Why did the Decembrists revolt? For mutual assistance, the Decembrists created the “Big Artel” and the “Small Artel”. Many of the authors were in one way or another connected with the Decembrists.

On the night of July 21 and 23 (August 4), 1826, the first two batches of Decembrists (8 people), sentenced to hard labor, were taken from the Peter and Paul Fortress to Siberia. Their situation became somewhat easier after the wives of the Decembrists M. Volkonskaya and E. Trubetskoy arrived in Blagodatsk. The Decembrists and persons equated to them, whose cases were tried not by the Supreme Criminal Court, but by military courts, were sent to Siberia on foot in a convoy, chained together with criminals.

The hidden goal of the society was the introduction of representative government in Russia. In January 1818, the Union of Welfare was formed. The hidden purpose was known only to members of the Root Council; it consisted in establishing constitutional government and eliminating serfdom. At the same time, a signature was taken from all employees, military and civilian, stating that they did not belong to secret societies.

Southern Society of Decembrists

Due to escalating disagreements and measures taken by the authorities, it was decided to dissolve the society. On the basis of the “Union of Welfare” of 1821, 2 large revolutionary organizations arose at once: the Southern Society in Kyiv and the Northern Society in St. Petersburg. In March 1821, on the initiative of P.I. Pestel, the Tulchinskaya government “Union of Prosperity” restored a secret society called “Southern Society”.

Only officers were involved in the society, and strict discipline was observed. Among the members of this society there were many enterprising people and opponents of the rule of not rushing. While Southern society was preparing for decisive action in 1826, its plans were revealed to the government. He was summoned to Gruzino and personally reported to Alexander I all the details of the conspiracy.

The registration of the organization, according to the testimony of S. N. Kashkin, took place in March 1825 in the apartment of I. N. Gorstkin. The program documents compiled by the Decembrists reveal deep ideological contradictions among them. The only common denominator was the preservation of the principle of landownership. Thus, it is not very clear what kind of program would be implemented if the movement were successful.

Leaders of the Decembrists: 1. Pavel Ivanovich Pestel

The goal of the uprising was for the Senate to approve this document, called the “Manifesto to the Russian People.” The introductory part of the manifesto, which was destroyed after the uprising, was composed separately from each other by Baron V. I. Shteingel and N. A. Bestuzhev, the main part was composed jointly by S. P. Trubetskoy and K. F. Ryleev. Thus, the rebels were convinced that if the soldiers were honestly told about the goals of the uprising, then no one would support them. The day came December 14 (26), 1825; An uprising began, which was suppressed on the same day (shot with grapeshot).

Nicholas I, through Benkendorf, bypassing the Investigative Committee, tried to find out whether Speransky was connected with the Decembrists. On the other hand, the “marriage” was explained by the absence of executions in Russia over the previous several decades (the exception was the executions of participants in the Pugachev uprising). The uprising of the convicts managed to begin only in the Klitschkinsky mine. After this, the Petrovsky ironworks was planned to support the Decembrists. On August 7 (19), 1830, the Decembrists began walking from Chita there, which ended only on September 23.

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

But in connection with the requests of the wives of the Decembrists, from 1831 family prisoners were allowed to live in houses built near the prison. Since 1832, the number of prisoners in the prison began to decrease noticeably due to the end of many Decembrists’ terms of hard labor and their transfer to settlements.

Decembrists of the 6th-8th categories were sent into exile directly from the Peter and Paul Fortress or after two to three years hard labor. In 1841, in connection with this, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Akatui prison. In December 1825 they organized an uprising, which was brutally suppressed. 5 people (leaders) were executed, shameful for officers. Decembrist participants were exiled to Siberia, some were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Fighting side by side with the common people, communicating with them, the future Decembrists came to the idea that people deserve a better fate than a slave existence.

Causes of the uprising

That is why, from 1814 to 1820, more than two hundred peasant uprisings broke out in the country. It was also dissolved in 1820 due to differences of opinion. In 1821 there is new organization, consisting of two Societies: Northern (in St. Petersburg, headed by Nikita Muravyov) and Southern (in Kyiv, headed by Pavel Pestel).

Preparing for the uprising

Thanks to these qualities, in his time he achieved unity of views of Southern and Northern societies. It was assumed that "Russian Truth" would come into force as soon as the uprising ended. Northern society begins to exist in 1821, in the spring. The Northern Society operated mainly in St. Petersburg, but it also had a branch in Moscow. The path to uniting Northern and Southern societies was long and very painful. The secret societies described above lasted 10 years, after which the uprising began.

In 1823, the program of the Southern Society, compiled by Pavel Pestel, was adopted. Negotiations were also conducted with the Northern Society of Decembrists about joint actions. Troyat A. A series of historical novels (“Light of the Righteous,” 1959-1963) about the Decembrists.

A company of young nobles who dreamed of changing the state of affairs in Russia. On early stages Quite a lot of people participated in the Decembrist secret societies, and later the investigation had to think about who should be considered a conspirator and who not. This is because the activities of these societies were limited exclusively to conversations. Whether the members of the Union of Welfare and the Union of Salvation were ready to take any active action is a moot point.

The societies included people varying degrees nobility, wealth and position, but there were several things that united them.

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

They were all nobles

Poor or wealthy, well-born or not, but they all belonged to the nobility, that is, to the elite, which implies a certain standard of living, education and status. This, in particular, meant that much of their behavior was determined by the code of noble honor. Subsequently, this presented them with a difficult moral dilemma: the code of the nobleman and the code of the conspirator apparently contradict each other. A nobleman, being caught in an unsuccessful uprising, must come to the sovereign and obey, the conspirator must remain silent and not betray anyone. A nobleman cannot and should not lie, a conspirator does everything that is required to achieve his goals. Imagine a Decembrist living in an illegal position using forged documents - that is, the ordinary life of an underground worker of the second half of the 19th century centuries - impossible.

The vast majority were officers

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

They were not revolutionaries in the classical sense

All of them sincerely considered their main goal to be service for the good of the fatherland and, had circumstances been different, they would have considered it an honor to serve the sovereign as state dignitaries. The overthrow of the sovereign was not at all the main idea of ​​the Decembrists; they came to it by looking at the current state of affairs and logically studying the experience of revolutions in Europe (and not all of them liked this idea).

How many Decembrists were there in total?

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

In total, after the uprising on December 14, 1825, more than 300 people were arrested, 125 of them were convicted, the rest were acquitted. The exact number of participants in the Decembrist and pre- Decembrist societies it is difficult to establish - precisely because all their activities boiled down to more or less abstract conversations in a friendly circle of young people, not bound by a clear plan or strict formal organization.

It is worth noting that the people who participated in the Decembrist secret societies and directly in the uprising are two not too intersecting sets. Many of those who participated in the meetings of the early Decembrist societies subsequently completely lost interest in them and became, for example, zealous security officials; in nine years (from 1816 to 1825), quite a lot of people passed through secret societies. In turn, those who were not members of secret societies at all or were accepted a couple of days before the rebellion also took part in the uprising.

How did they become Decembrists?

“Russian Truth” by Pavel Pestel. 1824 Program document of the Southern Society of Decembrists. The full name is the Reserved State Charter of the great Russian people, which serves as a testament for the improvement of Russia and contains the right order both for the people and for the temporary supreme government, which has dictatorial powers.

To be included in the circle of Decembrists, sometimes it was enough to answer the question of a not entirely sober friend: “There is a society of people who want the good, prosperity, happiness and freedom of Russia. Are you with us?" - and both could later forget about this conversation. It is worth noting that conversations about politics in the noble society of that time were not at all encouraged, so those who were inclined to such conversations, willy-nilly, formed closed circles of interests. In a certain sense, the Decembrist secret societies can be considered a way of socializing the then generation of young people; a way to get away from the emptiness and boredom of officer society, to find a more sublime and meaningful way of existence.

Thus, the Southern Society arose in the tiny Ukrainian town of Tulchin, where the headquarters of the Second Army was stationed. Educated young officers, whose interests are not limited to cards and vodka, gather in their circle to talk about politics - and this is their only entertainment; They would call these meetings, in the fashion of that time, a secret society, which, in essence, was simply a way characteristic of the era to identify themselves and their interests.

In a similar way, the Salvation Union was simply a company of comrades from the Life Guards Semyonovsky Regiment; many were relatives. Returning from the war in 1816, they organized their life in St. Petersburg, where life was quite expensive, according to the artel principle familiar to soldiers: they rent an apartment together, chip in for food and prescribe the details of general life in the charter. This small friendly company will subsequently become a secret society with the loud name of the Union of Salvation, or the Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland. In fact, this is a very small - a couple of dozen people - friendly circle, the participants of which wanted, among other things, to talk about politics and the ways of development of Russia.

By 1818, the circle of participants began to expand, and the Union of Salvation was reformed into the Union of Welfare, in which there were already about 200 people from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and all of them had never gathered together and two members of the union might no longer know each other personally. This uncontrolled expansion of the circle prompted the leaders of the movement to announce the dissolution of the Union of Welfare: to get rid of unnecessary people, and also to give the opportunity to those who wanted to seriously continue the business and prepare a real conspiracy to do so without unnecessary eyes and ears.

How were they different from other revolutionaries?

The first page of Nikita Muravyov's constitutional project. 1826 Constitution of Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov - policy document Northern society. It was not officially accepted by the society, but was widely known and reflected the sentiments of the majority of its members. Compiled in 1822-1825. Project “100 Main Documents of Russian History”

In fact, the Decembrists were the first political opposition in the history of Russia, created on ideological grounds (and not, for example, as a result of the struggle of court groups for access to power). Soviet historians habitually began with them the chain of revolutionaries, which continued with Herzen, Petrashevists, Narodniks, Narodnaya Volya and, finally, the Bolsheviks. However, the Decembrists were distinguished from them primarily by the fact that they were not obsessed with the idea of ​​revolution as such, and did not declare that any transformations were meaningless until the old order of things was overthrown and some utopian ideal future was proclaimed. They did not oppose themselves to the state, but served it and, moreover, were an important part of the Russian elite. They were not professional revolutionaries living within a very specific and largely marginal subculture - like everyone else who later replaced them. They thought of themselves as possible assistants to Alexander I in carrying out reforms, and if the emperor had continued the line that he had so boldly begun before their eyes by granting the constitution to Poland in 1815, they would have been happy to help him in this.

What inspired the Decembrists?

The Battle of Moscow at Borodino on September 7, 1812. Painting by Albrecht Adam. 1815 Wikimedia Commons

Most of all, the experience of the Patriotic War of 1812, characterized by a huge patriotic upsurge, and the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army of 1813-1814, when many young and ardent people saw another life up close for the first time and were completely intoxicated by this experience. It seemed unfair to them that Russia lives differently from Europe, and even more unfair and even savage - that the soldiers with whom they won this war side by side are entirely serfs and the landowners treat them like a thing. It was these topics - reforms to achieve greater justice in Russia and the abolition of serfdom - that were the main ones in the conversations of the Decembrists. No less important was the political context of that time: transformations and revolutions after Napoleonic Wars occurred in many countries, and it seemed that Russia could and should change along with Europe. The Decembrists owe the very opportunity to seriously discuss the prospects for a change of system and revolution in the country to the political climate.

What did the Decembrists want?

In general - reforms, changes in Russia for the better, the introduction of a constitution and the abolition of serfdom, fair courts, equality of people of all classes before the law. In details, they diverged, often radically. It would be fair to say that the Decembrists did not have any single and clear plan for reforms or revolutionary changes. It is impossible to imagine what would have happened if the Decembrist uprising had been crowned with success, because they themselves did not have time and could not agree on what to do next. How to introduce a constitution and organize general elections in a country with an overwhelmingly illiterate peasant population? They did not have an answer to this and many other questions. The Decembrists’ disputes among themselves only marked the emergence of a culture of political discussion in the country, and many questions were raised for the first time, and no one had answers to them at all.

However, if they did not have unity regarding goals, they were unanimous regarding the means: the Decembrists wanted to achieve their goal through a military coup; what we would now call a putsch (with the amendment that if the reforms had come from the throne, the Decembrists would have welcomed them). The idea of ​​a popular uprising was completely alien to them: they were firmly convinced that involving the people in this story was extremely dangerous. It was impossible to control the rebel people, and the troops, as it seemed to them, would remain under their control (after all, most of the participants had command experience). The main thing here is that they were very afraid of bloodshed and civil strife and believed that a military coup would make it possible to avoid this.

In particular, this is why the Decembrists, when bringing the regiments to the square, had absolutely no intention of explaining their reasons to them, that is, they considered conducting propaganda among their own soldiers an unnecessary matter. They counted only on the personal loyalty of the soldiers, to whom they tried to be caring commanders, and also on the fact that the soldiers would simply follow orders.

How did the uprising go?

Senate Square December 14, 1825. Painting by Karl Kohlman. 1830s Bridgeman Images/Fotodom

Unsuccessful. This is not to say that the conspirators did not have a plan, but they failed to carry it out from the very beginning. They managed to withdraw troops to Senate Square, but it was planned that they would come to Senate Square for the meeting State Council and the Senate, who were supposed to swear allegiance to the new sovereign, and would demand the introduction of a constitution. But when the Decembrists came to the square, it turned out that the meeting had already ended, the dignitaries had dispersed, all decisions had been made, and there was simply no one to present their demands to.

The situation reached a dead end: the officers did not know what to do next and continued to keep the troops in the square. The rebels were surrounded by government troops and a shootout occurred. The rebels simply stood on Senate Street, not even trying to take any action - for example, to storm the palace. Several shots of grapeshot from government troops scattered the crowd and put them to flight.

Why did the uprising fail?

For any uprising to succeed, there must be an undoubted willingness to shed blood at some point. The Decembrists did not have this readiness; they did not want bloodshed. But it is difficult for a historian to imagine a successful rebellion, whose leaders make every effort not to kill anyone.

Blood was still shed, but there were relatively few casualties: both sides shot with noticeable reluctance, if possible over their heads. Government troops were tasked with simply scattering the rebels, but they fired back. Modern calculations by historians show that during the events on Senate Street, about 80 people died on both sides. Talks that there were up to 1,500 victims, and about the heap of corpses that the police threw into the Neva at night, are not confirmed by anything.

Who judged the Decembrists and how?

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

To investigate the case, a special body was created - “the highly established Secret Committee to find accomplices of the malicious society that opened on December 14, 1825,” to which Nicholas I appointed mainly generals. To pass a verdict, a Supreme Criminal Court was specially established, to which senators, members of the State Council, and the Synod were appointed.

The problem was that the emperor really wanted to condemn the rebels fairly and according to the law. But, as it turned out, there were no suitable laws. There was no coherent code indicating the relative gravity of various crimes and the penalties for them (like the modern Criminal Code). That is, it was possible to use, say, the Code of Law of Ivan the Terrible - no one has canceled it - and, for example, boil everyone in boiling tar or cut them on the wheel. But there was an understanding that this no longer corresponds to the enlightened 19th century. In addition, there are many defendants - and their guilt obviously differs.

Therefore, Nicholas I instructed Mikhail Speransky, a dignitary then known for his liberalism, to develop some kind of system. Speransky divided the charge into 11 categories according to the degree of guilt, and for each category he prescribed what elements of the crime corresponded to it. And then the accused were assigned to these categories, and for each judge, after hearing a note about the strength of his guilt (that is, the result of the investigation, something like an indictment), they voted on whether he corresponds to this category and what punishment to assign to each category. There were five outside the ranks, sentenced to death penalty. However, the sentences were made “with reserve” so that the sovereign could show mercy and mitigate the punishment.

The procedure was such that the Decembrists themselves were not present at the trial and could not justify themselves; the judges considered only the papers prepared by the Investigative Committee. The Decembrists were only given a ready verdict. They later reproached the authorities for this: in a more civilized country they would have had lawyers and the opportunity to defend themselves.

How did the Decembrists live in exile?

Street in Chita. Watercolor by Nikolai Bestuzhev. 1829-1830 Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Those who received a sentence of hard labor were sent to Siberia. According to the verdict, they were also deprived of ranks, noble dignity and even military awards. More lenient sentences for the last categories of convicts include exile to a settlement or to distant garrisons where they continued to serve; not everyone was deprived of their ranks and nobility.

Those sentenced to hard labor began to be sent to Siberia gradually, in small batches - they were transported on horses, with couriers. The first batch, of eight people (the most famous included Volkonsky, Trubetskoy, Obolensky), were especially unlucky: they were sent to real mines, to mining factories, and there they carried out the first, truly hard winter. But then, fortunately for the Decembrists, in St. Petersburg they realized: after all, if you distribute state criminals with dangerous ideas among the Siberian mines, this also means dispersing rebellious ideas throughout the penal servitude with your own hands! Nicholas I decided, in order to avoid the spread of ideas, to gather all the Decembrists in one place. There was no prison of this size anywhere in Siberia. They set up a prison in Chita, transported there those eight who had already suffered at the Blagodatsky mine, and the rest were taken immediately there. It was cramped there; all the prisoners were kept in two large rooms. And it just so happened that there was absolutely no hard labor facility there, no mine. The latter, however, did not really worry the St. Petersburg authorities. In exchange for hard labor, the Decembrists were taken to fill up a ravine on the road or grind grain at a mill.

By the summer of 1830, a new prison was built for the Decembrists in Petrovsky Zavod, more spacious and with separate personal cells. There was no mine there either. They were led from Chita on foot, and they remembered this transition as a kind of journey through an unfamiliar and interesting Siberia: some along the way sketched drawings of the area and collected herbariums. The Decembrists were also lucky in that Nicholas appointed General Stanislav Leparsky, an honest and good-natured man, as commandant.

Leparsky fulfilled his duty, but did not oppress the prisoners and, where he could, alleviated their situation. In general, little by little the idea of ​​hard labor evaporated, leaving imprisonment in remote areas of Siberia. If not for the arrival of their wives, the Decembrists, as the tsar wanted, would have been completely cut off from past life: they were strictly forbidden to correspond. But it would be scandalous and indecent to prohibit wives from correspondence, so the isolation didn’t work out very well. There was also the important point that many still had influential relatives, including in St. Petersburg. Nicholas did not want to irritate this layer of the nobility, so they managed to achieve various small and not very small concessions.

Interior view of one of the courtyards of the casemate of the Petrovsky Plant. Watercolor by Nikolai Bestuzhev. 1830 Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

A curious social collision arose in Siberia: although deprived of the nobility and called state criminals, for local residents the Decembrists were still aristocrats - in manners, upbringing, and education. Real aristocrats were rarely brought to Siberia; the Decembrists became a kind of local curiosity, they were called “our princes,” and the Decembrists were treated with great respect. Thus, that cruel, terrible contact with the criminal convict world, which happened to exiled intellectuals later, did not happen in the case of the Decembrists either.

A modern person, who already knows about the horrors of the Gulag and concentration camps, is tempted to regard the exile of the Decembrists as a frivolous punishment. But everything is important in its historical context. For them, exile was associated with great hardships, especially in comparison with their previous way of life. And, whatever one may say, it was a conclusion, a prison: for the first years they were all constantly, day and night, shackled in hand and leg shackles. And to a large extent, the fact that now, from a distance, their conclusion does not look so terrible is their own merit: they managed not to give up, not to quarrel, and preserved self-respect and inspired real respect in those around them.

In politics, as in all public life, not to move forward means to be thrown back.

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich

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

Background to the 1825 uprising

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

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

What was the plan of the Decembrist uprising?

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

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

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

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

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

Emperor Nicholas hurried his generals to resolve the issue before nightfall. He was afraid that the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square would be taken up by the mob and other cities. Such mass participation could cost him the throne. As a result, artillery was brought to Senate Square. Trying to avoid mass casualties, General Sukhozanet gave the order to fire blanks. This did not give any results. Then the Emperor of the Russian Empire personally gave the order to shoot with combat and grapeshot. However, on initial stage this only escalated the situation as the rebels returned fire. After this, a massive attack was carried out on the area, which sowed panic and forced the revolutionaries to flee.

Consequences of the 1825 uprising

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

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

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

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

The Decembrist uprising of 1825 was the first major popular movement. Its failures lay in the fact that it was largely spontaneous in nature. The organization of the uprising was weak, and the involvement of the masses in it was practically non-existent. As a result, only the small number of Decembrists allowed the Emperor to suppress the rebellion in a short time. However, this was the first signal that there was an active movement against the government in the country.

) revolutionaries, members of secret societies who rebelled against autocracy and serfdom in December 1825. Hence the name Decembrists.

Many Decembrists were brilliant educated people from the upper strata of society, Russian officers army, participants Patriotic War of 1812 They were united by the ideas of a democratic reorganization of society, the abolition of classes, the abolition serfdom, introduction of civil liberties (freedom of speech, press, religion, movement, etc.), equality of all citizens ( cm.) before the law.
The first societies, which later went down in history under the name Decembrist, arose shortly after the Patriotic War of 1812, during a period of social upsurge, growth of national consciousness in Russian society and the relative liberalism of the era of government Alexandra I.
In 1816 it was created "Union of Salvation", in 1818 - "Union of Welfare". Having existed for several years, in 1821 the “Union of Welfare” was transformed into "Northern Society" centered at St. Petersburg And "Southern Society" in Ukraine (later the Society of United Slavs joined it). The “Northern Society” was headed by N.M. Muravyov, S.P. Trubetskoy and E.P. Obolensky. In 1823 he was admitted to it K.F. Ryleev.
In 1821–1825 in the Southern and Northern societies were created political programs - “Russian Truth” P.I. Pestel And “Constitution” N.M. Muravyova. “Russian Truth” proclaimed the abolition of serfdom, the abolition of estates, and the establishment of a republican form of government in Russia. Project N.M. Muravyov provided for the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in Russia. It also declared the abolition of serfdom, but declared landownership inviolable.
The Decembrists hoped to achieve their goals as a result of a military coup carried out by the forces of the guard and army, without the participation of the people. The uprising was originally planned for 1826, but unexpected death Emperor Alexander I in November 1825 changed the plans of the conspirators and prompted them to act ahead of schedule. They decided not to swear allegiance to the new emperor Nicholas I, and by the uprising of the guard regiments to force the Senate to publish a manifesto on the convening of the Great Council to resolve the issue of the form of government. The uprising took place in St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825. Senate Square About 3 thousand soldiers and 30 officers gathered. However, the rebels were surrounded by troops loyal to Nicholas I, and by evening the uprising was crushed. The leaders of the “Southern Society” also made an attempt to raise troops, but they managed to attract only one Chernigov regiment to the uprising, which was also defeated by the tsarist troops. The leaders of the Southern Society were arrested.
About 600 officers and 2.5 thousand soldiers were involved in the investigation and trial of the Decembrists. The investigation lasted six months, on July 13, 1826, five leaders of the uprising - P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, P.G. Kakhovsky and K.F. Ryleev- were executed, the rest of the participants in the uprising were exiled to hard labor, and then to settlement in, in the active army in, the officers were demoted to soldiers. Wives and brides of some prisoners hard labor Decembrists voluntarily followed them to Siberia and shared with their husbands all the hardships of life in the settlement. They entered Russian history and folk memory under the name Decembrists .
The pardon of the Decembrists was announced only in 1856 by the new emperor Alexander II.
The Decembrists made a significant contribution to the history of Russian social thought, to the development of culture, science, and education. Many of them were talented poets, writers, historians (K.F. Ryleev, A.I. Odoevsky, A.A. Bestuzhev, V.K. Kuchelbecker, F.N. Glinka and others). The Decembrists who survived hard labor, while in a settlement, studied the nature of Siberia and its population, educated the people: they opened schools ( cm.), taught themselves.
IN public consciousness Russians Decembrists are people who sacrificed their position and well-being for the sake of the idea of ​​social justice.
A number of works of literature and art are dedicated to the Decembrist uprising. In painting, the most famous works are by K.I. Kolman "Petersburg. Uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825” and V.F. Timm "Uprising of December 14, 1825".
Poems dedicated to the Decembrists A.S. Pushkin"Arion" (1827) and "To Siberia" (1827), the lines of which Your sorrowful work and high aspiration will not be lost became winged. A line from the poetic response to Pushkin “The fiery sounds of prophetic strings...” (1828–1829) by the Decembrist poet A.I. Odoevsky A spark will ignite a flame also became popular and was used as an epigraph in the newspaper of the Russian Social Democrats "Spark"(1900–1905).
To the wives of the Decembrists ( Decembrists) the poem is dedicated to ON THE. Nekrasova"Russian Women" (1871–1872).
In our time Decembrist can name a woman who followed her husband to distant lands, despite previously known difficulties (climatic, domestic, etc.)
“Petersburg. Uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825." Artist K.I. Kolman. 1830:

Silhouettes of executed Decembrists. Medallion title page almanac A.I. Herzen and N.P. Ogarev “Polar Star”:

Russia. Large linguistic and cultural dictionary. - M.: State Institute Russian language named after. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. T.N. Chernyavskaya, K.S. Miloslavskaya, E.G. Rostova, O.E. Frolova, V.I. Borisenko, Yu.A. Vyunov, V.P. Chudnov. 2007 .

See what "DECEMBRISTS" are in other dictionaries:

DECEMBRISTS- figures of the first stage of Russian. will release. movements, the period of “noble revolutionism” (see V.I. Lenin, PSS, vol. 13, p. 356), organized in December. 1825 armed. opposition to the autocratic serfdom. building. After the defeat... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

DECEMBRISTS- Russian noble revolutionaries who raised an uprising against autocracy and serfdom in December 1825. Mainly officers, participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign trips Russian army 1813 15. The first organizations in 1816 21 Union ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

DECEMBRISTS- 1) in Russia, people who wanted to carry out a coup on December 14, 1825 in order to change the way of government; The pretext was their desire to enthrone c. book Konstantin Pavlovich. 2) in France, adherents of Louis Napoleon, who made December 2... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Decembrists- Russian figures liberation movement first quarter of the 19th century The movement arose among educated noble youth, influenced by European social thought, the ideas of the French encyclopedists and the Great French... ... Political science. Dictionary.

DECEMBRISTS- organizers of the failed armed rebellion in Russia in December 1825, representatives of the second stage of the Russian revolutionary movement. (Contrary to popular belief, it is right to attribute events to the first stage of this movement as follows... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

DECEMBRISTS- DECEMBERISTS, members of secret societies who in December 1825 raised an uprising against autocracy and serfdom. The societies included Ch. Thus, officers, participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813 15, members of Masonic lodges. The first... ...Russian history

Decembrists- noble revolutionaries who in December 1825 (hence the name) launched an uprising against autocracy and serfdom. Many D. were born in St. Petersburg. More than 70 future D. studied in educational institutions of St. Petersburg (cadet, naval, ... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

DECEMBRISTS- DECEMBERISTS, USSR, Leningradkino, 1926, b/w, 148 min. Historical revolutionary film. The film recreates episodes of the December uprising of 1825. Last role in the cinema of Vladimir Maximov. Cast: Vladimir Maksimov (see Vladimir MAKSIMOV... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

Decembrists- DECEMBERISTS, Russian. revolutionaries, figures of the noble stage of the revolution. movements in Russia. During the formative years of L.'s personality, Decembrism as a political system. the movement became a thing of the past, but as an ideology it remained a real factor influencing the formation of politics.... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Who are they - the Decembrists? From school we were taught that the nobles who came out to Senate Square on December 14, 1825 were, in essence, the first Russian revolutionaries and progressive people of their time, who dreamed of giving the peasants freedom. It is difficult to disagree with the first part of the statement - “the first Russian revolutionaries.” Indeed, the first Russian... So what? The very first revolutionary in the history of mankind is none other than Messire Soton, by the way... Regarding the second part of this cliché - “they dreamed of giving the peasants freedom”... You will agree with me that there is some difference between “ dream of freeing the peasants” and in order to really free your “baptized property”, right? Now remember the name of the future Decembrist, who, without waiting for the uprising, gave his peasants their freedom. Don't remember? Me too. Do you know why? Because among all these salon Jacobins, " people's intercessors and sad people” there simply WERE NOT any.

But each of them could have done this completely legally - more than two decades before the riot on Senate Square, Emperor Alexander I signed the “Decree on Free Plowmen,” hoping that the Russian nobility would heed the voice of Christian love and take the opportunity to free the serfs. Alas, the Russian nobility, instead, continued to lose the “two-legged beast” to each other at cards. And the future Decembrists were no exception. Pyotr Kakhovsky (it was he who mortally wounded General Miloradovich on December 14, whom Nicholas, wanting to prevent bloodshed, sent to the rebels as a parliamentarian), literally on the eve of the uprising, it was at the card table that he parted with his last serfs, finally turning into a proletarian who “except for his chains "There's nothing to lose...

Further. Did you pay attention to what these “advanced people” “dreamed” about? That's right, give the peasants freedom. Note, freedom, not land. Carefully studying any of constitutional projects Decembrists, you come across the same thing - the land remains the property of the landowner, and the peasants are offered formal “freedom” and the unenviable role of hired laborers. Plus a tiny plot of land “for a vegetable garden,” which the Decembrists themselves contemptuously called “cat land” - in the sense that this piece of land can only feed a cat... A reasonable question arises: did Russian peasants need such freedom? One of the future “heroes of the Senate” tried to implement this utopia by announcing to his peasants that he intended to free them, but at the same time keep the land for himself. Naturally, the peasants who answered their master: “No, master, we are yours, and the land is ours!”, were complete fools and dense ignoramuses, since they refused the happiness that suddenly fell upon them... Well, really, if you think about it Why the hell does a peasant need land? Already in exile, the Decembrist Lunin, who managed from Siberia to establish the most warm relations with English intelligence, and for this, imprisoned in the Akatuysky Central, tried to pull a similar trick with his serfs, who, all the years while Michel was in exile, regularly paid his rent to his managers. He made a will, where he also granted his serfs manumission, but left the lands for his family. Well, the “chain dogs of the Autocracy” - Lunin’s notaries and lawyers - had to explain to the “advanced man” that, according to the current legislation, he does not have the right to free his serfs, depriving them of their only means of livelihood - land.

Perhaps the gentlemen of the Decembrists did not understand that a landless peasant was not much different from a black slave on a plantation? No, they understood it perfectly well, and their entire calculation was based on precisely this - by making the peasant nominally “free”, turning him into a farm laborer, forced to work for the landowner not for three days, as was the case under serfdom, but for the whole week. And in addition, get rid of the obligations that this very serfdom imposed on the landowner in relation to the peasants. How this experiment would ultimately turn out for the country is also not difficult to predict - sooner or later, embittered men would take up stakes and axes and create such a bloody “black repartition” that no one would think it was enough. True, the country would have been thrown back a hundred or two years into the past, and would have become easy prey for any conqueror. But this is so, by the way...This is the right place to say a few words about such a phenomenon as serfdom. The practice of assigning peasants to landowners, introduced by Emperor Peter the Great, was completely justified for its time. It must be remembered that at that time not only the peasants were obliged to support their master, but the master was also obliged to be in the state - primarily military - service. (Let’s not forget that Russia was constantly at war at that time). With the abolition of noble conscription by Empress Catherine II, serfdom in its previous form lost all meaning, which resulted in a peasant uprising under the leadership of Pugachev...

Fortunately, the Decree on the abolition of serfdom had to be adopted immediately after the Decree on noble liberty. But Empress Catherine, who was well aware that she owed her accession to the Throne entirely to the noble Guard, did not dare to take such a step. Her son, the slandered Emperor Paul I, had a firm intention to abolish serfdom - it was on his initiative that Russian peasants were first sworn in, that is, legally recognized as the same subjects as representatives of other classes. It was by the Decree of Paul I that landowners were prohibited from selling their peasants without families and forcing them to work for themselves more than three days a week. And besides this, the landowners were obliged, in order to avoid famine and epidemics in lean years, to allocate food products to their peasants and provide medical care. These steps of Paul turned the Russian aristocracy against Him. And when the noble discontent coincided with the well-founded anxiety of the British, who saw a direct threat to their interests in the campaign against India, which Paul was preparing together with Napoleon, the British ambassador in St. Petersburg, Sir Charles Whitworth, gave the command, and the Emperor was killed. By the way, among those who brought deceived soldiers to Senate Square on December 14, 1825 (we will return to this, as well as to the “British trace” in the Decembrist affair), there were many direct descendants of those who appeared in Mikhailovsky on the March night of 1801 castle to kill the Emperor, and to whom Paul contemptuously threw: “The Lord gave Me the Imperial crown, and not you, gentlemen. Therefore, you can only take my life, but I will die as Emperor. Do your job!”

But let’s return to the Decembrists, to their projects for the “arrangement of Russia.” What else, besides the “liberation” of the peasants, did they have in their stashes? A lot of interesting things... For example, the project “ final decision Jewish question" in Russia. According to his "Russian Pravda", all subjects of the Empire of the Mosaic Law were deprived of all movable and immovable property and were forcibly expelled from Russia for " historical homeland", to Palestine. Deportation was supposed to take place government account, under the escort of troops, so that the Jews driven from their homes, God forbid, do not run away and remain in Russia. Very, very nice... And one more small historical parallel. In their constitutional researches, the gentlemen Decembrists proposed completely changing the administrative-territorial division of Russia - instead united Empire it was planned to create a kind of “confederation” of 14 “states” (!) or “lands”, formally subordinate to the nominal “ supreme ruler" In these newly formed “states”, built according to nationality, priority was declared local language and local laws, their own “national guards” were introduced... Simply put, “take as much sovereignty as you can carry.” We ourselves saw how this policy ends after 1991. But - an interesting detail - exactly the same scheme for the dismemberment of Russia was already proposed in the 20th century by the Minister of Eastern Territories of the Third Reich, Alfred Rosenberg, in his famous “Wall around Moscow” project. A former Russian subject, born and educated in Tsarist Russia, who understood Russian no worse than you and me, Rosenberg at one time was even close to the Bolsheviks, and only in 1919 did he pack his bags and leave for the Fatherland. And the future ideologist of ethnic cleansing was no less enthusiastic about the Decembrists than some Herzen or Leo Tolstoy. And, by the way, it was his project that formed the basis of the notorious “Captured Nations Act” (the so-called “Jackson-Vannick Amendment”) adopted by the US Congress, in which Russia is accused of “occupying” such interesting states as, for example, "Cossacks" and "Idel - Ural". Yes, “at-a-great company” - American senators- Russophobes, Rosenberg together with old man Aloizovich, well, and our “heroes - constitutionalists”, Pestel, Muravyov and others...

Let's look further at what other surprises would have awaited Russia if Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich had not shown decisiveness on the very first day of his reign. So, regular army dissolves - apparently, with the abolition of the Russian Empire, all its geopolitical opponents - Turkey, Austria, Great Britain, France - automatically turn into disinterested friends, or even move to the Moon altogether... Supreme power is transferred to a certain Veche of the Russian Land - a kind of constituent body. Wonderful! Elected authority! But “universal” suffrage is limited by a number of nuances. A strict property qualification is introduced, immediately cutting off almost the entire population of Russia, except for large landowners, from participating in elections; another qualification is being introduced, for literacy (education is exclusively paid!); A gender qualification is introduced - women are not allowed to vote under any circumstances. Sorry, but this is called “tailoring” the laws “to suit yourself”... Let's go further. “Dictatorship of the transitional period” or constitutional monarchy... Who should become the newly-minted Dictator or “constitutional” Emperor is not clear, especially considering that all - ALL - members of the Imperial House of Romanov, according to the plans of the Decembrists, should be expelled from the country forever, and even better - completely destroyed. The Decembrist Shteingel, for example, “for the sake of economy,” proposed hanging Members of the Imperial House on ship masts with “garlands” - the noose for the next executed person is tied to the feet of his predecessor, on which the next Grand Duke or Princess is hanged, to whose feet we attach another noose, and so on... The Marquis de Sade applauds; The regicides Sverdlov, Goloshchekin and Yurovsky, with their heads down, stand on the sidelines and smoke nervously...

I deliberately do not raise the question of mercy and philanthropy, I just want to ask what you think, from the person who proposes this, with mental health Is everything all right? Let us note, for reference, that regicide is the only point on which all participants in the conspiracy were completely unanimous. As for the rest, there are as many putschists as there are “recipes”, “how we can organize Russia”...

And now, let me give here several portraits of our “idealistic constitutionalists.” Who should we start with? If the reader doesn’t mind, let’s briefly get to know Colonel Pestel, especially since this name was well known to the people of Irkutsk long before the events of December 14, 1825. The father of the future Decembrist, General Ivan (Johann) Pestel was - neither more nor less - the Irkutsk Governor-General. He himself, however, had never been here, having given the province “at the mercy” of his protégé, the civil governor Pyotr Treskin, who established a regime of corruption and personal dictatorship in the province. The Irkutsk merchants repeatedly tried to send messengers to St. Petersburg with complaints about the prevailing order in the region, but the “complainants” were either caught and returned home under escort, or they simply “disappeared” on the road - so much so that you won’t even find their remains... To say that Pestel - the elder “knew nothing,” which means he’s lying, because it was for this purpose that he achieved the appointment of “his own man” to the post of civil governor.

I don’t know what percentage of the bribes collected from Irkutsk merchants Treskin sent to his patron, but, presumably, it was considerable... In 1802, the authorities of the “Siberian proconsuls,” as the Irkutsk residents dubbed this pair of governors, came to an end - another complaint finally reached the capital, - M. M. Speransky was appointed governor of Irkutsk, and Treskin, under good guard in a covered cart, went to St. Petersburg. Pestel Sr., however, escaped arrest, but was immediately removed from his “grain position.”

But if Pestel the father went down in Russian history as a dictator on a local scale, then his son had different appetites. In his disproportionately large head with deep-set eyes on a puffy, sallow face, a plan for a totalitarian dictatorship on an all-Russian scale had matured. Abolition of ranks, classes, all religions, with the exception of Orthodoxy; the creation of a secret police subordinate to the Government of 140,000 “extremely devoted” secret spies, plus another apparatus of 4,000 super-spies directly subordinate to the Dictator (Pestel assigned this role to himself) and controlling the Government. Closed trials of dissidents, prohibition of any public associations, the most severe internal terror against anyone suspected of reaction. Analogies in the history of the twentieth century can be easily found. “...Pestel was ready, at least by force, to force the people to accept all the transformations he had planned,” Merezhkovsky wrote about him. To most of his minions, according to their own testimonies, Pavel Ivanovich inspired the same horror that a boa constrictor inspires in rabbits. “Smart as a devil, but little heart” - this characteristic of Kuchelbecker is another one of the softest. “Demon”, “devil”, “ice man” - this was all said about Pestel... But here are the memories left about him by the priest of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg Myslovsky, who visited the Decembrists imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress: “This very similarity with the great man (meaning Napoleon Bonaparte - author) everyone who knew Pestel unanimously approved was the cause of all his extravagances and his crimes." And the same thing, by the way, happened in the case of S. Muravyov-Apostol: “...he also had an extraordinary resemblance to Napoleon, which probably played a lot with his imagination.” In a word,

We all look at Napoleons,
There are millions of two-legged creatures;
We honor everyone with zeros,
And in units - yourself!

Pavel Pestel assigned himself the role of the “Russian Bonaparte”, a sort of “one” among hundreds of millions of “zeros”, whom he almost ordered not to march in formation. But, miracle! Where did all this “Bonapartism” go from him as soon as Pavel Ivanovich was arrested and found himself in Petropavlovka? Here are the lines from his letter to the Emperor, written in the very first days of his detention: “I cannot justify myself to His Majesty; I ask only His mercy: may He deign to use in my favor the most wonderful right of His crown - pardon, and my whole life will be devoted to gratitude and boundless affection for His Person and His August Family. Like this! The other prisoners, by the way, behaved no better. Literally, having overwhelmed Emperor Nicholas with letters, each, begging for forgiveness for himself, swore allegiance to the Throne, simultaneously dousing and drowning others. Would you like to take a look? E. Obolensky writes to Nicholas I: “Having confessed, I have a calm conscience, I fall, Your Majesty, at Your feet and ask You for forgiveness, not earthly, but Christian... Father of Your subjects, look into my heart and forgive in Your soul To your lost son." The failed “dictator” S. Trubetskoy is glad that he did not go to Senate Square (“nobly” “throwing away” his accomplices), otherwise “he could have become a true fiend of hell, some kind of Robespierre or Marat, so in repentance I thank God.” “Singer of Decembrism,” poet K. Ryleev: “I confess sincerely... that with my criminal determination I served as the most disastrous example.” The words from the letter to Nicholas I of Kakhovsky (who, on behalf of Ryleev, was going to kill the Tsar) are also interesting: “I love you as a person, with all my heart I wish to be able to love you as the Tsar.” A little over a hundred years will pass, and also begging for forgiveness, lying at the feet of the investigators, kissing their boots, will be the ideological heirs of the Decembrists - the “old Bolsheviks”, Tukhachevsky and Blucher, the “soul of the party” Kolya Bukharin and others - their name is legion. They will squirm, lie, drown each other, will deny their participation in conspiracies. But this will not help - they will still be slapped on the back of the head in the internal prison on Lubyanka or in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. From a revolver. And their brains will be washed off the floor with a stream from a fire gutter. Well, for now we will return to ours heroes. Who's next in line? The poet Ryleev? Kondraty Fedorovich, on the way out! With your things!

In his memoirs, published at the beginning of the last century in the magazine " Historical Bulletin", Ryleev’s mother, by the way, tells how at the age of three her son became seriously ill with lobar pneumonia, and was literally on the verge of death. In response to her prayers for the salvation of her son, a miracle was shown to her: an Angel of God descended to the suffering woman and showed her the whole future life of Kondraty - right up to the gallows on the wall of the Peter and Paul Fort. ... We can have different attitudes towards these memories, but let’s pay attention to one detail. Croupous pneumonia - doctors have long known that people who have had this disease in early childhood, subsequently suffer from serious mental disorders. Let's take a closer look at Kondraty Fedorovich. The direct opposite of the cold and gloomy Pavel Pestel: impetuous movements, fits of uncontrollable laughter, not just fiery, but igniting speeches, burning eyes... There is an analogy with another fiery revolutionary - Lev Davidovich Bronstein - Trotsky. And here the similarities between this pair of “demons of the revolution” do not end: all our revolutionaries have always been characterized by extreme Russophobia; if they “loved Russia,” it was not the one that exists, but the one that their imagination depicted. Such is Ryleev - the author of the poem “Voinarovsky”, praising the betrayal of Hetman Mazepa! A.S. Pushkin, by the way, was deeply outraged by Ryleev’s poem, and responded to it with his famous “Poltava”. Hysterical and suffering from seizures, Ryleev, like many mentally ill people, considered himself a subtle manipulator and, indeed, was distinguished by extreme caution and cunning. In the last days before the planned uprising, Ryleev was as if in a fever, in an ecstasy of determination, but he rejected the leadership of the entire uprising, only inciting others to revolt. He tried to force those who were hesitant to speak out, even through blackmail. Decembrist Bulatov, Ryleev’s classmate in the corps, said about him: “he was born to brew porridge, but he himself always remained on the sidelines.” That is, K. Ryleev belonged to that class of people who want “to acquire capital and maintain innocence.”

We have already quoted Ryleev’s letter to Emperor Nicholas I, written by him from the Peter and Paul Fortress. I think that with the personality of this vile manipulator, who made the “flight of the bumblebee” from the noose during the execution, everything will become completely clear if we remember how he behaved on the day of the uprising. Having infuriated everyone with his violent eloquence, Ryleev sets off, supposedly in search of Prince Trubetskoy, scheduled to become a “dictator” (Trubetskoy at that time had already sworn allegiance to Nikolai), but this was only an excuse for leaving. In fact, the cunning Kondraty Fedorovich went home to have lunch. He gave his friends the opportunity to disentangle the porridge he had brewed, especially since the porridge began to smell of burning... Nikolai Bestuzhev in his “Notes” talked about how after a meeting of the members secret society November 27: “Ryleev, brother Alexander and I... all three decided to walk through the city at night and stop every soldier... and tell them... that they had been deceived by not showing the will of the late tsar, according to which freedom was given to the peasants and reduced up to 15 years of military service. This was supposed to be told in order to prepare the spirit of the army...” The Decembrists ordered the soldiers brought to the square to shout the slogan: “For Konstantin and the Constitution!”, simultaneously “explaining” that the Constitution is the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, but at the same time, “forgetting” to report that Konstantin Pavlovich abdicated the Throne in favor younger brother, Nikolai. Our “Jacobins”, without hesitation, deliberately deceived illiterate soldiers, and they did not care that in case of failure, these deceived soldiers would be punished. Well, yes, “the end justifies the means”...

And here are the other characters - Yakubovich and Kakhovsky - to this “sweet couple” Ryleev assigned the role of direct regicides, in order “in case of something” to present the murder of the Sovereign as a “private initiative” of a certain Kakhovsky/Yakubovich. Let's pay tribute to Kondraty Fedorovich's intuition - this couple is very colorful. Yakubovich is a chatterbox and poser, even outwardly somewhat similar to his modern namesake, a showman from the “Field of Miracles,” a lover of showing off and showing off in front of the young ladies. A poseur and a brute, exiled to the Caucasus for dueling, where in a skirmish with highlanders he was lightly wounded in the head. The wound had healed long ago, but Yakubovich stubbornly did not take off the black bandage, showing it off like a sash. A typical petty ambitious man, from among whom the ranks of revolutionary organizations are usually recruited. A man lacking the ability to play any significant role in existing society, consumed by envy of more gifted people, he was ready to commit any crime, be a member of any organization, just to “play a role.” “Yakubovich at a distance smelled of falsehood, he is too theatrical,” wrote the Soviet Decembrist scholar Tseitlin about him. Neither subtract nor add.

Not at all like Petrushka Kakhovsky, whose name in Irkutsk is the street on which the only attraction is located - a reception center for the homeless (my applause!). “...A young man with a nondescript gray face, like the dusty face of a provincial army lieutenant, with an arrogantly protruding lower lip and plaintive eyes, like those of a sick child or a dog that has lost its owner. A worn black civilian tailcoat, a shabby neck scarf, a dirty canvas shirt, frayed trousers, worn-out shoes. Either a theater robber or a piano tuner. “Proletar” - a word they just learned in Russia” - this is the description of Kakhovsky given to us by Dmitry Merezhkovsky. A man without a core, a retired lieutenant, a petty nobleman entangled in debt, taken into custody by Odoevsky. He rents a shabby little room in the attic, where all the furnishings are a small table, a mirror, a camp bed and an overcoat instead of a blanket. The only thing of value is a pair of dueling pistols. The only decoration of the room is a small portrait of Sand, who killed the Russian ambassador Kotzebue. Favorite hobby- pose in front of a mirror with a pistol to your temple, and then put thirteen bottles in the backyard and gloomily shoot them, muttering after each shot: “Alexander Pavlovich... Konstantin Pavlovich... Nikolai Pavlovich...” - and so “wet” the Imperial House every day, several times. Dear reader, do you still have questions about Kakhovsky? The clinic is there...

I think there is no point in continuing this series of portraits further - it seems that everything is already clear as it is. Severe complexes, displeasure - first and only! - their own place in life, empty talk and buffoonery... A collection of brethren led by adventurers and simply mentally ill people who, in order to satisfy their own ambitions, are ready to plunge their homeland into the bloody chaos of revolutionary anarchy... Among them there are a suspiciously large number of homosexuals, cohabiting almost openly, having lost shame and having lost morality perverts - but I don’t want to write about this, because it’s disgusting. I’ll give here just an anecdote from the time of my student youth: did you know that the first gay parade in Russia took place on December 14, 1825 on Senate Square? After a triple gun salute, a mass race of gays took place on the Neva ice, which, however, ended in complete failure.

We will not retell here what happened on Senate Square on December 14, 1825 - everyone knows this very well. Let us only note that if something similar happened in modern Russia, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation would initiate criminal cases against the gentlemen of the Decembrists under twenty-seven (!) articles of the current Criminal Code, three of which provide the highest measure punishment - execution. And I don’t see any contradiction here - ANY state not only has the right - it simply MUST defend itself from any attempts at a violent coup, under whatever banners they are undertaken - even under the red banner of the Bolshevik Party, even under the green banner of Islamic Jihad, and the Decembrists here is no exception.

This is not the first time I have had to turn to the topic of the so-called “uprising on Senate Street”, to talk both about the true appearance of its main organizers, and about the forces that stood behind these “would-be heroes”. The result of this work was our seminar “Real Decembrist Studies,” which arose on the initiative of students from a number of Irkutsk universities who studied my publications on this topic. And at almost every meeting I hear the following question: “Excuse me!” Suppose the Decembrists, in fact, were not such heroes and defenders of the people at all; suppose they really tried to carry out an armed coup, for which they are punished in the most severe way in any country in the world... But what about their enormous contribution to the development of Siberia - after all, the Decembrists exiled here brought genuine culture here!

I will take the liberty of declaring that such statements can be made either by people who are not at all knowledgeable about history their region, or those who are consciously interested in preserving the Decembrist myth, which, upon closer examination, simply crumbles into dust. Let's look at the facts.

Almost forty years before the events on Senate Street, on October 15, 1791, another exile, Alexander Radishchev, arrived in Irkutsk. Here is what Irkutsk historians F. Kudryavtsev and G. Wendrich write about this: “A. N. Radishchev had the opportunity to get acquainted with the books of the first in Siberia public library and museum collections, was interested in questions public education, trade, the state of industry and crafts...” So, the first library in Siberia, a men's gymnasium, a museum founded in 1782 - isn't this culture?! But there are no future “enlightenment leaders of Siberia” on the horizon: at that time they distant year never existed yet... But if you follow the “generally accepted” point of view, it turns out that it was the “heroes of the Senate” who gave fire and writing to the local population, rolled the first wheel into wild Siberia, taught ignorant Siberians to wash in the bathhouse, taught the basics of arithmetic, versification, preference and organizing home theaters - in general, they taught everything!…

After an excursion to the house-museum of Prince Volkonsky, for example, an inexperienced visitor may get the wrong impression that the Irkutsk Melpomene was conceived precisely within these walls, where Princess Maria Alexandrovna organized an amateur theater; that performances were regularly staged here, which the leading people of the city gathered to watch. Who and why gathered at the Volkonskys - we will talk ahead, but now - about the theater. Let us ask ourselves: why would the princess come up with such an idea - to organize a home theater? And it’s all very simple: one day Her Ladyship and her daughter went to the city, I repeat - to the city theater... And the civil governor Pyatnitsky, who met them there, showed excessive zeal, and for the next day, by personal order, he forbade the wives of state criminals from visiting public institutions, so that exile would be completely didn’t seem like a raspberry... I agree, a stupid order... And the lady shook her chiseled head with curls near her pink ears: “and we’ll go the other way!” So what's the result? Here are the memoirs of a student of the Decembrists, N.A. Belogolovy, who participated in this amateur performance: “... they decided to organize a home performance of the boys who gathered in the Volkonskys’ house, I don’t remember... who managed to choose Fonvizin’s “Minor” for this; a play that was least suitable for the home theater... Rehearsals at the Volkonskys took place quite often with the full complement of our troupe, but either nothing good came of our performance, or for other reasons this idea soon collapsed, and we never managed to debut at stage stage. One must assume that we were the most primitive actors...” This is where the Volkonskys’ entire “home theater” ended! But how many sighs of intellectuals - “ah, the home theater of Princess Volkonskaya!”... Yes, there was no theater!

As for the “advanced people” who gathered in the princess’s living room, here too there was nothing but disappointment... The same N. Belogolovy recalls how the exiled S.G. Volkonsky came to visit his own sister, by the way, the widow of the Minister of the Imperial Court (like that!) After this, the pilgrimage began: “...all senior officials diligently visited the Volkonskys’ house, on the one hand, encouraged by the friendship of the Chief Chief of the region, Muravyov, with the Volkonskys, and on the other, knowing that the Volkonskys, with their great connections in St. Petersburg, could help in future career, and open access to the capital’s living rooms.” All the love! And although there is nothing shameful in the desire to make a career, these “advanced people” who simply used Volkonsky’s family connections are just as little attractive to me as he himself...

Now about the “friendship” of Governor General Muravyov-Amursky with the exiled “lordships” and “lordships”. Let us pay attention to one circumstance: Princess Trubetskoy, before her marriage to the failed dictator (what a surprise!...) bore the surname La Val and came from an old French family (one of her direct ancestors was the warlock Gilles de La Val Baron de Rue, the famous “Gilles Blue Beard", accused of 114 human sacrifices and burned on October 10, 1440). Muravyov-Amursky’s wife is also a French aristocrat, whose maiden name was Poe, and during the years of living in Russia she never learned to speak Russian. Naturally, in a city with a population of twenty thousand, these two French women simply could not help but meet. And Muravyov-Amursky is happy: he has a lot of things to do, and here his wife demands attention... Well, let them at least communicate with this La Val - Trubetskoy, discuss Parisian fashions... Here, presumably, our princess began to cry to the governor that her husband, out of boredom, slowly falls into a quiet insanity... Well, and the governor’s wife - to her husband: “-Ah, mon sher, attach our dear Katrin’s husband somewhere...” Muravyov did so - and Trubetskoy, and the rest of the company - so much so that he himself then he was not happy... The civil governor, the same Pyatnitsky, began to write denunciations to the capital, saying that this is who the sovereign's favorite had made friends with... Emperor Nicholas I was a man of state mind, and he reacted to the denunciations somewhat differently than he expected - just sent Pyatnitsky to retire...

How did our “luminaries of culture” thank the Governor-General, who, with his kind attitude, softened their ambivalent position in the eyes of the people of Irkutsk? No way! When, after the death of Nicholas I, His son, Alexander II, signed an act of amnesty for the Decembrists, our “heroes” threw a tantrum right in the office of the unsuspecting vice-governor, who invited them to acquaint them with the Imperial Decree - they, you see, consider the amnesty “ mockery" of oneself... And the next day they began to pack their suitcases and drove to European Russia- live out your life in the “names”, fortunately, the serfs have not disappeared anywhere!

In Siberia, only the Decembrist D.I. Zavalishin remained - a personality, judging by his deeds, petty and vile: Zavalishin scrupulously looked for the slightest errors in the work of Muravyov-Amursky, and then published nasty articles in the capital's "Sea Collection". In the end, Muravyov got tired of this, and he ensured that Zavalishin was transported from Siberia... no, not to Chukotka, but home, to the Moscow region! Reader, have you heard of people being exiled from Siberia to the Moscow region? This Zavalishin is one of a kind, simply unique!

And where, after this, is “the enormous role of the Decembrists in the enlightenment of Siberia”? Did the Decembrists Yushnevsky and Borisov give lessons to the children of the merchant Belogolov? Yes, but there was a lot to take from Whitehead for this! And somehow there were no different “free public schools” for the Decembrists in Irkutsk... Did the capital’s doctor, the Decembrist Wolf, use Irkutsk residents? Yes, Wolf was good doctor, that’s why he had an extensive practice and a solid clientele who did not skimp on treatment. Elite doctor, nothing more... What else - geographical studies? Mapping, learning local languages? Mineral exploration? Undoubtedly! Only such activities, especially in border areas, despite the fact that they are carried out by exiles state criminals, is very reminiscent of banal espionage... However, a word to a contemporary.

“In Irkutsk we found the Englishman Gil, who lived there as a tourist for several months and managed to infiltrate all levels of society. He moved as an insider among the officials, was a member of all merchant houses, constantly met with the exiled Polish element, who made up a fairly significant contingent, spent whole days and evenings in the houses of the Volkonskys and Trubetskoys... - writes the official special assignments under Governor-General Muravyov-Amursky, Bernhard Vasilyevich Struve - and all this with such apparent simplicity, as if he was traveling only for himself and did not pursue any other goals. The British will penetrate everywhere, track everything, find out everything in order to achieve very clearly created and persistently pursued goals.”

Very interesting quote, especially considering that this was written exactly before starting Crimean War, which British Empire in alliance with the Turks, French and Austrians, unleashed against Russia. The British still call this war the Russian Campaign... Combat operations were carried out not only in Crimea: the British fleet attacked the Russian Far East and Primorye. And in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which at that time belonged to the Russian Empire, the British tried to incite the Finns to revolt, promising help with weapons and international recognition. The Finns, to their considerable credit, then sent emissaries of King George very far away...

Why did I remember this? Isn't it clear? Then let's move on to stubborn facts. So:

Fact one. On the night of March 11, 1801, in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, a group of aristocrats killed Emperor Paul I, who was preparing an expedition to British India together with Napoleon. The mastermind of the conspiracy was the British ambassador in St. Petersburg, Sir Whitworth, who transferred more than 3 million rubles in gold to the conspirators, and was responsible for their evacuation on a British warship in case of failure;

Fact two. A quarter of a century later, on December 14, 1825, another group of aristocrats, taking advantage of the interregnum, withdraws troops from the barracks in order to seize power. At the same time, the British Royal Navy enters the Mediterranean Sea with amphibious assault forces on board and heads for the Bosphorus. At the same time, Austria and Türkiye are transferring troops to the borders of Russia;

Fact three. Another quarter of a century later, Britain, in alliance with the same Austria, Turkey and France, which “joined them,” ruled by Lord Palmerston’s puppet, Napoleon III, launched a campaign against the Russian Empire, which was included in textbooks under the name of the Crimean War. The British fleet is conducting military operations against Russia in Primorye; British agents are trying to start a rebellion in Finland...

...And now - fact four. On the eve of the war, in the Irkutsk living rooms of the exiled princes Volkonsky and Trubetskoy, we find the BRITISH traveler Gil - a kind of shirtless guy, eager for Siberian impressions... And here, in the offices of disgraced aristocrats, living on 40,000 gold rubles a year, and at the same time , very offended by the Sovereign Emperor, are removed and handed over to the English “tourist” detailed maps border zone, dictionaries of local peoples, information about minerals. At all times, all intelligence services in the world have recruited their agents to enemy countries, primarily among those dissatisfied with the existing system and all kinds of “offended” people. Russia's main geopolitical adversary, at least since the 16th century, has been Great Britain. Is it a coincidence that the Decembrist Mikhail Lunin, exiled to the Irkutsk province, was imprisoned in the Akatuysky Central precisely because he regularly sent certain “articles” and “scientific works” through his sister to London?

Come on, thoughtful reader, based on the above facts, with the “huge contribution of the Decembrists to the study of Siberia,” do you understand everything now? And what kind of “good Soros” financed these “researchers”, I suppose, too? I am sure that now you yourself will correctly answer the question that I put in the title of the article...

No, I do not call for erasing the memory of the Decembrists, throwing them out of our history. Moreover, not all of them were such complete scoundrels as Lunin and Shteingel, Ryleev and Kakhovsky, Poggio and Pestel - among them there were also those who sincerely repented of the mistakes of their youth. One of the last participants in the rebellion on Senate Street, Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol, who died in 1886, admitted at the end of his life that he “always thanked God for the failure of December 14,” and said that it was not a Russian phenomenon at all, and that, in general, , the Decembrists were cruelly mistaken, since “the constitution did not constitute the happiness of the peoples, and was completely unsuitable for Russia.” When, on one of the anniversaries of December 14, some liberals presented him with a laurel wreath, Matvey Ivanovich became extremely indignant and angry. “On this day,” he shouted at the uninvited guests, menacingly waving a heavy cane, “we must cry and pray, and not celebrate!”, after which he put them, along with their wreath, outside the threshold.

The existing memorial museums of Trubetskoy and Volkonsky in Irkutsk are quite sufficient. Those who wish can regularly lay flowers at the monuments of Poggio, Yushnevsky and others buried in Irkutsk. But don't do it national heroes of people who, out of sheer ambition and the “Napoleonic complex,” opposed their own country and their people.

Time passes, and more and more Irkutsk residents - and, first of all, students - are freed from the decade of the “Decembrist myth” replicated by AGITPROP. And it pleases.