Nikita Muravyov

Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov (Russian: Никита Михайлович Муравьёв) (July 30 [O.S. July 19] 1796 – May 10 [O.S. April 28] 1843) was an Imperial Guards staff officer and plotter in what led to the Decembrist revolt of 1825.

Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov
Никита Михайлович Муравьёв
Portrait of Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov, 1813. Italian pencil, paper clutching a fur stole.
Born	July 30 [O.S. July 19] 1796 Moscow
Died	May 10 [O.S. April 28] 1843, aged 47 Urikovskaia, now Urik, Irkutsk Raion, Irkutsk Oblast
Alma mater	Moscow University
Occupation	officer
Organization	Union of Salvation
Movement	Decembrist
Criminal penalty	death penalty, commuted to 20 years at hard labor
Relatives	cousins: Sergey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol Ippolit Muravyov-Apostol Artamon Muravyov Alexander Muravyov
Military career
Allegiance	Russian empire
Service/branch	Imperial Russian Guard
Years of service	1813-1825
Rank	Captain
Unit	Guards general staff
Battles/wars	Battle of Leipzig Battle of Dresden
Notes
[1][2][3][4]

Muravyov was active in a number of proto-Decembrist organizations. In 1816, he was among the founders of the Union of Salvation, a secret society. In 1820, he spoke out for republican government in the Union of Welfare. After the Union of Welfare's 1821 dissolution, Muravyov joined the supreme duma and was a leader in the Northern Society, and was elected to the Southern Society's directory. He wrote a draft constitution for a Russian state, and a tract "Curious Conversation" arguing the need to rise against despotism.[2][5]

He was on leave in the country when the Decembrist revolt occurred on 14 December 1825, and did not participate directly in it. But he was complicit, arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. He was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to 20 years of hard labor. He was assigned to the Nerchinsk Mines, then in 1835 exiled to Irkutsk Province where he died in 1843.[2][5]

References

1. Bushkovitch, Paul (2012). "Russia in the Age of Revolution". A Concise History of Russia. Cambridge concise histories. Cambridge University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-521-54323-1. LCCN 2011026272.
2. "Murav'ev, Nikita Mikhailovich". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). 1979. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
3. GRANVILLE, JOHANNA (2004). "Nikita Muraviev". In Millar, James R. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Russian History (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Gale Document Number: GALE|K3404100870. Retrieved 2014-02-23. Biography in Context. (subscription required)
4. Kelly, Laurence (2006) [2002]. Diplomacy and murder in Teheran. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 117. ISBN 1845111966. Retrieved 2014-03-18. ...the Muravyov brothers Artamon and Alexander, cousins of the Northern Society leader Nikita Muravyov...
5. "¿Decembrist revolt?". St. Petersburg's Jews - Three Centuries of History. St. Petersburg: ORT-Ginzburg. 2003. Retrieved 2014-02-24.

Further reading

• Druzhinin, N. M. (1933). Dekabrist Nikita Murav’ev. Moscow.
• Mazour, Anatole G. (1937). The First Russian Revolution, 1825: The Decembrist Movement, Its Origins, Development, and Significance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press
• Yarmolinsky, Avrahm (1956). "Chapter 2 - The Decembrists: The Secret Societies". Road to Revolution:A Century of Russian Radicalism. Retrieved 2014-02-25.