Note 279 — Chapter XII · THE LAST YEARS OF ALEXANDER I.

[In Russian, Dyekabristy, the name by which the revolutionaries of that period are generally designated. They first organized themselves into a secret league consisting of Russian army officers in the latter part of Alexander I.'s reign. Their open revolt took place in December (hence the name), 1825, immediately after the accession of Nicholas I. The league was divided into a "Northern Society," led by Nikita Muravyov, and a "Southern Society," of which Paul Pestel was the head. The latter wrote "The Russian Truth," a work in which he expounded the revolutionary program.]