Decembrist uprising on Senate Square: reasons, goals, course and results

The War of 1812 and the further path of the Russian army across Europe had a great influence on various aspects of Russian life. Having generated hope in various strata of society for changes for the better, and above all for the abolition of serfdom. In 1813, societies of guards officers appeared in Russia, later called Decembrists. From two such communities called “Sacred” and “Semyonovsky Regiment”, the Union of Salvation was formed in 1816.

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

Members of the Salvation Union society were participants in the last war of 1812 and the Russian army’s foreign campaign in Europe, which then continued from 1813 to 1815. They felt like liberators of European peoples from the power of Napoleon, while a foreign campaign for many officers Russian army became a discovery. Here in other countries they saw different orders and laws, which allowed them, upon returning to their homeland, to compare what they saw in Europe with the way of life in their homeland in Russia. The observations and experience gained, as well as the desire to make their country better, forced many of them to join these communities in the hope of influencing the internal structure of the Russian Empire.

The founder of the Union of Salvation was Alexander Muravyov, his associates were Sergei Trubetskoy, Ivan Yakushkin, Pavel Pestel, Nikita Muravyov. The purpose of the union was to implement the abolition of serfdom and carry out government reforms. Later in 1817, disagreements between society participants lead to its transformation into the Welfare Union. The new society existed only until the beginning of 1821, after which it was decided to formally dissolve it, since the existence of the union became known to the government. But in practice, members of society continued to be active politically in the hope of further influencing the structure of the country.

Prerequisites for the Decembrist uprising became the fact that after the death of Emperor Alexander I, the elder brother of the childless Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich, was supposed to ascend the throne. But he voluntarily abandoned the throne and the next one to claim the throne was another brother, Nikolai Pavlovich, who was not popular among the military and officials. Under pressure from the Governor of St. Petersburg M.A. Miloradovich, Nicholas renounces the throne in favor of Constantine, who was sworn in on November 27. But Constantine did not accept the throne, but did not officially renounce it either. In this tense situation, Nicholas decides to become emperor, and therefore a second oath was scheduled for December 14.

In the current situation of a change of power, the Decembrists decided to carry out a coup. The plan of the uprising was to allow the troops and members of the Senate to take the oath to Nicholas, and, if necessary, to kill the emperor and his family, Sergei Trubitskoy became the leader of the coup. In the future, it was planned to force the Senate to approve new constitution, the creation of a provisional government, the abolition of serfdom, and the introduction of jury trials.

Progress of the uprising on Senate Square

On December 14, officers of the secret society at 11 o'clock brought about 3,020 soldiers of the Moscow, Grenadier and Guards naval crew regiments to Senate Square. However, warned of the impending uprising, Nicholas took the oath of office from members of the Senate by 7 a.m., officially becoming Emperor of Russia.

Due to the absence of Trubetskoy, the Decembrists could not decide for a long time who to choose as the new leader, continuing to stand in the square. Attempt by M.A. Miloradovich's attempt to persuade the rebels to disperse ended with his death after he was wounded by E. Obolensky with a bayonet. By that time, residents of St. Petersburg had gathered on the square; their number amounted to more than ten thousand people. Many of those gathered supported the rebel military, forming a ring around them, holding back the gendarmes who surrounded them, who in turn were surrounded by another ring of city residents who came later.

Prince Obolensky became the new head of the uprising, but by that time Emperor Nicholas, having gathered government troops totaling more than 12 thousand people and having achieved a fourfold superiority of forces, gave the order to attack.
First, the artillery fired blank charges at the Decembrists, but without achieving any results, it fired the next volley of grapeshot at the top of the Decembrists’ heads, they responded with weapons fire, after which the artillery opened fire with grapeshot at the ranks of the rebels, who fled. Next, the Decembrists tried to reorganize on the ice of the Neva, deciding to storm the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the continued shelling with cannonballs began to break the ice under their feet, as a result of which many drowned, and their ranks were upset.

Results of the Decembrist uprising

At this point, the Decembrist uprising was suppressed, during which more than 1271 people died, including 79 women and 150 children, the number of deaths was the largest of all that had previously occurred palace coups. 597 people were brought to trial, of whom P.I. Pestel, S.I. Murovyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev, K.F. Ryleev and P.G. Kakhovsky was hanged by court verdict on June 13, 1826. Another 121 Decembrists were exiled to hard labor in Siberia. The results of the Decembrist uprising became a strong resonance in society, which subsequently significantly influenced the socio-political life of the country during the reign of Nicholas.

Decembrist movement (briefly)

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

Background

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

Uprising plan

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

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

Progress of the uprising

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

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

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

Consequences

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

Causes of defeat

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

Narrow social base focused on military revolution and conspiracy;

Lack of necessary unity and consistency in actions;

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

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

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

Historical meaning

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

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

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

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

In 1825, a coup took place in Russia, which ended rather unsuccessfully for the conspirators.

The impetus for the coup was the liberal views of progressive youth who did not agree with the tsar’s policies. Before the Patriotic War, few people thought about the relationship between the common people, the government and the intelligentsia. In Europe there was no longer serfdom, but in Russia the common people were still oppressed with terrible force.

Young progressive youth were hungry for change. Secret circles began to appear in which they discussed how to change the situation in the country. Soon a core of leaders formed. Gradually they came to the conclusion that it was necessary to change the government in Rus', and for this it was necessary to get rid of the monarch.

Just at this time, a very unclear situation arose with the transfer of power. Alexander the First died, and the new tsar had not yet taken up his duties. Taking advantage of this situation, the conspirators raised the people against Tsar Nicholas. Many people gathered in the square, the situation became more complicated every minute. The people were quite aggressive. But the worst thing was that the leaders themselves could not find common language between themselves. Already on the square, the leader of the uprising had to be replaced; many activists, for unknown reasons, also did not show up. Therefore, the uprising was left, one might say, without leaders. The military approached the angry crowd, who could not justify their actions, and brutally suppressed the riot. The leaders - the Decembrists - those who survived, were then executed on the same square. The rest were exiled to Siberia.

The main reasons for the defeat of the uprising were lack of knowledge of all the intricacies of such events, naivety, and betrayal. Poor preparation for such a serious event also played a role. Despite the failure of the Decembrists, their uprising served good lessons descendants who took into account all the mistakes of the Decembrists.

More details

The victorious march of Russian troops to Paris brought not only glory to Russian weapons and Emperor Alexander I, who received the loud title “liberator”. But there was one more circumstance. People looked at how they lived in Europe without serfdom. There was a revolution in France. The main document there was the constitution. Ideas of equality and brotherhood were in the air. And in Russia, the arbitrariness of the landowners and the tsar himself reigned. The difference was so striking that some military personnel began to become disillusioned with the autocracy.

They began to think about liberal changes in Russia. People wanted to live like in Europe. The main idea was this - changing the existing monarchical system to a constitutional one. Some even swung at the republic. The military created secret societies - Northern and Southern. Alexander I suddenly dies. It was decided to take advantage of the confusion in the transfer of the throne. Withdraw troops on the morning of December 14, 1825 to Senate Square and demand from the newly-crowned Tsar Nicholas I that he abdicate the throne. And then he issued a manifesto, then convened a National Council. And choose on it new uniform board. This, of course, was a utopia. They even planned to take the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace. And as a last resort - the arrest, and even murder, of the royal family.

But as always, things didn’t go according to plan. The main leader of the coup, Prince Trubetskoy, did not appear on the square. The troops, left without a commander, were at a loss. They were offered to disperse peacefully, but someone shot Count Miloradovich with a pistol as he spoke. This served as a signal to attack the rebels. Troops loyal to the Tsar approached the square and quickly suppressed the riot. Artillery was used. The square was covered with a pile of corpses. The age of the Decembrists ranged from 20 to 60 years.

The court was quick to render a verdict. Five were hanged. The remaining 124 rebels were exiled to distant, cold Eastern Siberia. Ninety-six people were sentenced to hard labor. On carts, in stages, like criminals, they were quickly transported to their place of exile, shackled in hand and leg shackles. Among them there were one hundred and thirteen people of noble rank, eight had the title of prince, four barons, three generals, eleven colonels and one actual state councilor. The color and pride of Russian society. It was a “political” death - the loss of all civil rights, existence without the right of correspondence. This is how the king dealt cruelly with the rebels. Only thirty-four survivors returned from exile as sick old men.

The Decembrists were resettled throughout Eastern Siberia to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the east, Yakutsk in the north, so as not to communicate with each other. And they were constantly transferred from one place to another.

But the sacrifices made by the Decembrists were not in vain. They shook up Russia, made its inhabitants think, and created the first revolutionary organization. This was the first political speech in the history of the country. The trouble with the Decembrists is that they were still so far from the people, they underestimated their strength and power, and their hatred of autocracy. According to V.I. Lenin: “The Decembrists woke up Herzen, and he began revolutionary agitation.”

The Decembrists left their mark on the development of Siberia. With their own money they opened schools, hospitals, and carried out scientific research. As a token of gratitude, people created museums of the Decembrists. The largest is in Irkutsk. The piano that Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya played has been preserved in it to this day.

The life and work of Vladimir Nabokov

Saint Petersburg. A wonderful cultural city, it was here that on April 22 (April 10), 1899, the great Russian writer was born: Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov.

The life and work of Robert Stevenson

A large number of famous works, one way or another, were written by foreign writers and literary figures. There is no denying that very often it is foreign writers who write quite worthy works

The serfdom system, which had entered the stage of its decomposition, began to be perceived by the thinking part of Russian society as the main cause of the country's misfortunes, its backwardness, which increasingly humiliated the patriotic feelings of the spiritual elite. Its elimination was perceived by advanced Russian nobles as the most pressing task, opening the country's path to progress.

The war of one thousand eight hundred and twelve demonstrated the enormous potential of Russia, patriotism, and the moral virtues of the people and peasantry. During the campaigns, Russian nobles - officers got to know their soldiers better and were amazed at the standard of living ordinary people in Europe. That is why, having returned, they began to perceive so painfully the poverty and lack of rights of their own peasants, who saved the country from a foreign tyrant, but who “continued to be tyrannized by the masters.” Thus, on the one hand, the desire to help the people who defeated the best French army in the world, and on the other hand, to prevent the possibility of a repetition of the “Pugachevism” that threatened the “islands” of European civilization in Russia, pushed some nobles to take active action. It is no coincidence that the Decembrists called themselves “children of one thousand eight hundred and twelve.”

1. BACKGROUND

Decembrists, leaders of the Russian liberation movement of the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Their movement arose among educated noble youth, who were influenced by European social thought and the ideas of the Great French Revolution. At the same time, the Decembrist movement arose in the era of the formation of national self-awareness in a number of European countries, and was similar to other national patriotic movements. The Decembrists were characterized by ardent patriotism and faith in the greatness of Russia. Many of the future Decembrists took part in the wars with Napoleon.

The main goals of the Decembrists were the establishment of a constitutional parliamentary regime in Russia and the limitation of autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, democratic reforms, and the introduction of civil rights and freedoms. The Decembrists reflected on changes in Russia's economic system, agrarian reform, and judicial and military reforms.

The Decembrists created a number of secret societies:

1. “Union of Salvation” (1816-1817), the founder was twenty-four-year-old Colonel of the General Staff A.N. Muravyov;

2. “Union of Welfare” (1818-1821), was created instead of the “Union of Salvation” with the same leaders at the head;

3. “Southern Society” and “Northern Society” (1821-1825), headed by P. I. Pestel.

The “Society of United Slavs” arose independently, in one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, joining the “Southern Society”. And also a number of other secret societies. The first secret societies sought mainly through the formation of public opinion to influence the government and achieve liberal reforms, but after one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, the idea of ​​a military coup began to dominate in the plans of the Decembrists.

2. UPRISING OF DECEMBER 14, 1825

The Decembrists planned to kill the Tsar at a military review, seize power with the help of the Guard and realize their goals. The performance was scheduled for the summer of one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six. However, on November 19, 1825, Alexander I suddenly died in Taganrog. The throne was supposed to go to the deceased’s brother Konstantin, since Alexander had no children. But back in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, Constantine secretly abdicated the throne, which now, according to the law, passed to the next senior brother, Nicholas. Unaware of Constantine's abdication, the Senate, guard and army swore allegiance to him on November twenty-seventh. After clarifying the situation, they re-sworn the oath to Nikolai, who, due to his personal qualities (pettiness, martinet, vindictiveness, etc.) was not liked in the guard. Under these conditions, the Decembrists had the opportunity to take advantage sudden death the tsar, fluctuations in power, which found itself in an interregnum situation, as well as the hostility of the guard towards the heir to the throne. It was also taken into account that some senior dignitaries took a wait-and-see attitude towards Nicholas and were ready to support active actions directed against him. In addition, it became known that the Winter Palace knew about the conspiracy and could soon begin arresting members of the secret society, which in fact had ceased to be secret. In the current situation, the Decembrists planned to raise the Guards regiments, gather them on Senate Square and force the Senate to “good” or at threat of arms to publish a “Manifesto to the Russian People,” which proclaimed the destruction of the autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, the destruction of the Provisional Government, political freedoms, etc. Some of the rebels were supposed to seize the Winter Palace and arrest the royal family; it was planned to seize the Peter and Paul Fortress. In addition, P.G. Kakhovsky took upon himself the task of killing Nikolai before the start of the speech, but never decided to carry it out. Prince S.P. was elected leader of the uprising. Trubetskoy.

From the early morning of December fourteenth, officers - members of the “Northern Society” campaigned among soldiers and sailors, convincing them not to swear allegiance to Nicholas, but to support Constantine. They managed to bring part of the Moscow, Grenadier regiments and the Guards naval crew to Senate Square (about three and a half thousand in total). But by this time the senators had already sworn allegiance to Nicholas and dispersed. Trubetskoy, observing the implementation of all parts of the plan, saw that it was completely disrupted and, convinced of the doom of the military action, did not appear on the square. This in turn caused confusion and slowness of action. Nicholas surrounded the square with troops loyal to him. But the rebels repulsed the cavalry attacks, and Governor-General Miloradovich, who tried to persuade the rebels to surrender their weapons, was mortally wounded by Kakhovsky. After this, artillery was brought into action. The protest was suppressed, and in the evening mass arrests began.

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

3. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

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

The Decembrist uprising was of great importance in history revolutionary movement in Russia. This was the first open attack against the autocracy with arms in hand. Until this time, only spontaneous peasant unrest had occurred in Russia. Between the spontaneous peasant uprisings of Razin and Pugachev and the uprising of the Decembrists, an entire period of world history lay. The Decembrists belonged to a new time, and this is their essential side historical significance. Their uprising was politically conscious, set itself the task of eliminating the federal absolutist system, and was illuminated by the progressive ideas of the era. The uprising was open, in the square of the capital, in front of the assembled people. Their actions were marked by class limitations, they were “terribly far from the people,” but they belonged to those progressive figures of their time who “helped awaken the people.”

The experience of the Decembrist movement became the subject of reflection for the fighters against autocracy and serfdom that followed them, and influenced the entire course of the Russian liberation movement. The Decembrist movement had a huge impact on the development of Russian culture.

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

CONCLUSION

After their suppression by the government of Nicholas I, a special investigative committee was created in St. Petersburg in the case of malicious secret societies. The investigation, which lasted more than six months, involved about six hundred people who came under suspicion of membership in secret societies. One hundred and twenty-one people were brought to trial; all defendants were divided into eleven categories according to the severity of their guilt. The fifth Decembrists (P.I. Pestel, K.F. Ryleev, S. and. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, P.G. Kakhovsky) were sentenced to death and hanged in the Peter and Paul Fortress on July thirteenth thousand eight hundred and twenty-six; the rest were sentenced to different terms hard labor and exile, demoted to soldiers and deprived of the nobility.

The Decembrists, sentenced to hard labor, were initially kept in the Peter and Paul Fortress and the fortresses of Finland and then gradually sent to Siberia. Brought in by the first batches, they were distributed to work in different mines and factories. But by the autumn of one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, all the Decembrists were gathered in the Chita prison, and in the autumn of one thousand eight hundred and thirty they were transferred to a prison specially built for them in the Petrovsky Plant. By eleven of the Decembrists, their wives had arrived in exile. As they served their terms of hard labor, the Decembrists were assigned to free settlement in various villages and cities of Siberia. Several of them were allowed to join the troops of the Caucasian Corps as ordinary soldiers; Those who distinguished themselves in battles could receive the rank of officer, which gave them the right to retire and return to their homeland.

The Decembrists exiled to Siberia had a great impact on the cultural development of the region. In one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six after the death of Nicholas I, in connection with the coronation of Alexander II, a manifesto was issued amnesty for the Decembrists and allowing them to return from exile; by that time, about forty of the Decembrists remained alive.

Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation

St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Department of History

Essay

Discipline: history

Decembrist revolt

Completed by a student of group 4 C 1

Nikolaev N.N.

Head: K.I.N. Assoc.

Nazarenko L.B.

Introduction

Reasons for Decembrism

The first Decembrist organizations

Conclusion

Introduction

Our world is designed in such a way that each person has his own point of view regarding certain things. In most cases, only those people who have enormous power concentrated in their hands can really change something on the scale of the state. The rest are content with the living conditions provided to them by the state. Many people do not live as they would like. The thing is, you can't please everyone; it was so before and it will always be so. People who are dissatisfied with the laws adopted by the authorities, or, conversely, dissatisfied with the inaction of the authorities in relation to their people, often unite, create and register their own political parties, etc. This is possible, since political diversity and multi-party system are now recognized in our country . In the first half of the 19th century. This was not the case in Russia. Maybe that’s why I personally am more interested in the details of the events that took place in our country at this time.

To be honest, I am amazed by the fact that I am now in St. Petersburg. After all, it was on this land that about two hundred years ago the Decembrists (Northern Society) attempted a coup. It was attended by people just like you and me, they had their own interests, their own home, friends, and relatives. They were probably very different, but all together, having combined their forces, they accomplished, in my opinion, a real feat: they made an attempt in better side change the lives of your loved ones at the risk of losing yours.

Something went wrong.

I want to know why the Decembrists of the Northern Society here in St. Petersburg still failed to implement their plan; I want to dive into those distant times and clarify for myself the details and chronology of the events that took place on Senate Square on December 14, 1825. But, first, I will try to trace how the Decembrist movement arose and developed.

1.Reasons for Decembrism

In Russia in the 19th century, the destruction of the feudal-serf system and the establishment of capitalism proceeded at a rapid pace. The country realized that radical changes were needed.

Only three main currents have formed, aimed at the development of social thought and social movements: conservative, liberal and revolutionary. Conservatives wanted to preserve the foundation of the existing system, liberals wanted the government to carry out reforms, revolutionaries wanted to achieve great changes, while intending to forcibly change the political system of the state.

In each of the three movements of this time, the nobility dominates all other classes. The noble intelligentsia was the first to begin to realize the need for reforms in the country and offer their ideas.

IN early XIX century Russian society expected changes, but the reforms were not implemented. State power was actually in the hands of A. A. Arakcheev. M. M. Speransky was sent into exile.

At a time when the authorities are abandoning reforms, a revolutionary political trend is clearly manifested among the nobility. This was the Decembrist movement.

The main factor in its occurrence was the socio-economic conditions of the country's development. Great importance in the formation of the revolutionary views of the Decembrists had the strengthening of serfdom oppression, the anti-serfdom movement of the masses after Patriotic War 1812 The Decembrists called themselves "children of 1812." and they said that 1812 was the starting point of their movement. They saw that victory in the war was ensured, first of all, by the participation of the common people, who had no prospects for improving their position in an autocratic serfdom state.

The future Decembrists were dissatisfied with the fact that soon after the end of the war, landowners again gained the opportunity to exile their serfs without trial to Siberia, and with the fact that cane reprisals in the army and navy intensified. It was Arakcheevism - a system of grave oppression of the working people, named after the all-powerful temporary worker General Arakcheev.

The response to this was protests from the working population.

Peasant unrest was constant under Alexander I, which also did not escape the attention of future Decembrists.

In addition, there were problems with military villagers. Hard work filled their lives. The soldiers were starving, freezing, and dying by the hundreds, but during royal inspections, the founders of the settlements did everything so that the emperor was satisfied.

All of the above circumstances tell us that in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century it was really necessary to change something. The revolutionary movement that arose among the nobility shortly after the War of 1812 decided to take responsibility for the fate of the state, “inexorably falling into the abyss.” Decembrist movement.

2.The first organizations of the Decembrists

In 1815, an officer “artel” was formed in the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment. It was decided to create it by S.I. and M.I. Muravyov - Apostles, I.D. Yakushkin, F.P. Shakhovsky and S.P. Trubetskoy. 15 or 20 officers formed a group to be able to dine together every day. After each friendly dinner, the artel participants discussed political issues. When Alexander I found out about this, he expressed his dissatisfaction and ordered the regimental commander, General A. Ya. Potemkin, to “stop the artel.” It was discontinued, but it was the “artel” that served as the basis for the first Decembrist organization of the Union of Salvation, which emerged six months later.

The initiator of the creation of this secret society was Colonel of the Guards Main Staff A. Muravyov. He wanted to form a society with the goal of introducing monarchical representative government in Russia. Regarding this issue, on February 9, 1816, A. Muravyov’s brother called his close friends who served in the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment to a meeting. This day is the founding date of the Union of Salvation.

The Union of Salvation was a narrow, strictly secret organization. Among the top priorities of the secret society was the introduction of a constitution and the abolition of serfdom, but there was no program of political reforms, and methods of struggle were not developed.

The lack of a clear tactical plan forced the Decembrists to create in January 1818 new organization called "Union of Welfare". The main task of the union members was to form “public opinion” favorable to the Decembrists’ reform plans. According to their plan, progressive public opinion should have already put pressure on the government even before the revolutionary coup. Union members sought to occupy positions in government agencies. Wherein great attention was devoted to propaganda and agitation activities. It pursued the goal of “preparing minds” for the need to abolish the autocratic-serf system in the country. And until a certain time, this type of event was carried out.

In 1821, due to disagreements between the liberal-minded part and the radical part of the organization, the Welfare Union was dissolved, but only formally. This circumstance led to the formation of the Northern and Southern societies. In 1821-1822 (Turning years for the Decembrist movement) the autocracy deals the first blows to the Decembrist movement. In 1822, the Kishinev organization was defeated.

The “turning point” was determined by the internal and foreign political situation of those years: the facts of major anti-serfdom uprisings in Russia, revolutions in southern European countries.

The Northern Society took shape in St. Petersburg in November 1822. It was headed by the Duma, which included Sergei Trubetskoy, Nikita Muravyov and Evgeniy Obolensky. The policy document of the society was the “Constitution”, developed by N.M. Muravyov. The project provided for the introduction of a federal structure and the creation of bicameral representation.

In March 1821, the Southern Society was formed in Tulchin, Ukraine. The program document of the Southern Society was “Russian Truth” written by Pestel. According to this project, Russia was proclaimed a single and indivisible republic with a unicameral parliament (People's Council).

Both projects provided for the abolition of serfdom, but the authors who wrote them differed on how to implement them. Muravyov intended to submit his project for consideration by the Constituent Assembly. Pestel believed that “Russian Truth” should be put into effect by decree of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, which has dictatorial power

To work out general program actions, Pestel came to St. Petersburg in 1824. He failed to convince the “northerners” to accept the “Russian Truth,” although many of them, including Ryleev, gradually became republicans. We agreed on only one thing - we need to perform together. It was assumed that this would happen in the summer of 1826.

Shortly before the uprising

In the fall of 1825, the imperial couple went on vacation to Taganrog. Alexander I returned unwell. On November 19, 1825, the emperor died at the age of 47. Constantine, the second son of Paul I, was supposed to inherit the throne. But he vowed not to ascend the throne. Then Alexander I bequeathed the throne to his brother, Nicholas. Long years this will was a secret.

The news of the emperor's death came to the capital on November 27. Prince Nikolai Pavlovich began to talk about the will and his right to the throne, but the military governor of St. Petersburg M.A. Miloradovich said: there is a law on succession to the throne that must be observed. Having received such a rebuff, Nikolai, along with everyone else, swore allegiance to his brother.

Constantine, in letters to Nicholas, confirmed his abdication of the throne, but did not want to come to St. Petersburg and declare it publicly.

The interregnum dragged on. An influential opposition to the autocracy instantly emerged, including some members of the State Council and senators, part of the generals and officers and a significant proportion of the capital's intelligentsia. The core of this opposition was the Northern Society.

However, on December 13, the State Council and the Senate swore allegiance to Nicholas. Along with everyone else, those whom the members of the secret society relied on had to swear allegiance.

The tide began to ebb in Northern society: they no longer knew who they could rely on and who they couldn’t. Meanwhile, the oath of troops was scheduled for December 14. It was impossible not to speak out, because the matter had gone too far and the society had actually ceased to be secret.

On December, officers who were members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. Alexander Bestuzhev (a member of the Northern Society since 1824) gave a heated speech to the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment. The soldiers refused to swear allegiance to the new king and decided to go to Senate Square. The regimental commander of the Moscow regiment, Baron Fredericks, wanted to prevent the rebel soldiers from leaving the barracks, but Shchepin-Rostovsky (a descendant of the Rostov princes) removed the obstacle. Colonel Khvoshchinsky, who wanted to stop the soldiers, was also wounded.

Later, with the regimental banner, taking live ammunition, the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment came to Senate Square. At the head of these first revolutionary troops in the history of Russia was the staff captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, Alexander Bestuzhev. Along with him at the head of the regiment were his brother, staff captain of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, Mikhail Bestuzhev, and staff captain of the same regiment, Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky. The regiment formed in order of battle in the shape of a square (battle quadrangle) near the monument to Peter 1. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich galloped up to the rebels, began to persuade the soldiers to disperse, and swore that the oath to Nicholas was correct. The moment was very dangerous: the regiment was still alone, other regiments had not yet arrived, the hero of 1812 Miloradovich knew how to talk to the soldiers. He could sway them greatly and succeed. It was necessary to interrupt his campaigning at all costs and remove him from the square. But, despite the demands of the Decembrists, Miloradovich did not leave. Then Kakhovsky (Russian nobleman, Decembrist, killer (1825) of General Miloradovich and the commander of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment Nikolai Karlovich Sturler) could not stand it and mortally wounded the general with a shot.

The delegation chosen to address the Senate - Ryleev and Pushchin - went to see Trubetskoy early in the morning, who had previously visited Ryleev himself. It turned out that the Senate had already sworn in and the senators had left. Thus, the first goal of the uprising was not achieved. It was a bad failure. Now the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress were to be captured.

Ryleev and Pushchin were sure that Trubetskoy would now come there, to the square, and take command.

But there was still no dictator. Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising. A situation was developing in the square that required decisive action, but Trubetskoy did not dare to take it. He sat, tormented, in the office of the General Staff. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Members of the secret society who elected Trubetskoy as dictator and trusted him could not understand the reasons for his absence.

The failure of the elected dictator to appear on the square to meet the troops during the hours of the uprising is an unprecedented case in the history of the revolutionary movement. She played a significant role in the defeat of the uprising.

The rebels waited for a long time. The soldiers' guns fired on their own. Several attacks launched on the orders of Nicholas by the horse guards on the square of the rebels were repulsed by rapid rifle fire. The barrage chain, separated from the square of the rebels, disarmed the tsarist police. The “rabble” who were in the square did the same thing.

Behind the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was under construction, were the dwellings of construction workers and workers, and from there a lot of stones and logs flew at the king and his retinue.

We see that the troops were not the only living force in the uprising on December 14: on Senate Square that day there was another participant in the events - huge crowds of people. But the Decembrists failed to rely on the people, to make them an active force of the uprising.

On the day of the uprising, while it was still dark, people began to gather here and there at the gates of the barracks of the guard regiments, attracted by rumors about the upcoming oath. The “common people”, “black bone” prevailed. Two “rings” of people were formed. The first consisted of those who had arrived early, it was surrounded by a square of rebels. Those who came “later” formed a second ring that surrounded government troops. Noticing this, Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, realized the danger of this environment. It threatened with great complications.

Nikolai doubted his success, “seeing that the matter was becoming very important, and not yet foreseeing how it would end.” He ordered the preparation of carriages for members of the royal family with the intention of “escorting” them under the cover of cavalry guards to Tsarskoe Selo.

Under these conditions, Nicholas resorted to sending Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to negotiate with the rebels. The idea of ​​sending metropolitans to negotiate with the rebels occurred to Nicholas as a way to explain the legality of the oath to him. His decision to grasp at this straw was strengthened by alarming news: he was informed that life grenadiers and a guards naval crew were leaving the barracks to join the “rebels.” If the metropolitans had managed to persuade the rebels to disperse, then the new regiments that came to the aid of the rebels would have found the main core of the uprising broken and could have fizzled out themselves.

The sight of the approaching spiritual delegation was quite impressive.

But in response to the Metropolitan’s speech about the legality of the required oath, the “rebellious” soldiers began shouting to him from the ranks, according to the authoritative testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... You are a traitor, you are a deserter, Nicholas Kaluga?. We don’t believe you, go away!.. This is none of your business: we know what we are doing...”

Suddenly the metropolitans rushed to the left and disappeared, as huge reinforcements were approaching the rebels.

The order of arrival of the rebel regiments to the square was as follows: the Moscow Life Guards Regiment arrived first. Behind him (much later) was a detachment of life grenadiers - the 1st fusilier company of the Decembrist Sutgof with its commander at its head; then the guards naval crew under the command of the Decembrist captain-lieutenant Nikolai Bestuzhev (the elder brother of Alexander and Mikhail) and the Decembrist lieutenant Arbuzov. Following the guards crew, the last participants in the uprising entered the square - the rest, the most significant part of the life grenadiers, brought by the Decembrist Lieutenant Panov. Sutgof's company joined the square, and the sailors lined up on the Galernaya side with another military formation - “a column to attack.” The life grenadiers who arrived later under the command of Panov formed a separate, third formation on Senate Square - the second “attack column”, located on the left flank of the rebels, closer to the Neva. About three thousand rebel soldiers gathered in the square with 30 Decembrist officers and combat commanders. All the rebel troops had weapons and live ammunition.

The rebels had no artillery. All the rebels were infantrymen.

An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky, chief of staff of the uprising. He tried three times to convene a military council, but it was too late: Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands and concentrate four times the military forces in the square against the rebels.

The short winter day was approaching evening. In the darkness, from the ranks of the troops standing on the side of the emperor, runs began to run towards the rebels. Delegates from some regiments that stood on Nicholas’s side were already making their way to the Decembrists and asking them to “hold out until the evening.” Most of all, Nikolai did not want “the excitement not to be communicated to the mob.” He gave the order to shoot with grapeshot. The command was given, but no shot was fired. “Friends, your honor,” the Gunner answered quietly. Officer Bakunin snatched the fuse from the soldier’s hands and fired himself. The first volley of grapeshot was fired at the “mob” that dotted the roof of the Senate and neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley of grapeshot with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of grapeshot, the ranks wavered and wavered - they began to flee, the wounded and dead fell. The Tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya. Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to shave Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive. But the cannonballs hit the ice - the ice split, many drowned.

By nightfall it was all over. The Tsar and his minions did their best to downplay the number of those killed. By order of the police, the blood was covered with clean snow and the dead were hastily removed. There were patrols everywhere. Bonfires were burning in the square, and the police sent people home with orders that all gates be locked. Petersburg looked like a city conquered by enemies.

From a document by the official of the Ministry of Justice for the statistical department S. N. Korsakov, published by P. Ya. Cain, we learn that on the day of December 14, 1271 people were killed.

At this time, the Decembrists gathered at Ryleev’s apartment. This was their last meeting. They only agreed on how to behave during interrogations. The despair of the participants knew no bounds: the death of the uprising was obvious. Ryleev took the word from the Decembrist N.N. Orzhitsky that he would immediately go to Ukraine to warn Southern society that “Trubetskoy and Yakubovich have changed”

Conclusion

Decembrist Senate uprising

Thus, the Decembrists of the Northern Society failed to achieve their goal for several reasons.

Firstly, the fact that in Northern society, shortly before the day of the oath of troops to Nicholas I, it was already unclear who could be trusted and who could not, suggests that there could be traitors among the Decembrists, who may have informed the future emperor about the upcoming uprising That is, in my opinion, Nicholas I probably learned about this event before December 14th.

Secondly, the oath of the Senate, organized by the authorities at 7 o'clock in the morning, clearly discouraged the rebels; they never expected that the senators would take the oath at such an early time. Most likely, Nicholas I, having calculated everything in advance (assuming that he knew everything), scheduled this procedure for the morning.

Thirdly, the fact that the elected dictator did not appear on Senate Square on the day of the uprising, in my opinion, partly demoralized the army. Probably, Trubetskoy sat, tormented, in the office of the General Staff for a reason. Again, he was probably aware of the superiority of the state troops. Therefore, he abandoned in advance all hopes for the victory of the Decembrists over the autocratic system and serfdom.

Later, Nicholas I, trying to distort the true goals and objectives of the Decembrists, made great efforts to disseminate the official version of the uprising of December 14, 1825 in Russia and abroad. The uprising was portrayed as a narrow conspiracy in which. Allegedly, 7-8 officers and several “vile-looking people in tailcoats” took part, dragging the soldiers along with them. The goal was reduced to the overthrow of the throne, laws and the spread of lawlessness.

Yes, Northern society was defeated, the Decembrists were sent into exile, some were deprived of their lives, they were “cut off the air they breathed.” However, their ideas continued to live in circles of free-thinking youth. Their riot in the center of St. Petersburg excited the minds of people, shook all of Russia, and showed that it was quite possible to resist the authorities. After all, the autocracy was a few steps away from defeat. It’s just that at the last moment the Decembrists themselves left the intended path.

List of sources and literature used

1. Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 20th century // AST, Moscow. 2001. pp. 188-189.

Munchaev Sh. M, Ustinov V. M. History of Russia: a textbook for universities // NORM. 2003. pp. 203-207.

Nechkina M.V. Decembrists // Science. 1982. pp. 107-129.

Orlik O. V. Decembrists and the European liberation movement // “THOUGHT”, Moscow. 1975. pp. 146-147.

Okun S. B. Decembrists // Military publishing. 1972. pp. 6-8.

Fedorov V. A. Decembrists and their time // Moscow State University, Moscow. 1992. pp. 53-82.

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