December uprising on Senate Square. Decembrist uprising

On December 14 (26), 1825, an uprising took place in St. Petersburg, organized by a group like-minded nobles with the goal of transforming Russia into a constitutional state and abolishing serfdom.

On the morning of December 14 (26), rebel troops began to gather on the snow-covered Senate Square. The first to arrive were the soldiers of the Moscow Life Guards Regiment, led by A. Bestuzhev, later they were joined by sailors of the Guards crew and life grenadiers. They had to force the Senate to refuse the oath to Nicholas and propose to publish a manifesto to the Russian people, drawn up by members secret society.

However, the action plan developed the day before was violated from the first minutes: the senators swore allegiance to Emperor Nicholas early in the morning and had already dispersed, not all the intended military units arrived at the gathering place, and the one chosen by the dictator S.P. Trubetskoy did not appear on Senate Square at all.

Meanwhile, Nicholas I was gathering troops to the square, delaying the transition to decisive action. St. Petersburg military governor-general, hero Patriotic War 1812 M. A. Miloradovich attempted to persuade the rebels to lay down their arms, but was mortally wounded by a shot from P. G. Kakhovsky.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Nicholas I gave the order to open artillery fire. Seven shots were fired with buckshot - one over the heads and six at point-blank range. The soldiers fled. M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin tried to organize the capture of the Peter and Paul Fortress by placing the soldiers running on the ice of the Neva in battle formation, but his plan failed.

By the evening of the same day, the government completely suppressed the uprising. As a result of the rebellion, 1 thousand 271 people were killed, including 9 women and 19 young children.

As a result of the investigation carried out in the case of the Decembrists, five of them - P. I. Pestel, K. F. Ryleev, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P. G. Kakhovsky - were sentenced to death by hanging. In the early morning of July 13 (25), 1826, the sentence was carried out on the shaft of the crownwork of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Many participants in the uprising and members of secret societies related to its preparation were sent into exile and hard labor in Siberia.

In 1856, the surviving Decembrists were pardoned.

Lit.: December 14, 1825: Memoirs of eyewitnesses. St. Petersburg, 1999; Museum of the Decembrists. 1996-2003. URL : http://decemb.hobby.ru ; Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern Society, M., 1981; Troitsky N. Decembrists. Uprising // Troitsky N. A. Russia in the 19th century: a course of lectures. M., 1997.

See also in the Presidential Library:

Obolensky E.P. In exile and imprisonment: Memoirs of the Decembrists / Prince Obolensky, Basargin and Princess Volkonskaya. M., 1908 ;

Russia won the Patriotic War, but what did this victory bring to society? After 1812, the Russian Empire, represented by the emperor, organized foreign trip against the remnants of Napoleon's army, which ended in 1815. The campaign was successful, Napoleon's army was defeated.

But for Russian society the campaign brought something else. He gave an understanding that life is better in Europe, that there is a concept of civil law, which is absent in some countries serfdom, and most importantly, the officers saw in reality that the autocratic form of government is not the only one that can exist in the state. The December uprising, which took place on December 14, 1825 on Senate Square, was the result of precisely this foreign campaign.

Causes of the Decembrist uprising

The reasons for the Decembrist uprising can be considered secret societies that began to emerge in Russia after 1815. The very first such society was the “Union of Welfare”, which arose in 1818 in St. Petersburg. It included radical young officers and nobles: Pestel, Muravyov-Apostol, the Muravyov brothers, Trubetskoy, etc. This organization had its own charter - the “Green Book”.

The main goal of the organization is to spread education in order to prepare society for the adoption of the constitution by the emperor. But members of society could not decide how society should achieve a constitution. Studying public opinion on this issue, many members of society became disillusioned with the Union of Welfare.

They understood that society was completely unprepared for peaceful ways to achieve such goals; an uprising was needed. Therefore, the Union gradually turned into just a revolutionary gang, where they studied in detail the Spanish revolution and anti-monarchist movements in European countries. At the same time, society participants understood that the participation of the peasantry and any mob in such an uprising was impossible. The coup must be carried out by advanced officers in the name and good of the people. Due to disagreements, the society was dissolved in 1821.

Participants in the Decembrist uprising of 1825

After the collapse of the Union of Welfare, two new societies were created, which became the main organizations that took part in the Decembrist uprising - the Northern and Southern societies.

Pavel Pestel became the head of southern society. He adhered to the idea of ​​revolution in the country and the creation of a republic. He wrote down his ideas in the society’s program - “Russian Truth”. Nikita Muravyov became the head of the Northern Society. He developed his “Constitution” program, which involved limiting the monarchy by introducing a Constitution in the country. Northern society was not as radical as Southern society, but both societies adhered to common position Regarding serfdom, they viewed it negatively. If you take general provisions program for the future uprising, it assumed:

1. Abolition of serfdom;
2. Civil rights and freedoms for the population;
3. Introduction of representation in governing bodies.

The most important thing that interested the rebels was this transformation public administration. This problem became long overdue in society and inevitable, which is why it led to the Decembrist uprising of 1825.

The course of events of the uprising on Senate Square

Open actions were scheduled for December 14. The main task of the Decembrists was to disrupt the oath to the future emperor. It was expected that he would be arrested, and then the form of government in the country would be changed.

In the morning, the rebels arrived at Senate Square, but almost immediately they learned that the oath to Nicholas had already taken place that night. This happened because the preparations for the uprising took place under poor secrecy, and he already knew about the plans of the conspirators. Standing in the square, the rebels did not know what to do and for a long time were inactive. This played into the hands of the government, which began to gather troops. The Emperor took active action. Most of the guard obeyed him and this decided the outcome of the uprising on Senate Street.

First, Governor General Miloradovich M.A. tried to persuade the rebels to disperse in order to avoid bloodshed. But the Decembrist Kakhovsky P.G. shot him and the general died. This was the last straw and he ordered the massacre to begin. Not wanting much bloodshed, he ordered grapeshot to be fired over the heads of the rebels, and the uprising was defeated.

Mass arrests of participants in the Decembrist uprising began throughout the city. Using the example of punishment of the Decembrists of the uprising, the emperor showed his determination in such matters. He believed that the source of the Decembrist uprising was the constitutional ideas of his brother the emperor, which he considered erroneous. All those arrested were brought to the Peter and Paul Fortress, where they were interrogated in detail. Many of the participants and indirectly involved persons were officers, therefore, following officer's honor, they answered frankly, without hiding anything.

The Supreme Court convicted 121 people. Five people were sentenced to hanging: Pestel, Kakhovsky, Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Ryleev. The rest of the Decembrists went to hard labor, and from some of the soldiers they created a special regiment, which was sent to the Caucasus. The severity of the sentences shocked society and forever ruined moral character new emperor. And the uprising on Senate Square remained in history as a failed revolution.

Decembrist uprising video

April 5th, 2015

I'm almost done posting more topics. This is already the ninth and penultimate topic. There were practically no volunteers to cover the second ten topics in the post, but the authors of the topics, in principle, can present them in the next vote.

So today our topic is alternative history from a friend kisyha_74. The concept may not be entirely accurate, but there is certainly a certain current and direction that casts doubt on the official version of many historical events. History in general complex matter has always been. And the further it goes into the depths of centuries, the more complicated it is. All these are just serifs and outlines for further independent study for those interested.

What claims are made against the well-known official version? On December 26, 1825, the Decembrist uprising broke out in St. Petersburg.

If you peel away the shavings of Soviet mythology, you can see a lot of interesting things.

1. The king is not real

In fact, the coup d'état took place not on December 26, but on November 27, 1825. On this day in St. Petersburg, the death of Emperor Alexander in Taganrog was announced and Konstantin Pavlovich, 2nd in seniority after the childless Alexander, was declared the new emperor. The Senate, the State Council and the entire capital hastily swore the oath to him. True, Constantine had no rights to the throne, since back in 1823 he abdicated the throne in favor of Nicholas, which was also formalized in Alexander’s spiritual will. Nikolai also took the oath to Konstantin under pressure from the military governor Miloradovich.

However, on December 3, Constantine renounced the crown. Either in St. Petersburg everyone decided to replay the game, or because Konstantin was afraid to share the fate of his father Paul I, he allegedly said: “They will strangle you, just like they strangled your father.” Nicholas was declared the legal heir to the throne. Everything that happened, of course, took place in an atmosphere of strict secrecy and gave rise to a lot of rumors.

2. Who is pulling the strings?

The oath of office to the new emperor was scheduled for December 14 (26). The Decembrists, who had previously not identified themselves in any way, timed their performance to coincide with the same date. They didn’t have a clear program, the idea was this: to bring the regiments to Senate Square that day in order to prevent the oath of allegiance to Nicholas. The main conspirator, Prince Trubetskoy, who was appointed dictator, did not come to the square at all; it is quite possible that the appointment happened retroactively. There was practically no coordination, Ryleev rushed around St. Petersburg, “like a sick man in his restless bed,” everything was done at random. It looks quite strange for a secret society that has been operating for several years, covering a significant part of the military elite, and having an extensive network throughout the country.

3. Orange technologies

Used to withdraw troops classical technologies, today they would be called orange. So Alexander Bestuzhev, having arrived at the barracks of the Moscow regiment, already ready to take the oath, began to assure the soldiers that they were being deceived, that Tsarevich Konstantin had never abdicated the throne and would soon be in St. Petersburg, that he was his adjutant and was sent ahead by him on purpose, etc. . Having captivated the soldiers with such deception, he led them to Senate Square. In the same way, other regiments were brought to the square. At this time, thousands of people gathered on the square and near the embankment of St. Isaac's Cathedral. They worked easier with the common people, they spread a rumor that the legitimate Emperor Constantine was already on his way to St. Petersburg from Warsaw and was taken under arrest near Narva, but soon the troops would free him, and after some time the excited crowd shouted: “Hurray, Constantine!”

4. Provocateurs

Meanwhile, regiments loyal to Emperor Nicholas arrived on the square. A confrontation arose: on the one hand, the rebels and the incited people, on the other, the defenders of the new emperor. Trying to persuade the rebels to return to the officers' barracks, the crowd threw logs from a dismantled woodpile near St. Isaac's Cathedral. One of the rebels, the hero of the Caucasian War Yakubovich, who came to Senateskaya and was appointed commander of the Moscow regiment, cited a headache and disappeared from the square. Then he stood in the crowd near the emperor for several hours, and then approached him and asked permission to go to the rebels to persuade them to lay down their arms. Having received consent, he went to the chain as a parliamentarian and, approaching Kuchelbecker, said in a low voice: “Hold on, they are severely afraid of you,” and left. Today on the Maidan he would be considered a titushka.

5. “Noble” shot

However, soon it came to clashes. General Miloradovich went to the rebels for negotiations and was killed by a shot from Kakhovsky. The hero Kakhovsky, if you look at him through a magnifying glass, turns out to be very interesting personality. A Smolensk landowner, lost to smithereens, he came to St. Petersburg in the hope of finding a rich bride, but he failed. By chance he met Ryleev and he pulled him into a secret society. Ryleev and other comrades supported him in St. Petersburg at their own expense. And when the time came to pay the benefactors’ bills, Kakhovsky, without hesitation, fired. After this, it became clear that it would no longer be possible to reach an agreement.
6. Pointless and merciless

IN Soviet era a myth was created about the unfortunate sufferers - the Decembrists. But for some reason no one is talking about the real victims of this senseless riot. While few were killed among the members of the secret societies who stirred up this mess, the full charm of buckshot was felt by the common people and the soldiers drawn into the massacre. Taking advantage of the indecision of the rebels, Nikolai managed to transfer artillery, shot at the rebels with grapeshot, people and soldiers rushed in all directions, many fell through the ice and drowned while trying to cross the Neva. The result is deplorable: among the mob - 903 killed, minors - 150, women - 79, lower ranks of soldiers - 282.

7. Everything is secret...

IN lately The following version of the reasons for the rebellion is gaining momentum. If you look closely, all the threads lead to Konstantin, in whom you can see the true customer. The Decembrist revolutionaries, who kept papers in their desks about the reconstruction of Russia, the adoption of a constitution, and the abolition of serfdom, for some reason began to force the soldiers to swear allegiance to Constantine. Why did people opposed to the monarchy do this? Maybe because they were directed by someone who benefited from it. It is no coincidence that Nikolai, having launched an investigation into the uprising, and he was personally present during the interrogations, said that they should not look for the guilty, but give everyone the opportunity to justify themselves, since he probably knew who was behind it, and did not want to wash dirty linen in public. Well, one more conspiracy theory and eloquent fact. As soon as Konstantin left Warsaw after the next Polish uprising and ended up in Vitebsk, he suddenly fell ill with cholera and died a few days later.

What other points are not only in doubt, but maybe in to a greater extent“not for discussion”?

First of all, regicide.

Moreover, as S. G. Nechaev, the head of the “People’s Retribution” society, later said, “with the entire great litany” (today they would say “the entire payroll”) the august family, including the grand duchesses extradited abroad and their offspring, had to die. So that no one can lay claim to the throne.

The thought of the immorality of such a step, of course, occurred to the leaders of the conspiracy. And if they themselves were ready to step over mental anguish, then neither the crowd, nor numerous ordinary participants, nor even a number of high-ranking colleagues, for example, Prince S.P. Trubetskoy, shared bloodthirsty aspirations.

Therefore, the so-called “act of retaliation” had to be carried out. “doomed cohort” - a detachment of several people who knew in advance that they were sacrificing themselves. They undertook to kill representatives of the royal house, and then the new government of the republic would execute them, dissociating itself from the bloody massacre. So, A.I. Yakubovich promised to shoot Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, and V.K. Kuchelbecker - Mikhail Pavlovich. As the latter later told his brother: “The most amazing thing is that they didn’t kill us.”

The logic is well known: what is the death of one family compared to the happiness of millions? But the extermination of the reigning house seems to give a free hand for bloody atrocities in the rest of the country. The punitive authorities, the creation of which Pestel envisaged, were supposed to number 50 thousand people. Later, 4 thousand served in the Corps of Gendarmes, including the lower ranks - the essence internal troops. Why did Pestel need so much? In order to “persuad” compatriots who do not agree to a republic. So the royal family would be followed not by great, but numerous families. Is it only nobles? Experience of the beginning of the 20th century. shows that it is not far away.

How they handed over their

Historians are now studying internal strife in the circle of conspirators and know that at the Moscow Congress of 1821, for the first time in Russian history, the question of predatory expropriations - money for the revolution - was raised. That spying on each other and opening letters were not alien to the heroes of December 14th. Their behavior after their arrest in the fortress is so shocking to novice researchers that they had to come up with two mutually exclusive myths. The nobleman answers the first request, so the arrested did not hide anything, called their comrades, and told everything they knew.

Another option: the Decembrists wanted to make an impression large organization so that the government gets scared and makes concessions. Thus, Prince S.G. Volkonsky, at the very first interrogation, listed the names of 22 members of the society, some of whom turned out to be completely uninvolved. That is, he slandered people.

Letters of repentance were written to the emperor, services were offered to reveal “all the hidden sides of the conspiracy.” In the hope of saving themselves, they confessed almost in a race. Perhaps K. F. Ryleev showed more than anyone. Although no methods of physical coercion were used against those arrested. I would very much like to find similar facts in early Soviet historiography. But alas...

And torture was prohibited by law. And the sovereign and the investigators are not cut out for this. Of course, people are not sinless, but there is a line beyond which the authorities at that time did not go. As they wrote then:

“Frightened boys found themselves in the Peter and Paul Fortress, who had been grabbed by the hand after the “festival of disobedience,” and who were now repeating: we won’t do it again.”

Here are excerpts from the book by Prof. Gernet "History of the Tsar's Prison", published by the Bolsheviks.

“... Leparsky, an exceptionally kind man, who created a tolerable life for them, was appointed head of the Chita prison and the Petrovsky plant, where all the Decembrists were concentrated. This was probably done by the Tsar deliberately, because... he personally knew Leparsky as a devoted, but gentle and tactful person.” “In the absence of government work,” wrote the head of the convict prison in Chita, “I occupy them in the summer earthworks, 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, and in the winter they will grind government-issued rye for themselves and for the factory stores.” “In fact, for any “shops” there was no need for the work of the Decembrists. Leparsky solved this problem by turning work into a walk or a picnic with useful gymnastics.”

The Decembrists did not need anything financially. During the 10 years of their stay in hard labor, the prisoners received from relatives, not counting countless parcels of things and food, 354,758 rubles, and their wives - 778,135 rubles, and this is only through official means; undoubtedly, they managed to receive money secretly from the administration.”

“The new Chita prison was divided into four rooms, warm and bright.” “In 1828, the shackles were removed from the Decembrists. In the same year, Leparsky “authorized the building of two small houses in the courtyard: in one they placed carpentry, lathe and bookbinding machines for those wishing to engage in crafts, and in the other - a piano.” “Hard labor soon became something like gymnastics for those who wanted it. In the summer they filled up the ditch, which was called the “Devil’s Grave,” watchmen and servants bustled about, carrying folding chairs and chess to the place of work. The guard officer and non-commissioned officers shouted: “Gentlemen, it’s time to go to work! Who's coming today? If interested, i.e. those who were not said to be sick were not recruited enough, the officer pleadingly said: “Gentlemen, please add someone else! Otherwise the commandant will notice that there is very little!” One of those who needed to see a comrade living in another casemate allowed himself to beg: “Well, I guess I’ll go.” The watchmen carried shovels. Led by an officer and guarded by soldiers with guns, the prisoners set off on their journey. To the sound of shackles, they sang their favorite Italian aria, the revolutionary “Our Fatherland suffers under your yoke,” or even the French Marseillaise. Officers and soldiers walked rhythmically to the beat of revolutionary songs. Arriving at the place, we had breakfast, drank tea, and played chess. The soldiers, having put their guns in the trestles, settled down to rest and fell asleep; The non-commissioned officers and guards were finishing the prisoners’ breakfast.”

A new building with 64 rooms was waiting for them in Petrovskaya. Singles - one, married - two.

“The rooms were large,” writes Tseitlin, “for married people, they soon took on the appearance of rooms in an ordinary apartment, with carpets and upholstered furniture.” Russian and foreign newspapers and magazines were produced. The Decembrist Zavalishin estimates the total book fund of the Petrovsky prison at 500,000 titles. Prof. Gernet considers this number possible, taking into account the huge library of Muravyov-Apostol.” "Book Trubetskoy and Prince. Volkonskaya lived outside the prison, in separate apartments, each with 25 servants.” “We worked a little on the road and in the gardens. It happened that the officer on duty asked to go to work when there were too few people in the group. Zavalishin describes the return from these works as follows: “returning, they carried books, flowers, sheet music, delicacies from the ladies, and behind them government workers carried picks, stretchers, shovels... they sang revolutionary songs.” “The Decembrists actually did not carry out hard labor, with the exception of a few people, short time who worked in the mine,” admits Prof. Gernet.

They woke up Herzen

It is to A.I. Herzen, a talented journalist who worked in England, that we owe the Decembrist myth. Later, the picture only became more complicated, but did not change in essence.

The printing house of “The Bell” and “The Polar Star” was located in London. England, after the Napoleonic Wars, is the largest heavyweight player on the European stage. The most dangerous opponent Russian Empire. Therefore, support for the opposition journalist was always provided. For example, Nikolai Turgenev, one of the then “Decembrist” defectors, was hiding in London. Master of high dedication. The man whom Alexander I was afraid to arrest at home, simply writing to him: “My brother, leave Russia” (by the way, this phrase is disputed). But Nicholas I demanded extradition.

Where would we be without the Masons?

Here is another version:

The entire ideological basis of both the first Russian secret political alliances that arose after the Patriotic War and the later ones is not Russian, foreign. All of them are copied from foreign samples. Some researchers of the history of the Decembrist uprising claim that the charter of the “Union of Welfare” was copied from the charter of the German “Tugendbund”. But most likely, the origins of the political ideas of the Decembrists must be sought in the political ideas of European Freemasonry and in the ideas of the “Great” french revolution, which again lead us to Masonic ideas about “universal brotherhood, equality and freedom.”

“In the guard,” reports the deputy on August 29, 1822 French Ambassador Count Boilcomte, - the extravagance and slander have reached the point that one general recently told us - sometimes it seems that all it takes is a leader for a rebellion to start. Last month, the Guard openly sang a parody of the famous tune “I wandered around the world for a long time,” which contained the most criminal attacks on His Majesty personally and on His trips and congresses: this parody was sung by many officers. Then, what happened in the meeting of young guards officers shows so clearly the spirit reigning among them that it is impossible not to report it.” “Excited by previous heated and intemperate disputes regarding political events, the 50 officers present at this meeting ended with getting up from the table, they took turns passing by the portrait of the Emperor and uttering curses at him.”

From the same letter from Count Boileconte we learn who the instigators of these rebellious sentiments were. These were the Freemasons, of whom, as we remember, the army abounded.

Many of the Decembrists passed through Masonic lodges. In the charter of the Union of Salvation, Tseitlin rightly points out, “Masonic features are clearly visible, and subsequently one can trace the secret underground streams of Freemasonry in the political movement of those years”. Tseitlin is a Jew and he knew what he was writing.

N. Berdyaev also admits that the Decembrist conspiracy grew ideologically from Masonic ideas.

There is no way to list the names of everyone who, after the end of World War II, were members of Masonic lodges of all kinds. Freemasonry pursued, as before, two goals: to undermine Orthodoxy, the basis of the spiritual identity of the Russian people and the source of its spiritual strength, and to completely undermine the autocracy.

In order to overthrow the autocracy, officers who were members of Masonic lodges began preparations for the destruction of the autocracy. The Decembrist uprising was the realization of the plans of the Freemasons, for which it had been preparing for decades. The Decembrist uprising is essentially an uprising of the Freemasons.

Here is another series of versions for those who might be interested: "Murka" from MUR. Two versions, here it is. Many people argue, is it really? and here it is. Let's also remember about, as well as The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Decembrist uprising. Causes of defeat

It is impossible to understand what happened on December 14, 1825 on Senate Square if you do not know what exactly the Decembrists had planned, what plan they settled on, and what exactly they hoped to accomplish.

Events overtook the Decembrists and forced them to act earlier than the dates that they had determined. Everything changed dramatically in the late autumn of 1825.

In November 1825, Emperor Alexander I unexpectedly died far from St. Petersburg, in Taganrog. He did not have a son, and the heir to the throne was his brother Konstantin. But married to a simple noblewoman, a person not of royal blood, Constantine, according to the rules of succession to the throne, could not pass the throne to his descendants and therefore abdicated the throne. The heir of Alexander I was to be his next brother, Nicholas - rude and cruel, hated in the army. Constantine's abdication was kept secret - only the narrowest circle of members knew about it royal family. The abdication, which was not made public during the life of the emperor, did not receive the force of law, so Constantine continued to be considered the heir to the throne; he reigned after the death of Alexander I, and on November 27 the population was sworn to Constantine.

Formally, a new emperor has appeared in Russia - Constantine I. His portraits have already been displayed in stores, and several new coins with his image have even been minted. But Constantine did not accept the throne, and at the same time did not want to formally renounce it as an emperor, to whom the oath had already been taken.

An ambiguous and extremely tense interregnum situation was created. Nicholas, fearing popular indignation and expecting a speech from the secret society, about which he was already informed by spies and informers, finally decided to declare himself emperor, without waiting for a formal act of abdication from his brother. A second oath was appointed, or, as they said in the troops, a “re-oath,” this time to Nicholas I. The re-oath in St. Petersburg was scheduled for December 14.

Even when creating their organization, the Decembrists decided to speak out at the time of the change of emperors on the throne. This moment has now arrived. At the same time, the Decembrists became aware that they had been betrayed - the denunciations of the traitors Sherwood and Mayboroda were already on the emperor’s table; a little more and a wave of arrests will begin.

Members of the secret society decided to speak out.

Before this, the following action plan was developed at Ryleev’s apartment. On December 14, the day of the re-oath, revolutionary troops under the command of members of a secret society will enter the square. Guard Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy was chosen as the dictator of the uprising. Troops who refuse to take the oath must go to Senate Square. Why exactly to Senate? Because this is where the Senate is located, and here the senators will swear allegiance to the new emperor on the morning of December 14th. By force of arms, if they do not mean well, it is necessary to prevent senators from taking the oath, force them to declare the government overthrown and publish a revolutionary Manifesto to the Russian people. This is one of important documents Decembrism, explaining the purpose of the uprising. The Senate, thus, by the will of the revolution, was included in the plan of action of the rebels.

The revolutionary Manifesto announced the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The abolition of serfdom and the equalization of all citizens before the law were announced; freedom of the press, religion, and occupations was declared, the introduction of public jury trials, and the introduction of universal military service. All government officials had to give way to elected officials.

It was decided that as soon as the rebel troops blocked the Senate, in which the senators were preparing to take the oath, a revolutionary delegation consisting of Ryleev and Pushchin would enter the Senate premises and present the Senate with a demand not to swear allegiance to the new Emperor Nicholas I, to declare the tsarist government deposed and to issue a revolutionary Manifesto to the Russian to the people. At the same time, the Guards naval crew, the Izmailovsky regiment and the cavalry pioneer squadron were supposed to move to Winter Palace, capture it and arrest the royal family.

Then the Great Council was convened - the Constituent Assembly. It had to make a final decision on the forms of abolition of serfdom, on the form of government in Russia, and resolve the issue of land. If the Great Council decided by a majority vote that Russia would be a republic, a decision would also be made on the fate of the royal family. Some Decembrists were of the opinion that it was possible to expel her abroad, while others were inclined towards regicide. If the Great Council came to a decision that Russia would be a constitutional monarchy, then a constitutional monarch would be drawn from the reigning family.

The command of the troops during the capture of the Winter Palace was entrusted to the Decembrist Yakubovich.

It was also decided to seize the Peter and Paul Fortress, the main military stronghold of tsarism in St. Petersburg, and turn it into a revolutionary citadel of the Decembrist uprising.

In addition, Ryleev asked the Decembrist Kakhovsky early in the morning of December 14 to penetrate the Winter Palace and, as if committing an independent terrorist act, kill Nicholas. At first he agreed, but then, having considered the situation, he did not want to be a lone terrorist, allegedly acting outside the plans of society, and early in the morning he refused this assignment.

An hour after Kakhovsky’s refusal, Yakubovich came to Alexander Bestuzhev and refused to lead the sailors and Izmailovites to the Winter Palace. He was afraid that in the battle the sailors would kill Nicholas and his relatives and instead of arresting the royal family, it would result in regicide. Yakubovich did not want to take on this and chose to refuse. Thus, the adopted plan of action was sharply violated, and the situation became more complicated. The plan began to fall apart before dawn. But there was no time to delay: dawn was coming.

On December 14, officers - members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. Alexander Bestuzhev spoke to the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment. The soldiers refused to swear allegiance to the new king and decided to go to Senate Square. The regimental commander of the Moscow regiment, Baron Fredericks, wanted to prevent the rebel soldiers from leaving the barracks - and fell with a severed head under the blow of the saber of officer Shchepin-Rostovsky. With the regimental banner flying, taking live ammunition and loading their guns, the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment (about 800 people) were the first to come to Senate Square. At the head of these first revolutionary troops in the history of Russia was the staff captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, Alexander Bestuzhev. Along with him at the head of the regiment were his brother, staff captain of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, Mikhail Bestuzhev, and staff captain of the same regiment, Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky.

The regiment formed in order of battle in the shape of a square (battle quadrangle) near the monument to Peter I. It was 11 o’clock in the morning. St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich galloped up to the rebels and began to persuade the soldiers to disperse. The moment was very dangerous: the regiment was still alone, other regiments had not yet arrived, the hero of 1812 Miloradovich was widely popular and knew how to talk to the soldiers. The uprising that had just begun was in great danger. Miloradovich could greatly sway the soldiers and achieve success. It was necessary to interrupt his campaigning at all costs and 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, 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 looming over the uprising was repelled.

The delegation chosen to address the Senate - Ryleev and Pushchin - went to see Trubetskoy early in the morning, who had previously visited Ryleev himself. It turned out that the Senate had already sworn in, and the senators left. It turned out that the rebel troops had gathered in front of the empty Senate. Thus, the first goal of the uprising was not achieved. It was a bad failure. Another planned link broke away from the plan. Now the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress were to be captured.

What exactly Ryleev and Pushchin talked about during this last meeting with Trubetskoy is unknown, but, obviously, they agreed on some new plan of action, and, having then come to the square, they were sure that Trubetskoy would now come there, to the square, and will take command. Everyone was waiting impatiently for Trubetskoy.

But there was still no dictator. Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising. A situation was developing in the square that required decisive action, but Trubetskoy did not dare to take it. He sat, tormented, in the office General Staff, went out, looked around the corner to see how many troops had gathered in the square, and hid again. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Members of the secret society, who elected Trubetskoy as 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. Trubetskoy’s fragile noble revolutionary spirit easily broke when the hour of decisive action came.

The failure of the elected dictator to appear on the square to meet the troops during the hours of the uprising is an unprecedented case in the history of the revolutionary movement. The dictator thereby betrayed the idea of ​​uprising, his comrades in the secret society, and the troops who followed them. This failure to appear played a significant role in the defeat of the uprising.

The rebels waited for a long time. Several attacks launched on the orders of Nicholas by the horse guards on the square of the rebels were repulsed by rapid rifle fire. The barrage chain, separated from the square of the rebels, disarmed the tsarist police. The “rabble” who were in the square were doing the same thing.

Behind the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was under construction, were the dwellings of construction workers, for whom a lot of firewood was prepared for the winter. The village was popularly called “St. Isaac’s Village,” and from there many stones and logs flew at the king and his retinue.

We see that the troops were not the only living force in the uprising on December 14: 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 in the square at all - there were people, but in the fact that the Decembrists were unable to rely on the people, to make them an active force of the uprising.

A contemporary’s impression of how “empty” it was at that moment in other parts of St. Petersburg is curious: “The further I moved away from the Admiralty, the fewer people I met; it seemed that everyone had come running to the square, leaving their houses empty.” An eyewitness, whose last name remained unknown, said: “All of St. Petersburg flocked to the square, and the first Admiralty part accommodated 150 thousand people, acquaintances and strangers, friends and enemies, forgot their identities and gathered in circles, talking about the subject that struck their eyes ".

The “common people”, “black bones” predominated - artisans, workers, artisans, peasants who came to the bars in the capital, there were merchants, petty officials, students of secondary schools, cadet corps, apprentices... Two “rings” of people were formed. The first consisted of those who had arrived early, it was surrounded by a square of rebels. The second was formed from those who came later - the gendarmes were no longer allowed into the square to join the rebels, and the “late” people crowded behind the tsarist troops who surrounded the rebellious square. From these “later” arrivals a second ring was formed, surrounding the government troops. Noticing this, Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, realized the danger of this environment. It threatened with great complications.

The main mood of this huge mass, which, according to contemporaries, numbered in 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 the preparation of carriages for members of the royal family with the intention of “escorting” them under the cover of 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. He wrote in his diary that “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 weren’t shot then.”

Under these conditions, Nicholas resorted to sending Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to negotiate with the rebels. The idea of ​​sending metropolitans to negotiate with the rebels occurred to Nicholas as a way to explain the legality of the oath to him, and not to Constantine, through clergy who were authoritative in matters of the oath. It seemed that who better to know about the correctness of the oath than the metropolitans? Nikolai’s decision to grasp at this straw was strengthened by alarming news: he was informed that life grenadiers and a guards naval crew were leaving the barracks to join the “rebels.” If the metropolitans had managed to persuade the rebels to disperse, then the new regiments that came to the aid of the rebels would have found the main core of the uprising broken and could have fizzled out themselves.

But in response to the Metropolitan’s speech about the legality of the required oath and the horrors of shedding brotherly blood, the “rebellious” soldiers began shouting to him from the ranks, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... We don’t believe you, go away!..” Suddenly the metropolitans rushed to the left, hid in a hole in the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, hired simple cab drivers (while on the right, closer to the Neva, a palace carriage was waiting for them) and made a detour back to the Winter Palace. Why did this sudden flight of the clergy happen? Two new regiments approached the rebels. On the right, along the ice of the Neva, a regiment of life grenadiers (about 1,250 people) rose, fighting their way with weapons in their hands through the troops of the tsar's encirclement. On the other side, rows of sailors entered the square - almost the entire guards naval crew - over 1,100 people, a total of at least 2,350 people, i.e. forces arrived in total more than three times compared to the initial mass of the rebel Muscovites (about 800 people), and in general the number of rebels quadrupled. All the rebel troops had weapons and live ammunition. All were infantrymen. They had no artillery.

But the moment was lost. The gathering of all the rebel troops took place more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky, chief of staff of the uprising. He tried three times to convene a military council, but it was too late: Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands. The encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times larger than the rebels in number, had already been completed. According to Gabaev’s calculations, against the 3 thousand rebel soldiers, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were collected, in total, not counting the artillerymen called up later (36 guns), at least 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons were called up and stopped at outposts as a reserve, i.e. 3 thousand sabers; in other words, there were another 10 thousand people in reserve at the outposts.

The short winter day was approaching evening. It was already 3 pm and it was getting noticeably dark. Nikolai was afraid of darkness. In the dark, the people gathered in the square would have been more active. Most of all, Nikolai was afraid, as he later wrote in his diary, that “the excitement would not be communicated to the mob.”

Nikolai ordered to shoot with grapeshot.

The first volley of grapeshot was fired above the ranks of soldiers - precisely at the “mob” that dotted the roof of the Senate and neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley of grapeshot with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of grapeshot, the ranks wavered and wavered - they began to flee, the wounded and dead fell. The Tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along the Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya. Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive. The troops lined up. But the cannonballs hit the ice - the ice split, many drowned. Bestuzhev's attempt failed.

By nightfall it was all over. The tsar and his minions did their best to downplay 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 down people. According to a document from the official of the statistical department of the Ministry of Justice S.N. Korsakov, we learn that on December 14, 1271 people were killed, of which 903 were “mobs”, 19 were minors.

At this time, the Decembrists gathered at Ryleev’s apartment. This was their last meeting. They only agreed on how to behave during interrogations. The despair of the participants knew no bounds: the death of the uprising was obvious.

In summary, it should be noted that the Decembrists not only conceived, but also organized the first in the history of Russia uprising against the autocracy with arms in hand. They performed it openly, on the square of the Russian capital, in front of the assembled people. They acted in the name of crushing the outdated feudal system and moving their homeland forward along the path of social development. The ideas in the name of which they rebelled - the overthrow of the autocracy and the liquidation of serfdom and its remnants - turned out to be vital and for many years they gathered subsequent generations under the banner of the revolutionary struggle.

Decembrist organizations.

In 1816, in St. Petersburg, young noble officers created the first Russian secret revolutionary society called the Union of Salvation. A few years later, two secret revolutionary societies were formed - “Northern” with its center in St. Petersburg and “Southern” in Ukraine, where many officers, members of the secret society, served.

In Nordic society main role played by Nikita Muravyov, Sergei Trubetskoy, and later by the famous poet Kondraty Ryleev, who rallied the fighting Republicans around himself. In the Southern Society, the main leader was Colonel Pavel Pestel.

The first Russian revolutionaries wanted to raise a revolutionary uprising among the troops, overthrow the autocracy, abolish serfdom and popularly accept a new state law- revolutionary constitution.

It was decided to speak at the time of the change of emperor on the throne. After the death of Alexander I, an interregnum arose - a government crisis beneficial to the revolutionaries.

The Decembrists carefully developed their plans. First of all, they decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to the new king. Then they wanted to enter the Senate and demand the publication of a national manifesto, which would announce the abolition of serfdom and the 25-year term of military service, the granting of freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and the convening of a constituent assembly of deputies elected by the people.

The deputies had to decide what system to establish in the country and approve its basic law - the constitution. If the Senate did not agree to publish the revolutionary manifesto, it was decided to force it to do so. The rebel troops were to occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, royal family should have been arrested. If necessary, it was planned to kill the king. In the meantime, so the Decembrists thought, deputies elected from all over the provinces would come to St. Petersburg from all sides. Autocracy and serfdom will collapse. A new life for the liberated people will begin.

A dictator was elected to lead the uprising - an old member of the society, Guard Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, one of its founders.

But not everything planned came true. It was not possible to raise all the planned regiments to revolt. There were no artillery units among the rebels. Dictator Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising and did not appear on the square. The rebel troops lined up in front of the empty Senate building - the senators had already taken the oath and left. The Decembrists were afraid to involve the people in the uprising: they might go further than they expected. The main thing is that the Decembrists were far from the people. They feared the rebellious people and the “horrors of the French Revolution.” And then - the tsarist grapeshot put an end to the first Russian revolutionary uprising. The purpose of this work is to analyze the draft constitutions of P. I. Pestel and N. M. Muravyov.

"Russian Truth of P.I. Pestel" Pestel was a supporter of the dictatorship of the Provisional Supreme Rule during the revolution, and considered dictatorship a decisive condition for success. The dictatorship, according to his assumptions, was supposed to last 10-15 years. His constitutional project “Russian Truth” was an order to the Provisional Supreme Government, denounced by dictatorial power. The full name of this project reads: “Russian Truth, or the Reserved State Charter of the Great Russian People, which serves as a testament for the improvement of the State structure of Russia and contains the right order both for the people and for the Provisional Supreme Government.” Pestel's work on the constitutional project lasted almost ten years. His constitutional project showed that he was aware of the movement of political thought of his time.

Pestel’s constitutional project was not only discussed many times at meetings and congresses of the leaders of the Southern Society, but also individual members of the society were involved in the work on the text of the project itself. It was not only about style in the narrow sense of the word, but also about content; Other Decembrists also made their own amendments. At the Kiev Congress of 1823, the main provisions of the “Russian Truth” were discussed and unanimously adopted by the leaders of the Southern Society. Thus, "Russian Truth", representing the fruit of Pestel's enormous personal work, is at the same time an ideological monument to an entire revolutionary organization, discussed and adopted unanimously. This is the largest monument to the revolutionary past of the first quarter of the XIX century.

The revolution could not, in his opinion, be carried out successfully without a ready-made constitutional project.

Pestel especially carefully developed the idea of ​​​​the Temporary Supreme Revolutionary Government, the dictatorship of which, according to Pestel, was a bulwark against the “horrors of anarchy” and “national civil strife” that he wanted to avoid.

“Russian Truth,” Pestel wrote in his constitutional draft, “is a mandate or instruction to the Provisional Supreme Government for its actions, and at the same time an announcement to the people of what they will be freed from and what they can expect again... It contains responsibilities, assigned to the supreme governments, and serves as a guarantee for Russia that the Provisional Government will act solely for the good of the Fatherland. The lack of such literacy plunged many states into the most terrible disasters and civil strife, because in them the government could always act according to its own will, according to personal passions and private views, without having before itself a clear and complete instruction, which would be obliged to be guided, and that the people meanwhile, he never knew what was being done for him, he never saw clearly what goal the government’s actions were aiming for... "The Russian Pravda outlined 10 chapters: the first chapter is about the borders of the state; the second is about various tribes, Russian the state of the inhabitants; the third - about the estates of the state; the fourth - about the people in relation to the political or social state prepared for them; the fifth - about the people in relation to the civil or private state prepared for them; the sixth - about the structure and formation of the supreme state; authorities; the seventh - about the structure and formation of local authorities; the eighth - about the “security structure” in the state; the ninth - about the government in relation to the structure of welfare in the state; the tenth is an order for drawing up a state code of laws. In addition, “Russian Pravda” had an introduction that spoke about the basic concepts of the constitution and a brief conclusion containing “the most important definitions and regulations issued by the Russian Pravda.”

According to Pestel, only the first two chapters were written and finally separated and most of the third, the fourth and fifth chapters were written in rough drafts, and the last five chapters were not written at all, the material for them remained only in the form of rough preparatory passages. Therefore, it is necessary to involve additional material in order to get an idea of ​​Pestel’s constitutional project as a whole: testimony about the “Russian Truth” given by Pestel and other members of the secret society during the investigation, as well as a summary of the main principles of the “Russian Truth” dictated by Pestel to the Decembrist Bestuzhev -Ryumin.

Let us first examine the question of how the issue of serfdom was resolved in Pestel’s project, and then we will move on to the question of the destruction of the autocracy. These are two main questions of the political ideology of the Decembrists. Pestel extremely and highly valued the personal freedom of man, the future of Russia, according to Pestel, is a society, first of all, of personally free people. “Personal freedom,” says the “Russian Pravda,” “is the first and most important right of every citizen and the most sacred duty of every government. The entire structure of the state building is based on it, and without it there is neither peace nor prosperity.”

Pestel considered the liberation of peasants without land, that is, giving them only personal freedom, completely unacceptable. He believed, for example, that the liberation of peasants in the Baltic states, in which they received land, was only an “imaginary” liberation.

Pestel stood for the liberation of peasants with land. His agrarian project was developed in detail in Russkaya Pravda and is of considerable interest.

In his agrarian project, Pestel boldly combined two contradictory principles: on the one hand, he recognized as correct that “land is the property of the entire human race,” and not of private individuals, and therefore cannot be private property, for “a person can only live on land and one can only receive food from the land,” therefore, the land is the common property of the entire human race. But, on the other hand, he recognized that “labor and work are the sources of property” and the one who fertilized and cultivated the land has the right to own the land on the basis of private property, especially since for the prosperity of arable farming “a lot of costs are needed”, and their Only the one who “will have the land as his own property” will agree to do so. Having recognized both contradictory positions as correct, Pestel based his agrarian project on the requirement to divide the land in half and recognize each of these principles in only one of the halves of the divided land.

According to Pestel’s project, all cultivated land in each volost “as it was supposed to be called the smallest administrative division of the future revolutionary state” is divided into two parts: the first part is public property, it can neither be sold nor bought, it goes to the communal division between those who want to engage in farming, and is intended for the production of a “necessary product”; the second part of the land is private property, it can be bought and sold, it is intended for the production of “abundance”. The community part, intended for the production of the necessary products, is divided between the volost communities.

Every citizen of the future republic must be assigned to one of the volosts and has the right at any time to receive free of charge the land plot due to him and to cultivate it. This provision was, according to Pestel, to guarantee the citizens of the future republic from beggary, hunger, and pauperism. “Every Russian will be absolutely provided with the necessities and be confident that in his volost he can always find a piece of land that will provide him with food and in which he will receive this food not from the mercy of his neighbors and without remaining dependent on them, but from the labors he puts in.” to cultivate the land that belongs to him as a member of the volost society on an equal basis with other citizens, wherever he travels, wherever he seeks happiness, but he will still keep in mind that if successes change his efforts, then in his volost, in this political one. in his family, he can always find shelter and daily bread.” Volost land is communal land. A peasant or, in general, any citizen in the state who has received a land plot owns it by communal right and can neither give it as a gift, nor sell it, nor mortgage it.

Uprising on December 14, 1825. Events, however, forced the conspirators to hurry. In November 1825, in Taganrog, after an unexpected and short illness, 47-year-old Alexander I, who had never been ill, died before, full of strength and never ill. His death was so unexpected and strange, and the veil of mystery that shrouded both his stay in Taganrog and subsequent events (the funeral of the body, its transfer to Moscow, the behavior of people close to it), was so dense and unusual that rumors soon spread about the voluntary resignation of Alexander I from power, which he repeatedly told others about, and the substitution of the body. This rumor had a strong basis in connection with the severe moral and religious crisis in which the emperor was, his fear of a possible coup and violent death following the tragic example of his father.

All this immediately created a confusing political situation, which the conspirators decided to take advantage of. They planned to prevent the oath of official St. Petersburg to Nicholas, withdraw troops loyal to them to Senate Square, seize the Winter Palace, arrest the royal family, force the Senate to announce the overthrow of the monarchy and release a Manifesto on the establishment of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, the abolition of serfdom, the equalization of all citizens before the law, the destruction (Kcherut conscription and military settlements and other revolutionary measures included in their programs. After this it was planned to collect Constituent Assembly(Great Council) and submit for its consideration a program for the future reorganization of Russia.

Colonel of the General Staff, Prince S.P. Trubetskoy, was elected dictator, that is, commander of the forces of the uprising.

On November 27, the capital and army, as expected, swore allegiance to Constantine. At the same time, the guard intervened in the matter again. Governor General of St. Petersburg L. A Miloradovin, a man close to the dowager queen - the wife of Paul I, threatened Nicholas that he would raise the guard if he did not swear allegiance to his brother. Nikolai reluctantly agreed to this demand. Although Nicholas, his family, the Senate and other institutions swore allegiance to Constantine on November 27, the issue was not finally resolved. A will of Alexander I and others appeared to arrest the conspirators. The conspirators also prepared for December 14, trying to prevent the re-taking the oath and carry out a coup d'etat. The decisive meeting took place at Ryleev’s apartment. He asked Kakhovsky to change into the uniform of the Life Grenadier Regiment, enter the palace and kill Nicholas I before its capture. Yakubovich was entrusted with taking possession of the Winter Palace. Another part of the loyal troops was to occupy the Peter and Paul Fortress.

It was a cold, gloomy, windy morning on December 14th. In the pre-dawn twilight, the Moscow regiment, led by the staff captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment A. A. Bestuzhev, arrived in battle formation with combat equipment on Senate Square and stood in the form of a monument to Peter I. The uprising began. But his plan would immediately begin to crumble. Kakhovsky refused to commit!, an act of regicide. Yakubovich did not want to lead the rebel units to the Winter Palace, fearing, as he said, a massacre in the palace and the murder of the royal family.

The Winter Palace stood unshakably, and the king, having learned about the outbreak of an uprising, pulled loyal troops to it.

Trubetskoy did not appear at Senate Square. He 1|multiplied near the headquarters, peeking around the corner, old-HII. to understand how many rebel troops have gathered and whether it is worth risking his life. He never appeared to the foreigners, leaving them without military leadership.

By 11 o'clock in the morning it turned out that the Senate had already sworn allegiance to Nicholas I and the senators had gone home.

A new monarch appeared on Senate Square, surrounded by loyal troops. Governor General M. A. Miloradovich arrived. Government troops launched several attacks against the rebels, but they were repulsed by gunfire. Tension in the square grew. Reinforcements approached the rebels - life grenadiers, a flei naval crew, and now there were about 4 thousand people in the square with 30 officers. Nicholas, for his part, brought up infantry units, artillery and horse guards to the square, which were four times larger than the rebel forces. On the square, a new military leader of the rebel troops was chosen - Prince E. P. Obolensky.

News of the uprising quickly spread throughout St. Petersburg. Crowds of people were approaching the square. Soon there were more than 150 thousand of them. Stones and sticks were thrown from the crowd at the soldiers loyal to the tsar. Threats were heard against Nikolai. Those gathered clearly sympathized with the rebels.

Wary of allowing bloodshed and thereby tarnishing the beginning of his reign, the tsar sent M.A. Miloradovich to the rebels. Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, the brave military leader enjoyed enormous popularity among the soldiers. Miloradovich addressed the rebels with a heated speech, persuading them to come to their senses and return to the barracks. The soldiers were embarrassed. The situation was critical. Then Prince B.P. Obolensky rushed to the Governor-General and turned his horse with a bayonet, wounding Miloradovich in the thigh.

Kakhovsky ran up and shot the general in the back. The mortally wounded general was taken home. For a moment, the spirit of the rebels strengthened. They immediately drove away the metropolitans sent to them with admonitions.

The tension was growing. The people surrounding the square behaved increasingly hostile towards the authorities. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, Nicholas I ordered the cannons to open fire. At first a volley of buckshot was fired over the square. This did not sway the rebels. They responded with gunfire. The next hall was already targeted. Buckshot hit the first ranks of the rebels. The square trembled and fell apart. The soldiers ran onto the ice of the Neva, trying to get over to Vasilyevsky Island. The firing continued, and the Horse Guards came into action, pursuing the escapees. Artillery struck, the ice began to crumble, ice holes formed, and the rebels began to drown. Their ranks were completely mixed. Soon it was all over.

Raids and arrests began throughout the city. The arrested Decembrists, as the rebels began to be called after December 14, were taken to the Winter Palace.

The uprising in the south of the country also failed. P.I. Pestel was arrested on December 13, on the eve of the uprising in St. Petersburg.

On December 29, a rebellion broke out in the Chernigov regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol and Second Lieutenant M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The rebels captured the city of Vasilkov and headed to Zhitomir to join other units that were being prepared for action by conspiratorial officers. However, a government detachment blocked their path. Artillery salvoes fell on Chernigov residents. Muravyov-Apostol was wounded and woke up already arrested. Bestuzhev-Ryumin was also seized with weapons in his hands. The rebels were scattered. Arrests began.

On December 17, 1825, he began work in St. Petersburg Investigative Committee, which sat for six months. Nicholas I took a direct part in its work, interrogating the Decembrists himself. Three questions interested the investigators - involvement in plans for regicide, in an armed uprising in St. Petersburg and in the south, and attitude to secret anti-government organizations.

They, the nobles, sought to show the first nobleman of the empire the validity and regularity of their actions. Many were strongly impressed by the personal interest of Nicholas I in finding out the reasons for the revolutionary mutiny of a group of officers. Others were broken by the difficult conditions of detention in the fortress, complete uncertainty about their fate, and fear of death.

According to the results of the trial, five 4P Estel, Ryleev, S. Muravyov-Apostol, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Kakhovsky) were executed as villains. The court sentenced the rest to various punishments - to hard labor, deprivation of ranks, demotion to the ranks. The soldiers themselves faced punishment with spitzrutens and exile to distant garrisons. The entire penal Cherni-Sonsky regiment was sent to the Caucasus. Some Decembrist officers were also exiled there. In total, about 600 people were involved in the investigation and investigation.

Only after the death of Nicholas I in 1855, having spent about 5 years in penal servitude and in exile, the surviving Decembrists received an amnesty, left the penal dungeons, but remained in a settlement in Siberia: they were prohibited from entering the central provinces of Russia.

The Decembrist movement went unnoticed by the majority of the population of the vast empire, but left a significant mark among the top of society, the ruling elite, and the emerging intelligentsia.

At the same time, the uprising of December 14, 1825 frightened and puzzled the well-meaning part of Russia and forced conservative forces led by the new emperor to rally.

The extremism of the Decembrists, the blood they threatened Russia with, resulted in a long break in the country’s re-<|к>rmist efforts, and later with a painful and overly cautious approach to constitutional reforms, to the abolition of serfdom. The evolutionary path of development of the country turned out to be slow. The reactionary nobility could triumph.