The history of Russia in the 19th century is incredibly rich in various events. However, the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square occupies a very special place among them. After all, if the goal of all previous successful and unsuccessful attempts to seize power in the country was to replace one autocrat with another, then this time it was about changing the social system and switching to a republican method of governing the state. The initiators of the December uprising were members of the "Southern" and "Northern" secret societies, led by N. Muravyov, S. Trubetskoy and P. Pestel.
Backstory
The story of the Decembrist Revolt is usually started with the founding by Alexander Muravyov in St. Petersburg of the "Union of Salvation" - a secret society that declared its goal the liberation of the peasants and the implementation of fundamental reforms in the sphere of government. This organization lasted only one year, and was dissolved due to differences in the views of the participants on the possibilityregicide. However, many of its participants continued their activities, now as part of the Union of Welfare. After the conspirators became aware that the authorities were going to introduce their spies into the ranks of the rebels, the "Northern" (at the beginning of 1822) and "South" (in 1821) secret societies were formed instead. The first of them operated in the Northern capital, and the second - in Kyiv.
Southern Society
Despite the somewhat provincial status of the organization of conspirators operating in Ukraine, its members were much more radical than the "northerners". First of all, this was due to the fact that the "Southern Society" consisted exclusively of officers, most of whom had experience in combat, and its members sought to change the political structure of the country through regicide and a military coup. The turning point in his activity was 1823. It was then that a congress took place in Kyiv, which adopted the program document of the "Southern Society" under the authorship of Pavel Pestel, called "Russian Truth". This work, along with the draft constitution of N. Muravyov, on which the members of the Northern Society relied, played a big role in the formation of progressive views among the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century, which, by the way, led to the abolition of serfdom.
Position document
Pestel's "Russian Truth" was presented by him to the members of the "Southern Society" in 1823. However, hebegan working on it in 1819. In total, 5 chapters were written relating to land, estate and national issues. Pestel proposed to rename Nizhny Novgorod to Vladimir and move the capital of the new Russian unified state with a republican form of government there. In addition, Russkaya Pravda raised the issue of the immediate abolition of serfdom. The program of the "Southern Society" of the Decembrists also provided for:
- Equality before the law of every citizen;
- the right to elect the "People's Council" for all men over the age of twenty;
- freedom of speech, religion, occupation, assembly, movement and press;
- inviolability of home and person;
- equality before justice.
Goals
As already mentioned, the "Southern Society" was more radical than the "Northern". His main goal was:
- liquidation of the autocracy, including the physical destruction of all representatives of the reigning house of the Romanovs;
- the abolition of serfdom, but without granting land to the peasants;
- introduction of the constitution;
- destruction of class differences;
- establishment of representative government.
P. Pestel: a brief biographical sketch
So who was at the helm of the "Southern Society" and created one of the most significant documents concerning the development of Russia, based on the principles of the Age of Enlightenment? This man was Pavel Ivanovich Pestel, who was born in 1793 inMoscow, in a German family, where they professed Lutheranism. At the age of 12, the boy was sent to Dresden, where he studied at one of the closed educational institutions. Pavel Pestel received further education in the Corps of Pages, and upon graduation, the young man was assigned to the Lithuanian regiment. The military career of the future conspirator was more than successful. In particular, Pestel showed miracles of courage during the Battle of Borodino and other battles of the Patriotic War of 1812, was awarded many Russian and allied awards.
Political activities of Pavel Pestel
After the victory over Napoleon, political organizations arose among the Russian officers, which set themselves the goal of improving the situation of the peasants and limiting or even destroying the autocracy. One of these military men was Pavel Pestel, who became a member of the "Union of Salvation", later the "Union of Welfare" and, finally, in 1821 headed the "Southern Secret Society". The main miscalculation made by Pavel Ivanovich Pestel was his proposal that, in the event of the victory of the uprising, the country should be ruled by the Provisional Government for an unlimited time. This idea aroused concern among the members of the "Northern Society", since among the rebels there were many who saw in his actions both the desire to become a dictator and Napoleonic ambitions. That is why the "northerners" were in no hurry to unite with the "southerners", which ultimately weakened their overall potential. Judging by the surviving documents, during 1824 Pestel,considering himself misunderstood by his comrades-in-arms, he experienced severe depression and even lost interest in the activities of the Southern Society for some time.
"Southern Society": participants
In addition to P. Pestel, members of a secret society organized among officers of military units stationed on the territory of modern Ukraine were several dozen well-known military men of that time. In particular, S. Muravyov-Apostol, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, V. Davydov and the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 S. Volkonsky enjoyed special authority among the leaders of the "southerners". A Directory was elected to manage the organization, which, in addition to Pestel and Nikita Muravyov, also included Quartermaster General A. P. Yushnevsky.
Actions of the authorities to expose the activities of secret societies
In the history of the Decembrist movement, as in the case of any other conspiratorial societies, there were traitors and provocateurs. In particular, the most fatal mistake was made by Pestel himself, who introduced his subordinate, Captain Arkady Mayboroda, into the secret "Southern Society". The latter did not have any education, as evidenced by the numerous grammatical errors that are present in the denunciation he wrote about Pestel, and was dishonest. In the autumn of 1825 Mayboroda committed a major embezzlement of soldiers' money. Fearing the consequences, he informed the authorities about the impending rebellion. Even earlier, a denunciation of the conspirators was made by non-commissioned officer Sherwood, who was even summoned to Alexander the First to testify andsent to the duty station, to the Third Bug Regiment, so that he could continue to report on the goals and intentions of the rebels.
Preparing for the uprising
Back in the autumn of 1825, at a meeting with General S. Volkonsky, Pestel determined the goals of the "Southern Society" for the coming months, the main of which was the preparation of the uprising, scheduled for January 1, 1826. The fact is that on this day the Vyatka regiment led by him was supposed to serve as a guard at the headquarters of the 2nd Army in Tulchin. The conspirators developed a march route to Petersburg, stocked the necessary food. They were supposed to arrest the commander and chief of staff of the army and move to St. Petersburg, where they would be supported by army units led by officers who were members of the "Northern Society".
Consequences of the Decembrist uprising for members of the "Southern Society"
Not many people know that Pavel Ivanovich Pestel was arrested even before the events on Senate Square, and more specifically on December 13, 1825, as a result of Maiboroda's denunciation. Later, 37 members of the "Southern Society", as well as 61 members of the "Northern Society" and 26 people related to the "Society of South Slavs" were detained and handed over to the court. Many of them were sentenced to various types of death pen alty, but then pardoned, with the exception of five: Pestel, Ryleev, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Kakhovsky and Muravyov-Apostol.
The uprising of the Chernihiv regiment
After it became known aboutevents on Senate Square, and many of the leaders of the "Southern Society" were arrested, their comrades-in-arms who remained at large decided to take retaliatory measures. In particular, on December 29, officers of the Chernigov regiment Kuzmin, Sukhinov, Solovyov and Schepillo attacked their regimental commanders and freed Muravyov-Apostol, who was under lock and key in the village of Trilesy. The next day, the rebels captured the city of Vasilkov and Motovilovka, where they announced the "Orthodox Catechism", in which, appealing to the religious feelings of the soldiers, they tried to explain to them that the assertions about the divinity of royal power are a fiction, and a Russian person should submit only to the will of the Lord, and not autocrat.
A few days later, near the village of Ustimovka, a clash took place between rebels and government troops. Moreover, S. Muravyov-Apostol forbade the soldiers to shoot, hoping that the commanders who were on the other side of the barricades would do the same. As a result of the massacre, he himself was wounded, his brother shot himself, and 6 officers and 895 soldiers were arrested. Thus, the "Southern Society" ceased to exist, and its members were either physically destroyed, or demoted and sent to hard labor or to troops fighting in the Caucasus.
Despite the fact that the Decembrist uprising was not successful, it pointed out to the Russian autocrats the need for reforms, which, however, were not carried out under the reactionary rule of Nicholas II. At the same time, the Southern Society program andMuravyov's "Constitution" gave impetus to the development of plans for the transformation of Russia by revolutionary organizations, which, in principle, led to the revolution of 1917.
