Russian interregnum of 1825
Encyclopedia
The Russian interregnum of 1825 began with the death of Alexander I
in Taganrog
and lasted until the accession of Nicholas I
and the suppression of the Decembrist revolt
on . In 1823 Alexander secretly removed his brother Constantine
from the order of succession
and appointed Nicholas heir presumptive
. Unprecedented secrecy backfired with a dynastic crisis that placed the whole House of Romanov at peril. Only three men, apart from Alexander himself, were fully aware of his decision, and none of them was present in the Winter Palace
when the news of Alexander's death reached Saint Petersburg
on 1825.
Military governor Mikhail Miloradovich
persuaded hesitant Nicholas to pledge allegiance to Constantine, who then lived in Warsaw
as the viceroy of Poland. The State Council
, faced with a legal Gordian Knot
, concurred with Miloradovich; the civil government and the troops stationed in Saint Petersburg recognized Constantine as their sovereign – a sovereign who did not intend to reign. As The Times of London
observed, the Russian Empire had "two self-denying Emperors and no active ruler". Correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw, carried by mounted messengers, took two weeks. Constantine repeated his renunciation of the crown and blessed Nicholas as his sovereign but refused to come to Saint Petersburg, leaving the dangerous task of resolving the crisis to Nicholas alone.
Evidence of the brewing Decembrist revolt
compelled Nicholas to act. In the first hour of he proclaimed himself Emperor of All the Russias. By noon the civil government and most of the troops of Saint Petersburg pledged allegiance to Nicholas but the Decembrists incited three thousand soldiers in support of Constantine and took a stand on Senate Square. Nicholas crushed the revolt at a cost of 1,271 lives and became an undisputed sovereign. He ruled the empire in an authoritative reactionary manner for 29 years.
The first historic study of the interregnum, Modest von Korff's Accession of Nicholas I, was commissioned by Nicholas himself. Memoirists, historians and fiction authors sought alternative explanations of the apparently irrational behaviour of the Romanovs. Conspiracy theorists
named Alexander, Nicholas, Miloradovich and Empress dowager
Maria, alone or in various alliances, as the driving forces behind the events of November-December 1825.
Alexander I of Russia
, the elder of four sons of Paul I
, had no male issue; his legitimate daughters died in infancy. According to the 1797 Pauline Laws
his childless brother Constantine had been heir presumptive
since Alexander's accession. The third brother, Nicholas
, followed him in the order of succession
. Constantine and his legitimate wife Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
separated in 1799. Juliane returned to Germany and resisted any proposals to restore the family. Constantine, engaged in the action of the Napoleonic Wars
, did not attempt a formal divorce until meeting Joanna Grudzińska
. Their love affair that began in 1815 compelled Constantine to divorce Juliane and marry Joanna.
Constantine divorced Juliane in absentia
on , 1820. On the same day Alexander appended the Pauline Laws with a principle that a marriage between a member of the House of Romanov and a person of lesser standing could not confer on the latter the rights of the House, and that their offspring were barred from the order of succession. On the same year Constantine married Joanna, who was created Duchess of Łowicz. Constantine had no intention of ruling the Empire and retired to Warsaw as the viceroy of Congress Poland
. According to Nicholas, Alexander told him of Constantine's decision to abdicate in 1819. According to Michael
, the youngest of four brothers, he learned about it from Constantine in the summer of 1821. In both cases the speakers emphasized extreme secrecy of the matter.
Korff wrote that Constantine's renunciation "was completed or, at all events, received its final arrangement" in the very end of 1821 when all four brothers reunited in Saint Petersburg. On , 1822 Constantine sent "a humble petition" to Alexander, expressing his wish to pass the rights to the throne to the next in line, Nicholas. Two weeks later Alexander wrote to Constantine that the matter was still not resolved. The closing paragraph was especially ambiguous and could have been interpreted as leaving the final outcome in Constantine's hands: "It therefore remains to herself [Empress Maria] as well as to me ... to leave you fully at liberty to execute your irrevocable determination...".
to draft a formal manifest that would seal the "final arrangement" made a year and a half earlier. Alexander's usual speechwriter Mikhail Speransky
was cut out the loop. Golitsyn instructed Filaret to lock the signed manifest, in utmost secrecy, in the sanctuary
of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Filaret feared that a document locked in Moscow could not influence the transfer of power to the successor, which would normally take place in Saint Petersburg, and objected to Alexander. The tsar reluctantly agreed and ordered Golitsyn to make three copies and deposit them in sealed envelopes in the Synod
, the Senate
and the State Council
in Saint Petersburg. Although Filaret insisted that at least the existence of these envelopes must be made known to reliable witnesses, the whole affair "has been preserved as in a tomb, the Imperial secret involving the existence of the empire".
Alexander signed the manifest in Tsarskoye Selo
on , 1823 and brought it to Moscow himself on . According to Alexander's handwriting on the envelope it was "to be opened by the Diocesan of the See of Moscow and the General-Governor of Moscow in the cathedral of Assumption, before taking any other steps." Four days later Filaret took the envelope inside the cathedral, showed Alexander's seal to three priests and locked the Manifest in the altar
. Governor of Moscow Dmitry Golitsyn remained unaware of the affair altogether.
The "Saint Petersburg copies", handwritten by Alexander Golitsyn and bearing Alexander's own handwriting on the envelopes, were filed three months later, raising short-lived speculations among the "completely ignorant dignitaries". Apart from Alexander, only Aleksey Arakcheyev
, Alexander Golitsyn and Filaret were certainly aware of the existence, contents and location of the manifest and its copies. According to Korff, Empress Maria was actively engaged in the events of 1821–1822 and knew of the "final arrangement" but not its implementation. Constantine, Nicholas, Michael and Alexander's wife Elisabeth knew even less. The reasons for unprecedented secrecy are unknown. Nicholas's bad reputation among the troops is a common explanation. Anatole Mazour wrote that Nicholas was "unacceptable to political circles and most unpleasant to military men"; as the inspector of the Guards he "aroused both the displeasures of higher officers and the hatred of the privates"; but Mazour also admitted that Constantine was "scarcely more agreeable to the military men". Riasanovsky suggested that Alexander wanted to retain freedom to change the 1823 at will.
the Russian economy, ravaged by the Continental System
and Napoleon's invasion, slid into a continuous economic crisis. Grain exports were high in 1816–1817, but in 1818–1819 Western European crops recovered and Russian exports plummeted. Landed gentry tried to restore lost income through enclosure
s and driving away redundant serf peasants
, but Alexander outlawed "emancipation" of serfs without land. Economic downfall fuelled radical opposition inside Russian nobility
: "it was Alexander's failures to live up to their hopes that led them to take on the task to themselves".
The imperial treasury was bankrupted by rising state debt and falling revenues. Alexander was aware of the crisis but never tackled its root cause, the oversized peacetime army of 800,000 men. Alexander expected future wars in Southern Europe and the Middle East, and feared that mass dismissal of veteran soldiers will cause insurrection. He could not let them go: they were not needed in their native villages, and there were no jobs in the cities. Instead of reducing the army to an affordable peacetime size, Alexander tried to cut spending through the establishment of self-sustaining military settlement
s, which failed "from start to finish". He replaced expensive field maneuvers
with drill exercise and parades, alienating experienced commanders and contributing to dissatisfaction of the nobility.
The first secret organization
aspiring to change the system was formed by the veterans of Napoleonic Wars in February 1816. Their aims varied from establishing a constitutional monarchy
to "getting rid of foreigners and alien influence". Some even considered murdering Alexander I after Sergey Trubetskoy
reported a rumour that Alexander was planning to incorporate western provinces
into Congress Poland
. In 1818 the organization was reformed into the Union of Prosperity
. In the same year Pavel Pestel
, the most radical conspirator, relocated to Ukraine
and began actively recruiting Army officers, the core of the future Southern Society.
In January 1821 internal conflicts between the radical South and the aristocratic North led to the dissolution of the Union of Prosperity. Members of the Northern Society indulged in writing elaborate aristocratic constitutions
while Pestel and his ring settled on changing the regime by military force. Pestel's own political program, influenced by Destutt de Tracy
, Adam Smith
, Baron d'Holbach
and Jeremy Bentham
envisioned "one nation, one government, one language" for the whole country, a uniform Russian-speaking entity with no concessions to ethnic or religious minorities, even the Finns or the Mongols
. Contrary to the aspirations of the Northern Society, Pestel planned to reduce the influence of landed and financial aristocracy, "the main obstacle to national welfare that could be eliminated only under a republican form of government."
Pestel's influence gradually radicalized the Northern Society and helped in bringing the two groups together. Twice, in 1823 and 1824, the North and the South planned joint strikes against Alexander. The Southern terrorists subscribed to kidnap or kill Alexander during military maneuvers, the North was tasked with inciting revolt in Saint Petersburg. In both cases Alexander changed his itinerary and evaded the rebels. His informers reported a fragmented picture of the conspiracy; Alexander had no secret police
and managed the investigation personally on ad hoc
basis. Pestel's third plan shifted the center of insurgence to Saint Petersburg but the death of Alexander caught the conspirators unprepared.
treatment in Taganrog
, then a "rather agreeable town" on the coast of Sea of Azov
. Golitsyn pleaded with Alexander to publish the secret manifest of 1823 but the emperor refused: "Let us rely on God. He will know how to order things better than us mortals." The statesmen who accompanied Alexander – Pyotr Volkonsky
, Hans Karl von Diebitsch
and Alexander Chernyshyov
– were not aware of the manifest.
Alexander and Elizabeth traveled to the south separately; he reached Taganrog , she ten days later. Their relations had considerably improved since the death of Alexander's illegitimate daughter Sophie Naryshkina in June 1824. The reunion in Taganrog, according to Volkonsky, became the couple's second honeymoon (Wortman noted that this and similar sentimental opinions, influenced by Nicholas's propaganda, should not be taken literally).
After a stay with Elizabeth Alexander left Taganrog on a tour of Crimea
that was cut short by a bout of "bilious remittent fever" that struck Alexander in Alupka
. Return to Taganrog brought no improvement; on November 10 Alexander lost consciousness for the first time. He "strenuously refused all medical assistance" of his Scottish
physician James Wylie. Diebitch reported the state of Alexander's health to Constantine in Warsaw. The disease consumed Alexander and on it seemed that he was in terminal agony. Only then did Diebitsch and Volkonsky notify the court in Saint Peterburg of the inevitable.
Alexander struggled for two more days and passed away at 10:50 . At the moment of Alexander's demise, Constantine and Michael stayed in Warsaw, Nicholas and Empress Maria in Saint Petersburg. Of the three men entrusted with full knowledge of Alexander's manifest, only Golitsyn was present in Saint Petersburg.
Diebitsch promptly dispatched a courier to His Majesty Emperor Constantine in Warsaw; a second courier left for Saint Petersburg with a letter for Empress Maria. The courier to Warsaw, owing to shorter distance and better roads, arrived at Constantine's palace two days ahead of the courier sent to Saint Petersburg. Constantine and Michael received the news in the evening of . Constantine immediately assembled his court and publicly renounced any claims to the throne. He spent all night drafting the responses to Diebitsch and to His Majesty Emperor Nicholas and Empress Maria in Saint Petersburg. The messenger, Grand Duke Michael, left Warsaw after dinner on .
In the evening of Governor-General of Saint Petersburg Mikhail Miloradovich
brought the news of Alexander's terminal illness to Nicholas. News of Alexander's death arrived in Saint Petersburg on . After a brief meeting with his mother Nicholas publicly pledged his oath to Emperor Constantine. The public took it for granted, Maria was startled: "Nicholas, what have you done? Didn't you know that you are heir presumptive
?" The oath sparked an uprecedented dynastic crisis: two principal contenders forfeited their rights in favor of each other in "a hitherto unheard-of struggle — a struggle not for the acquisition of power, but for its renunciation!". The throne remained vacant.
Nicholas took the secret of his decision to his grave. According to Korff, Nicholas did not know the provisions of the 1823 manifest and merely executed his legal and moral obligations. According to Sergey Trubetskoy
, Nicholas was well aware of his rights but Miloradovich and general Alexander Voinov compelled him to step back. They met with Nicholas late in the evening of December 7. Miloradovich argued that Nicholas can not reign unless Constantine abdicates in public as a reigning Emperor. Independent action by Nicholas, said Miloradovich, will provoke a civil war because the troops will stand for Constantine. Nicholas reluctantly submitted to the military opposition. Schilder, Hugh Seton-Watson
, Gordin, Andreeva accepted Trubetskoy's account as genuine. Safonov dismissed it as disinformation planted by Nicholas to justify his moment of weakness.
Miloradovich temporarily assumed dictator
ial power. From this moment and until the outbreak of the Decembrist revolt Miloradovich maintained a confident demeanor and persuaded Nicholas that "the city is quiet and tranquil" despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Immediately after Nicholas's oath to Constantine Miloradovich instructed military commanders to administer oath in their units. Miloradovich broke the law twice: by initiating oath without Constantine's own accession manifest, and by intiating oath in the troops before the civil government was sworn in.
Miloradovich also took care of the original Manifest. His messenger arrived in Moscow on , and informed governor Dmitry Golitsyn that Constantine is now Emperor, that the city administration must be sworn immediately and that "a certain packet which has been deposited in 1823 in the Cathedral" must remain sealed. Filaret objected but was compelled to accept the facts. Moscow was sworn to Constantine , the 1st Army in Mogilev
on .
opposed, insisting on the legality of oath to Constantine, but the majority temporarily leaned towards Golitsyn's stance.
Miloradovich, again, interfered in favor of Constantine. According to Trubetskoy, who attended at the Council meeting, the Manifest was presented as Alexander's will
, rather than a law
. Miloradovich argued that the Emperor may not appoint a successor through a will that contradicts pre-existing laws of succession; the Council can examine the will but may not act upon it. According to Korff, the Council opened the secret envelope and read the manifest, but Miloradovich barred further talks with an argument that the manifest was already void: "Nicholas has solemnly renounced the right conferred upon him by the said Manifest."
Council members suddenly found themselves in an inconvenient position of "a state authority rather than His Majesty's chancery
". Instead of acting on their own they herded into Nicholas' waiting room. Nicholas once again repeated his refusal of the throne and personally administered the council members' oath to Constantine. By the end of the day the case appeared to be closed and couriers rushed the news of Constantine's accession to all corners of the empire.
Government officials of all ranks expected the new tsar just as eagerly. On Minister of Finance Georg von Cancrin
ordered minting
of a new coin
bearing the profile of Emperor and Autocrat Constantine. Cancrin attended the November 27 meeting of the State Council and was fully aware of the unfolding controversy, yet acted in confidence that Constantine was the emperor. This confidence persisted despite the suspicious silence of Grand Duke Michael and his retinue. Michael did not pledge allegiance to Constantine and evaded all inquiries about His Majesty. Rumours and speculations made Michael's presence in the palace intolerable and the family council dominated by Empress Maria decided that he must return to Warsaw and personally persuade Constantine to come to Saint Petersburg.
Maria gave Michael a mandate to intercept and read all letters that Constantine could send to her. Michael met with Constantine's courier at Nennal
on . He understood that his mission could not change Constantine's will and decided that he might be more useful to the House in Saint Petersburg rather than Warsaw. He was not mistaken; his arrival in Saint Petersburg on the day of Decembrist revolt became a vital factor in persuading the troops in favor of Nicholas.
and handwritten by Chernyshyov
, was addressed to His Majesty Emperor Constantine – one copy to Saint Petersburg, another one to Warsaw. Hesitating Nicholas opened the package and "was overwhelmed with unspeakable horror" of the conspiracy among his own Guards. Diebitsch was confident in containing mutiny in his troops but, as for the rebels in Saint Peterburg and Moscow, he could only provide names.
Nicholas, still hoping to "conceal the whole affair in the closest secrecy" particularly from his mother, summoned Miloradovich and Alexander Golitsyn – the men who already earned his displeasure but whose offices were vital in maintaining order. A quick search for the people named by Diebitsch brought no result: all were away on furlough
, said Miloradovich, and again assured Nicholas that "the city is tranquil". In fact, one person named in the report, cornet
Svistunov, was present in Saint Peterburg and actively coordinated the rebels.
At 9 p.m. of the same day Nicholas received a cryptic and threatening message from Yakov Rostovtsev
. Rostovtsev's report did not call any names but threatened Nicholas with a multitude of disasters. Surprisingly well informed about the correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw, Rostovtsev advised Nicholas to go to Warsaw himself rather than wait for Constantine. His report, "a candle to the Lord and to Satan", sounded like ultimatum
: "You have seriously irritated a great number against you. In the name of your own glory I entreat you not to hasten to reign." Nicholas did not heed Rostovtsev's proposals which ran completely contrary to his plans. In another irrational twist, he treated Rostovtsev with respect and affection, and shielded him from prosecution.
". Nicholas sent a courier for Michael and summoned Nikolay Karamzin to prepare the draft of his accession manifest. He then summoned three key officials representing the Church, the Guards and the civil government, and ordered them to convene State Council meeting at 8 p.m. of the next day. The timing, thought Nicholas, allowed just enough time to bring in Michael, the living proof of his good faith. The rest of the government, and most importantly the troops, were to be sworn on the following morning. Nicholas wrote: "On the 14th I will be Emperor or dead."
Twenty-three members of the State Council arrived in due time but Nicholas delayed the announcement for hours, waiting for Michael. Soon after midnight, in the very beginning of , Nicholas realized that no more delays were possible, and walked into the Council hall alone. He "seated himself in the place of the President" and read his accession manifest. This, according to Korff, was the first ever precedent when the State Council convened at night. Nicholas went at lengths in explaining how the legal uncertainty set by Alexander lured him into pledging allegiance to Constantine. He specifically required "that the time of Our accession to the Throne be counted from the 19th day of November 1825", the day of Alexander's death, sealing the fact that Constantine had never reigned and that the oath to Constantine was merely a misunderstanding rectified by Nicholas. The State Council accepted the fact without further discussion and was dismissed at about 1 a.m.
: the sun rose at 9:04 and set at 2:58. Nicholas assembled military commanders before sunrise. He again explained the background and motives for his decision. There were no objections, and the officers left to administer oath to Nicholas in their units.
Miloradovich did not attend this meeting. He arrived at the palace later and again assured Nicholas of "calm and tranquility", dismissing available intelligence. His police spectacularly failed in "a concurrence of other strange blunders, which it is difficult to explain at present". Nicholas made a blunder of his own, by not printing and distributing copies of the Manifest and thus contributing to the rising agitation among civilians. Decembrists were disorganized: their "dictator" Sergey Trubetskoy did not show up at all, "the bravest men among the leaders developed an apathy and unwonted lack of nerve." Like the tsar, they did not attempt to recruit civilian masses.
Oath in the troops proceeded smoothly until the men of Horse Artillery Regiment demanded personal assurance from Grand Duke Michael. Michael had just arrived in Saint Petersburg and Nicholas immediately sent him to speak to the troops. At about noon Nicholas learned of the greater threat, the insurrection of the Moscow Regiment. Shouting "Hurrah for Constantine", the rebels took a stand in formation on the Senate Square, encouraged by the masses of civilians. By noon the rebel forces on the square counted three thousand men, against already present nine thousand loyalists. Nicholas was there, "pale, weary, and eager to settle the whole affair as soon as possible."
At around 12:30 Miloradovich tried to speak to the rebel troops and was fatally shot by Pyotr Kakhovsky and stabbed by Yevgeny Obolensky. Wilhelm Küchelbecker
attempted shooting Grand Duke Michael. Another negotiator, Metropolitan Serafim, was forced away from the square. Nicholas, still hoping to avoid bloodshed, ordered an intimidating cavalry charge
against the rebels. It miserably failed as horses lost balance and fell on icy pavement. As time passed by, civilians flooded the square, forming a dense circle around the loyalists troops. Nicholas feared that the mob may overwhelm his troops after sunset. Worse, he saw his own soldiers defecting to the rebels.
Generals pressed Nicholas for action, Karl Willhelm von Toll reproached him: "Let me clear the square with gunfire or abdicate!". At around 4 p.m. Nicholas ordered artillery fire against the rebels who did not dare to attack the batteries or otherwise change the outcome in their favour. Canister shot
s killed more civilians than rebel soldiers. Their flight from the square was checked by loyalist battalions blocking escape routes. Tsarist propaganda reported 80 dead, later studies counted at least 1,271 dead, 903 of them civilians of low birth.
and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin
ravaged Ukrainian
towns and evaded government troops until a defeat at Kovalivka on , 1826. Hugh Seton-Watson
wrote that it was "the first and the last political revolt by army officers"; Nicholas and his successors eradicated liberalism in the troops and secured their unconditional loyalty. Immediately after suppressing the revolt in Saint Petersburg Nicholas took control of the investigation. Of six hundred suspects 121 were put on trial. Five leaders were hanged, others exiled to Siberia
; Nicholas commuted
most sentences in a demonstration of good will, sending the least offenders to fight as soldiers in the Caucasian War
. Soldiers of the mutinous regiments were run through the gauntlet
. Some died, others ended up fighting in the Caucasus or exiled in Siberia. According to Anatole Mazour, the sentence was unusually harsh and revengeful; according to Seton-Watson, it was in line with European practice of the time, but nevertheless contributed to public perception of Nicholas as "a dark and sinister figure" and of the Decembrists as selfless martyrs.
"Challenge to Nicholas rule created an atmosphere of hostility, bitterness and fear ... it remained imprinted in Nicholas's mind as a traumatic moment that justified intensified surveillance and police persecution." Contrary to Alexander's public image of a liberal conqueror, Nicholas chose to present himself as the defender of order, a distinctively Russian nationalist
leader protecting the nation from foreign evils. Lack of public support encouraged Nicholas to stage grand ceremonial events; the whole reign was marked by sentimental "demonstrations of attachments and love" to the tsar "who had evoked only antipathy". He celebrated the day of his victory over the revolt with for the rest of his life, but the facts and analysis of 1825 events remained censored, contributing to the "Decembrist myth".
Nicholas studied the grievances exposed in the 1826 investigation and incorporated them in his own reform program. Despite his good intentions, his administration evolved into an overcentralized, oversized and incompetent system. Instead of managing the country for Nicholas, the system "loaded him with an innumerable magnitude of trivial affairs". It was infested with laziness, indifference and corruption on all levels, although Seton-Watson wrote that the degree of bureaucratic vice has been exaggerated by contemporary critics.
Constantine remained Viceroy of Poland until the November uprising
and died in 1831 of cholera. He was "the only person treated by Nicholas as his equal and associate rather than a servant." Nicholas and Michael remained close until Michael's death of a stroke
in 1849, although Michael's militarism and tyranny over subordinates regularly annoyed Nicholas.
, remains the mainstream version of the interregnum, but not the revolt. It was accepted in Imperial Russian (Schilder) and Soviet historiography
(Militsa Nechkina) and in Western academia (Anatole Mazour, Vladimir Nabokov
, Hugh Seton-Watson).
Memoirs of the Decembrists contradicted official history and each other. Sergey Trubetskoy
, referring to the first report of Alexander's terminal illness received in Saint Petersburg , wrote that "the thought of the successor frightened everybody because the successor was unknown." Andrey Rosen (1799–1884) wrote on the subject of Nicholas's oath to Constantine that "Count Miloradowitsch (sic) and Prince A. N. Galitzine, who knew the tenor of Alexander's will, exerted themselves in vain to prevent so doing, but Nicholas would not hear of any objection ... it was nevertheless everywhere known that Constantine has abdicated and that a will of Alexander's was in existence transferring the government to Nicholas... The members of the Senate knew that, since 1823, a will of Alexander's lay among their archives." Rosen also speculated that because Nicholas "knew all along of the existence of secret societies" he voluntarily stepped aside "to avoid in this way any occasion of disturbance and discontent."
Soviet historians concentrated on studies of the Decembrist movement and treated the interregnum as an insignificant episode in the grand picture of class struggle
. Interregnum resurfaced as an independent research topic in the 1970s. Historians, biographers and fiction authors sought alternative explanations of irrational events and named Alexander, Nicholas, Miloradovich and Empress Maria, alone or in various combinations, as the secret driving forces of the interregnum. None of these alternatives received wide support in academia.
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
and lasted until the accession of Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
and the suppression of the Decembrist revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
on . In 1823 Alexander secretly removed his brother Constantine
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
from the order of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
and appointed Nicholas heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
. Unprecedented secrecy backfired with a dynastic crisis that placed the whole House of Romanov at peril. Only three men, apart from Alexander himself, were fully aware of his decision, and none of them was present in the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
when the news of Alexander's death reached Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
on 1825.
Military governor Mikhail Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich , spelled Miloradovitch in contemporary English sources was a Russian general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. He entered military service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and his career advanced rapidly during the reign of Paul I...
persuaded hesitant Nicholas to pledge allegiance to Constantine, who then lived in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
as the viceroy of Poland. The State Council
State Council of Imperial Russia
The State Council was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia.-18th century:Early Tsars' Councils were small and dealt primarily with the external politics....
, faced with a legal Gordian Knot
Gordian Knot
The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem solved by a bold stroke :"Turn him to any cause of policy,...
, concurred with Miloradovich; the civil government and the troops stationed in Saint Petersburg recognized Constantine as their sovereign – a sovereign who did not intend to reign. As The Times of London
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed, the Russian Empire had "two self-denying Emperors and no active ruler". Correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw, carried by mounted messengers, took two weeks. Constantine repeated his renunciation of the crown and blessed Nicholas as his sovereign but refused to come to Saint Petersburg, leaving the dangerous task of resolving the crisis to Nicholas alone.
Evidence of the brewing Decembrist revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
compelled Nicholas to act. In the first hour of he proclaimed himself Emperor of All the Russias. By noon the civil government and most of the troops of Saint Petersburg pledged allegiance to Nicholas but the Decembrists incited three thousand soldiers in support of Constantine and took a stand on Senate Square. Nicholas crushed the revolt at a cost of 1,271 lives and became an undisputed sovereign. He ruled the empire in an authoritative reactionary manner for 29 years.
The first historic study of the interregnum, Modest von Korff's Accession of Nicholas I, was commissioned by Nicholas himself. Memoirists, historians and fiction authors sought alternative explanations of the apparently irrational behaviour of the Romanovs. Conspiracy theorists
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
named Alexander, Nicholas, Miloradovich and Empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
Maria, alone or in various alliances, as the driving forces behind the events of November-December 1825.
Four brothers
| Four sons of Paul I Paul I of Russia Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:... |
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| Alexander I of Russia Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania.... (1777–1825) |
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823... (1779–1831) |
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers... (1796–1855) |
Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia was the tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.-Marriage and issue:In St... (1798–1849) |
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, the elder of four sons of Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, had no male issue; his legitimate daughters died in infancy. According to the 1797 Pauline Laws
Pauline Laws
The Pauline Laws are the house laws of the House of Romanov of the Russian Empire. The name comes from the fact that they were initially established by Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797....
his childless brother Constantine had been heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
since Alexander's accession. The third brother, Nicholas
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, followed him in the order of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
. Constantine and his legitimate wife Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Juliane Henriette Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, was a German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld who became the wife of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia of...
separated in 1799. Juliane returned to Germany and resisted any proposals to restore the family. Constantine, engaged in the action of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, did not attempt a formal divorce until meeting Joanna Grudzińska
Joanna Grudzinska
Joanna Grudzińska was a Polish noble, a Princess of Łowicz and the second wife of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia, the de facto viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland...
. Their love affair that began in 1815 compelled Constantine to divorce Juliane and marry Joanna.
Constantine divorced Juliane in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
on , 1820. On the same day Alexander appended the Pauline Laws with a principle that a marriage between a member of the House of Romanov and a person of lesser standing could not confer on the latter the rights of the House, and that their offspring were barred from the order of succession. On the same year Constantine married Joanna, who was created Duchess of Łowicz. Constantine had no intention of ruling the Empire and retired to Warsaw as the viceroy of Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. According to Nicholas, Alexander told him of Constantine's decision to abdicate in 1819. According to Michael
Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia was the tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.-Marriage and issue:In St...
, the youngest of four brothers, he learned about it from Constantine in the summer of 1821. In both cases the speakers emphasized extreme secrecy of the matter.
Korff wrote that Constantine's renunciation "was completed or, at all events, received its final arrangement" in the very end of 1821 when all four brothers reunited in Saint Petersburg. On , 1822 Constantine sent "a humble petition" to Alexander, expressing his wish to pass the rights to the throne to the next in line, Nicholas. Two weeks later Alexander wrote to Constantine that the matter was still not resolved. The closing paragraph was especially ambiguous and could have been interpreted as leaving the final outcome in Constantine's hands: "It therefore remains to herself [Empress Maria] as well as to me ... to leave you fully at liberty to execute your irrevocable determination...".
Secret manifest
In the summer of 1823 minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Alexander Golitsyn, acting on behalf of Alexander, asked Archbishop of Moscow FilaretFilaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Filaret , Metropolitan of Moscow was the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867. He was canonized on 13 October 1994 and his feast day is celebrated on November 19.-Life:He was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov...
to draft a formal manifest that would seal the "final arrangement" made a year and a half earlier. Alexander's usual speechwriter Mikhail Speransky
Mikhail Speransky
Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky was probably the greatest of Russian reformers during the reign of Alexander I of Russia. He was a close advisor to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and later to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, he is sometimes called the father of Russian liberalism.-Early life and...
was cut out the loop. Golitsyn instructed Filaret to lock the signed manifest, in utmost secrecy, in the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Filaret feared that a document locked in Moscow could not influence the transfer of power to the successor, which would normally take place in Saint Petersburg, and objected to Alexander. The tsar reluctantly agreed and ordered Golitsyn to make three copies and deposit them in sealed envelopes in the Synod
Most Holy Synod
The Most Holy Governing Synod was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1918, when the Patriarchate was restored. The jurisdiction of the Most Holy Synod extended over every kind of ecclesiastical question and over some that are partly secular.The Synod was...
, the Senate
Governing Senate
The Governing Senate was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of Russian Monarchs, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the Russian Empire. It was chaired by the Ober-Procurator...
and the State Council
State Council of Imperial Russia
The State Council was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia.-18th century:Early Tsars' Councils were small and dealt primarily with the external politics....
in Saint Petersburg. Although Filaret insisted that at least the existence of these envelopes must be made known to reliable witnesses, the whole affair "has been preserved as in a tomb, the Imperial secret involving the existence of the empire".
Alexander signed the manifest in Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
on , 1823 and brought it to Moscow himself on . According to Alexander's handwriting on the envelope it was "to be opened by the Diocesan of the See of Moscow and the General-Governor of Moscow in the cathedral of Assumption, before taking any other steps." Four days later Filaret took the envelope inside the cathedral, showed Alexander's seal to three priests and locked the Manifest in the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
. Governor of Moscow Dmitry Golitsyn remained unaware of the affair altogether.
The "Saint Petersburg copies", handwritten by Alexander Golitsyn and bearing Alexander's own handwriting on the envelopes, were filed three months later, raising short-lived speculations among the "completely ignorant dignitaries". Apart from Alexander, only Aleksey Arakcheyev
Aleksey Arakcheyev
Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev was a Russian general and statesman under the reign of Alexander I.He served under Paul I and Alexander I as army leader and artillery inspector respectively. He had a violent temper, but was otherwise a competent artillerist, and is known for his...
, Alexander Golitsyn and Filaret were certainly aware of the existence, contents and location of the manifest and its copies. According to Korff, Empress Maria was actively engaged in the events of 1821–1822 and knew of the "final arrangement" but not its implementation. Constantine, Nicholas, Michael and Alexander's wife Elisabeth knew even less. The reasons for unprecedented secrecy are unknown. Nicholas's bad reputation among the troops is a common explanation. Anatole Mazour wrote that Nicholas was "unacceptable to political circles and most unpleasant to military men"; as the inspector of the Guards he "aroused both the displeasures of higher officers and the hatred of the privates"; but Mazour also admitted that Constantine was "scarcely more agreeable to the military men". Riasanovsky suggested that Alexander wanted to retain freedom to change the 1823 at will.
Conspiracy
After the end of the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the Russian economy, ravaged by the Continental System
Continental System
The Continental System or Continental Blockade was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a large-scale embargo against British trade, which began on November 21, 1806...
and Napoleon's invasion, slid into a continuous economic crisis. Grain exports were high in 1816–1817, but in 1818–1819 Western European crops recovered and Russian exports plummeted. Landed gentry tried to restore lost income through enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
s and driving away redundant serf peasants
Russian serfdom
The origins of serfdom in Russia are traced to Kievan Rus in the 11th century. Legal documents of the epoch, such as Russkaya Pravda, distinguished several degrees of feudal dependency of peasants, the term for an unfree peasant in the Russian Empire, krepostnoi krestyanin , is translated as serf.-...
, but Alexander outlawed "emancipation" of serfs without land. Economic downfall fuelled radical opposition inside Russian nobility
Russian nobility
The Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar. A nobleman is called dvoryanin...
: "it was Alexander's failures to live up to their hopes that led them to take on the task to themselves".
The imperial treasury was bankrupted by rising state debt and falling revenues. Alexander was aware of the crisis but never tackled its root cause, the oversized peacetime army of 800,000 men. Alexander expected future wars in Southern Europe and the Middle East, and feared that mass dismissal of veteran soldiers will cause insurrection. He could not let them go: they were not needed in their native villages, and there were no jobs in the cities. Instead of reducing the army to an affordable peacetime size, Alexander tried to cut spending through the establishment of self-sustaining military settlement
Military settlement
Military settlements represented a special organization of the Russian military forces in 1810–1857, which allowed the combination of military service and agricultural employment.-The beginning of the reform:...
s, which failed "from start to finish". He replaced expensive field maneuvers
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
with drill exercise and parades, alienating experienced commanders and contributing to dissatisfaction of the nobility.
The first secret organization
Union of Salvation
The Union of Salvation , also known as the Society of True and Loyal Sons of the Fatherland since 1817 was the first secret political society of the Decembrists.The Union of Salvation was founded in 1816 at the initiative of Alexander Nikolayevich Muravyov by a group of young...
aspiring to change the system was formed by the veterans of Napoleonic Wars in February 1816. Their aims varied from establishing a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
to "getting rid of foreigners and alien influence". Some even considered murdering Alexander I after Sergey Trubetskoy
Sergei Petrovich Troubetzkoy
Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he was declared the group's leader on the eve of the December 26 uprising in 1825 but failed to appear, and instead sought refuge in the Austrian...
reported a rumour that Alexander was planning to incorporate western provinces
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
into Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. In 1818 the organization was reformed into the Union of Prosperity
Union of Prosperity
The Union of Prosperity was a secret society of the Decembrists, established in early 1818 on the basis of the dissolved Union of Salvation.The members of the Union of Prosperity included Alexander Nikolayevich Muravyov, Nikita Muravyov, Sergey Muravyov-Apostol, Matvei Muravyov-Apostol, Pavel...
. In the same year Pavel Pestel
Pavel Pestel
Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel was a Russian revolutionary and ideologue of the Decembrists.In 1805-1809, Pavel Pestel studied in Dresden. In 1810-1811, he was a student at the Page Corps, from which he would graduate in the rank of praporshchik. Pestel was then sent to the Lithuanian Regiment of...
, the most radical conspirator, relocated to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and began actively recruiting Army officers, the core of the future Southern Society.
In January 1821 internal conflicts between the radical South and the aristocratic North led to the dissolution of the Union of Prosperity. Members of the Northern Society indulged in writing elaborate aristocratic constitutions
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
while Pestel and his ring settled on changing the regime by military force. Pestel's own political program, influenced by Destutt de Tracy
Destutt de Tracy
Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy was a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher who coined the term "ideology".-Life:The son of a distinguished soldier, Claude Destutt, he was born in Paris...
, Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
, Baron d'Holbach
Baron d'Holbach
Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach was a French-German author, philosopher, encyclopedist and a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich in Edesheim, near Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate, but lived and worked mainly in Paris, where he kept a salon...
and Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
envisioned "one nation, one government, one language" for the whole country, a uniform Russian-speaking entity with no concessions to ethnic or religious minorities, even the Finns or the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. Contrary to the aspirations of the Northern Society, Pestel planned to reduce the influence of landed and financial aristocracy, "the main obstacle to national welfare that could be eliminated only under a republican form of government."
Pestel's influence gradually radicalized the Northern Society and helped in bringing the two groups together. Twice, in 1823 and 1824, the North and the South planned joint strikes against Alexander. The Southern terrorists subscribed to kidnap or kill Alexander during military maneuvers, the North was tasked with inciting revolt in Saint Petersburg. In both cases Alexander changed his itinerary and evaded the rebels. His informers reported a fragmented picture of the conspiracy; Alexander had no secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
and managed the investigation personally on ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
basis. Pestel's third plan shifted the center of insurgence to Saint Petersburg but the death of Alexander caught the conspirators unprepared.
Death of Alexander
On , 1825 Alexander left Saint Petersburg to accompany the ailing Empress Elizabeth to spaSpa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
treatment in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
, then a "rather agreeable town" on the coast of Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
. Golitsyn pleaded with Alexander to publish the secret manifest of 1823 but the emperor refused: "Let us rely on God. He will know how to order things better than us mortals." The statesmen who accompanied Alexander – Pyotr Volkonsky
Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky
Knyaz/ Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky ) , Russian military commander, General-Field Marshal , Adjutant General to Alexander I, member of the State Council , His Serene Highness Knyaz/Prince .Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky was born in Saint Petersburg in 1776...
, Hans Karl von Diebitsch
Hans Karl von Diebitsch
Count Hans Karl Friedrich Anton von Diebitsch und Narden was a German-born soldier serving as Russian Field Marshal....
and Alexander Chernyshyov
Alexander Chernyshyov
Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov , General of Cavalry , was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career began in Napoleonic Wars. After Battle of Austerlitz, he performed successful diplomatic mission to France and Sweden and served with distinction in battles of 1812 and 1813...
– were not aware of the manifest.
Alexander and Elizabeth traveled to the south separately; he reached Taganrog , she ten days later. Their relations had considerably improved since the death of Alexander's illegitimate daughter Sophie Naryshkina in June 1824. The reunion in Taganrog, according to Volkonsky, became the couple's second honeymoon (Wortman noted that this and similar sentimental opinions, influenced by Nicholas's propaganda, should not be taken literally).
After a stay with Elizabeth Alexander left Taganrog on a tour of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
that was cut short by a bout of "bilious remittent fever" that struck Alexander in Alupka
Alupka
Alupka is a resort city located in Crimea, Ukraine, situated to the west of Yalta. It is famous for the Vorontsov's Palace, designed by English architect Edward Blore in an extravagant mixture of Scottish baronial and Neo-Moorish styles and built in 1828–1846 for prince Mikhail Semyonovich...
. Return to Taganrog brought no improvement; on November 10 Alexander lost consciousness for the first time. He "strenuously refused all medical assistance" of his Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
physician James Wylie. Diebitch reported the state of Alexander's health to Constantine in Warsaw. The disease consumed Alexander and on it seemed that he was in terminal agony. Only then did Diebitsch and Volkonsky notify the court in Saint Peterburg of the inevitable.
Alexander struggled for two more days and passed away at 10:50 . At the moment of Alexander's demise, Constantine and Michael stayed in Warsaw, Nicholas and Empress Maria in Saint Petersburg. Of the three men entrusted with full knowledge of Alexander's manifest, only Golitsyn was present in Saint Petersburg.
Diebitsch promptly dispatched a courier to His Majesty Emperor Constantine in Warsaw; a second courier left for Saint Petersburg with a letter for Empress Maria. The courier to Warsaw, owing to shorter distance and better roads, arrived at Constantine's palace two days ahead of the courier sent to Saint Petersburg. Constantine and Michael received the news in the evening of . Constantine immediately assembled his court and publicly renounced any claims to the throne. He spent all night drafting the responses to Diebitsch and to His Majesty Emperor Nicholas and Empress Maria in Saint Petersburg. The messenger, Grand Duke Michael, left Warsaw after dinner on .
Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich , spelled Miloradovitch in contemporary English sources was a Russian general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. He entered military service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and his career advanced rapidly during the reign of Paul I...
brought the news of Alexander's terminal illness to Nicholas. News of Alexander's death arrived in Saint Petersburg on . After a brief meeting with his mother Nicholas publicly pledged his oath to Emperor Constantine. The public took it for granted, Maria was startled: "Nicholas, what have you done? Didn't you know that you are heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
?" The oath sparked an uprecedented dynastic crisis: two principal contenders forfeited their rights in favor of each other in "a hitherto unheard-of struggle — a struggle not for the acquisition of power, but for its renunciation!". The throne remained vacant.
Nicholas took the secret of his decision to his grave. According to Korff, Nicholas did not know the provisions of the 1823 manifest and merely executed his legal and moral obligations. According to Sergey Trubetskoy
Sergei Petrovich Troubetzkoy
Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he was declared the group's leader on the eve of the December 26 uprising in 1825 but failed to appear, and instead sought refuge in the Austrian...
, Nicholas was well aware of his rights but Miloradovich and general Alexander Voinov compelled him to step back. They met with Nicholas late in the evening of December 7. Miloradovich argued that Nicholas can not reign unless Constantine abdicates in public as a reigning Emperor. Independent action by Nicholas, said Miloradovich, will provoke a civil war because the troops will stand for Constantine. Nicholas reluctantly submitted to the military opposition. Schilder, Hugh Seton-Watson
Hugh Seton-Watson
George Hugh Nicholas Seton-Watson , was a British historian and political scientist specializing in Russia.-Early life:...
, Gordin, Andreeva accepted Trubetskoy's account as genuine. Safonov dismissed it as disinformation planted by Nicholas to justify his moment of weakness.
Miloradovich temporarily assumed dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
ial power. From this moment and until the outbreak of the Decembrist revolt Miloradovich maintained a confident demeanor and persuaded Nicholas that "the city is quiet and tranquil" despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Immediately after Nicholas's oath to Constantine Miloradovich instructed military commanders to administer oath in their units. Miloradovich broke the law twice: by initiating oath without Constantine's own accession manifest, and by intiating oath in the troops before the civil government was sworn in.
Miloradovich also took care of the original Manifest. His messenger arrived in Moscow on , and informed governor Dmitry Golitsyn that Constantine is now Emperor, that the city administration must be sworn immediately and that "a certain packet which has been deposited in 1823 in the Cathedral" must remain sealed. Filaret objected but was compelled to accept the facts. Moscow was sworn to Constantine , the 1st Army in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
on .
State council
Alexander Golitsyn rushed to Nicholas as soon as learned of the fait accompli. Their meeting revealed the depth of the legal crisis that Nicholas has just made worse. Nicholas refused to act contrary to his oath to Constantine; both parties "separated with evident coolness". At 2 p.m. Golitsyn opened the extraordinary session of the State Council. He explained that a copy of Alexander's manifest, written by his own hand, was waiting for the occasion right there, in State Council files, and "bitterly deprecated the unnecessary precipitation in taking the oath". Minister of Justice Lobanov-Rostovsky and admiral ShishkovAlexander Shishkov
Alexander Semyonovich Shishkov was a Russian statesman, writer, and admiral.Shishkov was notorious for his proto-Slavophile sentiments. His aversion to loans from other languages was much ridiculed in the liberal press. He was the President of the Russian Academy and People's Education Minister...
opposed, insisting on the legality of oath to Constantine, but the majority temporarily leaned towards Golitsyn's stance.
Miloradovich, again, interfered in favor of Constantine. According to Trubetskoy, who attended at the Council meeting, the Manifest was presented as Alexander's will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, rather than a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. Miloradovich argued that the Emperor may not appoint a successor through a will that contradicts pre-existing laws of succession; the Council can examine the will but may not act upon it. According to Korff, the Council opened the secret envelope and read the manifest, but Miloradovich barred further talks with an argument that the manifest was already void: "Nicholas has solemnly renounced the right conferred upon him by the said Manifest."
Council members suddenly found themselves in an inconvenient position of "a state authority rather than His Majesty's chancery
Chancery (medieval office)
Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany,...
". Instead of acting on their own they herded into Nicholas' waiting room. Nicholas once again repeated his refusal of the throne and personally administered the council members' oath to Constantine. By the end of the day the case appeared to be closed and couriers rushed the news of Constantine's accession to all corners of the empire.
Indecision
Grand Duke Michael brought Constantine's letters to Saint Petersburg. Michael and Empress Maria persuaded Nicholas in the grave error he has made. Nicholas, now confident in his right to take the throne, realised that simply declaring himseltf emperor will, most likely, cause insurrection. The only choice left, it seemed, was to invite Constantine to Saint Petersburg and have him formally abdicate in public. On the same day courier rushed the invitation to Warsaw. Nicholas received a brief letter from Constantine, who firmly refused to travel to the capital, thus denying Nicholas any help in the succession crisis. "If everything is not arranged in accordance with our late Emperor's will", warned Constantine, "I shall remove into a still more distant retirement."Government officials of all ranks expected the new tsar just as eagerly. On Minister of Finance Georg von Cancrin
Georg von Cancrin
Count Yegor Frantsevich Kankrin was born Ludwig Daniel von Cancrin in Hanau. He accompanied his father, the mineralogist Franz Ludwig von Cancrin, to Russia in 1797, joining the imperial service and changing his name to Georg. In 1823, he was appointed Minister of Finance and held the office for...
ordered minting
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
of a new coin
Constantine ruble
The Constantine ruble is a rare silver coin of the Russian Empire bearing the profile of Constantine, the brother of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. It was prepared to be manufactured at the Saint Petersburg Mint during the brief Interregnum of 1825 but has never been minted in numbers and...
bearing the profile of Emperor and Autocrat Constantine. Cancrin attended the November 27 meeting of the State Council and was fully aware of the unfolding controversy, yet acted in confidence that Constantine was the emperor. This confidence persisted despite the suspicious silence of Grand Duke Michael and his retinue. Michael did not pledge allegiance to Constantine and evaded all inquiries about His Majesty. Rumours and speculations made Michael's presence in the palace intolerable and the family council dominated by Empress Maria decided that he must return to Warsaw and personally persuade Constantine to come to Saint Petersburg.
Maria gave Michael a mandate to intercept and read all letters that Constantine could send to her. Michael met with Constantine's courier at Nennal
Lohusuu Parish
Lohusuu Parish is an Estonian municipality located in Ida-Viru County. It has a population of 818 and an area of 102 km².- Villages :Jõemetsa - Kalmaküla - Kärasi - Ninasi - Piilsi - Raadna - Separa - Tammispää - Vilusi- External links :*...
on . He understood that his mission could not change Constantine's will and decided that he might be more useful to the House in Saint Petersburg rather than Warsaw. He was not mistaken; his arrival in Saint Petersburg on the day of Decembrist revolt became a vital factor in persuading the troops in favor of Nicholas.
Last warnings
At 6 a.m. Saturday, colonel Frederics brought Nicholas the "most urgent" report of the mounting conspiracy. The report, authored by DiebitschHans Karl von Diebitsch
Count Hans Karl Friedrich Anton von Diebitsch und Narden was a German-born soldier serving as Russian Field Marshal....
and handwritten by Chernyshyov
Alexander Chernyshyov
Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov , General of Cavalry , was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career began in Napoleonic Wars. After Battle of Austerlitz, he performed successful diplomatic mission to France and Sweden and served with distinction in battles of 1812 and 1813...
, was addressed to His Majesty Emperor Constantine – one copy to Saint Petersburg, another one to Warsaw. Hesitating Nicholas opened the package and "was overwhelmed with unspeakable horror" of the conspiracy among his own Guards. Diebitsch was confident in containing mutiny in his troops but, as for the rebels in Saint Peterburg and Moscow, he could only provide names.
Nicholas, still hoping to "conceal the whole affair in the closest secrecy" particularly from his mother, summoned Miloradovich and Alexander Golitsyn – the men who already earned his displeasure but whose offices were vital in maintaining order. A quick search for the people named by Diebitsch brought no result: all were away on furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
, said Miloradovich, and again assured Nicholas that "the city is tranquil". In fact, one person named in the report, cornet
Cornet (military rank)
Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
Svistunov, was present in Saint Peterburg and actively coordinated the rebels.
At 9 p.m. of the same day Nicholas received a cryptic and threatening message from Yakov Rostovtsev
Yakov Rostovtsev
Iakov Ivanovich Rostovtsev was a leading figure in the formulation of statutes which effectively emancipated the Russian serfs.Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Rostovtsev became a career soldier, and was a young officer at the time of the 1825 Decembrist revolt...
. Rostovtsev's report did not call any names but threatened Nicholas with a multitude of disasters. Surprisingly well informed about the correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw, Rostovtsev advised Nicholas to go to Warsaw himself rather than wait for Constantine. His report, "a candle to the Lord and to Satan", sounded like ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
: "You have seriously irritated a great number against you. In the name of your own glory I entreat you not to hasten to reign." Nicholas did not heed Rostovtsev's proposals which ran completely contrary to his plans. In another irrational twist, he treated Rostovtsev with respect and affection, and shielded him from prosecution.
Decision
In the afternoon of Nicholas received a letter from Constantine. Once again, Constantine refused to come to Saint Peterburg and blessed Nicholas onto the throne. The letter "terminated all indecision" and started the countdown of "a virtual coup d'etatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
". Nicholas sent a courier for Michael and summoned Nikolay Karamzin to prepare the draft of his accession manifest. He then summoned three key officials representing the Church, the Guards and the civil government, and ordered them to convene State Council meeting at 8 p.m. of the next day. The timing, thought Nicholas, allowed just enough time to bring in Michael, the living proof of his good faith. The rest of the government, and most importantly the troops, were to be sworn on the following morning. Nicholas wrote: "On the 14th I will be Emperor or dead."
Twenty-three members of the State Council arrived in due time but Nicholas delayed the announcement for hours, waiting for Michael. Soon after midnight, in the very beginning of , Nicholas realized that no more delays were possible, and walked into the Council hall alone. He "seated himself in the place of the President" and read his accession manifest. This, according to Korff, was the first ever precedent when the State Council convened at night. Nicholas went at lengths in explaining how the legal uncertainty set by Alexander lured him into pledging allegiance to Constantine. He specifically required "that the time of Our accession to the Throne be counted from the 19th day of November 1825", the day of Alexander's death, sealing the fact that Constantine had never reigned and that the oath to Constantine was merely a misunderstanding rectified by Nicholas. The State Council accepted the fact without further discussion and was dismissed at about 1 a.m.
Revolt
December 26, "the longest day" of Nicholas I, coincided with the winter solsticeWinter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
: the sun rose at 9:04 and set at 2:58. Nicholas assembled military commanders before sunrise. He again explained the background and motives for his decision. There were no objections, and the officers left to administer oath to Nicholas in their units.
Miloradovich did not attend this meeting. He arrived at the palace later and again assured Nicholas of "calm and tranquility", dismissing available intelligence. His police spectacularly failed in "a concurrence of other strange blunders, which it is difficult to explain at present". Nicholas made a blunder of his own, by not printing and distributing copies of the Manifest and thus contributing to the rising agitation among civilians. Decembrists were disorganized: their "dictator" Sergey Trubetskoy did not show up at all, "the bravest men among the leaders developed an apathy and unwonted lack of nerve." Like the tsar, they did not attempt to recruit civilian masses.
Oath in the troops proceeded smoothly until the men of Horse Artillery Regiment demanded personal assurance from Grand Duke Michael. Michael had just arrived in Saint Petersburg and Nicholas immediately sent him to speak to the troops. At about noon Nicholas learned of the greater threat, the insurrection of the Moscow Regiment. Shouting "Hurrah for Constantine", the rebels took a stand in formation on the Senate Square, encouraged by the masses of civilians. By noon the rebel forces on the square counted three thousand men, against already present nine thousand loyalists. Nicholas was there, "pale, weary, and eager to settle the whole affair as soon as possible."
At around 12:30 Miloradovich tried to speak to the rebel troops and was fatally shot by Pyotr Kakhovsky and stabbed by Yevgeny Obolensky. Wilhelm Küchelbecker
Wilhelm Küchelbecker
Wilhelm Küchelbecker was a Russian Romantic poet and Decembrist....
attempted shooting Grand Duke Michael. Another negotiator, Metropolitan Serafim, was forced away from the square. Nicholas, still hoping to avoid bloodshed, ordered an intimidating cavalry charge
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
against the rebels. It miserably failed as horses lost balance and fell on icy pavement. As time passed by, civilians flooded the square, forming a dense circle around the loyalists troops. Nicholas feared that the mob may overwhelm his troops after sunset. Worse, he saw his own soldiers defecting to the rebels.
Generals pressed Nicholas for action, Karl Willhelm von Toll reproached him: "Let me clear the square with gunfire or abdicate!". At around 4 p.m. Nicholas ordered artillery fire against the rebels who did not dare to attack the batteries or otherwise change the outcome in their favour. Canister shot
Canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...
s killed more civilians than rebel soldiers. Their flight from the square was checked by loyalist battalions blocking escape routes. Tsarist propaganda reported 80 dead, later studies counted at least 1,271 dead, 903 of them civilians of low birth.
Aftermath
The Southern Society attempted their own revolt: one thousand men of the Chernigov Regiment led by Sergey Muravyov-ApostolSergey Muravyov-Apostol
Sergey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol was a Russian Lieutenant Colonel, one of the organizers of the Decembrist revolt. He was the brother of other Decembrists Ippolit Muravyov-Apostol and Matvey Muravyov-Apostol...
and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin
Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin
Mikhail Pavlovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin was a Russian officer, one of the organizers of the Decembrist revolt. He was the youngest of the five hanged Decembrists.-Biography:...
ravaged Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
towns and evaded government troops until a defeat at Kovalivka on , 1826. Hugh Seton-Watson
Hugh Seton-Watson
George Hugh Nicholas Seton-Watson , was a British historian and political scientist specializing in Russia.-Early life:...
wrote that it was "the first and the last political revolt by army officers"; Nicholas and his successors eradicated liberalism in the troops and secured their unconditional loyalty. Immediately after suppressing the revolt in Saint Petersburg Nicholas took control of the investigation. Of six hundred suspects 121 were put on trial. Five leaders were hanged, others exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
; Nicholas commuted
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
most sentences in a demonstration of good will, sending the least offenders to fight as soldiers in the Caucasian War
Caucasian War
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
. Soldiers of the mutinous regiments were run through the gauntlet
Running the gauntlet
Running the gauntlet is a form of physical punishment wherein a captive is compelled to run between two rows—a gauntlet—of soldiers who strike him as he passes.-Etymology:...
. Some died, others ended up fighting in the Caucasus or exiled in Siberia. According to Anatole Mazour, the sentence was unusually harsh and revengeful; according to Seton-Watson, it was in line with European practice of the time, but nevertheless contributed to public perception of Nicholas as "a dark and sinister figure" and of the Decembrists as selfless martyrs.
"Challenge to Nicholas rule created an atmosphere of hostility, bitterness and fear ... it remained imprinted in Nicholas's mind as a traumatic moment that justified intensified surveillance and police persecution." Contrary to Alexander's public image of a liberal conqueror, Nicholas chose to present himself as the defender of order, a distinctively Russian nationalist
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
leader protecting the nation from foreign evils. Lack of public support encouraged Nicholas to stage grand ceremonial events; the whole reign was marked by sentimental "demonstrations of attachments and love" to the tsar "who had evoked only antipathy". He celebrated the day of his victory over the revolt with for the rest of his life, but the facts and analysis of 1825 events remained censored, contributing to the "Decembrist myth".
Nicholas studied the grievances exposed in the 1826 investigation and incorporated them in his own reform program. Despite his good intentions, his administration evolved into an overcentralized, oversized and incompetent system. Instead of managing the country for Nicholas, the system "loaded him with an innumerable magnitude of trivial affairs". It was infested with laziness, indifference and corruption on all levels, although Seton-Watson wrote that the degree of bureaucratic vice has been exaggerated by contemporary critics.
Constantine remained Viceroy of Poland until the November uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
and died in 1831 of cholera. He was "the only person treated by Nicholas as his equal and associate rather than a servant." Nicholas and Michael remained close until Michael's death of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1849, although Michael's militarism and tyranny over subordinates regularly annoyed Nicholas.
Historiography
In 1847 Nicholas commissioned historian Modest von Korff to write the first history of the interregnum and the Decembrist revolt. Korff received limited but then unprecedented access to private records of the Romanovs and personally interviewed surviving high-ranking witnesses. The first edition, approved by Nicholas, was published in 1848 in mere twenty-five copies. The third, and the first public edition, was published in 1857 simultaneously in Russian, English, French and German languages. Korff's account, despite constraints of censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, remains the mainstream version of the interregnum, but not the revolt. It was accepted in Imperial Russian (Schilder) and Soviet historiography
Soviet historiography
Soviet historiography is the methodology of history studies by historians in the Soviet Union . In the USSR, the study of history was marked by alternating periods of freedom allowed and restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , and also by the struggle of historians to...
(Militsa Nechkina) and in Western academia (Anatole Mazour, Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, Hugh Seton-Watson).
Memoirs of the Decembrists contradicted official history and each other. Sergey Trubetskoy
Sergei Petrovich Troubetzkoy
Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he was declared the group's leader on the eve of the December 26 uprising in 1825 but failed to appear, and instead sought refuge in the Austrian...
, referring to the first report of Alexander's terminal illness received in Saint Petersburg , wrote that "the thought of the successor frightened everybody because the successor was unknown." Andrey Rosen (1799–1884) wrote on the subject of Nicholas's oath to Constantine that "Count Miloradowitsch (sic) and Prince A. N. Galitzine, who knew the tenor of Alexander's will, exerted themselves in vain to prevent so doing, but Nicholas would not hear of any objection ... it was nevertheless everywhere known that Constantine has abdicated and that a will of Alexander's was in existence transferring the government to Nicholas... The members of the Senate knew that, since 1823, a will of Alexander's lay among their archives." Rosen also speculated that because Nicholas "knew all along of the existence of secret societies" he voluntarily stepped aside "to avoid in this way any occasion of disturbance and discontent."
Soviet historians concentrated on studies of the Decembrist movement and treated the interregnum as an insignificant episode in the grand picture of class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
. Interregnum resurfaced as an independent research topic in the 1970s. Historians, biographers and fiction authors sought alternative explanations of irrational events and named Alexander, Nicholas, Miloradovich and Empress Maria, alone or in various combinations, as the secret driving forces of the interregnum. None of these alternatives received wide support in academia.
- According to historian Mikhail Safonov, the interregnum was orchestrated by Empress Maria in alliance with Miloradovich. Maria allegedly sought power for herself and used Miloradovich to extract oath to Constantine from Nicholas. As soon as abdication of both Constantine and Nicholas became attested in public, the Crown of Russia would have passed to seven-year old AlexanderAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
. Maria thus received a solid opportunity to rule the Empire as the regentRegentA regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for a whole decade. Nicholas realized the threat and launched his own coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. - According to Kalinin's 1988 study of the Constantine rubleConstantine rubleThe Constantine ruble is a rare silver coin of the Russian Empire bearing the profile of Constantine, the brother of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. It was prepared to be manufactured at the Saint Petersburg Mint during the brief Interregnum of 1825 but has never been minted in numbers and...
, Maria and Nicholas acted in accord. They feared that accession of Nicholas in accordance with Alexander's manifest will be opposed as a breach of Pauline laws and needed Constantine's formal abdication as a reigning monarch. Nicholas (not Miloradovich) initiated oath to Constantine with a simple goal of adding more weight to Constantine's decision. - According to Yakov Gordin (a poet born in 1935 who switched into history writing in 1970s) the interregnum was orchestrated by Miloradovich who acted as an independent dictator. He knew that Constantine, his wartime friend since the Swiss campaign of 1800, has no intention to rule. According to Gordin, Miloradovich hoped that the accession of Constantine would elevate him to the top of imperial hierarchy. With this in mind, he mobilized the generals' opposition against Nicholas and tolerated the Decembrist conspiracy.
- German writer Vladimir Bryukhanov, in a radical development of Gordin's theory, wrote that Miloradovich was the puppetmaster of the Decembrists and led an influential military party including Arakcheev, Diebitsch, Pavel KiselyovPavel KiselyovCount Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign.- Early military career :...
and even doctor Wylie. According to Bryukhanov's conspiracy theoryConspiracy theoryA conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
, Miloradovich planned to take over absolute power from the House of Romanov. - Tatyana Andreeva supported a toned-down version of Gordin's theory. According to Andreeva, Miloradovich assumed dictatorial authority but had no intention to become the "maker of the kings". Rather, he merely attempted to maintain the lawful order of successionOrder of successionAn order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
and prevent social unrest.
Sources
- Andreeva, T. V. (1998, in Russian). Imperator Nikolai Pavlovich i graf M. A. Miloradovich (Император Николай Павлович и граф М. А. Милорадович). СПБ: Философский век, выпуск 6 (The Philosophical Age. Almanac 6. Russia at the Time of Nicholas I: Science, Politics, Enlightenment. Ed. by T. Khartanovich, M. Mikeshin. St. Petersburg, 1998. 304 p.).
- Bagby, Lewis (1990). Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271026138, ISBN 9780271026138.
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- Chapman, Tim (2001). Imperial Russia, 1801-1905. Routledge. ISBN 0415231108, ISBN 9780415231107.
- Gordin, Yakov (1989, in Russian). Myatezh reformatorov (Мятеж реформаторов). 3rd edition: Lenizdat. ISBN 5289002634.
- Kagan, Frederick (1999). The military reforms of Nicholas I: the origins of the modern Russian army. Pallgrave McMillan. ISBN 0312219288, ISBN 9780312219284.
- Korff, M. A. (1857). The accession of Nicholas I. London: John Murray. (Russian 1857 edition)
- Lee, Robert (1854). The last days of Alexander, and the first days of Nicholas. London: Robert Bentley.
- Mazour, Anatole (1937). The first Russian revolution, 1825: the Decembrist movement, its origins, development, and significance. Stanford University Press. Reissue: ISBN 0804700818, ISBN 9780804700818.
- Melnikova, A. S. (1991, in Russian). Konstantinovsky rubl i istoriya ego izuchenia (Константиновский рубль и история его изучения), in: Melnikova, A. S. et al. (1991, in Russian). Konstantinovsky rubl. Novye materialy i opisaniya (Константиновский рубль. Новые материалы и исследования). Moscow: Finansy i statistika. ISBN 5279004901.
- Nabokov, VladimirVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
(1990 reprint). Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse: Commentary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691019045, ISBN 9780691019048. - Nechkina, Militsa (1984, in Russian). Dekabristy (Декабристы). Moscow: NaukaNaukaNauka is a Russian publisher of academic books and journals. Established in the USSR in 1923, it was called USSR Academy of Sciences Publisher until 1963. Until 1934 the publisher was based in Leningrad, then moved to Moscow. Its logo depicts an open book with Sputnik 1 above it.Nauka was the main...
. - Payne, RobertPierre Stephen Robert PaynePierre Stephen Robert Payne , was a novelist, historian, poet, and biographer.Born in Cornwall, the son of an English naval architect, and with a French mother. He worked as a shipbuilder and then for a time with the Inland Revenue. In 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage...
(1961). Dostoyevsky: a human portrait. Knopf. - Pipes, RichardRichard PipesRichard Edgar Pipes is an American academic who specializes in Russian history, particularly with respect to the Soviet Union...
(1975). Russia under the old regime. Scribner. ISBN 0684140411, ISBN 9780684140414 - Polukhina, Valentina (2008). Brodsky through the eyes of his contemporaries, Volume 1. Academic Studies Press. ISBN 1934843156, ISBN 9781934843154.
- Riasanovsky, Nicholas (1967). Nicholas I and official nationality in Russia, 1825-1855. University of California Press.
- Rosen, Andrey (1872). Russian conspirators in Siberia. London, Smith, Elder & Co.
- Safonov, M. M. (1994, in Russian). K istorii mezhdutsarstviya (К истории междуцарстия). Proceedings of the Mavrodinskie conference 10-12 December 1994, Saint Petersburg (Мавродинские чтения: материалы к докладам 10-12 октября 1994 г., Санкт-Петербург). Saint Petersburg University.
- Safonov, M. M. (2001, in Russian). 14 dekabrya 1825 goda kak kulminacia mezhdutsarstviya (14 декабря 1825 года как кульминация междуцарствия), in: 14 dekabrya 1825 goda. Istochniki. Issledovaniya. Istoriographia. Bibliographia. (14 декабря 1825 года. Источники. Исследования. Историография. Библиография.) vol. 4. (2001). Moscow: Nestor. ISBN 9975960693.
- Schilder, Nikolay (1898, in Russian). Imperator Alexandr Pervy (Император Александр Первый). Vol. 4. Saint Petersburg: A. S. Suvorin.
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- Seton-Watson, HughHugh Seton-WatsonGeorge Hugh Nicholas Seton-Watson , was a British historian and political scientist specializing in Russia.-Early life:...
(1988). The Russian empire, 1801-1917. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198221525, ISBN 9780198221524. - Troyat, HenriHenri TroyatHenri Troyat was a Russian born French author, biographer, historian and novelist.-Biography:Troyat was born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov, in Moscow to parents of mixed heritage, including Armenian, Russian, German and Georgian...
(2002 English edition). Alexander of Russia: Napoleon's Conqueror. Grove Press. ISBN 0802139493, ISBN 9780802139498. Original published in French in 1981. - Trubetskoy, S. P.Sergei Petrovich TroubetzkoyPrince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he was declared the group's leader on the eve of the December 26 uprising in 1825 but failed to appear, and instead sought refuge in the Austrian...
(1906, in Russian). Zapiski knyazya S. P. Trubetskogo (Записки князя С. П. Трубецкого). Saint Petersburg: Sirius. - Vasilich, G. (1908, in Russian). Razruha 1825 goda (Разруха 1825 года; Восшествие на престол императора Николая I). Saint Petersburg: Sever.
- Wortman, Richard (2006). Scenarios of power: myth and ceremony in Russian monarchy from Peter the Great to the abdication of Nicholas II. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691123748, 9780691123745.