Mutiny in Senate Square. Uprising on the Senate Square: the loss of the romantics

15.10.2019

On December 14, 1825, unprecedented events took place in Imperial Petersburg, the then capital of Russia. For the first time the Russian capital saw an uprising against autocracy and serfdom.

The day of December 14 was the day of the oath to the new emperor - Nicholas I. His elder brother - Alexander I had just died childless, the brother following him, Konstantin, renounced the throne, and now the third brother, Nicholas, a rude and ignorant serf-owner and tormentor of soldiers - already put his foot on the step of the throne ...

The uprising of the Decembrists was not an accidental outbreak: it matured in the depths of the young Russian revolutionary movement for about ten years.

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

Nikita Muravyov, Sergei Trubetskoy, and later the famous poet Kondraty Ryleyev, who rallied the militant republicans around him, played the main role in Northern society. In the Southern Society, the main leader was Colonel Pavel Pestel (see the article "Russian Truth" by the Decembrist P.I. Pestel).

The first Russian revolutionaries wanted to raise an armed uprising among the troops, overthrow the autocracy, abolish serfdom and popularly adopt a new state law - a revolutionary constitution. It was decided to speak at the time of the change of emperors on the throne. After the death of Alexander I, an interregnum arose - a government crisis that was beneficial to the revolutionaries.

The Decembrists carefully worked out 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 insurgent troops were to occupy the Winter Palace and Peter and Paul Fortress, the royal family were to be arrested. If necessary, it was supposed to kill the king. In the meantime, as the Decembrists thought, deputies elected from the provinces would come to St. Petersburg from all sides. Autocracy and serfdom will collapse. Will begin new life liberated people.

Portrait of S. I. Muravyov-Apostle. Engraving.

A dictator was elected to lead the uprising - a longtime member of the society, one of its founders - Guards Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy.

More than three thousand guardsmen under the command of revolutionary noble officers gathered on Senate Square capitals raised by the heated speeches of their leaders. The first to march on the square was the Moscow Guards Regiment. He was raised to rebellion by the revolutionary speech of the officer Alexander Bestuzhev. The regimental commander, Baron Frederick, wanted to prevent the rebels from entering the square, but fell with a severed head under the blow of the saber of officer Shchepin-Rostovsky. Soldiers of the Moscow Regiment came to Senate Square with a fluttering regimental banner, loaded their guns and took live ammunition with them. The regiment lined up in a battle square (quadrangular) near the monument to Peter I.

Meanwhile, the working people of the capital began to arrive on the square. There were quite a few artisans, peasants who came to St. Petersburg to earn money, serfs, petty officials, and employees. The governor-general of St. Petersburg Miloradovich galloped up to the rebels and began to persuade the soldiers to disperse and take the oath. But the chief of staff of the uprising, officer Yevgeny Obolensky, turned Miloradovich's horse with a bayonet, wounding the general in the thigh, and the bullet of another member of the secret society, Pyotr Kakhovsky, mortally wounded Miloradovich. Under the command of naval officers Nikolai Bestuzhev and Arbuzov, insurgent sailors came to the square - the guards marine crew, followed by a regiment of insurgent life grenadiers.

Portrait of K. F. Ryleev. Miniature 1820

Several times, on the orders of Nicholas I, the horse guards went on the attack on the rebel troops, but all attacks were repulsed by rifle fire. The protective chain that emerged from the Kare of the rebels disarmed the tsarist policemen. With raised crosses, in solemn attire, sparkling with diamonds, Metropolitans Seraphim and Eugene came to “exhort” the troops, but in vain: “the soldiers did not stagger before the metropolitan,” as one of the Decembrists said.

And people kept coming to the square. The tsarist troops surrounded the rebels, but they themselves were surrounded on all sides by a wide and dense ring of the assembled crowd. Stones and sticks were thrown at the king and his retinue. The people were clearly on the side of the uprising.

The short winter day was drawing to a close. “We had to decide to put an end to this soon, otherwise the riot could be communicated to the mob, and then the troops surrounded by it would be in the most difficult position,” Nikolai later wrote in his Notes.

After three o'clock in the afternoon it became noticeably darker. The king ordered to shoot grapeshot. The first volley was fired above the soldiers' ranks, precisely at the "mob" that dotted the roofs of the Senate and neighboring houses. The rebels responded to this volley with rifle fire. But then, under a hail of buckshot, the ranks trembled, wavered, the wounded and killed fell.

The tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along the Angliskaya and Galernaya embankments. Part of the rebels retreated to the Neva ice and restored battle formations there. Buckshot rained down on the ranks, cannonballs broke the ice, soldiers drowned in icy water.

By nightfall, the first Russian uprising in the tsarist capital was over. Dozens of corpses remained on the square. The police covered the pools of blood with snow. Fires were burning everywhere. There were guard patrols. The arrested were taken to the Winter Palace.

Not everything that was planned came true. It was not possible to raise all the planned regiments for the uprising. There were no artillery units among the rebels. The dictator Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising and did not come to the square. The rebel troops lined up in front of the empty Senate building - the senators had already taken the oath and dispersed. The Decembrists were afraid to involve the people in the uprising: it could go further than they expected. The main thing is that the Decembrists were far from the people. They feared the insurgent people and the "horrors of the French Revolution." And then - the royal buckshot put an end to the first Russian revolutionary uprising.

In the south, to support the uprising in the capital, on December 29, 1825, the infantry regiment of Chernigov led by revolutionary commanders Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin set out. This uprising lasted five days, but on the sixth (January 3, 1826) it was defeated by the tsarist troops near the village of Trilesy, not far from the city of Vasilkov.

On July 13, 1826, Kondraty Ryleev, Pavel Pestel, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and Pyotr Kakhovsky were hanged on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress. 121 Decembrists were exiled to Siberia for hard labor or a settlement. Many soldiers - participants in the movement - were driven through the ranks, exiled to Siberia or the Caucasus, where military operations were going on at that time. The rebel regiments were disbanded.

The Decembrists were defeated, but it was not for nothing that Lenin said: "Their cause was not lost." The Decembrists laid the foundation for the Russian revolutionary movement. Their struggle against autocracy and serfdom was continued by the next generations of revolutionaries.

Uprising on the Senate Square

Decembrist revolt A failed coup attempt. Held in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on December 14 (26). It differed from previous attempts to seize power by a large number of participants - about 3 thousand soldiers came to the square in front of the Senate. As a result of the rebellion, 1271 people died. According to official figures, the number of victims - 80 people.

Secret societies

End of the rebellion

By nightfall, the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses remained on the square and streets. Most of the victims were crushed by the crowd, which rushed in panic from the center of events. An eyewitness wrote:

The windows on the facade of the Senate up to the top floor were spattered with blood and brains, and the walls were left with marks from buckshot.

371 soldiers of the Moscow Regiment, 277 of the Grenadiers and 62 sailors of the Naval Crew were immediately arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The first arrested Decembrists began to be brought to the Winter Palace.

Uprising of the Chernihiv Regiment

In the south of Russia, the matter also did not go without an armed rebellion. Six companies of the Chernigov regiment released the arrested Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who marched with them to Bila Tserkva; but on January 3, overtaken by a detachment of hussars with horse artillery, the rebels laid down their arms. The wounded Muravyov was arrested.

In the case of the uprising, 265 people were arrested (excluding those arrested in southern Russia and Poland - they were tried by provincial courts)

Investigation and trial

The main fault of the rebels was the murder of high-ranking civil servants (including the St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich), as well as the organization of riots, which led to numerous victims.

Mordvinov and Speransky were included in the composition of the Supreme Criminal Court - precisely those high-ranking officials who were suspected of behind-the-scenes directing of the failed rebellion. Nicholas I, through Benckendorff, bypassing the Investigative Committee, tried to find out whether Speransky was connected with the Decembrists. HELL. Borovkov testified in his notes that the issue of involvement in the plans of the Decembrists Speransky, Mordvinov, Yermolov and Kiselev was investigated, but then the materials of this investigation were destroyed.

Place of execution of the Decembrists

During the execution, Muraviev-Apostol, Kakhovsky and Ryleev fell off the noose and were hanged a second time. This was contrary to the tradition of secondary actuation death penalty, but, on the other hand, was explained by the absence of executions in Russia over the past several decades (the exception was the execution of participants in the Pugachev uprising).

In Warsaw, the Investigative Committee for the opening of secret societies began to operate on February 7 (19), and submitted its report to Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich on December 22. (Jan 3, 1827). Only after this did the trial begin, which acted on the basis of the Constitutional Charter of the Kingdom of Poland, and treated the defendants with great leniency.

Literature

Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern Society, M.: MGU Publishing House, 1981

Notes

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Carl Kolman. Decembrist uprising ... Wikipedia

Carl Kolman. Decembrist uprising Decembrist uprising failed coup attempt. It took place in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on December 14 (26), 1825. From previous attempts to seize power ... ... Wikipedia

Briefly? The coup attempt is surrounded by so many events and is characterized by so many nuances that entire books are dedicated to it. This was the first organized protest against serfdom in Russia, which caused a huge resonance in society and had a significant impact on the political and social life the subsequent era of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. Nevertheless, in this article we will try to consecrate the Decembrist uprising briefly.

general information

December 14, 1825 in the capital Russian Empire- Petersburg - there was an attempted coup d'état. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded nobles, most of whom were guards officers. The goal of the conspirators was the abolition of serfdom and the abolition of autocracy. It should be noted that in terms of its goals, the uprising was significantly different from all other conspiracies of the era of palace coups.

Union of Salvation

The War of 1812 had a significant impact on all aspects of people's lives. There were hopes for possible changes, mainly for the abolition of serfdom. But in order to eliminate serfdom, it was necessary to constitutionally limit the monarchical power. The history of Russia of this period was marked by the massive creation on an ideological basis of communities of guard officers, the so-called artels. Of the two such artels, at the very beginning of 1816, its founder was Alexander Muravyov, Sergey Trubetskoy, Ivan Yakushkin became, later Pavel Pestel joined. The goals of the Union were the liberation of the peasants and the reform of state administration. Pestel wrote the charter of the organization in 1817, most of the participants were in Masonic lodges, because the influence of Masonic rituals was reflected in the everyday life of the Union. Disagreements among members of the community over the possibility of assassinating the tsar in the course of a coup d'etat caused the Union to be dissolved in the fall of 1817.

Welfare Union

At the beginning of 1818, the Welfare Union, a new secret society, was organized in Moscow. It included two hundred people who were preoccupied with the idea of forming an advanced public opinion, creating a liberal movement. For this, it was supposed to organize legal charitable, literary, and educational organizations. More than ten union councils were founded throughout the country, including in St. Petersburg, Chisinau, Tulchin, Smolensk and other cities. “Side” councils were also formed, for example, the council of Nikita Vsevolzhsky, the “Green Lamp”. Members of the Union were to actively participate in public life, try to take high positions in the army, government agencies. The composition of the society changed regularly: the first members started families and retired from political affairs, they were replaced by new ones. In January 1821, for three days, a congress of the Welfare Union was held in Moscow, due to disagreements between supporters of the moderate and radical movements. The activities of the congress were led by Mikhail Fonvizin and it turned out that the scammers informed the government about the existence of the Union, and it was decided to formally dissolve it. This made it possible to get rid of people who got into the community by accident.

Reorganization

The dissolution of the Welfare Union was a step towards reorganization. New societies appeared: Northern (in St. Petersburg) and Southern (in Ukraine). The main role in the Northern Society was played by Sergey Trubetskoy, Nikita Muravyov, and later by Ryleyev Kondraty, a famous poet who rallied the militant republicans around him. The head of the organization was Pavel Pestel, the officers of the guard Mikhail Naryshkin, Ivan Gorstkin, naval officers Nikolai Chizhov and the brothers Bodisko, Mikhail and Boris took an active part. The Kryukov brothers (Nikolai and Alexander) and the Bobrischev-Pushkin brothers participated in the Southern Society: Pavel and Nikolai, Alexey Cherkasov, Ivan Avramov, Vladimir Likharev, Ivan Kireev.

Background of the events of December 1825

The year of the Decembrist uprising has come. The conspirators decided to take advantage of the difficult legal situation that developed around the right to the throne after the death of Alexander I. There was a secret document according to which Konstantin Pavlovich, the brother of the childless Alexander I, next in seniority to him, renounced the throne. Thus, the next brother, Nikolai Pavlovich, although he was extremely unpopular among the military bureaucratic elite, had an advantage. At the same time, even before the secret document was discovered, Nikolai hastened to renounce in favor of Konstantin from the rights to the throne under the onslaught of M. Miloradovich, the governor-general of St. Petersburg.

Change of power

On November 27, 1825, the history of Russia began a new round - a new emperor, Constantine, formally appeared. Even a few coins were minted with his image. However, Constantine did not officially accept the throne, but he did not renounce it either. A very tense and ambiguous position of interregnum was created. As a result, Nicholas decided to declare himself emperor. The oath was set for December 14th. Finally came the change of power - the moment that members of the secret societies have been waiting for. It was decided to start the Decembrist uprising.

The uprising on December 14 was the result of the fact that, as a result of a long night meeting on the night of 13 to 14, the Senate nevertheless recognized the legal right of Nikolai Pavlovich to the throne. The Decembrists decided to prevent the Senate and the troops from taking the oath to the new tsar. It was impossible to hesitate, especially since the minister already had a huge number of denunciations on the table, and arrests could soon begin.

The history of the Decembrist uprising

The conspirators planned to occupy the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace, to arrest royal family and, if certain circumstances arise, to kill. Sergei Trubetskoy was elected to lead the uprising. Further, the Decembrists wanted to demand from the Senate the publication of a national manifesto proclaiming the destruction of the old government and the establishment of a provisional government. Admiral Mordvinov and Count Speransky were supposed to be members of the new revolutionary government. The deputies were entrusted with the task of approving the constitution - the new fundamental law. If the Senate refused to announce a nationwide manifesto containing items on the abolition of serfdom, the equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms, the introduction of mandatory for all estates military service, the introduction of a jury trial, the election of officials, the abolition, etc., it was decided to force him to do this forcibly.

Then it was planned to convene an All-People's Council, which would decide on the choice of the form of government: a republic or If a republican form were chosen, the royal family should have been expelled from the country. Ryleev at first suggested sending Nikolai Pavlovich to Fort Ross, but then he and Pestel conceived the murder of Nikolai and, perhaps, Tsarevich Alexander.

December 14 - Decembrist uprising

Let us briefly describe what happened on the day of the coup attempt. Early in the morning, Ryleyev turned to Kakhovskiy with a request to enter the Winter Palace and kill Nikolai. He initially agreed, but then refused. By eleven in the morning, the Moscow Guards Regiment, the Grenadier Regiment, and the sailors of the Guards Naval Crew were withdrawn. In total - about three thousand people. However, a couple of days before the Decembrist uprising of 1825 began, Nikolai was warned about the intentions of members of the secret communities by the Decembrist Rostovtsev, who considered the uprising unworthy of noble honor, and the chief of the General Staff, Dibich. Already at seven in the morning, the senators took the oath to Nicholas and proclaimed him emperor. Trubetskoy, appointed leader of the uprising, did not appear on the square. The regiments on Senatskaya continued to stand and wait for the conspirators to come to a common opinion on the appointment of a new leader.

Climax events

On this day, the history of Russia was being made. Count Miloradovich, who appeared before the soldiers on horseback, began to say that if Constantine refused to be emperor, then there was nothing to be done. Obolensky, who had left the ranks of the rebels, urged Miloradovich to leave, and then, seeing that he did not react, he lightly wounded him in the side with a bayonet. Kakhovsky at the same time shot the count with a pistol. Prince Mikhail Pavlovich and Colonel Stürler tried to bring the soldiers into obedience, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the rebels twice repulsed the attack of the horse guards, led by Alexei Orlov.

Tens of thousands of residents of St. Petersburg gathered on the square, they sympathized with the rebels and threw stones and logs at Nicholas and his retinue. As a result, two "rings" of people were formed. One surrounded the rebels and consisted of those who came earlier, the other was formed from those who came later, the gendarmes did not let them into the square, so people stood behind the government troops that surrounded the Decembrists. Such an environment was dangerous, and Nicholas, doubting his success, decided to prepare the members royal family carriages in case of need to escape to Tsarskoye Selo.

Unequal Forces

The newly-made emperor understood that the results of the Decembrist uprising might not be in his favor, so he asked the metropolitans Eugene and Seraphim to turn to the soldiers with a request to retreat. This did not bring results, and Nikolai's fears intensified. Nevertheless, he managed to take the initiative into his own hands, while the rebels chose a new leader (Prince Obolensky was appointed to him). Government troops outnumbered the army of the Decembrists by more than four times: nine thousand infantry bayonets, three thousand cavalry sabers were assembled, later artillerymen were called (thirty-six guns), in total - about twelve thousand people. The rebels, as already noted, numbered three thousand.

Defeat of the Decembrists

When guards artillery appeared from the side of Admiralteisky Boulevard, Nikolai ordered a volley of grapeshot to be fired at the "mob" that was on the roofs of the Senate and neighboring houses. The Decembrists responded with rifle fire, and then, under a hail of buckshot, they fled. Shots continued after them, the soldiers rushed onto the ice of the Neva in order to move to Vasilyevsky Island. On the Neva ice, Bestuzhev made an attempt to establish battle order and go on the offensive again. The troops lined up, but were fired upon by cannonballs. The ice cracked, people drowned. The plan failed, hundreds of corpses lay on the streets and squares by nightfall.

Arrest and trial

Questions about the year in which the Decembrist uprising took place and how it ended will probably not be answered by many today. However, this event largely influenced the subsequent history of Russia. The significance of the Decembrist uprising cannot be underestimated - they were the first in the empire to create a revolutionary organization, develop a political program, prepare and implement an armed uprising. At the same time, the rebels were not ready for the trials that followed after the uprising. Some of them after the trial were executed by hanging (Ryleev, Pestel, Kakhovsky and others), the rest were exiled to Siberia and other places. A split occurred in society: some supported the tsar, others supported the failed revolutionaries. And the surviving revolutionaries themselves, defeated, shackled, captured, lived in deep spiritual anguish.

Finally

How the Decembrist uprising took place was briefly described in the article. They were driven by one desire - to oppose the autocracy and serfdom in Russia in a revolutionary way. For enthusiastic young men, outstanding military men, philosophers and economists, prominent thinkers, the coup attempt became an exam: someone showed strengths, someone weak, someone showed determination, courage, self-sacrifice, and someone began to hesitate, could not maintain a sequence of actions, retreated.

The historical significance of the Decembrist uprising lies in the fact that they laid the foundations of revolutionary traditions. Their performance marked the beginning further development liberation thoughts in serf Russia.

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

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

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

Background of the 1825 uprising

Even under Alexander I, English and German spies were actively working to destabilization situation in the country. Scrupulous work was carried out, the result of which would eventually be the restriction of the power of the autocrat.
A huge amount of work has been carried out over several years, thousands of people have been drawn into the orbit of this idea. However, when Alexander I unexpectedly died, it was a pleasant surprise for the conspirators. Immediately, conflicting instructions began to come from Foggy Albion on what to do, and the gears of this huge wrecking conspiracy began to gradually unwind.

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

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

What was the plan of the Decembrists?

The main characters in this bloody performance were:

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

Kondraty Ryleev;

Ivan Yakushin;

Sergei Trubetskoy;

Nikolay Kakhovsky;

Pavel Pestel;

Nikita Muravyov.

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

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

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

Decembrist uprising of 1825, December 14

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

However, as the teenagers say, it was already “too late to rush about,” as the flywheel of the uprising was gaining momentum. The Decembrists and their Western curators did not back down from their plans. Therefore, a number of agitators were sent to the capital's army barracks, who persuaded the soldiers to go to Senate Square and express their indignation at the events taking place in the country. This operation was carried out quite successfully, and 2350 sailors and 800 soldiers appeared on the square.

Unfortunately for the rebels, by 7 a.m., the senators had already swore allegiance Nicholas, and when the rebels were already on the square, this procedure was completed.

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

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

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

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

We must pay tribute to the king for his decisive actions, in addition, on his side was the fact that the involvement of the masses in the coup was extremely small. panheads At that time, apparently, it was not enough. Most likely, that event can be considered a really big adventure of Western intelligence services and secret societies against the Russian authorities.

Of the year. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded nobles, many of them were officers of the guard. They tried to use the guards to prevent the accession to the throne of Nicholas I. The goal of the conspirators was the abolition of autocracy and the abolition of serfdom. The uprising was strikingly different from the conspiracies of the era of palace coups in terms of its goals and had a strong resonance in Russian society, which significantly influenced the socio-political life of the era of the reign of Nicholas I that followed it.

Decembrists

Prerequisites for an uprising

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

On November 27, the population was sworn in to Constantine. Formally, a new emperor appeared in Russia, several coins with his image were even minted. But Constantine did not accept the throne, but he did not formally renounce it as emperor. An ambiguous and extremely tense position of interregnum was created. Nicholas decided to declare himself emperor. On December 14, the second oath was appointed - "re-oath". The moment that the Decembrists were waiting for came - a change of power. The members of the secret society decided to speak, especially since the minister already had a lot of denunciations on the table and arrests could soon begin.

The state of uncertainty lasted for a very long time. After the repeated refusal of Konstantin Pavlovich from the throne, the Senate, as a result of a long night session on December 13-14, 1825, recognized the legal rights to the throne of Nikolai Pavlovich.

Rebellion plan

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

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

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

After that, the All-People's Council (Constituent Assembly) was to be convened, which was supposed to decide on the form of government - constitutional monarchy or republic. In the second case, the royal family would have to be sent abroad. . In particular, Ryleev suggested that Nikolai be sent to Fort Ross. However, then the plan of the "radicals" (Pestel and Ryleev) involved the assassination of Nikolai Pavlovich and, possibly, Tsarevich Alexander.

Events December 14

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

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

Nicholas sent the soldiers of Metropolitan Seraphim to convince him and Metropolitan of Kiev Evgenia. But in response, according to the testimony of deacon Prokhor Ivanov, the soldiers began to shout to the metropolitans: “What kind of metropolitan are you when you swore allegiance to two emperors in two weeks ... We don’t believe you, go away! ..” The metropolitans interrupted the soldiers’ persuasion when the Life Guards appeared on the square Grenadier Regiment and Guards Crew, commanded by Nikolai Bestuzhev and Decembrist Lieutenant Arbuzov.

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

Nikolai was afraid of the onset of darkness, since most of all he feared that "the excitement would not be communicated to the mob", which could be active in the dark. From the side of the Admiralteisky Boulevard, guards artillery appeared under the command of General I. Sukhozanet. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. Then Nikolay ordered to shoot with buckshot. The first volley was fired above the ranks of the rebellious soldiers - on the "mob" on the roof of the Senate building and the roofs of neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley with buckshot with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of buckshot, the flight began. According to V. I. Shteingel: “It was possible to limit this already, but Sukhozanet fired a few more shots along the narrow Galerny Lane and across the Neva to the Academy of Arts, where more of the curious crowd fled!” . Crowds of rebellious soldiers rushed to the Neva ice to cross to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried on the ice of the Neva to again form soldiers into battle formation and go on the offensive against the Peter and Paul Fortress. The troops lined up, but were fired from cannons with cannonballs. The cores hit the ice and it split, many drowned. .

Arrest and trial

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

Upon the cessation of artillery fire, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered the Chief of Police, General Shulgin, that the corpses be removed by morning. Unfortunately, the performers ordered the most inhumane way. On the night on the Neva, from St. Isaac's Bridge to the Academy of Arts and further to the side of Vasilyevsky Island, many holes were made, into which not only corpses were lowered, but, as they claimed, many wounded, deprived of the opportunity to escape from the fate that awaited them. Those of the wounded who managed to escape hid their injuries, being afraid to open themselves to doctors, and died without medical help.

S. N. Korsakov from the Police Department compiled a certificate on the number of victims during the suppression of the uprising.

During the outrage on December 14, 1825, the people were killed: generals - 1, staff officers - 1, chief officers of different regiments - 17, lower ranks of the Life Guards - 282, in tailcoats and overcoats - 39, women - 79, minors - 150, mob - 903. Total - 1271 people.

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

Decree December 17, 1825 established a Commission for research on malicious societies, chaired by Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev. On May 30, 1826, the Commission of Inquiry submitted to Emperor Nicholas the most subservient report compiled by D. N. Bludov. The Manifesto of June 1, 1826 established the Supreme Criminal Court of the three state estates: the State Council, the Senate and the Synod, with the addition of "several persons from the highest military and civil officials." A total of 579 people were involved in the investigation.

Notes

, With. eight
, With. 9
, With. 322
, With. 12
, With. 327
, With. 36-37, 327
From the notes of Trubetskoy.
, With. thirteen
Decembrist revolt. Reasons for the defeat
[Vladimir Emelianenko. Californian dream of the Decembrists]
, With. 345
V. A. Fedorov. Articles and comments // Memoirs of the Decembrists. northern society. - Moscow: MGU, 1981. - S. 345.
, With. 222
From the memoirs of Steingel.
, With. 223
, With. 224
N. K. Schilder T. 1 // Emperor Nicholas the First. His life and reign. - St. Petersburg, 1903. - S. 516.
Mikhail Ershov. Repentance of Kondraty Ryleev. Secret materials No. 2, St. Petersburg, 2008.
V. A. Fedorov. Articles and comments // Memoirs of the Decembrists. northern society. - Moscow: MGU, 1981. - S. 329.

Museums of the Decembrists

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

Cinema

Literature

Academic documentary series "North Star"
Gordin Ya. The rebellion of the reformers. December 14, 1825. L.: Lenizdat, 1989
Gordin Ya. The rebellion of the reformers. After the rebellion. M.: TERRA, 1997.
Memoirs of the Decembrists. northern society/ Ed. V. A. Fedorov. - Moscow: Moscow State University, 1981.
Olenin A. N. Private letter about the incident on December 14, 1825 // Russian archive, 1869. - Issue. 4. - Stb. 731-736; 049-053.
Svistunov P. A few remarks on the latest books and articles about the event of December 14 and the Decembrists // Russian archive, 1870. - Ed. 2nd. - M., 1871. - Stb. 1633-1668.
Sukhozanet I. O. December 14, 1825, the story of the chief of artillery Sukhozanet / Soobshch. A. I. Sukhozanet // Russian antiquity, 1873. - T. 7. - No. 3. - S. 361-370.
Felkner V.I. Notes of Lieutenant General V. I. Felkner. December 14, 1825 // Russian antiquity, 1870. - Vol. 2. - Ed. 3rd. - St. Petersburg, 1875. - S. 202-230.