Nikita Muravyov was one of the leaders of the Decembrist movement. He became the author of the first draft of the constitution, and also for some time headed the Northern Secret Society. During the uprising in St. Petersburg, Muravyov was not in the capital, but he was still arrested under the guise of a scammer.
early years
The future Decembrist Muravyov Nikita was born on July 30, 1795 in St. Petersburg. He was from a famous family. His father, Mikhail Muravyov, is a senator, trustee of Moscow University, a writer, a publicist, and a major educator. Mother Catherine belonged to the noble Russian noble family of the Kolokoltsevs.
Muravyov Nikita received a home education, and later graduated from Moscow University (Physics and Mathematics). In early 1812, he became a college registrar. However, in the summer the war began. Napoleon’s army invaded Russia. Muravyov Nikita left home without explaining to his parents, and went to the army. The young man was credited there as an ensign. He became a member of the overseas campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814. The ensign was on the battlefield near Leipzig. The battle, due to its scale, became known as the “battle of the peoples."
In Europe
At the end of the campaign, Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich transferred to the General Staff. However, a few months later, in the same 1814, Napoleon returned from exile on the Elbe. The famous “100 days” began. At that time, after aggravation of the situation in Europe, Muravyov was seconded to Arseny Zakrevsky, one of the generals of the Russian headquarters in Vienna.
In the summer of 1815, Napoleon was finally defeated. The former emperor was sent to the island of St. Helena, where he died. Meanwhile, the young Muravyov Nikita triumphantly drove into Paris. Like other participants in Russian overseas campaigns, he was surprised at how much life in Europe differs from the realities of his native country. It was these impressions that later made many young people become Decembrists. In the meantime, Muravyov celebrated another victory with his comrades. In Paris, he acquired many important acquaintances for him, meeting with the leaders of the French Revolution - Bishop Henri Gregoire, writer Benjamin Constant, etc.
Homecoming
Feeling the backwardness of Russia from the West, Nikita Muravyov, after returning to his homeland with renewed vigor, took up his education. Even then, he knew many future Decembrists. They were united by the same circumstances of the biography: war, going abroad, enthusiastic impressions of free Europe.
Muravyov stood at the origins of the first organizations of the Decembrists. The Union of Salvation was created in 1816, and the Union of Welfare in 1818. The latter organization included about 200 people. Formally, it was a secret, but in fact the community was widely known. They knew about him and at the very top. The purpose of the Union was to educate the people, and especially the serfs. Decembrist Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich and his supporters believed that the main evil of Russia was precisely slavery in the village. In the liberated peasant, they saw the bright future of the country.
Union of Welfare
In the Union of Welfare, Nikita Muravyov, along with Sergei Trubetskoy and Alexander Muravyev (namesake) wrote the charter of the community - the Green Book. It formulated the basic requirements of those dissatisfied with the authorities. They wanted the abolition of serfdom, the destruction of the autocracy and the emergence of the Russian constitution.
Even Alexander I knew about the Green Book. Moreover, he let his prospective successor, his younger brother Konstantin Nikolayevich, read it. At first, the emperor did not pay attention to the Decembrist organizations, considering them the fun of the capital's youth. However, in 1820, Alexander’s opinion changed after several revolutions took place in Europe, and in Russia the Semenovsky regiment rebelled against his superiors .
Draft constitution
The Union of Welfare was dissolved in 1821. After the split of this organization, Nikita Muravyov initiated the creation of the Northern Society. In parallel, he served in the guard. While in Minsk with her, the Decembrist developed the first draft of the future constitution. In addition to the old requirements, new important provisions appeared in it. The constitution of Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov was written for a country in which the feudal system, recruitment, military settlements would be destroyed (which is why the Semenovsky regiment rebelled). The monarchy was to become limited. This project has been criticized by other Decembrist leaders.
Muravyov was the most influential member of the Northern Society along with Nikolai Turgenev and some other young people. The Decembrist did not forget to keep in touch with Pavel Pestel. He, in turn, was the head of the Southern Society and even made Muravyov a member of its governing body - the Directory, despite some ideological differences.
Arrest and exile
In December 1825, Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov, whose biography is an example of the life of one of the most important figures of the Decembrist movement, went on vacation with his family. Because of this, he missed all the events associated with the attempted uprising, standing on Senate Square and the defeat of those dissatisfied with the state system. Muravyov was arrested a few days later, on December 20. His leadership role in the life of a secret society was reported by Arkady Mayboroda, a former friend of Pestel and recently joined the Southern Society.
In 1826, by decision of the authorities, Muravyov was exiled to hard labor for 15 years (later the term was reduced). To the secret committee investigating the Decembrists' case, he presented his own essay on the history of revolutionary society. The convict served his sentence in the Chita prison and at the Petrovsky plant. In the link kept in touch with some Decembrists. After 10 years of hard labor, Muravyov went to a settlement in the Irkutsk village of Urik. There he was engaged in agriculture and even opened his own mill. He died at the age of 47, on May 10, 1843, without waiting for a pardon and return to St. Petersburg.