The Decembrists and Their Impact on Irkutsk

Rolling back to our time in Russia…Now for a bit of history.

My fuzzy recollection was that the Decembrists were early Russian revolutionaries. What I’d forgotten was how early.  (I was never good at memorizing dates.)  Their strike for change was in 1825, nearly a century before the violent revolutionary times beginning in 1917.

This group of men from Russian aristocratic and military backgrounds drew up a list of demands, derived from the French philosophers maintaining the dignity of mankind and the freedom to determine one’s own destiny. The list was all-encompassing: from discarding the current government to abolishing the ownership of serfs, to trial by jury and on and on.

The Tsar did not take kindly to their advice and the men were either executed or sent to Siberia in exile. Here’s where the story of the exiles gets fascinating. They endured an arduous winter crossing of thousands of miles. Their wives were considered innocent of any crime and were given the option to abandon their marriages and remarry. Most chose the most difficult path; they followed their spouses into imprisonment in the wasteland of Siberia. They were dubbed ‘Decembrists’ by the people of Irkutsk because of the time of their arrival.

These formers officers and nobles were stripped of their titles and wealth. Yet they were welcomed warmly by the Siberia natives. This also offended the Tsar, who declared that additional punishment, in the form of forced labor, was required

The wives, often with moral and financial support from their families, were able to make the lives of their men more tolerable. The petitioned for family visits, better food and better living conditions. For ten years, until their pardons, their suffering was acute. But during and after these trials, these unlikely pioneers brought Western culture along with them and infused it into their communities. They imported books, musical instruments, and taught reading, art, crafts, music and much more. They were accomplished artists and musicians who founded an Academy for all of the people of Irkutsk and the region.

These histories are portrayed in the homes left behind or reconstructed in the form of the originals. Prince Volkonsky and Prince Trubetskoi’s (pictured) homes are intriguing museums.  I highly recommend visiting them and I hope to learn more about The Decembrists.