, at the very first interrogation, listed the names of 22 members of the society, some of whom turned out to be completely uninvolved. That is, he slandered people.

Letters of repentance were written to the emperor, services were offered to reveal “all the hidden sides of the conspiracy.” In the hope of saving themselves, they confessed almost in a race. Perhaps K. F. Ryleev showed more than anyone. Although no methods of physical coercion were used against those arrested. I would very much like to find similar facts in early Soviet historiography. But alas...

And torture was prohibited by law. And the sovereign and the investigators are not cut out for this. Of course, people are not sinless, but there is a line beyond which the authorities at that time did not go. As they wrote then:

“Frightened boys found themselves in the Peter and Paul Fortress, who had been grabbed by the hand after the “festival of disobedience,” and who were now repeating: we won’t do it again.”

Here are excerpts from the book by Prof. Gernet "History of the Tsar's Prison", published by the Bolsheviks.

“... Leparsky, an exceptionally kind man, who created a tolerable life for them, was appointed head of the Chita prison and the Petrovsky plant, where all the Decembrists were concentrated. This was probably done by the Tsar deliberately, because... he personally knew Leparsky as a devoted, but gentle and tactful person.” “In the absence of government work,” wrote the head of the convict prison in Chita, “I keep them busy with earthworks in the summer, 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, and in the winter they will be for themselves and grind government-issued rye for factory stores.”

“In fact, for any “shops” there was no need for the work of the Decembrists. Leparsky solved this problem by turning work into a walk or a picnic with useful gymnastics.”

The Decembrists did not need anything financially. During the 10 years of their stay in hard labor, the prisoners received from relatives, not counting countless parcels of things and food, 354,758 rubles, and their wives - 778,135 rubles, and this is only through official means; undoubtedly, they managed to receive money secretly from the administration.”

“The new Chita prison was divided into four rooms, warm and bright.” “In 1828, the shackles were removed from the Decembrists. In the same year, Leparsky “authorized the building of two small houses: in one they installed carpentry, lathe and bookbinding machines for those who wanted to practice crafts, and in the other - a piano.”

“Hard labor soon became something like gymnastics for those who wanted it. In the summer they filled up the ditch, which was called the “Devil’s Grave,” the watchmen and servants of the ladies scurried about, carried folding chairs and chessboards to the place of work. The guard officer and non-commissioned officers shouted: “Gentlemen, it’s time to go to work! Who's coming today? If interested, i.e. those who were not said to be sick were not enough, the officer said pleadingly: “Gentlemen, please add someone else! Otherwise the commandant will notice that there is very little!” One of those who needed to see a comrade living in another casemate allowed himself to beg: “Well, I guess I’ll go.”

The watchmen carried shovels. Led by an officer and guarded by soldiers with guns, the prisoners set off on their journey. To the sound of shackles, they sang their favorite Italian aria, the revolutionary “Our Fatherland suffers under your yoke,” or even the French Marseillaise. Officers and soldiers walked rhythmically to the beat of revolutionary songs. Arriving at the place, we had breakfast, drank tea, and played chess. The soldiers, having put their guns in the trestles, settled down to rest and fell asleep; The non-commissioned officers and guards were finishing the prisoners’ breakfast.”

A new building with 64 rooms was waiting for them in Petrovskaya. Singles - one, married - two.

“The rooms were large,” writes Tseitlin, “for married people, they soon took on the appearance of rooms in an ordinary apartment, with carpets and upholstered furniture.” Russian and foreign newspapers and magazines were produced. The Decembrist Zavalishin estimates the total book fund of the Petrovsky prison at 500,000 titles. Prof. Gernet considers this number possible, taking into account the huge library of Muravyov-Apostol.”

"Book Trubetskoy and Prince. Volkonskaya lived outside the prison, in separate apartments, each with 25 servants.”

“We worked a little on the road and in the gardens. It happened that the officer on duty asked to go to work when there were too few people in the group. Zavalishin describes the return from these works as follows: “returning, they carried books, flowers, sheet music, delicacies from the ladies, and behind them government workers carried picks, stretchers, shovels... they sang revolutionary songs.”

“The Decembrists actually did not carry out hard labor, with the exception of a few people, a short time who worked in the mine,” admits Prof. Gernet.

They woke up Herzen

It is to A.I. Herzen, a talented journalist who worked in England, that we owe the Decembrist myth. Later, the picture only became more complicated, but did not change in essence.

The printing house of “The Bell” and “The Polar Star” was located in London. England, after the Napoleonic Wars, is the largest heavyweight player on the European stage. The most dangerous opponent Russian Empire. Therefore, support for the opposition journalist was always provided. For example, Nikolai Turgenev, one of the then “Decembrist” defectors, was hiding in London. Master of high dedication. The man whom Alexander I was afraid to arrest at home, simply writing to him: “My brother, leave Russia” (by the way, this phrase is disputed). But Nicholas I demanded extradition.

Where would we be without the Masons?

Here is another version:

The entire ideological basis of both the first Russian secret political alliances that arose after the Patriotic War and the later ones is not Russian, foreign. All of them are copied from foreign samples. Some researchers of the history of the Decembrist uprising claim that the charter of the “Union of Welfare” was copied from the charter of the German “Tugendbund”. But most likely, the origins of the political ideas of the Decembrists must be sought in the political ideas of European Freemasonry and in the ideas of the “Great” French Revolution, which again lead us to Masonic ideas about “universal brotherhood, equality and freedom.”

“In the Guard,” reported the deputy French ambassador, Count Boileconte, on August 29, 1822, “the extravagance and slander have reached the point that one general recently told us that sometimes it seems that all that is needed is a leader for a rebellion to begin. Last month, the Guard openly sang a parody of the famous tune “I wandered around the world for a long time,” which contained the most criminal attacks on His Majesty personally and on His trips and congresses: this parody was sung by many officers. Then, what happened in the meeting of young guards officers shows so clearly the spirit reigning among them that it is impossible not to report it.” “Excited by previous heated and intemperate disputes regarding political events, the 50 officers present at this meeting ended with getting up from the table, they walked one by one past the portrait of the Emperor and cursed at him.”

From the same letter from Count Boileconte we learn who the instigators of these rebellious sentiments were. These were the Freemasons, of whom, as we remember, the army abounded.

Many of the Decembrists passed through Masonic lodges. In the charter of the Union of Salvation, Tseitlin rightly points out, “Masonic features are clearly visible, and subsequently one can trace the secret underground streams of Freemasonry in the political movement of those years”. Tseitlin is a Jew and he knew what he was writing.

N. Berdyaev also admits that the Decembrist conspiracy grew ideologically from Masonic ideas.

There is no way to list the names of everyone who, after the end of World War II, were members of Masonic lodges of all kinds. Freemasonry pursued, as before, two goals: to undermine Orthodoxy, the basis of the spiritual identity of the Russian people and the source of its spiritual strength, and to completely undermine the autocracy.

In order to overthrow the autocracy, officers who were members of Masonic lodges began preparations for the destruction of the autocracy. The Decembrist uprising was the realization of the plans of the Freemasons, for which it had been preparing for decades. The Decembrist uprising is essentially an uprising of the Freemasons.

Here's another series of versions for those who might be interested: "Murka" from MUR. Two versions, here it is. Many people argue, is it really? and here . Let's also remember about, as well as The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

And the subsequent foreign campaigns of the Russian army had a significant impact on all aspects of the life of the Russian Empire, giving rise to certain hopes for changes for the better and, first of all, for the abolition of serfdom. The elimination of serfdom was associated with the need for constitutional restrictions on monarchical power. In 1814, communities of guards officers emerged on an ideological basis, the so-called “artels”. From two artels: the “Sacred” and the “Semyonovsky Regiment”, the Union of Salvation was formed in St. Petersburg at the beginning of 1816. The founder of the Union was Alexander Muravyov. The Salvation Union included Sergei Trubetskoy, Nikita Muravyov, Ivan Yakushkin, and later Pavel Pestel joined them. The Union's goal was the liberation of the peasants and the reform of government. In 1817, Pestel wrote the charter of the Union of Salvation or the Union of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland. Many members of the Union were members of Masonic lodges, therefore the influence of Masonic rituals was felt in the life of the Union. Disagreements among members of society on the issue of the possibility of regicide during coup d'etat led to the dissolution of the Salvation Union in the fall of 1817. In January 1818, a new secret society was created in Moscow - the Union of Welfare. The first part of the company's charter was written by M. N. Muravyov, P. Koloshin, N. M. Muravyov and S.P. Trubetskoy and contained the principles of organizing the Union of Welfare and its tactics. The second part, secret, contained a description of the ultimate goals of society, was compiled later and has not survived. The union lasted until 1821, it included about 200 people. One of the goals of the Welfare Union was to create progressive public opinion and form a liberal movement. For this purpose, it was planned to found various legal societies: literary, charitable, educational. In total, more than ten boards of the Union of Welfare were formed: two in Moscow; in St. Petersburg in the regiments: Moscow, Yeger, Izmailovsky, Horse Guards; councils in Tulchin, Chisinau, Smolensk and other cities. “Side councils” also arose, including Nikita Vsevolozhsky’s “Green Lamp”. Members of the Welfare Union were required to take an active part in public life and strive to occupy positions in government agencies and the army. The composition of secret societies was constantly changing: as their first participants “settled” in life and started families, they moved away from politics; their place was taken by younger ones. In January 1821, the Congress of the Welfare Union worked in Moscow for three weeks. Its necessity was due to disagreements between supporters of the radical (republican) and moderate movements and the strengthening of the reaction in the country, complicating the legal work of society. The work of the congress was led by Nikolai Turgenev and Mikhail Fonvizin. It became known that through informers the government was aware of the existence of the Union. A decision was made to formally dissolve the Welfare Union. This made it possible to free ourselves from random people who ended up in the Union; its dissolution was a step towards reorganization.

New secret societies were formed - “Southern” (1821) in Ukraine and “Northern” (1822) with a center in St. Petersburg. In September 1825, the Society of United Slavs, founded by the Borisov brothers, joined the Southern Society.

In the Northern society, the main role was played by Nikita Muravyov, Trubetskoy, and later by the famous poet Kondraty Ryleev, who rallied the fighting Republicans around himself. The leader of the Southern Society was Colonel Pestel.

Guards officers Ivan Nikolaevich Gorstkin, Mikhail Mikhailovich Naryshkin, naval officers Nikolai Alekseevich Chizhov, brothers Bodisko Boris Andreevich and Mikhail Andreevich took an active part in the Northern society. Active participants in the Southern Society were the Tula Decembrists brothers Kryukov, Alexander Alexandrovich and Nikolai Alexandrovich, the Bobrishchev-Pushkin brothers Nikolai Sergeevich and Pavel Sergeevich, Alexey Ivanovich Cherkasov, Vladimir Nikolaevich Likharev, Ivan Borisovich Avramov. One of the active figures in the “Society of United Slavs” was Ivan Vasilyevich Kireev.

As is clear from the revelations of the surviving Decembrists many years later, they wanted to raise an armed uprising among the troops, overthrow the autocracy, abolish serfdom and popularly adopt a new state law - a revolutionary constitution.

It was planned to announce the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The abolition of serfdom and the equalization of all citizens before the law were announced; freedom of the press, religion, and occupations was declared, the introduction of public jury trials, and the abolition of universal military service. All government officials had to give way to elected officials.

It was 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.

The state of uncertainty lasted for a very long time, and the right to choose a new emperor essentially passed to the Senate. However, after Konstantin Pavlovich's repeated refusal from the throne, the Senate, as a result of a long night meeting on December 13-14, 1825, reluctantly recognized the legal rights to the throne of Nikolai Pavlovich.

However, the Decembrists still hoped to change the situation by bringing armed guards onto the streets to put pressure on the Senate.

Plan

The Decembrists decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to the new king. Then they wanted to enter the Senate and demand the publication of a national manifesto, which would announce the abolition of serfdom and the 25-year term of military service, and the granting of freedom of speech and assembly.

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, election of officials, abolition of the poll tax. The rebel troops were to occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, and the royal family was to be arrested. If necessary, it was planned to kill the king. A dictator, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, was elected to lead the uprising.

It is characteristic that the leaders of the future provisional government were supposed to be the leaders of the Senate, Count Speransky and Admiral Mordvinov, which makes one suspect the Senate in connection with the conspirators.

The plan for the uprising must be judged hypothetically, because absolutely none of the above was done:

the main conspirators (Ryleev, Trubetskoy) actually refused to participate in the uprising;
contrary to the plan, the rebels did not occupy palaces and fortresses, but stood still;
in fact, instead of the abolition of serfdom and the introduction of various rights and freedoms, the rebels demanded only Emperor Konstantin Pavlovich and a constitution;
During the rebellion there were many opportunities to arrest or kill the future Tsar Nicholas I, but no attempts were made to do this.

Events of December 14

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 Marine Crew. However, already 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. Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Governor General of St. Petersburg 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 I saw a new renunciation and persuaded people 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 wounded him in the side with a bayonet. At the same time, Kakhovsky shot Miloradovich. Colonel Sturler, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and Metropolitan Seraphim of Novgorod and St. Petersburg tried unsuccessfully to bring the soldiers into obedience. The attack of the Horse Guards led by Alexei Orlov was repulsed twice. The troops, who had already sworn allegiance to the new emperor, surrounded the rebels. They were led by Nicholas I, who had recovered from his initial confusion. Guards artillery under the command of General Sukhozanet appeared from the Admiralteysky Boulevard. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. After this, the artillery hit the rebels with grapeshot, their ranks scattered. “This could have been enough, 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!” (Shteingel V.I.)

End of the uprising

By nightfall the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses remained in the square and streets. Most of the victims were crushed by the crowd rushing in panic from the center of events. An eyewitness wrote:

The windows on the façade of the Senate up to the top floor were splattered with blood and brains, and the walls were left with marks from canister shots.

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 first arrested Decembrists began to be taken to the Winter Palace.

Uprising of the Chernigov Regiment

In the south of Russia, things also did not happen without an armed rebellion. Six companies of the Chernigov regiment freed the arrested Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who marched with them to Bila Tserkva; but on January 3, overtaken by a detachment of hussars with horse artillery, the rebels laid down their arms. The wounded Muravyov was arrested.

265 people were arrested in connection with the uprising (excluding those arrested in southern Russia and Poland - they were tried in provincial courts)

Investigation and trial

The main guilt of the rebels was the murder of high-ranking government officials (including St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich), as well as the organization of mass riots, which led to numerous casualties.

Mordvinov and Speransky were included in the Supreme Criminal Court - precisely those high-ranking officials who were suspected of behind-the-scenes directing of the failed rebellion. Nicholas I, through Benckendorf, bypassing the Investigative Committee, tried to find out whether Speransky was connected with the Decembrists. HELL. Borovkov testified in his notes that the question of involvement in the plans of the Decembrists Speransky, Mordvinov, Ermolov and Kiselev was investigated, but then the materials of this investigation were destroyed.

Place of execution of the Decembrists

During the execution, Muravyov-Apostol, Kakhovsky and Ryleev fell from the noose and were hanged a second time. This contradicted the tradition of re-enacting the death penalty, but, on the other hand, was explained by the absence of executions in Russia over the previous several decades (with the exception of the executions of participants in the Pugachev uprising).

In Warsaw, the Investigative Committee for the opening of secret societies began to operate on February 7 (19) and submitted its report to Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich on December 22. (Jan. 3, 1827). Only after this did the trial begin, which acted on the basis of the Constitutional Charter of the Kingdom of Poland, and treated the defendants with great leniency.

0 Today, it is difficult to imagine what people who lived almost 200 years ago “breathed” and thought about. Therefore, their actions sometimes cause us shock and condemnation, which only adds interest to the life of our ancestors. Today we will talk about the essence Decembrist uprising in 1825.
However, before continuing, I would like to recommend you a few more interesting publications on various topics. For example, what does Aphorism mean, what is Field, how to understand the word Creative, what does the word Bourgeois mean, etc.
So let's continue about the Decembrist uprising briefly. At that time, a couple of percent of rich people lived in Russia, and everyone else was in the position of beggars or even slaves (serfs). Therefore, discontent was brewing among the burghers and educated people, which was very actively used by secret societies.

The Decembrist uprising in short was an attempted coup that took place in the imperial capital of St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825. It is believed that the main characters and leaders of the uprising were nobles, who at the same time were guards officers. Having close contacts with the army units stationed in the city, they tried to win them over to their side so that they would not allow Nicholas I to take the throne. The main declared goal of the negotiators was to destroy the royal dynasty and abolish serfdom. In fact, this revolution was led by secret societies; there is information that the English ambassador was the coordinator and real leader of the uprising. The real goal was to destroy Russia and divide it into parts. Moreover, in 1917, the West managed to do this, then, and then in 1991 there was another successful attempt at genocide of the Russian population

Well, now let’s return to our sheep, that is, the Decembrists. In fact , Decembrist uprising 1825 year, was the very first of the well-organized anti-government actions in Russia. Historians believe that it was carried out solely for humane purposes, to free the peasants from the shackles of slavery, and also against the power of the autocrat. In 1917, the slogan was “no war, everyone abandon the trenches and go home,” and the idea of giving land ownership for free was also promoted for peasants, and it worked then.
However, our Decembrists were either fools, or they were controlled like puppets from behind a cordon, but they had one slogan - “the abolition of serfdom.” Who could possibly be interested in this except the peasants themselves?

Background to the 1825 uprising

Even under Alexander I, English and German spies actively worked for destabilization situation in the country. Meticulous work was carried out, the result of which would ultimately be a limitation of the power of the autocrat.
Over the course of several years, enormous work was carried out; thousands of people were drawn into the orbit of this idea. However, when Alexander I unexpectedly died, it was a pleasant surprise for the conspirators. Immediately, conflicting instructions began to arrive from Foggy Albion on what needed to be done, and the gears of this huge sabotage conspiracy began to gradually unwind.

However, as they say, if you hurry, you will make people laugh, and so do ours." villains", from the first days of the conspiracy, everything went wrong. The fact is that the king did not have children, and his older brother Constantine had long ago abandoned the throne; he did not like power as such.
However, local officials did not seem to know about this circumstance, because how else can we explain the fact that the population of the Russian Empire swore an oath to the emperor Konstantin Pavlovich, although he himself did not accept such powers. As a result, the situation developed in such a way that only Nikolai could become the heir.
Such confusion and confusion reigned at that time throughout all the cities and villages of Russia.

Then, the foreign curators of the Decembrists decide that the glorious hour has come when they can destroy this barbaric country. They give orders to their puppets, the Decembrists, and they begin to act. The day was chosen for the uprising December 14, 1825 when the population had to swear allegiance to the new emperor Nicholas I.

What was the plan of the Decembrists?

The main characters in this bloody performance were:

Alexander Muravyov - the main conspirator and ideological inspirer of the union;

Kondraty Ryleev;

Ivan Yakushin;

Sergei Trubetskoy;

Nikolai Kakhovsky;

Pavel Pestel;

Nikita Muravyov.

It is clear that these people were a screen for some secret societies, who were extremely interested in overthrowing the government in the Russian Empire.

The Decembrists' plan was to somehow prevent the Russian Senate and Army from swearing allegiance to Nicholas I.
The conspirators planned to storm the Winter Palace and take the royal family hostage. This circumstance would have made it extremely easy for the rebels to take power into their own hands; Sergei Trubkoy was appointed the leader of the entire gang.

It is clear that after the coup, England would begin to impose democracy and would commit total genocide, as many of us remember from the 90s of the last century. Although in fact they announced the creation of a free Empire instead republics. Well, the royal family had to be expelled from the country. Although it is worth noting that some particularly stubborn Decembrists dreamed of destroying the entire royal family and destroying everyone who was in any way related to the royal dynasty.

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

So, December 14, early morning, St. Petersburg is the time and place where the performance was scheduled. However, for the rebels, everything immediately did not go according to plan. Most importantly, Kakhovsky, who had previously stated the possibility and desire to go to Nikolai’s room, and kill him, suddenly abandons this idea.
This information caused a real shock among the real leaders of the uprising, the British. The next failure was not long in coming: Yakubovich, who was supposed to capture the royal family, refused to send troops to storm the Winter Palace.

However, as the teenagers say, it was already “too late to rush around,” since the flywheel of the uprising was gaining momentum. The Decembrists and their Western curators did not deviate from their plans. Therefore, a number of agitators were sent to the capital's army barracks, who persuaded the soldiers to go to Senate Square and express their indignation at the events taking place in the country. This operation was carried out quite successfully, and there were 2,350 sailors and 800 soldiers on the square.

Unfortunately for the rebels, by 7 am, the senators had already swore allegiance Nicholas, and when the rebels were already on the square, this procedure was completed.

When the troops gathered in the square, the general came out to them Mikhail Miloradovich. He tried to persuade the soldiers to leave the square and go back to their barracks. Seeing that the warriors were beginning to hesitate and might actually disperse, the revolutionary Kokhovsky approached Miloradovich and shot him point-blank. This was too much, and horse guards were sent to the rebels.
Unfortunately, riot it became quite difficult to suppress, because at that time several thousand civilians had joined him, among them many women and children.

However, in order to save his power, Nicholas had to give a difficult order to shoot at to the rioters shrapnel and buckshot from cannons. And only then were the Decembrists forced to flee. So, closer to night, the same day on December 14, the revolution was suppressed, and the dead and dying were lying all over the square.

Looking from the height of his years, we can conclude that the king gave only loyal order, because if the plans of the conspirators had succeeded, Russia would have drowned in blood, and the victims would have been counted not in thousands, but in millions.

It is worth comparing this long-standing event with what happened in Ukraine Maidan. Don't you think the handwriting is very similar? Both here and there, the Westerners gathered a crowd, caused victims, only Yanukovych turned out to be a rag, and did not give an order that would ultimately save tens of thousands, if not millions of Ukrainians, from the onset of democracy.

We must give the tsar credit for his decisive actions; in addition, he had on his side the fact that the involvement of the masses in the coup was extremely small. Panheads At that time, apparently, it was not enough. Most likely, that event can be considered a truly major adventure by Western intelligence services and secret societies against the Russian government.

Uprising on Senate Square

Decembrist revolt- a failed coup attempt. It took place in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on December 14 (26) of the year. It differed from previous attempts to seize power in the large number of participants - about 3 thousand soldiers came to the square in front of the Senate. The mutiny killed 1,271 people. According to official data, the number of victims is 80 people.

Secret societies

End of the uprising

The windows on the façade of the Senate up to the top floor were splattered with blood and brains, and the walls were left with marks from canister shots.

Uprising of the Chernigov Regiment

265 people were arrested in connection with the uprising (excluding those arrested in southern Russia and Poland - they were tried in provincial courts)

Investigation and trial

Place of execution of the Decembrists

Literature

Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern Society, M.: MSU Publishing House, 1981

Notes

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Karl Kohlman. Decembrist uprising ... Wikipedia

Karl Kohlman. Decembrist uprising The Decembrist uprising was a failed coup attempt. It took place in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on December 14 (26), 1825. From previous attempts to seize power... ... Wikipedia