[ Pavel Pestel: Portrait of a
Revolutionary Leader ]
[HIS 537 Research Paper – Prof. Dr. Dan Rowland]
[Final Draft]
[University of Kentucky]
Jason Howard
[ Pavel Pestel: Portrait of a Revolutionary Leader ]
[Final Draft]
Pavel Pestel
[Jason Howard]
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Introduction
“I became a republican to the core of my being and could see no greater well-being or higher
blessing for Russia than a republican system of government. When I discussed this matter with
those who shared my way of thinking we started to picture the happiness, as we understood it,
that Russia would then enjoy. As we did so, I must admit that we became so delighted and excited
that we were all prepared not only to accept but to actively propose everything needed to achieve
the full realization, complete reinforcement and implementation of this order of things.”
-
Pavel Pestel’s statement to the Investigating Committee into the Decembrist affair on
January 12, 1826.
November 27, 1825 was the day marked by a group of revolutionary Russians for years.
It was not marked for the date’s significance, but because what happened that day; it was the day
when Alexander I drew his final breath. For years the revolutionaries had dreamed of this. Many
meetings and secret gatherings occurred where this group of revolutionaries shared ideas and
proposals to end serfdom, correct the ills that crippled Russia – the end game, a Russian
Republic. The sign to act was agreed upon: When Tsar Alexander I was dead, spring into action.
This group will be forever known as the Decembrists.
In retrospect, many of the things that would have seemed to work in the Decembrists’
favor actually did not. The confusion Alexander’s death brought about would have been the
perfect opportunity to strike, but as fate would have it, the movement was far too compromised
and ill-prepared to act. On December 14, 1825 Nicholas I was set to assume the throne just a few
days after Constantine, Viceroy of Poland, had sworn his oath. Constantine had declared an act
of renunciation in 1819 and thusly refused the crown. Mass confusion ensued coupled with
unrest as Russia had been without a leader for 17 days. Still worse yet, the first selection had
declined the highest honor in all the land.
Most importantly, the Russian troops were bewildered by this rapid change in power and
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many voiced their concerns. It was on this mood that the Decembrists hoped to capitalize. The
Decembrist movement was a largely militaristic one from the very beginning. Sensing that the
military was on their side, the leaders of the Decembrist movement decided now was the time to
act; they ultimately would fail but would inspire all of the revolutionary acts that would follow
them.
This one event shook Russia to its core and many great historians feel that it was the
single greatest event in Russian history, which ushered in all of the progress made during the 19th
and 20th centuries in Russia. Even Decembrist contemporaries, such as Alexander Herzen, saw
the Decembrists as sort of an answer to the “New World’s” Founding Fathers. America had
Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin and Russia had Muraviev, Trubetskoy, and Pestel. That point can
be argued as history tends to judge people in terms of success and failure, which does not bode
well for Pestel and company. For the purposes and scope of this paper, all that matters is an
agreement that the Decembrists were important historical Russian figures that sparked an entire
nation to question the status quo in 19th century Russia. It was a sentiment that would carry
through into early 20th century Russia.
As with all things in history, the Decembrist Revolt was a co-mingling of separate
random – in the case of the Decembrists, some planned – events that all led up to one moment in
time. As you peel back the layers you find where the ripples originated, almost as if you see the
first pebble dropping into the lake, before they grew into a groundswell of revolt. Seldom do
events happen without some form of precursors and the Decembrist Revolt is no different.
I opened this paper with a quote from Pestel during his trial held in 1826. It is one brief
insight into his mind and the way he thought. The question I hope to answer is what led to the
culmination of years of planning, secrecy, and unrest that resulted in revolt in St. Petersburg
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Square? Actually, it was more than that as it was a repudiation of the serf system and the status
quo in Russia.
Many have viewed Pestel as the lynchpin that set the entire revolt into motion. It is no
longer debated that he put together the most comprehensive constitution for a post-revolution
Russia, titled Russkaya Pravda.1 Some historians, like Pat O’Meara, have called Pestel the first
Russian Republican.2 So, to understand how the Decembrists and the revolt came to be we really
need to get to know the architect of it all; the man; the myth; the Decembrist, Colonel Pavel
Ivanovich Pestel.
Childhood and Upbringing
How we were raised and who raised us are often viewed as formative elements in our
characters. In fact, John Locke argued that education and upbringing makes the man in his essay
titled “Some Thoughts Concerning Education.” (Locke 1-10) The way in which Pestel was raised
coupled with his early influences and role models could be seen as central narratives for this
paper. If the objective is to know not only who Pestel was but to also know where his ideas came
from, then there is no better starting point than where the man himself began. So, let us travel
back to Moscow circa June 1793.
Pavel Pestel was one of over twenty descendants of immigrant German families,
including Andrei Rozen, Ivan and Mikhail Fonvizin, Aleksandr fon-der Brigen, Ivan Focht,
Vasili Tizengauzen and Ferdinand Volf, to become involved in the Decembrist movement.
(O'Meara 9) The Pestel family came to Russia during the reign of Peter The Great and Pavel’s
1
This was the constitution for the Southern Society branch of the Decembrists. It will be dissected later on but it
was heavily influenced by the French Revolution. The main inspirations from the French Revolution were the
policies of the Jacobins in France and the land reforms proposed by Abbe Antoine de Cournand.
2
This was the title of Pat O’Meara’s book on Pavel Pestel.
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grandfather, Boris Vladimirovich, served under Empress Elizabeth in 1751. Pavel’s grandfather
was a distinguished man who was St. Petersburg’s Pocht-Direktor 3 and paved the way for future
Pestels to perform service for the court.
Pavel’s father was Ivan Borisovich who was born in Moscow in 1765. He, like Pavel’s
grandfather, also served the court as he was part of Catherine the Great’s government starting in
1782. Following in the footsteps of his father – Pavel’s grandfather Boris – Ivan quickly rose to
the same rank his father had achieved. Only, Ivan was made Pocht-Direktor of Moscow at the
tender age of 24. (O'Meara 11) Ivan would go on to hold many other offices, including advising
roles similar to those seen in the executive branch in America. 4 Ivan Pestel’s good standing as
Governor general of Siberia caused much resentment and jealousy throughout the Russian
government. His downfall all began in April of 1817 when he nearly lost his post to General
Glazenap due to accusations that Ivan Pestel had accepted bribes. After an official investigation,
Pestel was cleared of all charges but this would not be the end of his troubles. In 1819, following
Glazenap’s death, Pestel was officially removed from his post, demoted, and replaced by M.M.
Speranskii who promptly filed charges of negligence against Pestel. The charges ranged from
giving too much power to local governments, taking bribes, and that he had been governing
Siberia from his home in St. Petersburg. To add even further insult to injury, Speranskii wrote
that Ivan Pestel had ‘one of the emptiest heads I have ever known.’ (O'Meara 12) This ended the
court life that Ivan Pestel had enjoyed but his career would continue for three more years until
his forced retirement in 1822.
The accusations against Ivan Pestel are all hard to definitively refute, except one. Pat
O’Meara argues that due to the fact that Ivan Pestel retired in great debt when other Russian
3
4
Postal Director. One of the major responsibilities of the postal director was to open private correspondence.
Ivan Pestel served as Postal Director of St. Petersburg and Moscow and Governor General of Siberia.
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officials during this time had piles of money and land from bribes they had received, that it
seems unlikely that Ivan Pestel had been accepting bribes during his career. (O'Meara 11)
Outside of his wife’s land and serf holdings, Ivan Pestel had almost no worldly possessions at the
time of his retirement. What goes even further to prove the closeness that Ivan and his son Pavel
shared is that Pavel Pestel was the only child that cared about his father’s debts. In a letter dated
March 13, 1822, Pavel Pestel offered to pay off his father’s debts and made good on the offer
when he sent him a whole years salary of 2,000 roubles in August, 1822. (O'Meara 13)
Perhaps what is most important about Pavel’s father is how much he enjoyed helping
people. He wrote to his young son, Pavel, about his altruistic views: “Son, high office brings just
one great joy: the possibility of making more and more people happy.” (O'Meara 9) He also
impressed upon Pavel, while he was studying at the Corps of Pages 5 that the role of his son’s
education was to help those less fortunate than him. This is something that stuck with Pavel as it
was brought up several more times, several years later in correspondence between the younger
and elder Pestel.
Following Ivan’s ousting from public office in 1822 he moved back home and devoted all
of his energy to the education and development of his son’s career. Ivan made it clear to all of his
sons, especially Pavel, that their role in life was to make things better for their countrymen.
It is probably safe to say that his father’s public disgrace left a lasting effect on Pavel. He
saw his father as someone who was highly regarded for nearly four decades just swept under the
rug as old news. This single event probably did more to embolden Pavel’s distrust in the current
government than anything else. It also led to his idea that one must work outside the current law
to achieve great things for the people of Russia.
5
The Corps of Pages was a privileged military establishment in St. Petersburg which prepared children of
aristocrats for military service.
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Pavel’s early education was mostly provided by his mother, Elizaveta Ivanova, the
daughter of a German writer. Much of what is written about her seems to agree that she was
highly intelligent. She was also very proud of her favorite son, Pavel. In fact, Nikolai Grech, a
journalist of the time wrote, “Elizaveta Ivanova was intelligent but not only educated but erudite.
She nevertheless instilled in her children, especially Pavel, both arrogance and inordinate
ambition combined with cunning, secretiveness and paranoia.” (O'Meara 11) This is something
that will come into play later as Pavel’s paranoia can be seen clearly in his advocacy of what
some might call a “police state.”
While at the Corps of Pages, a secondary educational institution in St. Petersburg, Pavel
read works from John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham and
Thomas Jefferson. On top of that he read voraciously at a very young age. His parents kept a
library in the house which was comprised of books by many of the same authors with some key
additions by Voltaire, Marmontel, Thomas Paine, Saint-Simon and Isaac Newton. So, from a
very early age, Pestel was learning from the pen strokes of a collection of men who played
important roles in the Enlightenment, French Revolution and American Revolution. This too
will come into play later. Pestel was an ardent fan of revolutions and was keenly aware of several
that took place during his era.
It is not known to what extent Pavel Pestel practiced religion throughout his life but it is
obvious it was a part of his life growing up and he struggled with his faith in his adult life. He
was raised a Lutheran as his mother was extremely devout. (O'Meara 13) During later
correspondence between Pavel and his mother, Pavel’s views on religion become clearer. He
seemed unable to link the world he saw (unjust, cruel, and exploitative) with something God, if
he existed, would allow. This was a common mindset amongst the Enlightenment thinkers Pestel
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had been reading extensively at this time.
It was at the Corps of Pages when Pestel became very skeptical about Lutheranism and
argued the points with his parents in a series of letters. His parents would respond with bible
quotations and wisdom to try and ease his concerns. During this exchange, Pavel and his father
discussed many religious matters. They talked about the existence of God and belief versus nonbelief. Pavel’s father, in the final letter, warned his son of ‘the perils that atheism brings.’
(O'Meara 40) 6
Throughout all of this, Pavel’s education continued and he began to stand out amongst
his peers. Pavel graduated at the top of his class and he took a career path that would forever
change his life. He was following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, but the journey
would coincide with major conflicts still ongoing in Western Europe. Pavel Pestel joined the
Russian army during the height of the Napoleonic wars. His childhood and upbringing would
carry him on to the military where he would form even more concrete beliefs about politics and
country.
Military Influences & Political Beginnings
As noted earlier, the Decembrist movement was by and large a military movement from
the very beginning. There were only a handful of individuals involved in the conspiracy and
uprisings in St. Petersburg and Vasilkov who were not either serving or former officers. After
their arrest, the first forms and written statements the prisoners were required to complete were
the formularnyi spisok or “declaration of service record.” (O'Meara 17)
6
These letters were summarized by Pat O’Meara in his book so direct quotes were not possible. The source is in
Russian and impossible to find.
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It is safe to say that at first, the military were pleased by Tsar Alexander’s rather liberal
reformation of Russian society. In 1818, the Tsar ordered a constitution be drawn up to reform
Russia. However, internal unrest, which Alexander felt stemmed from political liberalism, led to
a long series of repressions instead. This only served to further the unrest and help fuel what
would later become the Decembrist revolt. Following this repression, the Decembrist movement
grew and its followers and sympathizers displayed their contempt for the Tsar’s regime by
rejecting court lifestyle and wearing their cavalry swords to dances – a sign of their
unwillingness to dance. Instead, they committed themselves to enlightenment thought, which
helped them fit in with the Romanticism of the times. In fact, some leading historians have
claimed that the Decembrists like Pavel Pestel gave birth to the Intelligentsia in Russia.
(Steinberg) 7
Pavel Pestel became a poster child of sorts for the movement early own, having been
quoted as saying, “The desirability of granting freedom to the serfs was considered from the very
beginning; for that purpose a majority of the nobility was to be invited in order to petition the
Emperor about it. This was later thought of on many occasions, but we soon came to realize that
the nobility could not be persuaded. And as time went on we became even more convinced,
when the Ukrainian nobility absolutely rejected a similar project of their military governor.”
(Mazour 8)
One thing that must be noted is the influence that Western Europe had on Pestel and on
many of the Decembrists. Many of the Decembrist officers noted that after seeing and
experiencing the lifestyle many in Western Europe enjoyed, they felt it was their duty to enact
7
This is an audio source from The Teaching Company. There is an entire lecture on Pavel Pestel and the
Decembrist movement. Dr. Steinberg is a professor at the University of Illinois.
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political and social change in Russia. Pavel Pestel wrote in a letter to his parents that his time in
Western Europe was a defining moment and had made a deep impression on him. (O'Meara 19)
Pestel’s time in the Russian Military, especially that served in 1811-1813 in Western Europe,
helped mold the future Decembrist. Not only did Pestel’s regiment participate in the Battle of
Leipzig (1813), but Pestel was wounded during the conflict. He didn’t let that deter him from the
objective, though, and a wounded Pestel marched on as the Russians played a large part in
driving Napoleon back into France. At this point, Pestel had achieved somewhat of a ‘legendary
status’ amongst Russian soldiers and had won the admiration of the Russian army. After the
battle, Pestel was awarded the highest honor a Russian military man could hope for – much like
the Purple Heart in American culture – Pestel was granted the Golden Sword bearing the
inscription ‘For Valour’. Better still, it was awarded to him by the Commander In-Chief
Fieldmarshal Kutuzov himself. (O'Meara 18)
After the Napoleonic wars ended men like Pestel came home as great heroes and were
rewarded with cushy posts. Pavel Pestel was granted the title of Colonel of the Second Army in
Tulchin. The title gave Pestel plenty of free time to read and write and, most importantly, to
socialize. It was at this point he began seeking out like-minded individuals and eventually joined
the Union of Welfare, the Tulchin branch of the secret Decembrist society. It was also around
this time that Pestel began working on the masterpiece of his life, Russkaya Pravda. It is hard to
know exactly when he started working on it, but there are records that he had a workable copy as
early as 1821 because he had read extracts from the document to his close friend, General P.D.
Kiselev by this time. (O'Meara 28)
To further bolster his popularity with the Russian soldiers, Pestel published papers like
‘Memorandum on State Governance’ and ‘Memorandum on the Organization of the Armed
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Forces’ in which he lobbied for several improvements for soldiers. Included in the proposals was
a reduction in the standing army and a reserve army, which would allow soldiers to go home
during times of peace. He also campaigned for pay increases for officers and improved care and
support for veterans and their families. As a result, by 1822, it was reported that the Second
army’s condition had improved rapidly under Pestel’s command. (O'Meara 31) This made him
all the more appealing to his troops. Pestel seemed to have an uncanny ability to connect with the
soldiers of his nation. Even after Pestel incriminated every member of the Southern Society 8
following his arrest, they remained loyal to him years after his death.
Karl Fedorovich German & Outside World Influences
Going back to Pestel’s time at the Corps of Pages, perhaps the biggest influence on Pestel
during his formative years was the bond he established with one of his professors, Karl
Fedorovich German. It was in his class that Pestel learned in great detail about the Enlightenment
and, most importantly, the French Revolution. At this time, the French Revolution was only 20
years old but German saw, even then, the importance of the events. It was under German’s
tutelage that Pestel began to read the works of John Locke and Montesquieu and develop many
of his views that would later spill out onto the pages of Russkaya Pravda. During his interviews
with investigators later in life, after his arrest, Pestel stated that he was profoundly affected, for
the better, by the political science courses he took with Professor German at the Corps of Pages.
(O'Meara 74) The courses opened up Pestel’s eyes to the world beyond Russia, and the French
Revolution is the best example of a monarchy besieged by its populace.
8
The Southern Society was a branch of the original Decembrist group based in St. Petersburg. The membership of
the Southern society was comprised mostly of former Semenoviskii Guard members who joined after the
Semenoviskii mutiny in 1820. The Southern Society was the creation of Pestel. He organized it, wrote the
constitution and recruited all of the vital members.
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When asked about the origins of his revolutionary ideas, Pestel cited Professor German
and his studies of the French Revolution. In his own words: “It is a very difficult question to
answer because it goes beyond the bounds of discussing the secret society.” He then went on to
talk about overthrown monarchs, numerous coup d’états, and exiled rulers. He continued with:
“Moreover, every age has its distinctive features. Ours is remarkable for its revolutionary ideas.
From one end to the other, one in the same thing is apparent, from Portugal to Russia, not
excluding a single country, even those two extremes, England and Turkey. The whole of
America presents the same spectacle. This spirit of transformation everywhere induces, so to
speak, an intellectual ferment.” (O'Meara 44)
This goes to show that Pestel didn’t think his revolution was special or that the
Decembrists were trailblazers in the field of revolution and overthrowing a monarchy. Instead,
he seemed to feel that it was a common goal all of humanity was embracing in his age. This
quotation also tells us that Pestel was influenced by outside events and revolutions.
The Portuguese Revolution of 1820 was one of the influences directly implicated by
Pestel as playing a part in his revolutionary attitude. The Portuguese revolution was a mainly
political revolution that erupted in 1820 and lasted until 1826. Much like the Decembrist
movement, it was a military coup that started with secret societies in the city of Porto and
quickly spread through the entire Northern part of Portugal. The Portuguese revolution resulted
in three things. First, Portugal drafted a constitution which resembled the 1812 Spanish
Constitution. Secondly, it gave power to the people of Portugal after setting up a constitutional
monarchy where the people had the right to vote for elected officials. Thirdly, it re-established
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exclusive trade between Portugal and Brazil. (Birmingham 109-142) 9
A concurrent revolution to the Portuguese revolution was the Spanish Revolution of
1820, sometimes referred to as the Trieno Liberal. Much like the revolution in Portugal and the
Decembrist revolution, it was fought in the aftermath of the Napoleonic War. The revolution was
fought between the Royalists (or nobility) and the Liberals (or people), and despite French
intervention on the side of the Royalists, the Liberals won out. The people forced the monarchy
of Spain to issue a liberal constitution against its will. (Carr 207-251) 10
There were other revolutions around this time as well such as Robert Emmet’s rebellion
against English Rule in Ireland. Also during this time there was the Peninsula War between
France and Spain, the Mexican War for Independence, the Serbian revolution against the
Ottoman Empire, the Peru revolution, the Greek War of Independence and the Scottish
Insurrection. All of these took place between the years 1803-1820 and Pestel was at the very
least aware of the revolutions in Spain, Portugal, and Greece, and most likely aware of the others
as well. (O'Meara 44-46)
11
Oddly enough, the United States proved to be the ne plus ultra of Pestel’s admiration.
Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine’s writings combined with the overwhelming success of the
United States made a powerful impression on Pestel. He remarked to the Investigating
committee, “All the newspapers and political essays so strongly commend the growth of welfare
in the United States, ascribing this to state structure, that it seemed to me clear evidence of the
Republican system.” (O'Meara 45)
9
This was not a direct quote but rather a synopsis of what I read in Birmingham’s book.
This was not a direct quote but rather a synopsis of what I read in Carr’s book.
11
We know from testimony by Pestel during his time at the Peter Paul fortress that he directly talked about the
Spanish, Portuguese, American, French and Greek revolutions. He was also very well read and seemed to really
keep his finger on the pulse of revolutions throughout the world.
10
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It is obvious from the climate and Pestel’s testimony that he felt there was some PanEuropean urge for change. When added with his upbringing and his father’s directive to make
the lives of his countrymen better, it’s likely that Pestel felt the course of action he had chosen
was his chief purpose in life. Given the world around him and the influences in his life, Pestel
most likely felt a sense of duty which drove his desires for revolution in Russia.
Russian Justice & Pestel’s Vision for Russia
So far, we have examined the influences that guided Pestel along his path from a child in
Moscow to the revolutionary he would soon become. Now the examination in this paper shifts to
Pestel’s ideas and vision for Russia. First, let us take a look at what he disliked about the Russia
he saw before him between the years 1818-1824. In common with many Decembrists, he placed
great importance the emancipation of serfs and he was repulsed by the horrible conditions in
which peasants lived. Pavel believed so strongly in serf emancipation that he sought to free his
own serfs. However, he met considerable opposition from his mother who was the legal owner of
all of the serfs on the Pestel estates. He was ultimately unable to distance himself from serfdom.
(O'Meara 47)
Pestel was also dissatisfied with several other social issues unrelated to serfdom. He
disliked the privileges Alexander I granted to certain annexed regions of Russia – namely,
Finland and Poland – and he lamented the decline in Russian trade and national wealth.
Pestel’s issues with the liberal constitutions granted to Finland and Poland really fall into
two categories. His first issue was ideological. He was deeply opposed to federalism and felt that
there needed to be a strong Russian state of which all areas of the country belonged, thus
granting the same rights to everyone. His second issue seemed to be jealousy. Many of the
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Decembrists had an issue with Alexander promising liberal reforms to Russia and then only
giving them out to the newest acquired territories while the rest of Russia still had to deal with
the feudal system.
Pestel also saw massive corruption in the Russian political system and, as already
discussed earlier in this paper, he saw many needs for reform in the Russian military. Perhaps the
biggest belief that he gained from his reading of John Locke and Locke-inspired Thomas
Jefferson was the belief that all men had the right to property. Pestel looked around Russia and
saw a country where the elite few had everything and the vast majority had nothing. This seems
to fit the Pestel narrative of a country in absolute despondency and a country in desperate need of
a metamorphosis for the sake of all Russians.
Pestel had met Nikita Muraviev, Sergei Trubetskoi, Fedor Glinka, Pavel Lopukhin,
Alexander Muraviev, Sergei and Matvei Muraviev-Apostol, Ilya Dolgorukov and several other
Decembrists in 1816 when he joined the Union of Salvation. It was here that the seeds of distrust
grew between Muraviev and Pestel that would later serve as the splintering of the movement
between the Northern and Southern societies. Muraviev felt that Pestel was too radical and
wanted to become a dictator while Pestel felt that Muraviev was not radical enough.
The biggest change to come from these early meetings was due in large part to Mikhail
Novikov. Prior to meeting him, Pestel favored a system which kept the monarchy but did away
with serfdom. Pestel admitted to the Investigating Committee that Novikov wrote the first
constitution for a new Russia which pre-dated Russian Justice and that it resembled the
American constitution. Pestel further went on to say that after meeting Novikov and reading his
work that he later began to agree with his advocacy of the Republican system. (O'Meara 52)
So, around February, 1817 Pestel began work on a constitution of his own. This
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document was named Russkaya Pravda (Russian Justice). While there were several pieces to the
document, the two main planks seem to be the extirpation of the Russian absolutist-monarchy and
its replacement with a constitutional-monarchy coupled with the total abolition of serfdom by
petitioning the nobility. Once it became clear that this approach would fail the Decembrists
began to plan a coup d’état. As noted at the start of this paper, the Union of Salvation agreed at
this point that the death of Alexander I would be the signal for action.
Pestel’s new constitution was more radical and called for a complete overthrow of the
Russian monarchy and his creation of a republic in its place. This splintered the Decembrists as
several members, such as Trubetskoi and Muraviev, preferred a more peaceful approach. They
wanted to slowly change the hearts and minds of Russians and force a peaceful change rather
than an outright coup. In January of 1820, Pestel traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with the
Union of Welfare leaders. Pestel had grown impatient with the Northern society and met with 14
members. (O'Meara 61) Pestel left the meeting having changed no minds as most of the Union of
Welfare felt that his ideas were far too radical.
Pestel worked on several different versions of Russian Justice between the years 18171825. By 1822-1823, the version of Russian Justice for which he is best known was in controlled
circulation to a few Decembrist loyalists he trusted. This was the version which advocated the
full overthrow of the Russian monarchy and the establishment of a republic. It also called for
land redistribution with half going to the state and the other half being divided up amongst the
Russian peasants. Only the first five chapters of Russian Justice exist in their full form. The last
five chapters were either never completed or lost. There is some speculation that after Pestel’s
arrest, loyal members destroyed copies of Russkaya Pravda, which might have implicated them
in the plot against the Tsar. With no way of knowing the true fate of the last five chapters, the
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best anyone can do is offer up a guess as to their whereabouts. The first five chapters do exist
and were titled “On Territorial Extent of the State”; “On the Peoples Inhabiting Russia”; “On the
Estates Which are Found in Russia”; “On the People in the Political Sense”; On the People in the
Civil Sense”. The last five chapters dealt with state governance and some historians, like Pat
O’Meara and Marc Raeff, have pieced together a good portrait of Pestel in those regards using
some of his essays. Pestel also wrote his social-political treatise during this time frame as well as
his essays “A Note on State Government” and “The State Department of Justice”. Among those
three documents he outlined his views on the form of the civil and criminal court system as well
as a class structure that was fair to all.
Chapter one of Russian Justice mainly set out to establish laws and boundaries for
Russia. It also established a capital city for Russia. Oddly enough, the capital for this new Russia
would be much like the American capital. “The area in which the capital sits must not be part of
any region, because the Supreme Administration with all the principal government authorities
resides in the capital; and the union of the capital with any one of the regions will give the latter
too much importance. This is why the capital must be a separate area unto itself under the name
of “Capital District.” (Raeff 138-39) The spot chosen by Pestel for the Capital District was
Nizhnii Novgorod – to be renamed Vladimir in honor of the man who brought Christianity to
Russia –because it was situated at the center of Russia and it was best suited for domestic trade
because it was well connected with both Asia and Western Europe. The first chapter is wrapped
up with the establishment of ten states or provinces. The arrangement was similar to the state
system that is used in the United States. Each region had its own government, but was itself
governed by the Supreme Administration.
Chapter Two established laws and uniformity. “The laws must be the same throughout
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the entire territory of every state to promote unity…” and the chapter goes on to touch on
religious law as well. “Religious laws may be divided into Christian law and others. The acts of
all non-Christian faiths which are contrary to the spirit of the Christian law must be prohibited,
but everything that is not contrary to its spirit, even though different from it, may be permitted.”
(Raeff 139-41) Oddly enough, Pestel, whose religious beliefs were ambiguous, went on for a
little over a page about religious laws and the need for Russians to obey the first two
commandments; “Thou shall love thy God” and “Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself” in
framing the laws in which he felt were important to Russia.
One of the key topics throughout this paper has been Pestel’s wavering religious beliefs
and the first two chapters of Russian Justice seem to indicate that religion was always important
to Pestel no matter the level of his belief. As Pat O’Meara describes, by Easter of 1825 there
appeared to be a genuine reawakening of Pestel’s religious faith. (O'Meara 40) The copy of
Russian Justice which has survived dates to around 1824-5 as it was one of Pestel’s final copies.
It is unclear if religion always played such a central role in Pestel’s vision or if it were added in
after his reawakening. Pestel told the Investigating Committee that in 1825 he attended
communion for the first time since 1820 and while at the Peter-Paul Fortress, Pestel demanded to
receive communion on Easter 1826. There will be more on Pestel’s religious practices while at
the Peter-Paul fortress later in this paper.
Perhaps coinciding with Pestel’s renewed faith he wrote a long memorandum titled ‘On
the Upbringing of Soldiers’, which dealt with the religious education of children.12 The view he
touted was very much in line with his view on laws in Chapter Two of his Constitution. He wrote
that ‘God’s law should be the guide of every schoolchild’s action’ and that ‘regular bible reading
12
‘On the Upbringing of Soldiers’ was undated so it’s only speculation that it was written after his renewed faith.
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was the surest way of inculcating in right-minded youngsters love and respect for Christian
teachings.’ (O'Meara 40) He ended his memorandum with the affirmation that Christian values
were vital for a functioning society. This leaves us to wonder about Pestel’s religiosity and we
are unable to make any bold claims that he was or was not driven by his religious convictions. If
anything it points to a man who was conflicted over his faith and tortured by an internal struggle
between faith and worldly logic and reason.
In Chapter three of Russian Justice, Pestel lays out the roles of each class of citizen
within the government and says it is vital for them all to be equal in the eyes of the law. The
twelve divided classes include the clergy; nobility; merchants; townspeople; peasants; free
agriculturists; military colonists; soldier’s children; peasants of noblemen; household serfs;
factory peasants; monastery peasants. Pestel advocated abolishing all of the serf roles and wrote
a rather scathing indictment of the nobility and the limitation of its rights under his government.
“At present the nobility is an estate separated from the mass of the nation by virtue of
special privileges. To own other men in property, to sell, pawn, give away, inherit men
like other things, to use them according to one’s own caprice without their prior consent
and exclusively for one’s own profit, advantage, and at times whim, is shameful, contrary
to humanity, contrary to the laws of nature, contrary to the Holy Christian faith, contrary,
at last, to the will of the Almighty who has declared in the scriptures that all men are
equal in his eyes and that only their deeds and virtues make difference in them. For this
reason there can no longer be in Russia the right for one man to possess another and
slavery, in all forms, must be definitively abolished. Destruction of slavery and serfdom
is enjoined to the Supreme Administration as its most sacred and unfailing duty.” (Raeff
150-51)
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The chapter goes on to strip the nobility of their special rights and hold them to the same
laws and standards as all other members of Russian society. The goal in chapter three was to
abolish all class distinctions and to create just one “civil estate” of which everyone would be
included with no exceptions. Further, all males would be enfranchised by the age of 20 with no
property or educational requirements. Also granted to all members of the civil estate were the
freedom of speech, worship and occupation. The parallels from Chapter three of Russian Justice
to the Bill of Rights in America are too numerous to ignore. Equality in the eyes of the law
coupled with freedom of speech and worship read much like the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
To further enable the serf and peasant classes, Pestel demanded three things for them.
First, serfdom must be abolished immediately and without exception. Second, all serfs must be
granted 10.9 hectacres of land by their owner. This effectively would strip serf owners – mostly
nobility – of their land holdings after the state took their half. In fact, the land laws laid out by
Pestel were quite complex. Half of all land would be confiscated by the state and would be used
for production purposes to benefit all of society. This land could not be sold or mortgaged. From
this land, over a 15 year period, each family of five would be granted a plot they could farm for a
year before returning it to the commune with the option to keep it for further use, if needed. The
largest landowners in Russia were the biggest losers in Pestel’s system. Landowners with more
than 10,000 hectacres were not compensated for the loss of their land. Those that had land
holdings less than this number were at least compensated with cash payments or less desirable
land holdings in other areas. As far as privately held land, it was expected to produce an over
abundance of goods which could be bought, sold and shared freely amongst all Russians. Pestel
envisioned a Russia full of landowners in which “there will not be one Russian who is not a land
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owner and poverty will be eliminated altogether.” (O'Meara 80) Pestel in chapter four gave every
Russian the right to a basic living. In Chapter 4, right number twelve he gives all Russians “The
right to minimum livelihood not out of charity but as a basic human right.” (Raeff 154)
Pestel defended his land-law ideas represented in chapter four by affirming the existence
of two basic truths regarding land. First, he claimed that land was a gift from God and nature and
should be governed under communal laws. Secondly, he asserted that land should belong to
whoever cultivates it. Pestel’s goal seemed to be assuring every Russian had the right to a basic
living. This was termed the “Agrarian problem” by Anatole Mazour who summarized Pestel’s
stance as ‘all men are created equal, therefore all land must be held as common property among
them.’ (Mazour 105) In fact, Pestel wrote his own defense of his land reform proposal as appears
in Russian Justice. “The land is common property of the human race and not of private persons,
and therefore cannot be divided among a few men. As soon as there exists even a single person
who does not possess any land, the will of God and laws of nature are totally violated and the
natural rights eliminated by force and tyrannical government.” (Raeff 153-54)
Pestel’s land reforms seem to be inspired by Antoine de Cournand’s 1791 pamphlet titled
‘Of Prosperity, or, The Cause of the Poor Pleaded Before the Tribunal of Reason, Justice and
Truth.’ (Mazour 106) In his pamphlet, Cournand suggested that the French government
confiscate a third of all arable land in France. From this pool of land, each male citizen at birth
was to be given enough land to sustain himself and his family once he became of age to use it.
Upon the death of that citizen, his land would be returned to the pool and reallocated to a new
citizen. The remaining two-thirds of the land would be granted to those who worked the land on
contracts so they could produce wealth for the nation. (Aulard 229-231) Pestel was well read
when it came to Revolutionary France and that combined with the similarity of the two systems
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points to the fact that he was most likely familiar with Cournand’s writings.
Finally, Pestel envisioned a Russia where the banking system would catch up to what was
present in England and America. In Chapter five he made a promise that all townships would
create banks with the sole purpose of increasing trade and commerce in Russia. It appears that
Pestel’s ideas for Russian commerce were very akin to Adam Smith’s ideologies. More
specifically, Pestel was really interested in laissez-faire economics. He believed that you gave
every man a basic living and from there men would decide their total worth by how hard they
worked.
Pestel seemed to be a staunch advocate of the republic and state centralization that was
present in the United States. He envisioned a one-chamber People's Veche 13 that was to be
Russia's legislative body. The Supreme Administration was going to be the executive branch and
the Supreme Sobor was going to be the judicial system.
There were downsides for Pestel’s proposal, which bring us back to his childhood. His
mother instilled in him many traits and paranoia was one of them. Pestel’s constitution created a
Jacobin style police force numbering 113,000 men. To put this in perspective, Nicholas I, the
Tsar Pestel wished to replace only had 4,000 men in his secret police, the Third Department.
(O'Meara 82) It also strikes me as ironic that in the stated objectives of this police force, one of
their main goals was to shut down and suppress all secret societies. Considering Pestel had
belonged to countless secret societies and started several in Tulchin and other places where none
existed, it smacks as a bit ironic that he wanted to squash the very thing that would make his
dream possible. In fact, many of Pestel’s closest friends felt that Pestel’s ultimate goal was to
become a dictator. Mikhail Bakunin wrote “Pavel Pestel is a man inextricably linked to his age
13
The people’s veche was a popular assembly in Slavic countries during this time. It is similar to the ecclesia of
classical Athens.
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and class who, in seeking to replace autocracy with a republican dictatorship, saw himself as its
dictator.” (O'Meara 87) Even one of Pestel’s greatest admirers, Alexander Herzen, believed that
Pestel’s goal was to become the dictator of Russia.
Pestel consistently defended himself against such remarks and opinions of his ambitions.
He wrote a letter to members of the Southern Society in which he stated that “when the Russian
people, having accepted Russian Justice, are happy then I will retire to a monastery in Kiev and
live out my remaining time as a monk.” (O'Meara 187) It is hard to take Pestel at his word due to
the fact that the ‘cohort perdue’ was proposed by Pestel in 1824 followed by the plan for a tenyear provisional government that Pestel would control. (O'Meara 144) The ‘cohort perdue’ was a
terrorist style strike at the Imperial family in which shortly before the planned coup, a
detachment of assassins would kill the entire royal family – women and children included.
During the hearings at the Peter-Paul fortress, it was proposed by several Decembrists that this
commando-style form of regicide was the brainchild of Pestel himself. Pestel denied the claims
and asserted that the idea was Mikhail Lunin’s but admitted that the idea had been discussed.
The most damning of evidence against Pestel was the testimony of Nikita Muraviev who recalled
a discussion at an 1824 meeting of the Decembrist society. When Pestel brought up the idea of
the ‘cohort perdue’ – a 12 man assassination crew to take out the Imperial family – Muraviev
raised an issue. He recounted in his testimony that he said ‘regicide will undermine all we have
worked for as those with blood on their hands would be disgraced in the public forum and unable
to wield the power they have taken by force.’ (O'Meara 146) Muraviev said Pestel calmly replied
that the men chosen for this task would be disaffected youth that were not tied to the
Decembrists. Pestel said that after these men had done their job they would be sacrificed in a
public forum shortly after the takeover, thus the Imperial family would be avenged and the right
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to rule would not be disputed. (O'Meara 146) This illustrates a very power hungry and almost
maniacal side to Pestel. It is one thing to wish to liberate your country and overthrow the
monarchy. It is an entirely different thing when you wish to commit pre-meditated murder of an
entire bloodline so you can ascend to power. On a side note, approximately 100 years after the
discussion of this ‘cohort perdue’ it would come up again and successfully be waged during the
1917 revolution. The extermination of the bloodline of Alexander I would ultimately be carried
out by the Bolsheviks in July, 1918.
Let us make no mistake about it, Pestel ultimately wanted the destruction of the royal
family and with it, the power of the Tsar as illustrated by this excerpt from the memoirs of A.D.
Borovkov.
‘Let’s count them on our fingers. I’ll organize twelve assassins. Baryatinskii has already
recruited some.’ When he got to the female members of the Imperial Family Pestel
paused and said: ‘You know, Poggio, this is terrible!’ but nevertheless concluded his
frightful calculation at 13, adding: ‘If you kill the other ranks too, there’ll be no end to it.
All the Grand Duchesses have children. It will be enough to deprive them of the right to
reign, and anyway who would want a throne so covered in blood?’ But Pestel himself, as
his confederate-accuser testifies, wanted for himself the tsar’s power. ‘Who’, he asked
Poggio, ‘will head the Provisional government?’
‘Who other than he who initiated and undoubtedly will complete the great cause of the
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revolution? Who apart from you?’
‘It will be difficult for me, having a non-Russian name.’ 14 (O'Meara 143)
This left little doubt in the Investigating Committee’s mind that Pestel’s bloodthirsty
attitude was a product of his desire to establish himself as a new dictator. This was compounded
by several other things. The sworn testimony of several Decembrists – I.V. Poggio, Aleksei
Yushnevskii, Vasilli Davydov, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Sergei Volkonskii and others – cohobated
this story of Pestel’s desire for regicide and establishing himself as a dictator. Perhaps the most
damning piece of evidence against Pestel was the sworn testimony of his former friend, now
turncoat, Maiboroda who claimed that Pestel had ‘declared the annihilation of the entire imperial
family to be the sine qua non of the coup’s successes. (O'Meara 144)
While it is easy to get on board with Pestel’s views and visions for Russia, it must be
noted that there were serious flaws within both his character and ideas. His bloodlust in regards
to the Royal family was rightfully seen as barbaric by the Investigating Committee. It can also be
reasonably argued that Pestel would have been another Napoleon Bonaparte had the revolution
actually succeeded. 15 As is often the case with a review of history there are usually no moral
victors.
Time at Peter Paul Fortress and Death
After over a decade of planning, the Decembrist efforts to stage a coup went out with a
whimper. The reasons for this seem to be tri-fold. First, the carefully thought out plans of the
14
This was a discussion at a January 1824 meeting as recounted by I.V. Poggio. Several other Decembrists verified
this conversation during their testimony and claimed that from this meeting on, Pestel was happy, content and felt
that he was tabbed as the leader of the post-Revolution Russia.
15
Oddly enough, Pestel was a big fan of Napoleon while studying at the Corps of Pages. The parallels between the
men are numerous. Both rising from the military ranks, they wanted to rule their nation. While they brought with
them several reforms that benefit the common man they essentially wish to establish a dictatorial government.
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Decembrists were hinging on a rather weak sign for revolt. By making their signal for action the
death of Alexander I, they were caught off guard when he suddenly died at the age of 47. When
they had made this the signal in 1818, Alexander was a robust and healthy 40 years old. The plan
was to make this a tentative plan and once everything was hashed out, decide on something more
concrete. With Alexander I’s untimely death, the Decembrists were, for lack of a better phrase,
caught with their pants down. Secondly, the succession crisis that ensued after the Tsar’s death
left many Decembrists unsure of how to act. The revolt in St. Petersburg was easily dispersed
with gunfire and gave the Russian monarchy all the intel it needed to link the Decembrist
movement to the leaders. Thirdly, Nicholas I acted fast after the St. Petersburg revolt flopped and
quickly arrested most of the leaders of the Northern and Southern societies. Nicholas I conducted
many of the preliminary interrogations himself at the Winter Palace. (O'Meara 161) His swift
and resolute actions coupled with the carefully laid plans of the Decembrists falling through,
stopped the movement in its tracks.
Even if events had not unfolded the way they did, Pestel’s fate was likely sealed. The
noose had been tightening around him for awhile. In the summer of 1825, Alexander I received
the Shevrud report which detailed a large military uprising in the South. (O'Meara 162) 16
Alexander I’s first reaction was disbelief, so he ordered a more detailed report be done. The Tsar
demanded irrefutable proof before he would act. Alexander I then offered I. V. Shevrud 1,000
rubles and a year of leave to go and find his proof. In September of 1825, Shevrud had infiltrated
the Southern Society and was posing as a Decembrist himself. (O'Meara 162) Alexander I was
finally convinced when a report from General I.O. Vitt uncovered documents and plans to
overthrow the monarchy. Furthermore, that report produced evidence that showed that Colonel
16
The Shevrud report was conducted by I.V. Shevrud after Alexander I caught wind of possible mutiny within his
military. He assigned I.V. Shevrud the task of investigating it and it was known as the ‘Shevrud report’.
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Pavel Pestel was the ringleader of the entire movement. (O'Meara 165)
As if that were not enough, less than two weeks after Alexander I’s death, one of Pestel’s
friends, A.I. Maiboroda, sent a letter to Taganrog which detailed Pestel’s involvement in the
Decembrist movement and supplemented the membership roster the Shevrud report had
compiled. From letters and writings by Pestel, it appears that the root of the betrayal was that
Pestel had found out that Maiboroda had been embezzling funds allocated to the army payroll.
This letter seemed to be Maiboroda’s way of getting back at Pestel. (O'Meara 163) The
Maiboroda letter not only listed 46 names of Decembrists, but painted Maiboroda himself as a
whistleblower. In his letter, he claimed that he had caught wind of the revolt when Pestel asked
him to ready the troops for a coup. Maiboroda went on to claim that he avoided Pestel after that
to the point Pestel made up charges of embezzlement against him so he could replace him. So,
Maiboroda caught Pestel away on business during the night of November 24, 1825 and left camp
to dispatch his letter to save the nation.
In all three reports – Shevrud, Vitt, and Maiboroda – Pestel was named as the ring leader
of the staged revolt. So, even if Alexander I had lived and the revolts had remained in the
planning stages, it is unlikely Pestel would have eluded the confines of the Peter Paul Fortress.
He was officially arrested on December 13, 1825, just days before the revolution took place.
Pestel arrived at the Peter-Paul Fortress on January 3, 1826, and that is where he
remained for the rest of his life – which was not long. While there, he happily told investigators
about his plans and ideas for Russia. My best guess is that he knew there was no escaping his
fate at this point and just wanted to get everything he could on record. This is a bit ironic since
Pestel boasted to his friends about how he would never give anything away, no matter how
cruelly he was treated. (O'Meara 121) While Pestel did hold out at first when it seemed that it
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was his word against Maiboroda’s, after other Decembrists such as Sergei Trubetskoi were
interrogated and confirmed Pestel’s leadership in the movement, Pestel seemed to give up the
fight and cooperated with the investigators. Pestel was not only the most frequently interviewed
prisoner but he was also asked the most written questions; Pestel answered 195 written questions
in all.17 (O'Meara 171)
The only thing Pestel refused to give up was the location of his constitution, Russian
Justice. For the most part this was because he did not know the location of the document as it
was hidden shortly after his arrest by other Decembrists. Nikolai F. Zaikan, one of the
Decembrists who knew the location of the document, was escorted to Tulchin from St.
Petersburg to show the Investigating committee where Russian Justice was buried. (Mazour 100)
Zaikan proved unable to find the document three times and investigators began to think he was
leading them astray on purpose. On the final attempt, his youngest brother Fedor Zaikan
accompanied them and he was able to find the document. 18 Fedor had been shown the location
by Nikolai Pushkin who feared he would not survive his impending arrest and detention. He
wanted someone unaffiliated with the movement to know where the documents were so they
could be recovered at a later date in the event all of the people who knew of their location were
executed. (O'Meara 174) The document had been buried in a village garden and once it was
recovered, it became the key piece of evidence which incriminated all of the Decembrists. After
the recovery of Russian Justice it was quickly sealed up and sent to the capital. The document
17
Pestel was interrogated six times in January (7, 10, 13, 16, 17, 23), nine times in February (3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20,
24), just once in March (24), eleven times in April (6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22, 23, 27) and a final time in May (8).
During April 22 he was interrogated 11 times on the same day.
18
Zaikan was one of Pestel’s most ardent supporters and he felt extremely bad about the betrayal of Pestel. He led
search parties on three wild goose chases before they ultimately found Pestel’s documents. In the memoirs of A.P.
Belayaev he noted that Zaikan felt so bad after this betrayal that he tried to commit suicide by beating his head
against the concrete wall of his cell. The fate of Zaikan was 20 years of exile; he never lived to taste freedom again
as he died in 1833, seven years after being sentenced.
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would remain hidden from public view for over 75 years.
At the Peter-Paul Fortress, Pestel met his end but also renewed his faith. In a letter dated
May 1, 1826, Pestel wrote to his parents of his renewed faith in Christ and said that it was all that
was sustaining him throughout his ordeal. (O'Meara 175) Pestel also requested to take
communion on Saturday during Easter weekend of 1826. This is when he met Pastor Reinbot
who would spend a lot of time with Pavel Pestel from April of 1826 to his death. During that
Easter weekend, Pastor Reinbot spent an hour and a half with Pestel. Afterward he relayed to
Pavel’s father, Ivan Borosovich Pestel, that ‘Pavel was completely reconciled with God and with
our savior.’ (O'Meara 175) Pavel Pestel also had a German and Russian translation of the bible in
his cell. Both were provided to him by Pastor Reinbot. Even if religion had taken a backseat for
Pavel from the years of 1820-1825, it appears that in the final two years of his life that his
convictions were strong. However, Pestel’s repentance and newfound faith did not lighten the
sentence he was about to receive from the investigating committee.
In the final report, the investigating committee separated the conspirators into eleven
different categories. The categories were filled based primarily on the testimony of Pavel Pestel
himself with him being considered the worst offender of the group. The secretary of the
Investigating Committee, A.D. Borovkov, wrote in his memoirs “he has a rich mixture of
conflicting epithets such as intelligence, cunning, enlightenment, cruelty, persistence and
resourcefulness.” (O'Meara 186) The punishments handed down for the conspirators ranged from
time served, to exile, to political or real death. Those in the secondary category of conspirators
were sentenced to political death. In a public forum they would be forced to put their head on a
chopping block and the Tsar would spare them, only to exile them to labor camps where they
would spend the rest of their life. For those in the first category of conspirators, they were to be
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beheaded. There was some degree of political calculation in this sentence, however. It was seen
as barbaric and because the Decembrists were popular in some circles, the committee suggested
this punishment so Nicholas could refuse it and offer a less barbaric death for the Decembrists.
This would allow him to be seen as merciful. Nicholas I issued a statement to the court which
read, “Enough blood has been shed. These men shall not be beheaded, shot or quartered. No
execution which entails the shedding of blood will be accepted.” (O'Meara 178) With clear
orders from the Tsar himself, the court ordered the men to be hanged.
The final report listed three types of crimes the Decembrists were guilty of. They
included regicide, revolt and military mutiny. 19 Perhaps a cruel twist of fate for the elder Ivan
Pestel, is that M.M. Speranskii was one the main voices in favor of executing the ringleaders of
the Decembrists. 20 He cited Article 19 of the 1716 Military statute which listed death as a
suitable punishment for service men who commit treason. (O'Meara 177) This was in direct
contradiction of Catherine the Great’s Nakaz which abolished the death penalty in Russia. Only
one man cast a dissenting vote against execution, citing the Nakaz, and that was Senator N.S.
Mordinov. (O'Meara 181)
On July 13, 1826 the five men in the first category of conspirators were hanged. Ryleev,
Muraviev, Ryumin, Kakhovskii, and, last but not least, Pestel were all hanged. The men were
forced to sit and watch the construction of the scaffolding before they were hooded and placed in
their noose. The men were placed in their noose by the order in which they were sentenced.
Pavel Pestel was first, followed by Ryleev, Muraviev, Ryumin and Kakhovskii. (O'Meara 180)
19
This was listed in the text of the official Court Report printed in Marc Raeff’s book on page 172. It also appears in
O’Meara (177) and Mazour (181). It should be noted that the count of regicide was seen as the main cause for the
court wishing to have the men executed. It also was Nicholas I’s major concern.
20
This is the same M.M. Speranskii who had Ivan Pestel fired from his Governor general post in 1819 and
ultimately forced to retire in 1822. Four years later he was one of the chief men lobbying for the death of Ivan
Pestel’s eldest son.
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The execution was botched and only Pestel and Ryumin died the first attempt. The ropes broke
on the other three and they had to be hung a second time. With the deaths of the men also came
the death of their movement in the flesh but not in the spirit
Conclusion
While Pavel Pestel’s ambitions were never achieved during his lifetime, his profound
effect on Russian culture is undeniable. It was not shortly after his death that Nicholas I passed
several liberal reforms to quell the unrest in his nation. While it is true that Russian absolutism
would continue for almost a century after Pestel’s death, the Decembrist movement did help
weaken the monarchy. In 1861, thirty-five years after Pestel’s death and two years before the
Emancipation Proclamation in America, Pestel’s dream came true with the abolition of serfdom
in Russia.
There were other victories that Pestel and his movement can claim as well. Shortly after
his death in 1827, Nicholas tasked Speransky with codifying Russian law. It was an effort that
would continue throughout Nicholas’ reign. (Trigos 99-107)
The Decembrists would go on to inspire a generation of artists, writers and poets as well.
Alexander Herzen placed the profiles of the Decembrists on his Polar Star publication.
Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Nekrasov would go on to write several poems about the
Decembrists. Leo Tolstoy started writing a novel on that liberal movement which would later
become War and Peace. (Trigos 103-132)
Alexander Herzen would write: “The cannons’ thunder, ringing out in Senate Square,
roused an entire nation.” While Nathan Eidelman wrote: “Without the Decembrists, there
wouldn’t have been a Pushkin.” (Trigos 80-89)
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Pavel Pestel represents everything I love about history. He was both a hero and a villain;
an emancipator and a tyrant; altruistic and selfish. In the end he was all too human and can be
seen as a flawed hero by many and a madman by others. His contributions to Russian society
well outlasted his life and in the end, isn’t that what we are all after – some degree of immortality
and leaving the world better off than when we entered it? In fact, years after his death he has
remained a hero to many in Russia and to this day he has a spot in Russian history classes far and
wide. The site of his execution is still a tourist attraction and marked by a monument. In the end,
Pestel was the only man of the five executed who lost his life for his ideas rather than his actions.
The other four men who were hung were sentenced based on their actions during the revolts.
Pestel was hung based entirely on his proposals and ideas which to a person who has grown up
enjoying free speech in America his entire life, seems entirely unjust.
Generations that came after Pestel would pick up the torch which he carried until his
death. The emancipation act of 1861 was largely inspired by Pestel’s ideas even if the Russian
government never gave him credit for it. The idea of Agrarian reform was central to the
Emancipation Act of 1861, for which Pestel was the chief architect in Russian culture. The true
origin of agrarian reform traces back to Antoine Cournand, a professor at the college of France,
but was a totally foreign concept to Russia before Pestel proposed it. His work and ideas made a
deep and lasting impact on Russian society, both good (emancipation, social reforms) and bad
(Bolshevik revolution and extermination of the royal bloodline).
While it can be argued that Pestel only wanted to dethrone the tsar so he could create a
dictatorship for himself, it is also fair to say that the revolt was the first breach between
government and the intelligentsia in Russia; it is a breach that would quickly widen as well with
serfdom quickly falling and the monarchy not lasting another 100 years.
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This goes to show that maybe there is a case that Pestel succeeded to some degree, even
if it was a post-humous victory. Perhaps Pestel can sum up his life better than I ever could. So, I
will leave off with his own words recapping his life.
“My real story can be summed up in just a few words. I have passionately loved my country and
ardently desired the happiness of its people.”
- Dated May 1, 1826, this was Pavel Pestel’s final letter to his parents before his execution.
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Appendix A
Message to Siberia (1827)
A.S. Pushkin
Deep in the Siberian mine,
Keep your patience proud;
The bitter toil shall not be lost,
The rebel thought unbowed.
The sister of misfortune, Hope,
In the under-darkness dumb
Speaks joyfully courage to your heart:
The day desired will come.
And love and friendship pour to you
Across the darkened doors,
Even as round your galley-beds
My free music pours.
The heavy-clanging chains will fall,
The walls will crumble as a word;
And Freedom greet you in the light,
And brothers give you back the sword.
This was Alexander Pushkin’s poem written about the Decembrists. It celebrates their
historical significance and pays homage to their lives and sacrifice. I thought it was fitting to
include as I spent the last few pages of the paper talking about the social impact the Decembrist’s
had on Russian society.
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Bibliography
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Locke, John. Some thoughts concerning education. London: Black Swan, 1693.
Mazour, Anatole G. The First Russian Revolution, 1825. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1969.
O'Meara, Patrick. The Decembrist Pavel Pastel. Dublin: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Raeff, Mark. The Decembrist Movement. Chicago: Prentice-Hall, 1966.
Steinberg, Mark. "TTC - The History of Russia." TTC - The History of Russia. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching
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Trigos, Ludmilla A. The Decembrist Myth in Russian Culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
[Jason Howard]
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