Note 38 — Chapter 3 The Death of Alexander I. and the Fourteenth of December—Moral Awakening—The Terrorist Bouchot—My Kortcheva Cousin

Pestel, leader of the officers in the Southern Army who supported the attempt to overthrow the autocracy and establish constitutional government. The other four who were hanged were Ryleyev, Kahovsky, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and Muravyov-Apóstol. See Merezhkovsky’s novel, December the Fourteenth, which adheres very closely to the historical facts.