The French Revolution is a turning point in European history. At the same time, even after more than 200 years, it leaves us with a lot of debatable questions. This is especially true for individuals. Some of them managed to act as leaders, and perhaps even executioners of the revolution, as well as its victims. Maximilian Robespierre remains the most striking example in the list of such personalities. The article is devoted to the description of Robespierre's path to power, as well as the history of his political collapse, which ended with the guillotine. When did Robespierre's execution take place? The date will also become known to you in the process of reading the article.
Maximilian Robespierre before the revolution and at its beginning
Robespierre's life story before 1789 cannot be called a road to power. Then France was an absolute monarchy, and no one seriously could count on minimal access to power. Robespierre was born in 1758, and at the time of the beginning of the revolution he was 31 years old. By this time, he received a law degree at one of the most prestigious universities in Europe - the Sorbonne. Later he joined the French Bar Association. Before the start of the revolution, he sided with the Third Estate and, as a qualified expert, had to draw up a normative document,which would give this estate equal rights. That is why he became a member of the States General in 1789, and a few months later the revolution began.
During 1790-1791 he took part in various debates, in the formation of the National Guard, in the drafting of the Declaration of Human Rights. By the way, at the beginning of the revolution, the political Jacobin Club was created, and by 1790 Robespierre became its leader.
Rise to power
In 1792, the monarchy in France fell, and King Louis XVI was executed the following year. After the overthrow of the king, a new state body was formed - the National Convention. Initially, Maximilian Robespierre and his club were in alliance with the Girondins, but opinions began to diverge dramatically. A curious moment happened already at the end of 1792, when the newspapers of France began to submit reports from Robespierre's speeches at the Jacobin Club as if this organization had already become a national body. In his speeches, Robespierre repeatedly stated his desire to continue the revolution, cleanse the country of traitors, including those in the army. In addition, the Girondins began to pay great attention to the provinces, which, according to Robespierre, could threaten the country with tendencies towards separatism. In May 1793, the Girondins expelled the Jacobin Marat from the Convention and arrested several others. This caused a scandal and statements about the betrayal of the interests of the revolution by the Girondins. In response, Robespierre organized a coup, removing all the Girondins from power.
Terror
In June 1793Marat, a friend and colleague of Maximilian Robespierre, was killed. This was not only a personal insult to the leader of the Jacobins, but also an occasion to respond with violence for violence. The Committee of Public Safety was formed. This form of organization of power was called the "tyranny of freedom", supposedly until the victory of the revolution, it is necessary to endure and eliminate undesirable elements, for example, enemies of France, traitors and deserters. The period from September 1793 to July 1794 is called the era of terror, or the Jacobin dictatorship. The leader Maximilian Robespierre played a key role in these events. During this period, about 40 thousand people were executed, among them many famous politicians, generals and even scientists, for example, the founder of modern chemistry, Lavoisier.
Reforms of Maximilian Robespierre
In addition to organizing terror, Robespierre made several major changes:
- Peasant reform. Since the Jacobins relied on the lower classes, they began to redistribute the land.
- New Constitution. According to it, France became a republic, but until the end of the terror, Robespierre held power, who actually became a dictator.
- "Suspicious Law". Allowed the relevant services to arrest anyone who could be suspected of betraying the interests of France.
- Attempt to introduce the Cult of the Supreme Being. Thus, Maximilian Robespierre tried to take a step towards reducing the role of the church, and possibly even creating a new faith.
Arrest and investigation
In 1794, the terror became more widespread, and even membersThe Jacobin Club ceased to understand its necessity. A split was brewing in the organization, and many understood that in order to end the regime, it was necessary to remove Robespierre. On July 27, 1794, a brawl broke out at a meeting of the Convention, at night it came to a shootout, during which Robespierre was wounded in the jaw. He was seized and sent to the body that he himself created - the Committee of Public Safety. The surgeon operated on him and the Committee sentenced him to death.
The execution of Robespierre. Headless Revolution
When was the execution of the sentence? The execution of Robespierre and his supporters took place on the morning of July 28. He was put in a wagon and taken to Revolution Square. By the way, the wagon was driving near Robespierre's house, which by that time had already been completely searched, the window boarded up, and someone even doused it with red paint.
Together with Maximilian Robespierre, his younger brother was executed. The instrument was chosen classic for that time - the guillotine. It was M. Robespierre who made it massive. The execution (year - 1794) was the logical conclusion of his activities.
Memory in culture
After the execution, Robespierre (year 1794) was not forgotten. For a long time, his figure frightened and attracted cultural figures all over the world. It was they who made a lot of efforts to attract public interest in this historical figure. So, the classics of French literature wrote works about this figure, for example, Roland staged a play named after him, and Robespierre is present in Hugo's novel “93rd Year” ascharacter.
In the cinema, the image of Robespierre appeared after 1938, in the film Marie Antoinette. In 2016, the third part of the movie "Aliens" was filmed, in which Robespierre appears as one of the characters.
Robespierre and various titles
Today, a metro station in Paris, a college and a school in France are named after Robespierre. Until 2014, there was the Robespierre embankment in St. Petersburg. In France, since the 1960s, there have been discussions about renaming one of the streets of Paris in honor of the leader of the Jacobins. In addition, during World War II, one of the partisan anti-Nazi groups in France was named after him. By the way, the image of Robespierre was used during the last elections in France: his face was placed next to the inscription "No Corruption".
Publicistic activities
In addition to his political career, Maximilian Robespierre was also engaged in journalistic activities, for example, writing articles for newspapers. The idea of publishing his works first arose in France. Several volumes were printed in 1912-1914. Already in the 1950s, the idea arose to translate into Russian and publish in Moscow. The fact is that in Soviet times there was a very great admiration for this person, he was considered one of the main creators of the Great French Revolution. In 1959, the book "Revolutionary Legality and Justice" was published, and already in 1965 a collection of his works was published in three volumes. It included not only his articles, but also speeches at various meetings. By the way, the French edition currently has more than 11 volumes.
History score
Robespierre is a very controversial person not only on the scale of the French Revolution, but also on the scale of world history. On the one hand, it was the peak of the revolution in France, complicated by international intervention, and Robespierre could really see people who did not act in the interests of the French people. However, later terror for Robespierre turned into a tool to fight the opposition, to eliminate objectionable personalities. Ultimately, Maximilian wanted to “cleanse” France and possibly return the republic, but as a result he himself became a victim of his own regime, without completing his work, which adds to the discussion about this historical figure.
The most interesting thing is that already in the 20th century he became a role model for many dictators. His thoughts about the continuation of the revolution, bringing it to a victorious end and the fight against its enemies were repeated by Stalin almost word for word.
