Values ​​of Russian culture in architecture. Values ​​of Russian culture

Interregnum of 1825

abolition of autocracy and abolition of serfdom

Suppression of the uprising

Northern secret society
Moscow Life Guards Regiment
Grenadier Life Guards Regiment
Guards crew

more than 3000 people

1271 people

Decembrist revolt- an attempted coup d'état that took place in St. Petersburg, the capital Russian Empire, December 14 (26), 1825. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded nobles, many of them were officers of the guard. They tried to use the guards units to prevent Nicholas I from ascending the throne. The goal was the abolition of the autocracy and the abolition of serfdom. The uprising was strikingly different from the conspiracies of the era of palace coups in its goals and had a strong resonance in Russian society, which significantly influenced the socio-political life of the subsequent reign of Nicholas I.

• 1 Decembrists
• 2 Prerequisites for the uprising
• 3 Plan of uprising
• 4 Events December 14
• 5 Victims
• 6 Arrest and trial
• 7 Notes
• 8 Decembrist Museums
• 9 Cinema
• 10 Literature
• 11 See also
• 12 Links

Decembrists

The events of the War of 1812 and the subsequent foreign campaigns of the Russian army had a significant impact on all aspects of life in the Russian Empire and gave rise to certain hopes for change and, first of all, for the abolition of serfdom. The elimination of serfdom was associated with the need for constitutional restrictions on monarchical power. In 1813-1814, communities of guards officers emerged in ideological basis, the so-called “artels”. From two artels: the “Sacred” and the “Semyonovsky Regiment”, the Union of Salvation was formed in St. Petersburg at the beginning of 1816.

The founder of the Union was Alexander Muravyov. The Union of Salvation included Sergei Trubetskoy, Nikita Muravyov, Ivan Yakushkin, and later Pavel Pestel joined them. The Union's goal was the liberation of the peasants and the reform of government. In 1817, Pestel wrote the charter of the Union of Salvation or the Union of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland. Many members of the Union were members Masonic lodges, therefore, the influence of Masonic rituals was felt in the everyday life of the Union. Disagreements among society members over the possibility of regicide during a coup d'etat led to the dissolution of the Salvation Union in the fall of 1817.

In January 1818, a new secret society was created in Moscow - the Union of Welfare. The first part of the society's charter was written by M. N. Muravyov, P. Koloshin, S. P. Trubetskoy and contained the principles of organizing the Union of Welfare and its tactics. The second part, secret, contained a description of the ultimate goals of society, was compiled later and has not survived. The union existed until 1821, it included about 200 people. One of the goals of the Welfare Union was to create an advanced public opinion, the formation of the liberal movement. For this purpose, it was planned to found various legal societies: literary, charitable, educational. In total, more than ten boards of the Union of Welfare were formed: two in Moscow; in St. Petersburg in the regiments: Moscow, Yeger, Izmailovsky, Horse Guards; councils in Tulchin, Chisinau, Smolensk and other cities. “Side councils” also arose, including Nikita Vsevolozhsky’s “Green Lamp”. Members of the Welfare Union were required to take an active part in public life, strive to occupy positions in government agencies, the army.

The composition of secret societies was constantly changing: as their first participants “settled” in life and started families, they moved away from politics; their place was taken by younger ones. In January 1821, the Congress of the Welfare Union worked in Moscow for three weeks. Its necessity was due to disagreements between supporters of the radical (republican) and moderate movements and the strengthening of the reaction in the country, complicating the legal work of society. The work of the congress was led by Nikolai Turgenev and Mikhail Fonvizin. It became known that through informers the government was aware of the existence of the Union. A decision was made to formally dissolve the Welfare Union. This made it possible to free ourselves from random people who ended up in the Union; its dissolution was a step towards reorganization. New secret societies were formed - “Southern” (1821) in Ukraine and “Northern” (1822) with a center in St. Petersburg. In September 1825, the Society of United Slavs, founded by the Borisov brothers, joined the Southern Society.

In Nordic society main role played by Nikita Muravyov, Trubetskoy, and later by the famous poet Kondraty Ryleev, who rallied the fighting Republicans around himself. The leader of the southern society was Colonel Pestel.

Guards officers Ivan Nikolaevich Gorstkin, Mikhail Mikhailovich Naryshkin, naval officers Nikolai Alekseevich Chizhov, brothers Bodisko Boris Andreevich and Mikhail Andreevich took an active part in the Northern society. Active participants in the Southern Society were the Tula Decembrists brothers Kryukov, Alexander Alexandrovich and Nikolai Alexandrovich, the Bobrishchev-Pushkin brothers Nikolai Sergeevich and Pavel Sergeevich, Alexey Ivanovich Cherkasov, Vladimir Nikolaevich Likharev, Ivan Borisovich Avramov. One of the active figures in the “Society of United Slavs” was Ivan Vasilyevich Kireev.

Prerequisites for the uprising

The conspirators decided to take advantage of the complex legal situation that had developed around the rights to the throne after the death of Alexander I. On the one hand, there was a secret document confirming the long-standing renunciation of the throne by the brother next to the childless Alexander in seniority, Konstantin Pavlovich, which gave an advantage to the next brother, who was extremely unpopular among the highest military-bureaucratic elite to Nikolai Pavlovich. On the other hand, even before the opening of this document, Nikolai Pavlovich, under pressure from the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Count M.A. Miloradovich, hastened to renounce his rights to the throne in favor of Konstantin Pavlovich.

On November 27, the population swore an oath to Constantine. Formally, a new emperor appeared in Russia; several coins with his image were even minted. Constantine did not accept the throne, but he also did not formally renounce it as emperor. An ambiguous and extremely tense interregnum situation was created. Nicholas decided to declare himself emperor. The second oath, the “re-oath,” was scheduled for December 14. The moment the Decembrists had been waiting for had arrived - a change of power. Members secret society decided to speak out, especially since the minister already had a lot of denunciations on his desk and arrests could soon begin.

The state of uncertainty lasted for a very long time. After the repeated refusal of Konstantin Pavlovich from the throne, the Senate, as a result of a long night meeting on December 13-14, 1825, recognized the legal rights to the throne of Nikolai Pavlovich.

Uprising plan

The Decembrists decided to prevent the troops and the Senate from taking the oath to the new king. The rebel troops were to occupy Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, royal family it was planned to arrest and, under certain circumstances, kill. A dictator, Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, was elected to lead the uprising.

After this, it was planned to demand that the Senate publish a national manifesto, which would proclaim the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. It was supposed to make Count Speransky and Admiral Mordvinov its members (later they became members of the trial of the Decembrists).

Deputies had to approve a new fundamental law - the constitution. If the Senate did not agree to publish the people's manifesto, it was decided to force it to do so. The manifesto contained several points: the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government, the abolition of serfdom, the equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms(press, confession, labor), introduction of jury trials, introduction of mandatory military service for all classes, election of officials, abolition of the poll tax.

After this, a National Council (Constituent Assembly) was to be convened, which was supposed to decide on the form of government - a constitutional monarchy or a republic. In the second case, the royal family would have to be sent abroad. in particular, Ryleev proposed sending Nikolai to Fort Ross. However, then the plan of the “radicals” (Pestel and Ryleev) involved the murder of Nikolai Pavlovich and, possibly, Tsarevich Alexander.

Events of December 14

Ryleev asked Kakhovsky early in the morning of December 14 to enter the Winter Palace and kill Nikolai. Kakhovsky initially agreed, but then refused. An hour after the refusal, Yakubovich refused to lead the sailors of the Guards crew and the Izmailovsky regiment to the Winter Palace.

On December 14, officers - members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. By 11 a.m. on December 14, 1825, Decembrist officers brought about 800 soldiers of the Moscow Life Guards Regiment to Senate Square; later they were joined by units of the 2nd battalion of the Grenadier Regiment and sailors of the Guards Marine Crew in the amount of at least 2,350 people.

However, a few days before this, Nikolai was warned about the intentions of the secret societies by the chief of the General Staff I. I. Dibich and the Decembrist Ya. I. Rostovtsev (the latter considered the uprising against the tsar incompatible with noble honor). At 7 o'clock in the morning, the senators took the oath to Nicholas and proclaimed him emperor. Trubetskoy, who was appointed dictator, did not appear. The rebel regiments continued to stand on Senate Square until the conspirators could come to a common decision on the appointment of a new leader.

Inflicting a mortal wound on M. A. Miloradovich on December 14, 1825. Engraving from a drawing belonging to G. A. Miloradovich

Hero Patriotic War 1812, the St. Petersburg military governor-general, Count Mikhail Miloradovich, appearing on horseback in front of the soldiers lined up in a square, “said that he himself willingly wanted Constantine to be emperor, but what to do if he refused: he assured them that I myself saw the new renunciation and persuaded me to believe it.” E. Obolensky, leaving the ranks of the rebels, convinced Miloradovich to drive away, but seeing that he was not paying attention to this, he easily wounded him in the side with a bayonet. At the same time, Kakhovsky shot the Governor General with a pistol (the wounded Miloradovich was taken to the barracks, where he died that same day). Colonel Sturler and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich tried unsuccessfully to bring the soldiers into obedience. Then the rebels twice repulsed the attack of the Horse Guards led by Alexei Orlov.

A large crowd of St. Petersburg residents gathered on the square and the main mood of this huge mass, which, according to contemporaries, numbered in tens of thousands of people, was sympathy for the rebels. Nicholas and his retinue were thrown logs and stones. Two “rings” of people were formed - the first consisted of those who came earlier, it surrounded the square of the rebels, and the second ring was formed of those who came later - their gendarmes were no longer allowed into the square to join the rebels, and they stood behind the government troops who surrounded the rebel square. Nikolai, as can be seen from his diary, understood the danger of this environment, which threatened great complications. He doubted his success, “seeing that the matter was becoming very important, and not yet foreseeing how it would end.” It was decided to prepare crews for members royal family for a possible escape to Tsarskoe Selo. Later, Nikolai told his brother Mikhail many times: “The most amazing thing in this story is that you and I weren’t shot then.”

Nicholas sent Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to persuade the soldiers. But in response, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov, the soldiers began shouting to the metropolitans: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... We don’t believe you, go away!..” The metropolitans interrupted the soldiers’ conviction when the Life Guards appeared on the square Grenadier Regiment and Guards Crew, under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev and Lieutenant Anton Arbuzov.

But the gathering of all the rebel troops occurred only more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky. But Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands, and the encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times larger than the rebels in numbers, was already completed. In total, 30 Decembrist officers brought about 3,000 soldiers to the square. According to Gabaev’s calculations, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were collected against the rebel soldiers, in total, not counting the artillerymen called up later (36 guns), at least 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons, that is, 3 thousand sabers, were called up and stopped at the outposts as a reserve, that is, in total, another 10 thousand people stood in reserve at the outposts.

Nikolai was afraid of the onset of darkness, since most of all he feared that “the excitement would not be communicated to the mob,” which could become active in the dark. Guards artillery appeared from the Admiralteysky Boulevard under the command of General I. Sukhozanet. A volley of blank charges was fired at the square, which had no effect. Then Nikolai ordered to shoot with grapeshot. The first salvo was fired above the ranks of the rebel soldiers - at the “mobs” on the roof of the Senate building and the roofs of neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley of grapeshot with rifle fire, but then they began to flee under a hail of grapeshot. According to V.I. Shteingel: “It could have been limited to this, but Sukhozanet fired a few more shots along the narrow Galerny Lane and across the Neva towards the Academy of Arts, where more of the curious crowd fled!” Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive against the Peter and Paul Fortress. The troops lined up, but were fired at by cannonballs. The cannonballs hit the ice and it split, many drowned.

Victims

By nightfall the uprising was over. Hundreds of corpses remained in the square and streets. Based on the papers of the official of the III Department M. M. Popov, N. K. Shilder wrote:

Arrest and trial

371 soldiers of the Moscow Regiment, 277 of the Grenadier Regiment and 62 sailors of the Sea Crew were immediately arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The arrested Decembrists were brought to the Winter Palace. Emperor Nicholas himself acted as an investigator.

By decree of December 17, 1825, a Commission was established for research into malicious societies, chaired by Minister of War Alexander Tatishchev. On May 30, 1826, the investigative commission presented Emperor Nicholas I with a report compiled by D. N. Bludov. The manifesto of June 1, 1826 established the Supreme Criminal Court of three state estates: the State Council, the Senate and the Synod, with the addition of “several persons from the highest military and civil officials.” A total of 579 people were involved in the investigation. Found guilty 287. Five were sentenced to death (K.F. Ryleev, P.I. Pestel, P.G. Kakhovsky, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol). 120 people were exiled to hard labor in Siberia or to a settlement.

Notes

1. Fedorov, 1981, p. 8
2. Fedorov, 1981, p. 9
3. Fedorov, 1981, p. 322
4. Fedorov, 1981, p. 12
5. Fedorov, 1981, p. 327
6. Fedorov, 1981, p. 36-37, 327
7. From Trubetskoy's notes.
8. Fedorov, 1981, p. 13
9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Decembrist revolt. Causes of defeat
10. 1 2 3 V. A. Fedorov. Articles and comments // Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern society. - M.: MSU, 1981. - P. 345.
11. Fedorov, 1981, p. 222
12. From Shteingel's memoirs.
13. Fedorov, 1981, p. 223
14. Fedorov, 1981, p. 224
15. N. K. Schilder. T. 1 // Emperor Nicholas the First. His life and reign. - St. Petersburg, 1903. - P. 516.
16. V. A. Fedorov. Articles and comments // Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern society. - Moscow: MSU, 1981. - P. 329.

Museums of the Decembrists

• Irkutsk Regional Historical and Memorial Museum of the Decembrists
• Yalutorovsky Museum Complex
• Novoselenginsky Museum of Decembrists (Buryatia)
• Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky Museum of Decembrists (Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky)
• Kurgan Museum of the Decembrists (Kurgan city)
• Museum "Church of the Decembrists" (city of Chita)
• Museum of the Decembrists (city of Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk region)

Movie

• Decembrists (1926)
• Star of Captivating Happiness (1975)

Literature

• Academic documentary series "North Star"
• Gordin Y. Revolt of the reformers. December 14, 1825. L.: Lenizdat, 1989
• Gordin Y. Revolt of the reformers. After the mutiny. M.: TERRA, 1997.
• Memoirs of the Decembrists. Northern Society / Ed. V. A. Fedorov. - Moscow: MSU, 1981.
• Olenin A.N. Private letter about the incident on December 14, 1825 // Russian Archive, 1869. - Issue. 4. - Stb. 731-736; 049-053.
• Svistunov P. A few comments about newest books and articles about the event of December 14 and about the Decembrists // Russian Archive, 1870. - Ed. 2nd. - M., 1871. - Stb. 1633-1668.
• Sukhozanet I. O. December 14, 1825, story of the chief of artillery Sukhozanet / Communication. A. I. Sukhozanet // Russian antiquity, 1873. - T. 7. - No. 3. - P. 361-370.
• Felkner V.I. Notes of Lieutenant General V.I. Felkner. December 14, 1825 // Russian antiquity, 1870. - T. 2. - Ed. 3rd. - St. Petersburg, 1875. - P. 202-230.
• Decembrists in Ukraine: follow-up materials / Emphasis. G. D. Kazmirchuk, Yu. V. Latish; Sci. ed. prof. G. D. Kazmirchuk. T. 7. K., 2013. 440 p.
• Latish Yu. V. Decembrist in Ukraine. Historiographical studios. Kiev, 2014. - 237 p.

see also

• Decembrists
• Uprising of the Chernigov Regiment
• Decembrists and the Church
• Sailors in the events of December 14, 1825
• Supreme Criminal Court in the case of the Decembrists
• Conveyance of convicted Decembrists
• Convict "academy" of the Decembrists
• Funeral list of M. I. Muravyov-Apostol
• Konstantinovsky ruble

Links

• Decembrist uprising and program documents
• Decembrists Museum
• Senate Square from satellite. Can be increased
• Nikolai Troitsky Decembrists: Uprising // Russia in the 19th century. Lecture course. M., 1997.
• Secret organizations of the Decembrists
• Verdict of the Supreme Criminal Court and other documents

Decembrist uprising, Decembrist uprising December 14, 1825, Decembrist uprising 1825, Decembrist uprising 1825, Decembrist uprising year, Decembrist uprising briefly, Decembrist uprising reasons

In November 1825, Emperor Alexander I unexpectedly died far from St. Petersburg, in Taganrog. He did not have a son, and the heir to the throne was his brother Konstantin. But married to a simple noblewoman, a person not of royal blood, Constantine, according to the rules of succession to the throne, could not pass the throne to his descendants and therefore abdicated the throne. The heir of Alexander I was to be his next brother, Nicholas - rude and cruel, unloved in the army. Constantine's abdication was kept secret - only the narrowest circle of members of the royal family knew about it. The abdication, which was not made public during the life of the emperor, did not receive the force of law, so Constantine continued to be considered the heir to the throne; he reigned after the death of Alexander I, and on November 27 the population was sworn to Constantine. Formally, a new emperor appeared in Russia - Constantine I. But Constantine did not accept the throne, and at the same time did not want to formally renounce it as an emperor to whom the oath had already been taken. An ambiguous and extremely tense interregnum situation was created. Nicholas, fearing popular indignation and expecting a speech from the secret society, about which he was already informed by spies and informers, finally decided to declare himself emperor, without waiting for a formal act of abdication from his brother. A second oath was appointed, this time to Nicholas I. The re-oath in St. Petersburg was scheduled for December 14. Even when creating their organization, the Decembrists decided to speak out at the time of the change of emperors on the throne. This moment has now arrived. At the same time, members of the secret society became aware that spies were on their trail (denunciations by I. Sherwood and A. Mayboroda). It was impossible to wait any longer. Since the decisive events of the interregnum played out in the capital, it naturally became the center of the upcoming coup. Northern society decided on an open armed demonstration and scheduled it for December 14. 1825, when the oath of allegiance to the new Emperor Nicholas I was supposed to take place. The plan for a revolutionary coup, developed in detail at the Decembrist meetings in Ryleev’s apartment, suggested preventing the oath, raising troops sympathetic to the Decembrists, bringing them to Senate Square and preventing them by force of arms (if negotiations did not help). The Senate and State Council take the oath to the new emperor. The delegation from the Decembrists was supposed to force the senators (if necessary military force) sign a revolutionary manifesto to the Russian people. The manifesto announced the overthrow of the government, canceled serfdom , the recruiting force was destroyed, civil liberties were declared and a Constituent Assembly was convened, which would finally decide the question of the constitution and form of government in Russia. Prince S. Trubetskoy, an experienced military man, participant in the War of 1812, well known to the guard, was elected dictator of the upcoming uprising. On December 14, officers - members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. Alexander Bestuzhev spoke to the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment. The soldiers refused to swear allegiance to the new king and decided to go to Senate Square. The regimental commander of the Moscow regiment, Baron Fredericks, wanted to prevent the rebel soldiers from leaving the barracks - and fell with a severed head under the blow of the saber of officer Shchepin-Rostovsky. With the regimental banner flying, taking live ammunition and loading their guns, the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment (about 800 people) were the first to come to Senate Square. At the head of these first revolutionary troops in the history of Russia was the staff captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, Alexander Bestuzhev. Along with him at the head of the regiment were his brother, staff captain of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, Mikhail Bestuzhev, and staff captain of the same regiment, Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky. The first rebel regiment (Moscow Life Guards) came to Senate Square on December 14 at about 11 am. The regiment lined up in battle formation in the shape of a square (battle quadrangle) near the monument to Peter I. Only 2 hours later it was joined by the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and the Guard naval crew. In total, about 3 thousand rebel soldiers gathered in the square under the banners of the uprising with 30 combat commanders - Decembrist officers. The assembled sympathetic people greatly outnumbered the troops. However, the goals set by the Decembrists were not achieved. Nicholas I managed to swear in the Senate and the State Council while it was still dark, when Senate Square was empty. The “dictator” S. Trubetskoy did not appear on the square, having betrayed the trust of the rebels, and thereby brought anxiety and disorganization into their ranks. A situation was developing in the square that required decisive action, but Trubetskoy did not dare to take it. He sat, tormented, in the office of the General Staff, went out, looked around the corner to see how many troops had gathered in the square, and hid again. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Members of the secret society, who elected Trubetskoy as dictator and trusted him, could not understand the reasons for his absence and thought that he was being delayed by some reasons important for the uprising. Trubetskoy’s fragile noble revolutionary spirit easily broke when the hour of decisive action came.

The failure of the elected dictator to appear on the square to meet the troops during the hours of the uprising is an unprecedented case in history revolutionary movement. The dictator thereby betrayed the idea of ​​uprising, his comrades in the secret society, and the troops who followed them. The square of rebels several times repelled with rapid fire the onslaught of the guards cavalry that remained loyal to Nicholas. St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich galloped up to the rebels and began to persuade the soldiers to disperse. He was popular and knew how to talk to the soldiers; the uprising was under threat. The Decembrists decided that it was necessary to remove him from the square no matter what. But despite the demands of the Decembrists, Miloradovich did not ride off; then Obolensky turned the horse with a bayonet, wounding the count in the thigh, and a bullet, fired at the same moment by Kakhovsky, mortally wounded the general. The danger was repelled. Under these conditions, Nicholas resorted to sending Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to negotiate with the rebels. The idea of ​​sending metropolitans to negotiate with the rebels came to Nicholas’s mind as a way to explain the legality of the oath to him, and not to Constantine, through clergy who were authoritative in matters of the oath. It seemed that who better to know about the correctness of the oath than the metropolitans? Nikolai’s decision to grasp at this straw was strengthened by alarming news: he was informed that life grenadiers and a guards naval crew were leaving the barracks to join the “rebels.” Suddenly the metropolitans rushed to the left and disappeared into a gap in the fence St. Isaac's Cathedral, hired ordinary cab drivers and made a detour back to the Winter Palace. By evening, the Decembrists elected a new leader - Prince E.P. Obolensky, chief of staff of the uprising. But it was already too late. Nicholas, who managed to gather troops loyal to him to the square and surround the square of the rebels, was afraid that “the excitement would not be transmitted to the mob,” and ordered shooting with grapeshot. The rebels at first responded with rapid rifle fire, but under the shots of troops loyal to the tsar, their ranks were upset, the dead and wounded appeared, and the flight began. The Tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along the Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya. Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive. The troops lined up. But the cannonballs hit the ice - the ice split, many drowned. Bestuzhev's attempt failed. By nightfall it was all over. At this time, the Decembrists gathered at Ryleev’s apartment. This was their last meeting. They only agreed on how to behave during interrogations. The despair of the participants knew no bounds: the death of the uprising was obvious. At 6 pm the uprising was suppressed. A new act of tragedy occurred - the arrest of the rebels, more than 700 people were arrested. In the palace, the king interrogated the arrested. The day of December 14 ended with interrogations, ended with the victory of Nicholas I and the defeat of all those who rebelled against tsarism. The news of the defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg reached the Southern Society in the twentieth of December. Pestel had already been arrested by that time (December 13, 1825), but nevertheless the decision to speak was made. The uprising of the Chernigov regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel S. Muravyov-Apostol and M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. It began on December 29, 1825 in the village of Trilesy, where the 5th company of the regiment was stationed. The rebels captured the city of Vasilkov and moved from there to join other regiments. However, not a single regiment supported the initiatives of the Chernigovites, although the troops were undoubtedly in a state of unrest. A detachment of government troops sent to meet the rebels met them with volleys of grapeshot, and on January 3. The 1826 Decembrist uprising in the South was defeated. During the uprising in the South, appeals of the Decembrists were distributed among the soldiers and partly the people.

Trial of the Decembrists

The history of the Supreme Criminal Court over the Decembrists has been studied very thoroughly. The subject of the study was the number of court hearings and the time they were held, the issues discussed and decisions on them, the role of M.M. Speransky and Nicholas I at different stages of the court’s activities (during the development of its procedure and during the process). The question of the attention of the future was also briefly touched upon Chapter III Branches of A.H. Benkendorf to the struggle of opinions at court sessions (two of the judges - senators V.I. Bolgarsky and I.V. Gladkov - were his agents and more or less regularly reported to him about what was happening). In historiography, there is a strong opinion that the composition of the court was specially selected and the verdicts were predetermined in advance. In many ways this was true. However, from the published reports of judge-agents, as well as from the reports of some memoirists, it is known that already at the very beginning of the court’s activity, at least two groups were formed within its composition: “patriots” who advocated the most severe punishments, and “philanthropists” who defended relatively mild ones. measures. Discussions between them were extremely sharp character. When determining penalties and passing sentences, the struggle was on all issues put to vote. In addition, the organizers of the court themselves did not have a clear idea of ​​either the necessary penalties for the defendants or the optimal procedure for passing sentences. The court's initial plan for sentencing turned out to be worthless: the assignment of punishments by category had to be supplemented by an individual sentence for each defendant, and even the vote of M.M. himself. Speransky, who was the organizer of the work of the court, in most cases differed from what was planned. The fact that the emperor discussed the proposed punishments with Speransky, the chairman of the court P.V. Lopukhin and court prosecutor D.I. Lobanov-Rostovsky cannot yet be considered pressure on the court. Given the existing legal confusion and the chosen court procedure, it was necessary to first develop a more or less logical grid of punishments. The fact that Nikolai did not prescribe ready-made decisions to his entourage is also evidenced by significant differences on almost all points between the votes of Speransky and Lopukhin, as well as the fact that the punishments for some categories, even after confirmation, remained more severe than initially expected. Thus, there is no need to talk about direct and tangible pressure on the court, at least at some stages of its work (however, the methods of influencing the court organizers on the course of the process have not yet been sufficiently studied). This left the judges a certain freedom of action and contributed to discussions and the formation of various groupings. Their presence is an established fact. The Supreme Criminal Court was created by a manifesto of June 1, 1826 and worked from June 3 to July 12, 1826. A total of 68 people took part in passing sentences. The court included members of the State Council who were in St. Petersburg at that time (17 people), senators (35), members of the Holy Synod (3) - these categories were called “estates” - as well as persons specially appointed by the emperor (there were 13 of them ). At the time of the activity of the Supreme Criminal Court, the systematization of the current legislation of Russia had not yet been completed. Formally, the Council Code of 1649 continued to be in force, according to which almost all defendants were subject to death penalty and the question was only about the method of execution. The current Peter's laws (Military Regulations, Naval Regulations, etc.) were distinguished by the same severity. In addition, Peter’s legislation introduced such a specific punishment as political death - the complete deprivation of a person’s legal status (“the defamed” could not only be killed). In the second half of the 18th century, a measure was introduced that was intermediate in relation to political death - deprivation of the rights of the estate, which also provided for the termination of property and family relations, but without “defamation”. The main difference between political death and deprivation of rights, which also implies the loss of class status, remained the elements of ignominious punishment (hanging, placing the head on the block). Both of these measures (political death and deprivation of state rights) initially implied a link to hard labor, and by the beginning of the 19th century. and a link to eternal settlement in Siberia. As for the legal training of court members, it still remained low. Most dignitaries became familiar with legal norms during their service. Transition to modern type legal thinking was just beginning. All this created great difficulties in determining punishment for a large number of defendants, the degrees of guilt of which varied significantly and whose actions often did not fit any of the known precedents. Many Decembrists were in prisons and dungeons in shackles, and some were subjected to more sophisticated tortures. Decembrist V.P. wrote about the severity of solitary confinement. Zubkov: “The inventors of the gallows and beheading are the benefactors of humanity; whoever invented solitary confinement is a vile scoundrel; This punishment is not corporal, but spiritual. Anyone who has not been in solitary confinement cannot imagine what it is like.” The cells in the Secret House of the Alekseevsky Ravelin, where many Decembrists were kept, were no better than in the casemates. “They stripped me to the skin,” said M. Bestuzhev, “they put me in the official uniform of hermits... They laid me on a bed and covered me with a blanket, because my shackled hands and feet refused to serve me. The thick iron bar of the handcuffs squeezed my hands until they went numb. Deathly silence oppressed my soul...” In the Secret House, the supervision of prisoners was very strict, but all this did not break the courage of the Decembrists. They found the opportunity to communicate with each other by tapping, using the prison alphabet compiled by Bestuzhev. Subsequently, this alphabet - “Bestuzhevka” entered the arsenal of all Russian revolutionaries who were imprisoned. Sentencing in the Decembrist case took place in several stages. Initially, the Discharge Commission, separated from the court, determined the number of categories into which the defendants were distributed, according to the severity of their guilt, and made a preliminary distribution of the defendants into categories in accordance with the elements of the crime. After this, the court accepted the proposed number of categories and, based on materials received from the Supreme Investigation Commission and verified by the Audit Commission, passed sentences first for each category as a whole, and then, in order to clarify individual measures of punishment - for each defendant separately. At the end of the whole, the sentence was submitted to Nicholas I for approval. After the trial, the following were executed by hanging: Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Pavel Pestel, Kondraty Ryleev, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Pavel Kakhovsky. The rest were exiled to Siberia, and the soldiers were also sentenced to corporal punishment.

Conclusion

The reasons for the defeat of the Decembrists were unpreparedness and lack of coordination of actions, lack of work to promote their views in different strata of society, and unpreparedness of society for the transformations that the rebels tried to implement. Before the Decembrists, only spontaneous peasant uprisings took place in Russia. For the first time in Russia, the Decembrists created revolutionary organizations, developed political programs, prepared and carried out an armed uprising - the result of the Decembrist movement. All previous activities, starting with their first organization of the Union of Salvation, were subordinated to the ideological and organizational preparation of a revolutionary action against the autocratic-serf system in Russia. The uprising was an exam for the Decembrists, showing both the strong and weak sides their noble revolutionary spirit: courage, boldness, self-sacrifice, but hesitation, lack of decisiveness and consistency in resolving issues, lack of connection with the masses. The Decembrists laid the foundation of a revolutionary tradition, but at the same time the basis of a tragic, long-term split between the authorities and the intelligentsia. The highest assessment of their moral, human character is indisputable: humanism, selflessness, culture. Heroism in the struggle and persistent enduring of suffering in hard labor. The Decembrists were passionate educators. They fought for advanced ideas in pedagogy, constantly promoting the idea that education should become the property of the people. They advocated advanced teaching methods adapted to child psychology. Even before the uprising, the Decembrists took an active part in distributing schools for the people according to the Lancastrian education system, which pursued the goals of mass education. Educational activities Decembrists played a big role in Siberia. A.I. assessed the Decembrist movement most colorfully. Herzen: “December 14 opened a new phase of our political education, and - what may seem strange - the reason for the enormous influence that this matter acquired and which affected society more than propaganda, and more than theories, was the uprising itself, the heroic behavior of the conspirators in the square, at trial, in shackles, in the face of Emperor Nicholas, in the Siberian mines."

The unexpected death of Alexander I and the change of emperors sounded for the Decembrists as a call and signal for open action. Despite the fact that the Decembrists learned that they were betrayed - the denunciations of the traitors Sherwood and Mayboroda were already on the emperor's table, the members of the secret society decided to speak out.

On the day of the oath, the rebel troops had to go to Senate Square and, by force of arms, force the Senate to refuse the oath to Nicholas, force them to declare the government overthrown and publish a revolutionary “Manifesto to the Russian people.” It announced the “destruction of the former government” and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The abolition of serfdom and the equalization of all citizens before the law were announced; freedom of the press, religion, and occupations was declared, the introduction of public jury trials, the introduction of universal military service, and recruitment was destroyed. All government officials had to give way to elected officials. Thus, the Senate, by the will of the revolution, was included in the plan of action of the rebels.

It was decided that the Izmailovsky regiment and the cavalry pioneer squadron, under the leadership of Yakubovich, were to move to the Winter Palace in the morning, seize it and arrest the royal family.

Then the Great Council was convened - the Constituent Assembly. It had to make a final decision on the forms of abolition of serfdom, on the form government structure Russia, to resolve the issue of land. If the Great Council decided by a majority vote that Russia would be a republic, a decision would also be made on the fate of the royal family. Some Decembrists were of the opinion that it was possible to expel her abroad, while others were inclined towards regicide. If the Great Council came to a decision that Russia would be a constitutional monarchy, then a constitutional monarch would be drawn from the reigning family.

It was also decided to capture the Peter and Paul Fortress and turn it into a revolutionary citadel of the Decembrist uprising.

In addition, Ryleev asked the Decembrist Kakhovsky early in the morning of December 14 to penetrate into the Winter Palace and, as if committing an independent terrorist attack, kill Nikolai. Yakubovich came to Alexander Bestuzhev and refused to lead the sailors and Izmailovites to the Winter Palace. He was afraid that in the battle the sailors would kill Nicholas and his relatives and instead of arresting the royal family, it would result in regicide. Thus, the adopted plan of action was sharply violated, and the situation became more complicated. The plan began to fall apart before dawn.

On December 14, officers - members of the secret society were still in the barracks after dark and campaigned among the soldiers. Alexander Bestuzhev spoke to the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment. The soldiers refused to swear allegiance to the new king and decided to go to Senate Square.

The morning came on December 14, 1825. With the regimental banner flying, taking live ammunition and loading their guns, the soldiers of the Moscow Regiment (about 800 people) were the first to come to Senate Square. At the head of these first revolutionary troops in the history of Russia was the staff captain of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, Alexander Bestuzhev. Along with him at the head of the regiment were his brother, staff captain of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment, Mikhail Bestuzhev, and staff captain of the same regiment, Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky.

Under the shadow of the banners covered in the glory of 1812, eight hundred men of the Moscow Regiment were the first to enter Senate Square. The arriving regiment lined up at the foot of the monument to Peter I in a square - a combat quadrangle - which made it possible to repel an attack from all four sides.

By 11 o'clock in the morning, St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich galloped up to the rebels and began to persuade the soldiers to disperse. The moment was very dangerous: the regiment was still alone, other regiments had not yet arrived, the hero of 1812 Miloradovich was widely popular and knew how to talk to the soldiers. The uprising that had just begun was in great danger. Miloradovich could greatly sway the soldiers and achieve success. It was necessary to interrupt his campaigning at all costs and remove him from the square. But, despite the demands of the Decembrists, Miloradovich did not leave and continued persuasion. Then the chief of staff of the rebel Decembrists, Obolensky, turned his horse with a bayonet, wounding the count in the thigh, and a bullet, fired at the same moment by Kakhovsky, mortally wounded the general. The danger looming over the uprising was repelled.

The delegation chosen to address the Senate - Ryleev and Pushchin - went to see Trubetskoy early in the morning, who had previously visited Ryleev himself. It turned out that the Senate had already sworn in and the senators had left. It turned out that the rebel troops had gathered in front of the empty Senate. Thus, the first goal of the uprising was not achieved. It was a bad failure. Another planned link broke away from the plan. Now the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress were to be captured.

What exactly were Ryleev and Pushchin talking about during this last date with Trubetskoy - it is unknown, but, obviously, they agreed on some new plan of action, and, then coming to the square, they were sure that Trubetskoy would now come there, to the square, and take command.

Trubetskoy betrayed the uprising. A situation was developing in the square that required decisive action, but Trubetskoy did not dare to take it. He sat, tormented, in the office of the General Staff, went out, looked around the corner to see how many troops had gathered in the square, and hid again. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Members of the secret society, who elected Trubetskoy as dictator and trusted him, could not understand the reasons for his absence and thought that he was being delayed by some reasons important for the uprising.

The failure of the elected dictator to appear on the square to meet the troops during the hours of the uprising is an unprecedented case in the history of the revolutionary movement. The dictator thereby betrayed the idea of ​​uprising, his comrades in the secret society, and the troops who followed them. This failure to appear played a significant role in the defeat of the uprising.

The rebels waited for a long time. Several attacks launched on the orders of Nicholas by the horse guards on the square of the rebels were repulsed by rapid rifle fire. The barrage chain, separated from the square of the rebels, disarmed the tsarist police. The “rabble” who were in the square were doing the same thing.

Behind the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was under construction, were the dwellings of construction workers, for whom a lot of firewood was prepared for the winter. The village was popularly called “St. Isaac’s Village”, and from there many stones and logs flew at the king and his retinue.

The troops were not the only living force of the uprising on December 14: on Senate Square that day there was another participant in the events - huge crowds of people. The words of Herzen are well known: “The Decembrists did not have enough people on Senate Square.” These words must be understood not in the sense that there were no people in the square at all - there were people, but in the fact that the Decembrists were unable to rely on the people, to make them an active force of the uprising.

The main mood of the masses, which, according to contemporaries, numbered in tens of thousands of people, was sympathy for the rebels.

Under these conditions, Nicholas resorted to sending Metropolitan Seraphim and Kyiv Metropolitan Eugene to negotiate with the rebels. But in response to the Metropolitan’s speech about the legality of the required oath and the horrors of shedding brotherly blood, the “rebellious” soldiers began shouting to him from the ranks, according to the testimony of Deacon Prokhor Ivanov: “What kind of metropolitan are you, when in two weeks you swore allegiance to two emperors... We don’t believe you, go away!..”

Suddenly, the metropolitans rushed to the left, hid in a hole in the fence of St. Isaac's Cathedral, hired simple cab drivers (while on the right, closer to the Neva, a palace carriage was waiting for them) and returned to the Winter Palace by detour. Two new regiments approached the rebels. On the right, along the ice of the Neva, a regiment of life grenadiers (about 1,250 people) rose, fighting their way through the troops of the tsar's encirclement, arms in hand. On the other side, rows of sailors entered the square - almost the entire guards naval crew - over 1,100 people, a total of at least 2,350 people, i.e. forces arrived in total more than three times compared to the initial mass of the rebel Muscovites (about 800 people), and in general the number of rebels quadrupled. All the rebel troops had weapons and live ammunition. All were infantrymen. They had no artillery.

But the moment was lost. The gathering of all the rebel troops occurred more than two hours after the start of the uprising. An hour before the end of the uprising, the Decembrists elected a new “dictator” - Prince Obolensky, chief of staff of the uprising. He tried three times to convene a military council, but it was too late: Nicholas managed to take the initiative into his own hands. The encirclement of the rebels by government troops, more than four times the number of the rebels, had already been completed. Against 3 thousand rebel soldiers, 9 thousand infantry bayonets, 3 thousand cavalry sabers were assembled, in total, not counting the artillerymen called up later (36 guns), no less than 12 thousand people. Because of the city, another 7 thousand infantry bayonets and 22 cavalry squadrons were called up and stopped at outposts as a reserve, i.e. 3 thousand sabers; in other words, there were another 10 thousand people in reserve at the outposts.

The first volley of grapeshot was fired above the ranks of soldiers - precisely at the “mob” that dotted the roof of the Senate and neighboring houses. The rebels responded to the first volley with rifle fire, but then, under a hail of grapeshot, the ranks wavered and wavered - they began to flee, the wounded and dead fell. The Tsar's cannons fired at the crowd running along the Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya. Crowds of rebel soldiers rushed onto the Neva ice to move to Vasilyevsky Island. Mikhail Bestuzhev tried to again form soldiers into battle formation on the ice of the Neva and go on the offensive. The troops lined up. But the cannonballs hit the ice - the ice split, many drowned. Bestuzhev's attempt failed.

By nightfall it was all over. The Tsar and his minions did their best to downplay the number of those killed - they talked about 80 corpses, sometimes about a hundred or two. But the number of victims was much more significant - buckshot at close range mowed down people. According to a document from the official of the statistical department of the Ministry of Justice S.N. Korsakov, we learn that on December 14, 1271 people were killed, of which 903 were “mobs”, 19 were minors. 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.

Two weeks later, on December 29, 1825, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol led the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. By this time, it was already known about the arrests and defeat of the uprising in St. Petersburg, but members of the Southern Society wanted to show the government that the northerners were not alone and that the whole country supported them. But their hopes were not justified. Despite the support of the peasants, the government managed to isolate the Chernigov regiment and a week later, on January 3, 1826, it was shot.

About 600 people were involved in the investigation. Many were personally interrogated by Nikolai himself. Five - P.I. Pestel, K.F. Ryleeva, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P.G. Kakhovsky was sentenced to quartering, which was later replaced by hanging. The rest, according to the degree of guilt, were sentenced to hard labor, exiled to Siberia, and demoted to soldiers. Until the death of Nicholas, not a single Decembrist received forgiveness.

One can name many reasons for the defeat of the uprising, but one of the main ones was the class limitations of the Decembrists, manifested in their inconsistency, hesitation, and most importantly, their isolation from masses, even in fear of the elements of a popular uprising, in an effort to carry out a revolutionary coup, albeit in the name of the people, but without their active participation. But the narrowness of the circle of the Decembrists, their isolation from the people, was determined not only by their narrow-mindedness of the nobility. Serf Russia was then “downtrodden and motionless.” There was no broad mass movement on which the revolutionaries could rely. Therefore, an insignificant number of nobles, powerless without the support of the people, protested against autocracy and serfdom.

The Decembrist uprising is the result of the Decembrist movement, which has a huge historical meaning. Prepared by a decade of formation and development of secret Decembrist societies, the uprising of December 14, 1825 was a serious test for its leaders and participants. It is this event that dates back to the beginning of the revolutionary movement in Russia. And although the Decembrists were defeated, their example and lesson played a big role in the ideological education of new generations of Russian revolutionaries. “The Decembrists,” wrote V.I. Lenin, “awakened Herzen. Herzen launched revolutionary agitation. It was picked up, expanded, strengthened, and tempered by commoner revolutionaries, starting with Chernyshevsky and ending with the heroes of Narodnaya Volya.”

The main program provisions - the elimination of autocracy, serfdom, the class system, the introduction of a republic, etc. - reflected the urgent needs of the time.

Adopted and developed by new generations of Russian revolutionaries, they retained their importance at all stages of the liberation movement.

The Decembrists’ contribution to the development of advanced Russian culture was significant. Their ideas had a huge impact on the work of A.S. Pushkin, A.S. Griboyedov, A.I. Polezhaev. Among the Decembrists themselves were outstanding writers and poets, scientists and artists, major military figures. Sent to hard labor and into exile, they did not change their convictions, they were aware of socio-political events both in Russia and abroad, they contributed major contribution in the development of culture and education of the peoples of Siberia.

Thus, the Decembrists made the first attempt to change the social and political system of Russia. Their ideas and activities had a significant impact not only on the development social thought, but also for the entire further course of Russian history.

According to the plans for the “military revolution,” the performance in the capital was of decisive importance. At the same time, there was to be a military offensive in the south of the country, in the 2nd Army. In St. Petersburg, at the apartment of the Decembrist Ryleev, daily meetings were held at which the uprising was being prepared. Here information about the readiness of individual regiments for action was concentrated, instructions were given to individual members of society, and a general plan of action was discussed. It was decided to speak on December 14 - the day of the “re-oath”. One of the initiators of the founding of the secret society, S. Trubetskoy, a colonel of the guard, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns, who had extensive military experience and was known to the soldiers, was elected dictator of the uprising.

What was the plan for the uprising on December 14? What did the Decembrists want? On December 14, they decided to prevent the taking of the oath in the regiments and, under the pretext of demanding the accession of Constantine, to lead the soldiers to the Senate, where at that time the oath of senators and members of the State Council to the new emperor was supposed to take place. This oath had to be prevented at all costs. By persuasion, and if that failed, then by force of arms, it was planned to force members of the Senate and the State Council to publish the “Manifesto to the Russian People.” This manifesto is an important ideological document of the movement, the political platform of the December 14 uprising. The manifesto declared the abolition of serfdom, freedom of the press, conscience, occupation and movement; the situation of the soldiers was alleviated; universal conscription was introduced; elected officials had to replace previous officials. It was announced that the Assembly of People's Representatives, or the Great Council, would be convened, which was to decide the question of the form of government in Russia. The text of the manifesto had already been developed and was with Trubetskoy. It was assumed that the rebel troops (sailor-guards) would capture the Winter Palace, arrest the royal family, and capture the Peter and Paul Fortress. The previous government was declared overthrown. Before the decisions of the Great Council, government was transferred to a provisional government, which was supposed to include Speransky and Mordvinov.

It was a cold and windy morning on December 14th. Members of the secret society were in their regiments even before the light of day and campaigned against the oath. The first to arrive on Senate Square was the Moscow Regiment under the command of the Decembrist writer Alexander Bestuzhev (Marlinsky), his brother Mikhail and officer Shchepin-Rostovsky. The regiment lined up in a square - a combat quadrangle - near the monument to Peter I. This arrangement of troops in the given conditions was the most appropriate: in the square, attack and defense could be needed from four sides. While the rebel regiment stood alone in the square, the St. Petersburg Governor-General Miloradovich rode up to him to persuade him. The moment was dangerous - Miloradovich was known among the troops, and his persuasion could complicate the further course of the uprising. Decembrist Obolensky, the chief of staff of the rebels, turning back the governor-general's horse, wounded him with a bayonet, and Kakhovsky's bullet sent in pursuit mortally wounded Miloradovich. The danger has been eliminated. Soon the Muscovites were joined by a guards naval crew under the command of Nikolai Bestuzhev and two hours later by life grenadiers under the command of Panov and Sutgof (this happened quite late, around one in the afternoon). In total, there were more than 3 thousand rebel soldiers and sailors in battle formation on Senate Square, with 30 military commanders of the uprising.

From the first steps of the uprising there were serious complications. It was very important that the dictator of the uprising, Trubetskoy, betrayed the revolutionary cause and did not appear on the square. The rebels were left without a leader. Ryleev looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. The Decembrists themselves rightly regarded Trubetskoy’s behavior as “treason.” What happened cannot be clearly explained by “cowardice” - Trubetskoy has repeatedly proven his courage and bravery on the battlefields. The reason is most likely that at the very last moment he lost faith in the success of the uprising. Trubetskoy’s hesitations, noticeable already on the eve of the uprising, intensified even more on December 14th. While in the office of the General Staff, tormented by doubts, Trubetskoy goes out to see how many troops have gathered in the square, and, realizing that the rebels have too few forces, he does not dare to lead the uprising. The absence of the dictator in itself was a serious difficulty, but, in addition, the immediate goal was lost: Nicholas managed to swear in the members of the Senate and the State Council. The conceived plan for the uprising was collapsing, new decisions had to be made, but there was no dictator. Confusion began to be noticed in the ranks of the Decembrists.

Meanwhile, a lot of ordinary people gathered in the square: there were courtyard servants, petty officials, artisans, and the city’s poor. According to eyewitnesses, the number of people significantly exceeded the number of rebels. This, in the words of Nicholas I, “rabble” asked the Decembrists to hold on, showed their sympathy for the uprising, and threw stones and logs at the emperor and his retinue. Several times, on the orders of Nicholas I, the imperial troops launched mounted attacks on the revolutionary square, but each time, repelled by the fire of the rebels, they were forced to retreat. According to the testimony of the tsarist officers, bullets from the ranks of the rebels “flew in a swarm”; in the horse guards, who were on the side of Nicholas I, there were many killed and wounded. The rebel troops fired without command; Rapid rifle fire was opened on the approaching Nicholas and on the troops trying to push the people away from the ranks of the rebels.

In the evening, the Decembrists chose a new “dictator” of the uprising - Prince Obolensky, but it was already too late. Nicholas managed to gather four times more troops into the square than the rebels had, and surrounded them on all sides with a square. It was getting dark. Fearing that “the excitement would not be transmitted to the mob,” Nikolai gave the order to shoot with buckshot. But the artillery soldier did not follow the orders: “Friends, your honor,” he said to the officer who ran up. The officer pulled out the fuse and inserted it himself. The first shot rang out - it was fired slightly above the ranks of the rebels, on the colonnade and the roof of the Senate, where people sympathizing with the uprising had accumulated. The rebels responded to the first shot with grapeshot with rapid rifle fire, but after several volleys of grapeshot, the ranks of the rebels wavered and hesitated. The flight began. M. Bestuzhev's attempt to line up the fleeing soldiers on the ice of the Neva and throw them at the tsarist troops failed. The buckshot hit the ice, it cracked, and many drowned. More than 80 corpses remained in the snow of Senate Square. By nightfall the uprising was over.

Patrols walked around the city, traces of blood were cleared from the pavement, the capital had the appearance of a city conquered by enemies. The arrested began to be taken to the Winter Palace.

The news of the defeat of the uprising on Senate Square reached the Southern Society of Decembrists on the twentieth of December. However, it was decided to still organize the agreed performance. Members of the Society of United Slavs, officers of the Chernigov Regiment Sukhinov, Kuzmin, Shchepilla and Solovyov released from arrest Lieutenant Colonel of the Chernigov Regiment Decembrist Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and his brother Matvey, and dealt with Colonel Gebel who arrested them. Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who had previously promised to act together with the northerners, led the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. It began on December 29, 1825 in the village of Trilesy, where the 5th company of the regiment was stationed. The rebels moved in military formation to the village of Kovalevka, united with other companies and from there headed to the city of Vasilkov to join the bulk of the regiment stationed there. Having captured the city, the rebel regiment moved towards the village of Motovilovka. Waiting for the joining of the rebel units, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol announced a day in Motovilovka on January 1, 1826, but no one joined, except for a small number of surrounding peasants who sympathized with the uprising and followed the regiment in the convoy.

For the purpose of propaganda, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and his friend Bestuzhev-Ryumin wrote a revolutionary “catechism” intended for distribution among the troops and the people. It contains quotes from scripture the need to overthrow the autocracy was demonstrated. The catechism was read before the rebel regiment, copies of it were distributed among the people, and were even sent to Kyiv. But on January 3, a detachment of General Geismar, sent to pacify the uprising, defeated the Chernigov regiment near the village of Kovalevki. Shchepilla was killed on the battlefield, a member of the Society of United Slavs, Kuzmin, shot himself immediately after his arrest. The leader of the uprising, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, who was wounded in the head, was arrested with weapons in his hands, as was his friend Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

The memory of the uprising of the Chernigov regiment was preserved among the serf peasantry of Ukraine. The worried Ukrainian peasantry in 1826-1827. remembered this uprising and expressed a desire to follow the example of the Chernigovites.

The culture of Russia is the culture of the Russian people, other peoples and nationalities of Russia and the states that preceded the modern Russian Federation; a set of formal and informal institutions, phenomena and factors influencing the preservation, production, transmission and dissemination of spiritual values ​​(ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, civil, etc.) in Russia.

For culture Ancient Rus' The following features are characteristic:

Slow pace of development. The experience of previous generations and traditions played an important role.
Locality, isolation, disunity of Russian lands, caused by the lack of economic interests in a subsistence economy.
Patriotism, the cult of a strong and brave warrior-hero.
Very deep moral principles.
Strong influence of religion.
Dominance in the ideology of religious worldview.

Despite the difference in the development of Rus' from Western European countries, Russian culture developed in the general mainstream of European culture.

Culture of Russia XIII-XVII centuries

Rostov Kremlin

Key features of cultural development in that period:

The need for self-identification of the Russian people and, as a consequence, the blurring of differences between individual principalities and the formation of an all-Russian culture.
Elevation Orthodox Church as the custodian of the cultural and political traditions of the Russian state. Ending double faith.
Self-isolation of Rus' not only from Muslim, but also from Catholic countries.

Russian empire

Monument "Millennium of Russia"

Due to historical circumstances, the Russian Empire willingly borrowed many elements of Western European culture and customs throughout its existence. And as a result, in the understanding of a “Western” observer, the cultural level of the overwhelming population of Russia was low. However, it is impossible to overestimate the contribution of leading Russian figures to world culture.

The culture of Russia is the cumulative culture of countries and nationalities living on the territory of the Soviet Union.

Developed intensively performing arts, cinema, fine arts. In certain periods, the development of ethnic minority cultures and national cultures was encouraged.

Modern history

The modern history of culture in Russia is associated with the restoration of elements of the culture of the Russian Empire and its integration into the cultural heritage of the USSR. In Russia, churches and religious customs are being actively restored, and the institution of patronage is being revived. In addition to this, in existing culture The USSR comes with values ​​characteristic of Western and Eastern civilizations For example, traditions of Western popular culture or tea ceremonies and cuisine of Eastern countries are introduced. There are many thematic festivals, exhibitions and events. In 2012, 77% of residents of Russian cities completely or mostly agreed that there are enough cultural institutions in cities (theatres, cinemas, galleries, libraries).

As British sociology professor Hilary Pilkington noted in 2007: “there is a tendency to consider Russia a unique society, which consists of different cultural traditions, being not a "hybrid", but a unique entity that was created from many and different cultural influences"

Language

The most common language in Russia is Russian. It is also the state language of the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. However, the number of speakers of eight more languages ​​in the Russian Federation exceeds one million people.

Republics within the Russian Federation have the right to establish their own state languages ​​and, as a rule, use this right: for example, in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, in addition to Russian, Abaza, Karachay, Nogai and Circassian languages ​​have state status.

Despite the efforts being made in many regions to preserve and develop local languages, in Russia the Soviet time a tendency towards a linguistic shift, when in fact the native language of non-Russian citizens becomes Russian, while superficial knowledge of the mother’s language (the language of one’s ethnic group) becomes nothing more than a marker of ethnicity.

Cyrillic is a writing system and alphabet for a language, based on the Old Slavic Cyrillic alphabet (they talk about Russian, Serbian, etc. Cyrillic alphabet; calling the formal unification of several or all national Cyrillic alphabet “Cyrillic alphabet” is incorrect). The Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet and writing system, in turn, is based on the Greek alphabet.

The alphabets of 11 of the 28 Slavic languages ​​are based on the Cyrillic alphabet, as well as 101 non-Slavic languages ​​that were previously unwritten or had other writing systems and were translated into Cyrillic in the late 1930s (see: list of languages ​​with alphabets based on the Cyrillic alphabet) .

Russian is one of the East Slavic languages, one of the largest languages ​​in the world, including the most widespread of the Slavic languages. The Russian language originated from Old Russian, together with the Sukrainian and Belarusian languages ​​[source not specified 1

Russian literature

Russian literature reflected not only aesthetic, moral and spiritual values ​​and ideas; According to leading Russian thinkers, literature is also the philosophy of Russia.

Until the 18th century, secular literature practically did not exist in Russia. There are several monuments of ancient Russian literature of a religious or chronicle nature - “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Prayer of Daniil the Zatochnik”, “Zadonshchina”, The Life of Alexander Nevsky and other lives. The authors of these works are now unknown. Folk art of that period is represented by the original genre of epics, fairy tales.

Secular literature appeared in Russia only in the 17th century. First famous work of this kind - “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum” (despite the name, it cannot be called a religious work, since it was written by Avvakum himself; canonical lives were written only after the death of the saint).

In the 18th century, a galaxy of secular writers and poets appeared in Russia. Among them are the poets Vasily Trediakovsky, Antioch Cantemir, Gavriil Derzhavin, Mikhail Lomonosov; writers Nikolai Karamzin, Alexander Radishchev; playwrights Alexander Sumarokov and Denis Fonvizin. Dominant artistic style literature at that time was classicism.

Poetry

A. S. Pushkin

Among the most famous poets of Russia:

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin
Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok
Sergey Yesenin
Anna Akhmatova
Vladimir Mayakovsky
and many others.

Prose

F. M. Dostoevsky

Among the most famous writers Russia:

Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
and many others.

Modern literature

Russian art

art

Russian icon painting inherited the traditions of Byzantine masters. At the same time, Russia developed its own traditions. The most comprehensive collection of icons is in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Russian icons were not mere imitation, but had their own style, and masters such as Andrei Rublev raised the level of icon painting to new heights.

Painting

V. M. Vasnetsov. "Bogatyrs". Oil. 1881-1898.

I. E. Repin. "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan." Oil. 1880-1891.

M. A. Vrubel. "The Demon Seated" Oil. 1890.

First realistic portraits appear in Russia in the 17th century; in the mid-late 18th century, such major painters as Levitsky and Borovikovsky appeared in Russia.

Since that time, Russian painting has followed global trends. Outstanding artists of the first half of the 19th century: Kiprensky, Bryullov, Ivanov (“The Appearance of Christ to the People”).

In the second half of the 19th century, realistic painting flourished. Was based creative association Russian artists "Association of Mobile art exhibitions"("Peredvizhniki"), which included such great artists as Vasnetsov, Kramskoy, Shishkin, Kuindzhi, Surikov, Repin, Savrasov.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the World of Art association operated. Its members or artists close to the movement were Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel, Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin, Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich, Isaac Ilyich Levitan.

Socialist realism

Socialist realism - basic artistic method, used in the art of the Soviet Union starting in the 1930s; it was permitted, recommended, or imposed (at different periods of the country’s development) by state censorship, and therefore was closely connected with ideology and propaganda. It has been officially approved since 1932 by party bodies in literature and art. Parallel to it, there was unofficial art of the USSR. Representatives of socialist realism are V. I. Mukhina, A. A. Deineka, I. I. Brodsky, E. P. Antipova, B. E. Efimov. For works in the genre socialist realism characterized by the presentation of events of the era, “dynamically changing in their revolutionary development.” Ideological content The method was laid down by dialectical-materialist philosophy and the communist ideas of Marxism (Marxist aesthetics) in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. The method covered all areas artistic activity(literature, drama, cinema, painting, sculpture, music and architecture). It stated the following principles:

Describe reality “accurately, in accordance with specific historical revolutionary developments.”
coordinate your artistic expression with themes of ideological reforms and education of workers in the socialist spirit.
Main article: Russian avant-garde
IN late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, Russia became one of the centers of avant-garde art.

Prominent representatives of the avant-garde: Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall, Pavel Filonov. What was common to the Russian avant-garde was the rejection of old forms of art in favor of new, more appropriate the current moment reality. A similar direction in the development of artists’ thoughts also existed in all other European countries, while the art of America lagged behind in its development. In those years, for the first time since the time of Peter I, a definite connection emerged between fine arts Russia and the fine arts of European countries. In the 30s, with the increasing influence of the style of socialist realism, this connection was broken. Many researchers associate the origins of the Russian avant-garde not so much with the revolution, but with the industrial leap of that time.

Abstractionism

In the 1950s and 1960s, some artists turned to the tradition of abstraction. Studio Eliya Belyutina worked most actively in this direction. New reality" In 1962, after the destruction of their exhibition in the Manege, “New Reality” became one of the centers of unofficial art in the USSR. The association lasted until 2000. The goal of the “New Reality” was to create precisely contemporary art, and as a result of its activities - the organization of the New Academy.

The main artists of the “New Reality” group: Eliy Belyutin, Vladislav Zubarev, Lucian Gribkov, Vera Preobrazhenskaya, Anatoly Safokhin, Tamara Ter-Ghevondyan.

In the 1960s, during the “Thaw”, a circle of conceptual artists emerged on the territory of the former Soviet Union, many of whom have now received international recognition. Their art has a full-fledged place in the world history of art and, in particular, in the history of international conceptual art. Such artists as Ilya Kabakov, Andrei Monastyrsky, Dmitry Prigov, Viktor Pivovarov are familiar not only in modern Russia, but also in Europe and America.

Art museums

There are many art museums and galleries in Russia. Among the most famous: State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and State Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Music

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Russian classical music contains creative heritage such great composers as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, the “Mighty Handful” community of composers, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky. Among Soviet composers, some of the most significant are: Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev, Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich, Aram Ilyich Khachaturian, Alfred Schnittke.

In Russian music there are many world-famous classical works, including famous symphonies, concerts, ballets (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Rite of Spring), operas (Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin, Ivan Susanin) , suites (“Pictures at an Exhibition”)

Popular music

In the first half of the 20th century, such performers as Alexander Vertinsky and Leonid Utesov were popular. In Soviet times, the so-called "variety" popular music(Muslim Magomayev, Lev Leshchenko, Alla Pugacheva, Valery Leontyev, Joseph Kobzon).

Pop music developed in the USSR and Russia from the second half of the 20th century according to Western prototypes. It is popular primarily among the Russian-speaking population of the world. In Western countries, Russian pop musicians rarely achieve great commercial success (for example, the group Tatu did this).

Russian rock

Concert of the rock band Nautilus Pompilius

Russian rock is a collective designation for Russian-language rock music, created first in the USSR, then in Russia and the CIS countries by various musicians and groups. The most famous groups: “Aria”, “Time Machine”, “Aquarium”, “Nautilus Pompilius”, “Kino”, “Alice”, “DDT”, “Zvuki Mu”, “Chaif”, “Splin”, “Bi-2” ","Agatha Christie"

Russian rock groups were influenced big influence Western rock music, as well as Russian art song (Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava), usually performed with an acoustic guitar.

The first jazz concert in the USSR took place in Moscow on October 1, 1922 at one o'clock in the afternoon on the stage of the Central College of Theater Arts (later GITIS) in Maly Kislovsky Lane. It was a concert of “Valentin Parnach, the first eccentric orchestra of jazz bands in the RSFSR.”

Electonic music

Famous groups and persons: PPK, Parasense, Quarantine, KDD, Radiotrance, Transdriver, Psykovsky, Kindzadza, Enichkin. During the Soviet period, Eduard Artemyev, Nochnoy Prospekt, and Ivan Sokolovsky worked in this genre.

Architecture

Russian architecture follows a tradition whose roots were established in Byzantium, and then in the Old Russian state. After the fall of Kyiv, Russian architectural history continued in the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, the Novgorod and Pskov Republics, the Russian Tsardom, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation.

Religious buildings

Civil architecture

Civil architecture in Russia has gone through several stages throughout its history. Before the revolution, the development of architecture corresponded to the trends of other countries: buildings were built in the style of classicism, baroque and others.

The eras of civil architecture of the USSR received their names from the names of the country's rulers: Stalin's houses, Brezhnev's, Khrushchev's. With the advent of Soviet power, the style of the buildings changed - they became more monumental. However, subsequently, when solving the problems of improving the living conditions of citizens of the USSR, a bet was placed on mass development. As a result, the architecture of the late USSR lost various decorative features architectural elements, such as stucco molding, columns, arches and others. So-called peeling houses appeared. In response to the typical development of Russian cities, Eldar Ryazanov’s film “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!” was released on television.

Currently, along with standard projects for the construction of mass housing, individual projects of residential buildings are also used.

Russian theatrical art is one of the most promising in the world. Russia has world-famous theaters, such as the Mariinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi and the Maly Theatres.

Developed and popular in Russia circus art. Among famous artists circus: clowns Yuri Nikulin, “Pencil”, Oleg Popov; magicians (illusionists) Emil Kio and Igor Kio, trainers Vladimir Durov, brothers Edgard and Askold Zapashny.

Cinema

Already in April 1896, 4 months after the first Parisian cinematic sessions, the first cinematographic devices appeared in Russia. On May 4 (16), 1896, the first demonstration of the “Lumiere cinematograph” in Russia took place in the Aquarium theater of the St. Petersburg garden - several films were shown to the public during the intermission between the second and third acts of the vaudeville “Alfred Pasha in Paris.” In May, Camille Cerf carried out the first documentary filming in Russia of the celebrations in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. Film screenings quickly became a fashionable entertainment, and permanent cinemas began to appear in many large cities of Russia. The first permanent cinema opened in St. Petersburg in May 1896 at 46 Nevsky Prospekt.

The first Russian feature films were film adaptations of fragments of classical works of Russian literature (“Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov”, “The Idiot”, “The Bakhchisarai Fountain”), folk songs(“Uhar the Merchant”) or illustrated episodes from Russian history (“The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” “Peter the Great”). In 1911, the first full-length film in Russia, “The Defense of Sevastopol,” was released, jointly directed by Alexander Khanzhonkov and Vasily Goncharov.

In 1913, on the wave of the general rise of the Russian economy, the rapid growth of the cinematographic industry began, new companies were formed - including the largest film company of I. N. Ermolyev, among whose more than 120 films were produced such significant films as “ Queen of Spades"(1916) and "Father Sergius" (published in 1918) by Yakov Protazanov. The period of the First World War marked the heyday of artistic Russian cinema. During this period, the outstanding film stylist Evgeniy Bauer shot his main films, Vladimir Gardin and Vyacheslav Viskovsky were actively working.

After the collapse of the USSR, cinema in Russia is experiencing a crisis: many film studios are experiencing financial difficulties. Film products produced in Russia are strongly influenced by American films. In the 1990s, the number of big-budget films was not large (pictures such as The Barber of Siberia and Russian Riot appeared). In the era of the 2000s, against the backdrop of economic growth, there was a qualitative and quantitative growth in the film industry.

Films produced in Russia and its predecessor countries are winners of major international film festivals, such as Berlin, Cannes, Venice, and Moscow.

Every year dozens of film festivals are held in Russia, among which the largest are the Moscow Film Festival (accreditation International Federation Association of Film Producers) and Kinotavr.

Animation

Soviet animation is known all over the world, distinguished by its use pastel colors, spirituality, kindness of content, the presence of a strong educational component. Thousands of cartoons were produced at the most famous studios of the USSR and Russia (Soyuzmultfilm, Tsentrnauchfilm, Kievnauchfilm).

Film experts date the first Russian cartoon “Pierrot the Artists” to 1906, filmed by a choreographer Mariinsky Theater Alexander Shiryaev.

The cartoon “Hedgehog in the Fog” by Yuri Norshtein was recognized in Tokyo in 2003 best cartoon of all times and peoples according to the results of a survey of 140 film critics and animators from different countries.

Wooden church in Kizhi

Paganism

Before the baptism of Rus' (988), pagan cults dominated the Russian Plain, which were characterized by polytheism, animism, the cult of ancestors, spirits and forces of nature. Many relics of paganism are preserved in the folk religion of Russians down to the present day, especially in rural areas (primarily elements of funeral and memorial rites). Many non-Slavic peoples of Russia retained their ethnic religions, in particular shamanism, up to the 19th-20th centuries.

Christianity

Orthodoxy

Orthodox Christianity is the most widespread religion in modern Russia. Came to Rus' from Byzantium.

Catholicism

Traditionally, Catholicism (not including Greek Catholics in western Ukraine and Belarus) in Russia (Russian Empire) was practiced by Russian subjects of Polish, German, Lithuanian and Latvian origin.

Since the late 1980s, there has been some growth in adherence among people without historical or family ties to Catholicism.

Protestantism

Protestantism was introduced by merchants, soldiers and other visiting professionals from Germany shortly after the Reformation. The first Lutheran church appeared in Moscow already in 1576. Immigration of Protestants from Europe continued into the future. In addition, Protestantism was historically widespread in the north-west of the country among the local population in the territories conquered from Sweden as a result of the Northern and Russian-Swedish wars. Restrictions (“golden cage”) on the part of the authorities, in particular, a strict ban on preaching in Russian, led to the closure of traditional Protestant communities along national lines and persecution of the disseminators of new teachings, such as Shtunda, and then Baptism.

With the revival of churches after the collapse of the USSR, traditional Protestant communities, which were previously ethnic (German, Estonian, Swedish, Finnish, etc.), are often replenished with people with completely different roots, in particular Russians, which is caused, on the one hand, by the strong the decline of ethnic Germans and Finns due to repression and mass emigration, on the other hand, the attractiveness of the faith and the favorable climate in the parishes. The activity of new movements, in particular American ones, such as Pentecostals, is also noticeable.

The number of Protestants in Russia cannot be determined accurately. According to various sources, from 2% to 4% of the population consider themselves Protestants, while from 0.6% to 1.5% actively participate in religious life. This means that, according to a rough estimate, every hundredth inhabitant of the country is a conscientious Protestant. The most common are Baptists, whose congregations are estimated at at least 100,000 people.

As a notable contribution of Protestants to the culture of Russia, one can note the custom of erecting a New Year tree.

According to experts (the question of religious affiliation was not asked during the last census), there are up to 14.5 million Muslims in Russia, if we count the total number of peoples historically associated with Islam. According to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of the Russian Federation, about 20 million Muslims live in Russia. However, sociologist Roman Silantiev considers these data to be clearly overestimated and estimates the real number of Muslims at 11-12 million people, which is not plausible, given that there are 16.2 million people from the Caucasus alone in Russia. [unauthorized source? 256 days]

The majority of Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the North Caucasus, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Western Siberia. There are more than 6,000 mosques in Russia (in 1991 there were about a hundred).

Buddhism is traditional in three regions of Russia: Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia. According to the Buddhist Association of Russia, the number of people professing Buddhism is 1.5-2 million people.

Currently, many Buddhist schools are represented in Russia: Theravada, Japanese and Korean Zen, several directions of Mahayana and almost all schools of Tibetan Buddhism existing in the world.

The world's northernmost Buddhist Datsan, built before the Revolution in Petrograd (Datsan Gunzechoinei), now serves as a tourist and religious center of Russian Buddhist culture. Preparations are underway to build a Buddhist temple in Moscow, which could unite Russian Buddhists around itself in joint practice for the benefit of all intelligent beings of Russia and the world.

The number of Jews is about 1.5 million. Of these, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR), about 500 thousand live in Moscow, and about 170 thousand live in St. Petersburg. There are about 70 synagogues in Russia.

Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine, like Russian culture, is a two-part entity. The first, and most significant, part of it is Russian cuisine, based on the Slavic traditions of Rus' with introduced borrowings from other peoples, which over time became part of the unified Russian state. In addition, the nobility, the intelligentsia and other people who had the opportunity to travel abroad, as well as foreigners, introduced many elements of foreign cuisine into modern mass Russian cuisine.

The second direction of Russian cuisine relates to national traditions peoples and nationalities living in Russia. The cuisine of each nation has its own unique dishes and methods of preparing them, based on products cultivated and collected since ancient times in a given territory, made using original kitchen utensils. Combined with local customs, religious rituals and the opportunity to interact with modern civilization, the cuisines of the peoples of Russia make an invaluable contribution to its cultural heritage.

Among the most famous dishes of Russian cuisine are borscht, vinaigrettes, pies, pancakes, cheesecakes, cabbage soup, kvass, fruit drinks and others.

Drinking culture

In Russia, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is an acute social problem; it is worth noting that the consumption of strong and other alcohol in large quantities began after the opening of drinking establishments during the reign of Peter I. Before this, alcohol consumption was extremely insignificant.

The consumption of alcoholic beverages has given Russia serious social problems associated with alcoholism and drunkenness.

However, in terms of alcohol consumption per capita, Russia is in 18th place, behind countries such as Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Germany. At the same time, the diet is significantly different - for example, in Europe dry red wines predominate, and in Russia - vodka and beer.

Sports of Russia

Traditionally, in Russian culture there are two directions for the development of sports: sports of great achievements and physical education.

Both areas are actively developing in Russia. Many sports schools are leading in the world, which proves their high achievements at the most prestigious sports competitions, such as the Olympic Games, World and European Championships. Physical education and a healthy lifestyle are promoted in the country. For example, mass sports competitions are held, such as “Cross of Nations” and “Russian Ski Track”.

And also in Russia there are developed traditions of empathy for participants in sports competitions. The most popular among fans are team winter and summer species sports such as football, hockey, basketball and others. Individual summer and winter sports, such as biathlon, tennis, boxing and others, are also popular.

Culture of the peoples of Russia

Russia is multinational state. In addition to Russians, who make up more than 80 percent of the population, the Russian Federation is home to about 180 other peoples. The most noticeable influence was exerted by the culture based on the Russian language, but the cultural heritage of other peoples also plays a role in the development of society. Russian culture.

State policy of the Russian Federation in the field of culture

On December 24, 2014, for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin No. 808 approved the “Fundamentals of the State Cultural Policy of the Russian Federation” (OGKP RF), prepared by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

In the introduction of this document(OGKP RF) says:

“Russia is a country of great culture, enormous cultural heritage, centuries-old cultural traditions and inexhaustible creative potential.

Due to its geographical location, multinationality, multiconfessionalism, Russia has developed and is developing as a country uniting two worlds - East and West. The historical path of Russia has determined its cultural identity, the peculiarities of the national mentality, and the value foundations of the life of Russian society.

A unique historical experience of mutual influence, mutual enrichment, and mutual respect of different cultures has been accumulated - Russian statehood has been naturally built on this for centuries.

Key, unifying role in historical consciousness multinational Russian people belongs to the Russian language, the great Russian culture.

Orthodoxy played a special role in the formation of Russia’s value system. Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, other religions and beliefs, traditional for our Fatherland, also contributed to the formation of the national and cultural identity of the peoples of Russia. Neither religion nor nationality divide and should not divide the peoples of Russia...

The culture of Russia is as much its heritage as its natural resources. In the modern world, culture is becoming a significant resource for socio-economic development, allowing us to ensure the leading position of our country in the world.”

The section “Traditional and non-traditional values” of the document (OGKP RF) touches on the topic of preserving a single cultural space in Russia, which requires a waiver of state support cultural projects, imposing alien values:

“...Those whose activities contradict cultural norms, have no reason to qualify for government funding - no matter how brilliant they consider themselves. The ideology of “multiculturalism,” whose destructive effects have already been experienced by Western Europe, is not for Russia.”

- “Fundamentals of the state cultural policy of the Russian Federation” (approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin No. 808 of December 24, 2014).

On September 19, 2013, at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club on the topic “Russia’s diversity for the modern world,” Vladimir Putin discussed, in particular, multiculturalism:

“... We see how many Euro-Atlantic countries have actually taken the path of abandoning their roots, including Christian values, which form the basis of Western civilization. They deny moral principles and any traditional identity: national, cultural, religious or even gender. A policy is being pursued that puts large families and same-sex partnerships, faith in God or faith in Satan on the same level. The excesses of political correctness go so far that there is serious talk about registering parties whose goal is to promote pedophilia. People in many European countries are ashamed and afraid to talk about their religious affiliation. Holidays are even canceled or called something else, bashfully hiding the very essence of this holiday - moral basis these holidays. And they are trying to aggressively impose this model on everyone, the whole world. I am convinced that this is a direct path to degradation and primitivization, a deep demographic and moral crisis...”

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.

About Russia as a civilization, the document (OGKP RF), in particular, says:

“... Humanity is a collection of large communities that differ from each other in their attitude to the surrounding world, their value systems and, accordingly, their culture. To designate these communities, different authors use the terms “superethnos”, “culture”, “civilization”.

Examples include the modern West, or the Islamic world, or China - the differences between them are quite obvious.

Russia, within the framework of this approach, is considered as a unique and original civilization, not reducible to either the “West” or the “East”. Not to “Eurasia”, understood as a kind of bridge between neighbors “on the left” and “on the right” ... "

- “Fundamentals of the state cultural policy of the Russian Federation” (approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin No. 808 of December 24, 2014).

On April 19, 2014, even at the stage of discussion of the project “Fundamentals of the State Cultural Policy of the Russian Federation” (OGKP RF), the foreign media could not do without criticism of the project, where the main thesis of the document declared the expression “Russia is not Europe”, allegedly confirmed by the whole history of the country and people, as well as numerous cultural and civilizational differences between representatives of Russian (Russian) culture and other communities