Pioneers of Freedom: the Decembrists movement as a phenomenon of political culture of the early 19th century

Abstract. The authors of these essays analyze the Decembrist movement as a cultural and political phenomenon. The authors considered it in the context of the influence of
the Napoleonic Wars on Russian society, the patriotic upsurge following the victory over France, the reception and reinterpretation of the of the values   and normative orders of Enlightenment, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. The conservative turn that began in the 1820s led to a series of military revolutions in Spain, Naples, Piedmont, and Greece, which were perceived by many contemporaries as an alternative way to transform the political system. This Ages gave rise to a renewal of political languages  and a search for new forms of political organization. The authors discuss how to understand the forms of political civic engagement and self-organization known in Russia during this period. The authors critically evaluate historiographical clichés, conclude that the history of the Decembrists still present in textbooks is insufficient, and propose a rethinking of the Decembrist phenomenon, drawing on contemporary approaches in historical research and the social sciences, from a comparative perspective. The focus is on gestures and actions shaped by the symbolic culture of the new Ages in the early 19th century. Attention is also paid to the significance of the Decembrist myth in Russian political culture and historical memory. The essay explores the potential of new approaches to studying the Decembrist phenomenon.

Keywords: Decembrist movement, Enlightenment, Napoleonic Wars, constitutionalism, political culture.