The uprising of the Chernigov regiment. The Decembrists in Motovilovka. The uprising of the Chernihiv regiment and a history lesson

The southern society and the Slavic society that united with it were tensely expecting an uprising. The southern Decembrists learned about the fatal illness of Emperor Alex-

andra I before, whose in St. Petersburg. Couriers from Taganrog to Warsaw passed through the southern station of Uman and informed the Decembrist Volkonsky that the emperor was dying. In addition, the southerners had previously learned about the denunciations of a secret society submitted to the late emperor. It was clear that in the prevailing situation of the interregnum, the action of the secret society would certainly take place. According to the decision taken earlier, Petersburg was to speak first. And only after a signal from St. Petersburg, with the news that the uprising in the capital was not defeated, but had at least the first success, the southern troops were to act. In the midst of the interregnum, Postel and his comrades were anxiously awaiting news from the north. But the news did not come. It was decided that Postel and Baryatinsky, at the first news of the uprising in the capital, would leave for St. Petersburg and the uprising in the south would go under the leadership of Sergei Muravyov-Apostol. Information about denunciations forced to assume the possibility of arrests. Sergei Muraviev-Apostol was of the opinion that the beginning of arrests in itself is a signal for an uprising. “If at least one member is taken, I will start the business,” Sergei Muravyov-Apostol wrote to Pestel.

Expecting events, Postel took care of the safety of Russkaya Pravda: it was hidden in the town of Nemirov, with Major Martynov, then in Kirnasovka, with the brothers Bobrishchev-Pushkin and Zaikin. The constitutional draft should have been needed: according to the plans of the Decembrists, it had to be published to the public at the beginning of the uprising, and therefore it had to be preserved at any cost.

At this tense moment, Russkaya Pravda had to be not only hidden from the government, but also protected from representatives of the right. Having cooled off towards society, Yushnevsky persistently demanded the destruction of Russkaya Pravda. “I have an important thing to tell you,” said Dr. Wolf, who hastily jumped from him to Kirnasovka, “as soon as possible, order them to burn Pestel’s papers.” But the Bobrischev-Pushkins decided that "there is no extreme danger yet" and refused to destroy the ru-

copy; however, to calm Yushnevsky and his supporters, a rumor was spread that they had already burned Russkaya Pravda. At night, they buried it near Kirnasovka "under the shore of a roadside ditch." It was dug only in 1826. during the investigation of the Decembrists.

But the news of the capital uprising still did not come. The tension increased. And it was at this moment in the life of the Southern Secret Society that an unexpected event occurred that undermined his plans. The authorities demanded Pestel from Lintsy to Tulchin, where the headquarters of the II Army was located. Although the order ordered the appearance in Tulchin to all regimental commanders. The bed and his friend Laurer, who did not leave him in those days, felt something unkind. “Feeling the approaching thunderstorm, but not being completely sure of our death, we searched for a long time that evening for some back thought, a badly hidden hint in the order for the corps, but did not find anything special, except that Pestel’s name was repeated in it 3 times, ”the Decembrist Lorer writes in his Notes. Postel decided not to go and told the brigade commander: “I’m not going, I’m sick ... Tell Kiselev that I am very unwell and cannot come” (Pestel was really unwell at that moment). On this anxious night of December 13, Pestel either accepted or again rejected some decision. There was a dull inner struggle going on inside him. As soon as Lorer left Pestel, having learned about his decision not to go to Tulchin, how hastily - already at night - the "Pestel man" ran to him with the news that the colonel had changed his mind again and was going to Tulchin. “Not comprehending such rapid changes, I hastily dressed and ran to the colonel ... He was already dressed in a travel way and his stroller was standing at the porch ... “I’m going ... What will be, will be,” he met me ..."

Deciding to go, Pestel took poison with him. The protocol of the investigating committee says: "He took the poison with him in order to, having accepted it, save himself by a violent death from the torture he feared."

Apparently, Pestel was considering the question of a signal for an uprising. Refusal to go to Tulchin would be an open challenge to headquarters, would be tantamount to giving a signal. But it was still early. First, speculation about the arrest could

turn out to be unfounded. Secondly, news from St. Petersburg has not yet arrived. Pestel warned Lorer that he might send him a note from the road, and said goodbye to him. “... We hugged, I walked him to the carriage and, alarmed, returned to the room ... The candles were still burning ... There was dead silence all around. Only the rumble of the wheels of the departing carriage trembled in the air. .

On December 13, at the entrance to the Tulchinskaya outpost, Postel was given an order from the duty general of the II Army, Baikov, to immediately come to him. Pestel obeyed. Baykov declared him arrested and placed him in his apartment, posting a guard. On the occasion of illness, Dr. Schlegel, a member of a secret society, was admitted to him. Volkonsky also saw Baikov at Baikov's apartment. "Don't lose heart," he said to Postel in French (Baykov did not understand French). “Be calm, I won’t confess to anything, even if they torn me into pieces, save only Russkaya Pravda,” Pestel answered him. .

Pestel was not immediately taken to St. Petersburg, he remained in the south under arrest until December 26 -14 days. All this time, he answered the questions of the investigation with complete denial, asserting his non-participation in any kind of secret society.

Why didn't Pestel give the order to start the speech? He could do it.

This question is difficult to answer. The most plausible answer is this: at first he did not give the order for the uprising, because he was waiting for news of the beginning of the uprising in St. Petersburg. Only on December 23, Pestel, already under arrest, learned about the December 14 uprising. But this was not news of the beginning of the uprising, but of the defeat of the uprising. Pestel always believed that the uprising in the south had no independent significance. It was needed only to support the uprising in the capital. You can take power into your hands only in St. Petersburg. Local uprisings were, in his opinion, only important as support for the uprising in the center. But there was nothing left to support. The uprising was crushed. Plans collapsed. Apparently

that is why Pestel never gave the order to march. Of course, he needed news not just about the victorious uprising, but at least about the uprising that had begun and continued, not yet defeated. But the collapse of the uprising was clear to him.

The most active members of the Southern Society, in whose hands a large number of organizational threads remained after the arrest of Pestel, were the leaders of the Vasilkovskaya council - Sergey Muravyov-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Members of the secret society needed to send their messenger to the capital for communication at such a crucial moment. On December 24, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and his brother Matvey left Vasilkov for Zhitomir to the corps commander, General Roth, under the pretext of congratulating him on the holiday; the real reason was the need to obtain leave from the corps commander for a friend of Muravyov-Apostol - Bestuzhev-Ryumin, a lieutenant of the Poltava regiment, who was stationed at that moment in Bobruisk. Bestuzhev-Ryumin came for this to Muravyov-Apostol in Vasilkov. It was he who was scheduled to be connected to the capital. Former Semenov officers in the army were not given vacations, and Sergey Muravyov-Apostol hoped to get it for Bestuzhev only as an exception (there was also a pretext: Bestuzhev-Ryumin's mother had just died in Moscow, and he needed to see his father). At the entrance to Zhitomir, the Muravyov-Apostles learned the most important news for them: on December 14, an uprising took place in St. Petersburg. They were informed about this by the Senate courier who delivered the sworn sheets. This news would have been an indisputable signal for a southern uprising, if it had been an uprising that had not yet been crushed. But the courier reported not in general about the uprising, but about the defeat of the uprising by the government of Nicholas I.

True, Sergey Muravyov-Apostol had always disagreed with Postel in his assessment of the place of the uprising. He believed that one could start not in the capital, but anywhere. Nevertheless, it was difficult to make a decision immediately in the current situation. Sergei Muraviev-Apostol hesitated. From Zhitomir, both brothers went to Troyanov, from there to Lyubar to Artamon Muravyov, a member of the Southern Society, the commander of the hussar Akhtyrsky

regiment, which had long promised to raise its regiment first at the beginning of the uprising. Cavalry troops were especially needed for the uprising. The Southern Society had artillery: most of the "Slavs" were artillerymen. The Chernigov regiment was infantry; the cavalry artillery cover was to be commanded by Artamon Muraviev. But the defeat of the capital's uprising confused all the cards: most members of the Southern Society began to refuse to speak. Muravyov-Apostol's proposal did not meet with support.

Meanwhile, in Vasilkovo, events took a new turn.

December 25 was the day of the regimental holiday, coinciding with Christmas; on this occasion, the commander of the Chernigov regiment Gebel gave a ball. Among the numerous military officers, officials and members of their families, the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd musketeer companies of the Chernigov Regiment, Soloviev and Shchepilo, were also present at the ball, decisive and thirsty for action, members of the Society of United Slavs. Suddenly, two gendarmes galloping at full speed appeared at the ball; they brought Gebel an order to arrest and seal the papers of Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and his brother Matvey. Sergei Muravyov's papers were immediately taken away during a search at his apartment, where Bestuzhev-Ryumin was at that time.

Immediately after the search, members of the Society of United Slavs, who learned about the arrival of the gendarmes, came to the apartment of Sergei Muravyov - officers of the Chernigov regiment I. I. Sukhinov, A. D. Kuzmin, M. A. Shchepilo and V. N. Solovyov. They felt that the moment of inevitable action had come, they saw no other way out. The first decision of the "Slavs" was to immediately arrest the commander of the regiment Gebel, gathering loyal soldiers for this. But on the occasion of Christmas, the soldiers were released and dispersed to the villages; it was impossible to collect them immediately. It was decided that Bestuzhev-Ryumin would rush to Zhitomir, make every effort to overtake the gendarme officers who had galloped there with Goebel, and warn Sergei Muravyov-Apostol about the search and the impending arrest. The "Slavs" at that time undertook to prepare an uprising. On their part, there was no hesitation on this issue: they always stood on the point of view

the expediency of the uprising, even if the performance of the secret society in the capital was crushed. The "Slavs" assumed that by raising an uprising in the military units under their command, and in the units under the command of members of the Southern Society, it would be possible to capture Kiev. The Spanish Revolution also began on the outskirts of the state. The “Slavs” did not want to surrender without a fight and, apparently, hoped that the performance in Ukraine could still turn out to be a call for a new uprising. According to the “Notes” of the Society of United Slavs, it was precisely “the news of the unfortunate incident of December 14 in St.

Indeed, Bestuzhev-Ryumin managed to overtake the gendarmes, overtake S. Muravyov-Apostol and his brother in Lyubar near Artamon Muravyov and inform them of the impending arrest.

On December 27, the Muravyov brothers left Lyubar for Pavoloch. Sergei Muravyov, by his own admission, wanted to get to his regiment and, "hiding there, find out all the circumstances ... and, according to this news, decide on something."

Having reached the village of Triles, where the apartment of Lieutenant Kuzmin (a member of the Society of United Slavs), who commanded the 5th company of the Chernigov Regiment, was located, the brothers stopped. Bestuzhev-Ryumin went to the neighboring Aleksopolsky regiment, which had a great influence on the former commander, who was still with the regiment, Povalo-Shveikovsky, a member of the Southern Society, who promised to give decisive support to the uprising. From Triles on the same evening, S. Muravyov-Apostol sent a note to Vasilkov to members of the Society of United Slavs - Kuzmin, Solovyov and Shchepilo with a request to come immediately to Trilesy and discuss the situation.

Gobel with the gendarmes raced meanwhile in the footsteps of the Muravyov-Apostles, not finding them either in Zhitomir or in Lyubar. On the way, he met with the gendarme Lang, who had orders to arrest Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Stopping in Trilesy, Gebel went to the apartment of Lieutenant Kuzmin to warm himself and find out if the Muravyovs had passed through here, and ... he found both Muravyovs there. They are not

resisted arrest, handed over their weapons. Morning came.

The Chernigov officers, who firmly and without hesitation decided to start an uprising, assumed that it would not be limited only to the Chernigov regiment; they immediately decided to raise the surrounding regiments, which were commanded by members of the Southern Society. To this end, they sent a messenger from Vasilkov to notify these regiments of the beginning of the uprising; Andreevich II, a member of the Society of United Slavs, was elected messenger. Having learned about the uprising in St. Petersburg, he himself arrived on December 26 in Vasilkov from Kiev, where he was at the arsenal, and went immediately to Radomysl - to a member of a secret society, Colonel Povalo-Shveikovsky, to raise the Aleksopolsky regiment in revolt.

Meanwhile, having received a note from S. Muravyov, all four members of the Society of United Slavs - Kuzmin, Shchepilo, Sukhinov and Solovyov - rushed to Trilesy. They quickly secured the consent of the soldiers on guard to release the arrested Sergei and Matvey Muravyov-Apostolov. There is no doubt that the "guard" was promoted by them before. With the help of guard soldiers, they released the Muravyovs from custody with weapons in their hands, and wounded Gebel. Under these conditions, Sergei Muravyov, released from arrest, decided to start an uprising. Its start date is the morning of December 29, 1825.

The route of the uprising developed as follows: the 5th company of the Chernigov regiment, stationed in Trilesy, was the first to rise. On the evening of the same December 29, she came to the village of Kovalevka, where she joined up with another company of the same regiment - the 2nd Grenadier. In the early morning of December 30, S. Muravyov-Apostol, at the head of two companies, entered Vasilkov, where he was joined by other companies of the Chernigov regiment. The regiment was thus almost completely assembled. From Vasilkov on December 31, in the afternoon, the insurgent troops moved to the village of Motovilovka, where they arrived in the evening. January 1 in Motovilovka regiment was declared a day. This aroused the discontent of the soldiers, who demanded quick action. From Motovilovka, the rebels moved to Belaya Tserkov, but, before reaching it, they stopped in the village of Pologi, from where, once again, sharply changing the route, they began to move.

go to Triles and, passing the village of Kovalevka, before reaching Triles, they met a detachment of General Geismar, who defeated them. This is the route of the uprising. If you look at the map of the area, you can see that this route has an approximate figure-of-eight shape. This zigzag becomes clear if, with the help of documents, we delve into the motives for changing routes. The entire movement of the uprising consists of fragments of started and abandoned routes, the study of which reveals the hope for the addition of new regiments (which was also characteristic of December 14) and the struggle of contradictions in the inner life of the uprising.

The movement from Triles to Vasilkov was expedient and inevitable: the bulk of the regiment was stationed there. On the afternoon of December 30, 1825, the vanguard of the Chernigov regiment under the command of Sukhinov entered Vasilkov. Major Trukhin, who remained on the side of the government (senior in the Chernigov regiment after Muravyov), rushed towards the vanguard and “began to bring him into obedience with threats and promises from afar,” writes the memoirist of the Society of United Slavs, but “when he came closer, Bestuzhev and Sukhinov seized him who, laughing at his orgy, pushed him into the middle of the column. The peacefulness of the soldiers instantly disappeared. They rushed at the hated major, tore off his epaulettes,

they tore his uniform to shreds, showered him with curses, ridicule and, finally, beatings. Arrived in time, S. Muravyov ordered the arrest of Major Trukhin. The rebels captured the city of Vasilkov. Lieutenant Vadkovsky, who arrived from Bila Tserkva (from the 17th Jaeger Regiment), promised S. Muravyov to raise if not the entire regiment, then at least the battalion, and with this intention went to Bila Tserkva, but was arrested at the entrance to the outpost.

The regiment gathered in the square. Regimental banners, regimental treasury - everything was in the hands of the rebels. “The assembled companies were built in a dense column,” says the “Notes” of the Slavs. “Going up to her, Muravyov greeted the soldiers and in short words outlined to them the goal of the uprising ... he imagined how noble it is loftily to sacrifice life for freedom. The delight was universal; officers and soldiers expressed their readiness to follow wherever their beloved and respected leader leads.

The rise of spirit reached a particularly high point in Vasilkov. S. Muravyov called the regimental priest Daniil Keyser, and on his instructions, he read to the regiment a revolutionary political catechism composed by S. Muravyov, which, according to the "Slavs", "consisted of pure republican rules, adapted to the concepts of everyone."

In the revolutionary movement of that time (for example, in Spain) a similar "catechetical" form of proclamations, composed of questions and answers, was common.

Muraviev's Catechism has come down to us. Here are some of his questions and answers:

“Question: What kind of government is similar to the law of God?

Answer: One where there are no kings. God created us all equal and, descending to earth, chose the apostles from the common people, and not from nobles and kings.

Question: So God does not like kings?

Answer: No! They are cursed the essence of him, like the oppressors of the people.

Question: Why do they mention kings in churches?

Answer: From the wicked command of themselves, to deceive the people.

But already in Vasilkovo, the struggle of two directions in the leadership of the uprising was manifested: the headquarters of the uprising consisted of four “Slavic” officers (Sukhinov, Shchepilo, Kuzmin and Solovyov), on the one hand, and Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, his brother Matvey and Bestuzhev-Ryumin - with another. The "Slavs" stood for immediate, quick, decisive action and for drawing the peasants over to the side of the military uprising. Muravyov-Apostol and his supporters adhered to a waiting tactic. S. Muravyov hesitated, because he was waiting for other rebel regiments to join under the command of members of the Southern Society. In Vasilkovo, the Slavs begged Muravyov to immediately go to Kiev: there were sympathetic officers and units propagandized by the "Slavs" (for example, Andreevich 2nd conducted propaganda among the workers of the arsenal); this plan had some real grounds. But S. Muraviev did not dare to accept this plan and preferred to wait. A fragment of the plan of the "Slavs" - to go to Kiev - seeing Muravyov in a small concession: he sent officer Mozalevsky to Kiev with notes to "faithful people" and with copies of the revolutionary "catechism" cited above for distribution to the people.

Later (in 1861), a member of the Society of United Slavs, Gorbachevsky, who “always ... regretted losing” and could never forget this, wrote from Siberia to his friend Mikhail Bestuzhev: “[S.] Muravyov-Apostol became infected with Petersburg slowness. .. when the Slavs recaptured him and pulled him out of the clutches of those who arrested him, these same Slavs begged him and begged him to go one way and fall like snow on his head, on Kiev, and take him; moreover, there was a brigade on guard, with ready-made members of a secret society waiting for him. .

The movement from Vasilkov to Motovilovka had as its goal Brusilov, a place that S. Muravyov-Apostol, believing in the annexation of other regiments, considered a convenient assembly point for the insurgent troops: in the same area were the Aleksopolsky regiment and the already mentioned hussar Akhtyrsky, to which S. Ants continued to count. In case of luck, Muravyov planned to go further, to Zhytomyr, around which they were located

military units under the command of members of the Society of United Slavs. But in Motovilovka the new regiments did not join. The situation was becoming alarming. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, sent to communicate with the Aleksopol settlement, brought the most disappointing news: a member of the Southern Society, Povalo-Shveikovsky, refused to take part in the uprising. S. Muravyov changed his route and headed for Belaya Tserkov, where the 17th Jaeger Regiment was stationed, in which there was a loyal member of the Southern Society, officer A.F. Vadkovsky, who came to Muravyov in Vasilkov during the uprising and promised to raise his regiment. But Muravyov did not know that when returning from Vasilkov to Belaya Tserkov, Vadkovsky was arrested.

In Motovilovka there was a sharp change in the mood of the soldiers, who did not understand the meaning of the day during the uprising and were worried about the outcome of the case. The flight of a number of officers of the insurgent regiment also made a heavy impression on the soldiers. The “Slavs” shared their excitement and discontent, but with all their might maintained discipline and unity in the uprising.

In Motovilovka, the Decembrists had a chance to convince themselves of the sympathy of the serfs. The rebellious regiment passed through the lands of Countess Branitskaya, the largest landowner of the region. The peasants in her villages were in the most distressed situation. Rumors about the goal of the uprising - the abolition of serfdom - quickly spread through the villages; peasants came to Muravyov wishing him success. Some of them were in the wagon train of the insurgent regiment.

The "Slavs" campaigned among the peasants, read and explained the revolutionary "catechism" to them. Some time after the uprising of the Decembrists in the same area, a strong unrest developed among the peasant masses, and there was undoubtedly a connection between the one and the other.

Approaching the village of Pologi, the insurgent regiment stopped. At the insistence. Sukhinov, a reconnaissance was made. It turned out that the 17th Jaeger Regiment was no longer in Bila Tserkva: it moved along a completely different route - to Skvira (the authorities knew about the anti-government sentiments in the regiment and hastened to remove it from the dangerous place). I had to seize on the last, already completely unrealizable plan: to go to connect with the "Slavs" to Zhitomir. But Zhytomyr was in a strategic sense a blind corner, coming there did not promise any prospects.

The rebels again went through Kovalevka to Trilesy - the starting point of the uprising.

Near Kovalevka, the Chernigov regiment met a detachment of General Geismar, sent by the government to quell the uprising. S. Muravyov was sure that the detachment would go over to the side of the rebels; This confidence was also passed on to the soldiers. But the first volleys of buckshot destroyed this illusion. S. Muravyov was wounded in the head by buckshot. At the last moment, a soldier's indignation erupted. “Deceiver!” shouted a private of the 1st Musketeer Company, rushing at S. Muravyov. Solovyov covered Muravyov with himself and thus saved him.

The dead remained at the site of the uprising - including the peasants who followed the regiment in its convoy, and three officers. There were no dead or wounded on the part of the government troops. 869 soldiers and five officers of the insurgent Chernihiv regiment were arrested. Brother Muravyov-Apostol Ippolit, who had just arrived from St. Petersburg as a herald of the northern uprising, shot himself on the battlefield. Shchepilo was killed. Sukhinov fled. Sergei Muraviev-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin were arrested on the battlefield with weapons in their hands. The wounded Kuzmin hid a pistol in his sleeve and shot himself in the first tavern where his convoy stopped.

Members of the Slavic society tried to give all possible support to the uprising. Wherever they were - in Zhytomyr, Novograd-Volynsk, the village of Baranovka, Kuzmin, Staro-Konstantinovka - they tried with all their might to raise an uprising in other parts to help the Chernigov regiment. Andrey and Pyotr Borisov, Andreevich 2nd, Bechasnov, Ivanov put a lot of effort into this, but their attempts did not yield results. Members

Southern society - the commanders of the regiments - did not agree to act in the situation that had arisen (after all, the uprising in St. Petersburg was crushed! - They knew this). The attempts of the "Slavs" to act over the head of the commanders were not successful: no one knew the "Slavs" officers, and their voice had no authority.

An attempt by ensign S. Trusov, a member of the Slavic society, to raise an uprising in the Poltava regiment is the latest effort by the "Slavs" to carry out a revolutionary plan; it dates back to February 1826. Trusov acted together with Lieutenant Poltava

regiment Emelyan Trotsky. During the review, Trusov ran out in front of the first battalion with a naked saber, shouting to the soldiers: “Guys! Rush with hostility, let's find liberty and independence! Our sovereign is not Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, but a tyrant!” But no one answered the call. Both participants were arrested and imprisoned in the Bobruisk fortress.

Notes of the Decembrist N.I. Lorer, p. 83-84.

Notes of the Decembrist N.I. Lorer, p. 84.

Decembrist revolt. M., 1953, v. 10, p. 138; cf.: p. 141 (case of S. G. Volkonsky).

Decembrist revolt. M.; L 1929, v. 6, p. 128-129.

Notes and letters of the Decembrist I. I. Gorbachevsky. M., 1925, p. 361

For quite a long time, official historiography held the view that the Decembrists were the first revolutionaries among the nobility who decided to change the state system that existed in Russia with the help of weapons. And only now, with an impartial and careful reading of the archives, it became clear that the existing collective image of the valiant "knights without reproach and fear" needs to be corrected. The rebellion, which took place on December 14, 1825, eclipsed in its significance the performance of the Chernigov regiment, which will be discussed below.

So, the Chernigov regiment was quartered in the field of attention of the Southern Society of Decembrists in the Kiev province. The news of the complete defeat of the rebellion on Senate Square on December 14, 1825, reached them only before the new year. One of the most authoritative leaders of the Southern Society was Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol. The commander of the Chernigov regiment, G. Gebel, gave the order to arrest Muravyov for activities related to conspirators from the capital, but in the village of Trilesy, several officers tried to release the commander, who was placed there under temporary custody.

The very next day, the companies under the command of the liberated Muravyov entered Vasilkov, while seizing the regiment's treasury and weapons. Another day later, the soldiers were read the “Orthodox Catechism”, which is a revolutionary proclamation composed by Muravyov and his colleague M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin ..

However, on January 3, 1826, in the battle of Ustimovka, the regiment was completely defeated by units that swore allegiance to the new Emperor Nicholas the First. As a result of the battle, Muravyov was seriously wounded and taken prisoner along with other soldiers. His brother shot himself. The investigation revealed that Muravyov did not have a clear plan of action. Having enticed the soldiers by deceit to their side, they did not even manage to stop looting, desertion and drunkenness in the ranks.

As a result of the investigation, Pestel, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Muravyov-Apostol were sentenced to death by hanging along with the two most active leaders of the Northern Society - Kakhovsky and Ryleev. The execution was scheduled for the end of July 1826. The Chernigov regiment itself was disbanded, the soldiers were subjected to corporal punishment, and after that they were transferred to the Caucasus, where military battles with the highlanders continued at that time.

, Solovyov, Sukhinov and Shchepillo freed Muravyov-Apostol in the village of Trilesy, while attacking the regiment commander who arrested him, Colonel Gustav Ivanovich Gebel. When Goebel refused not only to release the Muravyov brothers, but also to explain the reasons for their arrest, the participants in the conspiracy inflicted 14 bayonet wounds on him. Subsequently, Colonel Goebel, whose wounds were not life-threatening, managed to escape. Taking advantage of the oversight of the rebels, he, with the help of a private of the 5th company Maxim Ivanov and a number of acquaintances and well-wishers, managed to get home.

The course of the uprising

In Petersburg. It went down in history as the Decembrist uprising. But much less coverage was received by the uprising of the Chernigov regiment, which occurred immediately after it and was its continuation. The officers - the organizers and main participants of this event - were members of the Southern Society, one of two secret organizations created at the beginning of the 19th century by opposition-minded nobles.

rises after the North

The uprising of the Chernigov regiment was conceived long ago, but it began rather spontaneously. The command received news about the events that took place in the capital, and about the involvement of their officer, Lieutenant Colonel S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, in them. In this regard, he was placed under arrest in the village of Trilesy. Having learned about this, on December 29 (according to the old style), four officers, also members of a secret organization, freed him by force, while attacking the regiment commander, Colonel Gustav Goebel.

From the subsequent materials of the case, it becomes known that S. I. Muravyov-Apostol inflicted a severe wound on the colonel in the stomach. Other participants in the fight also attacked the regimental commander, inflicting multiple wounds on him with soldier bayonets. Only by a miracle did the regimental commander manage to escape. At the same time, a curious detail is the fact that the soldiers and lower ranks present at the same time remained absolutely passive observers, without providing assistance to either side. The only exception was the only soldier Maxim Ivanov, who remained true to his oath and saved the life of the ill-fated colonel.

The first performance of the rebels

After the uprising of the Chernigov regiment, it was necessary to start immediately, since the conspirators had already gone beyond the law and were subject to a military court and inevitable punishment. In this regard, the next day, December 30, the rebel officers withdrew the regiment from the barracks and sent it to the city of Vasilkov. Numerous armories and ammunition depots were located here. But what else made up the booty of the rebels was the regimental treasury. The protocols drawn up during the investigation testify that ten thousand rubles in banknotes and seventeen thousand in silver fell into their hands. At the time, this was a huge amount.

The investigative materials reflected in all details the uprising of the Chernigov regiment of 1825. So, the very next day, the Decembrists occupy the village of Motovilovka. Here, the leaders of the uprising, having built a regiment, read a proclamation before the formation, bearing the name "Orthodox Catechism." Its authors, Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin, when creating the document, counted on the fact that the intellect of those to whom it was addressed would be sufficient for its perception and correct understanding. However, the mass of soldiers remained indifferent to what they heard, and this action had no effect.

Decomposition of the personnel of the regiment

It happened just the opposite of what the people's liberators expected. Instead of igniting in a single revolutionary impulse, the soldiers and lower ranks indulged in unrestrained drunkenness and began to rob the local population. The testimonies of witnesses of these atrocities were preserved in the investigative protocols. It is possible that this was one of the reasons why the uprising of the Chernigov regiment did not receive wide coverage in the Soviet period.

Further, we know that on January 1, having left Vasilkov, the regiment is heading towards Zhitomir, where, according to the plans of the leaders of the uprising, they could receive reinforcements from military units in which, as they knew, members of another secret organization served - the Society of United Slavs. However, the threat of a meeting with government troops forced them to turn towards Belaya Tserkov.

The defeat of the regiment by government troops

It should be noted that so far the Decembrists have not encountered resistance anywhere and have moved forward completely unhindered. However, during these days their ranks were significantly thinned as a result of mass desertion. Many people understood the whole adventurism of what was happening and did not want to sacrifice their freedom, and perhaps even their lives, for someone else's recklessness.

In the first battle with government troops near the village of Ustimovka, the rebels were defeated. This ended the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. The date of its defeat is only five days behind the start date. Do we now have the right to evaluate these five days of recklessness? They say that the winners are not judged, but the rebels did not become winners, and they were judged.

and a history lesson

The sentences were harsh, as all the defendants opposed the legitimate authorities with weapons in their hands. Yes, their intentions were lofty and noble. Yes, for the sake of an ideal, one can risk one's life, but one's own, and not the lives of hundreds of ordinary soldiers who do not even understand where and why they are being led to die. As you know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and especially in those cases when they are not supported by anything but fantasies. The Chernigov regiment became a sad page in our history. His uprising can serve as an object lesson for future generations.

The first information about the uprising on December 14, 1825 was received in the South on December 25. The defeat did not shake the determination of the members of the Southern Society to start a speech. Yes, and it was impossible to delay. On December 13, Pestel was arrested. And although at the first interrogations he denied everything, the southerners knew that the government, from the denunciations of Boshnyak and the captain of the Vyatka regiment Mayboroda, had data on the composition of the Southern Society and its activities. Following Pestel, other members of the Tulchinsk council were also captured. From day to day, the rest of the members of the Southern Society could be arrested, and above all the leaders of the Vasilkovskaya council.

Having learned about the arrest of Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol, together with his brother Matvey 24, went to Zhytomyr to inform the members of the society of his intention to start a speech, relying on the Chernigov regiment, and enlist their support. From Zhitomir, the brothers left for Lyubar, where the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment was located, commanded by a member of the society A. 3. Muravyov. On December 27, shortly after the arrival of the Muravyov brothers in Lyubar, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin rode here, who said that the commander of the regiment Gebel received an order to arrest S. Muravyov, but, not finding him in Vasilkov, went along with a gendarme officer to search for him .

S. Muravyov suggested that A. Muravyov immediately assemble the Akhtyrsky regiment, go to Troyanov, drag along the Alexandria hussars stationed there, then move to Zhitomir and arrest the command of the 3rd corps there.

A. Muravyov refused to speak immediately, but promised to support the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. December 28 Ants and his companions arrived in the village. Trilesy, where the 5th company of the Chernigov regiment was stationed, the commander of which was a member of the Society of United Slavs A.D. Kuzmin.

By order of S. Muravyov, M. Bestuzhev went to Novograd-Volynsk to organize a performance there by units in which members of the secret society served. S. Muravyov sent a soldier to Vasilkov with a note and invited members of the society, company commanders, Kuzmin, M. A. Shchepillo, V. N. Solovyov to come to him. Having received a note, these, joined by I.I. Sukhinov immediately left for Trilesy. Upon learning that the Muravyov brothers had been arrested by Gebel and a gendarmerie officer who had arrived here, members of the society released them. The release of S. Muravyov on December 29 was actually the beginning of the uprising of the Chernigov regiment.

S. Muravyov saw the immediate task in raising the entire Chernigov regiment. On the same day, the 5th company went to vil. Kovalevka, where it united with the 2nd. On December 30, the rebels moved towards Vasilkov, where the rest of the companies of the Chernigov regiment were stationed, but before reaching it, they stopped in the town of Mytintsy. Here they were met by M. Bestuzhev, who did not manage to get into Novograd-Volynsk. An attempt by Major Trukhin, who remained behind the regiment commander, to organize resistance, was not successful. The soldiers of the Chernigov regiment enthusiastically greeted the rebels and went over to their side.

In Vasilkov, the food of the regiment passed into the hands of the rebels. “The night from December 30 to December 31,” writes Gorbachevsky, “was spent in preparation for the march.”

In Vasilkovo, a question arose about a plan for further action. At the military council convened to work it out, the Slavs - Sukhinov, Shchepillo, Kuzmin and Solovyov - spoke in favor of an immediate campaign against Kiev.

The occupation of this large center in the south of the country opened up great prospects for the further course of the uprising.

S. Muraviev, in principle, did not object to the possibility of Kiev. “From Vasilkov, I could act in three ways: 1st go to Kiev, 2nd go to Belaya Tserkov and 3rd move hastily to Zhitomir and try to connect with the Slavs. Of these three plans, I leaned more towards the last and the first, ”S. Muravyov testified during the investigation. Zhytomyr was in the center of the location of the units, which were influenced by members of the secret society. The headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Corps was also located here. The capture of it and the arrest of the command would have prevented the possibility of organizing forces to suppress the uprising. That is why S. Muravyov preferred the third option. However, the headquarters of the uprising refused an immediate campaign against Zhitomir due to insufficient available forces and the failure of M. Bestuzhev's attempts to establish contact with the Slavs and the nearby Kremenchug and Aleksopol regiments.

At the council, a decision was made to move to Brusilov. This decision did not mean abandoning the plan to march on Kiev or Zhitomir.

On December 31, in the afternoon, the regimental priest read the "Orthodox Catechism" to the soldiers of the Chernigov regiment and the inhabitants of Vasilkov, a program document revealing the revolutionary goals of the uprising. It was compiled by S. Muravyov. In this document, the kings were declared "oppressors of the people" who stole their freedom. Clothed in a religious form, the "catechism" was directed against the autocracy, proclaiming the natural equality of all people.

After reading the catechism, S. Muravyov addressed the rebels with a short speech in which he explained the content and meaning of the revolutionary slogans of the uprising. He spoke about the need to proclaim freedom in Russia, about reducing the term of military service, about easing the situation of the peasants and called on the soldiers to defend freedom.

On the same day, the rebels went to Brusilov. Along the way, the rebels proclaimed the freedom of the peasants. The locals were very sympathetic towards the rebels. During the tour of the guards, the peasants joyfully greeted Muravyov and said to him: “God help you, our good colonel, our deliverer ...” They cordially received his soldiers, took care of them and supplied them with everything in abundance, seeing in them not guests, but the defenders.

Having learned about the movement of troops in the Brusilov region, the leaders of the uprising decided to move on Belaya Tserkov. Here they counted on the 17th Jaeger Regiment joining the Chernigovites. On January 2, 1826, the rebels marched in the direction of the White Church and, not having reached 15 miles before it, stopped in the village. Canopies. Having learned that the 17th Jaeger Regiment was withdrawn from Belaya Tserkov, the rebels on January 3 headed again to Kovalevka and Trilesy, from where they began their speech, intending to move to Zhitomir to join the units in which members of the Society of United Slavs served.

However, time was lost. The command of the 3rd Corps seized the initiative and, having concentrated large military forces, began to encircle the rebels. On January 3, on the way from Kovalevka to Trilesy, the Chernigov regiment was met by a detachment of General Geismar, who opened fire on the rebels with grapeshot. The Chernigovites went on the attack, but being shot at close range and suffering losses, they rushed back. S. Muravyov was seriously wounded in the head and could not control the battle. Schepillo was killed, Kuzmin wounded. The cavalry completed the defeat of the rebels.

The performance of the Chernigov regiment took place in unfavorable conditions for the Decembrists. The uprising in Petersburg was crushed. The arrest of Pestel, the refusal of a number of members of the Southern Society to take decisive action and support the Chernigov regiment made it easier for the government to fight the rebels. The uprising in the south, just as in St. Petersburg, did not rely on the people. During the uprising of the Chernigov regiment, the same tactical mistakes were made as on Senate Square on December 14, 1825.

I.A. Mironova“…Their business is not lost”

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