The Romanovs and the Decembrist Revolt of 1825

The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History · Jul 25, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In December 1825, a group of Russian army officers led a rebellion in Senate Square, St. Petersburg, demanding a constitution and the end of serfdom. This episode dives into the secret societies—the Northern and Southern—and their leaders: Pavel Pestel, Sergei Trubetskoy, Kondraty Ryleyev, and others. We follow the confused interregnum after Tsar Alexander I's death, the failed coup, the brutal suppression with artillery, and the aftermath: five executions, hundreds sent to Siberian exile. The Decembrists became martyrs for reform, their sacrifice haunting the Romanovs until the end. The…