SENTENCE
from the 19th "decisive" protocol of the Supreme Criminal Court
dated July 5, 1826
(General sentence passed by the defendant)
... The Supreme Criminal Court has ascertained that the malicious purpose of these secret societies was: to overthrow the indigenous domestic laws and transform the entire state order, to introduce republican rule; and in order to achieve such a pernicious goal for the entire empire, based on the reckless lust for power of some and on the vile greed of other malefactors, in their daring and violent dreams they intended to encroach on regicide, the extermination of the imperial family and all those persons in whom they could meet any opposition , equally spread a general revolt and make a military revolt by collusion of lower ranks. ..
After a careful and detailed examination of all the criminal actions of each of the defendants ... the Supreme Criminal Court sentenced:
To the death penalty by quartering according to the 19th article of the military regulations
1. Vyatka Infantry Regiment of Colonel Pavel Pestel for the fact that, by his own admission, he had intent on regicide, sought funds for this, chose and appointed persons to commit it, intended to destroy the imperial family and with equanimity counted all its members as a sacrifice the doomed, and incited others to do so, established and ruled with unlimited power the Southern secret society, which had the goal of rebellion and the introduction of republican rule, drew up plans, statutes, the Constitution, aroused and prepared for rebellion, participated in the intention of severing the regions from the empire and took active measures to spread society by involving others.
2. The retired lieutenant Kondraty Ryleev for the fact that, by his own admission, he plotted regicide, appointed this person to the accomplishment, plotted imprisonment, exile and extermination of the imperial family, and prepared means for this, strengthened the activities of the Northern Society, ruled it, prepared methods for rebellion, made plans, forced to compose a Manifesto on the destruction of the government, he himself composed and disseminated outrageous songs and poems and accepted members, prepared the main means for rebellion and ruled in them, incited lower ranks to rebellion through their superiors through various seduction and during the mutiny he himself came to the square.
3. Chernigov Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol for the fact that, by his own admission, he had intent on regicide, sought funds, elected and appointed others to that, agreeing to expel the imperial family, demanded, in particular, the murder of the Tsarevich and instigated others, had the intention of imprisoning the sovereign-emperor, participated in the management of the Southern secret society in the entire space of his outrageous plans, drew up proclamations and aroused others to achieve the goal of this society to revolt, participated in the intention of severing the regions from the empire, took active measures to spreading the Society by attracting others, personally acted in the mutiny with a willingness to shed blood, aroused the soldiers, freed the convicts, even bribed the priest to read in front of the ranks of the rioters the false Catechism he had compiled, and was taken with arms.
4. Poltava Infantry Regiment Second Lieutenant Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin for the fact that, by his own admission, he had intent on regicide, sought funds for this, he himself summoned the blessed memory of the emperor and the current reigning emperor to murder, chose and appointed persons to accomplish this ; had an intent to destroy the imperial family, expressed it in the most cruel expressions of scattering ashes, had an intent to expel the imperial family and imprisonment of the blessed memory of the sovereign emperor and himself was summoned to commit this last atrocity, participated in the management of the Southern society, added Slavic to it, constituted proclamations and uttered outrageous speeches, participated in the composition of a false Catechism, aroused and prepared for rebellion, demanding even oath promises by kissing the image, was intent on tearing away the regions from the empire, and acted in the execution thereof, took active measures to spread society by attracting others, personally he acted in mutiny with a willingness to shed blood, aroused officers and soldiers to revolt and was taken with a weapon in his hands.
5. Retired lieutenant Peter Kakhovsky for the fact that, by his own admission, he plotted regicide and the extermination of the entire imperial family and was intended to encroach on the life of the current reigning sovereign emperor, did not renounce this election and even expressed his consent to this, although he assures that subsequently hesitated, participated in spreading the riot by attracting many members, personally acted in the mutiny, incited the lower ranks and himself dealt a fatal blow to Count Miloradovich and Colonel Sturler and wounded the officer of the suite.
Agitclub note:
Let us inform you about the age of the rebel leaders:
Pavel Pestel - 32 years old
Kondraty Ryleev - 32 years old
Sergey Muravyov-Apostol - 29 years old,
Mikhailo Bestuzhev-Ryumin - 26 years old,
Pyotr Kakhovsky - 27 years old.
To death by beheading The Supreme Criminal Court sentenced:
1. Colonel Prince Sergei Trubetskoy (35 years old)
2. Lieutenant of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment, Prince Yevgeny Obolensky (29 years old)
3. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Matvey Muravyov-Apostol (33 years old)
4. Second lieutenant of the 8th artillery brigade Peter Borisov (26 years old)
5. Retired lieutenant Andrey Borisov (28 years old)
6. Second lieutenant of the 2nd artillery brigade Ivan Gorbachevsky (36 years old)
7. Major of the Penza Infantry Regiment Mikhail Spiridov (29 years old)
8. Head-captain of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment of Prince Alexander Baryatinsky (28 years old)
9. Collegiate Assessor Wilhelm Küchelbecker (28 years old)
10. Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment of Captain Alexander Yakubovich (34 years old)
11. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexandre Poggio (29 years old)
12. Akhtyrka hussar regiment of Colonel Artamon Muravyov (32 years old)
13. Ensign of the Nezhinsky Horse-Jaeger Regiment Fyodor Vadkovsky (25 years old)
14. Ensign of the 8th artillery brigade Vladimir Beschasny (23 years old)
15. Retired Colonel Vasily Davydov (34 years old)
16. Former quartermaster general of the 2nd Army 4th class Alexei Yushnevsky (40 years old)
17. Head Captain of the Life Guards of the Dragoon Regiment Alexander Bestuzhev (27 years old)
18. Second lieutenant of the 8th artillery brigade Yakov Andreevich (28 years old)
19. Captain of the General Staff of the Guards Nikita Muravyova (34 years old)
20. Collegiate Assessor Ivan Pushchin (27 years old)
21. Major General Prince Sergei Volkonsky (36 years old)
22. Retired captain Sergei Yakushkin (34 years old)
23. Second lieutenant of the 9-1 artillery brigade Alexander Pestov (23 years old)
24. Lieutenant of the Guards Crew Anton Arbuzov (28 years old)
25. Lieutenant of the 8th fleet crew Dmitry Zavalishin (24 years old)
26. Colonel of the Saratov Infantry Regiment Ivan Povalo-Shveikovsky (35 years old)
27. Lieutenant of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment Nikolai Panov (22 years old)
28. Lieutenant of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment Alexander Sutgof (26 years old)
29. Lieutenant of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, Prince Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky (28 years old)
30. Warrant officer of the guards crew Vasily Divov (24 years old)
31. Acting State Councilor Nikolai Turgenev (27 years old)
In addition to these malefactors and state criminals, the Supreme Court sentenced:
upon deprivation of ranks and nobility to political death (that is, to put his head on the block, and then exile forever to hard labor) - 17 people,
Upon deprivation of ranks and nobility, to temporary exile in hard labor for 15 years, and then to a settlement - 16 people,
Upon deprivation of ranks and nobility, to temporary exile in hard labor for 10 years, and then to a settlement - 5 people,
Upon deprivation of ranks and nobility, to temporary exile in hard labor for 6 years, and then to a settlement - 2 people,
Upon deprivation of ranks and nobility, to temporary exile in hard labor for 4 years, and then to a settlement - 15 people,
To the deprivation of ranks and nobility and writing to the soldiers until the length of service - 1 person,
To the deprivation of only ranks and writing to the soldier with seniority - 9 people.
By a decree addressed to the Supreme Criminal Court, Tsar Nicholas on July 10, 1826 reduced the sentence to many (but not all) convicts, in particular, the death penalty by beheading was replaced by eternal exile in hard labor.
With regard to five accused, sentenced to quartering, Nikolai 1 ordered the punishment to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Criminal Court, guided by the "high-minded mercy" manifested by the "mitigation of executions and punishments", decided:
"Instead of the painful death penalty by quartering, Pavel Pestel, Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Pyotr Kakhovsky, by a certain court sentence, hang these criminals for their grave atrocities."
The announcement of the sentence to the convicted took place in the commandant's house of the Peter and Paul Fortress on July 12, 1826 from 12:00 am to 4:00 am. In the early morning of July 13, an execution took place on the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress ...
Report
Petersburg military governor-general P.V. Golenishchev-Kutuzov
Nicholas 1
dated July 13, 1826
on the execution of the death penalty over P.I. Pestel, K.F. Ryleev,
S.I.Muraviev-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P.G. Kakhovsky
The execution ended with due silence and order both on the part of the troops who were in the ranks and on the part of the spectators, who were few in number.
Due to the inexperience of our executioners and the inability to arrange the gallows at the first time, three, namely: Ryleev, Kakhovsky and Muravyov broke loose, but were soon hanged again and received a well-deserved death. What I am most giving to your Majesty.
By the grace of God, we, Nicholas I, the emperor and autocrat of all Russia and so on, and so on, and so on
... the business that we considered to be the business of all Russia is over; the criminals accepted their worthy execution; The fatherland has been cleared of the consequences of the infection, how many years have been hidden among it.
... This intent was not in the properties, not in the customs of the Russians. Composed by a handful of fiends, he infected their nearest community, depraved hearts and daring reverie; but in ten years of malicious effort he did not penetrate, could not penetrate further. The heart of Russia for him was and will be unapproachable. The Russian name will not be ashamed by treason to the throne and the Fatherland. On the contrary, we saw on this very occasion new experiences of commitment, saw how fathers did not spare their criminal children, relatives rejected and brought suspects to trial, saw all states united in one thought, in one desire: trial and executions for criminals.
... Let all states unite in trust in the government. In a state where love for monarchs and devotion to the throne are based on the natural properties of the people, where there are national laws and firmness in government, all the efforts of the evil-minded will always be futile and mad: they can lurk in the darkness, but at the first appearance, rejected by general indignation, they will be crushed by the power of the law. In this position of the state structure, everyone can be sure of the inviolability of order, the security and property of those who keep it, and calm in the present can see through with hope into the future. Not from impudent dreams, which are always destructive, but from above, domestic regulations are gradually being improved, deficiencies are supplemented, and abuses are corrected. In this order of gradual improvement, every modest desire for the better, every thought for the establishment of the force of laws, for the expansion of true enlightenment and industry, reaching us by a legal path that is open to all, will always be accepted by us with good will: for we do not have, we cannot have other desires, how to see our Fatherland at the highest level of happiness and glory, predetermined by providence.
Those arrested (a total of 316 people) were put in the damp and cramped casemates of the Peter and Paul Fortress. An investigation began there, and a specially organized Supreme Criminal Court sat there. All stages of the investigation were carried out under the leadership of Nicholas I, who proved to be a good interrogator.
In the verdict of the court (early July 1826) it was said that “all defendants, without exception, according to the exact force of our laws, are subject to the death penalty. And therefore, if by the establishment of grades in punishments it will be pleasing to your Imperial Majesty to grant life to some of them, then this will not be the operation of the law, but still less the action of the court, but the action of a single royal mercy ... "At the same time, the court especially noted:" And although mercy , from the autocratic power to the outgoing, the law cannot put any limits, but the Supreme Criminal Court accepts the boldness to imagine that there are degrees of crime so high and so close to the general security of the state that they seem to be inaccessible to the monarch himself. "
Let's look at the source
The role of the simple executors of the unsuccessful plan of Ryleev and his friends - the soldiers brought out to the square near the Senate, was the most pitiful. They turned out to be pawns in the political game. In part, they were deceived by the revolutionary officers, saying that they were leading to defend the rights of the emperor Constantine (and also, as it was said in the then anecdote, the Constitution - the wife of Constantine). In part, they blindly, as befits servicemen, obeyed the orders of the commanders, and then they were shot in the square and drowned in the Neva ice-holes obediently and blindly acting also on the orders of their former comrades - soldiers of government troops. Here is what the rebel soldier Pyotr Fateev wrote to his parents:
“To my dear parents, I bow deeply to the mother of the damp earth! A great misfortune befell me. For shooting in the winter on Senate Square, they ordered me to jail. Because of this, I did not write to you for a long time. Sitting hefty is bad: they beat me, did not feed me. Now I am free again. I was on trial. I went to court together with my comrades. There were many of us, almost a hundred, or more of us. It was even scary at the trial. There were judged there by different gentlemen wearing medals with a tsar around their necks, they tried for a long time, and the new Emperor himself, His Imperial Majesty Nikolai Pavlovich, also judged us. All were sentenced to hard labor for this very shooting in Siberia. But our Tsar father had mercy and gave such a decree to the court that our entire regiment should be sent to the war with the Persians, so I suppose I’ll leave soon and I don’t know when I come home. Goodbye, dear parents and all acquaintances.
Smart people say that these same Persians live far away, we won't get to them soon. I will live, I will return ... I will not write any more, otherwise they will not order us, they will put us in prison again ... "
Legends and rumors
Secrets of the history of the rebellion on Senate Square
There is much that is not clear in the history of the Decembrists and the uprising in Senate Square. Some historians believe that in parallel with the conspiracy of the Decembrists, there was an attempt at a palace coup, which the military governor-general Miloradovich and the command of the guard tried to arrange. The generals were extremely unprofitable coming to power of Nicholas - a young man, unfamiliar and alien to them. Therefore, they forced Nicholas, contrary to his will, to swear allegiance to Emperor Constantine I, believing that they, the old military associates of the Tsarevich, would be able to persuade him to ascend the throne. But Constantine persisted in his renunciation of the throne, despite desperate letters from Miloradovich and others to him. Because of this, there was a pause, which the Decembrists took advantage of.
But there was no unanimity among them either. The plans for the reorganization of Russia, laid down in the programs of the two secret societies, were very different, and would hardly have docked. According to Pestel's Russkaya Pravda, a military junta should have stood at the head of republican Russia, led by a dictator, whose chair was claimed by the ambitious Pestel. According to Nikita Muravyov's project, Russia was to become a constitutional monarchy with a fairly liberal structure. It is not known whether the Decembrists would have been able to agree after the alleged victory. But these plans were not destined to come true.
There are many mysteries in the history of the uprising itself. Until now, there are no intelligible explanations why Prince S.P. Trubetskoy, elected dictator of the uprising, did not even appear on Senate Square, where the rebels stood for many hours, although he lived next to it and, if it was cowardice or betrayal, why the Decembrists subsequently did not convicted him for it? The memoirs of Trubetskoy himself do not provide an opportunity to solve this riddle. They cut off at an important place for the reader - the beginning of the interrogation of Trubetskoy by the emperor: “Levashov took my questioning sheet and went to the sovereign: soon both returned to me. The Emperor said to me: "I ..." ". What happened next, we will never know.
Finally, in recent years, serious doubts have been expressed in the literature regarding the ramification and organization of the Decembrist secret societies. Did not the defendants themselves, and then the exiles, exaggerate their revolutionary activities in retrospect until the moment they committed a state crime - rebellion? The organizations in which they were members were largely amorphous, and their meetings and meetings often boiled down to friendly feasts and sharp talks about politics, which was done in many places. Projects of the country's reorganization have always been written in Russia, since the time of Ivan the Terrible. It so happens that most of the materials about the secret organization of the Decembrists date back to the time of the investigation and their exile to Siberia. In the materials of the investigation itself, one can clearly see the aspiration, natural for the political investigation of all times, to “structure” the actually ephemeral organization of the Decembrists, to formulate more clearly its goals, tasks, organization. Let's not forget that this was the time of the spread of terrible rumors about European Carbonari, Masonic conspiracies. Those under investigation voluntarily and involuntarily helped this. Many felt themselves not just rebel guardsmen, like Minich or the Orlov brothers, but carbonarii, freedom fighters.
There is evidence that as early as 1821 Alexander I knew about secret meetings of officers, the content of their conversations and disputes about the future of Russia, but did not attach much importance to this information. In response to the report of Adjutant General Vasilchikov about the conspiracy, he said: “Dear Vasilchikov! You, who have been in my service since the beginning of my reign, you know that I shared and encouraged these illusions and delusions. " Perhaps this explains the inertia of the authorities after the denunciations in 1825 by two officers - Sherwood and Mayboroda - about secret societies in the army. It turns out that if it were not for the interregnum situation provoked by Miloradovich's group, no rebellion, perhaps, would have happened ...
However, in a decree on July 10, Nicholas I nevertheless showed mercy and decided to violate the really ferocious (since the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter the Great) laws on state crimes. This circumstance is somehow overlooked in the story about the Decembrists - state criminals. If the provisions of the law that were in force at that time - the Code of 1649, the Military Regulations of Peter the Great and other decrees - were applied to them, then all participants in the state crime would be subject to execution, and the most cruel executions should be applied to them (by force of law): quartering , wheeling, whipping, impalement - all that Peter the Great did not hesitate to apply to the same rebels - archers. At the behest of Nicholas, the criminals were divided into 11 categories, suggesting different types and terms of punishment. Five leaders of the rebellion (Pavel Pestel, Sergei Muravyev-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Kondraty Ryleev and Pyotr Kakhovsky) were executed by hanging at the crownwork of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest were exiled to Siberia. Investigations and trials over the participants in the conspiracy and rebellion dragged on for a long time in other cities.
N. Bestuzhev. General view of the Petrovsky Plant (in the center - the prison in which the Decembrists were serving their sentences)
For all the processes, the authorities sent 124 people to Siberia. Shackled in shackles and dressed in prison robes, the Decembrists served hard labor, first in the Nerchinsk mines, and then behind the high walls of the Chita prison and in other places. Later they were transferred to a settlement. The behavior of the exiled Decembrists and the wives who came to them became an example of dignity and decency. They lived a rich life of cultured people, not discouraged and not indulging in despair. Many of them in the settlement were engaged in scientific research, painting, arranged concerts, gave lessons, corresponded with friends. In 1856, after the beginning of a new reign, the surviving Decembrists were pardoned by the new Emperor Alexander II, and they returned from Siberia, which is "also Russia, only more terrible."
In general, the December story of 1825 had the most sad consequences for Russia. Extraordinary people perished, perished in exile, for many years public life was frozen by fear and despondency. The authorities, having experienced the terrible shock of the rebellious days, looked extremely wary and unfriendly at all proposals for modernization and the changes necessary for the country. The Alexander era, which began in the light of the early spring sun with hopes, optimism, illusions and reforms, ended with the twilight of the December day of disappointment, fear, despondency and hopelessness ...
Let's look at the source
The behavior of many wives of the Decembrists, who, using the right to follow their husbands-criminals, voluntarily came to Siberia and shared a hard lot with them, became legendary. The authorities, who did not approve of such sacrifice, in every possible way prevented the travel of women belonging to high society, openly intimidated these secular ladies, who always lived in comfort and safety. Princess M.N. Volkonskaya, wife of Prince S.G. Volkonsky, wrote:
“The governor (of Irkutsk. - EA), seeing my determination to go, told me:“ Think about what conditions you will have to sign ”. - “I will sign them without reading.” - “I must tell you to search all your things, you are forbidden to have the slightest value.” With these words, he left and sent a whole gang of officials to me. They had to rewrite very little: a little linen, three dresses, family portraits and a first aid kit ... I was presented with the notorious subscription to sign, and they told me to keep a copy of it in order to remember it well. When they came out, my man, who had read it, said to me with tears in his eyes: “Princess, what have you done, read what they demand of you! - "I don't care, we'll pack it as soon as possible and go." This subscription is:
"1. The wife, following her husband and continuing the conjugal relationship with him, will naturally become involved in his fate and will lose her former title, that is, she will already be recognized only as the wife of an exiled convict and at the same time takes upon herself to endure everything that such a state can to have a painful one, because even the authorities will not be able to protect her from the hourly insults that might be from people of the most depraved, contemptuous class, which they will find in the fact, as if some right to consider the wife of a state criminal, bearing an equal fate with him, like himself; these insults can even be violent. Inveterate villains are not afraid of punishment. 2. Children who take root in Siberia will go to state factory peasants. 3. It is not allowed to take with you neither sums of money, nor things of great value; this is prohibited by the existing rules and is necessary for their own safety due to the fact that these places are inhabited by people who are ready for all kinds of crimes. 4. Departure to the Nerchinsk Territory destroys the right of the serfs who arrived with them. "
Having put in order the things scattered by the officials, and ordered to pack everything again, I remembered that I needed a road trip. The governor, after the subscription I gave, did not honor me with his visit, I had to wait for him in the hall. I went to him, and they gave me a road trip in the name of a Cossack who was supposed to accompany me, but my name was replaced by the words: "... with the driver."
Upon returning home, I found Alexandra Muravyova (born Chernysheva); she just arrived, having left a few hours earlier than her, I was 8 days ahead of her. We drank tea, then laughing, then crying - there was a reason for both: we were surrounded by the same laughing officials who returned to inspect her things. "
Decree of December 17 (29), was established Commission for Research on Malicious Societies chaired by Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev. On May 30 (June 11), the Commission of Inquiry presented to Emperor Nicholas the most loyal report drawn up by D.N.Bludov. Manifesto 1 (13) June established Supreme Criminal Court.
The composition of the Supreme Criminal Court included Mordvinov and Speransky - exactly those high-ranking officials who were suspected of behind the scenes directing the failed rebellion. Nicholas I, through Benckendorff, bypassing the Investigative Committee, tried to find out whether Speransky was connected with the Decembrists. A.D. Borovkov in his notes testified that the question of involvement in the plans of the Decembrists of Speransky, Mordvinov, Ermolov and Kiselev was being investigated, but then the materials of this investigation were destroyed.
579 people were involved in the investigation, of which 11 were informers.
In case of doubts about the type of execution, which may be determined by the court for these criminals, the Emperor deigned to command me to anticipate your lordship, that his majesty does not deign not only to quartering, as a painful execution, but also to execution, as an execution to some military crimes inherent , not even for a simple beheading, and, in a word, for any death penalty associated with the shedding of blood.
In addition, in 1826-1827. members of a number of secret societies who were not directly associated with the Northern and Southern societies, but were close to them in spirit and aspirations: Astrakhan, Orenburg, Military Friends, were convicted by military courts for various terms of hard labor and settlement in Siberia.
Circumstances of the process
The efforts of Nicholas I were aimed at the prompt investigation and punishment of those responsible: “ I think to end as soon as possible with those of the scoundrels who have no value in the confessions that they can make, but, being the first to raise their hand against their superiors, cannot be pardoned". But during interrogations, more and more names and facts surfaced, so that the commission of inquiry was able to complete the investigation of more than 120 accused and three hundred of those involved in the case only six months later.
Commencement of proceedings
On the day of the uprising, M. A. Bestuzhev, E. P. Obolensky, A. N. Sutgof, A. A. Shtorkh and D. A. Shchepin-Rostovsky were detained. The first to be questioned were Shchepin-Rostovsky, taken by Nikolai for “ the main face of the riot", And Sutgof, who named several names, including E. P. Obolensky, A. I. Odoevsky, N. A. Panov, P. G. Kakhovsky, N. A. Bestuzhev and K. F. Ryleev," as the main conspirator».
Not admitting the thought that glorified officers-guardsmen were leading the insurgents, Nicholas wrote to Konstantin that evening: “ We have evidence that a certain Ryleev, a civil servant ... was in charge of the case.»
On the evening of December 14, Ryleev was arrested and, during interrogation, admitted the existence of a secret society and its goal - the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. He named A.A. and N.A. Bestuzhevsky, P.G. Kakhovsky, V.K.Kyukhelbecker, N.M. Muravyov, E.P. Obolensky, A.I. Odoevsky, I.I. P. Trubetskoy.
The circle of suspects began to grow rapidly.
On the night of December 15, A.P. Arbuzov, B.A. Bodisko, F.G. Vishnevsky, O.V. Gorsky, A.O. Kornilovich, E.P. Obolensky, S. P. Trubetskoy. The interrogations of those arrested on the first night and on the following days took place in the Living Room (now Hall No. 172) in the apartments of Nicholas I.
« Suddenly I saw myself in a brightly lit room, in front of a table covered with red cloth, near which were sitting all the members of our Committee in uniforms and regalia. General Tatishchev occupied the presidency, on his left were Prince A. N. Golitsyn, generals Diebitsch, Chernyshev, Benkendorf; on the right - Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, St. Petersburg Governor Kutuzov, Generals Levashev, Potapov, Adjutant Wing Adlerberg ... All this situation was supposed to produce a sudden and necessary effect on the prisoner brought blindfolded».
The investigation was carried out in the Peter and Paul Fortress in an atmosphere of deep secrecy, and the results of the investigation into the involvement of high-ranking officials and foreign relations of the Decembrist societies were not included in the final report of the Commission and were drawn up as secret attachments to it.
The behavior of the Decembrists
The arrested were persuaded to confess with the expectation of a fair assessment by the emperor. Member of the Investigative Committee, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich said: “ The sovereign is the best intercessor for you, I can assure you of this". The hope of the promised mercy was supposed to push the state criminals to repentance before the trial. The recalcitrant were given to understand that, despite the prohibition of torture in force in Russia, the investigation “ there are different ways to get you to confess". By order of Nikolai, shackling the Decembrists in shackles was practiced from the first days of detention.
In order to force the accused to confess the necessary investigation, they were told about the alleged testimony against him, they brought people exhausted by the unknown with the expectation of painful confrontations for them.
Not everyone withstood the conditions of detention and interrogation. Some Decembrists suffered from nervous disorders, and two of them - A.M. Bulatov (01/10/1826) and I. Yu. Polivanov (09/02/1826) died as a result of the disease.
Those who showed cowardice tried to abandon the previously made confessions, feeling remorse about the harm caused to the comrades they mentioned, and realizing the groundlessness of hopes of justifying or mitigating their fate.
And the leaders of the uprising K.F. Ryleev, P.I. Pestel, S.I. with their, to varying degrees, detailed testimony, they tried to show the objective justice of the ideas of eradicating the existing abuses, their widespread prevalence and support in Russian society.
Ryleev, who was interrogated five times during the investigation, twelve times at face-to-face confrontations and seventy-eight times answered written questions, tried to deny the participation in the society of persons whose information the commission had not yet confirmed. He concluded his first testimony with a request: “ Having opened frankly and decisively what I know, I ask for one mercy - to spare the young people involved in society, and to remember that the spirit of the times is such a force before which they were unable to resist».
Nicholas I gave a characterization of Pestel and his position during the investigation in his memoirs: “ Pestel was a villain in all the power of his word, without the slightest shadow of remorse, with a brutal expression and the most daring courage in denial.».
Muravyov-Apostol answered at the first interrogation, “ that he is ready to give a true answer to everything that concerns him, but that he will never find out about other persons", And argued that" all the indignation of the Chernigov regiment was done by him alone, without prior preparation", And on January 25 he turned to the tsar with a proposal" consume for the good of the fatherland the abilities given to me by heaven ... Whatever task is entrusted to me, by the zealous fulfillment of its majesty, make sure that you can rely on my word» .
M.S.Lunin said that to name the names would mean “ discover brothers and friends". For a long time he refused to testify against his comrades I. D. Yakushkin, who was sent to the fortress with the instruction “ chain in leg and hand iron; deal with him strictly and not otherwise contain, like a villain", Assessing his own behavior during the investigation, wrote that his testimony was the result of" a number of transactions with oneself».
During the investigation, the position of Prince S.P. Trubetskoy, who was elected dictator on the eve of the uprising, but on the morning of December 14, refused to participate in it, turned out to be completely different. Making the excuse that “ in any such society, even if it was originally composed of the most honest people, there will certainly be people ... vicious and bad morality”, He fully admitted his guilt, repented and asked for pardon, which helped him avoid the fate prepared for the rest of the leaders of the movement.
Among the motives that determined the behavior and throwing of the Decembrists during the investigation, N. Ya. Eidelman called:
- the severity of the consciousness that all their comrades-in-arms were in the dungeons and, accordingly, the lack of confidence in the support of like-minded people at large;
- psychological problems due to confrontation with people of their own circle, relatives and yesterday's colleagues and acquaintances;
- illusions of noble upbringing associated with belief in the justice of the tsar;
- experiences from forced confessions, moral and physical suffering due to the inquisitorial methods of investigation, personally directed by the emperor;
- pessimistic sentiments due to the lack of a legal order of legal proceedings;
- youth and lack of political experience.
Assessment of the court and investigation by the Decembrists
N. V. Basargin, A. P. Belyaev, M. A. Bestuzhev, A. S. Gangeblov, N. I. Lorer, A. E. Rosen, S. P. Trubetskoy, P.I. Falenberg, I.D. Yakushkin.
After the completion of the investigation, all those arrested were summoned to the commission only once to confirm their earlier testimony with their own signature. At the same time, attempts to reject previously made readings or change them were not taken into account. The prisoners of the Decembrists in the casemates awaited the start of the court hearings and were preparing for their defense, but when they began to be brought to the announcement of sentences without announcing the start of the trial, they only guessed from the situation that this was the trial, which M.I.Pushchin later called " Shemyakin". A. E. Rosen wrote that many members of the Supreme Criminal Court “ not only lorgnets were pointing at us, but also telescopes. Maybe it was out of sympathy and sympathy: they wanted to see at least once and for the last time those convicts whom they had already condemned, never seeing them and never talking to them before condemnation» .
According to N.V. Basargin, the sentence “ was so inconsistent with our guilt, represented such an unjust bitterness to us that somehow elevated us even in our own eyes».
Public opinion
There were responses to the investigation and the verdict in all strata of society. Conservative-minded and disliked the reformer M.S. Speransky, one of the main organizers of the trial, the official and memoirist F.F.Vigel wrote that by the actions of Emperor Nicholas I “ liberalism, so unusual for us, is disarmed and crushed; the words justice and order have replaced the sacramental word freedom until then. Nobody dared to call him austerity, and he didn’t want to call it cruelty: for it ensured both the personal security of everyone and the state security in general. Happy and happy faces were visible everywhere, only relatives and friends of the rebels seemed sad on December 14". At the same time, the author of the memoirs noted that to write about everything heard then “ not a place yet» .
Taking into account the social status of the convicts, the circle " relatives and friends"Turned out to be wide. In their memoirs, the Decembrists recalled numerous cases of sympathy, attention and help from people from all walks of life.
Fearing public outrage, Nicholas I ordered that the time and place of the execution of the Decembrists be kept secret. Messages about her were published retroactively. Shocked A.S. Pushkin, who called the Decembrists " the smartest people in Russia", Wrote" And I could ...”And drew a gallows in the margins of the manuscript. Poet Prince P. A. Vyazemsky reacted sharply to the verdict on the Decembrists: “ For me, Russia is now defiled, bloodied ... How many victims and what iron hand fell on them» ..
By the will of the emperor, there was no mention in the "Report of the Investigative Commission" that the state criminals demanded the release of the peasants. But in the denunciations of secret agents “ about the mood of the mind"The spread of rumors about the anti-serfdom goals of the conspirators was noted. Senator, member of the Supreme Criminal Court P. G. Divov wrote in his diary on April 5 (17): “ There are rumors about the indignation of the peasants; they ... say that the late emperor gave freedom, and the current reigning emperor does not want to fulfill this. Rumors like this are undoubtedly the aftermath of the December 14 conspiracy.» .
The Decembrists did not rely on the people in their designs. Ordinary people, well acquainted with the injustice of the authorities and sympathizing with all those who were punished by it, nevertheless, saw even in the method of sending to Siberia the Decembrists sentenced to hard labor for attempting to revolt " against the oppressors of the people", Confirmation of legalized estate privileges. Figuratively their opinion was expressed by A. I. Herzen: “ Our hearts walk there on foot, but the gendarmes carry the gentlemen».
Foreign press responses
The official coverage of the trial in the Russian press was intended to show the objectivity of the investigation, the fairness of the trial and the verdict, and, which was important for Nicholas I, “ calm Europe", Whose monarchs were interested in the events taking place in Russia.
The Decembrist NI Turgenev, sentenced to death in absentia, and who had lived in exile since 1826, wrote that the attitude of the English and French press towards the participants in the December uprising was, in general, rather impartial. Later studies showed heterogeneity in the interpretation of the results of the investigation and trial by different publications.
The report of the commission of inquiry was published in full in the largest newspapers. The English "Times" noted that great efforts are being made in St. Petersburg, " to convince the world again of the guilt of those involved in the conspiracy". On August 10, 1826, commenting on the verdict, the Times wrote that 36 accused were sentenced to death, but 31 of them, by the grace of the sovereign, commuted the death penalty with a sentence much more serious than death on the scaffold: life imprisonment in mines and noted: “ The imperial government, however, is cruelly mistaken if it thinks that a purely formal investigation carried out by a commission of 8 members - the emperor's courtiers and adjutants - can awaken confidence in itself in the civilized countries of Europe, or even in less cultured Russia.».
The opinions and assessments of the events of the French editions were determined by their political orientation. The conservative newspapers La Quotidienne and Journal des débats fully reproduced the official reports from Russia and printed in extracts a huge report of the commission of inquiry, which ran from ten to twelve pages of appendices in several issues. "Journal des débats" on 22 August, supporting the punishment of the conspirators who carried out " crown judgment", Wrote that the purpose of these" exalted people» - « republic between Siberia and Crimea"- in their eyes" justified the means and this obliged them to follow the path of crime and madness". Trying to support the European thrones, which could be shaken because of the actions of the Decembrists, the royalist newspapers, as much as possible, downplayed the significance of the events that took place in Russia and called for admiration for both the firmness and gentleness of Nicholas, stating that “ now everything is full of joy and tranquility". The more liberal weekly Le Constitutionnel was more restrained in its approval and condemned the trial of the Decembrists, which took place " without any protection and with closed doors", was tagged " the seal of tyranny and lawlessness". In the issue of August 10, 1826, the weekly emphasized the cruelty of the execution of five Decembrists.
The arrests of the Decembrists in St. Petersburg began on the night of December 14-15, 1825. The captured "intruders" were taken for interrogation to Nicholas I in the Winter Palace. From there, they, already prisoners, were sent with the tsar's notes to the casemates of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Prince Trubetskoy cites in his "Notes" a typical example of "the highest investigation": "They called me. The emperor came to my meeting in full uniform and ribbon and, raising the index finger of his right hand against my forehead, said: “What was in this head when you, with your name, with your surname, entered into such a matter? Guards Colonel Prince Trubetskoy! .. Shame on you to be with such rubbish, your fate will be terrible. " remembered society. "The prince denied everything." The emperor ... "Trubetskoy recalled further," giving me a sheet of paper, he said: "Write your testimony" - and showed the place on the sofa, on which he was sitting and from which he had now got up. Before I sat down, the emperor began talking again:
- - What a surname! Prince Trubetskoy, guard colonel, and in what business! What a lovely wife! You have ruined your wife! Do you have children?
- - No.
- - You are happy that you have no children! Your fate will be terrible! Terrible!
And, continuing for some time in this tone, he concluded: "Write what you know" - and went into the office. "
Trubetskoy said in his testimony about his belonging to a "secret society, which had the goal of improving the government." The circumstances that followed the death of the sovereign seemed favorable to the Society for the fulfillment of his intentions, and it elected ... Trubetskoy as a dictator, but the prince, seeing that his "name rather than face and orders was needed, retired from participation." When the emperor read Trubetskoy's testimony, he immediately summoned him.
Nicholas I met the prince in strong anger:
- - Hey that they piled on themselves, but they didn’t say what was needed ... You know that I can shoot you now!
- - Shoot, sir! You have the right.
- - I do not want. I want your fate to be terrible!
By the highest decree of December 17, 1825, a secret Investigative Committee was created to "search" the accomplices of the malicious society under the chairmanship of the Minister of War A. I. Tatishchev. Investigative commissions also worked in Mogilev, Bialystok, Warsaw, Bila Tserkva, in separate regiments. Six months later, on May 30, 1826, the commissions presented the emperor with an all-subject report. Of the 579 people involved in the investigation, 289 were found guilty, of whom 121 were brought to trial (61 from the Northern Society, from the South, 23 from the Society of United Slavs).
The Decembrists were kept in the Peter and Paul and Shlisselburg fortresses, as well as in other prison castles in Russia. They were deprived of communication with each other and with relatives. Many were forbidden even to read and write. People endured the hardships of non-freedom and consequences in different ways. Few of the Decembrists stood firm, With dignity, without betraying their comrades (M. Lunin, I. D. Yakushkin, L. I. Borisov and some others).
Most were frank with the emperor and the investigators, wrote detailed confessions, letters of repentance, and some prayed for forgiveness. Historians explain this in different ways: some of the former conspirators were guided by the code of noble honor, which prescribed to be frank with the sovereign, others wanted to draw the attention of the authorities to the need to solve the problems that prompted the Decembrists to revolt, and others were confident in the non-use of the death penalty in Russia.
The Manifesto of June 1, 1826 established the Supreme Criminal Court of three "state estates": representatives of the State Council, the Senate, the Synod, as well as "several persons from the highest military and civilian officials." M.M.Speransky carried out significant work on organizing the activities of the court. Prince P.V. Lopukhin became the chairman, Prince A. B. Kurakin became his deputy, and Minister of Justice D.I.Lobanov-Rostovsky was appointed prosecutor general. The court consisted of 72 people.
The court divided all those arrested into 11 categories according to the degree of guilt. The five most dangerous criminals - Pavel Pestel, Kondraty Ryleev, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Pyotr Kakhovsky - were taken out of the ranks, they were sentenced to a terrible, painful punishment - execution by quartering. 31 Decembrists of the first category were sentenced to beheading, 17 of the second - to political death, etc. Nicholas I, by decree of July 10, 1826, commuted the sentence to almost all categories. For the "out-of-class" five, quartering was replaced by hanging. Out of 72 members of the court, only one spoke out against this cruel sentence - Admiral N. S. Mordvinov, referring to the abolition of the death penalty in Russia since the time of Elizabeth Petrovna, which was confirmed by the decree of Paul I of April 13, 1799.The sentence was carried out on July 13, 1826 on the crownwork (one of the fortifications) of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Everyone has it
Convicted in the first category (Nikita Muravyov, Sergei Trubetskoy, Ivan Pushchin, Yevgeny Obolensky, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker and others) were sentenced to hard labor. About 100 accused were sentenced to various terms of hard labor; 9 officers were demoted to the ranks. The future convicts were lined up in the courtyard of the fortress, deprived of the nobility and ranks, the uniforms torn from them were burned in fires, and swords were broken over their heads. The sailors on the flagship in Kronstadt were subjected to the same humiliating procedure, their epaulettes and uniforms were thrown overboard.
A hard fate awaited other convicts, but the soldiers were doomed to the most inhuman punishment: 178 people were driven through the thousandth formation with gauntlets from 1 to 12 times (which in fact was equal to the death penalty), many were beaten with sticks and rods. A considerable number of soldiers ended up in the active army in the Caucasus.
In July 1826, the convicts began to be sent to hard labor in Siberia. One day of hope was paid for by decades of suffering.
The arrests of the Decembrists continued until mid-April 1826. A total of 316 people were arrested. In total, over 500 people were involved in the case of the Decembrists (many of them were investigated in absentia). 121 people were brought before the Supreme Criminal Court. In addition, trials of forty members of secret societies were held in Mogilev, Bialystok and Warsaw.
As a rule, the Committee interrogated the accused first orally, and then the same questions were sent to the casemate, where the prisoner answered them in writing.
The Tsar himself tirelessly followed the course of the investigation, who personally interrogated many leaders of the Northern Society in the early days. The fear he experienced on December 14, the fear that the investigation would not let one of the rioters go, forced Nicholas I to sink to the role of a police investigator. Pleasing the emperor, the members of the Committee in every possible way sought repentance from the Decembrists and sought to extort the recognition with threats and false promises.
As a result, those arrested, not feeling any public support outside the walls of the fortress and frightened by the fear of torture, often became discouraged and slandered themselves and their comrades.
Although the government tried to understand the question of the sources of the "free-thinking" of the members of the secret society, perhaps the main task of the Committee was to present all the Decembrists as regicides. The entire course of the investigation was subordinated to this goal, about which N. I. Lorer, the closest assistant of P. Pestel, wrote: “The Investigative Committee was biased from beginning to end. Our accusation was illegal, the process and the very questions were rude, deceitful and deceitful. "
The behavior of the Decembrists during the investigation was different. Many of them did not show revolutionary staunchness, lost ground under their feet, repented, cried, betrayed their comrades. But there were cases of personal heroism, refusal to testify and betray the conspirators. Among those who were steadfast and behaved with dignity were Lunin, Andreevich - the second, Pyotr Borisov, Usovsky, Y. Lyublinsky, Yakushkin. After interrogations, the "state criminals" were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress, in most cases with notes from the tsar, which indicated the conditions in which this prisoner should be kept. Decembrist Yakushkin was sent with the following tsar's note: “Send Yakushkin to be fettered in foot and hand iron; to deal with him strictly and not otherwise contain, as a villain. "
When P. Pestel was arrested, he said to his friend Sergei Volkonsky: "Don't worry, I won't open anything, even if they ripped me to shreds." But, having learned that the investigators were well aware of the affairs and plans of the secret society, P. Pestel lost heart and even turned to General Levashov with letters of repentance. But then he regained his composure and to the end held on with dignity, despite the weakened strength.
Two points especially aggravated P. Pestel's guilt: "Russian Truth" and plans for regicide. That is why, in the notes of Nicholas I, he is called "a villain in all the power of his word, without the slightest shadow of remorse."
P. Pestel at first answered all questions with complete denial. "Not belonging to the society mentioned here and not knowing anything about its existence, still less can I say what its true goal is striving for and what measures it assumed to achieve it," he answered, for example, when asked about the goal of a secret society. Later, given out by many, he was forced to give detailed answers.
Decembrist Lunin stood firm during interrogations. “I was not accepted by anyone as a member of the secret society, but I joined it myself,” he proudly replied to the investigators. - To reveal their names (Decembrists) I consider contrary to my conscience, for I should have found Brothers and friends. "
But at the same time, many investigative cases of the Decembrists contain numerous repentant appeals to the tsar and members of the commission, tearful letters from repentant "criminals", vows to earn forgiveness. Why have so many members of the secret society not shown resilience? The answer seems clear. There was no revolutionary class behind the participants in the December 14 uprising imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Outside the walls of the prison, they did not feel supported, and many were discouraged. There were also cases of suicide in the prison. So, the Decembrist Bulatov smashed his head against the wall of a prison cell. Sharing "in iron" was a form of physical torture (other forms, apparently, were not used), but moral torture was no less severe - intimidation, hope, influence on the family, threats of the death penalty, etc.
The tsarist authorities were interested in a broad notification of the noble society about the alleged "deep repentance" of the prisoners, who admit the erroneousness of the speech and praise the mercy of the tsarist government. For this purpose, for example, one document was widely disseminated through the police and the provincial administration, which was a combination of three letters - Ryleev's suicide letter to his wife, a letter from the Decembrist Obolensky to his father and Yakubovich's penitential letter also to his father. All three letters were distributed by the government in an official way. This is clearly evidenced by the special "case" of the office of the St. Petersburg civil governor, in which these letters of repentance are neatly attached to the official reports of the investigation and trial, extracts from the Senate records and other documents.
In fact, there was no trial over the Decembrists. The parody of the trial took place behind closed doors, in deep secrecy. The summoned Decembrists were hastily offered to attest to their signatures under the testimony at the investigation, after which they read the sentence prepared in advance and called the next "discharge". “Have we been tried? - asked the Decembrists later. “And we didn’t know that it was a trial” ...
Five Decembrists were put "out of the ranks" and sentenced to quartering. But Nicholas I replaced quartering by hanging.
An extract from the minutes of the Supreme Criminal Court of July 11, 1826 read: “In accordance with the lofty mercy revealed in this case ... , Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Pyotr Kakhovsky, by a certain court verdict, to hang these criminals for their grave atrocities. "
The execution took place on July 13 at the crown of the Peter and Paul Fortress. On the chests of those sentenced to be hanged there were boards with the inscription: "The regicide."
The head of the kronverk later said: “When the benches were taken from under their feet, the ropes broke and three criminals (Ryleev, Kakhovsky and Muravyov) fell into the pit, knocking the boards over it with the weight of their bodies and fetters ... However, the operation was repeated this time it was successful. "
All other prisoners of the Decembrists were taken out into the courtyard of the fortress. All sentences were accompanied by demotion, deprivation of ranks and nobility: swords were broken over the convicts, epaulettes and uniforms were torn off and thrown into the fire of blazing bonfires.
More than 120 people of the Decembrists were exiled to Siberia, to hard labor or to a settlement for various periods. The demoted to the rank and file were sent to the active army in the Caucasus. There were the Decembrists who visited both Siberia and the Caucasus (Lorer, Odoevsky and others): after serving a certain term of punishment in Siberia, they were assigned as “mercy” as privates in the Caucasian army, where military operations were carried out, under bullets.
To the number of those executed should be added to death the spoiled Decembrist soldiers, some of whom were driven through the line twelve times, that is, they received twelve thousand gauntlets. Less active soldiers were stripped of their insignia and exiled to the Caucasus. The entire penal Chernigov regiment was sent there as well. In the Siberian archives, documents were found showing that some of the soldiers were exiled to Siberia, and the authorities took all measures to ensure that they did not collide with the exiled Decembrists there.
The dispatch to Siberia began in July 1826. At first, hard labor was performed mainly in the Nerchinsk mines. Many of the Decembrists were visited by their wives. They did not take advantage of the permission of Nicholas I to remarry and abandoned a free and wealthy noble life for the sake of the Decembrist husbands.
As wives of exiled convicts, they were deprived of civil rights and noble privileges. EI Trubetskaya, MN Volkonskaya, AG Muravyova were the first to arrive at the Nerchinsk mines at the beginning of 1827. After them came A. I. Davydova, A. V. Entaltseva, E. P. Naryshkina, A. V. Rosen, N. D. Fonvizina, M. K. Yushnevskaya, and also Polina Gebl (P. E. Annenkova) and K. Le-Dante (K. P. Levashova). The selfless act of the wives of the Decembrists was of great public importance.
In 1856, after the death of Nicholas I, in connection with the coronation of the new emperor Alexander II, a manifesto was issued on the amnesty of the Decembrists and permission for them to return from Siberia. Only forty people remained alive. About a hundred people have already died in hard labor and in exile.