Decembrists

Between myth, anti-myth and real history

December 14 is a symbolic and inconvenient date. In this conversation, we are talking not so much about the Decembrist uprising itself, but about what kind of historical memory it left and why, 200 years later, it remains the subject of heated debate.

Why was the anniversary actually ignored by the state? How were myths and anti-myths about the Decembrists formed - from the Soviet canon to today's official interpretations? Is it possible to judge people of the 19th century with the categories of the 21st century? Why are poems, letters and the language of an era also a historical source? And why is it dangerous to replace history with convenient fakes and “white lies.”