Revolutionaries and members of the opposition movement in the Russian Empire were often sent to hard labor in Siberia. Hard labor was usually preceded by a civil execution, that is, the deprivation of class, political and civil rights. Of the well-known personalities who were subjected to such punishment, only the Decembrists and Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky are usually remembered. Civil execution (a brief description of the ceremony and reasons) of the latter are discussed in this article.
Activity of N. G. Chernyshevsky
Already in his student years, Chernyshevsky was ready to devote himself to revolutionary activities. His first literary works date back to this time. He wrote political-economic, literary-critical and historical-literary works, articles covering economic and political issues. Nikolai Gavrilovich wasthe ideological inspirer of the organization "Land and Freedom".
Political Ideology: The Peasant Question
In several of his publications, Chernyshevsky touched on the idea of freeing peasants with land without redemption. In this case, communal ownership should have been preserved, which would later lead to socialist land tenure. But according to Lenin, this could lead to the most rapid and progressive spread of capitalism. When the press printed the "Manifesto" of Tsar Alexander II, only excerpts were placed on the first page of the Sovremennik. In the same issue, the words "Songs of the Negroes" and an article on slavery in the United States were printed. Readers understood exactly what the editors wanted to say.
Reasons for the arrest of theorist of critical socialism
Chernyshevsky was arrested in 1862 on charges of compiling a proclamation "To the fraternal peasants…". The appeal was passed on to Vsevolod Kostomarov, who (as it turned out later) turned out to be a provocateur. Nikolai Gavrilovich was already then in documents and correspondence between the gendarmerie and the police called "enemy number one of the Empire." The immediate reason for the arrest was an intercepted letter from Herzen, in which Chernyshevsky was mentioned in connection with the idea of publishing the banned Sovremennik in London.
The investigation lasted a year and a half. In protest, Nikolai Gavrilovich went on a hunger strike, which lasted 9 days. In prison, he continued to work. For 678 days of imprisonment, Chernyshevsky wrote at least 200 sheets of textmaterials. The most ambitious work of this period is the novel What Is To Be Done? (1863), published in issues 3-5 of Sovremennik.
In February 1864, the senator announced the verdict in the case: exile to hard labor for fourteen years, and then life-long settlement in Siberia. Alexander II reduced the term of hard labor to seven years, but in general, Nikolai Gavrilovich spent more than twenty years in prison, hard labor and exile. In May, the civil execution of Chernyshevsky took place. Civil execution in the Russian Empire and other countries was a form of punishment that consisted in depriving a prisoner of all ranks, class privileges, property, and so on.
Civil execution ceremony of N. G. Chernyshevsky
The morning of May 19, 1864 was foggy and rainy. About 200 people gathered on Mytninskaya Square - at the site of the civil execution of Chernyshevsky - writers, publishing house employees, students, and detectives in disguise. By the time the verdict was announced, about two and a half thousand people had already gathered. Along the perimeter, the square was cordoned off by policemen and gendarmes.
A prison carriage drove up, from which three people got out. It was Nikolai Chernyshevsky himself and two executioners. In the middle of the square stood a high pillar with chains, to which the new arrivals headed. Everything froze when Chernyshevsky went up to the dais. The soldiers were commanded: “On guard!”, And one of the executioners removed the cap from the convict. The reading of the verdict has begun.
The illiterate executioner read loudly, but with stutters. In one place, he nearly said:"satsal ideas". A smile flickered across Nikolai Gavrilovich's face. The verdict declared that Chernyshevsky had a great influence on the youth through his literary activity and that for malicious intent to overthrow the existing order, he was deprived of his rights and referred to hard labor for 14 years, and then settled permanently in Siberia.
During the civil execution, Chernyshevsky was calm, all the time looking for someone in the crowd. When the verdict was read, the great son of the Russian people was lowered to his knees, his sword was broken over his head, and then he was chained to a pillory. For a quarter of an hour Nikolai Gavrilovich stood in the middle of the square. The crowd calmed down and at the place of civil execution N. G. Chernyshevsky, deathly silence reigned.
Some girl threw a bouquet of flowers to the post. She was immediately arrested, but this act inspired others. And other bouquets fell at Chernyshevsky's feet. He was hastily released from the chains and put into the same prison carriage. The youth who were present at the civil execution of Chernyshevsky saw off their friend and teacher with shouts of "Goodbye!" The next day, Nikolai Gavrilovich was sent to Siberia.
The reaction of the Russian press to the execution of Chernyshevsky
The Russian press was forced to remain silent and did not say a word about the fate of Nikolai Gavrilovich.
In the year of the civil execution of Chernyshevsky, the poet Alexei Tolstoy was on a winter court hunt. Alexander II wanted to find out from him about the news in the literary world. Then Tolstoy replied that literature has put on mourning overunfair condemnation of Nikolai Gavrilovich. The emperor abruptly cut short the poet, asking him never to remind him of Chernyshevsky.
The further fate of the writer and revolutionary
Chernyshevsky spent the first three years of hard labor on the Mongolian border, and then was transferred to the Alexander Plant. He was allowed to visit his wife and young sons. Nikolai Gavrilovich's life was not too hard, since political prisoners at that time did not carry real hard labor. He could communicate with other prisoners, walk, for some time Chernyshevsky even lived in a separate house. At one time, performances were staged in hard labor, for which the revolutionary wrote small plays.
When the term of hard labor ended, Nikolai Gavrilovich could choose his place of residence in Siberia. He moved to Vilyuisk. In his letters, Chernyshevsky did not upset anyone with complaints, he was calm and cheerful. Nikolai Gavrilovich admired the character of his wife, was interested in her he alth. He gave advice to his sons, shared his knowledge and experience. During this time, he continued to engage in literary activities and translations. Nikolai Gavrilovich immediately destroyed everything written in hard labor, while in the settlement he created a cycle of works about Russian life, the most significant of which is the novel Prologue.
Russian revolutionaries tried several times to release Nikolai Gavrilovich, but the authorities did not allow it. Only by 1873, ill with rheumatism and scurvy, was he allowed to move to Astrakhan. In 1874, Chernyshevsky was officially offeredrelease, but he does not petition. Thanks to the care of Mikhail (Chernyshevsky's son), Nikolai Gavrilovich moved to Saratov in 1889.
Four months after the move and twenty-five years after the civil execution, Chernyshevsky died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Until 1905, the work of Nikolai Gavrilovich was banned in Russia.
Other famous people subjected to civil executions
Hetman Mazepa was the first in Russian history to undergo civil execution. The ceremony took place in the absence of the convict, who was hiding in Turkey.
In 1768, S altychikha was deprived of all property and estate rights - Daria Nikolaevna S altykova, a sophisticated sadist and murderer of several dozen serfs.
In 1775, the executioners performed the ritual execution of M. Shvanvich, and in 1826 the Decembrists were deprived of their rights: 97 people in St. Petersburg and 15 naval officers in Kronstadt.
In 1861 Mikhail Mikhailov was executed, in 1868 Grigory Potanin, and in 1871 Ivan Pryzhkov.
