Report: Emergence of Southern and Northern societies. Southern society political program

The thing is that historically the Decembrists in Russia were the first who dared to oppose the power of the tsar. It is interesting that the rebels themselves began to study this phenomenon, they analyzed the reasons for the uprising on Senate Square and its defeat. As a result of the execution of the Decembrists, Russian society lost the very color of enlightened youth, because they came from families of the nobility, glorious participants in the war of 1812.

Who are the Decembrists

Who are the Decembrists? Briefly, they can be characterized as follows: they are members of several political societies fighting for the abolition of serfdom and the change of state power. In December 1825, they organized an uprising, which was brutally suppressed. 5 people (leaders) were put to shameful execution for officers. Decembrists-participants were exiled to Siberia, some were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Causes of the uprising

Why did the Decembrists revolt? There are several reasons for this. The main one, which they all, as one, reproduced during interrogations in the Peter and Paul Fortress - the spirit of free thinking, faith in the strength of the Russian people, tired of oppression - all this was born after the brilliant victory over Napoleon. It is no coincidence that 115 people from among the Decembrists were participants in the Patriotic War of 1812. After all, during military campaigns, liberating European countries, they never encountered the barbarity of serfdom. This forced them to reconsider the attitude of "slaves and masters" towards their country.

It was obvious that serfdom had become obsolete. Fighting side by side with the common people, communicating with them, the future Decembrists came to the conclusion that people deserve a better fate than a slave existence. The peasants also hoped that after the war their situation would change for the better, because they shed blood for the sake of their homeland. But, unfortunately, the emperor and most of the nobles firmly held on to the serfs. That is why from 1814 to 1820 more than two hundred peasant uprisings broke out in the country.

The apotheosis was the rebellion against Colonel Schwartz of the Semyonovsky Guards Regiment in 1820. His cruelty to ordinary soldiers crossed all boundaries. Activists of the Decembrist movement, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, witnessed these events, as they served in this regiment. It should also be noted that a certain spirit of freethinking was instilled in most of the participants by the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum: for example, I. Pushchin and V. Kuchelbeker were its graduates, and the freedom-loving poems of A. Pushkin were used as inspirational ideas.

Southern Society of Decembrists

It should be understood that the Decembrist movement did not arise out of nowhere: it grew out of world revolutionary ideas. Pavel Pestel wrote that such thoughts go “from one end of Europe to Russia”, even covering Turkey and England, which are opposite in mentality.

The ideas of Decembrism were realized through the work of secret societies. The first of them are the Union of Salvation (Petersburg, 1816) and the Union of Welfare (1818). The second arose on the basis of the first, was less conspiratorial and included a larger number of members. In 1820, it was also dissolved due to differences of opinion.

In 1821, a new organization appeared, consisting of two Societies: Northern (in St. Petersburg, headed by Nikita Muravyov) and Southern (in Kyiv, headed by Pavel Pestel). Southern society had more reactionary views: in order to establish a republic, they proposed to kill the king. The structure of the Southern Society consisted of three departments: the first, along with P. Pestel, was headed by A. Yushnevsky, the second - by S. Muravyov-Apostol, the third - by V. Davydov and S. Volkonsky.

Decembrist leaders: 1.Pavel Ivanovich Pestel

The leader of the Southern Society, Pavel Ivanovich Pestel, was born in 1793 in Moscow. He receives an excellent education in Europe, and upon his return to Russia begins service in the Corps of Pages - especially privileged among the nobles. The pages are personally acquainted with all members of the imperial family. Here, for the first time, the freedom-loving views of the young Pestel are manifested. Having brilliantly graduated from the Corps, he continues to serve in the Lithuanian regiment with the rank of ensign of the Life Guards.

During the war of 1812, Pestel was seriously wounded. Having recovered, he returns to the service, bravely fights. By the end of the war, Pestel had many high awards, including golden award weapons. After World War II, he was transferred to serve in the Cavalier Guard Regiment - at that time the most prestigious place of service.

While in St. Petersburg, Pestel learns about a certain secret society (the Union of Salvation) and soon joins it. Pavel's revolutionary life begins. In 1821, he headed the Southern Society - in this he was helped by magnificent eloquence, a wonderful mind and the gift of persuasion. Thanks to these qualities, in due time he achieves unity of views of the Southern and Northern societies.

Pestel's constitution

In 1823, the program of the Southern Society, drawn up by Pavel Pestel, was adopted. It was unanimously accepted by all members of the association - the future Decembrists. Briefly, it contained the following points:

• Russia should become a republic, united and indivisible, consisting of 10 districts. State administration will be carried out by the People's Council (legislative) and the State Duma (executive).
• In resolving the issue of serfdom, Pestel proposed to immediately abolish it, dividing the land into two parts: for the peasants and for the landowners. It was assumed that the latter would rent it out for farming. Researchers believe that if the reform of 1861 to abolish serfdom went according to Pestel's plan, then the country would very soon embark on a bourgeois, economically progressive path of development.
• The abolition of the institution of estates. All the people of the country are called citizens, they are equally equal before the law. Personal freedoms and inviolability of the person and home were declared.
• Tsarism was categorically not accepted by Pestel, so he demanded the physical destruction of the entire royal family.

Russkaya Pravda was supposed to come into force as soon as the uprising was over. It will be the basic law of the land.

Northern Society of Decembrists

The northern society begins to exist in 1821, in the spring. Initially, it consisted of two groups, which later united. It should be noted that the first group was more radical, its members shared the views of Pestel and fully accepted his "Russian Truth".

The activists of the Northern Society were Nikita Muravyov (leader), Kondraty Ryleyev (deputy), princes Obolensky and Trubetskoy. Ivan Pushchin played an important role in the Society.

The Northern Society operated mainly in St. Petersburg, but it also had a branch in Moscow.

The path of unification of the Northern and Southern societies was long and very painful. They had cardinal differences on some issues. However, at the convention in 1824, it was decided to begin the process of unification in 1826. The uprising in December 1825 destroyed these plans.

2. Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov

Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov comes from a noble family. Born in 1795 in St. Petersburg. He received an excellent education in Moscow. The war of 1812 found him in the rank of collegiate registrar at the Ministry of Justice. He runs away from home for the war, making a brilliant career during the battles.

After World War II, he began to work as part of secret societies: the Union of Salvation and the Union of Welfare. In addition, writes the charter for the latter. He believes that a republican form of government should be established in the country, only a military coup can help this. During a trip to the south, he meets P. Pestel. Nevertheless, it organizes its own structure - the Northern Society, but does not break ties with a like-minded person, but, on the contrary, actively cooperates.

He writes the first version of his version of the Constitution in 1821, but it did not find a response from other members of the Societies. A little later, he will reconsider his views and release a new program offered by the Northern Society.

Muraviev's constitution

The constitution of N. Muravyov included the following positions:

• Russia should become a constitutional monarchy: the legislative power is the Supreme Duma, consisting of two chambers; executive - the emperor (concurrently - the supreme commander). Separately, it was stipulated that he did not have the right to start and end the war on his own. After a maximum of three readings, the emperor had to sign the law. He had no right to impose a veto, he could only delay the signing in time.
• With the abolition of serfdom, the lands of the landowners should be left to the owners, and to the peasants - their plots, plus 2 acres to each house.
• The right to vote is limited to landowners. Women, nomads and non-owners were kept away from him.
• Abolish the institution of estates, equalize everyone with one name: citizen. The judicial system is the same for everyone. Muraviev was aware that his version of the constitution would meet fierce resistance, so he provided for its introduction with the use of weapons.

Preparations for the uprising

The secret societies described above lasted 10 years, after which the uprising began. It should be said that the decision to revolt arose quite spontaneously.

While in Taganrog, Alexander I dies. Due to the lack of heirs, the next emperor was to be Constantine, Alexander's brother. The problem was that he secretly abdicated at one time. Accordingly, the board passed to the youngest brother, Nikolai. The people were in confusion, not knowing about the renunciation. However, Nicholas decides to take the oath on December 14, 1825.

The death of Alexander became the starting point for the rebels. They understand that it is time to act, despite the fundamental differences between the Southern and Northern societies. They were well aware that they had catastrophically little time to prepare well for the uprising, but they believed that it was criminal to miss such a moment. This is exactly what Ivan Pushchin wrote to his lyceum friend Alexander Pushkin.

Gathered on the night before December 14, the rebels prepare a plan of action. It boiled down to the following points:

• Appoint Prince Trubetskoy as commander.
• Occupy the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress. A. Yakubovich and A. Bulatov were appointed responsible for this.
• Lieutenant P. Kakhovsky was supposed to kill Nikolai. This action was supposed to be a signal to action for the rebels.
• Carry out propaganda work among the soldiers and win them over to the side of the rebels.
• To convince the Senate to swear allegiance to the emperor was assigned to Kondraty Ryleev and Ivan Pushchin.

Unfortunately, not everything was thought out by the future Decembrists. History says that traitors from among them made a denunciation of the impending rebellion to Nicholas, which finally convinced him to appoint an oath to the Senate in the early morning of December 14th.

The uprising: how did it go

The uprising did not go according to the scenario that the rebels had planned. The Senate manages to swear allegiance to the emperor even before the campaign.

However, regiments of soldiers are lined up in battle formation on Senate Square, everyone is waiting for decisive action from the leadership. Ivan Pushchin and Kondraty Ryleev arrive there and assure them of the imminent arrival of the command, Prince Trubetskoy. The latter, having betrayed the rebels, sat out in the tsarist General Staff. He failed to take the decisive action that was required of him. As a result, the uprising was crushed.

Arrests and trial

In St. Petersburg, the first arrests and executions of the Decembrists began to take place. An interesting fact is that it was not the Senate, as it was supposed to, but the Supreme Court specially organized by Nicholas I for this case, who did not deal with the trial of the arrested. The very first, even before the uprising, on December 13, Pavel Pestel was arrested.

The fact is that shortly before the uprising, he accepted A. Mayboroda as a member of the Southern Society, who turned out to be a traitor. Pestel is arrested in Tulchin and taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Mayboroda also wrote a denunciation of N. Muravyov, who was arrested in his own estate.

579 people were under investigation. 120 of them were exiled to hard labor in Siberia (among them, Nikita Muravyov), all were shamefully demoted to military ranks. Five rebels were sentenced to death.

execution

Addressing the court about a possible way to execute the Decembrists, Nikolai notes that blood should not be shed. Thus, they, the heroes of the Patriotic War, are sentenced to the shameful gallows ...

Who were the executed Decembrists? Their surnames are as follows: Pavel Pestel, Pyotr Kakhovsky, Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The verdict was read out on July 12, and they were hanged on July 25, 1826. The place of execution of the Decembrists was equipped for a long time: a gallows with a special mechanism was built. However, it was not without overlays: three convicts fell off their hinges, they had to be hung again.

In the place in the Peter and Paul Fortress where the Decembrists were executed, there is now a monument, which is an obelisk and a granite composition. It symbolizes the courage with which the executed Decembrists fought for their ideals.

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Southern Society of Decembrists, the largest organization Decembrists in Ukraine. Created in March 1821 on the basis of the Tulchinsk Council "Prosperity Union". It was headed by the "Directory" consisting of P.I. Pestel, A.P. Yushnevsky and N. M. Muravyov. In accordance with the "statutory rules" (1821), the members of the society were divided into 3 categories, differing in the degree of awareness in the affairs of Yu. e. At the congress of the leaders of the ob-va in Kyiv (1823), the division of the ob-va into councils was formalized: Tulchinskaya (headed by Pestel), Kamenskaya (headed by S.G. Volkonsky and V.L. Davydov) and Vasilkovskaya (headed by S.I. Muravyov-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin), and adopted a program document, called. later "Russian Truth" . Southerners were supporters of the republic in the form of a single centralization. state-va, the elimination of serfdom and gratuitous alienation means part of the landowners' land in favor of the peasants, the abolition of class orders, the introduction of civil. freedom and choice. rights for men. Ch. purpose Yu. about. d. - the creation of a strong conspiratorial org-tion, by the way of the military. revolutions in the South and in St. Petersburg should overthrow the autocracy, exterminate the royal family and transfer power to the "Times, the supreme government" from the "directors" of the society, a swarm as an organ of the revolution. dictatorship will introduce a new state over the course of a number of years. device. In 1823-24, a branch of the Yu. d., which united cavalry guard officers in Ch. with F.F. Vadkovsky. Through M.I. Muravyov-Apostol Yu. o. d. kept in touch with Northern Society of Decembrists. In the spring of 1824, a meeting of the leaders of the North was held in St. Petersburg. about-va with Pestel, in the course of which a compromise was reached: sowing. the Decembrists were inclined to recognize the rep. principle, and Pestel was ready to accept the idea of ​​Establish, meetings instead of the dictatorship of the "Time, the supreme government." It was decided no later than 1826 to convene a united congress. In 1823-25 ​​Yu. D. negotiated with representatives of the Polish. Patriot Society about joint performance. In Sept. 1825 in Yu. about. d. entered on the rights of the Slavic council Society of United Slavs. In the summer of 1825, a decision was made (agreed with the Northern Society) on a speech in May 1826. Rumors about the disclosure of a secret organization by the government, the death of imp. Alexander I and the situation of the interregnum forced the postponement of the performance, which was supposed to begin with the capture of the headquarters of the 2nd Army, to January 1. 1826. After the arrest on December 13. Pestel and Yushnevsky, the defeat of the uprising on December 14. 1825 in St. Petersburg and suppression Chernihiv Regiment of the uprising Yu. o. D. has ceased to exist.

A. G. Tartakovsky.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is used.

Literature:

Decembrist revolt. Materials, vol. 4, 7, 9 -13, - M.-L., 1927-75;

Nechkina M.V., Movement of the Decembrists, vol. 1 - 2, M., 1955;

Essays on the history of the Decembrist movement. Sat. Art., M., 1954;

Gunpowder I. V., On the so-called "crisis" of the Southern Society of the Decembrists, "Uch. Zap. Saratov State University", 1956, v. 47, c. historical;

Olshansky P. N., Decembrists and the Polish national liberation movement, M., 1959;

Chentsov N. M., Decembrist uprising. Bibliography, M.-L., 1929;

Decembrist movement. Index of Literature, 1928-1959, comp. R. G. Eymontova, M., 1959.

Read further:

Welfare Union- a secret revolutionary organization of the Decembrists.

Decembrists(biographical guide).

Decembrists- participants in the Russian opposition movement, members of various secret societies of the second half of the 1810s - the first half of the 1820s, who organized the anti-government uprising on December 14, 1825 and were named after the month of the uprising.

Starting from the second half of the 1810s, some representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, the military and the nobles considered autocracy and serfdom to be destructive for the further development of the country. Among them there was a system of views, the implementation of which was supposed to change the foundations of Russian life. The following contributed to the formation of the ideology of the future Decembrists:

· the acquaintance of many officers who participated in the foreign campaign of the Russian army to defeat Napoleon, with the political and social life in the states of Western Europe;

· the influence of the works of Western writers of the Enlightenment: Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, F. R. Weiss;

disagreement with the policy of the government of Emperor Alexander I.

The ideology of the Decembrists was not unified, but was mainly directed against autocracy and serfdom. At the same time, the December movement was closely connected with the Polish secret societies, with which, since 1824, it had an agreement on a joint uprising.

Southern society (1821-1825)

On the basis of the "Union of Welfare" in 1821, 2 large revolutionary organizations arose at once: the Southern Society in Kyiv and the Northern Society in St. Petersburg. The more revolutionary and decisive Southern society was headed by P.I. Pestel, the Northern, whose attitudes were considered more moderate, was Nikita Muravyov.

In March 1821, on the initiative of P.I. Pestel, the Tulchinsk Council "Union of Welfare" restored a secret society called the "Southern Society". The structure of society repeated the structure of the Union of Salvation. Only officers were involved in the society, and strict discipline was observed in it. It was supposed to establish a republican system through regicide and a "military revolution", that is, a military coup. Pestel's Russkaya Pravda, adopted at a congress in Kyiv in 1823, became the political program of the Southern Society.

Southern society recognized the army as the mainstay of the movement, considering it the decisive force in the revolutionary upheaval. The members of the society intended to take power in the capital, forcing the emperor to abdicate. The new tactics of the Society required organizational changes: only the military, connected mainly with the regular units of the army, were accepted into it; discipline within the Society became tougher; all members were required to submit unconditionally to the leading center - the Directory.

The society was headed by the Root Duma (chairman P. I. Pestel, guardian A. P. Yushnevsky). By 1823, the society included three councils - Tulchinskaya (under the leadership of P. I. Pestel and A. P. Yushnevsky), Vasilkovskaya (under the leadership of S. I. Muravyov-Apostol and M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin) and Kamenskaya (under by V. L. Davydov and S. G. Volkonsky).

In the 2nd Army, regardless of the activities of the Vasilkovskaya Council, another society arose - the Slavic Union, better known as the Society of United Slavs. It arose in 1823 among army officers and consisted of 52 members, advocated a democratic federation of all Slavic peoples. Having finally taken shape at the beginning of 1825, in the summer of 1825 it joined the Southern Society as the Slavic Council (mainly through the efforts of M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among the members of this society there were many enterprising people and opponents of the rule of not rushing. Sergei Muravyov-Apostol called them "chain mad dogs."

It remained before the start of decisive action to enter into relations with the Polish secret societies. Pestel personally conducted negotiations with the representative of the Polish Patriotic Society (otherwise the Patriotic Union), Prince Yablonovsky. The purpose of the negotiations was to recognize the independence of Poland and transfer to it from Russia the provinces of Lithuania, Podolia and Volhynia, as well as the annexation of Little Russia to Poland.

Negotiations were also held with the Northern Society of Decembrists on joint actions. The unification agreement was hampered by the radicalism and dictatorial ambitions of the leader of the "southerners" Pestel, who were feared by the "northerners".

While the Southern Society was preparing for decisive action in 1826, its plans were revealed to the government. Even before the departure of Emperor Alexander I to Taganrog, in the summer of 1825, Count Arakcheev received information about the conspiracy sent by Sherwood, non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Bug Lancers Regiment (to whom Emperor Nicholas later gave the surname Sherwood-Verny). He was summoned to Gruzino and personally reported to Alexander I all the details of the conspiracy. After listening to him, the sovereign said to Arakcheev: "Let him go to the place and give him all the means to discover the intruders." On November 25, 1825, A.I. Maiboroda, the captain of the Vyatka Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Pestel, reported in a letter revealing information about secret societies. A. K. Boshnyak, who served as an official under the head of the Southern military settlements, Count I. O. Vipa, also participated in exposing the plans of the society.

Even earlier, in 1822, a member of the Union of Welfare, officer V.F. Raevsky, was arrested in Chisinau.

Northern society (1822-1825)

The Northern Society was formed in St. Petersburg in 1822 from two Decembrist groups headed by N. M. Muravyov and N. I. Turgenev. It was made up of several councils in St. Petersburg (in the guards regiments) and one in Moscow. The governing body was the Supreme Duma of three people (originally N. M. Muravyov, N. I. Turgenev and E. P. Obolensky, later - S. P. Trubetskoy, K. F. Ryleev and A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky) .

The program document of the "northerners" was the Constitution of N. M. Muravyov. The northern society was more moderate in its goals than the southern one, but the influential radical wing (K. F. Ryleev, A. A. Bestuzhev, E. P. Obolensky, I. I. Pushchin) shared the provisions of P. I. Pestel’s Russkaya Pravda.

Local historian of Yakutia N.S. Shchukin in his essay “Alexander Bestuzhev in Yakutsk” cites the latter’s statement: “... the goal of our conspiracy was to change the government, some wanted a republic in the image of the United States; other constitutional king, as in England; others desired, without knowing what, but propagandized other people's thoughts. We called these people hands, soldiers, and accepted them into society only for the sake of numbers. The head of the St. Petersburg conspiracy was Ryleev.

Academician N.M. Druzhinin in the book “Decembrist Nikita Muravyov” points to the disagreements existing in the Northern Society between N. Muravyov and K. Ryleev and speaks of the emergence in the Northern Society of a militant current grouped around Ryleyev. About the political views of the participants in this trend, N. M. Druzhinin writes that it “stands on different socio-political positions than Nikita Muravyov. First of all, they are staunch Republicans.”

Academician M.V. Nechkina speaks of the presence of the “Ryleev group” and draws the following conclusion: “The Ryleev-Bestuzhev-Obolensky group bore the 14 December uprising: it was that collective of people, without whose activities the performance on Senate Square simply would not have happened ...”

In 1823-1825. K. Ryleev and A. Bestuzhev published three issues of the literary almanac "Polar Star", which contained some revolutionary appeals and ideas (for example, in Ryleev's "Confession of Nalivaika"), which caused problems with censorship. The almanac published small works by A. Pushkin, E. Baratynsky, F. Glinka, I. Krylov, A. Griboedov, A. Khomyakov, P. Pletnev, Senkovsky, V. Zhukovsky and others. Many of the authors were somehow connected with the Decembrists. The question of the role in the activities of the Northern SocietyA. S. Griboyedov and A. S. Pushkin, who closely communicated with its leaders and enjoyed great prestige among freethinkers, still causes discussion in scientific circles.

Uprising on the Senate Square.

Among these disturbing circumstances, the threads of a conspiracy began to emerge more and more clearly, covering almost the entire Russian Empire like a net. Adjutant General Baron Dibich, as chief of the General Staff, took upon himself the execution of the necessary orders; he sent Adjutant General Chernyshev to Tulchin to arrest the main figures of the Southern Society. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, the members of the Northern Society decided to take advantage of the interregnum to achieve their goal of establishing a republic with the help of a military mutiny.

The abdication of the throne by Tsarevich Konstantin and the new oath during the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas were recognized by the conspirators as an opportunity for an open uprising. To avoid disagreement, which constantly slowed down the actions of society, Ryleev, Prince Obolensky, Alexander Bestuzhev and others appointed Prince Trubetskoy as a dictator. Trubetskoy’s plan, drawn up by him together with Batenkov, was to inspire the guards with doubts about the abdication of the Tsarevich and lead the first regiment that refused the oath to another regiment, gradually dragging the troops along with it, and then, having gathered them together, announce to the soldiers that there were the testament of the deceased emperor - to reduce the term of service of the lower ranks and that it is necessary to demand that this testament be executed, but not to rely on mere words, but to establish yourself firmly and not disperse. Thus, the rebels were convinced that if the soldiers were honestly told about the goals of the uprising, then no one would support them. Trubetskoy was sure that regiments would not go on regiments, that civil strife could not flare up in Russia, and that the sovereign himself would not want bloodshed and would agree to renounce autocratic power.

The day came December 14 (26), 1825; an uprising began, which was suppressed on the same day (shot with buckshot). According to official S. N. Korsakov, 1,271 people died that day.

Uprising of the Chernihiv Regiment

In the south, things also did not go without an armed uprising. Six companies of the Chernigov regiment released the arrested Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who went with them to Bila Tserkva; but on January 3, 1826, they were overtaken by a detachment of hussars with horse artillery. Muravyov ordered to go to them without a shot, hoping for the transition of government troops to the side of the rebels, but this did not happen. Artillery fired a volley of grapeshot, confusion arose in the ranks of the Chernigov regiment, and the soldiers laid down their arms. The wounded Muravyov was arrested.

In February 1821, in the south of Russia, the secret organization was revived again. From the revolutionary-minded members of the Tulchinskaya council of the Union of Welfare, a secret Southern Society of Decembrists is created. It included three departments. Tulchinskaya was the central government. The headquarters of the 2nd Army stationed in Ukraine was located in Tulchin. P.I. was at the head of this council. Pestel is the favorite adjutant of the commander-in-chief of the army, Field Marshal P.Kh. Wittgenstein. Vasilkovskaya council was headed by Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, and Kaminskaya - General Prince S.G. Volkonsky. A little later, a Directory of three persons was elected: P.I. Pestel (colonel, commander of the Vyatka infantry regiment), elected chairman of the society, quartermaster general of the 2nd army A.P. Yushnevsky and Petersburger Nikita Muravyov - to communicate with the Northern society. The directory supervised all departments

Every year, in January, starting from 1822, congresses of the Southern Society met in Kyiv to discuss organizational, tactical and program issues.

Work on his constitutional draft P.I. Pestel began in 1819-1820. in the midst of the activity of the Welfare Union. But the name Russkaya Pravda, which is associated with the most ancient monuments of Russian legislation of the time of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise, was given only in 1824. The full name of this document: both for the people and for the Provisional Sovereignty.” The last words indicate the direct purpose of the document: it is, first of all, an order to the interim government, which will be created as a result of the coup, the program of its activities. At the same time, this is a project for the future state structure of Russia, i.e. draft constitution. We come across significant sections of the text in Russkaya Pravda, representing a concentrated socio-economic analysis of the state of affairs in Russia.

In 1824-1825. Pestel continued to work on the text of Russkaya Pravda.

Russkaya Pravda posed two central questions: the overthrow of the autocracy and the establishment of a republic; the abolition of serfdom.

In order to prevent the restoration of the old regime after the revolution, P. Pestel suggested for a while, until the new order was strengthened, to hand over full power to the Provisional Government with dictatorial powers, and then the Provisional Government was to transfer full power to elected bodies.

Administrative division. Russia was divided into 10 regions and 3 appanages. Destinies: Capital (Nizhny Novgorod or Moscow), Donskoy and Kirghiz. Each region consisted of 5 provinces or districts, the provinces were divided into counties, and the counties into volosts. In each volost, 1000 male inhabitants lived.

The entire Russian people is one estate - civil. All Russians are painted according to volosts. Every Russian citizen is a member of some volost. The volost has two lists for its members: Civil and Scarb. Citizens who have some kind of property in the volost are included in the Treasury List. The tax is taken from the property, so the same person could be recorded in the Treasury lists of many volosts, but in the Civil list each citizen could be recorded only in one volost, because this list meant a political state.

The highest authorities. The supreme legislative power was transferred to the People's Veche - a unicameral parliament. It consisted of people's representatives elected for 5 years. Every year the fifth part was updated. The chairman was elected annually from among the members who sat in the last year. The People's Veche discussed and adopted laws, declared war and made peace.

Supreme - executive power belonged to the Sovereign Duma. It consisted of 5 members, elected for 5 years. Every day one of the Duma left and was replaced by another. The Chairman has been in session for the last fifth year.

The Sovereign Duma declared wars and negotiated. All ministries worked according to the orders of the Sovereign Duma. She had her own office.

In addition to these bodies, a supervisory authority was provided so that the two powers (legislative and executive) would not get out of control.

The vigilant power was entrusted to the Supreme Council, which consisted of 120 members, called boyars. Boyars were appointed for life. The provinces elected candidates to the Supreme Council, and the People's Veche of them appointed members to the Supreme Council. The chairman was elected for a year by the Council itself.

The People's Veche sent the laws adopted by it for approval to the Supreme Council, only after that the law received force.

The Council appointed from among its members one general-m | "0curator in each region (custodian) and in each ministry. The Supreme Council could bring an official to trial. The one who was prosecuted was tried in the usual judicial order. The governors-general also had duties in relation to regional The conclusion follows from this: the Council kept within the bounds of legality the People's Veche and the Sovereign Duma.

The Supreme Council appointed the commander-in-chief of the acting army.

Social program P.I. Pestel was of a radical nature. He demanded the abolition of serfdom and the gratuitous allocation of land to all peasants. P.I. Pestel counted 25

that the land, by natural right, is the property of all people, and, therefore, each person must have his share in it, the so-called. the earth is the main source of "sustenance of mankind". But according to modern laws, private property is established, and the right to property is so deeply rooted in the minds of people that it is impossible to completely break it. However, it is necessary to find ways to combine these two trends and resolve the contradiction between them. Plan P.I. Pestel was not in the elimination of land ownership, but in the transformation of all Russians into owners.

Russkaya Pravda lists three main principles that should guide the solution of the land issue:

“1 The liberation of the peasants from slavery should not deprive the nobles of the income they receive from their estates.

2. This liberation should not produce unrest and unrest in the state, for which the supreme government is obliged to use merciless severity against any violators of public peace.

3. This liberation should bring the peasants a better position against the present, and not give them an imaginary freedom!

As you can see, the author wants both the wolves to be fed and the sheep to be safe. On the one hand, the principle was proclaimed: the peasants must receive real freedom, i.e. opportunity to work on their land. On the other hand, the nobles must keep their income.

Pestel sought to reconcile these two mutually exclusive principles by dividing the entire land fund of the country into two parts: public land and private land. Public land was transferred to the disposal (but not ownership) of the volost society - the primary administrative and economic unit of the country, therefore it was called "volost", and every citizen of the country had to be "assigned" to one or another volost. Public land could not be sold or mortgaged, but was provided for the free use of a citizen if he wanted to engage in agriculture. The public land was intended for the production of a "necessary product".

By providing a guaranteed minimum of land to all those in need, Pestel hoped to put up an insurmountable barrier to the dispossession of land and pauperization (impoverishment) of the peasant.

The public fund was supposed to include state and monastic lands, and partial confiscation of landowners' lands was also envisaged.

"Division of lands"1

From this table follows:

1. If a landowner has 10,000 acres of land, then half was taken away from him free of charge.

2. If the landlord had less than 10,000 acres of land, then half was taken away in favor of the volost, and in the other volost, land was added up to 5,000 acres.

3. If the landowner had less than 5000 acres of land, then he was given for the selected half of the land for the volost exactly the same amount of acres of land in the other volost.

1 "The division of land" - a fragment from the "Russian Truth", contains a digital layout-\u003e at the mystical alienation of landlords' land in favor of the volost.

Consequently, Pestel's project did not completely destroy landownership, although it dealt a serious blow to large landowners.

In each volost, a volost bank was created, from which every citizen of the volost could take a loan to set up his own economy.

The source of the "surplus" is the second half of the land, which is privately owned. Private owners are landlords. Everyone can buy land. It was assumed that large-scale private landownership would be encouraged, since it would be a source of accumulation of capital directed to the "arrangement of manufactories, factories, plants ...".

Pestel understood the freedom of industry as the freedom of economic activity. The hired worker will have real freedom: to be hired in the city or to go to the countryside, having received the plot due to him and a loan from the bank.

Pestel's agrarian project was directed not only against feudalism, but also against certain evils of capitalism. He hoped that in the new society it would be possible to use the resources for the growth of productive forces opened up by capitalism, and at the same time to limit the possibilities of exploiting the working people, to prevent their transformation into poor proletarians.

The coexistence of two "worlds", which Pestel planned, seems utopian. Private landed property, designed to create surplus and abundance, would inevitably undermine public agriculture. This would be facilitated both by the preservation of large landlord property and by the dominance of the private capitalist element in industry and trade.

And "at the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the agrarian project of P. Pestel was more radical than the reform of 1861, carried out almost half a century later at a higher level of economic and political development of Russia, in a revolutionary situation. By 1861, the peasants owned 1/3 of all cultivated land, as a result of the reform, 1/5 of the peasant allotments were cut off by the landlords. P.I. Pestel intended to give the peasants 1/2 of the land suitable for cultivation.

Political rights. According to Russkaya Pravda, all males who have reached the age of 12 would have the right to vote.

P. Pestel paid great attention to the need to introduce general democratic rights and freedoms: the inviolability of the individual, the equality of all before the law, freedom of speech, conscience and assembly, freedom of trade. However, he also allowed the restriction of these rights: the Christian religion was provided with state support, and the creation of political parties is generally prohibited. Pestel motivated the latter by fears of the destruction of the unity of the people and the new social order.

P. Pestel considered a military-revolutionary coup with the immediate liquidation of the monarchy and the destruction (physical) of members of the royal family in order to eliminate the possibility of restoring this form of government as a means of achieving the proposed socio-political transformations. The transformation was entrusted to the Provisional Supreme Board, which was established for 10-15 years, consisted of 5 directors headed by the Dictator.

Pestel presented a project for a republic, but made its implementation dependent on a revolutionary dictatorship introduced for a considerable period, which in itself could be fraught with grave consequences. Standing up for strict and independent legality, the Decembrist considered it possible to establish a revolutionary dictatorship, practically not bound by law in its actions. In general, Pestel's Russkaya Pravda opened up much wider opportunities for Russia than in the projects of M. M. Speransky for the transition to the principles of democracy and the rule of law. But, even if it remained unrealized, it retained its historical significance as the first project of a republican constitution in Russia.

Having accepted "Russian Truth" as a program, the southern society began to develop tactical plans and, first of all, to coordinate the actions of the Southern and Northern societies by the chain of their unification. During 1823, the southerners sent their representatives, but did not achieve success. In March 1824, P.I. himself went to St. Petersburg. Pestel.

Origins of the movement

In the first decades of the 19th century, part of the representatives of the Russian nobility understood the destructiveness of autocracy and serfdom for the further development of the country. Among them, a system of views is being formed, the implementation of which should change the foundations of Russian life. The formation of the ideology of the future Decembrists was facilitated by:

• Russian reality with its inhuman serfdom;
• Patriotic enthusiasm caused by the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812;
• Influence of the works of Western Enlightenment: Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu;
• The unwillingness of the government of Alexander I to carry out consistent reforms.

At the same time, it should be noted that the ideas and worldview of the Decembrists were not unified, but they were all aimed at reforming, were opposed to the autocratic regime and serfdom.

"Union of Salvation" (1816-1818)

The charter of the society, the so-called "Green Book" (more precisely, its first, legal part, provided by A.I. Chernyshev) was known to Emperor Alexander himself, who gave it to Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich to read. At first, the sovereign did not recognize political significance in this society. But his view changed after the news of the revolutions in Spain, Naples, Portugal and the rebellion of the Semyonovsky regiment ().

The political program of the Southern Society was Pestel's Russkaya Pravda, adopted at a congress in Kyiv in 1823. P. I. Pestel was a supporter of the idea of ​​the supreme power of the people, revolutionary for that time. In Russkaya Pravda, Pestel described the new Russia - a single and indivisible republic with a strong centralized government.

He wanted to divide Russia into regions, regions - into provinces, provinces - into counties, and the volost would be the smallest administrative unit. All adult (from the age of 20) male citizens received the right to vote and could participate in the annual volost "people's assembly", where they would elect delegates to "local people's assemblies", that is, local authorities. Each volost, uyezd, gubernia and oblast had to have its own local people's assembly. The elected “volost leader” became the head of the local volost assembly, and the elected “posadniks” became the heads of the county and provincial assemblies. All citizens had the right to elect and be elected to any state body. authorities. Pestel proposed not direct, but two-stage elections: first, the volost people's assemblies elected deputies to the county and provincial assemblies, and the latter, from their midst, elected representatives to the highest bodies of the state. The supreme legislative body of the future Russia - the People's Council - was elected for a period of 5 years. Only the People's Council could legislate, declare war and make peace. No one had the right to dissolve it, since it represented, by Pestel's definition, the "will" and "soul" of the people in the state. The supreme executive body was the Sovereign Duma, which consisted of five people and was also elected for 5 years from the members of the People's Council.

In addition to the legislative and executive authorities, the state should also have a “vigilant” authority that would control the exact implementation of laws in the country and would ensure that the People’s Council and the State Duma did not go beyond the limits established by law. The central body of vigilant power - the Supreme Council - consisted of 120 "boyars" who were elected for life.

The head of the Southern Society intended to free the peasants with land and secure all the rights of citizenship for them. He was also going to destroy the military settlements and transfer this land to the free use of the peasants. Pestel believed that all the lands of the volost should be divided into 2 equal halves: into “public land”, which will belong to the entire volost society and cannot be sold or mortgaged, and “private” land.

The government in the new Russia should support entrepreneurship in every possible way. Pestel also proposed a new tax system. He proceeded from the fact that all kinds of natural and personal duties should be replaced by monetary ones. Taxes should be "levied on the property of citizens, and not on their faces."

Pestel emphasized that people, completely regardless of their race and nationality, are equal by nature, therefore a great nation that has subjugated the small ones cannot and should not use its superiority to oppress them.

Southern society recognized the army as the mainstay of the movement, considering it the decisive force in the revolutionary upheaval. Members of society intended to take power in the capital, forcing the king to abdicate. The new tactics of the Society required organizational changes: only the military, connected mainly with the regular units of the army, were accepted into it; discipline within the Society became tougher; all members were required to submit unconditionally to the leading center - the Directory.

In the 2nd Army, regardless of the activities of the Vasilkovskaya Council, another society arose - Slavic Union, better known as Society of United Slavs. It arose in 1823 among army officers and consisted of 52 members, advocated a democratic federation of all Slavic peoples. Having finally taken shape at the beginning of 1825, in the summer of 1825 it joined the Southern Society as the Slavic Council (mainly through the efforts of M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among the members of this society there were many enterprising people and opponents of the rule do not rush. Sergei Muravyov-Apostol called them "chain mad dogs."

It remained before the start of decisive action to enter into relations with the Polish secret societies. The details of these relations and the subsequent agreement have not been clarified with due clarity. Negotiations with a representative of the Polish Patriot Society(otherwise Patriotic Union) Prince Yablonovsky was personally led by Pestel. Negotiations were held with the Northern Society of Decembrists on joint actions. The unification agreement was hindered by the radicalism and dictatorial ambitions of the leader of the "southerners" Pestel, who were feared by the "northerners").

Pestel developed a policy document for the “southerners”, which he called “Russian Truth”. The conceived reorganization of Russia Pestel intended to carry out with the assistance of the indignation of the troops. The death of Emperor Alexander and the extermination of the entire royal family were recognized by members of the Southern Society as necessary for the successful outcome of the entire enterprise. At the very least, there is no doubt that there were conversations in this sense between members of the secret societies.

While the Southern Society was preparing for decisive action in 1826, its plans were revealed to the government. Even before the departure of Alexander I to Taganrog, in the summer of 1825, Arakcheev received information about the conspiracy sent by Sherwood, non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Bug Lancers Regiment (to whom Emperor Nicholas later gave the surname Sherwood-Verny). He was summoned to Gruzino and personally reported to Alexander I all the details of the plot. After listening to him, the sovereign said to Count Arakcheev: "Let him go to the place and give him all the means to discover the intruders." On November 25, 1825, Mayboroda, the captain of the Vyatka infantry regiment, commanded by Colonel Pestel, reported various revelations regarding secret societies in a most submissive letter.

Northern society (1822-1825)

The northern society was formed in St. Petersburg from two Decembrist groups led by N. M. Muravyov and N. I. Turgenev. It was made up of several councils in St. Petersburg (in the guards regiments) and one in Moscow. The governing body was the Supreme Duma of three people (originally N. M. Muravyov, N. I. Turgenev and E. P. Obolensky, later - S. P. Trubetskoy, K. F. Ryleev and A. A. Bestuzhev (Marlinsky) ).

The northern society was more moderate in its goals than the southern one, but the influential radical wing (K. F. Ryleev, A. A. Bestuzhev, E. P. Obolensky, I. I. Pushchin) shared the provisions of P. I. Pestel’s Russkaya Pravda.

The program document of the "northerners" was N. M. Muravyov's "Constitution". It envisioned a constitutional monarchy based on the principle of separation of powers. Legislative power belonged to the bicameral People's Council, executive power - to the emperor.

Insurrection

Amid these disturbing circumstances, the threads of the conspiracy began to emerge more and more clearly, covering, like a net, almost the entire Russian Empire. Adjutant General Baron Dibich, as chief of the General Staff, took over the execution of the necessary orders; he sent Adjutant General Chernyshev to Tulchin to arrest the main figures of the Southern Society. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, the members of the Northern Society decided to take advantage of the interregnum to achieve their goal of establishing a republic with the help of a military mutiny.

execution

More than 500 people were prosecuted as a result of the investigation. The result of the work of the court was a list of 121 "state criminals", divided into 11 categories, according to the degree of fault. P. I. Pestel, K. F. Ryleev, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and P. G. Kakhovsky, sentenced to death by quartering, were placed outside the ranks. Among the thirty-one state criminals of the first category, sentenced to death by beheading, were members of secret societies who gave their personal consent to regicide. The rest were sentenced to various terms of hard labor. Later, the death penalty was replaced by the death penalty for the "first-rate" members, and for the five leaders of the uprising, the quartering was replaced by the death penalty by hanging.

Notes

Literature

• Troyat Henri (literary pseudonym Lev Tarasov) (b. 1911), French writer. Fictionalized biographies of F. M. Dostoevsky, A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, L. N. Tolstoy, N. V. Gogol. A series of historical novels ("The Light of the Righteous", 1959-63) about the Decembrists. Novel-trilogy "Family Aigletière" (1965-67); short stories; plays on it. language: Vinsey "Brothers of Christ in Russia" (2004) ISBN 978-3-8334-1061-1
• E. Tumanik. Early Decembrism and Freemasonry // Tumanik EN Alexander Nikolaevich Muravyov: the beginning of a political biography and the foundation of the first Decembrist organizations. - Novosibirsk: Institute of History SB RAS, 2006, p. 172-179.

Sources on the history of the Decembrists

• "Report of the Commission of Inquiry".
• "Report of the Warsaw Investigative Committee".
• M. Bogdanovich, "History of the reign of Emperor Alexander I" (volume six).
• A. Pypin, "Public movement in Russia under Alexander I".
• bar. M. A. Korf, "The Accession to the Throne of Emperor Nicholas I".
• N. Schilder, “Interregnum in Russia from November 19 to December 14” (“Russian Antiquity”, city, vol. 35).
• S. Maksimov, "Siberia and penal servitude" (St. Petersburg,).
• "Notes of the Decembrists", published in London by A. Herzen.
• L. K. Chukovskaya "Decembrists - explorers of Siberia".

Notes of the Decembrists

• “Notes of Ivan Dmitrievich Yakushkin” (London,; the second part is placed in the Russian Archive);
• "Notes of the book. Trubetskoy "(L.,);
• "The Fourteenth of December" by N. Pushchin (L.,);
• "Mon exil en Siberie. - Souvenirs du prince Eugène Obolenski "(Lpts.,);
• “Notes of von Vizin” (Lpts., abridged printed in Russian Antiquity);
• Nikita Muravyov, "Analysis of the report of the commission of inquiry in the city";
• Lunin, "A look at the secret society in Russia 1816-1826";
• "Notes of I. I. Gorbachevsky" ("Russian Archive");
• “Notes of N.V. Basargin” (“The Nineteenth Century”, 1st part);
• “Memoirs of the Decembrist A. S. Gangeblov” (M.,);
• "Notes of the Decembrist" (Baron Rosen, Lpts.,);
• “Memoirs of a Decembrist (A. Belyaev) about what he experienced and felt, 1805-1850.” (SPb.,).

Links

• Draft constitutions by P. I. Pestel and N. Muravyov
• Summary (synopsis) of Shaporin's opera "The Decembrists" on the site "100 operas"
• Nikolai Troitsky Decembrists // Russia in the 19th century. Lecture course. M., 1997.