Russia's First Revolutionaries: The Decembrists (All Parts)
Summary
TLDRThe script recounts the Decembrist uprising in Russia, a pivotal moment in 19th-century Russian history. Following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and the subsequent redrawing of Europe's map, a group of Russian officers, inspired by Enlightenment ideals, sought to overthrow the autocratic Tsarist regime. The Decembrists, as they came to be known, planned a revolution to establish a constitutional monarchy and abolish serfdom. Despite initial support, their revolt in St. Petersburg in 1825 was crushed, leading to the execution of five leaders and the exile of others to Siberia. The uprising, though a failure, sowed the seeds of future reform and became a symbol of resistance against tyranny in Russian history.
Takeaways
- 🏰 The Decembrist revolt was an organized political rebellion against Tsarist autocracy in Imperial Russia, aiming to implement liberal reforms and end serfdom.
- ❄️ It took place on December 26, 1825, in Senate Square, St. Petersburg, triggered by confusion following the death of Emperor Alexander I and the reluctance of his brother Constantine to take the throne.
- 🗡️ The rebellion was led by a group of military officers and nobles, known as the Decembrists, who were inspired by Enlightenment ideals and the desire for constitutional government.
- 🤝 The Decembrists formed secret societies like the Union of Salvation and the Union of Prosperity, which later split into the Northern and Southern Societies to strategize and prepare for the uprising.
- 📜 They drafted plans for constitutional reforms, such as the 'Green Book' and 'Russkaya Pravda', advocating for the abolition of serfdom, establishment of a parliamentary system, and a federal structure for Russia.
- 💣 The revolt was poorly executed, with key leaders failing to appear at the uprising, leading to disorganization and lack of clear command among the rebels.
- 🛡️ Tsar Nicholas I, who declared himself Emperor, swiftly crushed the revolt with military force, resulting in many casualties and the arrest of the Decembrist leaders.
- ⚖️ In the aftermath, Nicholas I conducted a thorough investigation, leading to the execution of five leaders and the exile of over 80 Decembrists to Siberia for life.
- 🔗 Despite its failure, the Decembrist revolt sowed the seeds for future reform movements in Russia, influencing later generations of revolutionaries and intellectuals.
- 🌟 The Decembrists are remembered as martyrs and visionaries in Russian history, their legacy still debated and celebrated for its impact on the country's path to modernization.
- 🎨 The story of the Decembrists has been captured in various forms of art and media, reflecting their enduring influence on Russian culture and politics.
Q & A
What significant event occurred at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 according to the script?
-The Battle of Waterloo marked the final defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, ending two decades of war in Europe.
What was the 'Holy Alliance' and what was its purpose?
-The 'Holy Alliance' was a pact overseen by Emperor Alexander of Russia, created to ensure that no more revolutions threatened Europe's established order.
How did the Russian Empire change after the wars against Napoleon?
-The Russian Empire emerged more powerful than ever after the wars against Napoleon, but it also faced internal discontent from a group of young army officers who dreamed of a different future for Russia.
What was the main issue with the Russian political system that the Decembrists found inefficient and unjust?
-The main issue was serfdom, where approximately 80% of Russians were serfs with no rights, freedom, or hope of betterment, and their status was passed down to their children.
What was the Union of Salvation and what were its goals?
-The Union of Salvation was the first secret political society of the Decembrists, founded in 1816 by young officers of the Russian army. They aimed to abolish serfdom and introduce a constitutional monarchy through armed revolt during the next emperor’s succession to the throne.
Why did the Decembrists feel the need to act against Emperor Alexander's rule?
-The Decembrists felt alienated by Emperor Alexander's refusal to implement reforms, such as a constitution and the abolition of serfdom, and his preference for maintaining autocratic rule.
What was the immediate trigger for the Decembrist revolt in St. Petersburg on December 14th, 1825?
-The immediate trigger for the revolt was the sudden death of Emperor Alexander I, which left a power vacuum and an unclear line of succession, providing an opportunity for the Decembrists to act.
How did the Decembrists plan to seize control of the Russian capital during their revolt?
-The Decembrists planned to use troops loyal to their cause to seize key government buildings, such as the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, and to present their manifesto to the Senate, demanding the establishment of a new Provisional Government.
What was the outcome of the Decembrist revolt, and how did Emperor Nicholas I respond to it?
-The Decembrist revolt was crushed by Emperor Nicholas I, who mobilized loyalist forces and used artillery to disperse the rebels. The leaders were arrested, and some were sentenced to death or hard labor in Siberia.
How did the Decembrist movement influence future generations in Russia, despite its failure to achieve immediate goals?
-The Decembrist movement served as an inspiration for future reformists and revolutionaries in Russia, symbolizing action against tyranny and setting the stage for later debates on the nation's political direction and the need for reforms.
Outlines
🏰 The End of Napoleon and the Rise of Russian Autocracy
The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 marked Napoleon Bonaparte's final defeat, concluding two decades of war in Europe. The victorious powers convened in Vienna to reshape Europe's political landscape. Russia, under Emperor Alexander, emerged stronger but internally conflicted. A group of officers envisioned a different future involving radical reforms and even the abolition of the Tsarist rule. Despite the autocratic rule and the serfdom system, some Russian aristocrats, inspired by constitutional monarchies in Europe, aspired for similar changes in Russia. Emperor Alexander initially showed promise for reform, but his commitment wavered, especially after the invasion by Napoleon, leading to disillusionment among the officers.
🤝 The Holy Alliance and the Suppression of Reform
Emperor Alexander's creation of the 'Holy Alliance' aimed to prevent revolutions in Europe. His initial reformative zeal, which included the establishment of a 'Council of State' and the drafting of a constitution, was thwarted by anti-reformist factions and the influence of his sister, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. The dismissal of Mikhail Speransky and the invasion by Napoleon led Alexander to view liberal reforms as a path to anarchy. His promise of a constitution for Poland, which he had no intention of honoring, further alienated the officers who sought change. The formation of secret societies like the Union of Salvation and the Union of Prosperity indicated a growing desire for reform among the military officers.
🛡️ The Formation of the Decembrist Movement
The Union of Salvation and the Order of Russian Knights merged to form the Union of Prosperity, which aimed to educate the public about Enlightenment ideals. The society's inner circle harbored more radical goals, such as securing a constitution and ending serfdom. However, the tightening of censorship and the watchful eye of the Emperor's allies made the members cautious. The Union eventually dissolved, leading to the formation of the Northern Society and the Southern Society, both of which continued to work towards political change through secret meetings and discussions.
🗣️ The Influence of Ryleyev and the Call for Republican Revolution
Kondraty Ryleyev, a war veteran and poet, became a prominent figure in the Northern Society, advocating for a republican revolution. His influence led to the formation of a radical wing within the society. Meanwhile, the Southern Society, led by Colonel Pavel Pestel, drafted a more radical constitution called 'Russkaya Pravda', which called for the complete reorganization of the state and the establishment of new laws, including the abolition of serfdom and universal male suffrage.
🔄 The Shift in Power and the Decembrist Uprising
The sudden death of Emperor Alexander in 1825 presented an opportunity for the Decembrists to act during the succession of a new Tsar. However, confusion over the identity of the new Tsar and the rapid declaration of Emperor Nicholas I's reign caught the Decembrists off guard. Despite this, they decided to proceed with their plans for a coup, aiming to seize control of the capital and establish a new government based on the principles of liberty and constitutional rule.
⚔️ The Decembrist Coup and Its Aftermath
The Decembrist leaders, including Ryleyev, planned a coup in St. Petersburg, intending to seize key locations such as the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress. However, the plan began to unravel with key figures losing their nerve or failing to appear. Despite some initial support from the Moscow Life-Guards Regiment, the coup lacked leadership and failed to gain widespread support. The government forces, led by loyalist officers, quickly moved to suppress the uprising, leading to a violent confrontation in Senate Square.
🌆 The Crushing of the Decembrist Revolt
The revolt in St. Petersburg was met with brutal force by Emperor Nicholas I, who used artillery to disperse and subdue the rebels. The lack of a clear leader among the Decembrists and the government's swift response led to the failure of the uprising. Meanwhile, in the south, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol attempted to lead a separate uprising but was also quickly arrested and suppressed. The revolts were over within days, and the leaders were rounded up and arrested.
🏛️ The Trial and Punishment of the Decembrists
Following the failed uprisings, the Decembrist leaders were interrogated by Emperor Nicholas himself before being imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. A Commission was established to investigate the conspiracy, resulting in the arrest of 579 suspects. The Commission's verdict led to the acquittal of 290 individuals and the conviction of 289, with 121 considered the greatest offenders. The punishments ranged from demotion and service in the Caucasus to hard labor in Siberia for life. Five leaders were sentenced to death by quartering, later commuted to hanging.
🎨 Life in Exile and the Legacy of the Decembrists
The Decembrists sent to Siberia faced a life of hard labor but were not subjected to extreme conditions. Some were accompanied by their wives who chose to renounce their privileges to be with them. The exiles engaged in various activities to combat boredom, such as painting and teaching. They hoped for a pardon, which eventually came in 1856 after the death of Emperor Nicholas. The Decembrist uprising, despite its failure, marked the first organized political revolt in Russian history and inspired future reformers and revolutionaries, leaving a lasting impact on Russian society and politics.
📽️ The Contested Legacy of the Decembrists in Modern Russia
The legacy of the Decembrists remains a subject of debate in Russia. While some view them as a warning, others see them as an inspiration. Their story has been depicted in films and has influenced the renaming of public spaces, such as Decembrist Square. The Decembrists' ideals, such as the abolition of serfdom and the establishment of a constitution, were eventually realized in Russia, albeit in a form that the Decembrists themselves might not have envisioned.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Battle of Waterloo
💡Vienna Congress
💡Holy Alliance
💡Russian Empire
💡Serfdom
💡Decembrists
💡Union of Salvation
💡Napoleonic Wars
💡Emperor Alexander I
💡Constitutional Monarchy
💡Uprising
Highlights
The Battle of Waterloo marked Napoleon Bonaparte's final defeat and ended two decades of war in Europe.
The Congress of Vienna led by Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia decided the fate of Europe with redrawing of national frontiers.
Emperor Alexander of Russia added 'King of Poland' to his titles and created the 'Holy Alliance' to prevent further revolutions.
Russian Empire emerged more powerful post-Napoleonic wars, but internal dissatisfaction grew among some officers.
Young Russian officers envisioned a different future for Russia with new forms of government and radical reforms.
Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 was met with underestimated Russian resolve, leading to his infamous retreat from Moscow.
Imperial Russia was an autocracy with no political opposition, constitution, freedom of speech, or right to trial.
Approximately 80% of Russians were serfs with no rights, contributing to the growing desire for reform.
Russian officers, inspired by European constitutions, dreamed of similar reforms for Russia.
Emperor Alexander initially showed enthusiasm for reform, passing a decree allowing landowners to free their serfs.
Mikhail Speransky, as Alexander's advisor, created a 'Council of State' and began working on a Russian constitution.
Alexander's reform efforts ended after 1812 due to anti-reform factions and Napoleon's invasion.
The Union of Salvation and the Order of Russian Knights formed the Union of Prosperity, aiming to educate the public on Enlightenment ideals.
The Union of Prosperity had a charter, the 'Green Book', outlining its organization and commitment to moral citizenship.
Emperor Alexander's advisor, General Alexey Arakcheyev, was known for ruthless efficiency and enforcing strict discipline in the army.
The Decembrist movement, led by officers like Nikita Muravyov and Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, planned a revolution for a constitutional Russia.
The Decembrists' uprising in St. Petersburg on 14th December 1825 was a failed attempt to seize control of the capital and establish a new government.
The Decembrist leaders were arrested, and many were sentenced to hard labor in Siberia, with five executed for their roles in the uprising.
Despite the failure of the uprising, the Decembrists' ideals influenced future generations, including Russia's liberal intelligentsia and revolutionaries.
The Decembrist movement's legacy remains contested, with some viewing them as an inspiration and others as a warning.
Transcripts
1815.
At the Battle of Waterloo, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte suffers
his final defeat, and two decades of war in Europe come to an end.
The victorious powers – led by Austria,
Britain, Prussia and Russia – meet at Vienna to decide the fate of Europe.
The frontiers of nations and empires are redrawn, while Emperor Alexander of Russia
adds ‘King of Poland’ to his list of titles. He also oversees creation of a ‘Holy Alliance’…
to ensure that no more revolutions threaten Europe’s established order.
The Russian Empire, after many great sacrifices in the wars against Napoleon,
emerges more powerful than ever.
But not everyone in Russia is pleased with the new state of affairs.
A group of young army officers dream of a different future for Russia...
a new form of government... radical reforms… even, a Russia without a Tsar.
In 1812, Napoleon had invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen.
It was a defining moment in his reign. But he underestimated Russian resolve.
Four months later, the remnants of his army began its infamous retreat from Moscow.
The Russian army and its Coalition allies then drove Napoleon’s forces back across
Europe… fighting giant battles in Germany… and finally arriving in the streets of Paris itself.
Napoleon’s abdication was a moment of triumph for Emperor Alexander, and for Russia.
For many young Russian officers, it was also an eye-opening experience.
Imperial Russia was an autocracy – ruled by an Emperor with no checks upon his power. There
was no political opposition, or constitution. There was no freedom of speech or right to trial.
Approximately 80% of Russians were serfs – peasants with no rights,
freedom or hope of betterment, their status passed down to their children.
The inefficiency, not to mention injustice of such a system,
was increasingly apparent even to many Russian aristocrats.
In Europe, serving as officers in the Russian army,
they’d visited countries where serfdom had been swept aside by war and revolution...
And where monarchs had granted constitutions that limited their
power, protected freedoms, and acknowledged the rule of law.
Many were inspired, and began to dream of similar reforms in Russia.
But few placed faith in Emperor Alexander to aid their cause...
On the night of 11th March 1801, Alexander’s father,
Emperor Paul, was strangled to death by a group of disaffected army officers.
Alexander succeeded to the throne aged just 23.
The ineffectiveness and chaos of his father’s rule
had appalled him. In 1797 he’d written to his tutor:
“To speak plainly, the well-being of the state is not at all considered in the administration
of affairs; there is only absolute power which does everything wrong and at cross purposes.
The choice of officials is entirely a matter of favouritism; merit counts for nothing...
The farmer is plagued; commerce is hindered; personal liberty and well-being are reduced
to nothing. There you have the picture of Russia; judge how my heart must suffer.”
The young Alexander displayed a great enthusiasm for reform – an encouraging
sign to Russian aristocrats who wished to see a more modern Russian state.
In 1803, he passed a decree that gave land-owners the right to free their serfs.
Many hoped it was a first step towards the abolition of serfdom.
In 1808, the brilliant and liberal-minded Mikhail Speranksy became Alexander’s chief advisor.
He created a new ‘Council of State’ to advise the Emperor,
and even began working on a Russian constitution.
But in 1812, Alexander’s appetite for reform ended abruptly.
First, an anti-reform faction, led by the Emperor’s sister
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, engineered Speransky’s dismissal.
Then, Napoleon invaded Russia.
In this moment of supreme crisis, Alexander was seized by religious fervour,
a sense of personal mission, and national destiny.
The burning of Moscow, he declared, had illuminated his soul.
Liberal reforms, he could now see, were only the road to anarchy and chaos. They
were an intolerable risk to Russia’s holy institutions.
In 1815, any officers returning from Europe harbouring hopes of
reform were to be severely disappointed.
Alexander added insult to injury by granting a liberal constitution not to Russia,
but to his new kingdom, Poland – not one, it turned out, he planned to honour.
Three years later, when Alexander raised the possibility of a Russian constitution
based on this Polish ‘experiment’ – it proved an empty promise.
Idealistic young officers, more alienated than ever,
decided that if the Emperor would not take up their cause, they must act themselves.
They began to organize secret societies, and to plan a revolution.
Many Russian military officers already belonged to a secret society.
Freemasonry had been imported from Europe in the 18th century, and was popular among army officers.
But in 1816, officers from Russia’s prestigious Guards regiments,
based in St. Petersburg, formed a new secret society - the Union of Salvation.
Four of its founding members would play a leading role
in a revolutionary movement that became known as the Decembrists.
Nikita Muravyov, a Captain in the Guards division staff, aged 31 at the time of
the Decembrist revolt. He would draft one of their major plans for constitutional reform.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, aged 30 at the time of the revolt.
He would lead the Decembrist uprising in Ukraine.
Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, aged 36 at the
time of the revolt. A war hero from one of Russia’s most distinguished families,
Trubetskoy would be chosen to lead the Decembrist coup in St.Petersburg.
And Colonel Pavel Pestel of the Vyatka Infantry Regiment, aged 33 at the time of the revolt.
Also a decorated war hero, badly wounded at Borodino. He was a brilliant if uncompromising
officer, and one of the most active and radical members of the Union.
He would argue for the Emperor’s death and creation of a Russian republic.
The Union of Salvation soon merged with another secret society, the Order of Russian Knights,
to form the Union of Prosperity, with more than 200 members.
Its charter, known as the ‘Green Book’, set out how the Union was to be organised.
It also spelled out its commitment to educating
the public about Enlightenment ideals of virtuous, moral citizenship.
This, it was hoped, would generate wider support for reform among Russia’s elite.
Only a trusted inner circle was privy to the Union’s more radical,
long-term goals, of securing a constitution, and ending serfdom.
The leaders of the Union of Prosperity were wise to be wary…
Alexander had tightened censorship laws,
while allies kept him informed about Russia’s supposedly secret societies.
For the moment, he tolerated them, telling one courtier:
"You, who have served me since the beginning of my reign, know that
I have shared and encouraged all these dreams and delusions. It is not for me to be strict.”
His new closest advisor, General Alexey Arakcheyev, felt no such restraint.
Arakcheyev had masterminded the organisation of Russian artillery during the Napoleonic Wars,
and was famed for ruthless efficiency, a violent temper and absolute loyalty to the Emperor.
He loathed almost anything to do with western Europe.
“You don’t get things done by talking softly in French”, he once remarked.
Arakcheyev was put in charge of the Emperor’s latest idea, the so-called ‘military settlements’.
The plan was to cut the cost of Russia’s huge army, by having soldiers and serfs
live side-by-side, in new villages organised like military camps, with strict discipline.
It was a harsh policy, even by the standards of Russian autocracy, and led to misery,
riots, and rising resentment against the regime.
Arakcheyev also enforced strict new standards of discipline and conduct in the army.
The soldiers who had defeated Napoleon were now subjected to endless parades and inspections.
Small infractions were brutally punished.
Officers who spoke out on behalf of their men were dismissed.
In 1820, a protest by the Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment,
one of the army’s senior units, led to even more savage punishments.
To the Decembrist leaders,
it proved that even elite regiments had fallen out of love with the regime.
They themselves would be acting in a strong Russian tradition – of
palace coups led by army officers to secure dynastic and political change.
The crucial task - was to be ready when the moment came...
By 1821, the number of new members joining the Union of Prosperity made
its founders suspicious of infiltration and discovery.
So they dissolved the Union. Its most trusted and committed members formed
two new groups, each with around 20 to 30 members:
The Northern Society was based in the Russian capital St.Petersburg,
and was initially the more moderate organisation.
The more radical Southern Society was based in Tulchyn, Ukraine,
where several Decembrist officers were stationed with their regiments.
Both societies spent their time holding secret meetings at the apartments of their
members. They would stay up late into the night discussing political ideas,
reading aloud from banned literature, drafting manifestos and resolutions.
The Northern Society adopted a draft constitution by Nikita Muravyov as its aims.
His moderate document would make Russia a constitutional monarchy, but was otherwise
heavily influenced by the US constitution of 1787. He too called for a ‘division of power’
between executive, legislature and judiciary, with each imposing ‘checks and balances’ on the others.
The executive was the Emperor, ‘Supreme Official of the Russian Government’,
who would command the armed forces, lead foreign policy, and had the power to veto legislation.
The legislature: a People’s Veche, or assembly, composed of a Supreme Duma,
or senate, and a House of Representatives.
Serfdom would be abolished, and there would be equality before the law.
The right to vote would be restricted to those who owned a certain amount of property,
thus excluding the very poorest Russians.
The Russian Empire was also to become a federal state of 15 regions,
each with their own executives and assemblies.
However in 1823 a new member would take the Northern Society in a much more radical direction.
27-year-old Kondraty Ryleyev was another war veteran and a famous poet: he was passionate,
eloquent, and devoted to the cause of revolution.
He was known for his satire of the hated General Arakcheyev,
secretly circulating amongst Russian liberals:
“All fear, tyrant! For evil and treachery, Thou shalt be condemned by Thy posterity!”
Ryleyev despised monarchy in all its forms.
"There are no good governments in the world except in America,” he declared.
He proved a highly influential figure, and soon, a radical wing of the Northern
Society formed around him, taking up his argument for a republican revolution.
A friend described a meeting at his apartment around this time:
“There must have been more than a dozen people in the room, but at first I could
not distinguish anything, because of the dense blue haze of pipe and cigar smoke.
They were sprawling on sofas and on the deep windowsills. Young Alexander
Odoevsky and Bestuzhev sat cross-legged, Turkish fashion on a Persian carpet...
An intense youth, with a pale complexion and prominent forehead,
lifts a glass - "Death to the Tsar!"
The toast is received with emotion. Ryleyev's jet-black eyes light up with an inner flame...
They sing to the death of the Tsar...the rhythmic
chant flows through the open windows for all to hear.”
The leading figure of the Southern Society, based in Ukraine, was Colonel Pavel Pestel.
He provided the group with its own constitution, ‘Russkaya Pravda’, Russian Truth.
This lengthy, unfinished treatise was much more radical than Muravyov’s constitution.
There was no place for an Emperor in Pestel’s new Russia:
“The former Supreme Power has already sufficiently proved its hostile feelings
towards the Russian People… the current order will cease to exist.”
Pestel called for a revolution, spearheaded by a Provisional Supreme Council,
that would implement gradual but sweeping change.
“The two main needs for Russia are clear: a complete reorganisation of the state order
and structure and the publication of a completely new code of laws,
while preserving everything that is useful and destroying everything that is harmful.”
Serdom would be abolished, land redistributed to the peasants,
class privileges abolished, and the vote given to all Russian male citizens.
The Northern and Southern Societies remained in close contact,
despite major differences of opinion between and within both societies.
There was still much that bound them: all desired the abolition of serfdom and conscription, the end
of autocratic government, the establishment of new rights and freedoms for the Russian people.
What’s more, they felt themselves to be in step with a “spirit of the age”,
as revolutions and conspiracies spread across Europe in the name of liberty.
Such events reaffirmed their conviction that
change in Russia must come from direct action – a coup d’etat, or revolution.
In 1825, Pavel Pestel learned that the following spring,
Emperor Alexander and his entourage would travel to Ukraine to inspect troops of the 2nd Army.
Pestel formed a plan to assassinate the Emperor, and launch a coup to establish a Russian republic.
The date was set: 12th March 1826.
After urgent communications with the Northern Society, Ryleyev’s
faction agreed to launch a simultaneous uprising in the capital, St.Petersburg.
But in December, unexpected news threw all their plans into disarray.
That winter, Emperor Alexander visited southern Russia,
where it was hoped the climate would improve his wife’s frail health.
Instead, Alexander himself became seriously ill. He died at Taganrog, aged 47.
Typhus was the most likely cause.
Alexander’s sudden death was a shock to all Russia.
The Decembrists had agreed that the best time to
force political change was at the succession of a new Tsar.
Now was their moment.
But no one was quite sure who the new Tsar was.
Alexander had died without legitimate offspring. By the law of succession,
he should have been succeeded by the eldest of his younger brothers, Grand Duke Konstantin.
But Konstantin was terrified at the prospect of becoming emperor. "I will be strangled
just as my father was strangled," he would say when the subject came up.
So three years before his death, Alexander signed
a secret document making his younger brother, Grand Duke Nicholas, his heir.
But when Alexander suddenly died, the new order of succession was still secret,
known only to a few members of the imperial family.
All of Russia assumed Konstantin was their new Emperor.
Patriarchs, politicians and troops swore new oaths of loyalty.
Even Grand Duke Nicholas swore an oath, judging it better to observe
the usual customs, until Alexander’s secret document could be made public.
Konstantin, based in Warsaw in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish army,
had no intention of taking the throne.
Nicholas urged his brother to come to
St.Petersburg and publicly renounce the throne, to end the confusion.
But Konstantin refused. "I cannot accept your request to come to St.Petersburg,
and warn you that I shall move even further away unless everything is
settled in accordance with the will of our late sovereign.”
Meanwhile, the Decembrists in St.Petersburg were meeting daily.
They had been caught off-guard by Alexander’s death. But the chaos of
the interregnum provides perfect cover for them.
They recruit more officers to their cause, sound out the rank and file,
work out who can be relied on, and who cannot.
Ryleyev works without pause. All are fired with a wild enthusiasm.
That December, rumours, confusion and fake news swirl around the Russian capital.
Grand Duke Nicholas knows he is not popular with the troops – they regard
him as another martinet, overly fond of inspections and parades.
Now he is told that unknown army officers are actively conspiring against him.
He decides to act first.
In the early hours of 14th December 1825, Nicholas declares himself Emperor of Russia. He
will require an oath of loyalty, that morning, from all officials and troops in St.Petersburg.
The Decembrists know that if the troops swear that oath,
their cause is lost. There might not be another opportunity like this in decades.
14th December becomes do or die for the revolutionaries.
And before the day is out, the streets of the Russian capital will run with blood.
14th December 1825. St.Petersburg.
The Decembrists’ Northern Society has its headquarters at the offices of the
Russian-American Company, where one of its key members, Ryleyev, is a major shareholder.
Decembrist leaders have been working feverishly, day and night,
to put everything in place for a coup.
Ryleyev is the chief organiser, despite being unwell.
Before dawn, they learn that the new Emperor has ordered all troops and
officials in the capital to swear an oath of loyalty to him that morning.
They must act immediately. Once the troops swear the oath, it will be too late.
Most Decembrists are officers in the Life-Guards regiments, stationed in St.Petersburg.
They plan to tell their men that Nicholas – known
and disliked by the troops – is usurping the throne from his brother Konstantin,
to whom the soldiers swore an oath of loyalty just 17 days ago.
There is no plan to involve the Russian people in their revolt. These young
aristocrats fear that this would only lead to the bloody chaos of the French Revolution.
Instead, they will rely on their social connections,
and the unquestioning trust of the men under their command.
They will then use these troops to seize control of the capital, the emperor and the government.
They will form three groups: the first will be led by Captain Alexander Yakubovich,
a distinguished veteran of the Caucasus War with a reputation for courage.
His men will seize the Winter Palace, and secure Emperor Nicholas and his family.
Some Decembrists want to keep the Emperor prisoner, but Ryleyev secretly entrusts his
assassination to 28-year-old Pyotr Kakhovsky, an officer recently retired due to ill health.
As a cadet officer in the Life-Guards Jaeger Regiment,
Kakhovsky had been demoted for rudeness, debt and laziness.
He is a loner, without friends or money, but dedicated to the cause of liberty,
and imagines himself a slayer of tyrants.
A second detachment will be commanded by 32-year-old Colonel Alexander Bulatov,
a hero of the Napoleonic Wars and Ryeleyev’s childhood friend. He’s recruited just a few
days before the revolt, as the Decembrists seek to involve more senior officers.
His unit will seize the Peter and Paul Fortress,
which contains the city’s arsenal and dominates the city centre.
Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy has been appointed ‘dictator’, or leader of the coup.
He is another officer of proven courage, from a distinguished family.
He will command the main force, expected to number nearly
10,000 men, which will assemble in Senate Square.
Trubetskoy will then enter the Russian Senate and demand that it issues the
Decembrists’ ‘Manifesto to the Russian People’.
The document announces the establishment of a new Provisional Government until elections
can be held, the freedom of the press, and of worship, equality before the law,
the introduction of jury trials, and the abolition of serfdom and military settlements.
Two well-known and respected politicians, Nikolai Mordvinov and Mikhail Speransky,
would lead the new government, to provide continuity and reassurance.
The Decembrists, drawing on their military experience,
have come up with a realistic plan to seize control of the Russian capital.
But almost immediately, the conspiracy begins to unravel.
On a bitterly cold morning, Kakhovsky and Yakubovich come to Ryleyev’s apartments,
where the Decembrists have been meeting.
Kakhovsky has lost his nerve, and is no longer willing to kill the Emperor.
At the last minute, Yakubovich has also decided he cannot shed the blood of Russian soldiers,
and refuses to lead troops against the Winter Palace.
Bulatov, who is supposed to lead his troops against the
Peter and Paul Fortress, does not even show up.
The Decembrists are in a race against time. There are several Guards regiments
in St.Petersburg. They must win over enough of them to secure the capital,
before the regime understands what’s going on, and moves against them.
But they learn that the Senate and Preobrazhensky
Life-Guards have already sworn the oath of loyalty to Nicholas.
This painting was based on sketches made later by the Emperor himself. It shows
the Preobrazhensky Life-Guards 1st battalion arriving at the Winter Palace that morning.
It’s an act of loyalty for which Nicholas will always be grateful.
A battalion of the Moscow Life-Guards Regiment comes over to the Decembrists’ cause, thanks to
the efforts of Captains Schepin-Rostovsky, Mikhail Bestuzhev and his brother Alexander Bestuzhev.
But the regime is moving much faster than expected.
Officers loyal to Nicholas, now aware of the unfolding coup, arrange for the Izmailovsky,
Semyonovsky and Pavlovsky Life-Guards Regiments,
and the Life-Guards Horse Regiment, to swear the oath to Nicholas.
700 men of the Moscow Life-Guards Regiment leave their barracks,
and march through the icy streets to Senate Square.
Their rallying cry is “For Konstantin and Constitution!”
The men of the Moscow Life-Guards Regiment take position in Senate Square,
near the famous bronze statue of Peter the Great.
They are joined by several Decembrist leaders, including Ryleyev and Kakhovsky.
Captain Alexander Bestuzhev ostentatiously sharpens his sabre on the base of the statue.
Officers and men look resplendent in full dress uniform.
But Trubetskoy, the leader of the coup, who is to present the Decembrist manifesto to the Senate,
is nowhere to be seen. And the members of the Senate have already gone home.
Ryleyev leaves to find him.
Crowds of spectators begin to gather around Senate Square.
The general mood is one of support for the Decembrists.
This watercolour was painted by Carl Ivanovich Kollman, an eyewitness,
and is considered one of the most realistic depictions of the day.
Around noon, Count Mikhail Miloradovich,
Governor-General of St Petersburg and a famous war hero, arrives in the Square.
He rides straight up to the Moscow Life-Guards Regiment and asks, “Who among you was with me at
Kulm, Lützen and Bautzen?”, recalling the great battles against Napoleon.
He tells the men they have been lied to, that Konstantin has renounced the throne,
and they must swear the oath to Nicholas.
In Trubetskoy’s absence, Lieutenant Prince Eugene
Obolensky becomes de facto leader of the Decembrists in Senate Square. He
tells Miloradovich to leave, but the General ignores him.
Obolensky tries to prick the general’s horse with a bayonet to drive him away,
but accidentally stabs the General.
Then Pyotr Kakhovsky steps forward and shoots Miloradovich at point blank range.
The general, mortally wounded, is carried away by his horse.
The Life-Guards Grenadier Regiment and Sailors of the Guard declare for the Decembrists.
They join the Moscow Life-Guards in Senate Square.
The Decembrists are gathering a powerful, disciplined force of
3,000 troops in the heart of the Russian capital.
But Trubetskoy has still not appeared, and there is little leadership.
They stand and wait in the freezing cold… while the Emperor begins to mobilise his own forces.
Unbeknownst to the men in Senate Square, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy had given up all hope of
success early that morning, as soon as he heard that the Senate had sworn its oath to Nicholas.
Possibly suffering some form of breakdown,
he wanders around the city, at one point passing by Senate Square itself.
His brilliant military record makes such behaviour difficult to understand.
A Decembrist later recalled, “His absence had a decisive influence upon us and the soldiers too,
for with few epaulets and no military titles, no one dared take command.”
Ryleyev, meanwhile, exhausted and sick, spends the
day in a futile search for Trubetskoy, before he is forced to retire to bed.
The crowd is now several thousand strong, and their loyalties clearly
lie with the Decembrists. Some policemen and patrols are even attacked by civilians.
When Emperor Nicholas arrives, he and his entourage are pelted with sticks and stones.
But Guards units loyal to the government are arriving
at Senate Square in force, and take up positions surrounding the rebels.
Soon they outnumber the Decembrists three-to-one…
though not all are willing to fire on their comrades.
In fact, Isaac’s Bridge is deliberately obstructed by
troops of the Finnish Life-Guards Regiment, whose sympathies lie with the Decembrists.
Others, such as General Orlov, are outraged by the Decembrists’ actions.
He orders his Guards Cavalry to charge the rebels.
His men are pelted with stones and timber thrown by the crowd, and the rebels stand firm.
Some shots are fired, a few men are hit… and the cavalry withdraw.
Several cavalry charges are made that afternoon,
with no decisive outcome, and just a handful of casualties.
Still, no Decembrist officer takes charge of the situation. There seems to be no plan at all.
It is -10 Celsius, and their men have been standing motionless for hours.
The commander of the Life-Guards Grenadier Regiment, Colonel Nikolai Stürler,
arrives to order his men back to barracks.
Kakhovsky shoots him, inflicting another fatal wound.
The Metropolitan Bishops of St.Petersburg and Kiev approach the troops, and tell them
it is their Christian duty to swear the oath to Nicholas… but they are mocked and chased away.
The Emperor is deeply alarmed by the situation in Senate Square,
though many comment on his calm demeanour.
He later confides to his younger brother,
“The most amazing thing about this story is that you and I were not shot."
The short winter day is ending.
Nicholas fears that if the stand-off continues into the night, the crowds will turn hostile.
He now has 32 guns of the Guards Artillery at his disposal.
He sends General Sukhozanet to tell the rebels to lay down their arms, or they will be fired upon.
It’s a bad choice of emissary. Sukhozanet is despised by the troops.
They tell him to get lost.
As dusk falls, the guns are wheeled forward.
The first volley is blank rounds.
The next is fired over the heads of the rebel troops, but hits several people in the crowd.
The troops stand firm.
The next volley of grape-shot is fired directly into their packed ranks. Scores go down.
Under this murderous fire, the troops break ranks and head out onto the frozen Neva River.
Mikhail Bestuzhev tries to organise them for an attack on the Peter and
Paul Fortress, little more than a 1000 metres away across the ice.
But as they form up, they come under more artillery fire.
Cannonballs smash the ice. Many drown. The rest escape as best they can.
After a stand-off lasting several hours,
the military revolt has been ruthlessly crushed by Russia’s new Emperor.
The official death toll is just 80. Eyewitnesses claim it is much higher.
The Decembrist leaders, who all survive the bloodshed in Senate Square,
are rounded up and arrested that night and the following day.
The Decembrist uprising in St.Petersburg is over.
The revolt in the south has yet to begin.
13th December 1825.
Tulchyn, Ukraine.
The day before the St.Petersburg revolt, Pavel Pestel, leading figure of the Southern Society,
is denounced by one of his officers and arrested.
The Southern Society’s plans for an uprising are thrown into chaos.
Sergei Muravyov-Apostol takes over as leader. He receives news of the disastrous uprising in
St.Petersburg, but decides to go ahead with the planned rising in the south.
On 29th December he is arrested himself, but quickly freed by fellow officers.
The next day, he leads two companies of the 29th Chernigov Regiment into
Vasilkov, where they seize money, weapons, ammunition and supplies.
Three more companies – more than 400 men – join the rebels.
The next morning, a revolutionary manifesto,
written by Muravyov-Apostol and Lieutenant Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, is read out to the troops.
In the question and answer form of a religious catechism,
The document calls for an uprising to end autocracy, serfdom and conscription.
“Question: What does our holy law order the Russian people and army to do?
Answer: To repent of our lengthy servitude and stand against tyranny and wickedness,
vowing that in heaven and on earth, there shall be only one Emperor — Jesus Christ.”
By 1st January, Muravyov-Apostol leads a force of 17 officers and 1,100 men.
He attempts to march on Zhytomyr, to link up with units of the 8th Infantry Division,
whose officers are sympathetic to the Decembrist cause.
But his route is blocked by government forces. Then on 3rd January at Ustimovka,
his force is intercepted by troops under General Geismar.
Muravyov-Apostol hopes the opposing troops will join him.
Instead, they open fire with grapeshot.
Then the hussars charge.
A few men are killed, but most quickly surrender.
895 men and six officers are taken prisoner, including Muravyov-Apostol, who is badly wounded.
His brother Ippolit, and another Decembrist officer Anastasy Kuzmin,
take their own lives to avoid capture.
The Decembrist uprising in the south is over, crushed in just five days.
In St.Petersburg, the Decembrist leaders are interrogated by Emperor Nicholas in person,
before they are sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The Emperor gives instructions on how each prisoner is to be treated,
whether they are to be kept in shackles, and treated severely, or more gently.
He despises them all – Trubetskoy he describes as ‘a repellent example of an ungrateful scoundrel’.
Nicholas sets up a Commission to investigate the plot and its origins.
579 suspects are arrested, and subjected to repeated interrogations, long periods
of solitary confinement, hunger and cold, or feigned sympathy. Many confess freely,
revealing details of secret societies and names of co-conspirators.
A few resist defiantly.
Colonel Bulatov, who was to have led the attack on the Peter and Paul fortress,
is so wracked by guilt that he kills himself in his cell.
There are no trials, as such. Five months later,
the Commission returns its verdicts to the Emperor:
290 are acquitted. 289 are guilty, with 121 judged to be the greatest offenders.
A Supreme Criminal Court is formed to carry out sentencing, according to 11 categories of guilt,
devised by Mikhail Speransky – the man the
Decembrists had hoped would lead their new government.
Those found guilty of minor crimes are demoted, and sent to fight in Russia’s
long-running war in the Caucasus, along with the regiments that joined the Decembrists.
Thirty-one of the Decembrists found guilty of the most serious crimes – conspiracy,
rebellion, desiring the Emperor’s death - are to be executed by beheading.
But Nicholas shows mercy, and commutes their sentence to hard labour for life, in Siberia.
Before they depart, officers are stripped of their rank and noble privileges,
and ceremonially disgraced. Their greatcoats are burned, their swords snapped in half.
This is the punishment handed out to Nikita Muravyov,
who drafted the Northern Society’s constitution for a new, liberal Russia.
And to Prince Sergei Trubetskoy – the Decembrists’ vanishing leader,
whose life is only spared because of his family name.
Five Decembrists will not be spared:
Pyotr Kakhovsky
Sergei Muravyov-Apostol
Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin
Pavel Pestel
And Kondraty Ryleyev.
"A public death for the chief instigators and conspirators will be their lawful revenge for
disturbing the public peace," Nicholas writes to members of the commission.
All five are sentenced to death by quartering – a brutal punishment involving public dismemberment.
“God and the Sovereign have decided my fate: I must die, and die a shameful
death,” Ryleyev writes in a final letter to his wife. “Pray to God for my soul.”
13th July 1826.
Nicholas commutes the sentence to hanging.
But the execution of the five Decembrists,
by the ramparts of the Peter and Paul Fortress, is badly botched.
As the men are hanged, ropes break and three men fall to the ground.
“What a miserable country - they can’t even hang us properly”, remarks one survivor.
Spectators appeal for mercy – according to tradition a man who survives a hanging should
be spared. Instead, more rope is found, and the second time, there is no mistake.
More than 80 Decembrists were eventually sent to Siberia. A few were accompanied by their wives,
who voluntarily renounced their own noble privileges to be with their husbands.
Conditions in Siberia were not as extreme as might be imagined.
Their hard labour was mostly farmwork. Wealthy prisoners were sent money from home,
which they used to buy supplies.
For active young men, boredom was the greatest enemy.
They took up hobbies, played chess, painted.
These watercolours were painted by Nikolai Bestuzhev, who on the 14th,
had led the Imperial Guard Sailors to Senate Square.
Some formed their own ‘academy’,
sharing their knowledge, and going on to teach local children, and set up schools.
They remained hopeful of a pardon, but it proved a thirty year wait.
Only in 1856, after the death of Emperor Nicholas,
was an amnesty announced for surviving Decembrists.
Among them, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, who returned to Russia, and is seen here photographed in 1857.
The Decembrist uprising seemed to have been a total failure…
A wildly optimistic operation, poorly planned, chaotically executed, doomed from the beginning;
the loss of life thoughtless and unnecessary.
But the Decembrists had mounted the first organised political revolt in Russian history.
As such, their impact would prove far-reaching.
“The recent Conspiracy”, wrote the British Resident Minister in St.Petersburg, “failed
from want of management, and want of a head to direct it, and was too premature to answer any
good purpose, but I think the seeds are sown which one day must produce important consequences.”
Emperor Nicholas was never interested in reform:
the issues of serfdom and a constitution would be around for decades to come.
For those who took up the cause of reform,
including Russia’s liberal intelligentsia and future revolutionaries, the Decembrists
were an inspiring example - of action in the face of tyranny.
‘The father of Russian socialism’ Alexander Herzen was their great champion.
He named his political journal ‘Polar Star’, after Ryleyev’s own.
On the cover of its first edition, the five Decembrist martyrs…
In time, the Decembrists’ aims – the abolition of serfdom, a constitution,
even the overthrow of the Tsar – were achieved.
But their brand of 19th century liberalism was soon overtaken by events in Russia.
The Communists never completely approved of the aristocratic Decembrists - though in 1925,
they did allow Senate Square to be renamed Decembrist Square,
to mark the hundredth anniversary of the rising.
But the Decembrists’ place in Russian history remains highly contested to this day.
A 2019 Russian blockbuster film was accused of trivialising the Decembrists and their aims.
Others called for the film to be shown in schools.
While in 2008, the St.Petersburg square where the Decembrists made
their famous stand was renamed again, back to Senate Square.
The Decembrists continue to serve as a warning to some, an inspiration to others. All that is
certain, is the Decembrists have not been consigned to history just yet.
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