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, so the influence of Masonic rituals was felt in the life of the Union. Disagreements among society members over the possibility of regicide during a 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 and 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, the election of officials, the 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 the blows of grapeshot.
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.
Decembrists gathered on Senate Square 3 thousand soldiers. They lined up in a square around the monument to Peter the Great. Hardly many of them were aware of the political meaning of the uprising. Contemporaries with very different views told how the rebel soldiers shouted: “Hurray for the constitution!” - believing that this is the name of Konstantin Pavlovich’s wife. The Decembrists themselves, not having the opportunity or time for overt political agitation, led soldiers to the square in the name of the “legitimate” sovereign Constantine: “Having sworn allegiance to one sovereign, immediately swearing allegiance to another is a sin!” However, Constantine was desirable to the soldiers not in himself, but as a “good” (supposedly) king - the antipode to the “evil” (the whole guard knew this) Nicholas.
The mood in the square of rebels on Senate Square was cheerful and upbeat. Alexander Bestuzhev, in front of the soldiers, sharpened his saber on the granite of the monument to Peter. The rebels remained passive but steadfast. Even when there was only one Moscow regiment on the square, General Miloradovich, the hero of 1812, an associate of Suvorov and Kutuzov, tried to persuade the Muscovites to disperse and began an incendiary speech (and he knew how to talk to soldiers), but the Decembrist P.G. Kakhovsky shot him. Miloradovich’s attempt was repeated by Guard Commander A.L. Voinov, but also unsuccessfully, although this envoy got off cheaply: he was shell-shocked by a log thrown from a crowd of onlookers. Meanwhile, reinforcements approached the rebels. New attempts to persuade them to submit were made by the third of the brothers of Alexander I, Mikhail Pavlovich, and two metropolitans - St. Petersburg, Father Seraphim, and Kiev, Father Eugene. Each of them also had to flee. “What kind of metropolitan are you when you swore allegiance to two emperors in two weeks!” - the Decembrist soldiers shouted after the fleeing father. Seraphim.
In the afternoon, Nikolai Pavlovich sent the horse guard against the rebels, but the rebel square repulsed several of its attacks with rifle fire. After this, Nicholas had only one means left, “ultima ratio regis,” as they say about this means in the West (“the last argument of kings”) - artillery.
By 4 o'clock in the afternoon Nikolai pulled into the square 12 thousand bayonets and sabers (four times more than the rebels) and 36 guns. But his situation remained critical. The fact is that a large (20-30 thousand) crowd of people gathered around the square, at first they only observed both sides, not understanding what was happening (many thought: a training exercise), then they began /94/ to show sympathy for the rebels. Stones and logs, of which there were a great many near the building of St. Isaac's Cathedral that was then under construction, were thrown from the crowd into the government camp and its envoys.
Voices from the crowd asked the Decembrists to hold out until dark and promised to help. Decembrist A.E. Rosen recalled this: “Three thousand soldiers and ten times more people were ready to do anything at the behest of their superior.” But the boss was not there. Only at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon did the Decembrists choose - right there, on the square - a new dictator, also a prince, E.P. Obolensky. However, time had already been lost: Nicholas launched the “last argument of the kings.”
At the beginning of the 5th hour, he personally commanded: “Fire the guns in order! Start the right flank! First!..” To his surprise and fear, no shot was fired. "Why don't you shoot?" - Lieutenant I.M. attacked the right-flank gunner. Bakunin. “Yes, it’s our own, your honor!” - answered the soldier. The lieutenant snatched the fuse from him and fired the first shot himself. He was followed by a second, a third... The ranks of the rebels wavered and ran.
At 6 pm it was all over. They picked up the corpses of the rebels in the square. According to official figures there were 80, but this is clearly a reduced figure; Senator P.G. Divov counted 200 dead that day, Ministry of Justice official S.N. Korsakov - 1271, of which "rabble" - 903.
Late in the evening, participants in the uprising gathered at Ryleev’s for the last time. They agreed on how to behave during interrogations, and, having said goodbye to each other, went their separate ways - some went home, and some went straight to the Winter Palace: to surrender. The first to show up in the royal palace to confess was the one who was the first to come to Senate Square - Alexander Bestuzhev. Meanwhile, Ryleev sent a messenger to the South with the news that the uprising in St. Petersburg had been suppressed.
Before St. Petersburg had time to recover from the shock caused by December 14, it learned about the Decembrist uprising in the South. It turned out to be longer (from December 29, 1825 to January 3, 1826), but less dangerous for tsarism. By the beginning of the uprising, on December 13, based on Mayboroda’s denunciation, Pestel was arrested, and after him the entire Tulchin government. Therefore, the southerners were able to raise only the Chernigov regiment, which was headed by Sergei Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol - the second most important leader of Southern society, a man of rare intelligence, courage and charm, “Orpheus among the Decembrists” (as the historian G.I. Chulkov called him), their common favorite The commanders of other units, on whom /95/ the Decembrists were counting (General S.G. Volkonsky, Colonels A.Z. Muravyov, V.K. Tizengauzen, I.S. Povalo-Shveikovsky, etc.), did not support the Chernigovites, but the Decembrist M.I. Pykhachev, commander of a horse artillery company, betrayed his comrades and took part in suppressing the uprising. On January 3, in a battle near the village of Kovalevka, approximately 70 km southwest of Kyiv, the Chernigov regiment was defeated by government troops. Seriously wounded Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, his assistant M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and brother Matvey were taken prisoner (the third of the Muravyov-Apostolov brothers, Ippolit, who vowed to “win or die,” shot himself on the battlefield).
The reprisal against the Decembrists was carried out brutally. In total, according to the calculations of M.V. Nechkina, over 3 thousand rebels (500 officers and more than 2.5 thousand soldiers) were arrested. V.A. According to documents, Fedorov counted 316 arrested officers. The soldiers were beaten with spitzrutens (some to death), and then sent to penal companies. To deal with the main criminals, Nicholas I appointed a Supreme Criminal Court of 72 senior officials. He instructed M.M. to manage the work of the court. Speransky. This was the king's Jesuit move. After all, Speransky was under suspicion: among the Decembrists there were people close to him, including his secretary S.G. Batenkov, who paid the heaviest punishment of all the non-executed Decembrists (20 years in solitary confinement). The Tsar reasoned that Speransky, despite all his desire to be gentle, would be strict, because the slightest leniency towards the defendants on his part would be regarded as sympathy for the Decembrists and proof of his connection with them. The king's calculations were completely justified.
More than 100 Decembrists, after replacing “beheading” with hard labor, were exiled to Siberia and - demoted to rank and file - to the Caucasus to fight against the highlanders. Some of the Decembrists (Trubetskoy, Volkonsky, Nikita Muravyov and others) were voluntarily followed to hard labor by their wives - young aristocrats who had barely managed to get married: princesses, baronesses, generals, 12 in total. Three of them died in Siberia. The rest returned with their husbands 30 years later, having buried more than 20 of their children in Siberian soil. The feat of these women, the Decembrists, is sung in the poems of N.A. Nekrasov and the Frenchman A. de Vigny.
The first attempt in Russian history to change by force not a specific ruler, but the form of government and social system, ended in a devastating defeat for the revolutionaries. But the glory, the attention of history and the respect of both contemporaries and descendants, went not to the winners, but to the vanquished.
European experience
At the beginning of the century, Russia objectively lagged behind the leading European states in all major indicators, except military power. Absolute monarchy, serfdom, noble land ownership and class structure led to this. The liberal reforms announced by Alexander I were quickly curtailed, and their results tended to zero. By and large, the state remained the same.
At the same time, the top of Russian society for the most part was highly educated, and strengthened patriotic sentiments in it. The first Russian revolutionaries were mainly officers, since officers visited abroad during the Napoleonic wars and saw with their own eyes that the French “Jacobins” under the rule of the “Corsican usurper” lived objectively better than the majority of the Russian population. They were educated enough to understand why this was so.
At the same time, the European experience was perceived critically. Mainly supporting the ideas of the Great French Revolution, the Decembrists did not want its mass executions and bloody uprisings in Russia, which is why they relied on the action of an organized ideological group.
Freedom and equality
There was no complete ideological unity among the first revolutionaries. Thus, P.I. Pestel saw the future Russia as a unitary republic, and N.M. Muravyov - a federal constitutional monarchy. But everyone generally agreed that it was necessary to abolish serfdom, create an elected legislative body, equalize the rights of classes and ensure basic civil rights and freedoms in Russia.
The discussion of such ideas and the creation of secret organizations that sought to implement them began long before the uprising. In 1816-1825, the Union of Salvation, the Union of Prosperity, the Society of United Slavs, the Southern and Northern societies and other organizations operated in Russia. The date of the uprising (December 14, 1825) was due to a random reason - the death of childless Alexander I and the problem of inheriting the throne. The oath of allegiance to the new king seemed a good reason for a coup.
Senate square
The plan for the uprising mainly belonged to the Northern society. It was assumed that its members-officers, with the help of their units, would interfere with the oath of office of the Senate, contribute to the capture of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace, the arrest of the royal family and the creation of a temporary government body.
On the morning of December 14, 3,000 soldiers were brought to Senate Square in St. Petersburg. It turned out that the Senate had already sworn allegiance to the new Tsar Nicholas I. The dictator of the uprising did not appear at all. The soldiers and the assembled people listened to the declarations of the leaders of the uprising, but did not understand them well. St. Petersburg residents generally reacted kindly to the rioters, but their support was expressed only by throwing garbage at the new tsar’s motorcade. A significant part of the troops did not support the uprising.
At first, government officials tried to end the matter more or less peacefully. Governor General Miloradovich personally persuaded the rebels to disperse, and almost persuaded them. Then the Decembrist P.G. Kakhovsky, fearing the influence of Miloradovich, shot him, and the governor-general was popular in the army. The power switched to a power scenario. The square was surrounded by loyal troops, and grapeshot shooting began. The soldiers under the command of Decembrist officers successfully resisted for some time. But they were pushed onto the ice of the Neva, where many drowned after the ice was broken by cannonballs.
Several hundred people died (rebels, government soldiers and residents of the capital). The leaders and participants of the uprising were arrested. The soldiers were kept in terrible conditions (up to 100 people in a cell measuring 40 square meters). Five leaders of the movement were initially sentenced to death by quartering, and only later, having cooled down, Nicholas I replaced this Middle Ages with simple hanging. Many were sentenced to hard labor and imprisonment.
On December 29, the Chernigov regiment rebelled on the territory of Ukraine. This was another attempt to implement the conspiracy scenario. The regiment was defeated by superior forces on January 3, 1826.
Briefly speaking, the Decembrist uprising was defeated due to their small number and reluctance to explain their goals to the broad masses and involve them in the political struggle.
The most terrible disaster for the entire people and state of that time - the Patriotic War of 1812 - ended. The victory over the French brought glory to Russian weapons and raised the authority of the Russian state in the international arena. But the consequences of this war were catastrophic. Military actions devastated the western and central provinces of Russia. Their population decreased by 10%. Many hundreds of thousands of peasant farms were completely ruined or destroyed. The peasants could not fully pay taxes to the state, and because of this, the treasury lost more than 150 million rubles in banknotes. At that time this was a very large amount of money. For military expenses, a large amount of paper money was additionally printed, which led to inflation and the prices of food and goods increased sharply. Although industry recovered quickly, it had a very low level of production.
The entire industry of Russia was concentrated on manufactories, where almost all the work was done by hand, and naturally labor productivity was extremely low. Manufactured goods could not compete with goods from foreign manufacturers. In agriculture, things were even worse. It was restored only with the intensification of exploitation of a huge number of serfs. Since bread prices rose sharply in Europe, Russian landowners increased the size of the quitrent many times over, while the number of days of corvée also increased. The landowners, without hesitation, took away the lands from the peasants and used them for their arable land. The peasants expected life to be easier after the war, but their lives became much harder. All these reasons led to the beginning of an anti-serfdom movement in many places in the vast Russian Empire. The serfs refused to pay taxes and work for the landowners. And then they started riots and uprisings. The largest scale of the action of serfs took place on the Don. Up to 45 thousand peasants took part in these performances.
The tsarist government very cruelly suppressed any discontent on the part of the people. A royal decree was issued that allowed landowners to send offending peasants to Siberia for disobedience. General Arakcheev, who had enormous influence on Emperor Alexander I, particularly distinguished himself in this. It was he who proposed introducing military settlements in Russia. This led to the fact that the government could significantly increase the size of the army without increasing military spending. But the other side of the coin of such a policy was the displeasure of the soldiers, which often led to disobedience. All soldier protests were suppressed with great cruelty. The press and literature were subjected to repression by the authorities. All these events showed that the serfdom and autocratic system of the Russian state became a great obstacle to the progressive development of the country. Since many officers took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army, they saw a completely different life for the people. It was precisely this contrast that led to the emergence of the first communities of military officers in Russia.
Causes of the Decembrist uprising
The revolutionary ideology of the Decembrists was not formed immediately, but gradually. And therefore there were several reasons for the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square. Firstly, the reason was the conditions in which the Russian people lived. Officers on foreign campaigns saw that in Europe people lived completely differently. There has been no serfdom there for a long time. And also power in states was regulated through constitutions and laws. In Russia, serfs suffered from the tyranny of the landowners. Arakcheev's tyranny reigned in the country, and the strong royal hand contributed to this. It was the war that caused many officers to look at their soldiers differently. Secondly, the frightening situation in the country. The officers sincerely wanted to help their people get rid of the numerous shackles that bound the population and did not give them the opportunity to show their best side. But they were afraid that the peasant unrest could turn into a national movement that would cover the entire country. Since many officers were landowners to some extent, they were naturally afraid of the appearance of a new Stenka Razin or Emelyan Pugachev. Thirdly, the Decembrists became disillusioned with the reform activities of the emperor. This happened when the autocracy began to pursue reactionary policies in the state. The transition from the liberal course of autocracy to the conservative direction changed political life in the country. Many young officers turned from supporters of the autocracy into its opponents. Fourthly, the ideas of the Decembrists were secretly or openly supported by progressive people of that time. These included poets and writers, as well as military and government officials. Fifthly, the revolutionary events of France served as the ideal of struggle for the Decembrists of Russia. It was these events that led to the gradual emergence of a movement of progressively thinking people in Russia. They dreamed of democracy and freedom of speech. Also, many wanted the Russian emperor to share his power, and branches of government appeared in the country, which have long been the norm in Western European countries.
Leaders of the Decembrist uprising
The first secret community of military officers appeared in 1816. It was called the “Union of Salvation” and consisted of only 30 people. For a long time, members of this community were looking for ways to abolish serfdom and ways to overthrow the autocracy. In 1818 this organization was closed. But its members founded the “Union of Welfare,” which already included 200 people. Members of this union began to place all their bets on the army. But contradictions emerged within this community, which subsequently led to its closure. After this, in 1821, two societies already appeared in Russia. In Ukraine, officers formed the “Southern Society”, headed by Pavel Pestel. It began to fight for the establishment of a republic and the complete abolition of serfdom. The “Northern Society” appeared in St. Petersburg, headed by Nikita Muravyov. It wanted to establish a constitutional monarchy and gradually free the peasants from serfdom. Uprising on Senate Square. On the morning of December 14, 1825, in St. Petersburg, the Decembrists withdrew their troops to Senate Square. The rebels lined up in a square (regular quadrangle) near the monument to Peter the Great. The Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Miloradovich, learned about the soldiers’ performance. He was very popular among the soldiers, and therefore thought that his soldiers would listen. But the Decembrist Pyotr Kakhovsky mortally wounded the general. At this time, the Decembrists learned the terrible news that the soldiers of the armies had sworn allegiance to the new emperor much earlier. Now the Decembrists are forced to choose between death and the shameful surrender of their weapons. They chose death, hoping that other regiments would support them. But the tsarist armies brought artillery to the square. The rebels were expecting reinforcements, and thus gradually lost the effect of surprise. They did not even listen to the priests who came to the square for negotiations. And only in the evening, when it was already getting dark, an unequal battle began. The cannons shot the rebel soldiers point-blank. Panic began among them, and the soldiers began to flee. The entire uprising was completely suppressed.
Trial of the Decembrists
After the suppression of the uprising, the trial of the leaders of the uprising began. 121 officers were brought before the court to await their sentence. 30 people were sentenced to death. 17 people were sent to Siberia for eternal hard labor. The rest were sent to hard labor for a certain period, or demoted to soldiers. The soldiers were punished by blows with spitzrutens and sent to penal companies.
Results of the uprising
We can name several reasons that led the Decembrist uprising to defeat. The Decembrists were not supported by the entire army. Only those regiments in which officers were members of secret societies took part in the uprising. In other regiments they were looked at as traitors. The Decembrists completely ignored the people, considering everyone incapable of fighting against the autocracy. The uprising was not prepared. The Decembrists' speech was planned only in 1830, and it began purely by chance. Emperor Alexander dies unexpectedly, and this frees the entire army from taking the oath. There were no common tasks and no identical plan among the secret Decembrist societies. The uprising looked in the eyes of the population as an attempt at a military coup. At that time, there was great faith among the people in the “good king.” And the Decembrists dared to touch on this forbidden topic. Therefore, the majority of the Russian population looked at this uprising as an ordinary conspiracy against the Tsar. But, despite the defeat, the Decembrist uprising left a huge mark on history. For the first time, progressive forces were able to unite against the tsarist government. Many slogans of the Decembrists passed on to later revolutionary organizations. The speech of the Decembrists was the last stage of numerous guards military coups. But it was completely different from all the previous ones. The goal of the Decembrist uprising was not to replace the monarch on the throne, but to significantly transform Russia. It was planned to carry out socio-economic and political reforms. The uprising of 1825 greatly shocked the tsarist regime and in the future contributed to the emergence of an opposition movement in Russia.
Decembrist revolutionary secret uprising
The uprising of December 14, 1825 is the starting date for the beginning of the revolutionary liberation struggle in Russia. Before the Decembrists, spontaneous uprisings of peasants or performances of lone revolutionaries took place in Russia, the most prominent of whom was A.N. Radishchev. For the first time in the history of Russia, the Decembrists created revolutionary organizations, developed political programs, prepared and carried out an armed uprising. It was the culminating event and at the same time the result of the Decembrist movement. All previous activities of the Decembrists, starting with their first secret organization of the Union of Salvation, were subordinated to the ideological and organizational preparation of a revolutionary action against the autocratic serfdom system in Russia. The uprising of December 14 was a serious test for the Decembrists, a test of their revolutionary capabilities. It, as if in focus, reflected all the strengths and weaknesses of their noble revolutionism: courage, boldness, self-sacrifice of the Decembrists, but at the same time the hesitations characteristic of a noble revolutionary, the lack of decisiveness and consistency in actions, the ability to master the “art of rebellion,” but most importantly - lack of connection with the masses, even fear of the revolutionary initiative of the masses. The Decembrists were afraid of the “riot of the crowd,” “senseless and cruel.”
Let's look at these events in chronological order.
In the first quarter of the 19th century. A revolutionary ideology arose in Russia, the bearers of which were the Decembrists. Disillusioned with the policies of Alexander I, part of the progressive nobility decided to put an end to the causes of Russia's backwardness.
The advanced nobility, who became acquainted with the political movements of the West during the liberation campaigns, understood that the basis of the backwardness of the Russian state was serfdom. Reactionary policies in the field of education and culture, the creation of military settlements by Arakcheev, and Russia’s participation in the suppression of revolutionary events in Europe added confidence in the need for radical changes; serfdom in Russia was an insult to the national dignity of an enlightened person. The views of the Decembrists were influenced by Western European educational literature, Russian journalism and the ideas of national liberation movements.
In February 1816, the first secret political society arose in St. Petersburg, the goal of which was the abolition of serfdom and the adoption of a constitution. It consisted of 28 members (A.N. Muravyov, S.I. and M.I. Muravyov-Apostles, S.P. Trubetskoy, I.D. Yakushkin, P.I. Pestel, etc.)
In 1818, the Union of Welfare organization was created in Moscow, which had 200 members and had councils in other cities. The society propagated the idea of abolishing serfdom, preparing a revolutionary coup using the forces of the officers. The “Western Union” collapsed due to disagreements between the radical and moderate members of the union.
In March 1821, the Southern Society arose in Ukraine, headed by P.I. Pestel, who was the author of the program document “Russian Truth”.
In St. Petersburg, on the initiative of N.M. Muravyov, the “Northern Society” was created, which had a liberal action plan. Each of these societies had its own program, but the goal was the same - the destruction of autocracy, serfdom, estates, the creation of a republic, the separation of powers, and the proclamation of civil liberties.
Preparations for an armed uprising began.
The death of Alexander I in November 1825 prompted the conspirators to take more active action. It was decided on the day of taking the oath to the new Tsar Nicholas I to seize the monarch and the Senate and force them to introduce a constitutional system in Russia.
Prince Trubetskoy was elected as the political leader of the uprising, but at the last moment he refused to participate in the uprising.
On the morning of December 14, 1825, the Moscow Life Guards Regiment entered Senate Square. He was joined by the Guards Marine Crew and the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment. In total, about 3 thousand people gathered.
However, Nicholas I, notified of the impending conspiracy, took the oath of the Senate in advance and, gathering troops loyal to him, surrounded the rebels. After negotiations, in which Metropolitan Seraphim and the Governor-General of St. Petersburg M.A. Miloradovich (who was mortally wounded) took part on the part of the government, Nicholas I ordered the use of artillery. The uprising in St. Petersburg was crushed.
But already on January 2 it was suppressed by government troops. Arrests of participants and organizers began throughout Russia.
579 people were involved in the Decembrist case. Found guilty 287. Five were sentenced to death (K.F. Ryleev, P.I. Pestel, P.G. Kakhovsky, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol). 120 people were exiled to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement.
The reasons for the defeat of the Decembrist uprising were the lack of coordination of actions, the lack of support from all layers of society, which was not ready for radical changes. This speech was the first open protest and a stern warning to the autocracy about the need for a radical restructuring of Russian society.
Figure 1 shows a brief chronology of events that occurred during a given period of time.
Figure 1 - Brief description of the Decembrist uprising