The morning of December 14th arrived. (Appendix L). The Decembrists were already in their military units and were campaigning against the oath to Nicholas I. By 11 o’clock in the morning, the first to arrive on Senate Square was the Moscow Life Guards Regiment, led by Alexander and Mikhail Bestuzhev (Appendix N) and D.A. Shchepin -Rostovsky. The regiment formed into a combat quadrangle (square) near the monument to Peter I. By one o'clock in the afternoon the Moscow regiment was joined by sailors of the Moscow Guards crew under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev, and after them - the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, which was led by lieutenants N.A. Panov and A .N.Sutgof. In total, 3 thousand soldiers with 30 officers gathered on the square. They were waiting for the approach of other military units, and most importantly - the dictator of the uprising - S.P. Trubetskoy, without whose orders the rebels could not act independently. However, the “dictator” did not appear on the square, and the uprising was virtually left without leadership. Trubetskoy had already shown hesitation and indecision the day before. His doubts about success intensified on the very day of the uprising, when he became convinced that it was not possible to raise most of the guards regiments that the Decembrists had counted on. Trubetskoy’s behavior, undoubtedly, among other reasons, played a fatal role on December 14th.

The news of the beginning of the uprising quickly spread throughout the city. Crowds of people rushed to the scene. The masses attacked the police and disarmed them, throwing stones and logs at Nicholas I and his retinue. At this time, St. Petersburg Governor General Miloradovich arrived on the square. He persuaded the soldiers to disperse, convinced them that the oath to Nicholas was legal. It was a tense moment of the uprising, events could have gone according to an unforeseen scenario, because the regiment was alone, the others had not yet arrived, and Miloradovich, the hero of 1812, was popular among the soldiers and knew how to talk to them. The only solution was to remove Miloradovich from the square. The Decembrists demanded that he leave the square, but Miloradovich continued to persuade the soldiers. Then Obolensky turned his horse with a bayonet, wounding the governor-general, and Kakhovsky shot and inflicted a mortal wound on him. But he was mortally wounded by P.G. Kakhovsky. While the “persuasions” were going on, Nikolai pulled 9 thousand soldiers to Senate Square and 3 thousand horsemen. Twice the horse guards attacked the square of the rebels, but both attacks were repulsed by gunfire. However, the rebels fired upward, and the Horse Guards acted hesitantly. Soldiers' solidarity was demonstrated here on both sides. The rest of the government forces also showed hesitation. From them, envoys came to the rebels and asked them to “hold out until the evening,” promising to join them. Nicholas I, fearing that with the onset of darkness “the riot could have been communicated to the mob,” gave the order to use artillery. Volleys of grapeshot at close range caused great devastation in the ranks of the rebels and put them to flight. By 6 pm the uprising was defeated. All night, by the light of fires, they removed the wounded and dead and washed away the spilled blood from the square.

December 29, 1825 The uprising of the Chernigov regiment began (Appendix E), located in the area of ​​​​the city of Vasilkov. It was led by S.I. Muravyov-Apostol. (Appendix M) This uprising began at the moment when members of the Southern Society became aware of the defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg and when P.I. Pestel, A.P. Yushnevsky and a number of other prominent figures of Southern society. The uprising began in the village of Trilesy (Kyiv province) - one of the companies of the Chernigov regiment was located here. From here S. Muravyov-Apostle headed to Vasilkov, where the remaining companies of the Chernigov regiment were located and its headquarters was located. Within three days, he gathered 5 companies of the Chernigov regiment under his command. S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin had earlier compiled a revolutionary “Catechism” intended for dissemination among the army and the people. This document, written in the form of questions and answers, in a form understandable for soldiers and peasants, proved the need to destroy monarchical power and establish republican rule. The “Catechism” was read to the rebel soldiers, some copies of it were distributed in other regiments, among local peasants, and even sent to Kiev. During the week, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol raided the snowy fields of Ukraine, hoping for other regiments to join the uprising , in which members of the secret society served. On its route, the rebel Chernigov regiment met the sympathetic attitude of the local peasantry. Meanwhile, the rebels' hope that other military units would join them did not materialize. The command managed to isolate the Chernigov regiment, withdrawing from its path all those regiments that S. Muravyov-Apostol was counting on to join. At the same time, large forces of troops loyal to the government were concentrated around the area of ​​the uprising. S. Muravyov-Apostol eventually turned the regiment to the village of Trilesy, but on the morning of January 3, 1826. when approaching it, between the villages of Ustinovka and Kovalevka, he was met by a detachment of government troops and shot with grapeshot. S. Muravyov-Apostol, wounded in the head, was captured and sent in shackles to St. Petersburg.

So, Northern and Southern society actively worked to change some existing provisions in Russia, namely: serfdom and estates were abolished, according to the provisions of the “Russian Truth”, the land was divided into landowner and private, according to the provisions of the “Constitution” - inviolability, the state structure according to according to the provisions of the “Russian Truth” - a unitary state, according to the provisions of the “Constitution” - a federal one, etc. Also, the “Society of United Slavs” also played an important role in the history of Decembrism, namely, it took part in the Chernigov uprising. Consequently, the Decembrists were decisive set up for an uprising and knew that they were going to certain death. And in order to follow certain structures of their plan, they compiled a “Manifesto to the Russian People,” which has survived to this day. Thus, considering the uprising, we understand that it played an important role in history formation of the state, and some points of the provisions of the Decembrists’ program documents were implemented to maintain normal living conditions for all people, but the Decembrists made a lot of mistakes because of which they lost this battle.

The uprising of the Chernigov regiment is one of two uprisings of the Decembrist conspiracy, which occurred after the Decembrists spoke on Senate Square in St. Petersburg on December 14 (26), 1825. Occurred on December 29, 1825 - January 3, 1826 (January 10-15, 1826). in the Chernigov regiment, stationed in the Kyiv province.

The rebellion was organized by the Southern Society. After the news of the uprising in St. Petersburg, the regiment commander ordered the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, associated with the conspirators. On December 29, regiment officers Kuzmin, Solovyov, Sukhinov and Shchepilla liberated Muravyov-Apostol in the village of Trilesy, while attacking Colonel Gustav Gebel and attempting to kill their regimental commander. When Gebel refused not only to release the Muravyov brothers, but also to give an explanation for their arrest, the participants in the conspiracy began to bayonet him, and Lieutenant Colonel Muravyov himself inflicted a wound on the colonel in the stomach. The regiment's soldiers did not take part in the massacre of the colonel, but remained only spectators. Colonel Gebel, with the help of Private 5th Company Maxim Ivanov, managed to escape from the Decembrists.

The next day, December 30, they entered the city of Vasilkov, where they seized all the weapons and the regimental treasury. The regimental treasury amounted to about 10 thousand rubles. banknotes and 17 rubles. silver

On December 31, the Decembrists occupied Motovilovka. where, before the formation, the “Orthodox Catechism” was read out - a proclamation of the rebels, compiled by Muravyov-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. In Motovilovka there were frequent cases of robberies of residents by rank and file of the Decembrist army. The drunkenness of the rank and file is increasing.
On the evening of January 1, the rebel companies set out from Motovilovka.

From Vasilkov, the rebels moved to Zhitomir, trying to unite with the units where members of the Society of United Slavs served, but, avoiding a collision with superior forces of government troops, they turned to Bila Tserkva. The desertion of the rank and file is increasing.

At Ustimovka on January 3, 1826 they were defeated by government troops. The head of the rebellion, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, gives the order to his troops not to shoot, but to go straight to the guns. Which with grapeshot cause significant damage to the ranks of the rebels and scatter their column.

Sergei Muravyov-Apostol was seriously wounded in this battle, and his brother Ippolit shot himself, Kuzmin and Shchepilla died in the battle, 895 soldiers and 6 officers were captured.
Behavior of the leaders of the uprising.

The leaders of the uprising did not have clear goals, as evidenced by their strange route of movement, reminiscent of a figure eight. New goals and, accordingly, directions of movement began and were immediately abandoned. The only hope for success was the spread of the mutiny among army units according to the principle of a chain reaction. And this hope was not justified.

The bulk of the soldiers were drawn into the uprising unconsciously, without a full understanding of what they were doing, without understanding the goals of the uprising. To achieve this, the Decembrists used any means from a simple order from a senior in rank to the distribution of money to those who joined the rebellion and deliberate lies. Persuading soldiers and hesitant officers to join the rebellion, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol assured them that he himself had received an official appointment as a regimental commander instead of Gebel, who was wounded by him, and that the entire senior leadership had been physically destroyed.

The starting point for justifying the rebellion was the assertion that, having sworn allegiance to Konstantin Pavlovich, the army must do everything possible to preserve him on the throne. He represented his younger brother, Ippolit, ensign of the quartermaster unit, as a courier for Tsarevich Konstantin, who brought the order for Muravyov to arrive with the regiment in Warsaw. The Decembrists convinced the soldiers that the entire 8th division had rebelled in support of the accession of Konstantin Pavlovich. The pinnacle of this propaganda was the statement of Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who, a few hours before the defeat of the uprising, having learned about the approach of government troops, convinced his subordinates that these troops were sent not to suppress the rebellion, but to join with them.

Star of Masonic Happiness

On December 14 (26), 1825, a Masonic revolt took place on Senate Square in St. Petersburg, known in Russian history as the Decembrist uprising.

In the public consciousness, the names of these people are shrouded in a romantic aura of “knights without fear and reproach”, however, “terribly far from the people”, “who awakened Herzen”, etc. According to the above scheme, books were written about them and films were made. (In this regard, it is enough to name the “fairy tale” “The Star of Captivating Happiness”, which is very far from the historical truth). The fact that all the leaders and main participants in the failed Decembrist conspiracy were Freemasons was simply kept silent. Otherwise, the true reasons for the events on Senate Square in December 1825 would have become clear.

Freemasonry is an international network of official and secret organizations that exist under different names. While officially proclaiming the approval of all kinds of “universal human values,” in reality they are secretly waging a fight against Christianity and preparing the conditions for the unification of all states and nations into a single empire, that is, the coming and reign on earth of the false messiah - the Antichrist. Usually, ordinary members of Masonic organizations are not even aware of the true goals of this most powerful and most influential totalitarian sect on the planet.

In the Middle Ages, a secret movement swept all of Europe, and by the 17th – 18th centuries its members were called “masons”, or “free masons” - the builders of a new world order. It was the Freemasons who were the secret cause of palace intrigues, the overthrow of Christian monarchical dynasties in Scotland, England, Holland, Sweden, France, Russia (February - March 1917 - all members of the so-called Provisional Government were Freemasons). And as soon as the monarchy collapsed, civil wars began in the states. Thus, the deceived peoples paid for progress and universal brotherhood, spiritual perfection and other “universal human values”, which served and serve only as a screen hiding the true goals of Freemasonry - the destruction of the traditional way of life of states, the corruption of peoples and the destruction of Christianity. Unfortunately, without knowing the whole background of the Masonic movement, many smart, ambitious people who sincerely want to change their lives for the better end up in its organization.

Such were the majority of participants in the Decembrist rebellion. Perhaps it was not so much their fault as their misfortune that from early childhood they were raised in a corrupt aristocratic environment, having practically lost faith in God. This is how one of the most prominent representatives of the Decembrists, prince, general and freemason Sergei Volkonsky, described his social circle in his memoirs: for him, this circle was characterized by “a general tendency to drunkenness, to riotous living, to youth”, “cartage and shameless b... in".

Yes, most of the Decembrists were patriots of their country, but patriots... deftly controlled by representatives of the Masonic lodges of England, France, and Austria. They naively believed that by overthrowing the tsar (some proposed completely destroying the royal dynasty (Pestel), others - sharply limiting the power of the monarch) and proclaiming freedom, Russia would live happily and satisfyingly. Alas, this was the opinion of many of those who prepared and implemented the Masonic revolutions in Western Europe, and then watched with horror what consequences - rivers of people's blood - they led to (unless, of course, they were a conscientious person or did not die in the millstones themselves post-revolutionary terror). In addition, each (!) Masonic revolution was accompanied not only by massive bloodshed, but also by monstrous sacrilege, the murder of Christian priests, desecration of monarchies, and desecration of the temples of God.

A unique illustration of what the victory of the Decembrists could have led to was the so-called (in history textbooks) uprising of the Chernigov regiment - the Decembrist rebellion in Ukraine. Having headed it, Mason Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, according to the testimony of Lieutenant Pegin, “gave the soldiers vodka and told them: “Serve for God and faith for freedom.” In a matter of hours, the brave regiment turned into a band of robbers, since the soldiers understood the word “freedom” as permission to plunder the surrounding villages with impunity. After all the vodka was drunk in the taverns, the “army” completely lost its human appearance. In the village of Motovilovka, the “rebels” attacked one of the huts, but found only a dead old man who had ended his life after being over a hundred years old. The deceased, according to custom, lay on a bench, dressed in a white shirt and covered with a new towel. The soldiers, distraught from the amount of drink they had drunk, mocked the old man’s body, took all his clothes and, “grabbing the dead body, dragged him to dance.”

Not only wealthy Jews - tenants of drinking establishments - were subjected to robbery, but also the rest of the local population. And not only robbery, but also physical abuse. And the leader of the “uprising” was forced to come to terms with this. On January 3, 1826, the Chernigovites were defeated by units loyal to the sovereign. From the investigation materials it is known that “Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, wounded in the head by buckshot, grabbed the thrown banner, but, noticing the approach of a hussar non-commissioned officer, he rushed to his horse, which was held by the bridle of an infantryman. The latter, plunging his bayonet into the horse’s belly, said: “You made porridge for us, eat with us.” Seeing the defeat of the regiment and the serious injury of his brother, 19-year-old Ippolit Muravyov-Apostol shot himself. But most importantly, the victims of this “uprising” were ordinary soldiers, who were later driven to Siberia for eternal hard labor, not to mention the affected residents of Vasilyevka and surrounding villages.

“Our very success would be detrimental for us and for Russia,” the Decembrist Bestuzhev-Ryumin belatedly admits. He and four other participants in the rebellion were sentenced to hanging - Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Ryleev, Kakhovsky and Pestel. The last of them, already on the scaffold, turned to the Orthodox priest: “Holy Father! I do not belong to your church (Pestel was a Lutheran - author's note), but I was once a Christian and most desire to be one now. I fell into error, but who is not? From the bottom of my heart I ask you: forgive me for my sins and bless me on my long and terrible journey!” The burial place of the executed conspirators was declared a state secret and remains unknown to this day. This was the price for the star of Masonic happiness.

You can't rewrite history. But the history of this Decembrist rebellion should not evoke enthusiastic “ahs” from the Russian people, but a feeling of deep disgust because, losing faith and being tempted by ideas alien and contrary to God, smart and conscientious people often find themselves pawns in someone else’s insidious game.

V. NIKOLAEV.

In the history of every state there are uprisings and coups. Russia is no exception. The event on Senate Square, which took place on December 14, 1825, was a bright, dramatic performance by the best representatives of the noble military intelligentsia, who consciously decided to undertake a coup, a change in the political system. If almost every person in Russia knows about the events on Senate Square, then little was known about the uprising of the Chernigov regiment, which was a continuation of the Decembrists’ speech.

Prerequisites

Revolutionary trends swept Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. This was facilitated by disappointment in the reign of Emperor Alexander I, as well as the war of 1812, which shook all of Russia and united the entire people, from nobles to simple peasants. Victorious campaigns in the countries of Western Europe, the acquaintance of the enlightened part of the nobility with the progressive movements of the West evoked a double feeling in society.

On the one hand, there is pride in the people and the Fatherland, and on the other, there is a feeling of embarrassment for serfdom, for the oppression of compatriots, and an awareness of the country’s backwardness. The reactionary policy of Alexander I in relation to education in his country, participation in the suppression of revolutions in Europe led the most advanced part of citizens to the idea of ​​​​the immediate need for changes, since serfdom was considered an insult to national dignity.

Creation of the Northern and Southern Society

What preceded the performance on Senate Square and the uprising of the Chernigov regiment? The very first political secret society was created in St. Petersburg in 1816. Its participants included 28 people, including P. Pestel, N. Muravyov and two Muravyov-Apostolov brothers. Two years later, a larger organization, the Union of Prosperity, was created in Moscow, which already included 200 people. Its branches were located in different cities of Russia. The union collapsed due to internal contradictions.

In St. Petersburg, N. Muravyov created the Northern Society. In Ukraine, the Southern Society is created, the leader of which is Colonel P. Pestel. The goal of the societies was the abolition of serfdom and the constitutional restriction of the monarchy, up to the murder of the emperor, the arrest of the royal family and the establishment of the rule of a dictator, who was supposed to appoint Prince Sergei Trubetskoy.

What predetermined the uprising

The main reason for the uprising was the controversial legal situation that arose around the rights to succession to the throne. Emperor Alexander I was childless. Konstantin Pavlovich, who was next in seniority to Alexander I, had previously written a renunciation of the throne, which gave the right to his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich to take the throne. But he was extremely unpopular among the highest nobility, representing the military-bureaucratic elite. Under the influence of the Governor-General of St. Petersburg M. Miloradovich, he writes a renunciation of his legacy in favor of his older brother.

12/9/1825 (new style) the people swore allegiance to Constantine, that is, in form, the Russian Empire received a new emperor who did not accept the throne, but did not renounce it either. A situation called an interregnum was created. Later, Nikolai Pavlovich proclaims himself emperor. A new oath is appointed, which must take place on December 14, since Constantine again refused to accept the throne.

On the night of December 14, 1825, the Senate recognized the legality of the transfer of the throne to the future Emperor Nicholas I. The repeated oath was scheduled for the day. The conspirators decide to put their plans into action. But for a number of reasons this did not come true. The uprising on Senate Square was suppressed. All Decembrists were arrested. In addition, more than 600 soldiers and 62 sailors of the rebel regiments were arrested.

Reasons for the uprising of the Chernigov regiment

Having received news from St. Petersburg about the Decembrist uprising, the commander of the Chernigov regiment ordered S. Muravyov-Apostol, the regiment's lieutenant colonel, to be taken into custody, because his connection with the conspirators was well known. It was he who promised to act together with the Northern society, trying to win over other military units to his side with concrete actions.

Four officers of the Chernigov regiment, members of the “Society of United Slavs”, which had previously been part of the Southern Society, freed him and wounded Colonel Gebel, who gave the order for his arrest. There was no question of who would lead the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. Its leaders were S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. They also wrote a proclamation called “Catechism”.

Revolt of the regiment

In the village of Trilesy, where the 5th company of the regiment was located, on December 29, 1825, an uprising of the Chernigov regiment began. The company marched in formation to the village of Kovalevka to join another company. Having united, they set out for the city of Vasilkov, where the rest of the regiment was quartered. The city was captured by the rebels, and weapons and the regimental treasury were in the hands of the rebels.

Next, the village of Motovilovka was occupied. This happened on December 31st. The goal of the regiment was a breakthrough in the city of Zhitomir, where a connection with military units should take place; according to the plan of the rebels, they were supposed to support them, since members of the “Society of United Slavs” served here. But government troops stood in the way, so the rebel regiment had only one thing left to do - turn towards Bila Tserkva.

Not all employees supported the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. The grenadier company under the command of Captain Kozlov went to the government forces. Near the village of Ustimovka on December 3, 1826, the regiment was fired upon and defeated, 6 officers and 895 soldiers were taken prisoner. S. Muravyov-Apostol, wounded in the head, was arrested. His brother was killed by buckshot.

Causes of defeat

The date of the uprising of the Chernigov regiment was tentatively set for the summer of 1826. However, events in St. Petersburg and the arrest of S. Muravyov-Apostol led to the fact that the uprising began earlier than expected.

The uprising of the Chernigov regiment in 1825 was doomed to defeat. The main reason is the complete absence of prerequisites for an uprising. The peasantry, which the rebels were going to liberate, was not ready for change and did not want it. The military, who dreamed of a constitution only at meetings, could not sacrifice their families, positions and go to the end. The hope that immediately after the uprising, according to the principle of a chain reaction, disturbances would begin in other parts was utopian. There were no revolutionary preconditions. Romantic naivety and political shortsightedness led to unnecessary casualties, repression, and broken destinies.

But nevertheless, pure, honest, noble romantic idealists, the color and conscience of the nation, who the Decembrists really were, changed the consciousness of enlightened people, lit sparks of the flame that almost 50 years later led to the abolition of serfdom, and 90 years later demolished the autocracy along with its bureaucratic apparatus.

Members of the Southern and Northern societies, along with constitutional and program projects, also developed a specific plan of action. They intended to carry out a coup d'etat during military exercises in the summer of 1826. They were to be supported by the Polish Patriotic Society and the Society of United Slavs, united with the Southern Society.

In November 1825, Alexander 1 unexpectedly died in Taganrog while traveling around Russia. He had no children. According to seniority, his brother Constantine was to become the new king. But back in the early 20s, he abdicated the throne in connection with his marriage to the Polish princess Lowicz. Since his abdication remained unpublicized, the Senate and army swore allegiance to Constantine, but he abdicated the throne. A re-oath was assigned to Alexander's other brother, Nicholas. A peculiar situation has developed in the country - an interregnum. The leaders of Northern society decided to take advantage of this to carry out a coup d'etat. In a difficult political situation, they demonstrated true revolutionary spirit, a willingness to sacrifice everything to implement the plan for the state structure of Russia.

December 13, 1825 at the apartment of K.F. Ryleev, the last meeting of members of the Northern Society took place. They decided to withdraw the troops of the St. Petersburg garrison to Senate Square and force them not to swear allegiance to Nicholas, but to accept the “Manifesto to the Russian People” (see Appendix 4), drawn up at the meeting. “Manifesto” is the most important final program document of the Decembrists. It proclaimed the destruction of autocracy, serfdom, estates, conscription and military settlements, and the introduction of broad democratic freedoms.

In the early morning of December 14, 1825, members of the Northern Society began agitation among the troops. By 11 o'clock, brothers Alexander and Mikhail Bestuzhev and D.A. Shchepin-Rostovsky was led to Senate Square by the Life Guards Moscow Regiment. At one o'clock in the afternoon the rebels were joined by sailors of the Guards naval crew led by Nikolai Bestuzhev and the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment. In total, about 3 thousand soldiers and sailors with 30 officers lined up in battle formation on Senate Square. However, by this time it turned out that early in the morning the Senate had already sworn allegiance to Nicholas, after which the senators dispersed. There was no one to present the Manifesto to. Trubetskoy, having learned about this, did not join the rebels. The uprising was left without leadership for a while. These circumstances gave rise to hesitation in the ranks of the Decembrists and doomed them to the senseless tactics of waiting.

Meanwhile, Nikolai collected units loyal to him in the square. Governor General of St. Petersburg M.A. Miloradovich tried to persuade the rebels to disperse, but was mortally wounded by the Decembrist P.G. Kakhovsky. Rumors of the uprising spread throughout the city, and up to 30 thousand people gathered on Senate Square, ready to support the rebels. But the Decembrists did not take advantage of this. Two mounted attacks by government troops were repulsed by the rebels. Fearing that with the onset of darkness it would be more difficult to end the uprising, Nicholas gave the order to open artillery fire. Several volleys of grapeshot caused great devastation in the ranks of the rebels. The civilian population surrounding them also suffered. Soldiers and officers who tried to escape from the square were arrested. The uprising in St. Petersburg was crushed. Arrests of members of the society and their sympathizers began.

After 2 weeks, on December 29, 1825, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol led the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. By this time P.I. Pestel and a number of other leaders of the Southern Society were arrested. The defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg was also known. But members of the Southern Society hoped to raise the troops stationed in the south to revolt, and thereby show the government that the northerners were not alone and that the whole country supported them. But their hopes were not justified. Although the peasants supported the rebels who passed through their villages, the government managed to isolate the Chernigov regiment and a week later, on January 3, 1826, it was shot with grapeshot.

At the end of December 1825 - beginning of February 1826, two more attempts were made to raise an uprising in the troops by members of the Society of Military Friends, associated with the Northern Society, and members of the Society of United Slavs. But these attempts also failed.

579 people were involved in the investigation and trial, of which 80% were military.

The process took place in strict secrecy and in a short time. The work of the Investigative Commission was directed by the Emperor himself. Of all those under investigation, Pestel, Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Kakhovsky and Ryleev were placed “outside the ranks” and sentenced to quartering. However, the fear of being branded a “savage” in “enlightened” Europe led Nicholas to replace this medieval execution with hanging. On July 13, 1826, five Decembrists were executed in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Over a hundred Decembrists were exiled to hard labor and eternal settlement in Siberia. Many officers were demoted to soldiers and sent to the Caucasus, where there was a war with the mountaineers. The entire Chernigov regiment was sent there.

Stationed in the Kyiv province.

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  The uprising was organized by the Southern Decembrist Society. After the news of the uprising in St. Petersburg, the regiment commander personally arrested Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, associated with the conspirators. On December 29, regiment officers Kuzmin, Solovyov, Sukhinov and Shchepillo released Muravyov-Apostol in the village of Trilesy, while attacking the regiment commander who arrested him, Colonel Gustav Ivanovich Gebel. When Gebel refused not only to release the Muravyov brothers, but also to explain the reasons for their arrest, the participants in the conspiracy inflicted 14 bayonet wounds on him. Subsequently, Colonel Gebel, whose wounds were not life-threatening, managed to escape. Taking advantage of the rioters' mistake, he, with the help of a private of the 5th company, Maxim Ivanov, and a number of acquaintances and well-wishers, managed to get home.

  Progress of the uprising

  On December 30, the rebels entered the city of Vasilkov, where they seized all the weapons and the regimental treasury. The regimental treasury amounted to about 10 thousand rubles. banknotes and 17 thousand rubles. silver On December 31, the Decembrists occupied Motovilovka, where the “Orthodox Catechism” was read out before the formation - a proclamation of the rebels, compiled by Muravyov-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. On the evening of January 1, the rebel companies set out from Motovilovka. From Vasilkov, the rebels moved to Zhitomir, trying to unite with the units where members of the Society of United Slavs served, but, avoiding a collision with superior forces of government troops, they turned to the White Church. The full grenadier company under the command of Captain Kozlov managed to elude the rebels. During the occupation of Kovalevka, the revolutionary correspondence was destroyed by the officers, and it was already difficult to keep the soldiers of the regiment in obedience.

  Indicative is the behavior of the soldiers who, at the difficult moment of the defeat of the uprising, turned away from their leader: “Wounded in the head by buckshot, Sergei Muravyov was about to grab the thrown banner, but, noticing the approach of a hussar non-commissioned officer, he rushed to his horse, which was held by the bridle of an infantryman . The latter, thrusting a bayonet into the horse’s belly, said: “You made us porridge, eat with us,” one of the military investigators, Count Georgy Nostits, reported to St. Petersburg. The private's last name was Bulanov, he was listed in the 1st Musketeer Company. He hit the commander’s horse with a bayonet, deciding that he wanted to gallop away and escape responsibility. “No, your honor, and so we are led into misfortune by you,” - these, according to other sources, were the words of Bulanov.

  Consequences of the uprising

  The captured rebels were kept in Kovalevka under the guns of 2 guns loaded with grapeshot, surrounded by the infantry of General Geismar.

  Subsequently, the regiment was reorganized. The full strength of the grenadier company, which remained faithful to the oath, was transferred to the guard - to the Life Guards Moscow Regiment.

  In art

  Pushkin planned a story about the uprising and even wrote a short prologue about an ensign traveling “to the town of V.” (Vasilkov) in May 1825 - the text is known as “Notes of a Young Man.”