The first noble revolutionaries who openly opposed tsarism in December 1825 were called Decembrists. The goal of the Decembrists was the destruction of the autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, the establishment of constitutions, the proclamation of basic civil liberties and the equality of all citizens before the law.
The uprising had enormous historical significance. The Decembrists' resistance against the violence of the serf owners, which ultimately resulted in an armed uprising on December 14, 1825, was defeated. Five leaders of the uprising were hanged. Many are convicted. Some were sent to Siberia. A small group of people - exiled Decembrists - went to distant Yakutia, which was then considered a lost place.
The appearance of the first Decembrists in the Yakut region dates back to September 16, 1826; in total, 14 Decembrists visited Yakutia at different times. Including headquarters - captain A. A. Bestuzhev - Marlinsky, who lived in Yakutsk.
Literary creativity of Bestuzhev - Marlinsky. Ballad “Saatyr” 1797 – 1837
Alexander Alexandrovich Bestuzhev is a Decembrist writer. He was on close friendly terms with A.S. Pushkin and K.F. Ryleev and shared their tragic fate, becoming a victim of the Nicholas regime. After the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, Bestuzhev was imprisoned in a fortress. And at the end of October 1827 he was sent to the city of Yakutsk to settle. He reached Yakutsk on December 31, 1827 and stayed there until June 3, 1829.
Marlinsky's literary heritage associated with Yakutia is relatively small. It consists of three essays: “Excerpts from stories about Siberia”, “Siberian customs. “Ysyakh”, “Letter to Doctor Erman” and 26 poems. However, it is a very valuable contribution to Russian literature about Yakutia.
The author's interests in various aspects of life in Yakutia are multifaceted, but most of all Marlinsky is interested in the lives of people. He talks about the possibilities of improving the lives of the peoples of Yakutia, points out the need to introduce steamship traffic on the Lena River, writes about the conquest of the Arctic Ocean, and dreams of enlightening the region.
It was written on the plot of the legend about the “resurrected woman,” which existed among the people in several versions. The tragedy of the Yakut woman is depicted in a romantic spirit, striving for personal freedom in the closed world of morals, ideas and superstitions of a patriarchal society.
In the ballad, a married woman falls in love with the young prince Buydukan and, in order to get rid of her unloved husband, pretends to be sick and supposedly dies. After the funeral, Buyukan comes at night and digs up the grave of his beloved to free her. The extraordinary and courageous act of the lovers, who violated patriarchal customs, evokes cruel punishment from the spirits of local shamans. Lovers die.
Considering the work of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky “Saatyr”, it can be revealed that the artistic features of the ballad are determined by the general tradition of romantic poetry of the early 19th century. It combines an extraordinary plot with real everyday details and an upbeat style of language.
Fine and expressive means in a ballad
In the text, one can distinguish 3 micro-themes, interconnected by thematic vocabulary and a consistent description of the pictures of the upcoming conflict:
- Fake death.
- Resurrected woman.
- Cruel punishment of spirits and shamans.
The first one talks about how a married woman falls in love with Prince Buydukan and, in order to get rid of her unloved husband, pretends to be sick and supposedly dies.
The second one says that after the funeral, Buydukan comes at night and digs up the grave of his beloved to free her.
And finally, in 3 it is said that the unusual and courageous act of lovers who violated patriarchal customs causes cruel punishment by spirits and local shamans. Lovers die.
The author does not just observe these pictures: they awaken in him a whole range of feelings, therefore the description of the environment is complemented by a description of the human condition. This gives the text a subtle psychologism and a penetrating lexical sound.
What can we say about heroin? The tragedy of the Yakut woman is depicted in a romantic spirit, striving for personal freedom in the closed world of morals, ideas and superstitions of a patriarchal society.
The text is an artistic description, since the author sets the task of painting a picture of a family drama, expressing the mental state of the characters and evoking a response in readers.
The characters in the ballad are characterized by strong passions and desires. They are possessed by such feelings as horror, despair, suffering, grief. Their experiences are most often expressed in action, in actions, in the speech of characters, in monologues and dialogues. This often takes a peculiar form.
The text is characterized by such stylistic features as concreteness, imagery, and emotionality. These features manifest themselves not only in the structure of the text, but also in the selection of linguistic means.
Surprisingly simply and casually, the car reveals the picture of the tragedy of married women in love with a young prince. But what is happening is breathtaking, captivating, enchanting. What explains this impact?
The poet widely uses a wide variety of means to express admiration: phonetic, lexical, word-formation, morphological, syntactic, elements of fairy tales and mythological.
The Decembrists were representatives of the nobility who demanded reforms. Possessing high status, a good standard of living and European education, they dreamed of changing life in Russia for the better. They proposed reforms that would bring the country closer to the most developed powers at that time.
The code of noble honor determined the behavior of the Decembrists. Many of them were officers - professional military men who went through a difficult path of trials and wars. They put the interests of the Fatherland at the forefront, but they wanted to see the structure of Russia differently. Not all of them considered the overthrow of the king the right measure.
How many Decembrists were there in Russia? 10, 20, 200?
It's very difficult to calculate. There was no single organization with fixed membership. There was no reform plan. They didn’t even develop an action algorithm. It all came down to simple conversations at the dinner table. Many nobles did not participate in the armed uprising for personal reasons. Others got excited about the idea, but cooled down after the first meetings and discussions.
The most famous Decembrists were P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, K.F. Ryleev, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, as well as P.G. Kakhovsky.
The Decembrists became the first opposition in the country. Their ideological views were radically different from those existing at that time. They were not revolutionaries! They served the state and were representatives of the upper class. The Decembrists wanted to help Emperor Alexander I.
Societies and unions of the Decembrists
Historians do not view secret societies as paramilitary organizations. This is more a way of socializing young people. After all, many were tired of officer service; they didn’t want to throw cards and go on a spree. Discussing politics made me feel like I was an important part of society.
Southern Society
The meeting appeared in a small town called Tulchin, where at one time the headquarters of the Second Army was located. Young officers with a good education decided to gather in a close circle and discuss policy issues. What is not an alternative to cards, women and vodka?
Salvation Union
It consisted of officers of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment. After 1815 they returned from the war and settled in St. Petersburg. Members of the Union of Salvation rented living space together. They even prescribed the details of everyday life in the charter: duty, rest, discussions. They were also interested in politics. The participants worked out ways for Russia's further development and proposed reforms.
Welfare Union
A couple of years later, the Union of Salvation grew so much that it turned into the Union of Welfare. There were many more participants (about 200). We never got together. Some might not even know each other by sight.
Later, the Union had to be dissolved, as there were too many people in it who did not bring any benefit to society.
Goals of the Decembrists. What did they want to achieve?
Many Decembrists took part in the hostilities. They took part in foreign campaigns and saw how Europe lives, what kind of order is in other countries. They understood that serfdom and the existing system did not meet the interests of Russia. These are the “shackles” that prevent the country from developing.
The Decembrists demanded:
- Carrying out decisive reforms.
- Introduction of the country's constitution.
- Abolition of serfdom.
- Creation of a fair judicial system.
- Equality of people.
Of course, the details of the plan differed. There was never a clear and well-thought-out algorithm of actions. For example, it was not entirely clear how the constitution would be introduced. There were also questions about how to hold general elections when the population cannot read or write.
The Decembrists raised questions to which there was no single answer. Political discussion was just emerging in Russia. The nobles were afraid of civil strife and bloodshed. Therefore, they chose a military coup as a way to change power. The Decembrists believed that the soldiers would not let them down, that the military would unquestioningly carry out all orders.
Uprising on Senate Square in 1825
The Decembrists needed an opportune moment to translate their “reasonings” into reality. It came in 1825, when Alexander I died. Tsarevich Constantine was supposed to take the place of the emperor, but he abdicated the throne. Nicholas became the head of state.
Due to the lack of a clear and well-thought-out plan, the Decembrists' idea of an armed uprising was doomed to failure. In December 1825 they brought troops loyal to them to Senate Square. But it was too late, because all the decisions on the transfer of power had been made.
There was no one to make demands on. The general situation soon reached a dead end. The rebels were quickly surrounded by troops loyal to the government. A firefight broke out, leaving the rioters separated. They had to flee. Historians have calculated the approximate numbers of those killed at that time on both sides. There were about 80 of them.
Trial of the Decembrists
A special body was created to investigate the causes and identify those involved in the armed uprising. It was called the Secret Committee. A separate court was also established, which was responsible for passing sentences on the “rebels.”
- For Emperor Nicholas I, it was extremely important to condemn the rebels strictly according to the law. The emperor had recently taken office, and it was necessary to show a “strong hand.”
- The difficulty was the absence of such laws. There was no single code containing penalties for committing crimes. Nicholas I entrusted the development of the system to Mikhail Speransky, his dignitary, distinguished by his liberal views.
- It was Mikhail Speransky who divided the charges into 11 categories (depending on the degree of guilt). The punishment was assigned depending on which category the accused fell into.
- The 5 main Decembrists were immediately sentenced to death. Quartering was replaced by hanging.
The Decembrists could not defend themselves and have lawyers. They were even absent from the meeting. The judges simply reviewed the documents prepared by the investigators and made a final decision.
Many participants in the uprising were exiled to Siberia. Only Alexander II, 30 years later, would pardon the Decembrists. Although many of them were never able to live up to this moment
The movement of revolutionaries, who were later called the Decembrists, had its own ideology. It was formed under the influence of the liberation campaigns of the Russian army in European countries. While fighting the Napoleonic army, the best representatives of the Russian officer corps became acquainted with the political life of other countries, which differed sharply from the regime that reigned in Russia.
Many representatives of the nobility and advanced intelligentsia who joined the opposition movement were also familiar with the writings of French enlighteners. The ideas of the great thinkers were in tune with the thoughts of those who expressed dissatisfaction with the policies of the government of Alexander I. Many progressive-minded oppositionists hatched plans to adopt a constitution.
The spearhead of the ideology of the opposition movement was directed against tsarism and serfdom, which became a brake on the progressive development of Russia. Gradually, a network of conspirators formed in the country, waiting for the right moment to start speaking. Such conditions arose in December 1825.
Decembrist revolt
After the death of Alexander I, there were no direct heirs to the throne. The emperor's two brothers, Nicholas and Constantine, could claim the crown. The latter had a better chance of ascending the throne, but Constantine did not intend to become an autocrat, because he was afraid of intrigues and palace coups. For a month of days, the brothers could not decide which of them would lead the country. As a result, Nikolai decided to take on the burden of power. The oath ceremony was to take place on the afternoon of December 14, 1825.
It was this day that the conspirators considered the most suitable for an armed uprising. The headquarters of the movement decided in the morning to advance troops sympathetic to the opposition to Senate Square in St. Petersburg. The main forces of the rebels were supposed to prevent this from happening; other units at that time were going to seize the Winter Palace and arrest the imperial family. It was assumed that the fate of the king would be decided by the so-called Great Council.
But the participants in the uprising were disappointed: Nicholas was sworn in before the scheduled time. The confused Decembrists did not know what to do. As a result, they lined up their subordinate units on Senate Square around the monument to Peter I and repelled several attacks by troops supporting the Tsar. And yet, by the evening of December 14, the uprising was suppressed.
Nicholas I took all measures to roughly punish the Decembrists. Several thousand rebels were arrested. The organizers of the uprising were brought to trial. Someone begged the Tsar for forgiveness, but some Decembrists showed courage to the end. The court sentenced the five instigators of the rebellion to hanging. Ryleev, Pestel, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Muravyov-Apostol and Kakhovsky were executed in the summer of 1826 in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Many participants in the December performance were exiled to distant Siberia for many years.
rus. revolutionaries who raised an uprising against autocracy and serfdom in December 1825 (they were named after the month of the uprising). D. were noble revolutionaries, their class. narrow-mindedness left its mark on the movement, which according to its slogans was anti-feudal and was associated with the maturation of bourgeois preconditions. revolution in Russia. The process of decomposition of the feudal-serf system, clearly manifested itself already in the 2nd half. 18th century and intensified in the beginning. The 19th century was the basis on which this movement grew. V.I. Lenin called the era of world history between the great French. revolution and the Paris Commune (1789-1871) - the era of “bourgeois-democratic movements in general, bourgeois-national ones in particular,” the era of “... the rapid breakdown of outlived feudal-absolutist institutions” (Oc., vol. 21, p. 126 ). D.'s movement was organic. element of the struggle of this era. Antifeud. movement in the world-ist. the process often included elements of noble revolutionism; they were strong in English. revolutions of the 17th century, had an impact in Spanish. will release. struggle of the 1820s, are especially clear in Poland. movement of the 19th century Russia was no exception in this regard. Russian weakness the bourgeoisie, who took refuge under the wing of the autocracy and did not cultivate revolutionaries within themselves. protest, contributed to the fact that revolutionaries became the “firstborn of freedom” in Russia. nobles - D. Otechestv. the war of 1812, in which almost all the founders and many active members of the future D. movement were participants, the subsequent foreign campaigns of 1813-1814 were a well-known political phenomenon for the future D. school. The people who had won victory over Napoleon were still enslaved. In 1816, young officers - Lieutenant Colonel Gen. headquarters Alexander Muravyov, S. Trubetskoy, I. Yakushkin, Sergey and Matvey Muravyov-Apostles, Nikita Muravyov - founded the first secret political. society - "Union of Salvation", or "Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland." Later P. Pestel and others joined it - only approx. 30 people Work to improve the program and the search for more advanced methods of action to eliminate absolutism and abolish serfdom led in 1818 to the closure of the “Union of Salvation” and the founding of a new, broader society - the “Union of Welfare” (approx. 200 people). The new society considered the main The goal is to form “public opinion” in the country, as D. Ch. revolutionary the force that drives societies. life. The slogan is constitutional. The monarchy no longer satisfied the members of the secret society. In 1820, in the atmosphere of the beginning of Europe. revitalization of the revolutionary struggle, a meeting of the governing body of the Union of Welfare - the Root Council - based on Pestel's report, unanimously voted for the republic. Basic By force of the coup, it was decided to create an army, which would be led by members of the secret society. The performance that took place before D.'s eyes in the Semenovsky regiment (1820) in St. Petersburg (D. did not take a leading part in it, the unrest was soldiers) additionally convinced D. that the army was ready to move. According to the revolutionaries. nobles - this was reflected in their class. limitation - the revolution had to take place for the people, but not through the people. Eliminating the active participation of the people in the coming coup seemed necessary to D. in order to avoid the “horrors of the people’s revolution” and retain a leading position in the revolution. events. Ideological struggle within the organization, in-depth work on the program, further searches for better tactics, more affective organizations. forms and - in the conditions of developing military plans. coup - the company demanded greater secrecy and deep internal restructuring of the company. In 1821, the congress of the Root Council of the Union of Welfare in Moscow declared the organization dissolved and, under the cover of this decision, which made it easier to weed out unreliable members, began to form a new organization. As a result, after a strong internal struggle and a number of intermediate forms, the Southern Society of Decembrists was formed in 1821 (in Ukraine, in the area where the 2nd Army was quartered), and soon after that. assistance from the south org-tions - Northern Society of Decembrists with its center in St. Petersburg. Head of South society became one of the outstanding D. - P. I. Pestel. Members of the South. the associations were opponents of the idea of the Establishment. meeting and supporters of the dictatorship of the Provisional Supreme Revolutionary. board. It was the latter who, in their opinion, should have taken power into their own hands after a successful revolution. coup and introduce a previously prepared constitution. device, the principles of which were set out in a special document, which later received the name. "Russian Truth". Russia was declared a republic, serfdom was immediately abolished. The peasants were freed with land. The basis of agriculture Pestel's project adopted by the South. about-vom, two mutually exclusive principles were laid down. The first is “land is public property and cannot belong to anyone”; the second - “labor and work are sources of property” and a person who has invested labor and money in cultivating the land has the right of ownership to it. To harmonize these provisions, Pestel intended to divide the land in each volost into two equal parts: public, where the land was not bought or sold and every native of the volost had the right to receive land. allotment for the production of a “necessary product”; in the 2nd half, private property dominated, land could be sold, bought, rented, donated, mortgaged - for the production of “abundance”. In society The fund received half of the landowners' land. At the same time, the lands of the largest latifundia (over 10 thousand dessiatines) were subject to gratuitous alienation in favor of the people (confiscation), and half of the land of smaller landowner estates was alienated for a dollar. reward from the treasury or compensation with land in other places of the state. No land purchases were made at the expense of the peasants. Thus, agr. Pestel's project did not provide for the complete destruction of landownership, allowing its existence in a reduced form in the second (privately owned) half of the land. "Russian Truth" provided for the complete destruction of the class system, the equality of all citizens before the law and the right of every man over 20 years of age to participate in politics. life of the country, to elect and be elected without any property. or education qualification Women are elected. had no rights. Every year in each volost the Zemstvo People's Assembly was supposed to meet, electing deputies to three permanent representatives. local authority: the local volost assembly, the local district assembly and the local province. district meeting. Unicameral Nar. veche - Russian parliament - was endowed with the entirety of legislation. authorities in the country; elections to it were two-stage. Execute power in the republic belonged to the State Duma, which consisted of 5 members elected by the People. let's marry for 5 years. Every year one of them dropped out and one new one was chosen in return - this ensured the continuity and succession of power and its constant renewal. That member of the State Duma, who had been a member of it for the last year, became its chairman, in fact, the president of the republic. This ensured the impossibility of usurping supreme power: each president held office for only one year. The third, very peculiar supreme state. The body of the republic was the Supreme Council, consisting of 120 people elected for life. material support. Unity the function of the Supreme Council was control (“vigilant”). He had to ensure that the constitution was strictly observed. In addition, the constitutional project South the company announced everything. citizen freedom - speech, press, assembly, movement, choice of occupation, religion, equal court for all citizens. The "Russian Pravda" indicated the composition of the future territory of the state - Russia was to include the D. Vostok, Transcaucasia, Moldova, the acquisition of which Pestel considered necessary for economic purposes. or strategic considerations. Democratic the system had to apply absolutely equally to all of Russia. territories, regardless of what peoples inhabited them. Pestel, however, decided. an opponent of the federation: according to his project, all of Russia was supposed to be a single and indivisible state. An exception was made only for Poland, which was granted the right to secede. It was assumed that Poland, together with all of Russia, would take part in the revolution planned by D. coup and will carry out at home, in agreement with "Russian Pravda", the same revolutionary. transformations that were expected for Russia. Pestel's "Russian Truth" was repeatedly discussed at congresses of the South. society, its principles were accepted by the organization. The surviving editions of "Russian Pravda" testify to the continuous work on its improvement and development of its democracy. principles. Being basically creation of Pestel, "Russian Truth" was also ruled by members of the South. about-va. North the company D. was headed by Nikita Muravyov; The leadership core included outstanding D. - N. Turgenev, M. Lunin, S. Trubetskoy, E. Obolensky. Subsequently, the composition of the society expanded significantly. Constitutional project North The company was developed by N. Muravyov. It defended the idea of the Establishment. meeting and strongly opposed the dictatorship of the provisional revolution. rule and dictatorial introduction of a previously approved secret society of revolutionaries. constitution. Only the future will establish. the meeting could, in the opinion of the sowing. D., draw up a constitution or approve by vote any of the constitutions proposed to him. projects. Constitutional N. Muravyov’s project was supposed to be one of them. Unlike "Russian Pravda", its principles were not put to a vote in the society and were not accepted by the organization. Nevertheless, N. Muravyov's "Constitution" is significant. ideological doctor of movement D. In the project N. Muravyova class. limitations are expressed much more strongly than in Rus. Pravda. According to the project of N. Muravyov (who was a republican in the Union of Welfare, but by the time the Northern Society emerged, he took more right-wing positions), the future Russia was supposed to become constitutional. monarchy with a simultaneous federal structure. The principle of federation, similar in type to the United States, was almost deprived of nationality from Muravyov. moment - the territorial element prevailed in it. Russia was divided into 15 federal units - “powers” (regions). Serfdom was unconditionally abolished. Estates were destroyed. The equality of all citizens before the law and equal justice for all were established. However, agr. N. Muravyov's reform was limited by class. According to the latest version of the “Constitution”, peasants received only estate land and 2 dessiatines. arable land per yard, the rest of the land remained the property of the landowners or the state (state lands). Political The structure of the federation introduced a bicameral system (a kind of local parliament) into each “power”. The upper house in the “state” was the State Duma, the lower house was the house of elected deputies of the “state”. The Federation as a whole was united by Nar. veche - bicameral parliament. Its upper house was called the Supreme Duma, and its lower house was called the Chamber of Peoples. representatives. Nar. the veche belonged to the legislator. power. Elections to all institutions were, as a rule, driven by high assets. by qualification Execute power belonged to the emperor - the highest official of Ross. government, who received a large salary. Legislator The emperor had no power, but he had the right of a “suspensive veto,” that is, he could delay the adoption of the law for a certain period and return it to parliament for a second discussion, but he could not completely reject the law. The "Constitution" of N. Muravyov, like Pestel's "Russian Truth", declared the basic general civil freedom - speech, press, assembly, religion, movement, etc. In the last years of the activity of the secret North. society, the internal struggle became more pronounced in it. currents. Rep. intensified again. movement, represented by the famous poet K. F. Ryleev, who joined the society in 1823, as well as Obolensky, brother. Bestuzhevs (Nikolai, Alexander, Mikhail) and a number of other members. It is for this rep. group fell the full burden of preparing the uprising in St. Petersburg. South and Sev. The companies were in continuous communication and discussed their differences. To St. Petersburg At the meeting of 1824, Pestel reported on the foundations of "Russian Pravda". The debate showed a clash of different principles and a persistent search for a way out of disagreements. The Congress of the North was scheduled for 1826. and Yuzh. society of D., for which it was supposed to develop general constitutions. basics. However, the current situation in the country forced D. to speak ahead of schedule. In preparation for an open revolution. performance by Yuzh. The society of D. merged with the Society of United Slavs. This society in its original form arose back in 1818 and, having gone through a series of transformations, set as its ultimate goal the destruction of serfdom and autocracy, the creation of a powerful democracy. glory federations consisting of Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary (Hungarians were considered Slavs by members of the society), Transylvania, Serbia, Moldova, Wallachia, Dalmatia and Croatia. Members of the glory. about-va were supporters of the people. revolutions. The “Slavs” accepted the program of the southerners and joined the South. society, forming within its composition a special “Slavic” administration, distinguished by a strong fighting spirit. In November 1825, the Emperor suddenly died. Alexander I. Due to the long-standing refusal (remained secret) of the throne by Tsarevich Constantine and the oath taken to him as emperor, an interregnum was created in the country. Alexander I was to be succeeded, however, not by Constantine, but by his brother Nicholas. The latter had long been hated in the army as a rude martinet and Arakcheevite. The army was worried, discontent in the country was growing. At the same time, members of the secret society became aware that spies were on their trail (denunciations by I. Sherwood and A. Mayboroda). It was impossible to wait any longer. Since the decisive events of the interregnum played out in the capital, it naturally became the center of the upcoming coup. North the society decided to openly arm. speech and scheduled it for December 14. 1825, when the oath of allegiance to the new emperor was supposed to take place. Nicholas I. Revolutionary plan. The coup, worked out in detail at D.'s meetings in Ryleev's apartment, intended to prevent the oath, raise troops sympathetic to D., bring them to Senate Square and by force of arms (if negotiations did not help) prevent the Senate and State Council from taking the oath to the new emperor. The delegation from D. was supposed to force the senators (if necessary by military force) to sign the revolutionary. Manifesto to Russian to the people. The manifesto announced the overthrow of the government, abolished serfdom, abolished conscription, and declared citizens. freedom and convened the Establishment. a meeting that would finally decide the question of the constitution and form of government in Russia. Prince was elected dictator of the upcoming uprising. S. Trubetskoy, an experienced military man, participant in the War of 1812, well known to the guard. The first rebel regiment (Moscow Life Guards) came to Senate Square on December 14. OK. 11 a.m. under the leadership of A. Bestuzhev, his brother Mikhail and D. Shchepin-Rostovsky. The regiment lined up in a square near the monument to Peter I. Only 2 hours later it was joined by the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and Guard. sea crew. In total, approx. gathered in the square under the banners of the uprising. 3 thousand rebel soldiers with 30 combat commanders - officers-D. The assembled sympathetic people greatly outnumbered the troops. However, the goals set by D. were not achieved. Nicholas I managed to bring the Senate and State. The council took the oath of office while it was still dark, when Senate Square was empty. The “dictator” S. Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, having betrayed the trust of the rebels, and thereby brought anxiety and disorganization into their ranks. The square of rebels several times repelled with rapid fire the onslaught of the guards cavalry that remained loyal to Nicholas. Governor General Miloradovich's attempt to persuade the rebels was unsuccessful. Miloradovich was mortally wounded by the Decembrist P. G. Kakhovsky. The attempt of the metropolitan sent by the tsar to persuade the soldiers also ended in nothing. By evening D. chose a new leader - Prince. Obolensky, beginning headquarters of the uprising. But it was already too late. Nicholas, who managed to gather troops loyal to him to the square and surround the square of the rebels, was afraid that “the excitement would not be transmitted to the mob,” and ordered shooting with grapeshot. The rebels at first responded with rapid rifle fire, but under the shots of troops loyal to the tsar, their ranks were upset, the dead and wounded appeared, and the flight began. The rebel troops, again lined up under a hail of grapeshot on the Neva ice and at Galernaya, could not hold out. Buckshot pierced the ice, many drowned. By nightfall it was all over. Those arrested by D. were taken for interrogation to the Winter Palace. The news of the defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg reached the South. about-va on the twentieth of December. Pestel had already been arrested by that time (December 13, 1825), but nevertheless the decision to speak was made. The uprising of the Chernigov regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. It started on December 29th. 1825 in the village Trilesy, where the 5th company of the regiment was stationed. The rebels captured the city of Vasilkov and moved from there to join other regiments. However, not a single regiment supported the initiatives of the Chernigovites, although the troops were undoubtedly in a state of unrest. A detachment of governments sent to meet the rebels. troops met them with volleys of grapeshot, and on January 3. The 1826 D. uprising in the South was crushed. During the uprising in the South, the appeals of D. Revolution were distributed among the soldiers and partly the people. The "Catechism", written by S. Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin, freed soldiers from the oath to the Tsar and was imbued with rep. people's slogans board. 579 people were involved in the investigation and trial in D.’s case. Investigation and court. the procedures were conducted in deep secrecy. According to the degree of “guilt”, D. were divided into “categories” and sentenced to different degrees of punishment. Five leaders - Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Ryleev and Kakhovsky - were placed “out of rank” and hanged on July 13, 1826. 121 D. was exiled to Siberia for hard labor and settlement. Particularly active soldiers were driven through the ranks, and some survivors were exiled to Siberia for hard labor or a settlement. The Chernigov penal regiment, as well as another consolidated regiment of active participants in the uprising, were sent to the Caucasus, where military operations were taking place at that time. actions. D.'s uprising was of great importance in the history of the revolution. Russian movements. This was the first open action with arms in hand with the goal of overthrowing the autocracy and eliminating serfdom. V.I. Lenin begins with D. periodization of Russian. revolutionary movements (see Works, vol. 18, p. 14). The significance of the D. movement was already understood by their contemporaries: “Your sorrowful work will not be wasted,” wrote A.S. Pushkin in his “Message to Siberia” to D. The lessons of the D. uprising were learned by their revolutionary successors. struggle: “The Decembrists on Senate Square did not have enough people,” wrote Herzen. Subsequent generations of fighters were inspired by the feat of the Decembrists and reflected on their experience. The profiles of the five executed on the cover of Herzen's Polar Star were a symbol of the struggle against tsarism, which deeply worried the participants in the subsequent movement. T. Shevchenko was in awe of the memory of D. Petrashevtsy listened to reports about D. on their “Fridays”. N.A. Dobrolyubov, even during his student days, published information about D. in an illegal handwritten newspaper. D. contributed means. contribution to Russian history. culture. They fought for its advanced ideas and left a lot of art. works, scientific works K. Ryleev, one of the founders of Russian. citizen poetry, exposing the feudal oppressors, even the all-powerful temporary worker Arakcheev, glorifying heroism and self-sacrifice for the good of the people, calling on youth to participate in the revolution. struggle, together with his friend A. Bestuzhev, he composed a note. revolutionary songs for the people. The famous writer A. Bestuzhev left numerous. arts works and criticism articles with a correct assessment of such outstanding Russians. writers like Pushkin, Griboyedov. D. carried out a persistent and courageous struggle in literature for "Woe from Wit", which caused fierce attacks from the reactionaries. camps. Decembrist - poet A. Odoevsky, author of D.'s poetic response to Pushkin's "Message to Siberia" (from this response Lenin later took the words "From a spark will ignite a flame" as the epigraph of the Bolshevik "Iskra"). Poets-D. - V. Kuchelbecker, V. Raevsky, F. Glinka, N. Chizhov and others - they left it. lit. inheritance. A famous theater critic and writer was R. Katenin, a participant in early Decembrist societies, a friend of Pushkin and Griboedov. Journal Ryleev and Bestuzhev's "Polar Star", Kuchelbecker's almanac "Mnemosyne" - important lit. monuments of the era. Of particular importance is D.'s friendly closeness to a number of outstanding poets and writers (Pushkin, Griboyedov, etc.) who experienced the influence of liberation. ideology D. The diversified creativity of the eldest of the Bestuzhevs - Nikolai, an exceptionally gifted person, encyclopedia, education. He was a talented artist and, despite the ban of Nicholas I in Siberia, he created a series of portraits of D.; left fiction. works, valuable technical inventions, a number of scientific treatises, incl. “On freedom of trade and industry in general” (1831), reflecting economics. the views of the majority of D., who defended free trade. Works of G. Batenkov, especially related to Siberia, incl. work on economics statistics of Siberia are an important primary source. Means. contribution to the economy the science of that time was constitutional. D.'s projects that developed advanced anti-feudal ideas about an economy free from serfdom. oppression, the inviolability of property and free labor. The desire for the “common good” and the idea of the well-being of the people permeate economics. works of the Decembrists. N. Turgenev in the book. "An Experience in the Theory of Taxes" (1818) raised the question of the need to free the peasants in Russia. M. Orlov, in his work “On State Credit” (1833), sought to reveal the position of credit as a lever for the rise of the people. welfare. Among D. there were many historians: Nikita Muravyov, A. Kornilovich, N. Bestuzhev, P. Mukhanov and others. N. Muravyov led D.’s bold dispute with N. M. Karamzin, arguing against the latter’s position that the history of the people " belongs to the king,” is fundamentally different: “the history of the people belongs to the people.” Kornilovich is one of the outstanding historical researchers. primary sources, his works, preem. dedicated to the 17th and 18th centuries, in particular to the era of Peter I, considered a new and at that time little-researched topic. N. Bestuzhev laid the foundation for the study of Russian history. fleet, basing it on a careful study of archival documents. material ("Experience in the History of the Russian Fleet", first complete edition 1961). V. Shteingel left extensive work on chronology - “An experience of a complete study of the principles and rules of chronological and monthly reckoning of the old and new style” (1819) and “Notes regarding the preparation and campaign of the St. Petersburg militia against the enemies of the fatherland in 1812 and 1813” (1814-15). Geographical The works of a number of D. are related to current, little-studied topics of their time and are original in scientific research. respect. A number of works by D. Zavalishin are devoted to America, Canada, and the history of maritime relations. G. Batenkov left his works about Siberia. N. Chizhov, a participant in the polar expedition under the command of F. P. Litke, left a description of Novaya Zemlya. K. Thorson, as part of the expedition of R. R. Bellingshausen in 1819-21, circumnavigated the world and participated in the discovery of Antarctica. D. left a row means. works on military business and military history, defending in them the principles of the Suvorov school and further developing their own system of weapons construction. forces in the state (I. G. Burtsov, “Thoughts on the theory of military knowledge”, P. I. Pestel, “Brief discussion on the composition of troops”, “Notes on headquarters”, “Note on maneuvers”). N. Muravyov read the military. specialists Course of higher tactics and strategy. D. participated in the management of the Military Journal. D. also left their mark in philosophical science, always experiencing a keen interest in problems of worldview and knowledge of the world. Followers of materialistic philosophers were V. Raevsky, A. Baryatinsky, I. Yakushkin, N. Kryukov and others. Yakushkin left the philosopher. treatise "What is life". P. Borisov defended the point of view that the formation of new worlds is still taking place in space. D. defended the idea of the knowability of the world and the continuity of movement. Remarkably atheistic. creativity of A. Baryatinsky, who left a large poetic work “About God”. D. were passionate educators. They fought for advanced ideas in pedagogy, constantly promoting the idea that education should become the property of the people. They defended the advanced, anti-scholastic. teaching methods adapted to child psychology. Even before the uprising, D. took an active part in the spread of schools for the people according to the Lancastrian system of education (V. Kuchelbecker, V. Raevsky, etc.), which pursued the goals of mass education. Enlighten. D.'s activities played a big role in Siberia (I. Yakushkin’s school in Yalutorovsk, etc.). D.'s contribution to advanced Russian. culture has not yet been sufficiently studied. There is no doubt about its significance. Further study of the influence of D.'s ideas on Russian is necessary. scientific and arts. literary M. V. Nechkina. Moscow. Historiography. Immediately after the uprising on December 14. In 1825, two opposing concepts of the D movement were defined. Many of the revolutionaries inevitably became historians of the movement during the investigation. The testimonies of Pestel, N. Muravyov, M. Orlov and others laid the foundation for the revolution. concepts of the Decembrist movement. However, Nicholas I hid D’s testimony from society. The government put forward its own. explanation of the activities of the secret society. In Russian and the false “Report of the Investigative Commission” became widespread in the foreign press, which hushed up projects for the abolition of serfdom and other slogans of the uprising. Then there appeared (public edition 1857) an equally biased book by Baron M. A. Korf, “The Accession to the Throne of Emperor Nicholas I,” mainly. on the notes of Nicholas I. D. are depicted by Korf as a handful of madmen, “alien to our holy Rus'.” Initial attempts to refute the official lies and to restore the true history of the movement belonged to D. themselves (“A look at the secret society in Russia. 1816-26.” M. S. Lunina, “Analysis of the report of the investigative commission in 1826.” N. M. Muravyova, “Notes” by I. Yakushkin and other Decembrists, published by A. I. Herzen in “Polar Star”). Herzen was essentially the first historian of the D. movement. In his brochures “On the Development of Revolutionary Ideas in Russia” (1851), “Russian Conspiracy of 1825.” (1857) he denounced Korf's "vile work" and highly raised the names of D. - "this first phalanx of Russian liberation." Herzen overestimated the maturity of D.'s ideology and mistakenly considered Pestel a socialist, but he correctly understood the reasons for the defeat of the Dec. 14 uprising. (“the conspirators did not have enough people”) and the historian correctly defined it. meaning (“the guns on St. Isaac’s Square woke up a whole generation”). V.G. Belinsky and the Petrashevites belonged to the generation awakened by the thunder of December 14th. D.'s feat was highly valued by the raznochintsy revolutionaries of the 60s and 70s. However, Op. Herzen in Russia 2nd half. 19th century were prohibited. Official The works of noble-conservative historians (M. I. Bogdanovich, N. K. Schilder, N. R. Dubrovin) enjoyed support. But in general, govt. the concept began to become obsolete. Its place is gradually taken by the “liberal legend” about D. Since the 70s. “Historical Sketches. Social Movement under Alexander I” by A. N. Pypin, which contained new materials at that time, enjoyed considerable popularity. Written from a liberal position, the "Essays" obscured the revolutionaries. D.'s aspirations. The bourgeois-liberal historians of the beginning approached D.'s assessment from the same positions. 20th century: M. V. Dovnar-Zapolsky, P. E. Shchegolev, N. P. Pavlov-Silvansky, as well as A. A. Kizevetter, A. A. Kornilov, P. N. Milyukov. Means. achievement of the pre-revolutionary The historiography of Decembrism is a great work by the populist historian. directions of V.I. Semevsky "Political and social ideas of the Decembrists" (1909), main. on a huge amount of archival material, studied by him for the first time. As a democrat, Semevsky emphasized republican and especially communal agrarianism. Pestel’s plans, but as a populist he saw in them “the beginnings of socialism.” A supporter of subjective sociology, Semevsky portrayed D. as representatives of the “non-class intelligentsia”, exaggerated foreign. influence in their ideology. The first attempt at a Marxist assessment of the D. movement belongs to G. V. Plekhanov (speech “December 14, 1825”). However, only V.I. Lenin comprehensively defined the class. D.'s character and place in will be freed. movements (articles “In Memory of Herzen”, “From the Past of the Workers’ Press”, “The Role of Estates and Classes in the Liberation Movement”, etc. ). D. were the first to raise the banner of rebellion against tsarism, Lenin pointed out. But as figures of the noble period he will liberate. movement they were powerless without the support of the people. “They are terribly far from the people. But their cause was not lost. The Decembrists woke up Herzen” (Works, vol. 18, p. 14). The beginning of the owls. Decembrist studies coincided with preparations for the centenary of the uprising on December 14. Together with pre-revolutionary historians. generation A. E. Presnyakov, P. E. Shchegolev were the then young researchers N. S. Chernov, N. P. Lavrov, S. Ya. Gessen and others. M. N. Pokrovsky, as opposed to the idealistic ones. bourgeois concepts scientists sought to study economics. the soil of Decembrism (B.D. Grekov and N.L. Rubinstein wrote on the same topic at that time). At the same time, Pokrovsky sometimes assessed the fundamentals very contradictorily. ideas of D. Sov. the era opened up the wealth of archives for researchers. Since 1925 it began to be published under the editorship of M. N. Pokrovsky series of documents “The Revolt of the Decembrists” (vol. 1-11). Basic place in it was taken by investigators. affairs of members of a secret society. Dozens of other documents have been published. collections and hundreds of magazines. publications. Among them are previously unknown works by D., in particular on historical literature. Topics. The first major Marxist monographs on democracy appeared in the late 1990s. 20 - beginning 30s These are the books by M. V. Nechkina “Society of United Slavs” (1927) and N. M. Druzhinin “Decembrist Nikita Muravyov” (1933, the work is essentially dedicated to the Northern Region as a whole). The development of D.'s ideology was considered in these books in connection with the decomposition of serfdom in Russia. The study of the D. movement expanded in the 40s and 50s. Along with general outlines in the lecture. courses (S.B. Okun and others), studies appeared about D.’s predecessors (V.N. Orlov, A.V. Predtechensky), new works about the North. and Yuzh. about-wah (K. D. Aksenov, I. V. Porokh, S. M. Fayershtein), about D.’s connections with Osvobod. movement in Poland and Romania (L. A. Medvedskaya, B. E. Syroechkovsky, A. V. Fadeev, etc.), about the influence of D. on the culture of the peoples of Siberia and the Caucasus. A large series of works was devoted to D.'s worldview - the study of their original philosophies. economics, history, military views (K. A. Pajitnov, E. A. Prokofiev, etc.). To study lit. connections of D. the book by M. V. Nechkina “Griboyedov and the Decembrists” (2nd ed., 1951), works by M. K. Azadovsky, V. G. Bazanov, I. S. Zilbershtein, B. S. Meilakh, Yu. G. Oksman, N.K. Piksanov and others. The largest contribution to the Soviet Union. ist. science was the fundamental work of academician. M. V. Nechkina “The Decembrist Movement” (vol. 1-2, 1955), the result of thirty years of research. activities of the author himself and Sov. Decembrist studies in general. Having created a reliable research. base, Nechkina’s work paved the way for further research. In con. 50 - beginning 60s Monographs dedicated to history appear. D.'s views (S.S. Volk, 1958), their connections with the Polish revolutionary. movement (P. N. Olshansky, 1959), books and articles about individual D. (S. B. Okun, “Decembrist M. S. Lunin”, Leningrad, 1962), articles about D. in the collection. Hermitage ("Pushkin and his time", Leningrad, 1962), collection. "Decembrists in Moscow", ed. Yu. G. Oksman (M., 1963). A big event was the publication of ed. M.V. Nechkina and will join with her. scientific article publications of Pestel's "Russian Truth" ("Revolt of the Decembrists", vol. 7, M.-L., 1958). For the first time, N. Bestuzhev’s “Experience in the History of the Russian Fleet” is published in full (introduced article by G. E. Pavlova, Leningrad, 1961). In modern Foreign literature should note research and publications on the influence of D. on liberation. movement in Poland (book by L. Baumgarten, publications by V. Zavadsky "Memoirs of the Decembrists", 1960) and Romania (articles by S. Stirbu). Means. The book in Italian is of interest. historian F. Venturi about the Decembrist movement and the Poggio brothers, as well as reports on responses to the D. uprising in France (P. Angrand) and other Western countries. Europe. In emigrant literature, mainly. the next pre-revolutionary liberal-cadet historiography, except for a few publications of memoirs and individual studies. articles, there are only popular essays about D. (M. Tsetlin, A. Mazur, etc.). Some Amer. authors (A. Adams, D. Hecht, S. Tompkins), distorting the history of Russian. revolutionary movements, painted by D. or by blind admirers of the bourgeoisie. building or aristocratic. Fronde, they are represented as enemies of the independence and freedom of Poland, etc. Such op. received a fair rebuff in the Soviet Union. print. (See incl. on page 328). S.S. Volk. Leningrad. Source: Decembrist Uprising. Materials and documents, vol. 1-11, M.-L., 1925-1958 (vol. 7 - “Russian Truth” by P.I. Pestel, vol. 8 - Alphabet of the Decembrists); From letters and testimonies of the Decembrists, ed. A.K. Borozdina, St. Petersburg, 1906; Decembrists and secret societies in Russia. Official documents, M., 1906; Decembrists. Unpublished materials and articles, M., 1925; Decembrist revolt, L., 1926; Decembrist on Ukraine, 36., vol. 1-2, K., 1926-30; Decembrists and their time, vol. 1-2, M., 1928-32; Rukh Decembrist in Ukraine, (Zbirnik), X., 1926; In memory of the Decembrists. Sat. materials, vol. 1-3, L., 1926; Decembrists. Letters and archives. materials, M., 1938; Secret societies in Russia in the beginning. XIX century, Sat. materials, article, memoirs, M., 1926; Decembrists, M., 1939 (GBL. Notes of the department of manuscripts, v. 3); Decembrists and their time. Materials and communications. ed. M. P. Alekseev and B. S. Meilakh, M.-L., 1951; Decembrists-literators, vol. 1-2, M., 1954-56 (LN, vol. 59-60); Decembrists. New materials, ed. M.K. Azadovsky, M., 1955; Decembrists in hard labor and in exile. Sat. materials and articles, M., 1925; Decembrists in the settlement, ed. S. Bakhrushin and M. Tsyavlovsky, M., 1926; Decembrists in Buryatia, Verkhneudinsk, 1927; Decembrists in Transbaikalia, Chita, 1925; Notes of Princess M. N. Volkonskaya, 2nd ed., Chita, 1960; Memoirs of Polina Annenkova, 2nd ed., M., 1932. Works: Selected works. social-political and philosophical works of the Decembrists, vol. 1-3., M., 1951; Kornilovich A. O., Soch. and letters, M.-L., 1957; Lunin M.S., Op. and letters, P., 1923; Sukhorukov V.D., Historical. description of the land of the Don Army, Novocherkassk, 1903; Turgenev N.P., Russia and Russians, vol. 1, M., 1915; Fonvizin M. A., Review of manifestations of politics. life in Russia and other art., M., 1907; Belyaev A.P., Memoirs of the Decembrist about what he experienced and felt. 1805-50, St. Petersburg, 1882 (Continuation in "PC", 1884, No. 4-5, 1885, No. 3, 12); Basargin N.V., Zapiski, P., 1917; Volkonsky S.G., Notes, 2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1902; Memoirs of the Bestuzhevs, ed. M.K. Azadovsky, M.-L., 1951; Memoirs of the Decembrist A. S. Gangeblov, M., 1888; Memoirs and stories of figures of secret societies of 1820, vol. 1-2, M., 1931-33; Gorbachevsky I. I., Notes, M., 1916 ((3 ed.), M., 1963, M. V. Nechkina proves that these notes are P. I. Borisov, see IZ, vol. 54, M. , 1955); Notes of the Decembrist D.I. Zavalishin, St. Petersburg, 1906; Diary of V.K. Kuchelbecker, L., 1933; Notes of the Decembrist N. I. Lorer, M., 1931; Social movements in Russia in the first half of the 19th century, vol. 1, St. Petersburg, 1905 (Memoirs of E. P. Obolensky, M. A. Fonvizin, V. I. Shteingel); Foggio A.V., Notes of the Decembrist, M.-L., 1930; Roven A. E., Notes of the Decembrist, St. Petersburg, 1907; Trubetskoy S.P., Notes, St. Petersburg, 1907; Turgenev N.I., Diaries and letters, vol. 1-4, P.-L., 1911-30; Yakushkin I.D., Notes, articles, letters, M., 1951. Lit.: Lenin V.I., Works, 4th ed., vol. 5, p. 28; him, in the same place, vol. 6, p. 103; him, in the same place, vol. 11, p. 133; him, in the same place, vol. 21, p. 85; him, in the same place, vol. 23, p. 234; Plekhanov G.V., December 14, 1825, Works, vol. 10, M.-P., 1924; Dovnar-Zapolsky M.V., Secret Society of the Decembrists, M., 1906; Pavlov-Silvansky N.P., Materialists of the twenties, in his book: Essays on Russian. history of the 18th-19th centuries, St. Petersburg, 1910; Shchegolev P. E., Decembrists, M.-L., 1926; Presnyakov A.E., December 14, 1825 , M.-L., 1926; Gessen S. (Ya.), Soldiers and sailors in the Decembrist uprising, M., 1930; Pajitnov K. A., Economic. views of the Decembrists, M., 1945; Streich S. Ya., Decembrist sailors. Essays, M.-L., 1946; Bazanov V.G., Free Society of Russian Lovers. literature, Petrozavodsk, 1949; Fadeev A.V., Decembrists on the Don and the Caucasus, Rostov N./D., 1950; Aksenov K.D., Northern Society of Decembrists, M., 1951, Decembrists in Siberia, (Sb.), Novosibirsk, 1952; Prokofiev E. A., The struggle of the Decembrists for advanced Russian. military ist-vo, M., 1953; Gabov G.I., Social and political. and philosophical views of the Decembrists, M., 1954; Lisenko M. (M.), Decembrist movement in Ukraine, K., 1954; Essays on the history of the Decembrist movement. Sat. Art., M., 1954; Nechkina M.V., Decembrist Movement, vol. 1-2, M., 1955; Okun S. B., Essays on the history of the USSR. End of XVIII - first quarter. XIX century, L., 1956; Fedosov I. A., Revolution. movement in Russia in the second quarter. 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Decembrists are the name given to the participants in the uprising, which took place on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg on Senate Square.
Basically, the Decembrists were advanced, educated nobles, many of them were military men. These people wanted to abolish serfdom in Russia, introduce a constitution, limit or completely abolish tsarist power. The future Decembrists began to create their organization after the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1816 they formed the first secret society - the “Union of Salvation”, and in 1818 - the “Union of Welfare”, which included about 200 members. In January 1821, the “Western Union” was divided into two parts: “Northern Society” (in St. Petersburg) and “Southern Society” (in Ukraine). The composition of these organizations was dominated by officers. Both “Societies” began preparing a revolutionary uprising. All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity to speak.
And such an opportunity presented itself when, on November 19, 1825, Russian Emperor Alexander I, who was being treated in Taganrog, unexpectedly died. He had no children, but had brothers: Konstantin and Nikolai. According to the law on succession to the throne, the eldest of the brothers, Constantine, who at that time was the royal governor in Poland, was supposed to become king. However, he abdicated the throne long before the death of Alexander I.
For some reason the renunciation was made in secret, and almost no one knew about it. Therefore, the capital, and behind it all of Russia, swore allegiance to “Emperor Konstantin Pavlovich.” He refused to come to St. Petersburg and already officially, in a letter, confirmed his reluctance to be king. On December 14, 1825, the next brother, Nicholas, was sworn in. A situation of interregnum arose of its own accord, and the Decembrists decided to take advantage of it.
On December 14, the Decembrists went to Senate Square in St. Petersburg and refused to swear allegiance to Tsar Nicholas. It would have been easy for them to seize the Winter Palace and arrest the entire royal family, but the Decembrists showed indecisiveness. While they stood in the square, the new emperor wasted no time. He managed to quickly gather troops loyal to the government, which surrounded the rebels. The power was with the tsar, and the Decembrists surrendered. On December 29, a belated performance of parts of the “Southern Society” began, but it was quickly suppressed. Mass arrests of participants in the uprising began.
The trial took place. Most of the Decembrists were deprived of their noble titles and rights, sentenced to indefinite hard labor and exiled to Siberia. Ordinary soldiers were driven through the line. Five leaders of the uprising: P. Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol, K. Ryleev, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Kakhovsky - were hanged on July 13, 1826 on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Some of the wives of the exiled participants in the uprising showed selflessness and voluntarily followed their husbands to Siberia. Only a few Decembrists survived until 1856, when Emperor Alexander II, who ascended the throne, declared an amnesty.
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