The event surrounding the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas I is widely known - the uprising on December 26, 1825 on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. It went down in history as the Decembrist uprising. But much less coverage was received by the uprising of the Chernigov regiment, which occurred immediately after it and was its continuation. The officers - the organizers and main participants in this event - were members of the Southern Society, one of two secret organizations created at the beginning of the 19th century by opposition-minded nobles.
Southern society rises after Northern
The uprising of the Chernihiv regiment was conceived long ago, but it began quite spontaneously. The command received news of the events that took place in the capital, and of the involvement of their officer, Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Muravyov-Apostol. In this regard, he was imprisoned in the village of Trilesy. Upon learning of this, on December 29 (old style), four officers, also members of a secret organization, released him by force, while attacking the regiment commander, Colonel Gustav Goebel.
From the subsequent materials of the case, it becomes known that S. I. Muravyov-Apostol inflicted a severe wound on the colonel in the stomach. Other participants in the battle also attacked the regiment commander, inflicting multiple wounds on him with soldiers' bayonets. Only by miracle did the regimental commander manage to escape. At the same time, a curious detail is the fact that the soldiers and lower ranks present at that time remained completely passive observers, without helping either one or the other side. The only exception was the only soldier Maxim Ivanov, who remained faithful to the oath and saved the life of the ill-fated colonel.
The first performance of the rebels
After the incident, the uprising of the Chernigov regiment had to start immediately, since the conspirators had already gone beyond the law and were subject to military court and inevitable punishment. In this regard, the next day, December 30, rebel officers removed the regiment from the barracks and sent it to the city of Vasilkov. There were numerous weapons depots and ammunition depots. But what else made up the booty of the rebels is the regimental treasury. The protocols drawn up during the investigation indicate that ten thousand rubles in bills and seventeen thousand in silver fell into their hands. At that time it was a huge amount.
The investigative materials reflected in all the details the uprising of the Chernigov regiment of 1825. So, the very next day, the Decembrists occupied the village of Motovilovka. Here, the leaders of the uprising, having built a regiment, read out a proclamation called the “Orthodox Catechism” before the system. Its authors, Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin, creating the document, calculated that the intellect of those to whom it was addressed would be sufficient for its perception and correct understanding. However, the mass of soldiers remained indifferent to what they heard, and this action had no effect.
Decomposition of the regiment
Just the opposite happened to what the national liberators expected. Instead of burning in a single revolutionary outburst, the soldiers and lower ranks indulged in rampant drunkenness and began to rob the local population. The testimonies of witnesses to these atrocities were preserved in the investigative records. It is possible that this was one of the reasons why the uprising of the Chernigov regiment was not widely publicized in the Soviet period.
Further, we know that on January 1, having left Vasilkov, the regiment is heading towards Zhytomyr, where according to the plans of the leaders of the uprising, they could receive reinforcements from military units in which, as they knew, they were members of another secret organization - the Society of United Slavs. However, the threat of meeting with government forces forced them to turn to the White Church.
The defeat of the regiment by government forces
It should be noted that until now the Decembrists have not encountered resistance anywhere and moved forward completely unhindered. However, over the past few days their ranks have thinned considerably as a result of mass desertion. Many understood the adventurism of what was happening and did not want to sacrifice freedom, or perhaps life, for someone else's recklessness.
In the very first battle with government forces near the village of Ustimovka, the rebels were defeated. This ended the uprising of the Chernigov regiment. The date of its defeat is only five days behind the start date. Do we now have the right to evaluate these five days of recklessness? They say that the winners are not judged, but the rebels did not become winners, and they were judged.
Court Sentence and History Lesson
The sentences were severe, since all the defendants with arms in their hands opposed the legitimate authority. Yes, their intentions were high and noble. Yes, for the sake of the ideal, you can risk your life, but yours, and not the lives of hundreds of ordinary soldiers, who do not even understand where and why they are being led to die. As you know, the road to hell is strewn with good intentions, and especially in those cases when they are not backed up by anything other than fantasies. The sad page of our history was the Chernihiv regiment. His rebellion can serve as a visual lesson for future generations.