Dekabrist Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich: Biography

Nikita Muravyov was one of the leaders of the Decembrist movement. He became the author of the first draft of the constitution, and also for some time headed the Northern secret society. During the uprising in St. Petersburg, Muravyov was not in the capital, but he was still arrested in the slander of the informer.

early years

The future Decembrist Muravyov Nikita was born July 30, 1795 in St. Petersburg. He was from a well-known family. His father, Mikhail Muravyov - a senator, a trustee of Moscow University, a writer publicist and a major educator. Mother Ekaterina belonged to the noble Russian aristocratic family Kolokoltsov.

Muravyov Nikita received a home education, and later graduated from Moscow University (Physics and Mathematics Department). In the beginning of 1812 he became a collegiate registrar. However, in the summer of the war began. Napoleon's army invaded Russia. Muravyov Nikita left the house without explaining to his parents, and went into the army. The boy was enrolled there as an ensign. He became a participant in the Russian army's overseas campaign in 1813-1814. The ensign was on the battlefield near Leipzig. The battle because of its scale became known as the "battle of nations".

In Europe

After the campaign, Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich was transferred to the General Staff. However, a few months later, in the same year 1814, Napoleon returned from exile to the Elbe. The famous "100 days" began. Ants at this time after the escalation of the situation in Europe was seconded to Arseny Zakrevsky - one of the generals of the Russian headquarters in Vienna.

In the summer of 1815 Napoleon was finally defeated. The former emperor was sent to St. Helena, where he died. Meanwhile young Muravyov Nikita triumphantly entered Paris. Like other participants of Russian foreign campaigns, he was surprised at how much life in Europe is different from the realities of his native country. It was these impressions that later led many young people to become Decembrists. Meanwhile, Muravyov celebrated another victory with his comrades. In Paris, he acquired many important acquaintances, meeting with figures of the French Revolution - Bishop Henri Gregoire, writer Benjamin Constant, etc.

Homecoming

Feeling backwardness of Russia from the West, Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich, after returning to his homeland with renewed vigor, took up his education. Even then he knew many future Decembrists. They were united by the same circumstances of the biography: war, going abroad, enthusiastic impressions of free Europe.

Muravyov stood at the sources of the first organizations of the Decembrists. In 1816, the "Union of Salvation" was created , and in 1818 the "Union of Prosperity". The latter organization included about 200 people. Formally, it was a secret, but in fact the community was widely known. They knew about him and at the top. The purpose of the Union was to educate the people and, especially, the serf peasantry. Dekabrist Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich and his supporters believed that the main evil of Russia was slavery in the village. In the liberated peasant they saw the bright future of the country.

"Union of Welfare"

In the "Union of Welfare" Nikita Muravyev together with Sergei Trubetskoi and Alexander Muraviev (the same name) wrote the charter of the community - "The Green Book". It formulated the main requirements of those who are dissatisfied with the authorities. They wanted the abolition of serfdom, the abolition of the autocracy and the emergence of the Russian constitution.

Even Alexander I knew about the Green Book. Moreover, he gave it to his prospective successor, his younger brother Konstantin Nikolaevich. Initially, the emperor did not pay attention to the Decembrist organizations, considering them fun for the capital's youth. However, in 1820 Alexander's opinion changed, after several revolutions took place in Europe, and in Semenovsky regiment rebelled against his bosses .

Draft Constitution

"Union of Welfare" was dissolved in 1821. After the split of this organization, Nikita Muraviev initiated the creation of the Northern Society. In parallel, he served in the Guards. Being with her in Minsk, the Decembrist developed the first draft of the future constitution. In addition to the old requirements, there were also new important provisions. The Constitution of Nikita Mikhaylovich Muravyov was written for a country in which the feudal system, recruitment, military settlements would have been destroyed (because of which the Semenov regiment also rebelled). The monarchy had to become limited. This project was criticized by other leaders of the Decembrists.

Muravyov was the most influential member of the Northern Society on a par with Nikolai Turgenev and some other young people. The Decembrist did not forget to keep in touch with Pavel Pestel. He, in turn, was the head of the Southern Society and even made Muravyov a member of his governing body - the Directory, despite some ideological differences.

Arrest and reference

In December 1825, Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov, whose biography is an example of the life of one of the most important figures of the Decembrist movement, went on vacation with his family. Because of this, he missed all the events connected with the attempted uprising, standing on the Senate Square and defeating the state system. Muravyova was arrested a few days later, on December 20. About his leading role in the life of the secret society, Arkady Mayboroda, a former friend of Pestel and recently joined the Southern Society, reported .

In 1826, according to the decision of the authorities, Muravyov was exiled to hard labor for 15 years (later term was reduced). The secret committee investigating the case of the Decembrists, he presented his own essay on the history of the revolutionary society. The convict was serving his sentence in the Chita prison and the Petrovsky factory. In exile, he maintained contact with certain Decembrists. After 10 years of hard labor, Muravyov went to a settlement in the Irkutsk village of Urik. There he engaged in agriculture and even opened his own mill. He died at the age of 47, on May 10, 1843, without waiting for pardon and return to St. Petersburg.