December uprising participants. Decembrists: Uprising

In terms of its goals, it had the strongest resonance in Russian society, which significantly influenced the socio-political life of the subsequent era of the reign of Nicholas I.

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  The conspirators decided to take advantage of the difficult legal situation that had developed around the rights to the throne after the death of Alexander I. On the one hand, there was a secret document confirming the long-time renunciation of the throne by the next childless Alexander in seniority brother, Konstantin Pavlovich, which gave an advantage to the next brother, extremely unpopular among the highest military-bureaucratic elite Nikolai Pavlovich. On the other hand, even before the opening of this document, Nikolai Pavlovich, under pressure from the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Count M.A.Miloradovich, hastened to relinquish his rights to the throne in favor of Konstantin Pavlovich.

  Rebellion plan

  The Decembrists decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath of office to the new tsar. The insurgent troops were supposed to occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, the royal family was planned to be arrested and, under certain circumstances, killed. A dictator, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, was elected to lead the uprising.

  After that, it was planned to require the Senate to publish a popular Manifesto, which would proclaim the "destruction of the former government" and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. Its members were supposed to make Count Speransky and Admiral Mordvinov (later they became members of the court over the Decembrists).

  The deputies had to approve a new basic law - the constitution. If the Senate did not agree to promulgate the people's manifesto, it was decided to force him to do so by force. The manifesto contained several points: the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government, the abolition of serfdom, equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms (press, confession, labor), the introduction of a jury trial, the introduction of compulsory military service for all classes, the election of officials, the abolition of the poll tax.

  After that, a National Council (Constituent Assembly) was to be convened, which was to decide the question of the form of government - a constitutional monarchy or a republic. In the second case, the royal family would have to be exiled abroad. In particular, Ryleev suggested that Nikolai be sent to Fort Ross.

  Events of December 14, 1825

  It is worth noting that, unlike his brother, Alexander I, who regularly received reports about the growth of the spirit of free-thinking in the troops and about conspiracies directed against him, Constantine did not even suspect the existence of secret army societies. He was shocked and depressed by the events of December 14 (26). In his letter to Nicholas on December 20, 1825 (January 1, 1826), Konstantin Pavlovich wrote:

  Great God, what an event! This bastard was unhappy that he had an angel sovereign, and conspired against him! What do they want? This is monstrous, terrible, covers everyone, even if they are completely innocent, who did not even think about what happened!

  However, a few days before that, Nicholas had been warned of the intentions of secret societies by the chief of the General Staff I.I.Dibich and the Decembrist Ya.I. Rostovtsev (the latter considered the uprising against the tsar incompatible with noble honor). Senators already at 7 o'clock in the morning took the oath to Nicholas and proclaimed him emperor. The appointed dictator Trubetskoy did not appear. The insurgent regiments continued to stand on Senate Square until the conspirators could come to a unified decision on the appointment of a new leader.

  A large crowd of Petersburg residents gathered on the square and the main mood of this huge mass, which, according to contemporaries, numbered tens of thousands of people, was sympathy for the rebels. Logs and stones were thrown at Nikolai and his retinue. Two "rings" of the people were formed - the first consisted of those who had come earlier, it surrounded the square of the rebels, and the second ring was formed from those who came later - their gendarmes were no longer allowed into the square to the rebels, and they stood behind the government troops that surrounded the rebellious square. Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, understood the danger of this encirclement, which threatened with great complications. He doubted his success, "seeing that the matter is becoming very important, and not yet foreseeing how it will end." It was decided to prepare carriages for members of the royal family for a possible escape to Tsarskoe Selo. Later, Nikolai told his brother Mikhail many times: "The most amazing thing in this story is that you and I were not shot then."

  Nicholas sent to convince the soldiers of Metropolitan Seraphim and Metropolitan Eugene of Kiev. But in response, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov, the soldiers began to shout to the metropolitans: "What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors ... We do not believe you, go away! .." The metropolitans interrupted the conviction of the soldiers when the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and the Guards Crew, under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev and Lieutenant Anton Arbuzov, appeared on the square.

  But the gathering of all the insurgent troops took place only more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists chose a new "dictator" - Prince Obolensky. But Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands and the encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times outnumbering the rebels, was already completed. A total of 30 Decembrist officers brought about 3,000 soldiers to the square. According to Gabaev's calculations, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were collected against the rebellious soldiers, in total, not counting the artillerymen called later (36 guns), at least 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons, that is, 3 thousand sabers, were called and stopped at the outposts as a reserve, that is, 10 thousand more people were in reserve at the outposts.

  Nicholas was afraid of the onset of darkness, since most of all he feared that "excitement would not communicate to the rabble," which could show activity in the darkness. From the side of the Admiralteisky Boulevard, guards artillery appeared under the command of General I. Sukhozanet. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. Then Nikolai ordered to shoot with buckshot. The first volley was fired above the ranks of the rebel soldiers - on the "rabble" on the roof of the Senate building and the roofs of neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first salvo with canister fire with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of canister, flight began. According to the testimony of V. I. Shteingel: "It was already possible to limit ourselves to this, but Sukhozanet fired several more shots along the narrow Galerny lane and across the Neva to the Academy of Arts, where more of the curious crowd fled!" ... Crowds of rebellious soldiers rushed to the Neva ice to get over to Vasilievsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to rebuild soldiers in battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive against the Peter and Paul Fortress. The troops lined up, but were fired from cannon cannonballs. The cannonballs hit the ice, and it cracked, many drowned.

  Victims

  By nightfall, the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses were left in the square and in the streets. Based on the papers of the official of the III Department of M.M.Popov, N.K. Schilder wrote:

  After the cessation of artillery fire, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered the Chief of Police, General Shulgin, that the corpses be removed by morning. Unfortunately, the performers have disposed of in the most inhuman manner. On the night on the Neva, from Isaac's Bridge to the Academy of Arts and further to the side of Vasilievsky Island, many ice holes were made, into which not only corpses were lowered, but, as they claimed, many wounded, deprived of the opportunity to escape from the fate that awaited them. Those of the wounded who managed to escape, hid their injuries, fearing to reveal themselves to the doctors, and died without medical assistance.

  Arrest and trial

  Immediately, 371 soldiers of the Moscow regiment, 277 of the Grenadier and 62 sailors of the Marine crew were arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The arrested Decembrists were brought to the Winter Palace. Emperor Nicholas himself acted as an investigator.

  By decree on December 17 (29), a Commission for Investigations on Malicious Societies was established under the chairmanship of Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev. On May 30 (June 11), the commission of inquiry presented to Emperor Nicholas I a report drawn up by D. N. Bludov. The Manifesto of June 1 (13) established the Supreme Criminal Court of three state estates: the State Council, the Senate and the Synod, with the addition of "several persons from the highest military and civilian officials." In total, 579 people were involved in the investigation. Found guilty 287. Five were sentenced to death and carried out (K. F. Ryleev, P. I. Pestel, P. G. Kakhovsky, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol). 120 people were sent to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement.

  Museums of the Decembrists

  • Irkutsk Regional Historical and Memorial Museum of the Decembrists
  • Novoselenginsky Museum of the Decembrists (Buryatia)

  The performance of the Decembrists has attracted close attention among scientists for almost 200 years. This is because the Decembrists' society greatly influenced the further course of Russian history. According to scientists, in many respects similar processes that were taking place at that time in the Russian world are taking place now, in our time.

  The Decembrists have been the object of study for many years - the information collected and analyzed by many scientists contains more than 10,000 different materials. The first to study the movement were the Decembrists themselves, who were personally present during the speech on Senate Square and could conduct a more accurate analysis of what happened.

  The essence and causes of the Decembrist uprising

  At the beginning of the 19th century, most of the progressive nobility expected Tsar Alexander I to continue democratic changes in society. The first revolutionary movements were formed under the influence of the progressive nobility's close acquaintance with Western countries and the way of life in Europe. The bottom line is that the Decembrists wanted the speedy progress of Russia, they wanted to end with its backwardness, in particular with serfdom, because of which, in their opinion, the economic development of the Russian Empire was delayed. After the end of the war of 1812, patriotic sentiments began to rise in society, reforms and fundamental changes within the authorities themselves were expected from the tsarist government. So, the views of the Decembrists were influenced by the fact that the tsarist government took part in suppressing revolutionary movements in Europe, but these attacks on the spirit of freedom became an incentive for the Decembrists in their own struggle.

  The history of the emergence of the Decembrist movement

  The first secret political society "Union of Salvation" consisted of 28 people. It was organized in 1816 by the then famous representatives of the Russian society A.N. Muravyov, S.P. Trubetskoy, P.I. Pestel and others, having set themselves the goal of abolishing serfdom in Russia, achieve the adoption of a constitution. But after a while, the Decembrists realized that, due to the small size of the group, it would be very difficult to realize their ideas. This prompted the creation of a more powerful and wider organization.

  From left to right: A.N. Muravyov, S.P. Trubetskoy, P.I. Pestel

  Already by 1818, a new "Union of Welfare" was organized. Geographically, it was located in Moscow, it consisted of more than 200 people, it also had a separate specific program of action, which was reflected in the Decembrist document "Green Book". The union was under the control of the Root Council, which also had its cells in other cities. After the formation of a new union, the goals remained the same. To achieve them, the Decembrists planned to conduct propaganda work over the next 20 years in order to prepare the people of Russia for a non-violent revolutionary coup with the direct help of the military. However, by 1821 it was decided to dissolve the Union of Welfare due to the aggravation of relations within the group due to disagreements between radical and neutral members of society. In addition, over the 3 years of its existence, the "Union of Prosperity" has overgrown with many random people, from whom it was also necessary to get rid of.

  

  Meeting of the Decembrists

  In 1821 P.I. Pestel headed the "Southern Society" in Ukraine, and N.M. Muravyov, on his own initiative, organized the "Northern Society" in St. Petersburg. Both organizations considered themselves to be parts of a single whole and interacted with each other on an ongoing basis. Each organization had its own program of action, enshrined in documents called "Constitution" in the North and "Russian Truth" in the South Society.

  Political programs and the essence of the Decembrist society

  The Russkaya Pravda document was more revolutionary in nature. He assumed the destruction of the autocracy system, the elimination of serfdom and all kinds of estates. Russkaya Pravda called for the founding of a republic with a clear division of power into legislative and vigilant. The peasants, after the liberation from serfdom, were given land for use, and the state itself was to become a single body, with centralized management.

  The "constitution" of the Northern society was more liberal, it proclaimed civil liberties, abolished serfdom, divided the functions of power, while the constitutional monarchy had to remain as a model of government. Although the peasants were freed from serfdom, they did not receive land for use - it remained the property of the landowners. According to the plan of the Northern Society, the Russian state was to be transformed into a federation of 14 different states and 2 regions. As a plan for the implementation of such a task, all members of the society adhered to a single opinion and assumed the overthrow of the current government, relying on the uprising of the army.

  Decembrists' speech on Senate Square

  The uprising was planned for the summer of 1826, but the Decembrists began preparations as early as 1823. In the late autumn of 1825, Emperor Alexander I died suddenly and after his death, the rightful heir to the throne, Constantine, renounced the title. But the abdication of Constantine was hidden, and therefore the military and the entire state apparatus were nevertheless sworn in to the Tsarevich. After a while, his portraits were displayed in shop windows, on the walls of government offices, minting of coins began with the appearance of the new emperor on the obverse. But in fact, Constantine did not accept the throne - he knew that soon the text of the will of Alexander I was to be made public, in which he transfers the title of emperor to the Tsarevich's younger brother, Nicholas.

  

  Coin with a portrait of Constantine on the obverse. There are only 5 coins left in the world with a denomination of 1 ruble, its price reaches 100 105 US dollars.

  The "oath" to Nicholas I, as they joked among the military, was to take place on December 14th. It was these events that forced the leaders of the "Northern" and "Southern" society to speed up the process of preparing the uprising and the Decembrists decided to take advantage of the moment of confusion in their favor.

  Key events of the Decembrist uprising took place on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. Part of the military, who did not want to swear allegiance to the new emperor Nicholas I, lined up at the monument to Peter I. The leaders of the Decembrist speech hoped not to allow the senators to take the oath of oath to Nicholas I and intended, with their help, to declare the deposition of the tsarist government, after which they turned to everything Russian with a published revolutionary manifesto. to the people. After a short time, it became known that the senators had already taken the oath to Emperor Nicholas I and soon left the square. This caused confusion in the ranks of the Decembrists - the course of the performance had to be urgently revised. At the most crucial moment, the main "conductor" of the uprising - Trubetskoy - did not come out to the square. At first, the Decembrists waited on the Senate Square for their leader, after which they chose a new one all day, and it was this pause that became fatal for them. The new emperor of Russia ordered his loyal troops to surround the crowd of people, and when the army cordoned off the square, the demonstrators were shot with grapeshot.

  

  Decembrists' speech on Senate Square

  Almost 2 weeks later, under the leadership of S. Muravyov-Apostol, the Chernigov regiment began an uprising, but by January 3, the riot was also suppressed by government troops.

  The uprising seriously agitated the newly made emperor. The entire trial of the participants in the Decembrist movement took place behind closed doors. During the proceedings, more than 600 people were brought to responsibility for the participation and organization of the performance. Key leaders of the movement were sentenced to quartering, but later it was decided to mitigate the type of execution and refused medieval torture, replacing it with death by hanging. The death sentence was carried out on a summer night on July 13, 1826, and all the conspirators were hanged on the crownwork of the Peter and Paul fortress.

  

  More than 120 participants in the performance were sent to hard labor and to settle in Siberia. There, many Decembrists collected and studied the history of Siberia, were fond of the folk life of the locals. In addition, the Decembrists actively contacted with the inhabitants of the local territories. So, in the city of Chita, at the expense of the wives of the exiles, a hospital was built, which was attended by local residents in addition to the Decembrists. Medicines prescribed from St. Petersburg were given out to locals free of charge. Many of the Decembrists exiled to Siberia were engaged in teaching Siberian children to read and write.

  Decembrists' wives

  Before the uprising on Senate Square, 23 Decembrists were married. After the death sentence, the wives of the Decembrists I. Polivanov and K. Ryleev, who died in 1826, remained widows.

  11 wives followed the Decembrists to Siberia, and 7 other women also followed them to the north - sisters and mothers of members of the Decembrist movement sent into exile.

  0 Today, one can hardly imagine what they "breathed" about, what people who lived almost 200 years ago thought about. Therefore, their actions sometimes cause confusion and condemnation in us, which only adds interest to the life of our ancestors. Today we will talk about the essence the uprising of the Decembrists in 1825.
  However, before continuing, I would like to recommend you a few more interesting publications on various topics. For example, what does Aphorism mean, what is Field, how to understand the word Creative, what does the word Bourgeois mean, etc.
  So let's continue about the uprising of the Decembrists briefly... At that time, a couple of percent of rich people lived in Russia, and all the rest were in the position of beggars or generally slaves (serfs). Therefore, among the bourgeois and educated people, discontent was ripening, which was very actively used by secret societies.

  The uprising of the Decembrists was brief - it was an attempted coup d'état that took place in the capital of the empire of St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825. It is believed that the protagonists and leaders of the uprising were the nobles, who in parallel were the guards officers. Having close contacts with the army units stationed in the city, they tried to win them over to their side so that they would not admit Nicholas I to the throne. The main declared goal of the negotiators was to destroy the royal dynasty and abolish serfdom. In fact, this revolution was led by secret societies, there is information that the British ambassador was the coordinator and real leader of the uprising. The real goal was to destroy Russia and divide it into parts. Moreover, in 1917, the West managed to do this, then, and then in 1991 there was another successful attempt at genocide of the Russian population.
  

  
  Well, now let's return to our rams, that is, the Decembrists. In fact , uprising of the Decembrists of 1825 of the year, was the very first of a well-organized anti-government action in Russia. Historians believe that it was carried out solely for humane purposes, in order to free the peasants from the shackles of slavery, as well as against the power of the autocrat. If in 1917, the slogan was "no war, everyone should leave the trenches and go home," and also the idea of ​​giving land to the property for free was promoted separately for the peasants, and it worked then.
  However, our Decembrists were either fools, or they were ruled like puppets because of the cordon, but they had one slogan - "the abolition of serfdom." Who else could be interested in this besides the peasants themselves?

  Preconditions for the uprising of 1825

  Even under Alexander I, English and German spies actively worked for destabilization situation in the country. Meticulous work was carried out, the result of which would ultimately be to limit the power of the autocrat.
  Over the course of several years, a tremendous amount of work has been carried out, thousands of people have been drawn into the orbit of this idea. However, when suddenly Alexander I died, it was a pleasant surprise for the conspirators. Immediately from Foggy Albion, conflicting instructions began to flow on what to do, and the gears of this huge sabotage conspiracy began to gradually unwind.

  However, as the saying goes, you hurry up - you make people laugh, here it is with ours " villains", from the first days of the conspiracy, everything went awry. The fact is that the tsar had no children, and his older brother Constantine, had long since renounced the throne, he did not like the power as such.
  However, local officials did not seem to know about this circumstance, since how else to explain the fact that the population of the Russian Empire took the oath to the emperor Konstantin Pavlovich, although he himself did not accept such powers. As a result, the situation was such that only Nikolai could become the heir.
  Such confusion and confusion reigned at that time in all cities and villages of Russia.

  Then, the overseas curators of the Decembrists decide that the glorious hour has come when this barbaric country can be destroyed. They give orders to their puppets, the Decembrists, and they begin to act. The day was chosen for the uprising December 14, 1825 when the population had to swear allegiance to the new emperor Nicholas I.

  What was the plan of the Decembrists?

  The main characters in this bloody performance were:

  Alexander Muravyov - the main conspirator and ideological inspirer of the union;

  Kondraty Ryleev;

  Ivan Yakushin;

  Sergey Trubetskoy;

  Nikolay Kakhovsky;

  Pavel Pestel;

  Nikita Muravyov.

  It is clear that these people were a screen for some secret societies who were extremely interested in overthrowing the government in the Russian Empire.

  The plan of the Decembrists was to somehow prevent the Senate and the army of Russia from swearing allegiance to Nicholas I.
  The conspirators planned to storm the Winter Palace and take the royal family hostage. This circumstance would have made it extremely easy for the rebels to take power into their own hands; Sergei Trubkoy was appointed the leader of the entire gang.

  It is clear that after the coup, England would begin to impose democracy, and would arrange a total genocide, as many of us remember from the 90s of the last century. Although in fact they announced the creation of an empire instead of a free republics... Well, and the royal family should have been expelled from the country. Although it is worth noting that some, especially stubborn Decembrists dreamed of destroying the entire royal family at the root, and destroying everyone who was somehow related to the royal dynasty.

  Uprising of the Decembrists of 1825, December 14

  So, on December 14, early morning, St. Petersburg is the time and place where the performance was scheduled. However, for the rebels, everything did not go according to plan at once. Most importantly, Kakhovsky, who had previously announced the possibility and desire to enter Nikolai's room, and kill him, suddenly abandons this idea.
  This information caused a real shock among the real leaders of the uprising, the British. The next failure was not long in coming, Yakubovich, who was supposed to capture the royal family, refuses to send troops to storm the Winter Palace.

  However, as the teenagers say, it was already "too late to rush about," as the flywheel of the uprising was gaining momentum. The Decembrists and their Western curators did not abandon their plans. Therefore, a number of agitators were sent to the capital's army barracks, who persuaded the soldiers to come out to Senate Square and declare their indignation at the events taking place in the country. This operation was carried out quite successfully, and there were 2,350 sailors and 800 soldiers on the square.

  Unfortunately for the rebels, by 7 in the morning, the senators have already swore Nikolay, and when the rebels were already on the square, this procedure was completed.

  When the troops gathered on the square, the general came out to them. Mikhail Miloradovich... He tried to persuade the soldiers to leave the square, and again disperse to the barracks. Seeing that the soldiers were beginning to hesitate and could really disperse, the revolutionary Kokhovsky approached Miloradovich and shot him point-blank. This was already too much, and horse guards were sent to the rebels.
  Unfortunately, riot it became quite difficult to suppress, because at that time several thousand civilians joined him, among them there were many women and children.

  However, in order to save his power, Nikolai had to give a heavy order to shoot at rioters shrapnel and cannon shot. And only then, the Decembrists were forced to flee. So, closer to the night, on the same day on December 14, the revolution was suppressed, and the dead and dying were lying all over the square.

  Looking from the height of his years, we can conclude that the king gave only loyal order, because if the plans of the conspirators succeeded, Russia would have drowned in blood, and the victims would have been numbered not in thousands, but in millions.

  It is worth comparing that the old event with what happened in Ukraine maidan... Don't you think the handwriting is very similar? And here and there, the Westerners gathered a crowd, caused victims, only Yanukovych turned out to be a rag, and did not give an order that would eventually save tens of thousands, if not millions of Ukrainians, from the onset of democracy.

  We must pay tribute to the tsar for his decisive actions, in addition, on his side was the fact that the involvement of the masses in the coup was extremely small. Casserolehead at that time, apparently, it was not enough. Most likely, that event can be considered a really major gamble of Western intelligence services and secret societies against the Russian government.

  December 14, 1825. This is the day of the uprising of the Decembrists in St. Petersburg on Senate Square, the first open demonstration with arms in hand against autocracy and serfdom. The Decembrists are often called "the firstborn of Russian freedom."

  On December 14, officers-members of the secret society were still in the barracks in the dark and were agitating among the soldiers.

  Alexander Bestuzhev delivered a warm speech to the soldiers of the Moscow regiment. “I spoke strongly, they listened to me eagerly,” he later recalled. The soldiers refused the oath of allegiance to the new tsar and decided to go to the Senate Square. The regimental commander of the Moscow regiment, Baron Fredericks, wanted to prevent the insurgent soldiers from leaving the barracks - and fell with his head chopped off under the blow of officer Shchepin-Rostovsky's saber. Colonel Khvoshchinsky, who wanted to stop the soldiers, was also wounded. With a waving regimental banner, taking live ammunition and loading their guns, the soldiers of the Moscow regiment were the first to come to Senate Square. At the head of these first revolutionary troops in the history of Russia was Staff Captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, Alexander Bestuzhev. Together with him at the head of the regiment were his brother, the staff captain of the Life Guards of the Moscow regiment Mikhail Bestuzhev and the staff captain of the same regiment Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky.

  The regiment formed in battle formation in the form of a square near the monument to Peter 1. The square (battle quadrangle) was a proven and justified battle formation, providing both defense and an attack on the enemy from four sides. It was II o'clock in the morning. The governor-general of St. Petersburg Miloradovich galloped to the rebels, began to persuade the soldiers to disperse, swore that the oath to Nikolai was correct, took out the sword presented to him by Tsarevich Konstantin with the inscription: "To my friend Miloradovich", reminded of the battles of 1812: The moment was very dangerous. the regiment was still alone, other regiments had not yet approached, the hero of 1812 Miloradovich was widely popular and knew how to talk to soldiers. The uprising that had just begun was in great danger. Miloradovich could strongly shake the soldiers and achieve success. It was necessary at all costs to interrupt his agitation, to remove him from the square. But, despite the demands of the Decembrists, Miloradovich did not leave and continued persuasion. Then the chief of staff of the rebels, the Decembrist Obolensky, turned his horse with a bayonet, wounding the count in the thigh, and a bullet, fired at the same moment by Kakhovsky, mortally wounded the general. The danger hanging over the uprising was repelled.

  The delegation elected to address the Senate - Ryleev and Pushchin - went to Trubetskoy early in the morning, who had himself visited Ryleev before. It turned out that the Senate had already taken the oath and the senators had dispersed. It turned out that the insurgent troops had gathered in front of the empty Senate. Thus, the first goal of the uprising was not achieved. It was a hard setback. Another conceived link broke off from the plan. Now the capture of the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress lay ahead.

  It is not known exactly what Ryleev and Pushchin talked about during this last meeting with Trubetskoy, but, obviously, they agreed on some new plan of action and, after coming to the square, brought with them the confidence that Trubetskoy would now come there, to area, and will take command. Everyone was impatiently waiting for Trubetskoy.

  But there was still no dictator. Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising. A situation arose on the square that required decisive action, and Trubetskoy did not dare to take them. He sat, tormented, in the office of the General Staff, went out, looked around the corner, how many troops had gathered in the square, and hid again. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find it. Who could have guessed that the dictator of the uprising was sitting in the tsarist General Staff? The members of the secret society, who chose Trubetskoy as a dictator and trusted him, could not understand the reasons for his absence and thought that he was being delayed by some reasons important for the uprising. The fragile noble revolutionism of Trubetskoy easily broke down when the hour of decisive action came.

  The leader who betrayed the cause of the revolution at the most decisive moment, of course, is to some extent (but only to some extent!) An exponent of the class limitations of the noble revolutionism. Still, the failure of the elected dictator to appear on the square to the troops during the hours of the uprising is an unprecedented event in the history of the revolutionary movement. The dictator betrayed the idea of ​​an uprising, and his comrades in a secret society, and the troops that followed them. This failure to appear played a significant role in the defeat of the uprising.

  The rebels waited a long time. The soldiers' rifles fired themselves. Several attacks, undertaken on the orders of Nicholas by the horse guard on the square of the rebels, were repulsed by fugitive rifle fire. The protective chain, separated from the square of the rebels, disarmed the tsarist policemen. The same was done by the "rabble" on the square (the broadsword of one disarmed gendarme was handed over to Pushkin's brother Lev Sergeevich, who came to the square and joined the rebels).

  Behind the fence of the St. Isaac's Cathedral under construction were the dwellings of construction workers, workers, for whom a lot of firewood was prepared for the winter. The village was popularly called "Isaac's village", from there a lot of stones and logs flew to the king and his retinue 1).

  We see that the troops were not the only living force of the December 14 uprising: on Senate Square that day there was another participant in the events - huge crowds of people.

  The words of Herzen are well known - "the Decembrists on Senate Square did not have enough people." These words must be understood not in the sense that there were no people at all in the square, there was a people, but in the fact that the Decembrists were unable to rely on the people, to make them an active force of the uprising.

  During the whole interregnum, the streets of St. Petersburg were livelier than usual. This was especially noticeable on Sunday, December 13, when there was a rumor about a new oath, a new emperor and the abdication of Constantine. On the day of the uprising, it was still dark, people began to gather here and there at the gates of the barracks of the guards regiments, attracted by rumors about the impending oath, and possibly by widespread rumors about some benefits and relief for the people, which will now be announced with the oath. These rumors, undoubtedly, came from the direct agitation of the Decembrists. Shortly before the uprising, Nikolai Bestuzhev and his comrades went around the military guards at the barracks at night and told the sentries that serfdom would soon be abolished and the term of soldier's service would be reduced. The soldiers eagerly listened to the Decembrists.

  The impression of a contemporary about how “empty” at that moment was in other parts of St. Petersburg is curious: “The further I moved away from the Admiralty, the less I met people; it seemed that everyone had fled to the square, leaving their houses empty. " An eyewitness, whose last name remained unknown, said: “All Petersburg flocked to the square, and the first admiralty unit accommodated up to 150 thousand people, acquaintances and strangers, friends and enemies forgot their personalities and gathered in circles, talked about the subject that amazed their eyes »2)

  It should be noted the amazing unanimity of the primary sources, who speak of a huge crowd of people.

  Dominated by the "common people", "black bone" - artisans, workers, artisans, peasants who came to bars in the capital, peasants released on quitrent, "people of workers and commoners", there were merchants, minor officials, students of secondary schools, cadet corps, apprentices ... Formed two "rings" of the people. The first consisted of those who came early, it surrounded the square of the rebels. The second was formed from those who came later - their gendarmes were no longer allowed into the square to the rebels, and the "late" people crowded behind the tsarist troops who surrounded the rebellious square. From these who came "later" the second ring was formed, which surrounded the government troops. Noticing this, Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, understood the danger of this encirclement. It threatened with great complications.

  The main mood of this huge mass, which, according to the testimony of contemporaries, numbered tens of thousands of people, was sympathy for the rebels.

  Nikolai doubted his success, "seeing that the matter was becoming very important, and not yet foreseeing how it would end." He ordered to prepare carriages for members of the royal family with the intention of "escorting" them under the cover of the cavalry guards to Tsarskoe Selo. Nicholas considered the Winter Palace an unreliable place and foresaw the possibility of a strong expansion of the uprising in the capital. The same was indicated by the order to guard the palace to sappers: obviously, during the protection of the Winter Tsar, even some hastily erected fortifications for the batteries were dreamed of. Nicholas expressed these sentiments even more clearly, recording that in the event of bloodshed under the windows of the palace "our fate would be more than doubtful." And later Nikolai told his brother Mikhail many times: "The most amazing thing in this story is that you and I were not shot then." There is little optimistic assessment of the general situation in these words. It must be admitted that in this case the historian must fully agree with Nikolai.

  Under these conditions, Nicholas resorted to sending Metropolitan Seraphim and Metropolitan Eugene of Kiev to negotiate with the rebels. Both were already in the Winter Palace for a thanksgiving service on the occasion of the oath of allegiance to Nicholas. But the prayer service had to be postponed: there was no time for the prayer service. The idea of ​​sending metropolitans to negotiate with the rebels came to Nicholas as a way to explain the legality of the oath to him, and not to Constantine through clergy, authoritative in matters of the oath, "archpastors." It seemed who better to know about the correctness of the oath, if not the metropolitans? Nikolai's decision to grab this straw was strengthened by alarming news: he was informed that Life Grenadiers and a Marine Guards crew were leaving the barracks to join the "rebels". If the metropolitans had time to persuade the insurgents to disperse, then the new regiments, which came to the aid of the insurgents, would have found the main core of the insurrection broken down and could themselves be exhausted.

  The sight of the approaching spiritual delegation was quite impressive. Patterned green and crimson velvet of vestments against the background of white snow, the sparkling of diamonds and gold on panagias, high mitres and raised crosses, two accompanying deacons in magnificent, sparkling brocade surplice, worn for solemn court worship, all this should have riveted the attention of the soldiers ...

  But in response to the Metropolitan's speech about the legality of the required oath and the horrors of shedding fraternal blood, the “rebellious” soldiers began to shout to him from the ranks, according to the authoritative testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors ... , are you a deserter, Nikolaev Kaluga ?. We do not believe you, go away! .. This is not your business: we know what we are doing ... "

  Suddenly, the metropolitans rushed to the left, hid in the gap in the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, hired simple cabs (while on the right, closer to the Neva, they were published by the palace carriage) and returned to the Winter Palace by a detour. Why did this sudden flight of the clergy happen? Huge reinforcements were approaching the rebels. On the right, on the ice of the Neva, a detachment of rebellious life grenadiers climbed up, fighting their way with weapons in their hands through the troops of the tsarist encirclement. On the other side, the ranks of sailors entered the square - the Guards naval crew. This was the largest event in the camp of the uprising: its forces immediately increased more than fourfold.

  “The guards carriage en route to Petrovskaya Square was greeted by the Moscow Life Guards Regiment with exclamations of 'hurray!'

  Thus, the order of arrival of the insurgent regiments to the square was as follows: the first came the Moscow Life Guards regiment with the Decembrist Alexander Bestuzhev and his brother Mikhail Bestuzhev at the head. Behind him (much later) - a detachment of the Life Grenadier - the 1st fusilier company of the Decembrist Sutgof with its commander at the head; further - the guards naval crew under the command of the Decembrist Lieutenant-Commander Nikolai Bestuzhev (the elder brother of Alexander and Mikhail) and the Decembrist Lieutenant Arbuzov. Following the guards' crew, the last participants in the uprising entered the square - the rest, the most significant part of the Life Grenadiers, brought in by the Decembrist Lieutenant Panov. Suthoff's company joined the square, and the sailors lined up from the side of Galernaya in another military formation - "a column to attack." The Life Grenadiers who came later, under the command of Panov, formed a separate, third on Senate Square, formation - the second "column to attack", located on the left flank of the rebels, closer to the Neva. About three thousand insurgent soldiers gathered in the square with 30 officers-Decembrists-frontline commanders. All the insurgent troops were armed and with live ammunition.

  The rebels had no artillery. All of the rebels were foot soldiers.

  An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new "dictator" - Prince Obolensky, the chief of staff of the uprising. He tried three times to convene a council of war, but it was too late: Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands and concentrate four times large military forces on the square against the rebels, and his troops included cavalry and artillery, which the Decembrists did not have. Nicholas had 36 artillery pieces at his disposal. The rebels, as already mentioned, were surrounded by government troops from all sides.

  The short winter day was getting closer to evening. “The piercing wind chilled the blood in the veins of the soldiers and officers who had stood in the open for so long,” the Decembrists later recalled. The early Petersburg twilight set in. It was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and it began to darken noticeably. Nikolai was afraid of the coming of darkness. In the dark, the people gathered in the square would have behaved more actively. From the ranks of the troops that stood on the side of the emperor, rushes to the rebels began. Delegates from some of the regiments that stood on Nikolay's side were already making their way to the Decembrists and asked them to "hold out until the evening." Most of all, Nikolai was afraid, as he later wrote in his diary, that "the excitement would not be communicated to the rabble." Nikolai gave the order to fire buckshot. The command rang out, but there was no shot. The gunner who lit the fuse did not put it into the cannon. “Ours, your honor,” he quietly replied to the officer who had pounced on him. Officer Bakunin snatched the fuse from the soldier's hands and fired himself. The first volley of buckshot was fired above the ranks of the soldiers - precisely against the "rabble" that dotted the roof of the Senate and neighboring houses. The insurgents responded to the first volley with grapeshot with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of grapeshot, the ranks wavered, hesitated - flight began, the wounded and killed fell. “In the intervals of the shots, one could hear the blood flowing along the pavement, melting the snow, then the alley itself froze,” Nikolai Bestuzhev, the Decembrist, wrote later. The Tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along the Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya. Crowds of rebellious soldiers rushed to the Neva ice to get over to Vasilievsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to rebuild the soldiers in order of battle on the ice of Nova and go on the offensive. The troops lined up. But the cannonballs hit the ice - the ice cracked, many drowned. Bestuzhev's attempt failed,

  It was all over by nightfall. The tsar and his dependents in every possible way downplayed the number of those killed - they talked about 80 corpses, sometimes about a hundred or two. But the number of victims was much more significant - buckshot at close range mowed people down. By order of the police, the blood was covered with pure snow, and the dead were hastily removed. There were patrols everywhere. Bonfires were burning in the square, and the police were sent home with an order that all the gates were locked. Petersburg was like a city conquered by enemies.

  The most credible is the document of SN Korsakov, an official of the Ministry of Justice on the statistical department, published by P. Ya. Kain. There are eleven headings in the document. We learn from them that on the day of December 14 "people were killed": "generals-1, staff officers - 1, chief officers of different regiments - 17, lower ranks of the Life Guards of the Moscow regiment - 93, Grenadier-69, [ marine] crew of the Guard-103, Horse -17, in tailcoats and greatcoats - 39, female - 9, minors - 19, mob - 903. The total number of killed - 1271 people "3).

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

  Notes:

  1) According to the latest archival data obtained by G. S. Gabaev, the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral occupied a larger area than shown on the schematic map (see, p, 110) and narrowed the field of action of the troops,

  2) Teleshov I. Ya: December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. - Red archive, 1925, vol. 6 (13), p. 287; An eyewitness story about December 14.- In the book: Collection of old papers kept in the Museum of PI Shchukin, M „1899, part 5, p. 244.

  3) Cannes P. Ya. On the number of victims on December 14, 1825, - History of the USSR, 1970, no. 6, p. 115,
  M.V. Nechkina Decembrists. M., "Science" 1984

  The serf system, which had entered the stage of its decay, began to be perceived by the thinking part of Russian society as the main cause of the country's calamities, its backwardness, which increasingly humiliated the patriotic feelings of the spiritual elite. Its liquidation was perceived by the advanced Russian nobles as the most urgent task, opening the way for the country to progress.

  The war in one thousand eight hundred and twelve has demonstrated the enormous potential of Russia, patriotism, moral dignity of the people, the peasantry. During the campaigns, Russian noblemen - officers got to know their soldiers better, were amazed at the standard of living of ordinary people in Europe. That is why, upon returning, they began to perceive the poverty and lack of rights of their own peasants so painfully, who saved the country from a foreign tyrant, but whom the gentlemen continued to tyrannize. Thus, on the one hand, the desire to help the people who defeated the best French army in the world, and on the other, to prevent the possibility of a repetition of the "Pugachevism" threatening the "islets" of European civilization in Russia, pushed some of the nobles to take action. It is no coincidence that the Decembrists called themselves "children of one thousand eight hundred and twelve years."

  1. BACKGROUND

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

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

  A number of secret societies were created by the Decembrists:

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

  2. "Union of Prosperity" (1818-1821), was created instead of the "Union of Salvation" with the same leaders at its head;

  3. "Southern Society" and "Northern Society" (1821-1825), headed by P. And Pestel.

  Independently, the "Society of United Slavs" arose, in one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, which joined the "Southern Society". And also a number of other secret societies. The first secret societies, mainly through the formation of public opinion, sought to influence the government and achieve liberal reforms, but after 1821, the idea of ​​a military coup began to prevail in the plans of the Decembrists.

  2. THE UPRISING OF DECEMBER 14, 1825

  The Decembrists planned to kill the tsar at a military review, to seize power with the help of the guards and realize their goals. The performance was scheduled for the summer of one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six. However, on November 19, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, Alexander I suddenly died in Taganrog. The throne was supposed to pass to the brother of the late Constantine, since Alexander had no children. But back in the eighteen hundred and twenty-third year, Constantine secretly abdicated the throne, which now, according to the law, passed to the next oldest brother - Nicholas. Unaware of Constantine's abdication, the Senate, the Guards and the army swore allegiance to him on the twenty-seventh of November. After clarifying the situation, they appointed an oath to Nicholas, who, due to his personal qualities (pettiness, soldier's attitude, revenge, etc.) was not liked in the guard. In these conditions, the Decembrists had the opportunity to take advantage of the sudden death of the tsar, fluctuations in power, which found itself in an interregnum atmosphere, as well as the hostility of the guards to the heir to the throne. It was also taken into account that some of the highest dignitaries took a wait-and-see attitude towards Nicholas and were ready to support active actions directed against him. In addition, it became known that in the Winter Palace they knew about the conspiracy and could soon begin arresting members of the secret society, which actually ceased to be secret. In the current situation, the Decembrists planned to raise the guards regiments, gather them on Senate Square and force the Senate to issue a “Manifesto to the Russian people,” with “good” or under the threat of weapons, which proclaimed the destruction of autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, the destruction of the Provisional Government, political freedoms, etc. Some of the rebels were supposed to seize the Winter Palace and arrest the royal family, it was planned to seize the Peter and Paul Fortress. In addition, P.G. Kakhovsky took on the task of killing Nikolai before the start of the speech, but he did not dare to fulfill it. Prince S.P. Trubetskoy.

  From the early morning of December 14, officers - members of the "Northern Society" campaigned among the soldiers and sailors, urging them not to swear allegiance to Nikolai, but to support Constantine. They managed to withdraw part of the Moscow, Grenadier regiments and the Guards naval crew to Senate Square (about three and a half thousand in total). But by this time the senators had already sworn allegiance to Nikolai and dispersed. Trubetskoy, observing the implementation of all parts of the plan, saw that he was completely frustrated and, convinced that the military action was doomed, did not appear on the square. This in turn caused confusion and slowness of action. Nicholas surrounded the square with troops loyal to him. But the rebels repulsed the cavalry attacks, and the governor-general Miloradovich, who was trying to persuade the rebels to surrender their weapons, was mortally wounded by Kakhovsky. After that, artillery was brought into action. The demonstration was suppressed, and in the evening mass arrests began.

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

  3. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

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

  The uprising of the Decembrists was of great importance in the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia. This was the first open uprising against the autocracy with arms in hand. Until that time, only spontaneous peasant unrest had taken place in Russia. Between the spontaneous peasant uprisings of Razin and Pugachev and the performance of the Decembrists, a whole period of world history lay. The Decembrists belonged to modern times, and this is the essential aspect of their historical significance. Their uprising was politically conscious, set itself the task of eliminating the federal absolutist system, and was illuminated by the advanced ideas of the era. The uprising was open, on the square of the capital, in front of the assembled people. Their actions were marked with the stamp of class limitation, they were "terribly far from the people", but they belonged to those progressive leaders of their time who "helped to awaken the people."

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

  However, proceeding from the concrete historical situation, the defeat of the Decembrists weakened the intellectual potential of Russian society, provoked an increase in the government reaction, delayed, according to P.Ya. Chaadaeva, the development of Russia for fifty years.

  CONCLUSION

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

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

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