The Union of Salvation ( rus, Союз спасения, Sojuz spasenyja), formed in 1816, also known as the Society of True and Loyal Sons of the Fatherland (russian: Общество истинных и верных сынов отечества, Obšestvo istinnych i vernych synov otečestva, links= no) since 1817, was the first secret political society of the

Decembrists 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 Ale ...

. In 1816, at the initiative of , a group of young officers of the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

founded the Union of Salvation (UoS). The first members had taken part in the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

and in the foreign campaigns of 1813–1814. The UoS numbered some 30 members, including

Nikita Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov (russian: Никита Михайлович Муравьёв) ( – ) was an Imperial Guards staff officer and plotter in what led to the Decembrist revolt of 1825. Muravyov was active in a number of proto-Decem ...

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 ...

Matvei Muravyov-Apostol Matvei or Matvey is the Russian language variation of Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matvei Blanter (1903–1990), Russian composer of popular and film music * Matvei Petrovich Bronstein (1906–1938), Soviet theoretical physicist ...

, Sergei Trubetskoy,

Ivan Yakushkin Ivan Dmitrievich Yakushkin (Russian:Иван Дмитриевич Якушкин; 9 January 1793, Safonovsky District - 23 August 1857, Moscow) was a Russian military officer, Decembrist, and educator. Biography He was born into a noble family, ...

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 ...

, Yevgeni Obolensky,

Ivan Pushchin Ivan Ivanovich Pushchin (Russian:Иван Иванович Пущин; 15 May 1798, Moscow — 15 April 1859, Bronnitsky Uyezd) was a Russian civil servant and Decembrist. In school, he became a close friend of the writer, Alexander Pushkin, due to ...

, Mikhail Lunin and others. In 1817 they approved the UoS

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

and changed the society's name to ''Society of True and Loyal Sons of the Fatherland''. The UoS aimed at the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

and at the introduction of

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 ...

by means of armed revolt at the time of next emperor's succession to the throne. While preparing for the seizure of power, the UoS members had to try and expand the society's influence, secure key military and civil posts in government structures, and form public opinion. The UoS members each belonged to one of three categories – ''bolyare'' (боляре), ''muzhi'' (мужи), and ''brat'ya'' (братья). The conspiracy operated in such a manner that only the first two categories of members knew the final purpose of the society. Low-ranking members had to obey high-ranking members implicitly. The admission of new members, as well as internal promotion, could only take place with the consent of

the supreme council of the bolyare ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Initiations and promotions were accomplished in strict accordance with a complex system of rituals and vows, adopted from

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. There were two kind of groups within the UoS – radical and moderate. They debated over tactics and structure of the society, which some of them viewed as extremely secluded and complicated. UoS members came up with a number of

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

projects, but they were turned down due to the lack of funding and society's general unpreparedness for decisive action. In light of this, the majority of the members decided to vote for to dissolve the UoS and to establish a new organization, which would have more members and be more competent. They first created a transitional organization called Military Society ("Военное общество", or Voyennoye obshchestvo) and then in 1818 – 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. ...

(russian: Союз благоденствия, Soyuz blagodenstviya).

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Decembrists
* {{in lang, ru}
The Decembrists Online Museum
1816 establishments in the Russian Empire 1818 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Conspiracies Decembrists Political organizations based in Russia Political parties established in 1816 Political parties disestablished in 1818 Secret societies in Russia __NOTOC__

See also

References

Bibliography

External links