Nikita Muravyov was one of the leaders of the Decembrist movement. He became the author of the first draft of the constitution, and for some time headed the Northern Secret Society. During the uprising in St. Petersburg, Muravyov was not in the capital, but he was still arrested on the slander of an informer.
Early years
The future Decembrist Nikita Muravyov was born on July 30, 1795 in St. Petersburg. He was from a prominent family. His father, Mikhail Muravyov, is a senator, a trustee of Moscow University, a publicist writer and a major educator. Mother Ekaterina belonged to the noble Russian noble family of the Kolokoltsevs.
Nikita Muraviev was educated at home, and later graduated from Moscow University (Physics and Mathematics Department). Early in 1812 he became a collegiate registrar. However, in the summer the war began. Napoleon's army invaded Russia. Muravyov Nikita left home without explaining to his parents and went to the army. The young man was enrolled there as an ensign. He became a member of the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814. The ensign ended up on the battlefield near Leipzig. The battle became known as the "Battle of the Nations" because of its magnitude.
In Europe
At the end of the campaign, Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich transferred to the General Staff. However, a few months later, in the same 1814, Napoleon returned from exile on the Elbe. The famous "100 days" began. Muravyov at this time, after the aggravation of the situation in Europe, was seconded to Arseny Zakrevsky, one of the generals of the Russian headquarters in Vienna.
In the summer of 1815, Napoleon was finally defeated. The former emperor was sent to Saint Helena, where he died. Meanwhile, young Muravyov Nikita triumphantly entered Paris. Like the rest of the participants in Russian foreign campaigns, he was surprised at how life in Europe differs from the realities of his native country. It was these impressions that later made many young people become Decembrists. In the meantime, Muravyov was celebrating another victory with his comrades. In Paris, he made many important acquaintances, meeting with the leaders of the French Revolution - Bishop Henri Gregoire, writer Benjamin Constant, etc.
Return home
Feeling Russia's backwardness from the West, Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich, after returning to his homeland, took up his education with redoubled energy. Even then, he knew many future Decembrists. They were united by the same biography circumstances: war, a trip abroad, enthusiastic impressions of a free Europe.
Ants stood byorigins of the first organizations of the Decembrists. In 1816, the Union of Salvation was created, and in 1818, the Union of Welfare. The last organization included about 200 people. Formally, it was a secret, but in fact the community was widely known. They knew about him at the very top. The goal of the Union was to educate the people and, especially, the serfs. Decembrist Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich and his supporters believed that slavery in the countryside was the main evil in Russia. They saw the bright future of the country in the liberated peasant.
Prosperity Union
In the Union of Welfare, Nikita Muravyov, together with Sergei Trubetskoy and Alexander Muravyov (namesake), wrote the charter of the community - the Green Book. It formulated the main demands of those dissatisfied with the authorities. They wanted the abolition of serfdom, the destruction of the autocracy and the emergence of the Russian constitution.
Even Alexander I knew about the Green Book. Moreover, he gave it to his intended successor, his younger brother Konstantin Nikolayevich, to read it. At first, the emperor did not pay attention to the Decembrist organizations, considering them to be fun for the youth of the capital. However, in 1820, Alexander's opinion changed after several revolutions took place in Europe, and in Russia, the Semyonovsky regiment rebelled against its superiors.
Draft constitution
The Welfare League was dissolved in 1821year. After the split of this organization, Nikita Muravyov became the initiator of the creation of the Northern Society. In parallel with this, he served in the guard. Being with her in Minsk, the Decembrist developed the first draft of the future constitution. In addition to the old requirements, new important provisions appeared in it. The constitution of Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov was written for a country in which the feudal system, recruitment, military settlements would be destroyed (which is why the Semenovsky regiment rebelled). The monarchy was to become limited. This project was criticized by other Decembrist leaders.
Ants was the most influential member of the Northern society along with Nikolai Turgenev and some other young people. The Decembrist did not forget to keep in touch with Pavel Pestel. He, in turn, was the head of the Southern Society and even made Muravyov a member of its governing body - the Directory, despite some ideological differences.
Arrest and exile
In December 1825, Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov, whose biography is an example of the life of one of the most important figures of the Decembrist movement, went on vacation with his family. Because of this, he missed all the events associated with an attempted uprising, standing on the Senate Square and the defeat of those dissatisfied with the state system. Muravyov was arrested a few days later, on December 20. His leading role in the life of the secret society was reported by Arkady Maiboroda, a former friend of Pestel and recently joined the Southern Society.
In 1826, by decision of the authorities, Muravyov wasexiled to hard labor for 15 years (later the term was reduced). He presented his own essay on the history of revolutionary society to the secret committee investigating the case of the Decembrists. The convict served his sentence in the Chita prison and at the Petrovsky plant. In exile, he kept in touch with some Decembrists. After 10 years of hard labor, Muravyov went to a settlement in the Irkutsk village of Urik. There he was engaged in agriculture and even opened his own mill. He died at the age of 47, on May 10, 1843, without waiting for a pardon and return to St. Petersburg.
