The Decembrists: History, Fate, Biography

On December 14, 1825, the uprising at Senate Square remains one of the most prominent and discussed milestones in Russian history. Even after two centuries, disagreements continue about what truly caused it, what the plan was, how events unfolded, and what they led to. Was it a major political move by a group of like-minded nobles attempting a coup, or merely an “incident,” as official documents called it?

A careful look at the personal stories of its participants helps understand the nature of the Decembrist movement without relying on ready-made ideological schemes.

The book tells the story of 120 Decembrists sentenced by the Supreme Criminal Court. The investigation, carried out under the direct control of Emperor Nicholas I, resulted in 117 accused recognizing their guilt; most expected imprisonment, hard labor, and exile, and five were sentenced to execution. Who were these people: for whom the uprising could have become a step toward power, and who was drawn into the political whirlwind by accident? How did their lives unfold before 1825 and after it—who managed to survive the weight of punishment and who couldn’t withstand the ordeal and broke?

These questions are examined in a new work by the St. Petersburg historian Andrzej Ikonnikov-Galitsky.