Decembrists. Captives of Freedom

The pre-revolutionary official ideology labeled the Decembrists as traitors, while Soviet historians portrayed them as knights without fear and reproach, whereas they were neither one nor the other. Some were intelligent and cynical, others honest but inexperienced, some bold and... reckless, while others were downright dishonest. They responded differently to the question of whether the high goal justifies the cruel means. But among such different people, there was a common great aspiration - to destroy the class society and abolish serfdom.
Dr. Oksana Kiyanska's research includes both leaders of secret societies and little-known participants in the conspiracy. Why did the dictator Trubetskoy not go out to the square? Why was Ryleev executed, having not participated in the uprising? The book, based on published documents and archival materials, restores the real history of the anti-government conspiracy, shows the connection of its participants with public opinion, and creates a collective portrait of the Decembrist movement's activists free from ideological clichés.