The Decembrist Revolt

As you have read the Napoleonic Wars brought many Russian soldiers into contact with French ideas of liberty and equality which many began to support. Some of the young officers came back from France convinced that if Russia was to be a great European power then she had to bring her social and political system into line with those of Western Europe. This, of course, would mean an end to the feudal system of serfdom and to autocratic government. At the same time, Alexander I became influenced by the conservative leaders of Western Europe who feared revolution. He abandoned his liberal ideas and returned to repressive policies. This led to the development of secret societies plotting to bring about revolutionary changes.

The most important of these groups was the Society for Public Good (SPG) mostly made up of junior army officers. Like most revolutionary groups the SPG had factions: the Northern group wanted to introduce a constitutional monarchy under which the Tsar would share power with a parliament and the country, while the Southern group wanted a democratic republic, freedom of the serfs and a land system based upon peasant ownership of the land.

When Alexander I died in 1825 leaving no heir there was confusion over which of his brothers would become the next Tsar. This inspired the SPG to attempt to seize power. The group became known as the Decembrists because they attempted their takeover in December 1825. They planned to force Nicholas to call a constituent assembly to set up a provisional government which would introduce their reforms. The Decembrist revolt failed because the rebels could not agree on policy, were poorly organised and did not act decisively. They marched to the Senate Square and stood confronting the army until Nicholas ordered the army to fire on the rebels. The ringleaders were arrested, some were excecuted and the others exiled to Siberia.

The Decembrist revolt was important because, although it was poorly planned and easily put down, it was the start of a revolutionary tradition which was to cause problems for the tsarist regimes for the rest of the century.

Exercise 1.5: Cloze exercise (interactive)