Decemberist Revolt 1825

Decemberist Revolt 1825

Plans for revolt were made during the confusion that followed Alexander I's unexpected death in late November. Nicholas I learnt of his inheritance for the first time, when news of the sudden death reached St Petersburg. However on the advice of the city governor, Count Miloradovich, he did not proclaim himself as Czar immediately. On 27 November, he was persuaded to proclaim his brother Constantine as Czar and to wait for Constantine to renounce the throne before proceeding further. However, Constantine, at home in Warsaw, had already received the news of Alexander's death and had written to congratulate Nicholas on his new position. Letters passed to and fro. Not until mid-December did Nicholas proclaim himself Czar.

The Decembrists are so called because their revolt was planned for 14 December, the day Nicholas I assembled his guards to take an oath of loyalty. Around 3,000 rebels, mainly younger Guard officers, gathered in the Senate Square of St Petersburg, refusing to acknowledge the new Czar. What they did intend is not all together clear. The rebels cried for 'Constantine and a Constitution', although it is said that some scarcely understood the liberal implications of this and believed 'Constitution' to be Constantine's wife. They had appointed Prince Sergei Trubetskoi to lead a government on Nicholas's overthrow, but since he took refuge in a foreign…