Home Generator What is Southern Society? Education of northern and southern society. See what “Southern society” is in other dictionaries

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What is Southern Society? Education of northern and southern society. See what “Southern society” is in other dictionaries

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 an 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, military men and nobles considered autocracy and serfdom to be detrimental to the further development of the country. Among them there was a system of views, the implementation of which was supposed to change the structure of Russian life. The formation of the ideology of the future Decembrists was facilitated by:

· acquaintance of many officers who participated in the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army to defeat Napoleon with 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 policies of the government of Emperor Alexander I.

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

Southern Society (1821-1825)

On the basis of the “Union of Welfare” of 1821, two 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 headed by Nikita Muravyov.

In March 1821, on the initiative of P.I. Pestel, the Tulchinskaya government “Union of Prosperity” restored a secret society called “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. It was supposed to establish a republican system through regicide and a “military revolution,” that is, a military coup. Pestel’s “Russian Truth”, adopted at a congress in Kyiv in 1823, became the political program of the Southern Society.

Southern society recognized the army as the support of the movement, considering it the decisive force of the revolutionary coup. Members of the society intended to take power in the capital, forcing the emperor to abdicate. The Society's new tactics required organizational changes: only military personnel associated primarily with regular army units were accepted into it; discipline within the Society was tightened; All members were required to submit unconditionally to the leadership 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 the leadership leadership of V.L. Davydov and S.G. Volkonsky).

In the 2nd Army, independently of the activities of the Vasilkovsky government, another society arose - the Slavic Union, better known as the Society of United Slavs. It arose in 1823 among army officers and had 52 members, advocating a democratic federation of all Slavic peoples. Having finally taken shape at the beginning of 1825, it already in the summer of 1825 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 “chained mad dogs.”

All that remained before the start of decisive action was to enter into relations with 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 Volyn, as well as the annexation of Little Russia to Poland.

Negotiations were also conducted with the Northern Society of Decembrists about joint actions. The unification agreement was hampered by the radicalism and dictatorial ambitions of the leader of the “southerners” Pestel, whom the “northerners” feared.

While Southern society was preparing for decisive action in 1826, its plans were revealed to the government. Even before Emperor Alexander I left for Taganrog, in the summer of 1825, Count Arakcheev received information about the conspiracy sent by the non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Bug Uhlan Regiment Sherwood (who was later given the surname Sherwood-Verny by Emperor Nicholas). 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. Mayboroda, 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. Vip, also took part in exposing the society’s plans.

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 led by N. M. Muravyov and N. I. Turgenev. It was composed of several councils in St. Petersburg (in the guards regiments) and one in Moscow. The governing body was the Supreme Duma of three people (initially 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. Northern society was more moderate in 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 “Russian Truth”.

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; others are constitutional kings, as in England; still others wanted, without knowing what, but propagated 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 existing disagreements in Northern society between N. Muravyov and K. Ryleev and speaks of the emergence in Northern society of a militant movement grouped around Ryleev. About the political views of the participants in this movement, N. M. Druzhinin writes that it “stands on different socio-political positions than Nikita Muravyov. These are, first of all, staunch Republicans.”

Academician M.V. Nechkina speaks about the presence of the “Ryleev group” and makes the following conclusion: “The Ryleev-Bestuzhev-Obolensky group suffered the uprising on December 14: it was the group of people without whose activity 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 calls and ideas (for example, in “Confession of Nalivaika” by Ryleev), which caused problems with censorship. The almanac published short works by A. Pushkin, E. Baratynsky, F. Glinka, I. Krylov, A. Griboyedov, A. Khomyakov, P. Pletnev, Senkovsky, V. Zhukovsky and others. Many of the authors were in one way or another 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 authority among freethinkers, still causes discussions in scientific circles.

Uprising on Senate Square.

Among these alarming circumstances, the threads of a conspiracy began to emerge more and more clearly, covering, like a network, almost the entire Russian Empire. 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 most important figures of Southern society. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, members of the Northern Society decided to take advantage of the interregnum to achieve their goal of establishing a republic through a military rebellion.

The abdication of the throne by Tsarevich Constantine and the new oath upon the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas were recognized by the conspirators as a convenient opportunity for an open uprising. To avoid differences of opinion, which constantly slowed down the actions of society, Ryleev, Prince Obolensky, Alexander Bestuzhev and others appointed Prince Trubetskoy as dictator. Trubetskoy’s plan, drawn up by him together with Batenkov, was to instill doubt in the guards about the abdication of the Tsarevich and lead the first regiment that refused the oath to another regiment, gradually dragging the troops along with him, and then, having gathered them together, announce to the soldiers that there was the will of the deceased emperor is to reduce the service life of the lower ranks and that it is necessary to demand that this will be fulfilled, but not to rely on words alone, but to firmly establish yourself and not diverge. 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 the regiments would not go to the shelves, 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 grapeshot). According to official S.N. Korsakov, 1,271 people died that day.

Uprising of the Chernigov Regiment

In the south, things also did not happen without an armed uprising. Six companies of the Chernigov regiment freed the arrested Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who marched with them to Bila Tserkva; but on January 3, 1826, they were overtaken by a detachment of hussars with horse artillery. Muravyov ordered to attack them without firing a shot, hoping that the government troops would go over to the side of the rebels, but this did not happen. The 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.

Origins of the movement

In the first decades of the 19th century, some 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 emerging, 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 upsurge caused by the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812;
Influence of the works of Western educators: Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu;
The reluctance 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 united, but they were all aimed at reform and 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 revolt of the Semenovsky regiment ().

The political program of the Southern Society was Pestel’s “Russian Truth”, 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 districts, and the smallest administrative unit would be the volost. All adult (from 20 years old) male citizens received the right to vote and could participate in the annual volost "people's assembly", where they would elect delegates to the "local people's assemblies", that is, local authorities. Each volost, district, province and region had to have its own local people's assembly. The head of the local volost assembly was an elected “volost leader,” and the heads of the district and provincial assemblies were elected “mayors.” All citizens had the right to elect and be elected to any government body. authorities. Pestel proposed not direct, but two-stage elections: first, volost people's assemblies elected deputies to district 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 Assembly - was elected for a period of 5 years. Only the People's Council could make laws, declare war and make peace. No one had the right to dissolve it, since it represented, according to Pestel’s definition, the “will” and “soul” of the people in the state. The supreme executive body was the State Duma, which consisted of five people and was also elected for 5 years from members of the People's Council.

In addition to the legislative and executive powers, the state must also have a “vigilant” power, which would control the exact implementation of laws in the country and ensure that the People’s Assembly and the State Duma do not go beyond the limits established by law. The central body of supervisory power - the Supreme Council - consisted of 120 “boyars” elected for life.

The head of the Southern Society intended to free the peasants with the land and secure for them all the rights of citizenship. He also intended to destroy military settlements and transfer this land for free use to the peasants. Pestel believed that all the lands of the volost should be divided into 2 equal halves: “public land”, which will belong to the entire volost society and can neither be sold nor mortgaged, and “private” land.

The government in the new Russia must fully support entrepreneurship. Pestel also proposed a new tax system. He proceeded from the fact that all kinds of natural and personal duties should be replaced with money. Taxes should be “levied on the property of citizens, and not on their persons.”

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

Southern society recognized the army as the support of the movement, considering it the decisive force of the revolutionary coup. Members of the society intended to take power in the capital, forcing the king to abdicate. The Society's new tactics required organizational changes: only military personnel associated primarily with regular army units were accepted into it; discipline within the Society was tightened; All members were required to submit unconditionally to the leadership center - the Directory.

In the 2nd Army, regardless of the activities of the Vasilkovsky council, another society arose - Slavic Union, better known as Society of United Slavs. It arose in 1823 among army officers and had 52 members, advocating a democratic federation of all Slavic peoples. Having finally taken shape at the beginning of 1825, it already in the summer of 1825 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 hurry. Sergei Muravyov-Apostol called them “chained mad dogs.”

All that remained before the start of decisive action was to enter into relations with Polish secret societies. The details of these relations and the subsequent agreement are not as clear as possible. Negotiations with a representative of the Polish Patriotic Society(otherwise Patriotic Union) Prince Yablonovsky was led personally by Pestel. Negotiations were held with the Northern Society of Decembrists about joint actions. The unification agreement was hampered by the radicalism and dictatorial ambitions of the leader of the “southerners” Pestel, whom the “northerners” feared).

Pestel developed a program document for the “southerners,” which he called “Russian Truth.” Pestel intended to carry out the planned reorganization of Russia with the assistance of the indignation of the troops. The death of Emperor Alexander and the extermination of the entire royal family were considered necessary by members of Southern society 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 secret societies.

While Southern society was preparing for decisive action in 1826, its plans were revealed to the government. Even before Alexander I left for Taganrog, in the summer of 1825, Arakcheev received information about the conspiracy sent by the non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Bug Uhlan Regiment Sherwood (who was later given the surname Sherwood-Verny by Emperor Nicholas). 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 Count Arakcheev: “let him go to the place and give him all the means to discover the intruders.” On November 25, 1825, Mayboroda, captain of the Vyatka infantry regiment, commanded by Colonel Pestel, reported in a most loyal letter various revelations regarding secret societies.

Northern Society (1822-1825)

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

Northern society was more moderate in 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 “Russian Truth”.

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

Insurrection

Execution

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

Notes

Literature

Henri Troyat (literary pseudonym of 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 (“Light of the Righteous,” 1959-63) about the Decembrists. The novel-trilogy “The Egletiere Family” (1965-67); novellas; plays on it. language: Vincey “Brothers of Christ in Russia” (2004) ISBN 978-3-8334-1061-1
E. Tumanik. Early Decembrism and Freemasonry // Tumanik E. N. 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 investigative commission of the city.”
“Report of the Warsaw Investigative Committee.”
M. Bogdanovich, “History of the reign of Emperor Alexander I” (volume six).
A. Pypin, “The Social 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”, vol. 35).
S. Maksimov, “Siberia and hard labor” (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" (Lpc.,);
“Notes of von Wisin” (LPts., , in an abbreviated form published in “Russian Antiquity”);
Nikita Muravyov, “Analysis of the report of the investigative commission 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” (“Nineteenth Century”, 1st part);
“Memoirs of the Decembrist A. S. Gangeblov” (M.,);
“Notes of the Decembrist” (Baron Rosen, Lpts.,);
“Memoirs of the Decembrist (A. Belyaev) about what he experienced and felt, 1805-1850.” (SPb.,).

Links

Draft constitutions of P. I. Pestel and N. Muravyov
Summary (synopsis) of Shaporin’s opera “Decembrists” on the “100 Operas” website
Nikolai Troitsky Decembrists // Russia in the 19th century. Lecture course. M., 1997.

Development of opposition ideas in Tsarist Russia XIX - early XX centuries
1810s-1826	Decembrist movement Bestuzhev (Marlinsky) A. A. \| Bestuzhev-Ryumin M. P. \| Volkonsky S. G. \| Glinka F.N. \| Davydov V.L. \| Dolgorukov I. A. \| Kakhovsky P. G. \| Lunin M. S. \| Muravyov N. M. \| Muravyov-Apostol M.I. \| Muravyov-Apostol S.I. \| Obolensky E. P. \| Pestel P.I. \| Pushchin I. I. \| Ryleev K. F. \| Trubetskoy S. P. \| Turgenev N. I. \| Yushnevsky A. P. \| Yakubovich A. I. \| Yakushkin I. D. \| List of Decembrists "Union of Salvation" \| "Union of Welfare" \| Northern Society \| Southern Society \| Society of United Slavs \| Decembrist revolt “Constitution” by N. M. Muravyov \| “Russian Truth” by P. I. Pestel
1826-1850s	"Contemporary" \| "What to do?"
1880s-1905	Anarchism \| Legal Marxism \|

Decembrists- Russian revolutionaries who raised an uprising against autocracy and serfdom in December 1825 and were named after the month of the uprising. The Decembrists were noble revolutionaries, their class limitations left their mark on the movement, which, according to slogans, was anti-feudal and associated with the maturation of the preconditions for the bourgeois revolution in Russia.

Reasons for appearance

The process of disintegration of the feudal-serf system, which clearly manifested itself already in the 2nd half of the 18th century and intensified at the beginning of the 19th century, was the basis on which this movement grew. called the era of world history between and - the era of “bourgeois-democratic movements in general, bourgeois-national ones in particular,” the era of “... the rapid breakdown of outlived feudal-absolutist institutions.” The Decembrist movement was an organic element of the struggle of this era. The anti-feudal movement in the world-historical process often included elements of noble revolutionism; they were strong in the Spanish liberation struggle of the 1820s, and were especially pronounced in the Polish movement of the 19th century. Russia was no exception in this regard. The weakness of the Russian bourgeoisie, which took refuge under the wing of the autocracy and did not cultivate revolutionary protest within itself, contributed to the fact that the revolutionary nobles - the Decembrists - became the “firstborn of freedom” in Russia. , in which almost all the founders and many active members of the future Decembrist movement were participants, the subsequent foreign campaigns of 1813-1814 became a political school for the future Decembrists.

Decembrist organizations

"Union of Salvation" and "Union of Prosperity"

In 1816, young officers A. Muravyov, S. Trubetskoy, I. Yakushkin, S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Muravyov-Apostol, N. Muravyov founded the first secret political society - the “Union of Salvation”, or “Society of True and Faithful Sons” Fatherland." Later P. Pestel and others joined it - about 30 people in total. Work to improve the program and the search for more advanced methods of action to eliminate absolutism and abolish serfdom led in 1818 to the closure of the “Union of Salvation” and the founding of a new, broader society - the “Union of Welfare” (about 200 people). The new society considered the main goal to be the formation of “public opinion” in the country, which seemed to the Decembrists the main revolutionary force driving public life. In 1820, a meeting of the governing body of the “Union of Welfare” - the Root Council - based on Pestel’s report, unanimously spoke in favor of a republic. It was decided to make the army, led by members of the secret society, the main force of the coup. The performance that took place before the eyes of the Decembrists in 1820 in the Semenovsky regiment in St. Petersburg additionally convinced the Decembrists that the army was ready to move. According to the Decembrists, the revolution had to take place for the people, but without their participation. It seemed necessary to the Decembrists to eliminate the active participation of the people in the coming coup in order to avoid the “horrors of the people’s revolution” and retain a leading position in revolutionary events.

Northern and Southern societies

The ideological struggle within the organization, in-depth work on the program, the search for better tactics, more effective organizational forms required a deep internal restructuring of society. In 1821, the congress of the Root Council of the Union of Welfare in Moscow declared the society dissolved and, under the cover of this decision, which made it easier to weed out unreliable members, began to form a new organization. As a result, in 1821 in Ukraine, in the area where the 2nd Army was quartered, the “Southern Society” of the Decembrists was formed, and soon the “Northern Society” of the Decembrists with its center in St. Petersburg.

Southern Society

The leader of the Southern Society was one of the outstanding Decembrists, Pestel. Members of the Southern Society were opponents of the idea of the Constituent Assembly and supporters of the dictatorship of the Provisional Supreme Revolutionary Government. It was the latter who, in their opinion, should have taken power after a successful revolutionary coup and introduced a pre-prepared constitutional structure, the principles of which were set out in a document later called the “Russian Truth”.

Russian truth by P. Pestel

Russia, according to the “Russian Truth,” was declared a republic, and serfdom was immediately abolished. The peasants were freed with land. However, Pestel’s agrarian project did not provide for the complete destruction of landownership. “Russian Truth” pointed to the need for the complete destruction of the class system and the establishment of equality of all citizens before the law; proclaimed all basic civil liberties: speech, press, assembly, religion, equality in court, movement and choice of occupation. “Russian Truth” recorded the right of every man over 20 years of age to participate in the political life of the country, to vote and be elected without any property or educational qualifications. Women did not receive voting rights. Every year in each volost the Zemstvo People's Assembly was supposed to meet, electing deputies to permanent representative bodies of local government. The unicameral People's Council - the Russian parliament - was endowed with full legislative power in the country; executive power in the republic belonged to the State Duma, which consisted of 5 members elected by the People's Assembly for 5 years. Every year one of them dropped out and one new one was chosen in return - this ensured the continuity and succession of power and its constant renewal. The member of the State Duma who had been a member of it for the last year became its chairman, in fact, the president of the republic. This ensured the impossibility of usurping supreme power: each president held office for only one year. The third, very unique supreme state body of the republic was the Supreme Council, which consisted of 120 people elected for life, with regular payment for the performance of their duties. The only function of the Supreme Council was control (“vigilant”). He had to ensure that the constitution was strictly observed. The “Russian Truth” indicated the composition of the future territory of the state - Russia was to include Transcaucasia, Moldova and other territories, the acquisition of which Pestel considered necessary for economic or strategic reasons. The democratic system had to spread absolutely equally to all Russian territories, regardless of what peoples they were inhabited by. Pestel was, however, a decisive opponent of the federation: all of Russia, according to his project, was supposed to be a single and indivisible state. An exception was made only for Poland, which was granted the right to secede. It was assumed that Poland, together with all of Russia, would take part in the revolutionary coup planned by the Decembrists and would carry out at home, in accordance with the “Russian Truth,” the same revolutionary transformations that were expected for Russia. Pestel’s “Russian Truth” was repeatedly discussed at the congresses of the Southern Society, its principles were accepted by the organization. The surviving editions of Russkaya Pravda indicate continuous work on its improvement and development of its democratic principles. Being mainly the creation of Pestel, “Russian Truth” was edited by other members of the Southern Society.

Northern society

The Northern Society of Decembrists was headed by N. Muravyov; The leadership core included N. Turgenev, M. Lunin, S. Trubetskoy, E. Obolensky. The constitutional project of the Northern Society was developed by N. Muravyov. It defended the idea of a Constituent Assembly. Muravyov strongly objected to the dictatorship of the Provisional Supreme Revolutionary Government and the dictatorial introduction of a revolutionary constitution previously approved by the secret society. Only the future Constituent Assembly could, in the opinion of the Northern Society of Decembrists, draw up a constitution or approve any of the constitutional projects. The constitutional project of N. Muravyov was supposed to be one of them.

Constitution N. Muravyov

N. Muravyov’s “Constitution” is a significant ideological document of the Decembrist movement. In her project, class limitations were felt much more strongly than in Russkaya Pravda. The future Russia was to become a constitutional monarchy with a simultaneous federal structure. The principle of federation, similar in type to the United States, did not take into account the national aspect at all - the territorial aspect prevailed in it. Russia was divided into 15 federal units - “powers” (regions). The program provided for the unconditional abolition of serfdom. Estates were destroyed. Equality of all citizens before the law and equal justice for all were established. However, N. Muravyov’s agrarian reform was limited by class. According to the latest version of the “Constitution”, peasants received only estate land and 2 acres of arable land per yard; the rest of the land remained the property of the landowners or the state (state lands). The political structure of the federation provided for the establishment of a bicameral system (a kind of local parliament) in each “power”. The upper house in the “power” was the State Duma, the lower house was the Chamber of elected deputies of the “power”. The Federation as a whole was united by the People's Assembly - a bicameral parliament. The People's Council had legislative power. Elections to all representative institutions were subject to high property qualifications. Executive power belonged to the emperor - the highest official of the Russian state, who received a large salary. The emperor did not have legislative power, but he had the right of “suspensive veto”, that is, he could delay the adoption of the law for a certain period and return it to parliament for a second discussion, but he could not completely reject the law. The “Constitution” of N. Muravyov, like Pestel’s “Russian Truth”, declared basic civil freedoms: speech, press, assembly, religion, movement and others.

"Society of United Slavs"

In the last years of the activity of the secret Northern Society, the struggle of internal currents became more pronounced within it. The republican movement, represented by the poet K.F. Ryleev, who joined the society in 1823, as well as E. Obolensky, brothers Nikolai, Alexander, Mikhail Bestuzhev and other members, intensified again. The entire burden of preparing the uprising in St. Petersburg fell on this republican group. Southern and Northern societies were in continuous communication and discussed their differences. A congress of the Northern and Southern Societies was scheduled for 1826, at which it was planned to develop common constitutional principles. However, the current situation in the country forced the Decembrists to act earlier than planned. In preparation for an open revolutionary action, the Southern Society united with the “Society of United Slavs”. This society in its original form arose back in 1818 and, having gone through a series of transformations, set as its ultimate goal the destruction of serfdom and autocracy, the creation of a democratic Slavic federation consisting of Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary (Hungarians were considered Slavs by members of the society), Transylvania, Serbia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Dalmatia and Croatia. Members of the Slavic society were supporters of popular revolutions. The “Slavs” accepted the program of the southerners and joined Southern society.

Decembrist revolt

In November 1825, Tsar Alexander I suddenly died. His elder brother Konstantin had renounced the throne long before, but the royal family kept his refusal a secret. Alexander I was to be succeeded by his brother Nicholas, who had long been hated in the army as a rude martinet and Arakcheevite. Meanwhile, the army took the oath to Constantine. However, rumors soon spread about taking a new oath - to Emperor Nicholas. The army was worried, discontent in the country was growing. At the same time, members of the Decembrist secret society became aware that spies had discovered their activities. It was impossible to wait. As the decisive events of the interregnum played out in the capital, it became the center of the upcoming coup. Northern society decided on an open armed uprising in St. Petersburg and scheduled it for December 14, 1825 - the day when the oath to the new Emperor Nicholas I was supposed to take place.

The plan for the revolutionary coup, developed in detail at the Decembrist meetings in Ryleev’s apartment, was to prevent the oath, raise troops sympathetic to the Decembrists, bring them to Senate Square and, by force of arms, if negotiations did not help, prevent the Senate and the State Council from taking the oath to the new emperor. The delegation from the Decembrists was supposed to force the senators, if necessary, by military force to sign a revolutionary manifesto to the Russian people. The manifesto announced the overthrow of the government, abolished serfdom, abolished conscription, declared civil liberties and convened a Constituent Assembly that would finally decide the question of the constitution and form of government in Russia. Prince S. Trubetskoy, an experienced military man, a participant in the War of 1812, well known to the guard, was elected “dictator” of the upcoming uprising.

The Moscow Regiment, the first to rebel, came to Senate Square on December 14 at about 11 a.m. under the leadership of A. Bestuzhev, his brother Mikhail and D. Shchepin-Rostovsky. The regiment lined up in a square near the monument to Peter I. Only 2 hours later it was joined by the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and the Guards naval crew. In total, about 3 thousand rebel soldiers with 30 combat commanders - Decembrist officers - gathered in the square under the banner of the uprising. The assembled sympathetic people greatly outnumbered the troops. However, the goals set by the Decembrists were not achieved. Nicholas I managed to swear in the Senate and State Council while it was still dark, when Senate Square was empty. The “dictator” Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, and the remaining commanders (Fonvizin, Volkonsky, Yushnevsky and Orlov), who did not have any real power behind them, turned out to be useless for the uprising. After it became known that Trubetskoy did not appear, the flight of the conspirators from the square became widespread - Ryleev (under the pretext of “searching for Trubetskoy”), Yakubovich (who was supposed to take Zimny), Bulatov (responsible for the storming of the Peter and Paul Fortress) left the square. Undertaken by lieutenant Panov, at the head of nine hundred grenadiers, the assault on Winter Success was repulsed by the Life Guards engineer battalion under the command of Alexander Gerua. Having suffered defeat, Panov led the soldiers back to the square. The rebels several times repelled with rapid fire the onslaught of the guards cavalry that remained loyal to Nicholas. Governor General Miloradovich's attempt to persuade the rebels was unsuccessful. Miloradovich was mortally wounded by the Decembrist P. Kakhovsky. By evening, the Decembrists elected a new leader - Prince Obolensky, chief of staff of the uprising. But it was already too late. Nicholas, who managed to gather troops loyal to him to the square and surround the square of the rebels, was afraid that “the excitement would not be transmitted to the mob,” and ordered shooting with grapeshot. According to clearly underestimated government data, more than 80 “rebels” were killed on Senate Square (according to alternative estimates, not counting the missing, more than a thousand people were killed). By nightfall the uprising was suppressed.

The news of the defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg reached the Southern Society in the twentieth of December. On December 13, Pestel was already arrested, but the decision to speak was still made. The uprising of the Chernigov regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. It began on December 29, 1825 in the village of Trilesy, located 70 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, where the 5th company of the regiment was stationed. The rebels, consisting of 1,164 people, captured the city of Vasilkov and moved from there to join other regiments. However, not a single regiment supported the initiatives of the Chernigovites, although the troops were undoubtedly in a state of unrest. A detachment of government troops sent to meet the rebels met them with volleys of grapeshot. On January 3, 1826, the Decembrist uprising in the south was defeated. During the uprising in the south, Decembrist appeals were distributed among soldiers and partly the people. The revolutionary "Catechism", written by S. Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin, freed soldiers from the oath to the tsar and was imbued with republican principles of popular government.

Consequences of the Decembrist uprising

579 people were involved in the investigation and trial in the case of the Decembrists. Investigative and judicial procedures were conducted in deep secrecy. Five leaders - Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Ryleev and Kakhovsky - were hanged on July 13, 1826. Exiled to Siberia for hard labor and settlement 121 Decembrists. Over 1,000 soldiers were driven through the ranks, some were exiled to Siberia for hard labor or a settlement, over 2,000 soldiers were transferred to the Caucasus, where military operations were taking place at that time. The newly formed Chernigov penal regiment, as well as another combined regiment of active participants in the uprising, were also sent to the Caucasus.

The significance of the Decembrist uprising

The Decembrist uprising occupies an important place in the history of the revolutionary movement of Russia. This was the first open action with arms in hand in order to overthrow the autocracy and eliminate serfdom. V.I. Lenin begins with the Decembrists the periodization of the Russian revolutionary movement. The significance of the Decembrist movement was already understood by their contemporaries: “Your sorrowful work will not be wasted,” wrote A.S. Pushkin in his message to the Decembrists in Siberia. The lessons of the Decembrist uprising were learned by their successors in the revolutionary struggle: Herzen, Ogarev, and subsequent generations of Russian revolutionaries who were inspired by the feat of the Decembrists. The profiles of the five executed Decembrists on the cover of Herzen's Polar Star were a symbol of the struggle against tsarism.

K. Kolman "Revolt of the Decembrists"

The Decembrists were “children of 1812”, that’s what they called themselves.

The war with Napoleon awakened a sense of national identity in the Russian people, and in particular in the noble class. What they saw in Western Europe, as well as the ideas of the Enlightenment, clearly outlined for them the path that, in their opinion, could save Russia from the heavy oppression of serfdom. During the war, they saw their people in a completely different capacity: patriots, defenders of the Fatherland. They could compare the life of peasants in Russia and in Western Europe and conclude that the Russian people deserve a better fate.

Victory in the war raised the question before thinking people about how the victorious people should continue to live: should they still languish under the yoke of serfdom or should they be helped to throw off this yoke?

Thus, an understanding gradually developed of the need to fight serfdom and autocracy, which did not seek to change the lot of the peasants. The Decembrist movement was not some outstanding phenomenon; it took place in the general mainstream of the world revolutionary movement. P. Pestel also wrote about this in his testimony: “The present century is marked by revolutionary thoughts. From one end of Europe to the other one can see the same thing, from Portugal to Russia, without excluding a single state, even England and Turkey, these two opposites. All of America presents the same spectacle. The spirit of transformation makes, so to speak, minds bubble everywhere... These are the reasons, I believe, that gave rise to revolutionary thoughts and rules and rooted them in the minds.”

Early secret societies

The early secret societies were the forerunners of the Southern and Northern societies. The Salvation Union was organized in February 1816 in St. Petersburg. The very name of the society suggests that its participants set salvation as their goal. Saving who or what? According to society participants, Russia had to be saved from falling into the abyss on the edge of which it stood. The main ideologist and creator of the society was Colonel of the General Staff Alexander Nikolaevich Muravyov, he was 23 years old at that time.

F. Tulov "Alexander Nikolaevich Muravyov"

Salvation Union

It was a small, closed group of like-minded people, numbering only 10-12 people. At the end of its existence it grew to 30 people. The main members of the Union of Salvation were the prince, art. General Staff officer S.P. Trubetskoy; Matvey and Sergey Muravyov-Apostles; Second Lieutenant of the General Staff Nikita Muravyov; I.D. Yakushkin, second lieutenant of the Semenovsky regiment; M.N. Novikov, nephew of the famous educator of the 18th century, and Pavel Ivanovich Pestel.

The main goals of their struggle:

abolition of serfdom;
elimination of autocracy;
introduction of the constitution;
establishment of representative government.

The goals were clear. But the means and ways to achieve this are vague.

But since the ideas of the Decembrists were borrowed from the Enlightenment, the means and methods were formed precisely from these sources and they did not consist in seizing power, but in nurturing progressive social views. And when these views take hold of the masses, these masses themselves will sweep away the government.

Welfare Union

But time passed, new ideas and attitudes appeared, in accordance with this, in 1818 another society was formed - the Union of Welfare (on the basis of the Union of Salvation). Its organizational structure was more complex, and its scope of action was much wider: education, army, bureaucracy, court, press, etc. In many ways, the goals of the Welfare Union coincided with the state policy of Russia, so the organization was not completely mothballed.

Main goals of the organization:

abolition of serfdom;
elimination of autocracy;
introduction of free and lawful government.

But the charter of the Union of Welfare consisted of two parts: the main part and the “secret” part, which was drawn up later.

His program:

abolition of slavery;
equality of citizens before the law;
transparency in government affairs;
publicity of legal proceedings;
destruction of the wine monopoly;
destruction of military settlements;
improving the lot of defenders of the Fatherland, establishing a limit for their service, reduced from 25 years;
improving the lot of clergy members;
in peacetime, a reduction in the size of the army.

In January 1820, at a meeting in St. Petersburg, the question was raised: “Which government is better - constitutional monarchy or republican?” Everyone unanimously chose republican rule.
For the first time in the history of the Russian revolutionary movement, the Welfare Union decided to fight for a republican form of government in Russia. The change in program also entailed tactical changes.

The Moscow Congress, convened in 1820, decided to purge the movement of the wavering part, as well as the radical one. The Pestel Society was declared dissolved.

New secret societies

Southern Society of Decembrists

On the basis of the “Union of Welfare”, two revolutionary organizations were formed in 1821: the Southern Society in Kyiv and the Northern Society in St. Petersburg. The more revolutionary of them, Southern, was headed by P. Pestel. The Tulchin government of the Union of Welfare resumed a secret society called “Southern Society”. Its structure was similar to that of the Union of Salvation: it consisted exclusively of officers and strict discipline. It was supposed to establish a republican system through regicide and a military coup. The society included three councils: Tulchinskaya (headed by P. Pestel and A. Yushnevsky), Vasilkovskaya (headed by S. Muravyov-Apostol) and Kamenskaya (under the leadership of V. Davydov and S. Volkonsky).

Political program of Southern society

"Russian Truth" P.I. Pestel

P. Pestel, a supporter of revolutionary actions, assumed that during the revolution a dictatorship of a temporary supreme rule would be required. Therefore, he drew up a project with a very long title “Russian Truth, or the Protected State Charter of the Great Russian People, which serves as a testament for the improvement of the State structure of Russia and contains the right order both for the people and for the Provisional Supreme Government,” or for short “Russian Truth” ( by analogy with the legislative document of Kievan Rus). In fact, it was a constitutional project. It had 10 chapters:

— about land space;

- about the tribes inhabiting Russia;

- about the classes found in Russia;

- about the people in relation to the political state being prepared for them;

— about the structure and formation of the supreme power;

— about the structure and formation of local authorities;

— about the security structure in the state;

— about the government;

- an order for the compilation of a state code of laws.

With the abolition of serfdom, Pestel provided for the liberation of peasants with land. Moreover, he proposed dividing all the land in the volost into two parts: that which is public property cannot be sold. The second part is private property and can be sold.

But, despite the fact that Pestel advocated the complete abolition of serfdom, he did not propose to give all the land to the peasants; landownership was partially preserved.

A staunch opponent of autocracy, he considered it necessary to physically destroy the entire reigning house.

With the proclamation of a republic, all classes should be destroyed, no class should differ from another in any social privileges, the nobility should be destroyed, all people should be equal citizens. Everyone was supposed to be equal before the law, everyone could participate in government affairs.

According to Pestel's constitution, adulthood was reached at the age of 20. Pestel was a supporter of a federal structure with strong centralized power. The republic was to be divided into provinces or regions, regions into districts, districts into volosts. Chapters are only elective. Higher legislative body- People's Assembly, which should be elected for 5 years. No one had the right to dissolve the veche. The veche was supposed to be unicameral. Executive agency- State Duma.

To control the exact implementation of the constitution, Pestel assumed power vigilant.

The Constitution proclaimed the inviolable right of property, freedom of occupation, printing and religion.

National question: other nationalities did not have the right to secede from the Russian state, they had to merge and exist as a single Russian people.

This was the most radical constitutional project that existed at that time.

But Russia was not yet ready to live according to Pestel’s project, especially in the matter of the liquidation of estates.

Northern society

P. Sokolov "Nikita Muravyov"

It was formed in the spring of 1821. At first it consisted of 2 groups: a more radical one under the leadership of Nikita Muravyov and a group under the leadership of Nikolai Turgenev, then they united, although the radical wing, which included K. F. Ryleev, A. A. Bestuzhev, E. P. Obolensky, I. AND. Pushchin, shared the provisions of “Russian Truth” by P. I. Pestel. The society consisted of councils: several councils in St. Petersburg (in the guards regiments) and one in Moscow.

The society was headed by the Supreme Duma. N. Muravyov’s deputies were Princes Trubetskoy and Obolensky, then, in connection with Trubetskoy’s departure to Tver, Kondraty Ryleev. I. Pushchin played a significant role in society.

Political program of the Nordic society

N. Muravyov created his own constitution. He abandoned his republican views and switched to the position of a constitutional monarchy.

He proposed to solve the peasant question in the following way: free them from serfdom, but leave the lands of the landowners for the landowners. The peasants were to receive estate plots and two tithes per yard.

Only the owner of the land had the right to participate in political life (to vote and be elected). Those who did not have real estate or movable property, like women, were deprived of the right to vote. The nomads also lost it.

According to the constitution of Nikita Muravyov, anyone who arrived on Russian soil ceased to be a slave (serf).

Military settlements had to be destroyed, appanage lands (those whose income went to the maintenance of the reigning house) were confiscated and transferred to the peasants.

All class titles were abolished and replaced with the title citizen. The concept “Russian” had meaning only in relation to Russian citizenship, and not national.

The Constitution of N. Muravyov proclaimed freedoms: movement, occupation, speech, press, religion.

The class court was abolished and a common jury was introduced for all citizens.

The emperor was supposed to represent the executive branch, he was supposed to be the commander-in-chief, but he did not have the right to start or cancel wars.

Muravyov saw Russia as a federal state, which was to be divided into federal units (powers), there should have been 15 of them, each with its own capital. And Muravyov saw Nizhny Novgorod, the center of the country, as the capital of the federation.

The supreme legislative body is the People's Assembly. It consisted of 2 chambers: the Supreme and the House of People's Representatives.

The Supreme Duma was supposed to be the legislative body, including the trial of ministers and all dignitaries in the event of their accusation. She also participated, together with the emperor, in the conclusion of peace, in the appointment of commanders-in-chief, and the supreme guardian (prosecutor general).

Each power also had a bicameral system: the Chamber of Electors and the State Duma. Legislative power in the state belonged to the legislative assembly.

The Constitution of N. Muravyov, if it had been introduced, would have broken all the foundations of the old system, it would certainly have met with resistance, so he provided for the use of weapons.

The question of the unification of Southern and Northern societies

The need for this was understood by members of both societies. But it was not easy for them to come to a common opinion. Each society had its own doubts about certain constitutional issues. In addition, even the very personality of P. Pestel raised doubts among members of the Northern society. K. Ryleev even found that Pestel was “a dangerous man for Russia.” In the spring of 1824, Pestel himself came to the members of the Northern Society with a proposal to accept the “Russian Truth”. There were passionate debates at the meeting, but at the same time, this visit pushed the Northern Society to more decisive action. They discussed the issue of preparing a performance in Bila Tserkva, where the royal review was planned in 1825. But the performance could only be joint: the Northern and Southern societies. Everyone agreed that it was necessary to develop a common program: the idea of a republic (instead of a constitutional monarchy) and a Constituent Assembly (instead of the dictatorship of the Provisional Revolutionary Government) were more acceptable to the majority. These issues should finally be resolved by the 1826 congress.

But events began to develop according to an unforeseen plan: in November 1825, Emperor Alexander I suddenly died. The heir to the throne was Alexander’s brother Constantine, who had renounced rule even earlier, but his decision was not made public, and on November 27 the population swore allegiance to Constantine. However, he did not accept the throne, but also did not formally renounce the imperial throne. Nicholas did not wait for his brother to formally abdicate and declared himself emperor. The re-oath was to take place on December 14, 1825.

A situation of interregnum arose, and the Decembrists decided to start an uprising - even earlier, when creating the first organization, they decided to act at the time of the change of emperors. This moment has now arrived, although it was unexpected and premature.

In 1821 - 1822, the Southern and Northern societies were created. According to the new charter, it was intended to create four leadership centers, called dumas: in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Smolensk and Tulchin. A number of members, representatives of the moderate wing of society, spoke out against Pavel Pestel. Pestel’s apartment in Tulchin became a center where those dissatisfied with the resolution of the congress gathered. Pestel's office became the place of birth in 1821. Southern Society of Decembrists.

At its very first founding meeting, the Southern Society confirmed the demand of the republic and emphasized that the secret society had not been destroyed, its activities continued. Pestel raised questions about regicide and the tactics of the military revolution, which were accepted unanimously.

Immediately after the first meeting, a second was convened, mainly devoted to organizational issues. Pestel was elected chairman, Yushnevsky guardian of the society. Both were elected to the directory of the society. Nikita Muravyov was elected as the third member of the directory. The main thing was that Southern society, having adopted a revolutionary method of action through troops, considered the beginning of military operations in the capital to be the main requirement for success. Power could only be seized in the capital by breaking the resistance of tsarism and overthrowing it. But starting actions on the outskirts would simply be pointless. Thus, at the moment of the birth of the Southern Society of the Decembrists, the question of the need for the emergence of a Northern Society had already been fundamentally resolved. The success of the capital's performance decided the matter.

The main issue resolved at the second meeting of the society was the question of the dictatorial power of the elected leaders. Obedience to the elected directory was accepted unconditionally.

In connection with the adoption of the tactics of the military revolution, it was necessary to attract the military into society, especially those who command a separate military unit.

After the election of directors, the Tulchin directory “was divided into two councils: Vasilkovskaya and Kamenskaya. They were controlled: the first by S. Muravyov, who later joined Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, the second by Vasily Davydov. Colonel Pestel and S. Muravyov were the core on which the entire rebellion of Southern society revolved. They attracted a large following."

Every year in January, starting from 1822, congresses of the Southern Society met in Kyiv to discuss organizational, tactical and program issues. Chernov S.N., At the origins of the Russian liberation movement, S., 1980.

The political program of Southern society, compiled by P.I. Pestel. Pavel Pestel worked for years on the draft of his constitution. He was a supporter of the dictatorship of a temporary supreme rule during the revolution, and considered dictatorship a decisive condition for success. His constitutional project “Russian Truth is a mandate or instruction to the temporary government for its actions, and at the same time an announcement to the people of what they will be freed from and what they can expect again.” The full name of this project reads: “Russian Truth, or the Reserved State Charter of the Great Russian People, which serves as a testament for the improvement of the State structure of Russia and contains the right order both for the people and for the Provisional Supreme Government.”

Pestel called his project “Russian Truth” in memory of the ancient legislative monument of Kievan Rus. He wanted to honor national traditions with this name and emphasize the connection of the future revolution with the historical past of the Russian people. Pestel attached great tactical importance to Russkaya Pravda. The revolution could not be carried out successfully without a ready-made constitutional draft.

He especially carefully developed the idea of a temporary supreme revolutionary government, the dictatorship of which, according to Pestel, was a guarantee against “national civil strife” that he wanted to avoid.

In “Russian Truth” there were 10 chapters: the first chapter is “about the land space of the state”; the second - “about the tribes inhabiting Russia”; the third - “about the classes found in Russia”; the fourth - “about the people in relation to the political or social state prepared for them”; fifth - “about the people in relation to the civil or private state prepared for them”; sixth - about the structure and formation of the supreme power; seventh - about the structure and formation of local authorities; the eighth - about the “security structure” in the state; ninth - “about the government in relation to the structure of welfare in the state”; the tenth is an order for drawing up a state code of laws. In addition, “Russkaya Pravda” had an introduction that spoke about the basic concepts of the constitution.

The question of serfdom and the question of the destruction of the autocracy are two main questions of the political ideology of the Decembrists.

Pestel's project proclaimed the decisive and radical abolition of serfdom.

In his agrarian project, Pestel stood for the liberation of peasants with land. All cultivated land in each volost is divided into two parts: the first part is public property, it can neither be sold nor bought, it goes to the communal division between those who want to engage in farming and is intended for the production of a “necessary product”; the second part of the land is private property, it can be bought and sold, it is intended for the production of “abundance”. Klyuchevsky V.O. Alexander I and the Decembrists. M., 1975. pp. 45 - 47.

Every citizen of the future republic must be assigned to one of the volosts and has the right at any time to freely receive the land plot due to him and cultivate it, but he can neither give it as a gift, nor sell it, nor mortgage it. Land can be purchased only from the second part of the land fund.

Pestel considered it necessary to alienate the landowners' land with partial confiscation. There was alienation of land for compensation, as well as gratuitous alienation and confiscation. Thus, landownership (with the complete abolition of serfdom!) was still partially preserved. In other words, Pestel did not dare to defend the slogan of transferring all the land to the peasants.

Considering land to be a public property, Pestel never spoke about the purchase by peasants of the land that they would receive from the state after the revolution as communal property. The landowners received money from the state, and not from the peasants, for the land going to the peasants. Pestel designed only some types of peasant work for the landowner during the transition period.

Pestel assumed the presence of banks and pawnshops in each volost, which would give the peasant a loan for the initial establishment. Pestel is a staunch opponent of autocracy and tyranny. According to his project, the autocracy in Russia was decisively destroyed, and the entire reigning house was physically exterminated.

"Russian Truth" proclaimed a republic. All classes in the state were to be decisively destroyed, “all people in the state should constitute only one class, which can be called civil.” No group of the population could differ from another by any social privileges. The nobility was destroyed along with all other classes, and all Russians were declared equally “noble.” The equality of all before the law was declared and the “indisputable right” of every citizen to participate in public affairs was recognized.

Guilds, workshops and military settlements were destroyed. According to the constitution, a Russian reached civil adulthood at the age of 20. All male citizens who reached this age received voting rights (women did not have voting rights). Pestel was an enemy of any federal structure and a supporter of a single and indivisible republic with a strong centralized power.

Pestel's Republic was divided into provinces or regions, which in turn were divided into counties, and counties into volosts. Every year in each volost a general volost meeting of all residents, the so-called, was supposed to meet. Zemstvo People's Assembly, which elected its deputies to various “local assemblies”, i.e. local authorities, namely: 1) to their local volost assembly, 2) to their local district assembly, 3) to their local district or provincial assembly. Elections to these three government bodies were direct. The head of the local volost assembly was the elected “volost leader”, and the head of the district and provincial local assemblies were the “elected mayors”. District local assemblies also elected representatives to the highest legislative body - the People's Assembly.

The People's Council was the body of the supreme legislative power in the state; it was unicameral. Executive power in the state was vested in the State Duma.

The People's Council was supposed to be composed of people's representatives elected for five years. No one had the right to dissolve the People's Assembly, because it “represents the will in the state, the soul of the people.”

The State Duma consisted of five members elected by the people's council for five years. In addition to the legislative and executive powers, Pestel identified a guardian power, which was supposed to control the exact implementation of the constitution in the country and ensure that the legislative and executive powers did not go beyond the limits set by the laws.

Pestel's Constitution proclaimed the bourgeois principle - the sacred and inviolable right of property. She declared complete freedom of occupation for the population, freedom of printing and religion.

The borders of the republic were to expand to their “natural limits.”

Pestel's views on the national question were unique. Pestel did not recognize the right of separation of other nationalities from the Russian state: all the peoples inhabiting Russia had to merge into a single Russian people and lose their national characteristics.

This was Pestel’s constitutional project - “Russian Truth”. This was a revolutionary project for the bourgeois reorganization of serf Russia. He abolished serfdom and autocracy, established a republic instead of a backward absolutist state. It bears some stamp of noble narrow-mindedness, but on the whole it represents a kind of plan for the strong advancement of backward feudal-serf Russia. This was the most decisive, radical of the constitutional projects created by the revolutionary nobles.

But not everything in Pestel’s program was realistic. It was impossible, for example, to abolish estates in Russia at that time. This would lead to the destruction of the social structures of society and could result in collapse and chaos. Russia was not very ready to rebuild itself according to Pestel’s project. Nechkina M.V. Decembrist movement. - M., 1975. P. 101.