The Decembrist uprising on Senate Square took place on December 14 (26), 1825. It was an attempted coup by the nobles, most of whom were guard officers. The uprising on Senate Square caused a great public outcry and further affected the reign of Emperor Nicholas I.
Reasons for the coup
What caused the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square?
- The noble intelligentsia was disappointed with the reign of Alexander the First: the liberal direction was replaced by the previous reactionary course.
- People who visited Europe during the anti-Napoleonic campaign saw the difference between the European and Russian standard of living. The ideas of the Enlightenment, humanism and liberal sentiments began to spread more and more in society.
- The society was dissatisfied with the fact that the abolition of serfdom never happened.
All nobles received education and upbringing, as in European countries. Educated people could not fail to notice the wrong structure of Russian society and the unfair treatment of the peasants, the unfulfilled promises givengovernment, which was the reason for the appearance of the Decembrists.
Interregnum in 1825
The Decembrists decided to take advantage of the unstable political situation inside the country to carry out an uprising on Senate Square. This was due to the interregnum in 1825. Alexander the First left no heirs, and the throne was to pass to the middle brother Constantine. But only a very limited circle of people knew that he signed a paper in which he renounced his rights to the throne.
This became known when the subjects had already taken the oath to the new sovereign. Constantine confirmed his intention. So, Nicholas was to become emperor. The Decembrists decided to take advantage of this situation and on December 14, 1825, they went to Senate Square. One of the reasons for the uprising, they called the protection of the rights of the legitimate heir to the throne, Constantine. The uprising was crushed, and Nicholas the First ascended the throne.
Early Societies
The Decembrist movement began with the activities of secret societies. The earliest were the "Order of Russian Knights", which existed from 1814 to 1817. Their goal was to establish a constitutional monarchy.
In the spring of 1816, a secret society, the Union of Salvation, was organized. Its members were A. Muravyov and N. Muravyov, S. Trubetskoy, Pavel Pestel and other future Decembrists. In 1817, the charter of the society was drawn up, which stated that all its members would work for the good of the Russian Empire, contribute to the improvement of life in Russian society,and all participants promised to behave fairly and properly.
But the proposal to organize an attack on the emperor during his visit to Moscow caused a mixed reaction in society. Most of the members were against this idea. It was decided to dissolve this union, and on its basis - to organize a more powerful organization.
Prosperity Union Movement
In the winter of 1818, a secret society, the Union of Welfare, was formed. Even though it was secret, it was quite famous among the people. Its members were men over the age of 18, and there were more than 200 of them in the society. The Union of Welfare was run by the Root Administration and the Duma.
Members of this society spread the ideas of enlightenment and humanism, morality, and promised to behave in accordance with all notions of honor. But only members of the Root Council knew about the true goal of their movement: the establishment of constitutional government and the abolition of serfdom. Literary and educational communities took part in the dissemination of their ideas.
In 1820, the members of the Welfare Union supported the idea of establishing a republic and did not find support for the proposal to assassinate the emperor and establish a provisional government. But in the winter in 1821, it was decided to dissolve the community due to the fact that all participants could not come to a consensus. True, it was supposed to temporarily suspend its activities in order to check all its members and radically weed outconfigured. After that, restore the organization with its elected members.
Southern Society
On the basis of the Welfare Union, two secret organizations were formed. The "Southern Society" was formed in 1821 in Kyiv, and P. I. Pestel was its head. The ideas of this organization were more radical, and its members were more revolutionary.
Only officers could be in society, strict discipline was maintained in society. The main tool for establishing a new government regime, they considered a military coup. In 1823, the political program of the society, "Russian Truth", compiled by Pestel, was adopted in Kyiv.
The organization was run by the Root Duma, headed by P. I. Pestel. The society was divided into three councils, which were ruled by the following officers: P. I. Pestel, S. I. Muravyov-Apostolov, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and others.
"Southern Society" maintained contact with secret Polish organizations, the purpose of which was the return of autonomy to Poland and some provinces and the annexation of Little Russia to it. The "southerners" kept in touch with the "northerners", but they were afraid of taking too radical measures. The plans of the organization were revealed in the summer of 1825, and on November 25, information was reported that reported on the activities of secret organizations.
Northern Society
In 1822 in St. Petersburg was organized"Northern Society" by merging two Decembrist organizations headed by N. M. Muravyov and N. I. Turgenev. Later, besides them, S. P. Trubetskoy, K. F. Ryleev and other well-known Decembrists managed the activities of the society.
The political program was reflected in the Constitution drawn up by NM Muravyov. The Northern Society was less radical than the Southern Society. But they also had those to whom the "southerners" program was close. These are K. F. Ryleev, A. A. Bestuzhev, E. P. Obolensky, I. I. Pushchin. It was around these officers that the radical branch of the "Northern Society" began to form.
Some researchers believe that these members had different views on the political system, they were supporters of the republican system. Also, groups of historians believe that it was thanks to a group of people who are more radically inclined that the uprising took place on Senate Square. They also published several issues of the almanac "Polar Star", in which one could find revolutionary ideas.
Policy Documents
The Decembrists drew up several important political programs.
- The Constitution of N. M. Muravyov - it spoke about the creation of the Russian Federation, which was to include 14 powers and 2 regions. Or a constitutional monarchy was established in the country, and all decisions had to be approved by the parliament. It was supposed to consolidate large landownership.
- "Russianpravda" by P. I. Pestel - this document differed from the program of the document by N. M. Muravyov. In the view of P. I. Pestel, Russia was to become a single state with strong centralized power and a republican system. Peasant land was to become communal property.
- "Manifesto to the Russian people" by S. P. Trubetskoy - it was this document that became the slogan of the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square in 1825. It is noteworthy that this manifesto was drawn up on the eve of this event. The purpose of the uprising was the approval of this document by the Senate. According to this manifesto, the Senate was to declare a number of freedoms, dismiss officials who had served for more than 15 years, and transfer power to a temporary dictatorship.
The main ideas of the Decembrist movement were reflected in these programs.
Events on the Senate Square
The rebels wanted to prevent the new emperor from being sworn in. The troops were to capture the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Decembrists planned to arrest and deport the members of the royal family or kill them. Prince S. P. Trubetskoy was elected leader of the rebels.
Initially, Ryleev offered Kakhovskiy to sneak into the Winter Palace and kill the emperor. But he refused. By 11 o'clock in the morning, the rebels began to gather on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. But Prince Trubetskoy did not appear. Therefore, the troops had to stand around waiting for a new leader to be chosen.
Nikolai was aware of the conspiracy, so the membersThe Senate was sworn in early in the morning. To calm the rebels, the hero of the war of 1812, Miloradovich, was sent, but the Decembrists wounded him. Even though the rebels received word that the army had sworn allegiance to the new emperor.
But the Decembrists continued to expect help. As a result, the uprising was brutally suppressed. The tsarist troops fired grapeshot at the rebels and artillery pieces.
Trial of the Decembrists
The trial of the rebels was severe. On December 17, 1825, a special commission was created under the leadership of Tatishchev. The punishment was given with all severity. 5 Decembrists were sentenced to death by hanging. 17 officers were sent to hard labor in Siberia, the rest were stripped of all ranks and demoted to soldiers or sent into exile for an indefinite period.
Results of the uprising
The events on the Senate Square on December 14, 1825 were of great historical importance for the country. It was the uprising of the Decembrists that became the first association of people against the autocracy. An exceptional feature was that the rebels were educated nobles and officers who understood that serfdom must be abolished.
It was thanks to the Decembrists that revolutionary ideas began to appear. The goals of the rebels were noble, but they failed because of internal contradictions: being divided into several communities, they could not agree on ways to achieve the goal. The Decembrist uprising was also reflected not only in historical,but also literary works.
