Counterterrorist operation. To the 150 anniversary of the Polish events 1863 year
Poland caught fire very timely. Underground work intensified in 1862, and by the beginning of 1863, Polish revolutionaries had become a dangerous force. The Poles took into account the mistakes of the previous uprisings, this time the conspiratorial organization differed in iron discipline: from triples to the Central National Committee under the leadership of Yaroslav Dombrovsky. Each member of the organization knew only two fellows in the troika and the commander of the dozens. The Lithuanian committee was headed by Konstantin Kalinovsky - an adventurer at least where.
All of them went on the offensive when the next recruitment was announced. The authorities intended to "reforge" the Polish patriots in the army, and they defiantly evaded service. At this point, the temporary Polish government, headed by Stefan Bobrovsky, and the terrorist detachments that made daring attacks on the Russian garrisons, will declare themselves. 10 January passed immediately fifteen bloody raids. Such hurried from the Poles did not expect. The rebel troops roamed the western outskirts of the empire, and local factories supplied them weapons. British and French diplomacy vigilantly followed the reaction of St. Petersburg to the Polish events and was ready to resist by all means Russia's attempts to restore imperial order in the eastern provinces ... For Emperor Alexander II, the worst situation was impossible to think of.
It is possible to call the state a system of suppression for the thousandth time, only this won't make it any sweeter in the mouth. Neither in 1863, nor today is there a way to exist more consistent with human nature than the state. All the cries for freedom and self-determination end in an unpredictable war and a severe dictatorship. The state had no right not to defend itself, to betray the banner of Suvorov and Paskevich, the banner of Prague and Dresden ... I had no right to allow the extermination of the Russian soldier. Poland and Lithuania Russia seized by the right of military victories. At one time, Rzeczpospolita itself sentenced itself, addicted to the hop of democracy and anarchy, to the noisy "Maidan." If Russia had demonstrated such a weak character — the Warsaw gentry would have been quick to host in St. Petersburg and Moscow — and here, too, without offense, please. The trial of history is fair. After 1812, the empire could well have expanded further into the West, but Emperor Alexander I knew the measure.
Many in Russia considered the annexation of Poland to be a mistake: it would be more correct to create a tiny but separate state around Warsaw, controlled by St. Petersburg. And “internal” Poland has become a permanent headache for the country, an eternal source of unrest, a burden. But it was necessary to bear the burden of the empire: you will give way in Poland - they will pin down in St. Petersburg.
In 1860, intelligentsia has already been formed in Russia - as an instance, as an order. And the statesmen first by and large rested on the laurels of the victory of 1814 of the year and the Holy Alliance, and after the fall of Sevastopol they fell into a panic. In addition, patriotism has once again been bureaucratic. Many young people in those years seemed to be a patriot and a monarchist only from selfish motives or by inertia. Of course, they were wrong and did not want to comprehend the soul of the older generation, but remember how expensive the same mistake in 1980 cost us ... Patriots and conservatives, who were inspired by the historical memory of Borodino and the capture of Paris, remained a lot. But many of them felt themselves obsolete, losers. Yes, and the reforms stunned supporters of autocracy ...
About a decade passed after the Crimean War. In Paris and in London, they feared Russia and, with fear, created the image of a huge barbaric power, which hung over a refined civilization. The hordes of Atilla, who came from the East, are a suitable historical analogy, she went into action.
But to clamp Russia in Poland, as in the Crimea, the Western powers could not. Just from the point of view of military calculations, this turned out to be impossible, and the Austrians and Germans did not want a sovereign Polish state to appear on the political map of Europe. Therefore, the liberal public was indignant, but could not do anything. By the way, the Polish insurgency helped Russia seriously get closer to Prussia. This union will soon allow Bismarck to bring France to its knees.
However, when Poland caught fire, many in Russia seriously thought it was about the collapse of the empire. After the fall of Sevastopol, the apocalyptic sentiments among the patriots did not fade. They recalled the fall of Constantinople, the death of the Orthodox empire. Just about the West, united with the internal enemies of the throne, will finish, crush the sick bear. When sedition went beyond the borders of Poland and Lithuania, many — some with horror, and some with hope — assumed that it would cover the entire west of the Russian Empire, and disintegration was inevitable.
Remember the 1993 situation of the year? Russia takes the army out of Europe, refuses the geopolitical conquests of 1945, and immediately receives the aggression of General Dudayev. The analogy will become clearer if we recall that in 1861 Russia entered into a cycle of bold reforms, and the economy after the Crimean War and the reduction of income from grain exports was in a desperate situation. At this point I had to win victories with my teeth.
Poland has been seething for several years now, but since January 1863, a real war has begun on the western borders of the Russian Empire. Rebel detachments attacked Russian garrisons, terrorized vast territories in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The uprising received a tinge of inter-religious slaughter: the Orthodox were the victims of the insurgents, and the priesthood was the inspiration. In relation to the Orthodox rebels chose a policy of intimidation - recalcitrant executed.
Few in Russia have kept their composure and fighting spirit - qualities that allowed our country to turn into a superpower in the 18th century. One of the last giants of the military power was Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky, who in previous years had already served in the west of the empire. Then he proved himself a decisive Orthodox missionary, an energetic defender of the Russians.
Muravyov went 67 year - age at that time memoir. And so Emperor Alexander II was forced to call on this wayward old man, to whom he fed antipathy. After all, Muravyov methodically criticized the reforms, and in the eyes of the liberal public was considered not just a “Old Believer”, but at least a watchdog. He invented the nickname "hangman" to himself long before the Polish operation. Someone cringed at the address of his relative, the Decembrist, and Mikhail Nikolayevich slashed: "I am not one of those Ants who are hanged, but of those who are hanged." However, this aphorism is attributed to N.N. Muravyov-Amur. Impressed by the gallows of 1863, this historical anecdote was remembered. Muravyov-hangers, Muravyov-hangman - this was the name of the salon suppressor in Poland.
At a personal audience, Alexander II appointed Muraviev a Vilna, Grodno and Minsk governor-general, commander of the Vilna military district. He had to face the main forces of the rebels. Muravyov’s response was reminiscent of the speeches of Plutarch’s heroes: “I’m ready to sacrifice myself for the benefit and good of Russia.” And it was not ostentatious determination, the old man did not need to pretend.
Modern Belarusian nationalists Hate Muravyov, and in fact he was a defender of the Orthodox peasantry. Muravyov didn’t complain about the nobleman gentry, but he set about studying the Belarusian language, the history of this Slavic region. That is why he won because he relied on the majority.
As soon as the "progressive people" did not curse him, any abuse at Muravyov was considered permissible. However, cold-blooded study of the biography of the general shows how far he was from the image of a cartoon bulldog. At fourteen, the "executioner" founded ... The Moscow Mathematical Society, and at sixteen - hurried to defend the Fatherland from the invasion of two dozen languages. Went 1812 year. On Borodin’s day, on the Rayevsky battery, he stood to death. He was wounded in the leg, since then all his life was lame. Received the first award - Vladimir 4-y degree. After a few months of treatment, he returns to the army. Lieutenant Muravyov participated in the Battle of Dresden, but the wound bothered him. He feared that he would not be able to become a serviceable officer, he asked to resign and still remained in the ranks.
He was useful to the system of Nicholas I, it was then that the administrative style of Muravyov emerged - a purposeful and strong-willed manager, an inflexible guardian of the state.
Of course, the detractors of Russia's imperial instincts have their own truth, but by turning this truth into a politically correct absolute, we put ourselves in a false position. We were imposed stencil image of "hangers". And no one was interested that on the conscience of the Polish insurgents, even those who were hanged and tortured were three to four times more than those of Muravyov. They executed without trial — they simply seized Orthodox peasants who did not want to help the uprising, and hung them up. In addition, they began this massacre, and Muravyov was forced to severely punish those responsible. Yes, he did not flinch at the same time. He sent to execution 128 people - the instigators of the massacre. 10-12 threw thousands of criminals into prison companies and into hard labor. And there were about one hundred thousand rebels! The rest were allowed to go home.
How many innocent victims would have been thrown on the altar of the Polish uprising, if the Russian generals, the most consistent of which was Mikhail Nikolayevich, had not stopped the civil war? But historical reputations are created by the technology of fraud: everything is forgiven by “progressive”, and conservativeness is demanded of conservatives. Overweight Muravyov was a clever, enterprising, energetic politician. He knew how to win - and for that he was hated with special fervor. If he had been unprincipled, sleepy grandee, they would not have remembered him. And he, to the horror of the gay disrupters, acted prudently, and even selflessly. Sacrificed himself!
A convinced patriot of great Russia, he did not consider the imperial idea to be doomed, and the position of Russia was obviously losing. He managed to preserve the cheerfulness of the 18th century in the era of nihilism, when society was divided not into fighters and inhabitants, but into “new people” and retrogrades. That is, instead of the battle for a great power, the Russian people tuned in to civil strife, forgetting about rallying. This is a sign of decline, there is no place for serious victories. And Muravyov showed that you can go against the ideological fashion, against this element, which is gaining momentum, and to win.
He was not the only warrior in the field. Ideologically, Muravyov was supported by Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov. Without the efforts of this publicist, it is unlikely that Muravyov would be promoted to the first roles. Katkov proved that conservatism is not only polite, but also lively, hot, sincere. And although the strategic confrontation with nihilists and Westerners will be lost, in 1863-m power resisted. Katkov’s opponents had to prove that he was either insincere or ignorant. The historian Sergei Tatishchev wrote: “The general animation brought about by the events in Poland marks an upheaval in the views of Russian society on the most important questions of politics ... understanding of the historical principles of Russian state and public life. The champion of the unity of all Russian people with the Supreme Power in the common cause of upholding Russia's sovereign rights, its honor and dignity was ... M.N. Katkov. The fiery speech of this talented and convinced writer shook and soon completely supplanted the influence of liberal organs and foreigners, to whom a certain part of Russian society was subordinated to the hitherto. ”
History has not confirmed the optimism of Tatishchev. Liberals will soon strengthen their positions, they will become even more inventive and more self-confident. But even for the tactical victory, Katkov deserves admiration - after all, he happened to be alone against a public wave. The 1863 guard showed that Russia has an independent sovereign path. However, the reactionary ideologues failed to master the minds, even under Alexander III. It was difficult to cross autocratic patriotism with bourgeois reality. Esenin will simply and clearly describe this conflict: “And the aristocrat sold the power to the industrialists and bankers.”
The ideological weakness of the then Russia was felt in the controversial dialogue with the European powers. So before, Russia had a unifying idea for a whole century - to win. Enlightenment and Victory - this is the password and review of the Russian XVIII century. And then came the doubts. Refined gentlemen appeared, of whom we don’t feed you with white bread - just let me scold Russia, its lead abominations, its awkwardness and cruelty. “How sweet it is to hate fatherland,” writes the radical cosmopolitan Pecherin. And Herzen in The Bell, even Victor Hugo, was attracted to anti-imperial propaganda during the Polish uprising.
The society (more precisely, its most noisy and progressive part!) Will obstruct Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov, a formidable old man who acted promptly and unbendingly in Poland. The grandson of Suvorov, the Petersburg governor, refused to give the "cannibal" to Muravyov a welcome address.
And then, in the English Club, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov read out to Muravyov an ode in the spirit of the victorious 18th century, but with new polemical turns inevitable for 1860's:
The rebellion has passed, sedition will fall,
In Lithuania and Zhmudi the world will ascend;
Then your very enemy will say:
Great is your feat ... and sigh.
Sigh that, having become mad,
Forgetting the oath, your shame,
I started with a valiant people
Raise a long-decided dispute.
No, their efforts will not help
Their underground seditious forces.
Look! Stretch your wings over you
Soaring Archangel Michael!
At this point the noise rose unprecedented. Recent admirers cursed, trampled Nekrasov, made him into "non-handshaking" (a word from another time, but the meaning is the same).
Not so long ago, after a cycle of spectacular television programs, a book about Alexander II was published by Edward Radzinsky. The author of “104 pages about love” got the hang of writing about the history of the Fatherland in the language of “Murzilki” - and this (I speak without arrogance and irony) is an enviable skill. For Radzinsky Muravyov - an awesome bulldog with tiger eyes. Caricature! Retrograde, standing in the way of progress, which, as we know, runs along one-way traffic: from Europe to us. About the Polish atrocities, about the policy of terror, pursued by the Poles, the playwright is silent. Yes, he is not the first!
Then, in 1863, after the victory of Muravyov, Herzen was indignant: "The nobility, the writers, the scientists and even the students are totally infected: patriotic syphilis was absorbed into their sap and tissue." And indeed, there were and there are people in Russia who are convinced that it is better to be a bulldog on guard of the Motherland than a jackal in the service of liberals. Tyutchev gave Muravyov this epitaph:
On his grave cover
We, instead of all the wreaths, put the words simple:
He didn’t have many enemies
When not yours, Russia.
150 years ago, it was decided whether Russia would protect sovereignty from the separatists, from its neighbors, from the arrogant European community. The weak, as is known, are beaten - even the “Polish gentlemen”. If it were not for Muravyov, perhaps both the army and the emperor would not have had the will to win. Let us remember the person who served Russia - not for show, but faithfully. And without regard to the "enlightened Europe."
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