Russian interregnum of 1825
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The Russian interregnum of 1825 began with the death of
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
in
Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog The ...
and lasted until the accession of Nicholas I and the suppression of the
Decembrist revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...
on . In 1823 Alexander secretly removed his brother
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
from the
order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
. This unprecedented secrecy backfired with a dynastic crisis that placed the whole
House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...
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 The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
when the news of Alexander's death reached
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on 1825. Military governor
Mikhail Miloradovich Count Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich (russian: Граф Михаи́л Андре́евич Милора́дович, sh-Cyrl, Гроф Михаил Андрејевић Милорадовић ''Grof Mihail Andrejević Miloradović''; – ...
persuaded hesitant Nicholas to pledge allegiance to Constantine, who then lived in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
as the viceroy of Poland. The
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
, faced with a legal
Gordian Knot The Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great who is said to have cut the knot in 333 BC. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (untying an impossibly tangled knot) sol ...
, 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'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
'' 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 The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...
compelled Nicholas to act. In the first hour of he proclaimed himself
Emperor of All the Russias The emperor or empress of all the Russias or All Russia, ''Imperator Vserossiyskiy'', ''Imperatritsa Vserossiyskaya'' (often titled Tsar or Tsarina/Tsaritsa) was the monarch of the Russian Empire. The title originated in connection with Russia' ...
. 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 livesNechkina, p. 117, analyzed different numbers from different sources. Nicholas released an estimate of 80 dead. The most credible report, according to Nechkina, was authored by S. N. Korsakov of Saint Petersburg police and counted 1,271 dead of whom 903 were civilians of low classes (russian: чернь, "the mob"). and became an undisputed sovereign. He ruled the empire in an authoritarian reactionary manner for 29 years. The first historic study of the interregnum,
Modest von Korff Modest may refer to: * A number of saints, see under Saint Modest (disambiguation) * Michael Modest (born 1971), semi-retired American professional wrestler * Modest (email client), a free, open source, e-mail client People with the given name Mo ...
'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 A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
named Alexander, Nicholas, Miloradovich and
Dowager Empress Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
, alone or in various alliances, as the driving forces behind the events of November–December 1825.


Background


Four brothers

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...
, the eldest of four sons of
Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...
, had no male issue; his legitimate daughters died in infancy. According to the 1797
Pauline Laws The Pauline Laws are the house laws of the Romanov rulers of the Russian Empire. The name comes from the fact that they were initially established by Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797. Paul I abolished Peter the Great's law that allowed each reign ...
his childless brother Constantine had been
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
since Alexander's accession. The third brother,
Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
, followed him in the
order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Coburg, 23 September 1781 – Elfenau, near Bern, Switzerland, 12 August 1860), also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia (russian: Анна Фёдоровна), was a German princess of the d ...
separated in 1799. Juliane returned to Germany and resisted any proposals to restore the family. Constantine, engaged in the action of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, did not attempt a formal divorce until meeting
Joanna Grudzińska Joanna Grudzińska (17 May 1791, Poznań - 17 November 1831, Tsarskoye Selo) 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. This marri ...
. Their love affair that began in 1815 compelled Constantine to divorce Juliane and marry Joanna. Constantine divorced Juliane ''
in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...
'' 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 of the same year, Constantine married Joanna, who was created Duchess of
Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,896 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a ma ...
. Constantine had no intention of ruling the Empire and retired to Warsaw as the viceroy of
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
. According to Nicholas, Alexander told him of Constantine's decision to abdicate in 1819. According to
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, the youngest of four brothers, he learned about it from Constantine in the summer of 1821.Korff, p. 33. In both cases the speakers emphasized extreme secrecy of the matter. Korff wrote that Constantine's
renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, especially if it is something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in t ...
"was completed or, at all events, received its final arrangement" in the very end of 1821 when all four brothers reunited in Saint Petersburg.Korff, p. 36. 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 Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
] as well as to me ... to leave you ''fully at liberty'' to execute your ''irrevocable'' determination...".Korff, p. 40.


Secret manifesto

In the summer of 1823 minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Alexander Golitsyn, acting on behalf of Alexander, asked Archbishop of Moscow Filaret to draft a formal manifesto that would seal the "final arrangement" made a year and a half earlier. Alexander's usual speechwriter
Mikhail Speransky Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Спера́нский; 12 January 1772 – 23 February 1839) was a Russian reformist during the reign of Alexander I of Russia, to whom he was a close advisor. ...
was unaware of this.Korff, p. 43. Golitsyn instructed Filaret to lock the signed manifesto, in utmost secrecy, in the
sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
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 A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
, the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
in Saint Petersburg.Korff, p. 44. 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 manifesto in
Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...
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''."Korff, p. 49. Four days later Filaret took the envelope inside the cathedral, showed Alexander's seal to three priests and locked the Manifest in the
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
. Governor of Moscow
Dmitry Golitsyn Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn (russian: Князь Дмитрий Владимирович Голицын; 29 October 177127 March 1844, Paris) was an Imperial Russian cavalry general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars, statesman and mi ...
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".Korff, p. 53. Apart from Alexander, only
Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (russian: граф Алексе́й Андре́евич Аракче́ев) ( – ) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul I ...
, Alexander Golitsyn and Filaret were certainly aware of the existence, contents and location of the manifesto and its copies.Schilder 1898, vol. 4 p. 388: "No one knew about the existence of the Act proclaiming Nicholas the Heir, apart from three statesmen: count Arakcheyev, prince A. I. Golitsyn and archbishop of Moscow Filaret." (russian: О существовании акта, назначавшего великого князя Николая Павловича наследником престола, при жизни Александра никто не знал, за исключением трех государственных сановников: графа Аракчеева, князя А. И. Голицына и архиепископа Московского Филарета.). Modern historians contest this opinion, arguing that either Empress Maria or Miloradovich or both of them were fully aware of the Manifesto. 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 manifesto at will.


Conspiracy

After the end of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
the Russian economy, ravaged by the
Continental System The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin ...
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 or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
s and driving away redundant serf peasants, but Alexander outlawed the "emancipation" of serfs without land. Economic downfall fuelled radical opposition inside
Russian nobility The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire. Up until the February Revolution ...
: "it was Alexander's failures to live up to their hopes that led them to take on the task 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.Kagan, pp. 11, 34. Alexander expected future wars in Southern Europe and the Middle East, and feared that mass dismissal of veteran soldiers would 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 settlements (russian: Военные поселения) 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 ...
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.Kagan, p. 33. 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 A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
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 Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada– ...
into
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
. In 1818 the organization was reformed into the
Union of Prosperity The Union of Prosperity (, or Soyuz blagodenstviya) or Union of Welfare was a larger secret society of the Decembrists, established in early 1818 on the basis of the dissolved Union of Salvation and contained the literary society, the Green Lamp. ...
. In the same year
Pavel Pestel Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel (russian: Павел Иванович Пестель; in Moscow – in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian revolutionary and ideologue of the Decembrists. Early life Pestel came from a Lutheran family of Saxo ...
, the most radical conspirator, relocated to
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
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
Antoine Destutt de Tracy Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (; 20 July 1754 – 9 March 1836) was a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher who coined the term " ideology". Biography The son of a distinguished soldier, Claude Destutt, he was born i ...
,
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
,
Baron d'Holbach Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), was a French-German philosopher, encyclopedist, writer, and prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich in Edesheim, near Land ...
and
Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
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 Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
or the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
. 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 (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
and managed the investigation personally on an ''
ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...
'' 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
spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
treatment in
Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog The ...
, then a "rather agreeable town" on the coast of the
Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
. Golitsyn pleaded with Alexander to publish the secret manifesto 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 Hans Karl Friedrich Anton Graf von Diebitsch und Narten (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ди́бич-Забалка́нский, tr. ; 13 May 1785 – 10 June 1831) was a German-born soldier serving as Russian field marshal. Career ...
and
Alexander Chernyshyov Prince Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshov (russian: Александр Иванович Чернышев, 1786, Moscow - 1857, Castellammare di Stabia), General of Cavalry (1827), was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career be ...
– were not aware of the manifesto. Alexander and Elizabeth traveled to the south separately; he reached Taganrog , she ten days later.Troyat, p. 286. 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 literallyWortman, p. 130.). After a stay with Elizabeth, Alexander left Taganrog on a tour of
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
that was cut short by a bout of "bilious remittent fever" that struck Alexander on in
Alupka Alupka (Ukrainian and Russian: Алу́пка; crh, Alupka; gr, Ἀλώπηξ, Alòpex) is a resort city located in the Crimean peninsula, a territory of Ukraine currently annexed by Russian Federation (see 2014 Crimean crisis). It is located t ...
. 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. Diebitsch 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 Petersburg of the inevitable. Alexander struggled for two more days and died at 10:50 on . At the moment of Alexander's demise, Constantine and Michael stayed in Warsaw,Korff, p. 61. 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 eveningKorff, p. 64 and Schilder 1898, vol. 4 p. 398: 7 p.m. of .Korff, p. 61. 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 .Korff, p. 66.


Interregnum in Saint Petersburg


Miloradovich

In the evening of Governor-General of Saint Petersburg
Mikhail Miloradovich Count Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich (russian: Граф Михаи́л Андре́евич Милора́дович, sh-Cyrl, Гроф Михаил Андрејевић Милорадовић ''Grof Mihail Andrejević Miloradović''; – ...
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''. While the public took the decision for granted, Maria was startled: "Nicholas, what have you done? Didn't you know that ''you'' are
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
?" The oath sparked an unprecedented 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,Gordin, p. 26.
Hugh Seton-Watson George Hugh Nicolas Seton-Watson, CBE, FBA (15 February 1916 – 19 December 1984) was a British historian and political scientist specialising in Russia. Early life Seton-Watson was one of the two sons of Robert William Seton-Watson, the act ...
,Seton-Watson, p. 194. 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 A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...
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 the oath in their units. Miloradovich broke the law twice: by initiating the oath without Constantine's own accession manifest, and by initiating the 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 Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn (russian: Князь Дмитрий Владимирович Голицын; 29 October 177127 March 1844, Paris) was an Imperial Russian cavalry general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars, statesman and mi ...
that Constantine was 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.Korff, p. 102. Filaret objected but was compelled to accept the facts. Moscow was sworn to Constantine , the 1st Army in
Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...
on .


State council

Alexander Golitsyn rushed to Nicholas as soon as he learned of the ''
fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...
''. Their meeting revealed the depth of the legal crisis that Nicholas had 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 Shishkov 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 may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
, rather than a
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
. 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.Trubetskoy, p. 30. 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."Korff, p. 89. Council members suddenly found themselves in an inconvenient position of "a state authority rather than His Majesty's chancery".Korff, p. 90. 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

On Grand Duke Michael brought Constantine's letters to Saint Petersburg. Michael and Empress Maria persuaded Nicholas in the grave error he had made. Nicholas, now confident in his right to take the throne, realised that simply declaring himself emperor would, most likely, cause an 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 a courier rushed the invitation to Warsaw. On , 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 Count Georg Ludwig Cancrin (russian: Егор Францевич Канкрин, tr=Egor Francevič Knkrin; 16 November 1774 – 10 September 1845) was a Russian German aristocrat and as a politician best known for spearheading reforms in the Ru ...
ordered
minting Minting is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated south from the A158 road. The population (including Gautby) at the 2011 census was 286. Minting Priory was located here. Mi ...
of a new coin bearing the profile of ''Emperor and Autocrat Constantine''. Cancrin attended the 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 Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also ...
to intercept and read all letters that Constantine could send to her. Michael met with Constantine's courier at
Nennal Nennal is a Mandal in Mancherial district in the state of Telangana in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, a ...
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.Korff, p. 130.


Last warnings

At 6 a.m. Saturday, , Colonel Frederics brought Nicholas the "most urgent" report of the mounting conspiracy. The report, authored by Diebitsch and handwritten by
Chernyshyov Chernyshyov or Chernyshev (russian: Чернышёв) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Chernyshyova or Chernysheva. Notable people with the surname include: *Arkady Chernyshev (1914–1992), Soviet ice hockey and associa ...
, 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 A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...
, said Miloradovich, and again assured Nicholas that "the city is tranquil". In fact, one person named in the report,
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
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 Iakov Ivanovich Rostovtsev ( – ) was a leading figure in the formulation of statutes which effectively emancipated the Russian serfs. Biography Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Rostovtsev became a career soldier, and was a young officer at th ...
.Rostovtsev, a Guards lieutenant recently inducted into the Northern Society, suffered from extreme
stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...
and presented his report in writing. Rostovtsev stuttered for his whole life, yet reached a full general's rank. In 1849 Nicholas appointed Rostovtsev to investigate the case of the
Petrashevsky Circle The Petrashevsky Circle was a Russian literary discussion group of progressive-minded intellectuals in St. Petersburg in the 1840s. It was organized by Mikhail Petrashevsky, a follower of the French utopian socialist Charles Fourier. Among the memb ...
. Rostovtsev personally interrogated young
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
and supervised his
mock execution A mock execution is a stratagem in which a victim is deliberately but falsely made to feel that their execution or that of another person is imminent or is taking place. The subject is made to believe that they are being led to their own executio ...
. - Payne, p. 91.
Rostovtsev's report did not specify 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",Mazour, p. 163. sounded like an
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 (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...
: "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.


Accession of Nicholas


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'etat".Wortman, p. 129. Nicholas sent a courier for Michael and summoned
Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
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 a 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.Korff, p. 168.


Revolt

, "the longest day" of Nicholas I, coincided with the
winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...
: 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 the 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.Mazour, p. 176. 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 Pyotr Grigoryevich Kakhovsky (russian: Пётр Григо́рьевич Кахо́вский, 1799 – ) was a Russian Empire officer and active participant of Decembrist revolt, known for the murder of General Mikhail Miloradovich and Colonel ...
and stabbed by
Yevgeny Obolensky Prince Yevgeny Petrovich Obolensky (russian: Евге́ний Петро́вич Оболе́нский, – ) was a Russian officer from the Obolensky family, one of the most active participants in the Decembrist revolt. Biography Yevgeny Obole ...
.
Wilhelm Küchelbecker Wilhelm Ludwig von Küchelbecker ( rus, Вильге́льм Ка́рлович Кюхельбе́кер, p=kʲʉxʲɪlʲˈbʲekʲɪr, tr. ; in St. Petersburg – in Tobolsk) was a Russian Romantic poet and Decembrist revolutionary of Ger ...
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 A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisiv ...
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.Mazour, p. 178; Nechkina, p. 115. Generals pressed Nicholas for action,
Karl Wilhelm von Toll Count Karl Wilhelm von Toll (russian: Карл Фёдорович Толль ; 9 April 1777, Keskvere, Governorate of Estonia – 5 May 1842) was a Baltic German aristocrat and Russian subject who served in the Imperial Russian Army in the ca ...
reproached him: "Let me clear the square with gunfire, or else you must abdicate!".Mazour, p. 78 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 is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies. However, canister shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various ...
s killed more civilians than rebel soldiers.Nechkina, p. 116. 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-Apostol Sergey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Муравьёв-Апо́стол) ( – ) was a Russian Imperial Lieutenant Colonel and one of the organizers of the Decembrist revolt. He was one of five Decembr ...
and
Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin :''See also Mikhail Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin.'' Mikhail Pavlovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (russian: Михаи́л Па́влович Бесту́жев-Рю́мин; June 4, N.S. 1801 – July 25, N.S. 1826) was a Russian officer, o ...
ravaged
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
towns and evaded government troops until a defeat at Kovalivka on , 1826.
Hugh Seton-Watson George Hugh Nicolas Seton-Watson, CBE, FBA (15 February 1916 – 19 December 1984) was a British historian and political scientist specialising in Russia. Early life Seton-Watson was one of the two sons of Robert William Seton-Watson, the act ...
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 ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
; Nicholas commuted most sentences in a demonstration of good will, sending the least offenders to fight as soldiers in the
Caucasian War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the R ...
. 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 Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early B ...
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".Wortman, p. 130. 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 The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or 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 W ...
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 A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in 1849, although Michael's militarism and tyranny over subordinates regularly annoyed Nicholas.


Historiography

In 1847 Nicholas commissioned historian
Modest von Korff Modest may refer to: * A number of saints, see under Saint Modest (disambiguation) * Michael Modest (born 1971), semi-retired American professional wrestler * Modest (email client), a free, open source, e-mail client People with the given name Mo ...
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
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, remains ''the'' mainstream version of the interregnum, but not the revolt. It was accepted in Imperial Russian (Schilder) and
Soviet historiography Soviet historiography is the methodology of history studies by historians in the Soviet Union (USSR). In the USSR, the study of history was marked by restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Soviet historiography i ...
( Militsa Nechkina) and in Western academia (Anatole Mazour,
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
, 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''."Trubetskoy, p. 26. 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, pp. 2-3. 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 conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...
. 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
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
. Maria thus received a solid opportunity to rule the Empire as the
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for a whole decade. Nicholas realized the threat and launched his own
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
.Safonov 2001. * According to Kalinin's 1988 study of the Constantine ruble, 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 Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people People ...
(a poet born in 1935 who switched into history writing in the 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 Kiselyov Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff (Па́вел Дми́триевич Киселёв) (, Moscow – , Paris) is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign. Early m ...
and even doctor Wylie. According to Bryukhanov's
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
, 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 succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.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. , . * Bartoshevich, V. V. (1991, in Russian).

', in: Melnikova, A. S. et al. (1991, in Russian).

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