‘Victims of Reckless Thought’: Russian Poetry about the Decembrists

Abstract

In the article the author offers an unusual interpretation of the Decembrist Uprising, drawing on Pushkin’s later formulation, who called the Decembrist uprising “the amusement of adult mischief-makers.” As a result of this revolt, according to Chaadaev, Russia’s development was delayed by several decades. There is a legend (or a true story?) that Pushkin was heading to St. Petersburg on December 13, the eve of the military mutiny on Senate Square, but a hare ran in front of his kibitka, causing the superstitious poet to turn back and return to the capital only after the Decembrists’ defeat. Is this true? The author believes that Pushkin early realized the fallacy of his noble friends’ plan, and the hare arose as an attempt to justify his absence from Senate Square. The poet perceived Peter the Great’s line as an antithesis to the madness of the noble revolt. However, the Decembrist theme has recurred repeatedly in the works of Russian poets and writers.