Decembrist

Decembrist
/di sem"brist/, n. Russ. Hist.
a participant in the conspiracy and insurrection against Nicholas I on his accession in December, 1825.
[1880-85; trans. of Russ dekabríst. See DECEMBER, -IST]

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▪ Russian history
Russian  Dekabrist,  

      any of the Russian revolutionaries who led an unsuccessful uprising on Dec. 14 (Dec. 26, New Style), 1825, and through their martyrdom provided a source of inspiration to succeeding generations of Russian dissidents. The Decembrists were primarily members of the upper classes who had military backgrounds; some had participated in the Russian occupation of France after the Napoleonic Wars or served elsewhere in western Europe; a few had been Freemasons, and some were members of the secret patriotic (and, later, revolutionary) societies in Russia—the Union of Salvation (1816), the Union of Welfare (1818), the Northern Society (1821), and the Southern Society (1821).

      The Northern Society, taking advantage of the brief but confusing interregnum following the death of Tsar Alexander I, staged an uprising, convincing some of the troops in St. Petersburg to refuse to take a loyalty oath to Nicholas I and to demand instead the accession of his brother Constantine. The rebellion, however, was poorly organized and easily suppressed; Colonel Prince Sergey Trubetskoy, who was to be the provisional dictator, fled immediately.

      Another insurrection by the Chernigov regiment in the south was also quickly defeated. An extensive investigation in which Nicholas personally participated ensued; it resulted in the trial of 289 Decembrists, the execution of 5 of them (Pavel Pestel, Sergey Muravyov-Apostol, Pyotr Kakhovsky, Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and Kondraty Ryleyev), the imprisonment of 31, and the banishment of the rest to Siberia.

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  • decembrist — DECEMBRÍST, Ă, decembrişti, ste, s.m. şi f. Nume dat revoluţionarilor ruşi de origine nobiliară care au organizat, la Sankt Petersburg, răscoala armată din decembrie 1825 împotriva absolutismului ţarist; decabrist. – Decembrie + suf. st. (după… …   Dicționar Român

  • Decembrist — De*cem brist, n. (Russian Hist.) One of those who conspired for constitutional government against the Emperor Nicholas on his accession to the throne at the death of Alexander I., in December, 1825; called also {Dekabrist}. He recalls the history …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Decembrist — [dē sem′brist, di sem′brist] n. any of the conspirators against Czar Nicholas I of Russia, in December, 1825 …   English World dictionary

  • Decembrist revolt — Decemberist redirects here. For the rock band, see The Decemberists. For the unfinished Tolstoy novel, see The Decembrists. Decembrist Revolt Decembrists at the Senate Square …   Wikipedia

  • Decembrist — noun Date: 1877 one taking part in the unsuccessful uprising against the Russian emperor Nicholas I in December 1825 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Decembrist — 1. noun A participant in or sympathizer of the . 2. adjective According to or derived from the politics or philosophy of the Decembrists …   Wiktionary

  • Decembrist — n. participant in the unsuccessful conspiracy to overthrow Czar Nicholas I of Russia in December 1825 …   English contemporary dictionary

  • decembrist — de·cem·brist …   English syllables

  • Decembrist — De•cem•brist [[t]dɪˈsɛm brɪst[/t]] n. why a participant in the conspiracy and insurrection against Nicholas I of Russia on his accession in December, 1825 • Etymology: 1880–85; trans. of Russ dekabríst …   From formal English to slang

  • Decembrist — /dəˈsɛmbrəst/ (say duh sembruhst) noun a participant in the unsuccessful revolt against the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia on his accession in December 1825 …  

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