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Decembrists
(757 words)

The Decembrists (from Russian dekabr', “December”) were the mainly noble rebels who carried out an unsuccessful coup in St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825 (this and all subsequent dates according to the Old Style, i.e. the Julian Calendar). Some 3,000 officers and soldiers were ordered to muster in the Senate Square to swear an oath of allegiance to the new Tsar, Nicholas I. On this day, the Decembrists attempted to exploit confusion over the succession following the death of Tsar Alexander I (November 19, 1825), and persuade the assembled troops to …

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Schippan, Michael, “Decembrists”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018204>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170626



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