Decembrist uprising in the history of Russia

December 14 (26th N.S.) 2019 marks the 194th anniversary of the uprising organized by a group of like-minded noblemen on Senate Square in St. Petersburg, which went down in history as “Decembrists”. Little-known official materials which spotlight events on the Senate Square from different angles are available on the Presidential Library’s portal in “Decembrists in the History of Russia” electronic collection.

When comparing such publications of different years as “Decembrists: Secret Societies” (1907), “Memoirs of the Decembrists: (notes, letters, testimonies, constitution drafts, extracts from the investigation)” edited by M. Dovnar-Zapolsky (1906), “The letters and testimonies of the Decembrists” edited by A. Borozdin (1906), “History of the USSR. Vol. 2. Russia in the 19th century” by academician M. Nechkina (1949) it becomes clear what future Decembrists were united in and on which fundamental issues had irreconcilable ideological differences.

Young Russian officers, who returned from Europe after the victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, were well aware of this situation. K. Levin in the book “Decembrists: the history of the armed uprising of December 14, 1825” (1923) notes: “In 1815, a small circle of young officers of the Semenovsky regiment, deciding to abandon binges and empty high-life, made up an “artel” for reading foreign newspapers and conversations on issues of modernity, especially on issues of Russian life. Having learned about this artel, Alexander I ordered to close it. That was enough to start secret societies”.

The rebel officers went underground, and now there was a reason (later to be judged as premature) for the embodiment of revolutionary plans: Alexander I died, and his brother Konstantin was to become emperor. However, during the life of Alexander I, Konstantin abdicated in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. His abdication was not announced publicly, so the people, the army, the state apparatus swore to Konstantin because of a lack of information. When it was officially revealed that Konstantin abdicated, a re-oath ceremony was appointed, which the conspirators took advantage of.

Members of the Northern Society, renamed the Salvation Union..., decided to withdraw troops to the Senate building to prevent officials from swearing allegiance to the new emperor. In addition, the conspirators were preparing to read out the “Manifesto to the Russian People”, according to which autocracy and serfdom were abolished in Russia, and civil liberties were introduced instead. All power passed to the interim government. Colonel of the General Staff S. P. Trubetskoy was appointed leader of the Decembrist uprising.

However, he did not appear on the Senate Square. There is no definite version of why this happened in historical literature.

Even the "Notes of Prince Sergey Trubetskoy" (1906) from the electronic collections of the Presidential Library do not give an explanation. They say that at the end of the night of the alleged day of the uprising, a runner arrived at the Trubetskoy’s house and informed the owner that already at seven in the morning the senators took the oath to Nikolai and proclaimed him emperor. The prince knew about the plans of the conspirators - to take the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace, arrest the royal family and kill the emperor if certain circumstances arise.

Trubetskoy himself, based on his notes, opposed an armed uprising, formulating the main point of disagreement of the Northern Society he led with Pestel’s “iron” tenets: “Changing the form of government by force is a terrible thing that will inevitably entail all the horrors of the French Revolution, to protect Russia from which is one of the first goals of the society”. However, the next morning the forces converged and bloodshed became inevitable.

The Decembrists tried to answer with rifle fire, but were forced to flee under a hail of cannonballs. Shots continued to be heard after them, then the rebels threw themselves on the ice of the Neva in order to move to Vasilievsky Island. On a frozen river, Bestuzhev made an attempt to establish a military order and go on the offensive. The troops were built, but again fell under the buckshot. The ice was cracking and people were drowning. As a result, the operation plan failed...

All members of the secret society and participants in the conspiracy were arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Emperor Nikolai himself acted as an investigator. Five Decembrists were sentenced to death: the first on the list was the son of the Siberian Governor-General P. I. Pestel, then K. F. Ryleyev, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P. G. Kakhovsky . In the early morning of July 13 (25), 1826, the sentence was carried out on the rampart of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Many Decembrists were exiled to Siberia for hard labor or settlement. The Presidential Library’s portal provides a quite complete information about the life of the participants in the captivity. Thus, for example, the historical essay “Decembrists in Western Siberia” (1905) by A. Dmitriev-Mamonov features a detailed description of the life of 39 exiled Decembrists in the period 1826–1856. The author also describes how they helped residents of a remote region: they taught children directly in the steppe yurt, opened schools for children and adults in Irkutsk, hospitals used by local residents.

Wilhelm Küchelbecker sent to life imprisonment in Buryatia, according to the materials of the publication “The letters and testimonies of the Decembrists: modern Russia and plans for the future”(1906), noted: “Looking at the brilliant qualities that God bestowed on the Russian people, the only one in the world in glory and power, I grieved with his soul that all this was crushed, wilted, and, perhaps, would soon fall, not bearing any fruit in the world”. 

And yet, despite the severity of their situation, the convinced participants in the uprising were warmed by the hope expressed by the Decembrist poet Odoevsky in immortal lines: “Our mournful work will not disappear: a flame will ignite from a spark!”

One of the first directors of the Imperial Public Library, a graduate of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum of the first, "Pushkin" graduation Modest Korf in the "Historical Description of December 14 and the events that preceded him" (1857) described the events on the Senate Square in his own way. He was admitted by Nicholas I to the secret documents of the state archives. They are available in the electronic reading room of the Presidential Library.

The multimedia lesson “1825: reflections on the fate of Russia”, which is dedicated to the dramatic events that took place on December 14, 1825 on the Senate Square in St. Petersburg is publicly available on the Presidential Library’s portal. As part of a multimedia lesson, schoolchildren can watch a film by the famous Russian Decembrist Y. A. Gordin, study the electronic collection of sources and historical literature “Decembrists in the History of Russia”, participate in electronic voting and have the opportunity to test their knowledge during online-testing.