Secret "Southern Society" of the Decembrists: program document, goals and participants

The history of Russia in the XIX century is incredibly rich in various events. However, the insurgency of the Decembrists on the Senate Square occupies a very special place among them. After all, if the goal of all previous successful and unsuccessful attempts to seize power in the country was the replacement of one autocrat by another, this time it was a question of changing the social system and moving to the republican mode of government. The initiators of the December uprising were the participants of the "Southern" and "Northern" secret societies, led by N. Muravyov, S. Trubetskoi and P. Pestel.

Prehistory

The story of the Decembrist Rebellion is usually taken to begin with the founding of Alexander Muravyov in St. Petersburg's "Union of Salvation" - a secret society that has declared its goal to liberate the peasants and carry out cardinal reforms in the sphere of state administration. This organization lasted only one year, and was dissolved because of differences in the participants' views on the possibility of regicide. However, many of its participants continued their activities, now in the "Union of Prosperity". After the conspirators learned that the authorities were going to introduce their spies into the ranks of the rebels, instead of him, the Northern (in the beginning of 1822) and the Southern (in the year of 2121) secret societies were formed. The first of them operated in the Northern capital, and the second - in Kiev.

Southern Society

Despite several provincial status of the organization of the conspirators operating in Ukraine, its members were significantly more radical than the "northerners." First of all, this was due to the fact that the "Southern Society" consisted exclusively of officers, most of whom had experience of participation in battles, and its members sought to change the political structure of the country through regicide and military coup. The turning point in his work was in 1823. It was then that a congress took place in Kiev, which adopted the program document of the "Southern Society" under the authorship of Pavel Pestel, called "Russian Truth." This work, along with the draft constitution of N. Muraviev, on which members of the Northern Society relied, played a large role in the formation of progressive views among the Russian aristocracy of the nineteenth century, which, incidentally, led to the abolition of serfdom.

Program document

"Pravda" was presented to them by the court of members of the "Southern Society" in 1823. However, he started working on it in 1819. In total there were written 5 chapters concerning land, class and national issues. Pestel proposed to rename Nizhny Novgorod to Vladimir and to transfer the capital of the new Russian united state with the republican form of government there. In addition, the "Russian Truth" raised the question of the immediate abolition of serfdom. The program of the "Southern Society" of the Decembrists also provided for:

• Equality before the law of every citizen;
• The right to elect the "People's Chamber" for all men over the age of twenty;
• Freedom of speech, creed, occupation, assembly, movement and printing;
• Inviolability of the home and person;
• Equality before justice.

Objectives

As already mentioned, the "Southern Society" was more radical than the "Northern". His main goal was:

• The abolition of the autocracy, including the physical annihilation of all representatives of the reigning house of the Romanovs;
• Abolition of serfdom, but without the provision of land in the ownership of the peasants;
• The introduction of the constitution;
• The elimination of class distinctions;
• Establishment of representative government.

P. Pestel: a short biographical sketch

So who was at the helm of the "Southern Society" and created one of the most significant documents relating to the arrangement of Russia, based on the principles of the era of enlightenment? This man was Pestel Pavel Ivanovich, who was born in 1793 in Moscow, in a German family, where they professed Lutheranism. At the age of 12 the boy was sent to Dresden, where he studied in one of the closed educational institutions. Further education Pavel Pestel received in the Corps of Pages, and after his graduation the young man was identified in the Lithuanian regiment. The military career of the future conspirator was more than successful. In particular, Pestel showed miracles of courage during the Battle of Borodino and in other battles of the Patriotic War of 1812, was awarded many Russian and allied awards.

Political activity of Pavel Pestel

After the victory over Napoleon, among the Russian officers, political organizations emerged that set themselves the goal of improving the condition of the peasants and limiting or even destroying the autocracy. One such military was Pavel Pestel, who became a member of the "Union of Salvation", later of the "Union of Welfare" and, finally, in 1821 headed the "Southern Secret Society". The main miscalculation that Pestel Pavel Ivanovich admitted was his suggestion that in the event of the country's victory of the uprising, the rule of the Provisional Government should be unlimited. This idea aroused concern among members of the "Northern Society", as among the rebels there were many who saw in his actions and the desire to become a dictator, and Napoleonic ambitions. That is why the "northerners" were not in a hurry to unite with the "southerners", which ultimately weakened their overall potential. Judging by the surviving documents, during 1824 Pestel, considering himself misunderstood by his comrades-in-arms, experienced a severe depression and even for some time lost interest in the activities of the "Southern Society".

"Southern Society": participants

In addition to P. Pestel, members of the secret society, organized among officers of military units stationed on the territory of modern Ukraine, there were several dozen famous military men of that time. In particular, S. Murav'ev-Apostol, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, V. Davydov and the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 S. Volkonsky enjoyed special authority among the leaders of the "southerners". To manage the organization was elected Directory, in which, in addition to Pestel and Nikita Muraviev, also entered the quartermaster AP Yushnevsky.

The actions of the authorities to expose the activities of secret societies

In the history of the Decembrist movement, as in the case of any other conspiratorial societies, there were traitors and provocateurs. In particular, the most fatal mistake was made by Pestel himself, who introduced his subordinate, captain Arkady Mayboroda, into the secret "Southern Society". The latter did not have any education, as evidenced by the numerous grammatical errors that are present in the denunciation he wrote to Pestel, and was unclean in his hand. In the autumn of 1825 Maiboroda committed a large waste of soldier's money. Fearing the consequences, he informed the authorities of the rebellion being prepared. Earlier, the denunciation of the conspirators was made by non-commissioned officer Sherwood, who was even summoned to Alexander the First to testify and sent to his place of service in the Third Bugsky Regiment so that he could continue to report on the purposes and intentions of the rebels.

Preparing for an uprising

Even in the fall of 1825, when meeting with General S. Volkonsky, Pestel, the goals of the Southern Society were determined for the coming months, the main of which was the preparation of the uprising, scheduled for January 1, 1826. The fact is that on that day the Vyatka regiment led by him was to perform the functions of the guard at the headquarters of the Second Army in Tulchin. The conspirators worked out a route for a march-throw to Petersburg, the necessary food was stored. It was assumed that they would arrest the commander and the chief of staff of the army and move to St. Petersburg, where they will be supported by army units led by officers-members of the Northern Society.

The consequences of the uprising of the Decembrists for members of the "Southern Society"

Few know that Pestel Pavel Ivanovich was arrested before the events on Senate Square, and more specifically, on December 13, 1825, as a result of the Maiboroda denunciation. Later, 37 members of the Southern Society, as well as 61 members of the Northern Society and 26 people related to the Society of Southern Slavs, were detained and handed over to the court. Many of them were sentenced to various types of death penalty, but then pardoned, with the exception of five: Pestel, Ryleev, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Kakhovsky and Muraviev-Apostol.

The Rise of the Chernigov Regiment

After it became known about the events on the Senate Square, and many of the leaders of the "Southern Society" were arrested, their remaining associates decided to take retaliatory measures. In particular, on December 29, officers of the Chernigov Regiment Kuzmin, Sukhinov, Soloviev and Schepyllo attacked their regimental commanders and freed Muraviev-Apostol, who was under lock and key in the village of Trilesi. The next day, the insurgents seized the town of Vasilkov and Motovilovka, where they announced the "Orthodox Catechism", in which they appealed to the religious feelings of the soldiers and tried to explain to them that statements about the divinity of the tsar's power are fiction, and the Russian person must obey only the will of the Lord, and not Autocrat.

A few days later, a clash took place near Ustimovka village between the rebels and government forces. Moreover, S. Murav'ev-the Apostle forbade the soldiers to shoot, hoping that the commanders who had appeared on the other side of the barricades would do the same. As a result of the massacre, he himself was wounded, his brother shot himself, and 6 officers and 895 soldiers were arrested. Thus, the "Southern Society" ceased to exist, and its members were either physically destroyed or demoted and sent to penal servitude or to troops fighting in the Caucasus.

Despite the fact that the Decembrist insurrection was not successful, it pointed out to Russian autocrats the need for reforms, which, however, under the reactionary rule of Nicholas II, were not held. At the same time, the program of the "Southern Society" and "Constitution" Muravyov gave impetus to the development of plans for the transformation of Russia by revolutionary organizations, which, in principle, led to the revolution of 1917.