The victory over Napoleon brought Europe the long-awaited peace, but did not solve any internal problems of the Russian Empire. The post-war period of the reign of Alexander 1 is characterized by a new direction of civic activity - the social movement. For the first time in Russia, civic initiatives took on organized forms. The social movement under Alexander 1 laid the foundation of its activity on the foundation of liberal ideas.
Liberalism in the country
The ideas of European liberalism spread in Russia even during the time of Catherine II, who actively corresponded with such ideologists of this direction as Voltaire, Rousseau, Didro and others. However, later the Empress rejected such teachings, rightly fearing that they would harm the monarchical system of Russia.
The second wind the liberal movement in Russia received in 1812. Soldiers and officers who traveled to Europe returned to their homeland as staunch opponents of serfdom and the autocratic system. The absolute disregard by the authorities for the need to transform the country caused a deep discontent among the progressive sections of the population. It was under such conditions that the social movement under Alexander 1 was born and began its activity.
Summary
The first public organizations in Russia were Masonic lodges. The idea of the Masonic movement came from Europe. By the 20th year of the XIX century. members of the Masonic lodges were about 3 thousand noblemen, merchants and people of the middle class. Freemasonry gave society the experience necessary for the organization and operation of secret societies.
Basically, the
social movement under Alexander 1 is known for such secret societies: the Union of Salvation, the
Southern Society, the Union of United Slavs and others.
Salvation Union
This is the first large society. Its founder was A.N. Muravyov - Colonel of the General Staff, hero of World War II.
The main goal of the Salvation Union was the elimination of serfdom and the restriction of the rights of the monarchy. There were separate calls for a conspiracy and regicide, but they were not widespread among most members of the union.
After the decision was made to attract broad public support, the Union of Salvation disbanded, and on its basis the Union of Welfare arose. The secret society program had its own charter, which was known as the Green Book. The society is based on the same ideas as before - the overthrow of the autocracy and the destruction of the serfdom. But at the same time, the members of the union agreed to participate in state reforms along with the government, and attached great importance to the ideas of upbringing and education. When the government refused to reform the state, the social movement under Alexander 1 was in jeopardy. Successful military coups in Western Europe prompted the idea to organize a military rebellion in Russia and force the government to make concessions.
Therefore, after the Union of Welfare, new societies were created, called the North and South.
Northern Society
The center of the Northern Society was Petersburg. Members of the union were E.P. Obolensky, S.P. Trubetskoy, N.M. Muravyev and others. According to the program set forth by N. M. Muravyov in his "Constitution", Russia was to abandon the autocracy and become a constitutional monarchy. He also laid down the idea of a federal division of Russia into 15 “powers”. The rights of the emperor were limited. The personal freedom of the peasants was envisaged, and civil rights were introduced for each resident of Russia. These theses give an idea of what the social movement sought under Alexander 1.
Southern society
This civic education brought together officers who served in Ukraine. The head of the Southern Society is the hero of the Battle of Borodino, Colonel P.I. Pestel.
Under his leadership, a draft Constitution of Russia was created under the name "Russian Truth", but with more radical theses than Muravyov’s. So, the Russian Empire was to become a republican country, and not a monarchy. The state was to be governed by the supreme council and the popular council. The peasants were granted not only freedom, but also land plots.
Thus, the abolition of serfdom and radical transformations in the state were the foundations that characterized the social movement under Alexander 1. A table illustrating the brief goals of public organizations is presented below.
Members of secret societies actively discussed real ways to achieve their goals. The result was a decision on state military action.
Despite the conspiracy, the government was aware of the threats posed by the social movement under Alexander 1. In 1822 a decision was made to ban all Masonic lodges and secret societies. A few days before his death, the king ordered the arrest of participants in the rebellion. The unexpected death of the emperor pushed people to the uprising of 1825.