The Verdict and the Procedures: on the History of the Execution of the Decembrists

Abstract

The article analyses some materials related to the investigation and trial of the secret societies traditionally referred to as “Decembrists'” — as well as the materials regarding the procedures of the so-called “civil execution” and capital punishment of the sentenced. The author researches the main stages of the official investigation, the conclusive documentation preparation, the aims of the plot as formulated by the conspirators, some of the leaders' biographies, the lawfulness of the verdict and the controversy on the latter issue in the 19-21th centuries. The actions and the fate of those who are usually considered as the Decembrists have been construed in a publicist manner. This paper studies various versions as well as the reasons why they still last. Contradictions in the investigation and trial documents are analysed as well as the factors that caused them. The scholar reveals the motivation of Nicolas the First and the pragmatics of the execution rituals devised by him.