The Union of Prosperity (, or Soyuz blagodenstviya) or Union of Welfare was a larger secret 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 ...

, established in early 1818 on the basis of the dissolved

Union of Salvation 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 отечеств� ...

and contained the literary society, the Green Lamp. The members of the Union of Prosperity (UoP) included Alexander Nikolayevich Muravyov,

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

, Mikhail Lunin and others. ''Korennaya Uprava'' (Коренная управа, or Board) was the governing body of the UoP and the 6-member ''Soviet'', or ''Duma'' (Совет, Дума) was the executive body of the society. The UoP was divided into ''upravas'' (управа, or regional branches), located in

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 ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Tulchin Tulchyn (, translit. ''Tul’chyn'', old name ''Nesterwar'' (from Hungarian ''Nester'' - Dniester and ''war'' -town), Latin Tulcinum, pl, Tulczyn, yi, טולטשין, ro, Tulcin) is a town in Vinnytsia Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, f ...

, Kishinev and other cities. Most of the UoP members were nobles. Organizational structure and legal activities of the UoP were stated in the first part of its charter called the ''Green Book'' ("зелёная книга"). The second part of the charter, only to a small number of members, formulated the final purpose of the UoP, which was the abolishment of

autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

and

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 introduction of constitutional form of government. These goals were to be reached by relatively peaceful means. The UoP members strived to overcome the inner reserve and conspiratorial tactics of the Union of Salvation by attempting to exert influence on public opinion. A number of literary and pedagogical societies,

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

s, and magazines sided with the UoP. In their works and speeches, the UoP members criticized serfdom,

despotism Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect and ...

, Arakcheyev’s army reforms, lawlessness of tsarist court, authorities and censorship. In 1820, the members of the Korennaya Uprava argued for the introduction of the republican system of government in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

after Pavel Pestel’s speech at their meeting in Petersburg. Simultaneously, there were people in the UoP who suggested a "military revolution" due to the increasing disagreements over UoP’s program and tactical questions. In order to "drop" some unreliable and most radical members and to mislead the tsarist authorities, the Moscow meeting of the members of the Korennaya Uprava voted for the dissolution of the UoP in early 1821. Its most active members formed the basis for the establishment of the

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and

Southern Society of the Decembrists The Southern Society of the Decembrists (russian: Южное общество декабристов) was one of two, along with the Northern Society, main secret revolutionary organizations of the Decembrists. Created in March 1821 on the basi ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union Of Prosperity 1818 establishments in the Russian Empire 1821 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Conspiracies Decembrists Political organizations based in Russia Political parties established in 1818 Political parties disestablished in 1821 Secret societies in Russia

See also

References

Bibliography