History of Russian Goverment. Volume XII

Gabriel Stepanovich Batenkov

Batenkov Gavriil Stepanovich (1793-1863) - participated in the war with the rank of ensign; Decembrist: from 1825 he was a member of the Northern Society, a Freemason; on December 14, 1925 he was a lieutenant colonel. By court verdict, he was deprived of ranks and nobility, served a sentence in prison - 20 years of hard labor; from January 1846 on the settlement.

Batenkov Gavriil Stepanovich (25.III.1793 - 29.X.1863) - Decembrist, lieutenant colonel. Participant Patriotic War 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814. In 1819-1821 - the closest assistant to M. M. Speransky in managing Siberia, later - a member of the council of military settlements under A. A. Arakcheev. Friendly ties with the Bestuzhev brothers, K.F. Ryleev and other Decembrists led Batenkov to the Northern Society in November 1825, where he joined the democratic wing. Participated in the development of the plan for the uprising on December 14, 1825, speaking out for decisive action and involvement in the uprising masses. He was nominated as a candidate member of the Provisional Government. During the investigation, he presented a statement about belonging to a secret society and agreeing with its plans, writing that the performance on December 14 was “not a rebellion..., but the first experience of a political revolution in Russia.” Since 1826 he was kept in solitary confinement in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and since 1846 - in a settlement in Tomsk. After the amnesty (1856) he lived in Kaluga. He left a lot of original works ( for the most part unpublished) on issues of national economy, statistics, finance, law, ethnography, etc. He was an outstanding poet and author of critical articles.

B. E. Syroechkovsky. Moscow.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 2. BAAL - WASHINGTON. 1962.

Literature: Dovnar-Zapolsky M.V., Memoirs of the Decembrists, (v. 1), K., 1906 (Testimony of Batenkov at the investigation); Memoirs and stories of figures of secret societies of the 1820s, vol. 2, M., 1933 (Notes and letters of Batenkov); Chernov S. N., Batenkov and his autobiographical. recollections, ibid.; Decembrist revolt. Materials, vol. 8, M.-L., 1925; Snytko T. G., G. S. Batenkov - writer, in collection: LN, vol. 60, book. 1, M., 1956.

Batenkov Gavriil Stepanovich (1793-1863) - second lieutenant of the 13th artillery brigade (1813), from 1816 he served in Siberia in the department of railways; attracted the attention of Speransky, who, having returned from exile, arranged his appointment to the post of head of affairs of the Siberian Committee. In 1822, on the recommendation of Speransky (he wrote to A. on November 22: “I dare to vouch for Batenkov that he will work sincerely and diligently” - Dubrovin. P. 362) A. was introduced in Gruzin, and at the beginning next year- seconded to the Commission for drafting the establishment of military settlements, lieutenant colonel (1824); in 1824-1825 member of the Council of the Chief of Military Settlements, senior member of the Committee for the Branches of Military Cantonists. In mid-November P.A. Kleinmichel received an anonymous denunciation (the so-called “Note on the True and Reliable”), which detailed Batenkov’s opinion about the murder of Minkina: “While everyone was almost amazed and considered this incident a terrible act, Batenkov expressed himself about it in various jokes, in various ridicule and always in a cheerful spirit. It is true that he did this undisclosedly<...>To the regret and surprise expressed at this terrible incident, he said: “There is no need to be sorry! things are going their own way. The misfortune is small; however, the misfortune of some is happiness for others<...>Keeping things in one position is disadvantageous and harmful to society. What’s the problem that Nastasya is gone, and is there anything to regret?” At this point in his conversation, he explained various absurdities about the late Nastasya Feodorovna, and spread so much in the most caustic ridicule that it is impossible for a noble-minded person to hear without the annoyance that arose in me towards Batenkov, seeing him in such depraved, vile and unscrupulous ways. thoughts. Then, turning the conversation to the count, he said: “Don’t worry! If this incident has upset the count’s health and strength, then instead of Count Alexei Andreevich there will be another Count Sidor Karpovich, and with him, perhaps, we will be even better off. For example,” he said, “if such an event brings our master closer to the Sovereign (the master meant Speransky, whose he lives, Batenkov, and those brought with him from Siberia), then we, without a doubt, would not have lost, but would have been very happy” (RS. 1882. No. 10. P. 182-185). About A.’s attitude towards Batenkov, see the reasoning of a contemporary: “The almighty temporary worker, who had already begun to be disgusted by the worship of the courtiers and their impenetrable baseness, fell in love with the smart, honest and straightforward Batenkov<...>Brash and rude in his service, who did not tolerate contradictions, Arakcheev treated Batenkov politely and kindly, listened to his objections, did not get angry at his contradictions, had great confidence in his intelligence and abilities, boundless confidence in his honesty and, abhorring his habit, used to say sometimes: “This is my (!!!) future minister”” (Dolgorukov P.V. Petersburg Sketches. M, 1992. P. 389). Batenkov entered the circle of future Decembrists through A.A. Bestuzhev and K.F. Ryleev, about whom he later recalled: “He apparently avoided getting close to me, fearing my position, close to Count Arakcheev” (Russian Propylaea. M., 1916. T. 2. P. 103; cf. below the testimony of N.I. Grech ). Arrested on December 28, sentenced to category III hard labor, but not sent to Siberia, but imprisoned in solitary confinement in the Alekseevsky ravelin; in 1846 he was transferred to Tomsk, in 1856 he received freedom under a general amnesty.

Materials from the book were used: Arakcheev: evidence from contemporaries. M.: New literary review, 2000.

Batenkov Gavriil Stepanovich - poet, Decembrist, philosopher. Born into an impoverished noble family, from 1811 he studied in the Noble Regiment in St. Petersburg. Participant of the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns of 1812-15. After passing the exams, he received the title of railway engineer; builder and administrator railways. Assistant to the Governor General of Siberia M. M. Speransky (since 1819). Together with him he moves to St. Petersburg, takes the position of director of affairs of the Siberian Committee. From 1824, lieutenant colonel, employee of the Council under the head of military settlements A. A. Arakcheev. In November 1825 he was removed from all posts. Member Masonic lodges- “Chosen Michael” (1816) and “Eastern luminary” in Tomsk (1818). After the ban on lodges in 1822, he left Freemasonry. Dissatisfaction public service, awareness of the lawlessness committed in military settlements, friendship with the Decembrists lead him to the secret Northern Society. Arrested on December 28, 1825, sentenced to life in hard labor, but spent 20 years in solitary confinement. In his testimony he called the Decembrist uprising not a rebellion, but the first experience in Russia political revolution. The testimony preserved a sketch of the Constitution of the future political structure of Russia, which he conceived as a constitutional monarchy. He experienced a religious conversion in prison. In 1846 he was sent into exile in Tomsk. The testimony of M.N. Volkonsky has been preserved: after his imprisonment, Batenkov completely forgot how to speak, his handwriting was very illegible, but he “retained his calm, bright mood and inexhaustible kindness; add willpower here.” In exile, he is engaged in the design and construction of bridges, leaves big number notes on industry, agriculture and transport of Siberia, about geographical research of Siberia, about its settlement. During this period, he became close to the religious and philosophical circle, which included A. A. Elagin, P. S. Bobrishchev-Pushkin, N. D. Fonvizina. After the amnesty in 1856, he settled on the estate of E. P. Elagina in Petrishchevo, Tula province. In the fall of 1857 he moved to Kaluga, where he died. After returning from exile I studied literary creativity. His writings on political problems(“Notes on the peasant question”, 1857-59; “Opinion on freedom of laws”, 1861-62; “Note on judicial reforms”, 1862; “Essay on state structure Russia", 1862), literary articles (including about " Dead souls"), as well as translations of the works of C. Lebeau, J. S. Mill, A. Tocqueville, J. Michelet were not published. IN last decade Batenkov worked on a large philosophical work, conceived back in Tomsk (“General Philosophy of the World System”), but remained unfinished. It is a collection of notes written in different years and realizing the general plan - to give a philosophical and theistic interpretation of the achievements of natural science in the understanding of being, space and time, movement, life, the place of man in space, the role of thinking in knowledge. According to Batenkov, “the materialistic principle cannot explain anything, and even less capable of being the key that could unlock all the secrets of the universe and lead science to the truth” (“Natural Scientific Heritage of the Decembrists,” M., 1995, p. 132). Polemicizing with representatives of vulgar materialism (A.F. Postels, M.A. Antonovich), he turns to personal experience, to self-knowledge, from which all abstractions of scientific knowledge can be “derived”: “God was with me, and I recognized Him, now it was worth establishing the mind in Him, and not in matter, in order to live completely independently” (ibid., p. 73). He proceeds from the substantiality of space, which is explained by him various types thickening of matter, determining its various physical states. “The philosophy of the world system” was conceived as a holistic picture of the life of the Cosmos in all its manifestations: human knowledge appears as a discovery of the cosmic worldview: “the cosmic concept is necessary for the completeness and basis of theories in the study of nature” (see: Ivanova L. M. Fond G. S. Batenkova - “Notes of the Department of Manuscripts” State Library them. V.I. Lenin", 1952, c. 13). These philosophical manuscripts have not yet been published in their entirety.

A. P. Ogurtsov

New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol. I, A - D, p. 220-221.

BATENKOV Gabriel Stepanovich (25.3.1793 - 29.10.1863). Lieutenant Colonel of the Corps of Railway Engineers.
From the nobles Tobolsk province. Father - chief officer Stepan Batenkov (c. 1733 - no later than 1810), mother - Urvantseva. He was educated in the Tobolsk military orphan department, as well as in a public school and gymnasium, from 1810 or 1811 in the Noble Regiment under 2 cadet corps in St. Petersburg, from where he was released as an ensign in the 13th artillery brigade - May 21, 1812, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns, promoted to second lieutenant for distinction - December 17, 1813, for distinction in the battle near the village of Larotière awarded the order Vladimir 4 tbsp. with a bow - 1/20/1814, wounded 1/30/1814 in the battle of Montmiral (10 bayonet wounds), captured, where he remained until 2/10/1814; upon renaming of the brigade, he entered the 27th artillery brigade - 9/23/1814, transferred to the 14th battery company of the 7th brigade - 11/1/1816, was dismissed from service due to wounds - 7/5/1816, after passing the exam at the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers, he was determined to be an engineer of the 3rd class in the corps of engineers railways with an appointment to the X (Siberian) district - 10/5/1816, confirmed with the rank of lieutenant with seniority from 12/17/1813 - 2/2/1817, from April 1817 he was engaged in work on the construction of the city of Tomsk. Having become close to Speransky during his service in Siberia, in 1819 he was seconded to his direct jurisdiction, captain - 4/17/1819, major - 6/20/1821, by decree of 7/28/1821 appointed to conduct affairs in the Special Siberian Committee with a transfer to St. Petersburg, according to by the highest order on January 29, 1823, he was appointed for special assignments regarding military settlements, and then a member of the Council of the Chief of Military Settlements with promotion to lieutenant colonel - January 25, 1824, appointed senior member of the Committee on Military Cantonist Branches - July 10, 1824. Mason, member of the lodge Chosen Michael"in St. Petersburg (1816) and "Eastern Sun" in Tomsk (1818).
Member of the Northern Society (1825). Arrested on December 28, 1825 in St. Petersburg and placed on city guard, taken to Peter and Paul Fortress in No. 2 of the Nikolskaya Curtain - 12/29/1825 (“Batenkov, who was sent here, is to be kept strictly, allowing him to write whatever he wants; since he is sick and wounded, to alleviate his situation if possible”), according to a letter addressed to the highest name and according to two of his notes Commandant Sukin dated March 29, 1826 received the highest order on April 4, 1826 to announce to Batenkov that he is not forbidden to write whatever he pleases (letter from Dibich to Sukin dated April 4, No. 26).
Convicted of the III category and upon confirmation on July 10, 1826 sentenced to hard labor for 20 years. Sent to the Svartholm fortress - 7/25/1826, the term was reduced to 15 years - 8/22/1826, by special order of the highest order in June 1827 transported to St. Petersburg (signs: height 2 arshins 8 vershoks, “swarthy complexion, with rowan and long faces, hair on the head and dark brown eyebrows, black eyes, myopic, mediocre, sharp nose") and imprisoned in the Alekseevsky ravelin (cell No. 5). “The reasons why Batenkov was not sent to Siberia and imprisoned in a fortress are unknown to the III Department. In 1828, Batenkov intended to take his own life by hunger and insomnia and showed signs of insanity, and in 1835, through the commandant, he twice presented sealed packages addressed to the highest name, which contained notes of his incoherent and confusing content, revealing in him obvious mental insanity.” At the most submissive report of gr. Orlov dated January 22, 1846, regarding the relief of Batenkov’s fate by Nicholas I, a resolution was laid down: “I agree, but he is being held only because he has been proven insane, he must be re-examined and then imagine what can be done with him further.” According to the conclusion of the commandant, Infantry General Skobelev, on January 31, 1846, the highest order was sent to send him to live in Tomsk with the establishment of strict supervision over him there and with the application to him of all the rules issued about state criminals living in a settlement in Siberia. Sent - 14.2.1846, arrived in Tomsk - 9.3.1846. After the amnesty of August 26, 1856, according to which Batenkov’s rights were returned hereditary nobility, returned to European Russia and settled with Evdokia Petrovna Elagina in the village. Petrishchevo Belevsky district Tula province; allowed to temporarily come to Moscow - April 14, 1857, in the fall of 1857 he moved to Kaluga, where he died; buried in Petrishchevo. Wrote poetry.

Dovnar-Zapolsky M.V., Memoirs of the Decembrists, (v. 1), K., 1906 (Testimony of Batenkov at the investigation);

Memoirs and stories of figures of secret societies of the 1820s, vol. 2, M., 1933 (Notes and letters of Batenkov);

Chernov S. N., Batenkov and his autobiographical. recollections, ibid.; Decembrist revolt. Materials, vol. 8, M.-L., 1925;

Snytko T. G., G. S. Batenkov - writer, in collection: LN, vol. 60, book. 1, M., 1956.

Gavriil Stepanovich Batenkov (03/25/1793-10/29/1863), lieutenant colonel, Decembrist, historian, member of the Northern Society of Decembrists. By court decision of July 10, 1826, he received 20 years of hard labor. On October 21, 1857, upon returning from Siberia to Kaluga, Batenkov bought a house on Dvoryanskaya Street (42 Suvorova Street). In Kaluga he was actively involved in organizing preparatory stage reforms to free peasants from serfdom. He took part in the work of the circle that developed around Governor V. A. Artsimovich. He communicated closely with E. P. Obolensky,P. N. Svistunov and N. S. Kashkin, with attention monitored the activities of the Committee for the preparation of peasant reform. The implementation of the reform brought disappointment to Batenkov, and he finally moved away from political activity. In Kaluga, Batenkov wrote a lot. In the department rare books A copy of the book “On Egyptian Letters” with the signature of G. S. Batenkov on the title page was discovered at the Russian State Library in Moscow.

Gavriil Stepanovich showed interest in geography and ethnography, law, statistics and economics, as evidenced by his unpublished works: “Thoughts on freedom of law”, “Brief review of the progress of work and proposals for drawing up a code of laws on punishments”. Reached to this day poetic works Batenkova “The Sacrament”, “The Maiden’s Song”, the largest work in volume “The Prison Song” and others. Preserved prose works, memories of Siberia and translations historical works French authors A. De Tocqueville “The Old Order and Revolution” and Charles Lebeau “History Byzantine Empire”.

Batenkov's House

Gabriel Stepanovich Batenkov was born in Tobolsk into an impoverished noble family. He graduated from the Tobolsk Military Orphan School and Gymnasium. Since 1810, as the son of a retired chief officer, young Gabriel was raised in the Noble Regiment of the 2nd Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. In May 1812, he was promoted to ensign with an appointment to the artillery. A participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813 - 1814, in battles with the enemy Gavriil Stepanovich showed himself heroically; at the Battle of Montmiral on January 30, 1814, he received 10 bayonet wounds and was captured. After being released from captivity in 1816, he resigned from service “due to wounds”, having passed the exam for the title of engineer of the Railway Corps. In April 1817, he was appointed engineer 3rd class with an appointment to the Siberian district. This was followed by civil service in Irkutsk and Tomsk, where Batenkov supervised the construction and reconstruction of cities. In Siberia, Batenkov met a prominent statesman M. M. Speransky, who liked Gabriel Stepanovich for his honesty and integrity, for which he was seconded to his disposal in St. Petersburg. And in July 1821, he was appointed to the Special Siberian Committee, where he prepared notes on the management of Siberia. In January 1823, Gavriil Stepanovich served under General A. A. Arakcheev, in charge of military settlements. Something, however, did not please Gabriel Stepanovich in the Russian state, and he sought solace in Freemasonry and the occult sciences, becoming a member of the St. Petersburg lodge of “Chosen Michael.” In St. Petersburg, he met the Decembrists Pestel, Ryleev and Kuchelbecker, and entered the Northern Society of Decembrists. Takes the path of reforming the monarchy.

The preferences of the Decembrist Batenkov are on the side of a constitutional monarchy, as in England and other countries of the then Europe. If the uprising was successful, he was expected to be appointed to the post Secretary of State under the future Provisional Government. However, Gavriil Stepanovich did not participate in the 1825 uprising itself; he was arrested as an accomplice in the assassination attempt and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. Despite the reduction of the sentence to 15 years, he spent a year in the Svartholm fortress (Finland), and from June 1827 - more than 18 years in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress in solitary confinement. At the beginning of 1846 he was sent to live in Tomsk. After the amnesty of 1856, he lived for some time in the village of Petrishchevo, Belevsky district, Tula province, on the estate of his army friend A. A. Elagin, and was friends with his widow A. P. Elagina, mother of I. V. and P. V. Kireevsky. In October 1857, Gavriil Stepanovich bought a house in Kaluga on Dvoryanskaya Street (now Suvorova St., 42), which he wrote about in a letter to his friend the Decembrist Baron V. I. Shteingel: “Finally, I dropped anchor in Kaluga, acquired a tiny house at the very end city, on Dvoryanskaya Street." He bought this house for himself and the family of his deceased friend E.I. Luchshev, who was discharged from Tomsk. Gavriil Stepanovich himself for long years hard labor did not have time to acquire own family. There, in Tomsk, he swore to a dying friend that he would take care of his family and kept his word: he educated his children Konstantin and Anatoly, and married the widow Olga Pavlovna to worthy person Alexander Nikolaevich Tsurikov, a comrade of the chairman of the chamber of the civil court, belonging to the circle of Kashkin, Sytin and Svistunov. Batenkov’s pupil Anatoly Epenetovich Luchshev, who inherited this house after the death of his mother, student years professed progressive views, in 1874 he was involved in the case of the Shevyrev sisters about anti-government propaganda, after graduating from the medical faculty of Moscow University, he served as a zemstvo doctor, first in Meshchovsk, and then until the end of his days in the Khlyustinsky zemstvo hospital.

Here, in a house on Dvoryanskaya Street, Gavriil Stepanovich lived the last years of his life. In Kaluga, Batenkov joined the “Kaluga circle” of liberal-minded nobles that formed around the governor V. A. Artsimovich. Batenkov’s closest contacts were with the Decembrists E.P. Obolensky, P.N. Svistunov and N.S. Kashkin who settled in Kaluga. He recalled this: “Our colony often has private and general gatherings.” But when friends got together, they took part in heated discussions and discussions of their thoughts, plans, and programs. It is known that Batenkov took part in an informal discussion in the house of N. S. Kashkin, projects of the liberal “minority” of the Kaluga provincial committee to improve the life of landowner peasants. He also participated in meetings of the provincial statistical committee. Last years Gavriil Stepanovich dedicated his life literary activity: wrote poetry, prose, translated the work of A. de Tocqueville “The Old Order” and the Revolution”, worked on the translation of the books of the French historian Charles Lebeau “History of the Byzantine Empire” and on the memoirs of service under the command of Speransky and Arakcheev. Gavriil Stepanovich died on October 29, 1863 in Kaluga. He was buried according to his will in the village of Petrishchevo, Belevsky district, Tula province.

Oleg MOSIN,

Svetlana MOSINA

Literature: Notes (Data. Tale own life) // Memoirs and stories of secret society figures of the 1820s. - M., 1933. T. 2; Batenkov G. S. Op. and letters. Letters (1813 - 1856). - Irkutsk, 1989. T. 1; Kartsov V. G. Decembrist G. S. Batenkov. - Tomsk, 1960; Ilyushin A. A. Poetry of the Decembrist G. S. Batenkov.

(March 25, 1793 – Oct. 29, 1863) – Russian. idealist philosopher, Decembrist. He graduated from the 2nd Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, participated in the Fatherland. War of 1812 and foreign campaign. In 1825, after leaving service, he took up history, law and philosophy, and became close friends with members of the secret Decembrist societies (see Decembrists). Two months before the uprising on December 14. 1825 B. joined the Northern Society. In Jan. 1826 he was arrested, convicted and spent in solitary confinement in St. 20 years old, then was exiled for 10 years to Tomsk. In op. "Review political system" (1828) and "Thoughts about the Constitution" (1826) (see book: M. V. Dovnar-Zapolsky, Memoirs of the Decembrists, issue 1, Kiev, 1906) B. criticized the social and state system of Russia and argued the need to abolish serfdom. As a result of the inevitable, according to B., revolution, a constitutional monarchy should be established. B. was well acquainted with the French political literature of the 18th century, studied the works of Montesquieu and the physiocrats. In the field of philosophy, he was under the influence influenced by the mystical writings of Boehme, Swedenborg and Russian Freemasons (see Freemasonry), to whom he was close for some time (see B.’s prison notes - “Russian History Journal,” 1918, book 5, pp. 117–18) B. declared volitional intuition to be the fundamental principle of cognition and action. Op.: The story of one's own life, "Russian Archive", 1881, book. 2. Lit.: Modzalevsky B.L., Decembrist Batenkov, “Russian historical journal,” 1918, book. 5; Stories about G. S. Batenkov, "Russian Archives", 1881, book. 3; From the Elagin archives. Letters from G. S. Batenkov, I. I. Pushchin and E. G. Toll, ?., 1936; Oreus N.I., Gavriil Stepanovich Batenkov, “Russian Antiquity” 1889, Aug.; Grech N.I., Notes on my life, M.–L., 1930. p. 502–50; Vengerov S.?., Critical-biographical dictionary of Russian writers and scientists, vol. 2, St. Petersburg, 1891, p. 224–27; Bakai N., Siberia and the Decembrist G. S. Batenkov, Tomsk, 1927; Snytko T. G., G. S. Batenkov the writer, in the book: Literary Heritage, vol. 60, book. 1, M., 1956. A. Kazarin. Moscow.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

BATENKOV Gabriel Stepanovich

March 25 (April 5) 1793, Tobolsk - October 29 (November 10) 1863, Kaluga; buried in the village Petrishchevo, Belevsky district, Tula province] - poet, Decembrist, philosopher. Born into an impoverished noble family, from 1811 he studied in the Noble Regiment in St. Petersburg. Participant of the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns of 1812-15. After passing the exams, he received the title of railway engineer; railroad builder and administrator. Assistant to the Governor General of Siberia M. M. Speransky (since 1819). Together with him he moves to St. Petersburg, takes the position of director of affairs of the Siberian Committee. From 1824, lieutenant colonel, employee of the Council under the head of military settlements A. A. Arakcheev. In November 1825 he was removed from all posts. Member of the Masonic lodges - “Chosen Michael” (1816) and “Eastern Luminary” in Tomsk (1818). After the ban on lodges in 1822, he left Freemasonry. Dissatisfaction with public service, awareness of the lawlessness committed in military settlements, friendship with the Decembrists lead him to the secret Northern Society. Arrested on December 28, 1825, sentenced to life in hard labor, but spent 20 years in solitary confinement. In his testimony he called the Decembrist uprising not a rebellion, but the first experience of political revolution in Russia. The testimony preserved a sketch of the Constitution of the future political structure of Russia, which he conceived as a constitutional monarchy. He experienced a religious conversion in prison. In 1846 he was sent into exile in Tomsk. The testimony of M. N. Volkonsky has been preserved: after his imprisonment, Batenkov completely forgot how to speak, his handwriting was very illegible, but he “retained his calm, bright mood and inexhaustible kindness; add willpower here.” In exile, he was engaged in the design and construction of bridges, leaving a large number of notes about industry, agriculture and transport in Siberia, about geographical studies of Siberia, and about its settlement. During this period, he became close to the religious and philosophical circle, which included A. A. Elagin, P. S. Bobrishchev-Pushkin, N. D. Fonvizina. After the amnesty in 1856, he settled on the estate of E. P. Elagina in Petrishchevo, Tula province. In the fall of 1857 he moved to Kaluga, where he died.

After returning from exile, he was engaged in literary creativity. His writings on political problems (“Notes on the peasant question”, 1857-59; “Opinion on freedom of laws”, 1861-62; “Note on judicial reforms”, 1862; “Essay on the state structure of Russia”, 1862), literary articles (including about “Dead Souls”), as well as translations of the works of C. Lebeau, J. S. Mill, A. Tocqueville, J. Michelet were not published. In the last decade, Batenkov worked on a large philosophical work, conceived in Tomsk (“General Philosophy of the World System”), but which remained unfinished. It is a collection of notes written in different years and realizing the general plan - to give a philosophical and theistic interpretation of the achievements of natural science in the understanding of being, space and time, movement, life, the place of man in space, the role of thinking in knowledge. According to Batenkov, “the materialistic principle cannot explain anything, and even less capable of being the key that could unlock all the secrets of the universe and lead science to the truth” (“Natural Scientific Heritage of the Decembrists,” M., 1995, p. 132). Polemicizing with representatives of vulgar materialism (A.F. Postels, M.A. Antonovich), he turns to personal experience, to self-knowledge, from which all abstractions can be “derived” scientific knowledge: “God was with me, and I recognized Him; now it was worth establishing the mind in Him, and not in matter, in order to live completely independently” (ibid., p. 73). He proceeds from the substantiality of space, which he explains by various types of thickening of matter, which determine its various physical states. “The Philosopher of the World System” was conceived as a holistic picture of the life of the Cosmos in all its manifestations: human knowledge appears as a discovery of the cosmic worldview: “the cosmic concept is necessary for the completeness and basis of theories in the study of nature” (see: Ivanova L. M. Fond G. S. Batenkova. - “Notes of the Department of Manuscripts of the State Library named after V. I. Lenin”, 1952, v. 13). These philosophical manuscripts have not yet been published in their entirety.

Gabriel Stepanovich Batenkov (1793-1863) - Russian officer, Decembrist, writer. Participant in the War of 1812 and foreign campaigns. From 1819 to 1821 - M.M.’s closest assistant. Speransky on the management of Siberia. On January 29, 1823, he was appointed on special assignments regarding military settlements, and then a member of the Council of the Chief of Military Settlements - A. A. Arakcheev. On January 25, 1824, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. From July 10, 1824 - senior member of the Committee on Branches of Military Cantonists.

At the investigation into the case of the Decembrists, he declared that he belonged to a secret society and agreed with its plans, he wrote that the speech on December 14 was “not a rebellion, as to my shame he called it several times, but the first experience of a political revolution in Russia, an experience venerated in everyday life and in the eyes of other enlightened peoples." He was sentenced to eternal hard labor, but from 1827 to 1846 he was kept in solitary confinement in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In the fortress he was not allowed to communicate with anyone; the only books he was allowed to read were the Bible. In 1846 he was sent into exile to Tomsk. After the amnesty (1856) he lived in Kaluga and died of pneumonia. He was buried in the village of Petrishchevo, Belevsky district, Tula province.

Masonic memories

The Masonic brotherhood has long existed and is widespread, both with individual lodges according to their constitution, more or less secret, and united in states under the control of their “Great Orients”. However, little is known about their significant departure in folk life, even their own literature is printed, but not public, in Lately has a more scholarly than interpretative quality. There are many understandable reasons for this state of affairs, among other things, that simple inquisitiveness, immodesty of persons or external observation are not enough to understand it. It must be that only a very few adepts, who are completely and with all their being devoted to their calling, know exactly. I confess, however, that this society is peaceful, harmless to common life, humane; in its best members it is intelligent, moral, free from superstition, a friend of light and honors God as the cause of everything that exists.

In my youth, I was one of the most zealous adherents, and here I present my memories from occasional conversations with him. He said that when he first entered the lodge, he was struck by the deep silence and serious mood of the meeting. He felt, despite the simplicity of the situation, the presence of some special ancient light - a sacrament lay before him. Having examined the symbolic things, I noticed that they had passed through the eyelids and people had not touched them. Having accepted the title of student, he was embarrassed, seeing the need to form himself again. He was amazed that no one could utter words without receiving the master's permission, and the observable obligation to silently and carefully listen to what one of the others said. All movements must have geometric correctness.

The symbol of the disciple is a rough cobblestone, and its exercise must consist in hardening it in order to be fit for the building of a temple dedicated to the eternal spiritual Being. This concept itself must be acquired by attention to the progress of work and is not taught from the outside in words. It is introduced from time to time by legal, testing, short questions masters and reception rituals, constantly reminding us of the importance and inevitability of death. No oath or oath is given, but it is recalled that it must be firm and unchangeable " honestly", even if it was worth your life. Thus, the student must practice in order to develop a disciplinary mindset and understand the speeches of the brothers. He must join as an adult. This is for a person to start cultivating himself in the maturity of his talents and strengths and not constrain his mind and will, avoid directing them to external authority.

II
When there is nothing harmful in Freemasonry, why does it hide so carefully and avoid all publicity? The answer to this question was that it passed from the sacraments ancient world. The very way of work, which requires silence and deepening into oneself, cannot take place in the context of a common life and with open doors. Moreover, the great light of knowledge of the cosmic cause of everything, preserved by the lodge—the existence of the original all-acting God—requires such caution. This is a secret from the world, which cannot organize itself in accordance with the knowledge of the truth. It is profaned by the very speech used in the community, which is half false and ambiguous. Therefore, no story about Freemasonry gives an exact and clear concept; for this you need to be a Freemason and use those specific terms, that language, which, like mathematics, has been developed and cultivated by the labors of thought of many generations. The duty of the sacraments is to convey the achieved concepts through the death of generations for their continuation in integrity and purity.

In ordinary life it is left between generations big gap in knowledge, rights and direction. The sacrament preserves consistency, does not throw away anything useful and does not hinder progress, observing it as a conclusion and without jumps. It must stand on unshakable ground. Thus, the sacrament is necessary for any long-lasting society, constitutes its regulator and criterion and, being based on truth and love for mankind, cannot contain anything other than the light and good necessary for its own preservation. The passions of common life are incapable of this. So, before starting work, through a special member, the master makes sure that the doors are carefully closed. This custom was also observed in the ancient Christian church, where, even after the cessation of persecution, before the consecration of gifts, it is recalled with the exclamation: “Doors, doors!” A person, based on the achieved concepts of truths and acquired knowledge, surveying the entire task offered by the state and phenomena of the universe, is convinced that in his short life he can cognize a very small part of the entire whole. Therefore, Freemasonry introduces reasonable humility, does not arouse envy, being alien to pride, and although it was often persecuted by unreasonable tyranny, it survived through many centuries untainted by legal accusations. As knowledge of oneself and the structure of life passing through death, Freemasonry calls itself work and art, often applying the epithet of royal...

VI
Masons preserve the tradition that in ancient times a perfect master was killed by villains, and they hope that a master will once appear who has not only passed through death with his mind, but with his whole being. Such a legend must not be new at all, and constitutes a stimulus for hope for the highest enlightenment and civilization on earth, for liberation from the inevitable sting of death, with the progression of human destinies to light and truth through darkness and the negative nature of evil born in it, and they place this in compliance with the doctrine of innate sin. Be that as it may, this way of thinking and way of life does not deserve contempt. I can think of two significant facts from experience that saved me from certain death.

1. In one of the battles in 1814 in the cold and damp month of January in France, I, having suffered many wounds and left with corpses on the battlefield, was stripped to my shirt by enemy soldiers. Following them, two officers of the French Guard appeared on horseback and drew attention to me, looking closely at my face, making sure that I was alive, immediately covered (me) with the cloak of a dead soldier and carried me in their arms to the highway, a distance of at least half a mile. There they handed over to the trucks that were collecting the wounded, and strictly ordered them to be taken to the hospital of the nearest city and transferred to the special care of a physician. Subsequently, I learned that I owed my salvation to the position of my hand, with which I accidentally covered one of the main wounds in the form of a Masonic sign. It is extremely sad that I do not know the names of my benefactors.

2. Having spent twenty years in secret imprisonment throughout my youth, having neither books nor lively conversation, which no one in our time could endure without losing his life or at least his mind, I had no help in cruel mental suffering, until he renounced everything external and turned inward. Then I used the method of Freemasonry to view and structure the new world that presented itself to me. In this way I strengthened myself and survived repeated attacks of death and destruction.

(Batenkov) - Decembrist, son of a retired chief officer, b. March 25, 1793 in Tobolsk (according to some evidence in Tomsk), d. in October 1863. Information about him childhood very little; in autobiographical notes placed in the "Russian Archive" in 1881, book. II, he talks about his childhood impressions, about his development, making little mention of the facts of life. His parents instilled in him a religious feeling that did not leave him throughout his life; He grew up as a sickly child, was very nervous and impressionable, he learned to read and write self-taught, without any effort; He received his initial education in the Tobolsk military orphanage department, and then, unknown by whom and when, he was brought to St. Petersburg to enter the 2nd Cadet Corps. On May 21, 1812, he was released as an ensign to the 13th Artillery Brigade, which was in the corps of Lieutenant General Baron Sacken; During foreign campaigns he was distinguished by his courage, participated in the occupation of Warsaw and Krakow, was in action at the city of Krenbau, in 1814 he took part in the battle with the enemy at Chateau-Brienne and La Rotière and for his distinction received the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree with a bow.

In the battle of Montmiral he distinguished himself by “excessive bravery,” as stated in the official report on this battle, held his position for a long time and received 10 bayonet wounds; he, barely alive, was picked up on the battlefield by French officers and carefully transferred to the city hospital; his comrades considered him killed and served memorial services for him, but he, meanwhile, having recovered, returned to the battery again and on March 15 again participated in the battle of Saint-Mihiel, being with the corps of Prussian troops, under the command of Prince Biron of Courland.

In 1815, Batenkov made a trip abroad under the command of Dokhturov, and in the fall of the same year he returned to Russia, after which, at the beginning of 1816, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

His mathematical abilities gave him the opportunity to enter the then newly founded Department of Railways, but he did not get along with his colleagues and was sent to serve in Siberia to take the place of the manager of the 10th district.

While still serving in the ranks, Batenkov became acquainted with Freemasonry, was a member of the St. Petersburg lodge “Elect Michael”, and, having arrived in Siberia, was one of the founders of the “Eastern Luminary” lodge, founded in Tomsk in 1818; participation in Freemasonry did not prevent Batenkov from zealously pursuing his service; Of his activities, the most important were: strengthening the banks of the river. Hangars and plans for work on the Chinese border, by the way, he undertook to build and actually built a bridge across the Ushayka River at half the price; this turned many of his colleagues against him and he had to leave the service again, but in 1819 Speransky came to Siberia for an inspection.

He immediately appreciated the experienced, gifted and hardworking engineer, brought him closer to him and invited him to participate in the work on his planned transformation of all institutions existing in Siberia.

Batenkov took part in the Siberian audit, the result of which was the discovery of blatant abuses; then, he turned out to be Speransky’s indispensable collaborator in collecting statistical materials from Siberia; they presented the column with 7 notes: 1) On land communications, 2) On the establishment of stages, 3) On exiles, 4) On foreigners, 5) On Siberian Cossacks, 6) On the occupation of the Kyrgyz steppe of the Middle Horde, 7) On informing lands of Siberia.

These treatises were not published, but they formed the basis of the “Siberian Institution” of 1822. In addition, Batenkov was engaged in finding a route near Lake Baikal, and devoted his free minutes to the Lancaster school he founded, the first in Siberia, and compiled textbooks for it.

Leaving Siberia for St. Petersburg in 1820, Speransky took Batenkov with him.

From St. Petersburg he went on vacation abroad, but was summoned by the count before the deadline to compile a most comprehensive report on Siberian affairs. Upon the formation of the “Siberian Committee” in 1821, Batenkov, who had recently been promoted to major, received the position of secretary in it.

Speransky gave him many instructions and became so close to him that he settled with the count and became his own man in his house. For his work in the Siberian Committee, Batenkov received a one-time allowance of 10 thousand rubles in banknotes.

When Count Arakcheev became chairman of the Siberian Committee, Batenkov attracted the count’s attention with his efforts and perseverance, and the latter invited him to enter the service in military settlements;

Batenkov agreed; he was given 10 thousand rubles of annual allowance and the rank of lieutenant colonel.

But soon, according to the slander of those envious of his brilliant career, he had to leave his profitable service in 1825.

At this time he made acquaintances with members secret society- Ryleev, Alexander Bestuzhev and others, and shortly before December 14th he finally became friends with them; Batenkov did not take direct part in the conspiracy and on the day of the riot Senate Square was not, however, two weeks later he was arrested and, according to the verdict of the Supreme Criminal Court, assigned to the 3rd category state criminals, who was supposed to go to hard labor for life; This decision was subsequently changed to 20 years of hard labor, and then again was changed to 20 years of solitary confinement in a fortress.

There are two stories about the reason for the second change in the original sentence - one that Batenkov was a Siberian by birth and they did not want to send him to where he had connections, - the other that Batenkov was afraid that the mitigation of the sentence would not serve as a reason for accusing him in betrayal of his comrades, declared that he himself would draw up new conspiracy.

He was first stationed at the fort of Svartholm, in the Åland Islands, and remained there for 1/2 a year; here he wrote the poem “Wild,” depicting the difficult spiritual mood of a prisoner.

From Svartholm he was transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress and imprisoned in the Alekseevsky Ravelin, where he remained for 20 years. He was allowed to read and write, and was given books primarily of spiritual and moral content.

He was engaged in comparing translations of the Bible in ancient and modern languages; the books needed for this, at the request of the commandant, were delivered to him from public library.

A monument to his stay in the fortress remained a handwritten notebook of twenty pages, filled with various sketches and thoughts regarding politics, philosophy, administration, etc. Solitary confinement greatly influenced Batenkov, his reason left him at times, he forgot some words, lost track of time, about many things completely lost the concept.

In 1846, Batenkov’s term of imprisonment ended, and he was exiled to a settlement in Tomsk, where he settled in the house of the official Luchshev and, in gratitude for the shelter, taught children to read and write and helped with various household chores.

Old friends helped Batenkov acquire a small plot of suburban land. He built a hut here, started a small farm and lived here for 10 years, warmly received by representatives of the best local society; he loved to read French newspapers, made extensive extracts from them in Russian translation, studied ancient languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and corresponded with some of his friends.

By the way, Count N.N. Muravyov-Amursky was very disposed towards him.

Traveling from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg and back, he never forgot to visit Batenkov, and often stopped directly at his farm to drink tea and change horses.

Taking advantage of Muravyov’s favor, Batenkov managed to get others into the Irkutsk Institute educational establishments there are many orphans and children of poor parents at public expense. In August 1856, the Decembrists were allowed to leave Siberia, and Batenkov went to the Belevsky district of the Tula province, to the Petrishchevo estate, which belonged to his friend Elagin, and a year later, having received back with interest, by order of the Sovereign, all the property taken from him in 1825, bought a house in Kaluga, where he sent the widow of one of the Betterchev brothers from Siberia with her two young sons, whom he sent to the Kaluga gymnasium.

In 1859, when the Decembrists received permission to live in both capitals, Batenkov visited St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw.

He died in Kaluga from pneumonia at the age of 71 and was buried according to his wishes, in Petrishchev, next to his friend and comrade-in-arms Alexei Andreevich Elagin.

From the letters of Gabriel Stepanovich, published in “Russian Antiquity” for 1889, No. 8, it is clear that he was translating 28 books of Byzantine history, which he received from Peter Kireevsky.

In the same book "Russian Star." contains a description of Counts Arakcheev and Speransky, compiled by Batenkov.

In the 20s, he published several articles about Siberia in "Son of the Fatherland", which were translated into German. For Eshevsky, Batenkov wrote memoirs about Freemasonry, published by A. N. Pypin in "Western Europe" 1872 No. 7; for Baron Korf reported some information about Speransky.

The “Russian Archive” for 1881 contains Batenkov’s autobiography entitled: “Data.

The Tale of My Own Life"; one half of the notes is devoted to memories of childhood experiences, and the other concerns the activities of Count Speransky, whom he spoke of with great respect and love. "Russian Archive" 1871 and 1881. - "Russian Antiquity" 1887 and 1889 - Illustrated

Newspaper" 1863 No. 319. - "Siberian Bulletin" 1886 No. 25. - Maksimov, "Siberia and Hard Labor" part III. - Grech, "Notes". - Dictionaries: Andreevsky and Vengerov. - Korf, "Life gr. Speransky." - Pypin, "The Social Movement in Russia under Alexander I." - Alexey Ivanov, "One of the Decembrists" (in "Books of the Week", 1898, November). (Polovtsov) Batenkov, Gabriel Stepanovich or Batenkov - Decembrist; clan March 25, 1793 in Tomsk or Tobolsk, studied in St. Petersburg in the 2nd Cadet Corps, from where he was released into the artillery in 1812.

On a foreign campaign of 1813-15. B., in the words of the official report on the Battle of Montmiral, declared himself an “excessively brave” officer.

Upon returning to Russia, he retired, but soon again entered service in the department of railway engineers.

He quickly gained a reputation here as a “restless person,” and they got rid of him, giving him the post of manager of the district of communications in Western Siberia.

Ideal honesty here would have served as a source of all sorts of troubles for B., if not for the arrival of Speransky for an audit in Siberia, who immediately appreciated B.’s outstanding talents. He made him one of his closest assistants in managing Siberia.

Among many other orders, B. prepared seven detailed treatise notes for Speransky, which remained unpublished, but formed the basis of the “Siberian Institution” of 1822. In 1820, Speransky, leaving Siberia, took B. with him and assigned him as secretary of the “Siberian Committee”; in 1825, B., however, left the service.

At this time, he became close friends with Alexander Bestuzhev, Sergei Trubetskoy, Ryleev and other members of the Northern Society. He charmed all of them with his intelligence and extensive knowledge.

Convicted of participation in the revolutionary community, B. was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, but instead of serving his sentence in Siberia, B. spent twenty years in solitary confinement.

In 1856, the Decembrists were allowed to return to Russia, and B. settled first on the estate of his old friends Elagin-Kireevsky, and a year later, when the property taken away during the arrest was returned to him, he acquired a house in Kaluga, where he sent his widow and two children one of the Betterch brothers who sheltered him in Tomsk.

It was in Kaluga that Batenkov died in October 1863. B. published several articles about Siberia in “Son of the Fatherland” in the 1920s, which were translated into German, and wrote the beginning of an autobiography that appeared in “Russian Arch.” 1881, and memories of Freemasonry for the late historian Eshevsky (they were published by A. N. Pypin in "Western Evr.", 1872, No. 7). In "Russian Starina" 1889 No. 8, his characteristics of Arakcheev and Speransky, a number of letters and a long poem "Wild", written while sitting in Svartholm, were published; in it he poured out all the horror state of mind"wild", cut off from all living things. (Brockhaus)