Decembrists and Aftermath Flashcards
Explain how the situation on Senate Square unfolded and the Succession crisis
Succession Crisis:
- Konstantine heir -> renounces and Alex secretly makes Nick his heir. Seals this decision in State Council to be read after death 1823
- Dies 1825 -> back and forth confusion of three weeks (The interregnum) that sees many worried neither would be king is respecting Russian law of succession
- Decs are very unprepared but see this as golden opportunity decide on rising Dec 12 (day and half beforehand)
Planning:
- NOT professional or conspiratorial
- Don’t hide secret documents (like P group)
- Revert to trickery and deception to gain many recruits -> go to barracks and claim Konstantine’s rights are being infringed upon
- Shouts of “Konstantine, Konstitution” which sounds like his wife’s name
- Northern Society Amass 3000 on Senate Square -> crowd gathers (many in support)
The Rising:
- Leaders lose nerve. Don’t know what to do. Standoff ensues. Execution of one dude. Trubetskoi (interim dictator) doesn’t show up
- Before getting dark, Nick orders grapeshot. Massacre
- Cleans up and makes it as if nothing happened
- LEADERS GO HOME AND AWAIT ARREST.
Explain the generational origins of the Decembrist movement pls :) How were they unified?
According to LEC:
Roots: military:
- Military officers highly educated, liberal from nobility
- Step in to fill civ servant roles in light of deficit
- 1812 campaign sees many partake -> virtually all members of future Southern Society
- End up abroad in Europe during campaign. Exposed to societies with constitutions and a prosperous peasantry (no serfdom)
European Influence:
- While abroad join literary salons and intellectual groups discussing politics
- Gain idea of becomming free thinkers and private individuals committed to doing good works and serving (state? verify)
- Influences development of SS
- Wider wave of representative govts and individual freedoms appearing in Western Europe
Generational Trend:
- Not class liberation -> INDIVIDUAL LIBERATION UNDER ALEX’s reign which was a new novelty
- Private life of individual doing what they want outside of state / noble circles
- Greater education reforms like Civ rights generation under NI
- Therefore NOT united on political ideas -> united on new cultural pursuits and lifestyle
- WANT MORE ACTIVITY IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS BECAUSE OF EDUCATION AND INDIVIDUALITY/CAPACITY FOR ACTION -> pivots them against state when Alex seems to fail. Against absolutism
How did the Decembrist revolt differ from previous military coups?
Generally two details:
- Paul’s assassination had been an internal/secretive coup. Had not intended to kill him outright but were plotting behind closed doors.
- Contrast to decs who have very public display / open rebellion in face of opposition - Self interest vs higher ideals. Guards were nobles. Didn’t like Paul’s foreign policies and such (citation needed) so wanted him out for purely noble benefits. Decs however claim to uphold higher ideals and want reform throughout Russian society on matters beyond the noble class, even if they’re out of touch w/ them.
How did the decembrists differ from their successor revolutionary groups? (elaborate on this more -> impact of dec on later state resistance movements?)
Only group led/comprised entirely of nobility
PERCEPTION THAT OUTLET FOR REFORM / ALTRUISM SHUT DOWN -> CANT WORK W/ STATE SO AGAINST IT
- contrast to Int -> always have no outlet despite high education and desire for good works -> superflurous
NOT professional:
- Openly conspiratorial. Do pivot into secret societies but Alex knows about these.
- Wide network of public contacts like Kieslev
- Go home after revolt and wait to be arrested -> interim dictator had never shown up and square facedown leaderless
- Split down republicanism and constitutional monarchism among other factors
Repent under interrrogation (contrast to Petrashevky group)
- Petrarvskehy: resist questions. Don’t reveal existence of printing press
- Decs: openly repent. Iaskushkin blames on youth and excess vitality” begs forgiveness
Explain the primary motivations behind the actual decembrist revolt. What did the Decs cite as their inspiring events/factors?
NOT unified front NOBLES THINK THEY SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO IMPROVE SOCIETY IN WAKE OF ALEX DOIN SHIT -> peasants in country, Trubetskoi and France constitution, time abroad in western democracies, etc
GENERALLY:
- want to flex noble status and get nobility involved in affairs of estate
- OPPOSED TO ABSOLUTISM
- Split along republicanism and constitutional monarchism
BOTH Southern and Northern societies: - class that would have benefitted most - Muraview's and Pestels constitution proposals would have enshrined nobility as dominant class and power in Russia. Voting power would fall to them because of high literacy levels compared to other classes/estates
SPECIFIC INFLUENCES:
- abolishment of serfdom and constitution -> believed Alex would align w/ spirit of times and grant this (after Sejn) -> tolerance of discussion
- Western literature (Bentham, political economy)
- Inequality between landlords and peasants first hand, class consciousness / guilt (in army)
- Exposure to western ideals abroad
EXAMPLES: (answering interrogation following arrest)
1. Trubetskoi: Cites end of war and watching French become a constitutional monarchy, Poland getting one -> cites Emperor’s speech
- Pestel: - nitially just wanted to be useful by reading books about politics for Russia -> wants to be good boy and SERVE MONARCH
- But starts “thinking freely” -> slide into republicanism
Why is it so hard to quantify Decembrists?
Enjoyed widespread sympathy / soft support before rising/dramatic reaction by other nobles
Kieslev, for instance, was a moderate absolutist who sought gradual reforms. He personally knew many decs involved in movement itself like Pestel and Southern Society
- Reigned secret police in while investigating
Also those dreaming of constitutions and such but not involved in actual societies
N .I was more “dec w/o Dec” -> was in western Europe on day of uprising and listed in Alphabet. Obviously refused to come home and face charges
- Was friends w/ head of department of state economy -> wanted British style governance that guarenteed proper rule of law from state
- Helps found Northern society, apalled by violence -> “scoundrels”
Give a high level overview of the noble reaction to the dec movement and its reasoning
Vast majority unsympathetic / disgusted with revolt. Many had been sympathetic to reform, but condemned violence.
DONT WANT CONST -> enshrines peasant rights
Vast majority may have flirted with liberal ideas but ultimately didn’t want violence (failure of French rev) and were convinced more of divine power of Tsar
eradication of (revolutionary) evil” that “infected the youth” (Pushkin)
Praised Nick for steadfastness and bravery in facing down rebels with authoritarian strength.
Overall scramble to prove allegiance to Nick. Abandonment of liberal ideas and salons, anything associated with decs
Ex: Beliaev: blames Alex for propagating liberal ideas and constitution seeds -> also thinks stability is restored by Nick’s crushing of revolt
Dmitriev complains that the movement was embaressing, no aims, a “childish tantrum” that wouldn’t solve anything even if reform ideas were valid
Overall: noble-tsar relationship strengthened despite Nick not trusting nobles anymore
BUT weakened in actuality because Nick doesn’t trust them as much
- Nobles didn’t want reforms like serfdom and const
- NICK STREAMLINES AUTOCRATIC / BUREAUCRATIC authority , removes INVOLVEMENT OF EDUCATED FREE THINKERS / NOBLES FROM PUBLIC AFFAIRS
- Nick in turn labels nobles as defenders of the throne and royal family / people’s honour
- They shared an interest / desire for stability -> hence increased alliance
- Refers to gentry as his “police”
- Reasserts noble desires for NO constitution
How was Alex I responsible for the Dec movement? (according to Omeara)
- Overall highlights “beginning of free thought” and subsequent emergence of the civil individual as paramount among nobles within Alex’s reign because of promotion of liberal ideals/policies. -> then were invigorated by victory in 1812 which exposed many officers to other nations directly and empowered them / made them drunk on victory
- This was consolidated by Alex with his granting of Polish constitution. -> CONSTITUTIONAL DIPLOMACY w/ FRANCE/Poland/etc cited by Trubetskoi
- Concludes, therefore, that Alex had unintentionally fostered the revolutionary movement with ideas about free thinking
DECEMBRISTS CITE (Trubetskoi, Muraviev, Pestel)
- Time abroad serving under Alex and in country
- LITERATURE PROPAGATED by Alex (Benthem, Smith)
- Alex creating momentum for a constitution via diplomacy
Give a high level overview of how Nick was immediately influenced by Dec revolt
Visceral crackdown in some respects but NOT anti-reform per se
Overall: Nick isn’t against reform, but he is against public/noble participation IN reform. Silences free thinker outlets and such (aside from literacy) and centralizes government around the state/tsar/doesn’t allow outside opinions
- distance influence of noble class
Crackdowns:
- 1826 censorship statute. Bans literary circles/societies (true?) BANS BENTHEM AND OTHER WESTERN LIT CITED AS CORRUPTING INFLUENCES UNDER ALEX. BANS SPECIFICALLY PUBLIC WRIITNG ON REFORM
- 1825 bans public discourse about Decembrism
- 1825 declaration he would “command” Russia more than respect civilian chain of command
- Creation of Third department state police
More Liberal:
- presented with digest of Dec complaints after interrogations, welcomes this and keeps it handy when guiding regime
- Knows what reforms he has to implement;
Educational/cultural conservatism:
- This is true
- Orthodoxy: subsidizing church
- Autocracy: banishment of rep govts. Secret police
Consolidation of autocracy:
- No constitution that threatens absolutism -> legal reforms / state functioning effectively
- Distancing of noble power / influence with consolidated state departments headed by bureaucrats instead of nobles
- conservative cultural shift -> bans literature propagated by Alex that Decembrists cited as their reasonings for TURNING ANTI-ABSOLUTIST with 1826 censorship statute / also bans public writing about such ideas/reforms
Explain how the Decembrists eventually came to be remembered
Become revolutionary martyrs by later movements and scholars who trace their origins back to Dec movement like Easter Rising
Decembrists themselves: write rosy autobigroaphies from Siberia -> some of these published by Herzen in the 1850s -> especial celebration following 1848
Post 1905:
- Censorship law ceases, more publications about them. Baseball card like post cards with revolutionary figures appearing -> unity of Decembrists with other notable later century movements
Lenin: - Uses Decembrism as evidence for his belief that a central elite / working class should inspire the masses to revolt against the state and precedent / justification for regicide
Female Involvement:
- also enshrines women involvement in movement after wives become celebrated for self-sacrifice with choice of divorcing or joining husband in Siberia and not seeing kids/family again
Marxist scholars later on see these privelaged elites as noble/martyrs who bled / were massacred for lower classes who didn’t share privelages and to free slaves/serfs -> Bakunin
DIFFERENT GROUPS LATER ON TRY TO CLAIM LEGITIMACY BASED ON THIS INITIAL “CLEAN” EXAMPLE LIKE EASTER RISING /PIRA -> LENIN, ETC
ENSHRINED AS MADE UP HISTORIOGRAPHY -> EASTER RISING -> FLYING COLUMNS -> BORDER WAR -> BOMBAY STREET -> BOBBY SANDS -> PIRA
Explain how the noble-tsar relationship was impacted by decs, how did this contrast with Alex’s approach?
OVERALL: NICK UNTRUSTWORTHY OF NOBLES FROM START. Alex fears balance of power too (Paul) but knew about SS and did nothing
Alex:
NO CENSORSHIP BAN ON SMITH/BENTHEM, ETC UNDER ALEX’S REIGN -> ALSO NO PRIOR DISCUSSION OF SERFDOM, ETC BEFOREHAND
- therefore creates liberated / educated individuals who want to do good works and have power to influence state / affairs as individuals
Alex was a total simp for noble power despite seeing dad killed.
- Knew about Secret societies but didn’t do anything against them because he thought they were harmless -> assured by advisors that majority would never side w/ radicals
NICK
Lip service Noble loyalty -> “my police”, widespread fear and reaction is tro scramble to demonstrate loyalty and distance selves.
However, Nick no longer trustworthy of power of nobility
- Hires and deals personally most with military generals and Prussians who don’t have same class allegiances
- Solidifies bureaucracy in attempt to streamline central governance and create class that balances power with nobles -> enlightened bureaucrats
- These have no stakes in landowning/western literature
- BAN PUBLIC DISCUSSION WITH 1826 CENSORHIP STATUTE -> BUT EDUCATED ELITE REMAIN…
Explain the origins of secret societies and the eventual emergence of the N/S split
Secret Societies form:
- Influenced by literary salons in France (Muraviev, Pestel, Southern society all stationed abroad)
- Union of Welfare initially public discourse group. -> emerges from PUBLIC discourse groups
- Not conspiratorial in 1818
- 200 members -> WRITE POLICY LIKE POLITICAL PARTY -> abolishment of serfdom, equality of all citizens enshrined into law, military colonies abolished
- 1821 sees split. Alex had seemingly reneged on reform (working on State constitution but secretly, had promised in Sejn speech but failed to deliver)
- Split over issue of revolt or not -> South and North -> NOW secret societies
- Alex aware of dissent
Northern Society:
- Ryleev (poet),
- Muraviev (officer) - -> Constitutional monarchy
- Trubetskoi
- Emperor just wouldn’t be an autocrat anymore.
- BALTIC STYLE EMANCIPATION -> Nobility would own all of their land owned prior
- Overall more aristocratic
Southern:
- class divide. Think nobles will dominate
- Pestel
- Worked together still but split over:
- LAND WILL NOW BE HELD AS COMMON PROPERTY -> centralization of land as common property, allow peasants to work when they want. This threatens nobility position of power / wealth (land)
- NOT a constitutional monarchy -> republic. Wanted regicide / family.
