Russia's First Revolutionaries: The Decembrists (All Parts)

In 1825, a group of disillusioned army officers launched a coup in the Russian capital, St.Petersburg. Their goal was to overthrow the Tsar, establish a constitutional government and abolish the brutal institution of serfdom. They became known by the month of the revolt - the Decembrists - a moment that nearly changed the course of Russian and world history.

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[KingNoTail]

"What a miserable country, they can't even hang us properly." Ouch, he definitely got one last FU in. And Sir Edward Disbrowe was right on the money in his letter to the British Foreign Secretary.

[JSparo-TotalWarMachinima]

I just wanted to watch a few minutes and ended up watching the whole documentary despite having no particular interest in the Decembrist Revolution.
This is how good your channel is. Thank you very much for all your great contents !

[GreenBaldrick]

Some points I want to mention as someone who studied Russian history:
1) the Decembrists inspired not only revolutionaries, but also writers and poets like Pushkin. Many important literature figures knew the Decembrists personally and saw their demise as a personal tragedy. Pierre Bezuknov from War and Peace has many traits of the Decembrists in his character and it was done on purpose.
2) Since the Decembrists were noblemen, they looked at the Emperor and high-ranked officials who questioned them as their comrades and were pretty naive and too honest with them answering all their questions because it was a noble thing to do and willingly giving out information later used against them.
3) The Decembrists were beloved by the local population in Siberia and they influenced the cultural development of the region. The mansions the Decembrists owned were turned into museums.
4) Some Decembrists refused to return back to St. Petersburg even when they were allowed to and they stayed in Siberia forever as they loved the place and the people and had nothing to return to back in St. Petersburg.
5) "The Decembrist's wife" is a Russian saying meaning "a brave and selfless woman who is ready to share any fate with her partner", their wives were regarded with respect and idealized because they could have kept their privileges and high society lifestyle but they abandoned everything and went through many years of hardships just to be with their husbands.
6) The Union of Salvation (the movie) received very mixed reviews, but the majority of the vocal viewers and film critics saw it as an attempt to downplay the Decembrist's role and show their actions as senseless and the Decembrists themselves as stupid kids who rebelled out of their youthful maximalism while the "kind" Emperor was just doing his duty. The movie was released at the time of pro-liberal protests in Russia which were attended mostly by 20-30 somethings and Navalny was getting more popular among people, so showing some of the most famous Russian liberal revolutionaries in such a light at the time like that has raised many eyebrows. Popular Russian youtuber BadComedian posted a long critical video about the movie - it currently has 19 million views.

[richardpasquinjr]

Epic History TV is the greatest history channel on YouTube hands down.

[bradmetcalf]

Imagine how Russia could be today had these men succeeded.

[kevinvilmont]

This narrator never gets old. fantastic.

[gaiusjuliuspleaser]

The production value on this is amazing. A particular hats off to the narration. I don't know what it is, but the way he tells this story is absolutely gripping. The part about the botched hangings almost brought a genuine tear to my eye.

[ritemolawbks]

That's the most Russian response to a botched executed ever @ 46:25.

[cecilstehelin]

Man these guys have to be the sorriest revolutionaries I’ve ever seen. The fact that the Bolsheviks managed to capture St.Petersburg a hundred years later with only a few hundred men shows that the 5000 trained soldiers the Decembrists had would have been more than enough to do the trick. But they gave up before they even tried!

[matthewh.]

I love these, the best history documentaries on YouTube.
I'd love to see one on Peter the Great and special on the Suvorov campaign in Italy

[senzoo]

It's baffling just how weak those in charge of the revolution were, particularly in the North

[Shortica]

Me, my husband & kids LOVE these videos!!! They way u explain everything is exquisitely detailed yet comprehensive!!! Please do a series on WW2❣️ Thank u for all the work u put into these videos; our favorite YouTube channel!!!🎉💯💐🍀

[apersonontheinternet]

You guys should go over the wars of Austrian and Spanish succession! Can you go over more events of early modern history?

[TRVE.]

I am Russian and I always believed that if the Emperor had listened to the Decembrists, who did not want revolution and blood, but wanted to change the country by the will of the emperor, Russia would not have passed the communist regime with all its outgoings and there would be no civil war with all its outgoings (I'm sure the population would be millions higher and would live richer) and country would now be completely different - I'm sure it would be the best possible version of Russia, and primarily for the citizens of Russia themselves and for all of Europe in the second place. IMO.

But history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. It is a pity that there is no parallel reality to find out what would happen if the history of my country went along this fork.

[valisali]

I dont know what people are watching these days but pretty sure that this documentary deserves millions of likes much better than current hollywood movies

[victorakoma]

Arguably the best rendition of history I’ve ever watched.

[therebackagain]

Ironically the 2019 movie was banned in the US as Russian propaganda... had to buy it in Canada in order to watch it... great movie! Highly recommend it

[leonardobrandaoeafitopatol]

Some of the most powerful youtube history channel. I would be very happy to watch more videos about crusades

[Mjdeben]

It's interesting how quickly we went from the peak era of dramatic television to whatever you call the era we're in now.

[blezzshaban]

Please 🥺 we want more I've searched through the channel again for more of these. But I've already watched them countless times. Please educate us more with these documentaries
Anxiously waiting for the next one