New Figures in History of Decembrist Movement: Merchant-Conspirator A. P. Sapozhnikov
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2024-13-6-388-408
Abstract
This article discusses a lesser-known participant in the secret society and conspiracy of the Decembrists in St. Petersburg, merchant Alexander Petrovich Sapozhnikov (1788–1827). The relevance of this research lies in its engagement with a significant historiographical question regarding the maturation of opposition ideas to autocracy within the merchant class. The novelty of this work is defined by the unexplored relationships that connected A. P. Sapozhnikov with the Decembrists. The author has gathered scarce references from sources that illuminate the circumstances surrounding the entry of a merchant family member into the Decembrist union, his involvement in the conspiracy of 1825, and the “demarche” of his relative, Ya. I. Rostovtsev, related to the intentions of moderately inclined Decembrists to achieve limitations on autocracy through non-violent means. The evidence from the sources is compared, and the degree of their authority and reliability is assessed. An interpretation of the documentary data is conducted based on a critical analysis of their comprehensive content. The reasons for A. P. Sapozhnikov’s avoidance of punishment are reconstructed. Unique information is presented regarding the “freethinking” of the Sapozhnikov family, which influenced this representative’s alignment with the Decembrist movement. The findings suggest the emergence of like-minded individuals among the “elite layer” of merchants, while simultaneously revealing the efforts of Decembrist union members to extend their influence into the merchant class.
About the Author
P. V. Ilyin
St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pavel V. Ilyin - PhD in History, senior research scientist
St. Petersburg
References
1. Alekseev, A. A. (2001a). Nobles and counts of Rostovtsev. Forgotten graves. St. Petersburg: Liga plus. 54 p. ISBN 5-88663-013-9. (In Russ.).
2. Alekseev, A. A. (2001b). Portrait of a reformer. St. Petersburg: Liga-plus. 90 p. (In Russ.).
3. Bannikov, A. P. (2004). New about the collection of A. P. Sapozhnikov. In: Monuments of culture. New discoveries. 2003. Moscow: Nauka. 510—523. ISBN 5-02-032662-3. (In Russ.).
4. Bannikov, A. P. (1994). Shevchenko and Sapozhnikov. Orenburg: [b. i.]. 76 p. (In Russ.).
5. Bregman, A. A. (1989). Decembrist G. S. Batenkov. In: Writings and letters. Letters. 1813—1856, 1. Irkutsk: East Siberian Publishing House. 3—88. ISBN 5-7424-0037-3. (In Russ.).
6. Druzhinin, N. M. (1985). The Decembrist Nikita Muravyov. In: Selected works. The revolutionary movement in Russia in the XIX century. Moscow: Nauka. 5—304. (In Russ.).
7. Gordin, Ya. A. (1989). Rebellion of reformers. December 14, 1825. Leningrad: Lenizdat. 398 p. ISBN 5-289-00263-4. (In Russ.).
8. Grotto, Ya. K. (1997). Life of Derzhavin. Moscow: Algorithm. 685 p. ISBN 5-88878-009-X. (In Russ.).
9. Ilyin, P. V. (2008). Between the conspiracy and the throne. Ya. I. Rostovtsev in the events of the interregnum of 1825. St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya. 300 p. ISBN 978-59887277-8. (In Russ.).
10. Ilyin, P. V. (2004). New about the Decembrists. Forgiven, acquitted and undetected by the investigation participants in secret societies and military actions of 1825—1826 St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya. 664 p. ISBN 5-98187-034-6. (In Russ.).
11. Kanatieva, N. S. (2007). The Old Believer roots of the Sapozhnikov family. In: Crossroads of history: actual problems of historical science: materials of the All-Russian Scientific Conference. Astrakhan: Astrakhan University. 95—98. ISBN 978-5-99260008-7. (In Russ.).
12. Kanatieva, N. S. (2013). Astrakhan Old Believers and sectarianism of the XIX century. In the cultural context of the province. Astrakhan: Sorokin. 150 p. ISBN 978-5-91910232-8. (In Russ.).
13. Kuznetsov, V. V. (2007). Merchants of the small Volga cities of Saratov province at the end of the XVIII — first half of the XIX centuries. Author’s abstract of PhD Diss. Saratov. 24 p. (In Russ.).
14. Markov, A. S. (2007). “The Sapozhnikov Brothers”. Illustrated documentary narrative.
15. Astrakhan: IPK Volga. 322 p. ISBN 978-5-98066-055-0. (In Russ.).
16. Markov, A. S. (1986). One of the friends of the Decembrists. Volga (Astrakhan). 08/21. P. 4. (In Russ.).
17. Nechkina, M. V. (1985). Day of December 14, 1825. Moscow: Mysl. 256 p. (In Russ.). Ovchinnikov, R. V. (1995). Investigation and trial of E. I. Pugachev and his associates. Moscow: Ed. Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 272 p. ISBN 5-201-00579-9. (In Russ.).
18. Presnyakov, A. E. (1926). December 14, 1825. Moscow; Leningrad: State Publishing House. 226 p. (In Russ.).
19. Semenova, A. V. (1991). Decembrists and merchants (on the problem of “Noble revolutionaries and the Russian bourgeoisie”). In: The city and the townspeople in Russia in the XVII — first half of the XIX century: Collection of articles. Moscow: Ed. Inst. Histories of the USSR, USSR Academy of Sciences. 183—204. ISBN 5-201-005594. (In Russ.).
20. Shakherov, V. P. (1992). Dekabrist V. I. Shteyngeyl and his creative legacy. In: Shteyngeyl V. I. Writings and letters. Notes and articles, 2. Irkutsk: East Siberian Publishing House. 3—61. ISBN 5-7424-0348-8. (In Russ.).
21. Sokolov, N. S. (1888). Split in the Saratov Region: research experience on unpublished materials. Saratov: Type. N. P. Shterzer and K. 512 p. (In Russ.).
22. The centenary of the War Ministry. (1908). Imp. Gl. apartment. The history of the sovereign’s Retinue. The reign of Nicholas I, 2 (3). St. Petersburg: M. O. Wolf Type. 632 p. (In Russ.).
23. Zeifman, N. V. (1985). Decembrist V. I. Shteyngeyl. In: Writings and letters. Notes and letters, 1. Irkutsk: East Siberian Publishing House. 3—54. (In Russ.).
Review
For citations:
Ilyin P.V. New Figures in History of Decembrist Movement: Merchant-Conspirator A. P. Sapozhnikov. Nauchnyi dialog. 2024;13(6):388-408. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2024-13-6-388-408
Views:
194
Email this article 