Who was on Senate Square 1825. Decembrist uprising on Senate Square. See what “Uprising on Senate Square” is in other dictionaries

The Decembrist uprising on Senate Square is one of the greatest and tragic events in Russian history. The emergence of revolutionary movements began long before the overthrow of the imperial dynasty. This was the first time that people had gathered on such a large scale to attack the imperial dynasty. This uprising was supposed to lead to a change of power. To destruction Russian Empire and building a new, liberal democratic state. We will consider the causes of the Decembrist uprising, its course and results.

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Background

After Patriotic War in 1812, the people did not calm down and began to organize an uprising. Then various secret societies began to form, which should have once led to the emergence of a new revolution. This is what happened in December 1825.

The revolution could not begin without preparation, and the revolutionaries began to prepare in advance. They worked a careful plan, the result of which was not to be anything, but the formation of a new state.

According to their plan, Nicholas I had to abdicate the throne. After which a provisional government would ascend to the throne, which was to be headed by Count Speransky.

After this, the reorganization would begin state power. The Russian Empire was to become a Constitutional monarchy or a republic. All royal family planned to be killed or sent overseas to Fort Ross

But none of this was destined to happen, the uprising was suppressed by force imperial army. How did it all happen?

Causes of the uprising

The reasons for the December uprising of 1825 include the following factors:

Prerequisites

Various alliances with rebel activities were organized. They actively grew and developed. Despite numerous arrests and counterintelligence resistance from imperial soldiers, many revolutionaries died or abandoned the idea of seizing power, however, new ones took their place. They were waiting for the perfect moment to launch their troops' offensive. At this point, the situation of the ascension to the throne of Nicholas, the emperor’s brother, after the death of Alexander I became ambiguous.

Interregnum

Konstantin Pavlovich, Alexander's older brother, should have inherited the throne after him, since he had no children. But there was a secret document that confirmed Constantine’s renunciation of the throne. He signed it during Alexander’s lifetime. This gave his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich a chance for the throne. However, he was extremely unpopular among senior officials and close associates of the royal family.

A double reign situation arose when Constantine was persuaded to ascend the throne, while Nicholas was also persuaded to sign his renunciation. This is what happened: Nicholas, under pressure, abdicates the throne, giving his place to the rightful ruler Constantine. But he still refuses the place offered to him and re-signs his abdication of the throne, explaining at the meeting his decision in favor of his brother.

Only on December 14, after long meetings, the Senate recognized the rights to the throne of Nikolai Pavlovich, after which he immediately took the oath.

This situation led to the fact that the throne seemed to be passed from hand to hand, which shook the social strata of society and the revolutionaries could not help but take advantage of this, since this was the ideal moment for an uprising.

Uprising plan

At this time, the participants in the December uprising were already planning their attack. Their primary goal was to prevent Nicholas from ascending the throne. And all methods were used for this. The Winter Palace had to be captured by killing the soldiers guarding it. They planned to transfer those close to the royal family to their side, and if they refused, they would send them abroad or kill them. The decision was made to imprison or kill the royal family.

The head of the uprising was Sergei Trubetskoy. Active politician and Grand Duke. After the capture, it was necessary to create a new provisional government. And its main legislative body is a special assembly. The main legal act is the Constitution.

On the night of December 14, according to the plan, an assassin was supposed to enter the palace to eliminate the new Emperor Nicholas. However, Kakhovsky, who was appointed to the role of assassin, refused to carry out the order to kill the Tsar. An attack by the Izmailovsky regiment on the Winter Palace was also planned, but Yakubovich refused to lead his troops.

Thus, by the morning of December 14, Emperor Nicholas was alive, and the revolutionaries managed to bring only about 800 agitated soldiers to the square near the winter palace. And their plan for the uprising was not fully realized, but only partially.

Participants

From famous personalities who were part of the conspiracy can be noted:

Uprising on Senate Square

Nicholas I was warned about a possible planned attack. The plans of the Decembrists were laid out to him by one of the members of the secret society, who considered participation in the uprising against the Tsar unworthy title of nobility. Yakov Ivanovich Rostovtsev was a man of honor and told the tsar about the event planned by the revolutionaries, which could lead to the demise of the Russian Empire.

At seven in the morning Nicholas was already proclaimed emperor. At this time, Senate Square was completely occupied by rebel soldiers. In addition, seeing the events taking place, ordinary people came out onto the streets of St. Petersburg and happily joined the uprising. People turned into an unbridled crowd of angry residents.

When the emperor and his troops approached the palace, they began to throw stones at him with curses and threats. The rebels were surrounded by a ring of soldiers near the palace, and with a second ring they stood at the entrance to the square, preventing newly arrived citizens, who were already crowded together and trying to get to the center of events, from joining the uprising.

Members of the imperial dynasty took refuge in the palace, but with the defeat of the royal troops, a retreat plan was prepared and a carriage was prepared that would take the emperor to shelter in Tsarskoye Selo.

Nicholas sent an ambassador to offer peace and negotiate an agreement on the conditions for ending the uprising. He became Metropolitan Seraphim. However, the people did not listen to him, saying that he had sworn allegiance to two kings in a week. Another person trying to restore order was Governor General Mikhail Miloradovich.

During the negotiations he was severely wounded and later died. After the revolutionaries opened fire on the people sent to negotiate, the soldiers of the imperial army opened fire with grapeshot at the revolutionaries. The crowd was dispersed.

The rebels were surrounded by government troops, four times the number of revolutionaries gathered in the square. When those gathered began to run under a hail of shots, they realized that they could not break through the ring of government troops. They rushed to the Neva to cross the ice to Vasilyevsky Island. However, the ice collapsed and many died in the water. Those who managed to get closer to the island were already met with artillery fire from its shores. By nightfall the uprising was completely suppressed.

Results

On this day, St. Petersburg was drenched in the blood of its citizens. The corpses of rebel soldiers, ordinary people united in a mad crowd, and royal guards who bravely defended the Senate Square from the attack were scattered everywhere on the streets.

The wounded rebels were afraid to go to the hospital for help, since they could be arrested and sued for revolutionary activity. Many died from gunshot wounds already at home, deprived of help and hope of salvation. Others sank while crossing the Neva, trying to swim to the shore of Vasilevsky Island in icy water; many died from frostbite.

In total, 277 soldiers from the Grenadier Regiment and 371 from the Moscow Regiment were arrested. More than fifty sailors from the sea crew were also put on trial. They were taken to the royal palace, where the emperor himself acted as judge.

The trial was conducted by the highest judicial body in criminal cases. The five main participants in the uprising were sentenced to death. It was decided to send the rest into exile at hard labor in Siberia, where the most difficult conditions accommodation.

On December 17, Nicholas I decided to establish a new commission, main goal which was identified secret societies, finding hiding revolutionaries, eliminating underground anti-government movements. The leader of the new commission was Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev.

Briefly about the uprising: dates

1816 - the emergence of secret organizations with revolutionary movements (Trubetskoy and Muravyov).
1818 - transformation of the organization into the Union of Welfare, expansion of staff, increase in the size of the organization.
1819 – poisoning of Speransky, leader of liberal movements.
June 1819 – riots in military settlements.
January 17, 1820 – reform in universities. Introducing religious beliefs into sections of society, instilling humility.
June 1820 – reform in publishing rules literary works. Tightening censorship.
January 1, 1825 - ban on any secret organizations in Russia. Persecution and persecution of different communities.
1823 – The Southern Society, led by Pestal, publishes new program"Russian Truth".
December 14, 1825 – Decembrist uprising.
1825 - uprising Chernigov Regiment.
1825 - creation of a special commission to persecute revolutionaries underground.
July 13, 1826 – trial of the revolutionaries. Enforcement of the sentence.

The Decembrist uprising is important in the history of Russia. This is one of the largest revolutionary movements in history. Despite the failure of the rebels, one cannot ignore the factor of danger to which the Russian Empire was exposed.

The Decembrists lost this war, but the idea of changing society new system did not subside in people's minds. Only a century later, in 1917, can we say that the plans of the Decembrists were fully implemented. After all, their followers took into account all the mistakes and shortcomings of the 1825 uprising. Thus, we can say that it was at that time that the real Civil War, which lasted for centuries and led to very tragic consequences.

This day in history:

Decembrist revolt. Briefly

The Decembrist uprising was a forceful attempt by young representatives of the highest aristocracy of the Russian Empire, mainly active and retired officers of the guard and navy, to change the political system. The uprising took place on December 14 (December 26 according to the new People style) 1825 in St. Petersburg, on Senate Square and was suppressed by troops loyal to the authorities.

Decembrist revolt of 1825

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

Disappointment of noble intellectuals with the failure of the liberal reforms declared by Emperor Alexander I upon his accession to the throne.

Dissatisfaction with the gradual return of power to a reactionary, protective domestic policy

European education and upbringing received by representatives of the St. Petersburg Light, which made it possible to more sensitively grasp liberal Western ideas.

Most of the Decembrists studied in cadet corps, land, sea, page, and cadet corps were then hotbeds of general liberal education and were least of all similar to technical and military educational institutions *

The difference in the orders of European and Russian, learned from their own experience by officers who returned from foreign anti-Napoleonic campaigns

The unjust structure of Russian society: slavery, disrespect for individual rights, contempt for public interests. savagery of morals, rigidity of the people, the difficult position of the Russian soldier in military settlements, indifference of society

Kuchelbecker admitted during interrogation by the investigative commission that main reason What forced him to take part in the secret society was his grief over the corruption of morals discovered among the people as a consequence of oppression. “Looking at the brilliant qualities with which God has endowed the Russian people, unique in the world in glory and power, I grieved in my soul that all this was suppressed, withering and, perhaps, would soon fall, without bearing any fruit in the world *”

Decembrists

Prince, colonel, duty staff officer of the 4th Infantry Corps S. Trubetskoy (1790 - 1860)

Prince, Major General, commander of the 19th Infantry Division S. Volkonsky (1788 - 1865)

Collegiate assessor I. Pushchin (1798 - 1859)

Officer (retired) of the Guards Jaeger Regiment M. Yakushkin (1793 - 1857)

Poet K. Ryleev (1795 - 1826)

Commander of the Vyatka Infantry Regiment, Colonel P. Pestel (1793 - 1826)

Retired lieutenant Pyotr Kakhovsky (1799-1826)

Second Lieutenant of the Poltava Infantry Regiment M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin (1801 - 1826)

Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol (1796 - 1826)

Captain of the Guards General Staff N. Muravyov (1795 - 1843)

General A. Muravyov (1792 - 1863)

Poet W. Küchelbecker (1797 - 1846)

General M. Fonvizin (1787 - 1854)

Retired Lieutenant Colonel M. Muravyov-Apostol (1793-1886)

Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards M. Lunin (1787 - 1845)

Ruler of the chancellery under St. Petersburg Governor General F. Glinka (1786 - 1880)

Scientist V. Steingel (1783 - 1862)

Naval officer, director of the museum at the Admiralty N. Bestuzhev (1791 - 1855)

Naval officer, galleon commander K. Thorson (1793 - 1851)

Konstantin Petrovich Thorson participated as a midshipman in the battle with the Swedes in the Gulf of Finland in 1808. As a lieutenant on the sloop "Vostok" he circumnavigated the world. In 1824 he was promoted to captain-lieutenant - a brilliant career, a favorite of the fleet, close to the highest circles of the empire. After the defeat of the December uprising, in 1826, he was sentenced to hard labor. In the Nerchinsky mines, in the Petrovsky casemate, he pondered a program for the development of the productive forces of Siberia. During his eternal exile in Selenginsk, he set himself the goal of being useful edge introduction of machinery, and built a threshing machine himself. He was engaged in melon growing. During his voyage to Antarctica on the sloop Vostok, Bellingshausen named the island after him, which was then renamed Vysoky

Lieutenant of Railways G. Batenkov (1793 - 1863)

Naval officer V. Romanov (1796 - 1864)

General Staff Officer N. Basargin (1800 - 1861)

Naval officer, teacher of the Naval Cadet Corps D. Zavalishin (1804-1892)………

Goals of the Decembrist uprising

Among its leaders they were vague. “When they went out into the streets, (the leaders) did not carry with them a specific plan government structure; they simply wanted to take advantage of the confusion at court in order to call society to action. Their plan is this: if successful, contact the State Council and the Senate with a proposal to form a provisional government... The provisional government was supposed to manage affairs until the meeting of the Zemstvo Duma... Zemstvo Duma how constituent Assembly and had to develop a new government structure. Thus, the leaders of the movement set themselves the goal new order, having left the development of this order to the representatives of the land, it means that the movement was caused not by a specific plan of state structure, but by more boiling feelings that prompted one to somehow direct the matter along a different track”*

Chronology of the Decembrist uprising of 1825

1816 - A secret society was formed in St. Petersburg from guards officers of the general staff under the leadership of Nikita Muravyov and Prince Trubetskoy. Called the “Union of Salvation”, it had a vague goal - “to assist the government in good endeavors in eradicating all evil in government and in society.”

1818 - The “Union of Salvation” expanded and took the name “Union of Welfare”; the goal is “to promote the good endeavors of the government”

1819 - summer - riots in military settlements in Ukraine

1820, January 17 - Alexander approved instructions for managing universities. The basis is religion and education of obedience

1821 - due to the diversity of opinions of the participants, the “Union of Welfare” broke up into two revolutionary societies. The Southern Society in Kyiv was headed by P. Pestel; Northern, in St. Petersburg - Nikita Muravyov.

1823, January - a political program was adopted at the congress of southern society. called by its author Pestel “Russian Truth”

According to Russkaya Pravda, Russia was supposed to become a republic. Legislative power belonged to the unicameral People's Assembly. Executive branch carried out by the State Duma. Control functions belonged to the Supreme Council; it was assumed that serfdom would be completely abolished

1825, December 29 - 1826, January 3 - uprising of the Chernigov regiment, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin

1826, July 13 - In the morning, at the very time when physical execution was carried out over those condemned to death, civil execution over other Decembrists, convicted sailors - two captain-lieutenants - K. P. Thorson and N. A. Bestuzhev, eight lieutenants, three midshipmen - were sent from Peter and Paul Fortress to Kronstadt.

At the fortress pier they were loaded onto two twelve-oared whaleboats, on which they could pass under the low St. Isaac's Bridge. The schooner "Experience" was waiting for them behind the bridge. The Emperor personally ordered that the sailing schooner be doubled by a steamship, “so that in the event of adverse winds there could be no interruption in delivering the criminals to Kronstadt to the admiral’s ship without fail at the appointed time.”

At six in the morning on July 13, 1826, the convicts were lined up on the deck of the flagship "Prince Vladimir", where, by a signal shot, representatives from all ships of the squadron (both officers and sailors) were called, who were also lined up on the deck of the flagship, on the mast of which a black flag was raised . The convicts wore uniforms with epaulettes. Above them they broke their swords, tore off their epaulettes and uniforms, and threw it all overboard to the beat of drums.

Many of the officers and sailors standing in the square around were crying, not hiding their tears...

“Emperor Alexander was childless; the throne after him, according to the law on April 5, 1797, should have passed to the next brother, Konstantin, and Konstantin was also unhappy in family life, divorced his first wife and married a Polish woman; since the children of this marriage could not have the right to the throne, Constantine became indifferent to this right and in 1822, in a letter to his elder brother, renounced the throne. The elder brother accepted the refusal and, with a manifesto of 1823, appointed the brother next to Konstantin, Nikolai, as heir to the throne. (However) this manifesto was not made public or even brought to the attention of the new heir himself. The manifesto was placed in three copies in Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral, in St. Petersburg - in the Senate and in the State Council with the sovereign’s own inscription: “Open after my death”*.

On November 19, 1825, Alexander traveled to the south of Russia and died in Taganrog from typhoid fever. This death led to confusion: Grand Duke Nicholas took the oath to Konstantin, and in Warsaw the elder brother, Konstantin, took the oath to the younger, Nicholas. Communication began, which took a lot of time given the roads of that time.

The Northern Secret Society took advantage of this interregnum. Nicholas agreed to accept the throne, and on December 14 the oath of troops and society was appointed. The day before, members of the secret society decided to act. The initiator was Ryleev, who, however, was confident in the failure of the business, but only insisted: “we still need to start, something will come of it.” Prince S. Trubetskoy was appointed dictator. Members of the Northern Society spread in the barracks, where the name of Constantine was popular, the rumor that Constantine did not want to give up the throne at all, that a violent seizure of power was being prepared, and even that the Grand Duke had been arrested.”

Kakhovsky kills St. Petersburg Governor General Miloradovich

Progress of the uprising. Briefly

On December 14, 1825, part of the Moscow Guards Regiment, part of the Guards Grenadier Regiment and the entire Guards naval crew (about two thousand people in total) refused to take the oath. With banners flying, the soldiers came to Senate Square and formed a square. The “dictator” Prince Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, and they looked for him in vain; Ivan Pushchin was in charge of everything, and Ryleev was partly in charge. “The rebel square stood inactive for a significant part of the day. Grand Duke Nicholas, who gathered around himself the regiments that remained loyal to him and located near the Winter Palace, also remained inactive. Finally, Nicholas was persuaded of the need to finish the matter before nightfall, otherwise another December night would give the rebels the opportunity to act. General Tol, who had just arrived from Warsaw, approached Nicholas: “Sovereign, order the square to be cleared with grapeshot or abdicate the throne.” They fired a blank volley, it had no effect; They shot with grapeshot - the square dissipated; the second salvo increased the body count. This ended the movement of December 14th.”*

On December 29, 1825, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment began, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. On January 3 it was suppressed. 121 members of secret societies were sentenced in various ways: from execution to exile to Siberia for hard labor, to settlement, demotion to soldiers, deprivation of ranks, and deprivation of the nobility.

Pestel, Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Kakhovsky were sentenced to death and hanged on July 13 under Art. Art. 1826 in the Peter and Paul Fortress

The significance of the Decembrist uprising

- “The Decembrists woke up Herzen. Herzen launched revolutionary agitation. It was picked up, expanded, strengthened, and strengthened by raznochintsy revolutionaries, starting with Chernyshevsky and ending with the heroes of “Narodnaya Volya.” The circle of fighters became wider and their connection with the people became closer. “Young navigators of the future storm,” Herzen called them. But it was not yet the storm itself. The storm is the movement of the masses themselves. The proletariat, the only fully revolutionary class, rose at the head of them and for the first time raised them to open revolutionary struggle millions of peasants. The first onslaught of the storm was in 1905. The next one begins to grow before our eyes” (V.I. Lenin. From the article “In Memory of Herzen” (“Sotsial-Demokrat” 1912)

The historian V. Klyuchevsky believed that the main result of the Decembrist uprising was the loss by the Russian nobility and, in particular, the guard, political significance, political power, the power that it had in the 18th century, overthrowing and placing Russian tsars on the throne.

Literature

*IN. Klyuchevsky. Russian history course. Lecture LXXXIV

A copy of someone else's materials

In politics, as in everything public life, not to go forward means to be thrown back.
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich

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

Background to the 1825 uprising

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

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

What was the plan of the Decembrist uprising?

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

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

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

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

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Consequences of the 1825 uprising

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

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

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

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

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

The Decembrist uprising was a forceful attempt by young representatives of the highest aristocracy of the Russian Empire, mainly active and retired officers of the guard and navy, to change the political system. The uprising took place on December 14 (therefore Decembrists) 1825 in St. Petersburg, on Senate Square and was suppressed by troops loyal to the authorities

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

Disappointment of noble intellectuals with the failure of the liberal reforms declared by Emperor Alexander I upon his accession to the throne.
Dissatisfaction with the gradual return of power to a reactionary, protective domestic policy
European education and upbringing received by representatives of the St. Petersburg Light, which made it possible to more sensitively grasp liberal Western ideas.

Most of the Decembrists studied in cadet corps, land, sea, page, and cadet corps were then hotbeds of general liberal education and were least of all similar to technical and military educational institutions *

The difference in the orders of European and Russian, learned from their own experience by officers who returned from foreign anti-Napoleonic campaigns
The unjust structure of Russian society: slavery, disrespect for individual rights, contempt for public interests. savagery of morals, rigidity of the people, the difficult position of the Russian soldier in military settlements, indifference of society

Kuchelbecker, during interrogation by the investigative commission, admitted that the main reason that forced him to take part in the secret society was his grief over the corruption of morals discovered among the people as a consequence of oppression. “Looking at the brilliant qualities with which God has endowed the Russian people, the only one in the world in glory and power, I grieved in my soul that all this was suppressed, withering and, perhaps, would soon fall, without bearing any fruit in the world *”

Decembrists

Prince, colonel, duty staff officer of the 4th Infantry Corps S. Trubetskoy (1790 - 1860)
Prince, Major General, commander of the 19th Infantry Division S. Volkonsky (1788 - 1865)
Collegiate assessor I. Pushchin (1798 - 1859)
Officer (retired) of the Guards Jaeger Regiment M. Yakushkin (1793 - 1857)
Poet K. Ryleev (1795 - 1826)
Commander of the Vyatka Infantry Regiment, Colonel P. Pestel (1793 - 1826)
Retired lieutenant Pyotr Kakhovsky (1799-1826)
Second Lieutenant of the Poltava Infantry Regiment M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin (1801 - 1826)
Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol (1796 - 1826)
Captain of the Guards General Staff N. Muravyov (1795 - 1843)
General A. Muravyov (1792 - 1863)
Poet W. Küchelbecker (1797 - 1846)
General M. Fonvizin (1787 - 1854)
Retired Lieutenant Colonel M. Muravyov-Apostol (1793-1886)
Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards M. Lunin (1787 - 1845)
Ruler of the chancellery under St. Petersburg Governor General F. Glinka (1786 - 1880)
Scientist V. Steingel (1783 - 1862)
Naval officer, director of the museum at the Admiralty N. Bestuzhev (1791 - 1855)
Naval officer, galleon commander K. Thorson (1793 - 1851)
Konstantin Petrovich Thorson participated as a midshipman in the battle with the Swedes in the Gulf of Finland in 1808. As a lieutenant on the sloop "Vostok" he circumnavigated the world. In 1824 he was promoted to captain-lieutenant - a brilliant career, a favorite of the fleet, close to the highest circles of the empire. After the defeat of the December uprising, in 1826, he was sentenced to hard labor. In the Nerchinsky mines, in the Petrovsky casemate, he pondered a program for the development of the productive forces of Siberia. While in eternal exile in Selenginsk, he set himself the goal of being useful to the region by introducing machines, and he himself built a threshing machine. He was engaged in melon growing. During his voyage to Antarctica on the sloop Vostok, Bellingshausen named the island after him, which was then renamed Vysoky
Lieutenant of Railways G. Batenkov (1793 - 1863)
Naval officer V. Romanov (1796 - 1864)
General Staff Officer N. Basargin (1800 - 1861)
Naval officer, teacher of the Naval Cadet Corps D. Zavalishin (1804-1892) ………

Goals of the Decembrist uprising

Among its leaders they were vague. “When going out into the streets, (the leaders) did not carry with them a specific plan for government; they simply wanted to take advantage of the confusion at court in order to call society to action. Their plan is this: if successful, contact the State Council and the Senate with a proposal to form a provisional government... The provisional government was supposed to manage affairs until the meeting of the Zemstvo Duma... The Zemstvo Duma, as a constituent assembly, was supposed to develop a new state structure. Thus, the leaders of the movement set themselves the goal of a new order, leaving the development of this order to the representatives of the land, which means that the movement was caused not by a specific plan for the state structure, but by more boiling feelings that encouraged them to somehow direct the matter along a different track.”*

Chronology of the Decembrist uprising of 1825

1816 - A secret society was formed in St. Petersburg from guards officers of the general staff under the leadership of Nikita Muravyov and Prince Trubetskoy. Called the “Union of Salvation”, it had a vague goal - “to assist the government in good endeavors in eradicating all evil in government and in society.”
1818 - the “Union of Salvation” expanded and took the name “Union of Welfare”; the goal is “to promote the good endeavors of the government”
1819, March - The author of liberal ideas M. Speransky was sent as governor of Siberia
1819 - summer - riots in military settlements in Ukraine
1820, January 17 - Alexander approved instructions for managing universities. The basis is religion and education of obedience
1820, June - a commission was created to develop new censorship rules
1821 - due to the diversity of opinions of the participants, the “Union of Welfare” broke up into two revolutionary societies. The Southern Society in Kyiv was headed by P. Pestel; Northern, in St. Petersburg - Nikita Muravyov.
1822, January 1 - decree banning secret societies in Russia
1823, January - a political program was adopted at the congress of southern society. called by its author Pestel “Russian Truth”

According to Russkaya Pravda, Russia was supposed to become a republic. Legislative power belonged to the unicameral People's Assembly. Executive power was exercised by the State Duma. control functions belonged to the Supreme Council, the complete abolition of serfdom was assumed

1825, December 14 - uprising on Senate Square
1825, December 29 - 1826, January 3 - uprising of the Chernigov regiment, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin
1825, December 17 - a Commission was established to investigate malicious societies.
1826, July 13 - In the morning, at the very time when physical execution was carried out over those condemned to death, civil execution over other Decembrists, convicted sailors - two captain-lieutenants - K. P. Thorson and N. A. Bestuzhev, eight lieutenants, three midshipmen were sent from the Peter and Paul Fortress to Kronstadt.
At the fortress pier they were loaded onto two twelve-oared whaleboats, on which they could pass under the low St. Isaac's Bridge. The schooner "Experience" was waiting for them behind the bridge. The Emperor personally ordered that the sailing schooner be doubled by a steamship, “so that in the event of adverse winds there could be no interruption in delivering the criminals to Kronstadt to the admiral’s ship without fail at the appointed time.”
At six in the morning on July 13, 1826, the convicts were lined up on the deck of the flagship "Prince Vladimir", where, by a signal shot, representatives from all ships of the squadron (both officers and sailors) were called, who were also lined up on the deck of the flagship, on the mast of which a black flag was raised . The convicts wore uniforms with epaulettes. Above them they broke their swords, tore off their epaulettes and uniforms, and threw it all overboard to the beat of drums.
Many of the officers and sailors standing in the square around cried without hiding their tears …

Why did the uprising happen on December 14, 1825?

“Emperor Alexander was childless; the throne after him, according to the law on April 5, 1797, should have passed to the next brother, Konstantin, and Konstantin was also unhappy in his family life, divorced his first wife and married a Polish woman; since the children of this marriage could not have the right to the throne, Constantine became indifferent to this right and in 1822, in a letter to his elder brother, renounced the throne. The elder brother accepted the refusal and, with a manifesto of 1823, appointed the brother next to Konstantin, Nikolai, as heir to the throne. (However) this manifesto was not made public or even brought to the attention of the new heir himself. The manifesto was placed in three copies in Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral, in St. Petersburg in the Senate and in the State Council with the sovereign’s own inscription: “Open after my death”*.

Progress of the uprising. Briefly

- On December 14, 1825, part of the Moscow Guards Regiment, part of the Guards Grenadier Regiment and the entire Guards naval crew (about two thousand people in total) refused to take the oath. With banners flying, the soldiers came to Senate Square and formed a square. The “dictator” Prince Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, and they looked for him in vain; Ivan Pushchin was in charge of everything, and Ryleev was partly in charge. “The rebel square stood inactive for a significant part of the day. Grand Duke Nicholas, who gathered around himself the regiments that remained loyal to him and located near the Winter Palace, also remained inactive. Finally, Nicholas was persuaded of the need to finish the matter before nightfall, otherwise another December night would give the rebels the opportunity to act. General Tol, who had just arrived from Warsaw, approached Nicholas: “Sovereign, order the square to be cleared with grapeshot or abdicate the throne.” They fired a blank volley, it had no effect; They shot with grapeshot - the square dissipated; the second salvo increased the body count. This ended the movement of December 14th.”*
- On December 29, 1825, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment began, led by S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. On January 3 it was suppressed. 121 members of secret societies were sentenced in various ways: from execution to exile to Siberia for hard labor, to settlement, demotion to soldiers, deprivation of ranks, and deprivation of the nobility.

Pestel, Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Kakhovsky were sentenced to death and hanged on July 13 under Art. Art. 1826 in the Peter and Paul Fortress

The significance of the Decembrist uprising

- “The Decembrists woke up Herzen. Herzen launched revolutionary agitation. It was picked up, expanded, strengthened, and strengthened by raznochintsy revolutionaries, starting with Chernyshevsky and ending with the heroes of “Narodnaya Volya.” The circle of fighters became wider and their connection with the people became closer. “Young navigators of the future storm,” Herzen called them. But it was not yet the storm itself. The storm is the movement of the masses themselves. The proletariat, the only fully revolutionary class, rose at their head and for the first time raised millions of peasants to open revolutionary struggle. The first onslaught of the storm was in 1905. The next one begins to grow before our eyes."(V.I. Lenin. From the article “In Memory of Herzen” (“Sotsial-Demokrat” 1912)

- The historian V. Klyuchevsky believed that the main result of the Decembrist uprising was the loss by the Russian nobility and, in particular, the guard, of political significance, political power, the power that it had in the 18th century, overthrowing and elevating Russian tsars to the throne.

*IN. Klyuchevsky. Russian history course. Lecture LXXXIV

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, and the introduction of universal military service instead of recruitment, the destruction of classes.

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.