Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The snowfall that began in Moscow and the Moscow region on December 25 was the heaviest since the beginning of winter. This was reported on December 26 by the Russian Hydrometeorological Center.
"Over the evening and overnight, the snow depth increased by 11 cm—this is the highest figure not only since the beginning of the calendar winter, but also for the entire autumn-winter season," forecasters told TASS.
According to the agency's source, the last heavy snowfall was recorded on November 15, when the snow depth increased by 5 cm.
The Hydrometeorological Center noted that light precipitation, primarily sleet, is also forecast for the night of December 27. Temperatures in the capital will range from -1 to +1°C, and in the surrounding region, from -4 to +1°C.
Residents of the Moscow region can expect light precipitation in the form of sleet during the day on December 27. The forecaster also warned of possible icy conditions.
Earlier that day, Yevgeny Tishkovets, a leading specialist at the Phobos weather center, reported that about a third of the monthly precipitation had fallen in the Moscow region on the night of December 26. The day before, Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a specialist at the Meteonovosti news agency, warned that up to 25% of the monthly precipitation was expected in the Moscow region on December 26. According to her, snow will alternate with sleet, causing it to stick to power lines and tree branches, and will also cause snowpack on roads.
The day before, Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center, announced that snow cover in Moscow would remain until New Year's Eve and would not melt, despite the temperature fluctuations. He added that the snow would fall on already cold ground and therefore would not melt.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 22.38 Russia provided a list of 52 Ukrainians from the village of Grabovskoe in the Sumy region, who were taken to its frontline regions. The Russians also reported the conditions of their stay. There are no children among them, negotiations are underway to return people to Ukraine. This was stated by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets in an interview with Radio Liberty.
21.52 The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine condemns the illegal "licensing" of the power unit of the Zaporizhzhia NPP by the Russian Federation. Such actions pose a real threat to nuclear safety and violate international law. This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
21.40 US President Donald Trump can come to Ukraine to support a peace agreement to end the war. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Axios.
20.54 Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia and the region led to the wound of 33 people who are currently being treated in medical institutions of the city. Almost half of the wounded are people of retirement age, said the head of the Regional Military Administration of Zaporizhzhia region Ivan Fedorov on Telegram.
20.53 The Defense Forces of Ukraine hit a number of important targets of Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region. The losses of the invaders are currently being clarified. This was reported by the press service of the General Staff.
20.33 The peace plan, promulgated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is "radically different" from the version discussed between Moscow and Washington. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to the Russian propaganda news agency Interfax.
19.19 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, during which the parties coordinated positions on the eve of international meetings in Florida.
He called the conversation "very substantive and very positive."
"We coordinated our positions on the eve of meetings in Florida, and we have to be as productive as we are as productive as welcoming these days. Ukraine has never been and will not be an obstacle to peace. And we will continue to work promptly so that all the necessary documents are prepared as soon as possible," the president added.
18.47 In Kharkiv, as a result of a Russian airstrike, the number of victims increased to eight people. We also know about two dead. This was announced by the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov.
"One man died at the scene, another died in an emergency medical vehicle. According to the updated information, we know about 8 victims, among them - a 9-month-old girl," Syniehubov said.
Three people were injured, including a child. Five more people were diagnosed with a response to stress. Doctors provided everyone with the necessary help.
18.00 More than half of the weapons that are currently available to the Defense Forces were produced by Ukrainian companies. This was stated by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
"As of today, more than 50 percent of weapons in the Ukrainian army of Ukrainian production. If we take all our spending on the purchase of weapons and equipment, in 2025, more than 75 percent of the funds were directed to the purchase from Ukrainian manufacturers," the Head of Government said.
17.22 The peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine can be deployed only in case of cessation of hostilities. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Head of State said that there are currently certain agreements with partners on protection on land, at sea and in the sky. According to him, it remains to agree "small details."
"As for the contingent of protection in the sky, in the sea, on the ground - I said this: we have agreements with partners. Such small details remained. In principle, the agreement on the Coalition itself is already there, but the signing of it and the placement of any personnel and other countries, certain means of protection, all this will be only for the Deputy after," Zelensky said.
According to the President, the coalition of those who wish will work only at the time of the cessation of hostilities. According to him, there are 30 countries.
16.41 Russian troops attacked Kharkiv and suburbs with guided bombs. The hit occurred in one of the busiest trails. It is known about two dead.
Several cars are burning. Apartment and private houses located near the site of the impact were damaged.
16.20 The Russians see the frontiers of our air defense, in particular interceptor drones, and are trying to bypass them, including through the territory of Belarus. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Head of State held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, which was fully dedicated to drones, lines of protection and responses of Ukraine.
"We talked about Kovel. There is a problem that they see our borders of interceptors with which we work well and want to bypass them. They bypass them thanks, by the way, to Belarus, and the Belarusian land," Zelensky said.
15.26 The Kremlin analyzed the information that Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev gave to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin after a trip to Miami. There has already been contact with the American side. This was stated by the Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
According to him, after Dmitriev reported on the results of the trip to the United States and contacts with the Americans, this information was analyzed, and on behalf of the ruler of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, there was a contact of representatives of the administrations of Russia and the United States.
From the Russian side in the telephone conversation took part Putin's assistant Yuri Ushakov. There were several interlocutors from the American one. Peskov refused to say that Dmitriev was brought for the documents. According to him, "the dissemination of this information may adversely affect the course of the negotiation process."
15.09 The United States and Ukraine, following the results of several recent meetings, agreed on the vast majority of points of the future peace agreement, including security guarantees from Washington and Europe. This was reported by Axios from a link to informed sources.
14.08 Spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces Vladislav Voloshin said that the situation in Huliaipole of the Zaporozhye region remains difficult. Dozens of clashes are being recorded in the city every day, and Russian troops are trying to cut logistical routes and take the settlement under control. He said this on television, reports Ukrinform.
13.36 The President of the European People's Party Manfred Weber called for the deployment of European military in Ukraine, in particular the soldiers of the Bundeswehr, under common European symbols. This is reported by n-tv.
According to him, if Europe is seriously talking about a peacekeeping mission, Germany cannot stand aside.
"I want to see soldiers with the European flag on the uniform, who, together with our Ukrainian friends, ensure peace," Weber said.
13.19 The Russians attacked Zaporizhzhia on December 26. One person was killed and three others were injured. This was announced by the head of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Fedorov. According to him, the Russian guided bomb hit a private house. A 58-year-old man was killed in the strike. Two more women and a man were injured, they were provided with all the necessary medical care.
12.59 Germany has previously equipped Ukraine with the ninth IRIS-T missile defense system. The Ministry of Defense said that we know about these complexes.
IRIS-T is a modern missile system of air defense. It is manufactured by the German company Diehl Defense. The complex is designed to destroy aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles.
High-tech IRIS-T rockets can quickly maneuver, hit targets both at counter and during pursuit and have high-sensitive self-releasing infrared heads. They are able to strike modern planes, overcome their protection complexes, distinguish real targets from false ones.
12.51 The troops of the Russian Federation on the afternoon of December 26 launched a missile gift to Uman in the Cherkasy region. Six people were injured, including two children. This was announced by the head of the Cherkasy Regional Military Administration Ihor Taburets. According to him, there is also the destruction of residential infrastructure.
12.15 In the war with Ukraine in December, Russia involved 150 foreigners from 25 countries. Another 200 foreigners are preparing to join the Russian army. This was announced by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Oleh Ivashchenko, the intelligence service reports. The main sources of recruitment are the states of the post-Soviet space and the countries of the Global South, including Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Kenya and China.
11.50 In the city of Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory of the Russian Federation, two explosions were heard in the parking lot of the military unit 19288 - the 80th Vitebsk Red Banner Control Brigade. This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the interlocutor in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. According to him, the Russian military from the 80th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces took an active part in the aggressive war against Ukraine. They know the facts of their war crimes, executions of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories, including children.
11.23 The SBU prevented the contract killing of an officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In Kiev, an FSB agent who tried to eliminate the Ukrainian soldier in the central part of the city was exposed. The killer was detained "hot" when he pulled out a gun and aimed at the military DIU in one of the capital's institutions.
The attempted murder was made by a 28-year-old citizen of the Central Asian country. The Russians recruited a defendant in his home state when he was looking for "easy earnings" in Telegram channels.
According to the instructions of the Russians, the agent, posing as a tourist, arrived in Ukraine and first stayed in Pervomaisk in the Mykolaiv region. There he purchased several smartphones and SIM cards, which he regularly changed for conspiratorial communication sessions with the FSB.
Subsequently, the foreigner left for Kyiv, received a photo from the curator a photo of a potential "goal", its indicative geolocations and coordinates of the cache, from which he took a gun with ammunition.
For physical violence against the officer, he was promised 50 thousand dollars and legalization in one of the EU countries.
10.59 Russian troops on the night of December 26 hit a railway station in Kovel. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba. According to him, the locomotive and freight car were damaged, the windows of the locomotive depot shop were broken by an explosive wave.
11.00 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded 607 servicemen with state awards, 249 of them posthumously.
The awards are intended for personal courage shown in the protection of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, selfless performance of military duty.
The military received the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Danylo Halytskyi, for courage, medals for military service to Ukraine, the Defender of the Fatherland and for the saved life.
10.23 As a result of the Russian attack, drones recorded damage to the objects of the Lviv railway at the Kovel station, in particular, the locomotive and freight car, the windows of the locomotive depot workshop were broken by an explosive wave.
10.13 In the Odessa region, due to the Russian attack on seaports, damaged ships under the flags of Slovakia and the Republic of Palau, elevators, warehouses. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister of Development of Communities and Territories Oleksiy Kuleba.
9.40 The Ukrainian military for the first time destroyed a new Russian logistics vehicle of the "Vezdokhod" type on the outskirts of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. This was reported by the 7th Corps of the Ambulance of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, posting відеоthe video. We are talking about the all-wheel drive Ulan-2 car, created on the basis of the civil commercial chassis Sobol 4x4. The beginning of the alleged "mass" supply of these machines to the front, the Russian side stated in the fall.
09.33 President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on a change in the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Pond. The Head of State approved in the personal composition of the Rate of the First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Yevhen Ostryansky.
On the night of December 26, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with one ISskander-M ballistic missile, as well as 99 Dahed, Gerber, and other types of drones.
73 enemy Shahed, Gerber and drones of other types of other types were shot down/suppressed by air defense. Ballistic missile and 26 attack UAVs hit 16 locations.
9.16 In the Mykolaiv region, as a result of a night attack of strike drones of the Russian Federation, a partial blackout of subscribers took place. This was announced by the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim.
8.45 At the front, 121 combat clashes with the enemy were recorded at the front over the past day, 28 of them in the Pokrovsky direction. This was announced by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on December 26.
8.17 The occupiers attacked the infrastructure facility in Odesa. This was announced on December 26 by the head of the Odessa city military administration Serhiy Lysak. According to him, as a result of the UAV hit, a fire occurred. Work is underway to eliminate the consequences.
7.50 The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed another 840 Russian occupiers over the past day. This was announced on December 26 by the General Staff. Total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 26.12.25 approximately amounted to about 1 202 070 people.
7.23 In Russia, on the night of December 26, air defense allegedly neutralized 77 "Ukrainian drones". This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry. It is noted that 34 drones allegedly intercepted over the Volgograd region, 23 - over Rostov, 5 - over the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea. Also, the Russian air defense allegedly knocked down drones over the territory of the Moscow region, the waters of the Black and Azov Seas, Belgorod, the Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation.
00.51 The Ukrainian military liberated five settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk region. We are talking about the villages of Khoroshe, Novoselivka, Orestopil, Vorone and Sosnivka, the 225th separate assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. The defenders for more than three months continuously held positions, repulsed enemy attacks and gradually moved forward.
00.19 On Thursday, the Russians attacked a critical infrastructure facility in the Volyn region on the evening of Thursday. There were no casualties or fatalities.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Pokrovskoe direction is currently the hottest area. Since the beginning of the day, 100 occupiers have been killed, 71 of whom were irretrievably killed.
The intensity of fighting on the front has increased significantly. As of 10:00 PM on Friday, December 26, there had been 237 clashes on the front in the past 24 hours, 50 of which occurred in the Pokrovskoe direction. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this in its evening update.
Russian forces launched one missile strike and 56 airstrikes, using one missile and dropping 147 guided bombs. They also carried out 2,382 artillery strikes and deployed 2,275 kamikaze drones.
Operational situation on the fronts:
Severo-Slobodskoye and Kursk directions. Ukrainian forces repelled three enemy attacks. Russia launched two airstrikes using four guided bombs and carried out 86 shellings, including one from a multiple launch rocket system.
South Slobodskoye direction. The enemy attacked nine times near Volchanskiye Khutor, Prilepka, Staritsa, Vilcha, and Izbitskoye.
Kupyansk direction . Eleven attacks were recorded in the areas of Peschanoye, Kruglyakovka, Petropavlovske, Novoplatonovka, and Kupyansk. Fighting continues in two areas.
Liman direction. The enemy launched 31 attacks on positions near the villages of Grekovka, Novovodanoye, Novogorovka, Zarechnoye, and Liman. Active fighting is observed in isolated areas.
Slavyansk direction. Eight attacks were recorded near Seversk and Dronovka.
Kramatorsk direction. Three attacks near Minkovka and Virolyubovka were repelled.
Konstantinovskoye direction. 21 enemy assault attempts, including attacks in the areas of Aleksandro-Shultino, Shcherbinovka, and Yablunovka.
Pokrovsk direction. The fighting is at its most intense, with 50 enemy attacks near Shakhovoye, Midanovka, Pokrovsk, and elsewhere. Three active clashes are ongoing. Over the course of the day, 100 occupiers were killed, a significant amount of enemy military equipment was damaged, and ammunition depots and command posts were hit.
Aleksandrovskoye direction. Thirteen attacks near settlements such as Zeleny Gay, Yalta, and Rybnoye have been repelled. Three battles are still ongoing.
Hulyai-Polye direction. Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled 21 attacks in the areas of Varvarovka, Sladke, and Hulyai-Polye.
Orekhovskoye direction. The enemy launched six attacks near Malye Shcherbaki and Malaya Tokmachka. Two clashes are currently active.
The Dnieper direction. No military clashes were reported here over the previous 24 hours.
According to the General Staff, Russia's total losses in the war currently stand at approximately 1,202,070 military personnel, including 840 in the past 24 hours . The Defense Forces also destroyed three tanks, three armored combat vehicles, 74 artillery systems, one air defense system, 537 drones, and 180 enemy vehicles.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:50 UAV operators from the GROM "Cascade" unmanned aerial vehicle brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, using Lancets, destroyed the RADA radar and the 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,video. 20:36 In the period from 17:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed four Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
Three UAVs over the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and
One UAV was flying over the Black Sea.
19:48 Airborne unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems crews in the area of the city of Orekhov in the Zaporizhzhia region are destroying enemy personnel,video.
19:24 Signalers from the command brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Dnipro group of forces provide the command of the group, military units and subdivisions with reliable communications in the Kherson region, video.
18:50 in Ukraine will start to call up cadets of the SBU Institute
The department's document notes the need to "prepare lists of fourth- and fifth-year cadets of the Educational and Scientific Institute of State Security for subsequent assignment on short-term official missions to combat zones."
18:06 UAV crews of the Ulyanovsk paratroopers liquidated enemy infantry in strongholds in the Orekhovo area in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Attack drone operators from the Vostok group thwarted an attempt to transport enemy reserves near Gulyai-Polye.
Drone operators from the Center group of forces continue to destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in the village of Grishino, northwest of Krasnoarmeysk.
FPV drone crews burned enemy vehicles, engineering equipment, and a field ammunition depot.
17:13 In the period from 13:00 Moscow time to 17:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed 24 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
14 UAVs – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
10 UAVs – over the Black Sea.
16:32 In the Odessa region, two employees of the TCC, who were hunting people, were killed by underground fighters,video.
15:52 During the assault on Hulyaipole and the offensive on the Zaporizhzhia Front, the Russian armydestroysenemy with new "Russian Hymars"
15:15 During an attack by a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone wounded two civilians, including a child.
In the village of Zamostye in the Graivoron District, an FPV drone struck a car. An ambulance crew is transporting a man with barotrauma and a shrapnel wound to the face to the regional clinical hospital. An 8-year-old girl, who suffered a mine blast injury and shrapnel wounds to the face and shoulder, is being transported to the regional children's clinical hospital. The victims are receiving all necessary medical care.
14:41 According to local authorities, in the village of Khodyakovka in the Glushkovsky district, an enemy drone attacked a civilian riding a bicycle. The 57-year-old man was killed.
13:17 In the period from 8:00 Moscow time to 13:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on dutydestroyed 17 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
16 UAVs – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
One UAV – over the Black Sea.
12:24 Units of the Eastern Group of Forces continued their advance into the depths of the enemy's defenses and, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the village of Kosovtsevo in the Zaporizhzhia region.
11:04 Servicemen of the Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the 41st Guards Combined Arms Army of the Center Group of Forceshanded overstate and departmental awards for completing combat missions in the SVO zone.
10:42 Russian Investigative Committee will investigate the criminal actions of Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the Belgorod and Kursk regions
According to government authorities in the city of Shebekino in the Belgorod region, a drone attacked a truck, injuring a man.
In the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region, a civilian was wounded as a result of Ukrainian armed aggression.
10:15 18-year-old Russian woman was accujsed of bombing a Russian serviceman's car in Stavropol
According to the FSB, the girl was recruited through telephone scammers linked to Ukrainian intelligence services.
She was threatened with criminal charges and, under this pressure, was handed a homemade explosive device equivalent to approximately 400 grams of TNT. She intended to plant the bomb under a car near a military unit.
9:53 Officers of the FSB Directorate for the LPR detained a criminal in a case that had been opened against a Luhansk resident who recruited individuals for Ukrainian special services to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks on the territory of the Republic. The press service of the Directorate reported this.
9:20 TCC of Ukraine conducted raids in Kherson, which were particularly brutal, said Volodymyr Saldo
According to the governor of the Kherson region, employees of territorial recruitment centers, armed with automatic weapons and operating without police escort, are breaking into private homes.
8:33 Frontline summary on the morning of December 26, 2025
Zaporizhzhya Front
In the Kamensk direction, the Russian Armed Forces are advancing in the landings north of Stepnogorsk.
In the Hulyaipole direction, Russian troops are advancing in the village of Novoandreyevka southwest of Orekhovo.
On the left bank of the Gaichur River, Russian forces are expanding their bridgehead and fighting for Hulyaipole. Advances are reported in the center and south of the city. Russian troops are advancing toward Kosovtseve and Ternovatoye. There are gains in Andreyevka, and fighting is underway for Bratskoye.
Donetsk Front:
On the Pokrovsk front, Russian troops are advancing toward Myrnohrad, taking up new positions southwest of Rodynske.
On the Dobropillya front, they are advancing toward Novy Donbas.
Russian Armed Forces are advancing in the Slavyansk direction. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the liberation of Svyato-Pokrovskoe, located 3 kilometers south of Seversk. Russian troops are expanding their zone of control southeast of Platonovka.
Street fighting continues in Kupyansk
. Russian forces are reportedly advancing in Kurilovka.
In the Volchansk direction, Russian troops are advancing in the Volchansk Khutors, in the forest near Liman, and also in the Staritsa area.
The Russian Armed Forces on the Sumy Front are advancing near Kondratovka and advancing toward the western outskirts of Alekseyevka. Fighting for Andreyevka is underway. There is also progress westward near Vysokoye and Grabovsky.
8:17 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 77 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
34 - over the territory of the Volgograd region,
23 - over the territory of the Rostov region,
Five - over the territory of the Kaluga region,
Five - over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
Three - over the territory of the Moscow region,
Three - over the waters of the Black Sea,
Two - over the territory of the Belgorod region,
One - over the territory of the Voronezh region,
One - over the waters of the Sea of Azov.
8:00 Calculation of loitering munitions "Cube" of the units of the unmanned systems troops of the 25th Combined Arms Army of the "West" group of forces destroyed temporary deployment point for the Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Andrey Berezina
[REGNUM] Two hundred years ago, early in the morning of December 26 (December 14, Old Style), 1825, a column of 800 soldiers of the Life Guards Moscow Regiment marched out onto Senate Square in St. Petersburg under their battle banners. The "Muscovites," led by Alexander and Mikhail Bestuzhev and Prince Dmitry Shchepin-Rostovsky, formed a battle square near the Bronze Horseman.
Thus, the capital, and with it the entire empire, learned of the outbreak of the uprising. But it had begun earlier, before dawn—when Prince Shchepin-Rostovsky seriously wounded the regimental commander of the Moscow Life Guards, Baron Pavel Frederiks, who was attempting to stop the mutinous regiment. The rebels prevented Pavel Golenishchev-Kutuzov, a hero of the war of 1812 and a descendant of the famous family, from entering the square.
IN THE DEPTHS OF HISTORICAL MEMORY
From our 9th grade textbooks, we more or less remember how the uprising of four regiments and a guards crew in St. Petersburg under the command of Kondraty Ryleyev and the Bestuzhev brothers, leaders of the "Northern Society," ended.
You can refresh your memory of the "reference points"—whether it was the assassination of Governor-General Mikhail Miloradovich by the rebels or the four volleys of grapeshot that stopped the uprising—by watching a 2019 film or a 2024 series (we'll leave the question of their authenticity open).
The plot of the riot in the Kiev province on January 10–15, 1826, is also well known—when the soldiers and officers of the Chernigov regiment were led on a march by the leaders of the Southern Society, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin.
Over the years, the details of how “one hundred ensigns wanted to change the entire state life of Russia” (a phrase attributed to Alexander Griboyedov ) have faded from national memory.
Even the historical date "floats" in the public consciousness. Social media and the press celebrated the bicentennial of the uprising for freedom—or condemned the rebellion against legitimate authority—not on December 26th, but on December 14th, forgetting the difference between the old and new calendars.
But the historical plot itself remains a subject of debate, and the past two centuries have brought us no closer to understanding Russia's massive historical drama, which gave rise to a divided public consciousness.
Almost from Alexander Pushkin's dedication to his comrades in the Arzamas literary circle (the classic "In the Depths of Siberian Mines..." ), the tradition of considering the Decembrists heroes arose. These brilliant officers of the army that defeated Napoleon, true patriots who, believing that power in the weak hands of the autocrat was leading Russia into the abyss, conceived an uprising.
In this canon, the Decembrists and their faithful wives became objects of worship, first for the raznochintsy intelligentsia of the 19th century (remember Nekrasov’s poem ), and then for all Soviet generations, right up until the 1980s.
It wasn't so much a matter of Lenin's memorized quote: "The Decembrists awakened Herzen, Herzen launched revolutionary agitation," etc., but rather a romantic attitude toward Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, even among those who weren't particularly fond of Soviet officialdom.
This attitude was also evident in Bulat Okudzhava’s work “A Breath of Freedom” (a novel about Pavel Pestel, published in the “Fiery Revolutionaries” series in 1971) and in Vladimir Motyl’s film “The Captivating Star of Happiness.”
"A CROWD OF LOST AND EVILDOERS"
The counter-myth is no less persistent: the Decembrists are seen not as idealists with “beautiful impulses of the soul,” but as nothing more than calculating conspirators and traitors to the Motherland.
In fact, the first person to formulate this point of view was Nicholas I, who carried out a “debriefing” immediately upon ascending to the throne – in the Manifesto of December 1825.
“A handful of disobedient people dared to oppose the general oath, the Law, the authority, the military order and the convictions,” the emperor explained to his subjects.
Therefore, the legal authorities “ had to use force to disperse and bring to their senses this crowd of lost and evil-doers.”
The Lost (soldiers who were sure that they were going for the legitimate Tsar Constantine and his wife Constitution) “were sure that they were defending the Throne.”
The perpetrators treacherously “desired and sought, taking advantage of the moment, to carry out evil plans that had long been drawn up, long been thought out, long been smoldering in the darkness of secrecy among them and only partially known to the Government; to overthrow the Throne and the Fatherland Laws, to transform the State order, to introduce anarchy.”
Nikolai accused the rebels of plotting a terrorist attack: they intended to achieve their goals through murder, as evidenced by the death of Miloradovich on Senate Square.
Nicholas's manifesto simultaneously outlined the goal and objective of the reign that had begun: "to cleanse Holy Russia from this infection brought to US from outside."
The easiest way to interpret “infection brought in from outside” is as an indication of some foreign intrigue in the Decembrist conspiracies.
However, apparently, Nikolai Pavlovich understood by “infection” the ideological climate that was established under his grandmother, Catherine the Great. and strengthened under his elder brother Alexander the Blessed.
HALF A CENTURY OF ELITE LIBERALISM
At the beginning of the 19th century - in the “wonderful beginning of Alexander’s days”, and even after 1815 (when Alexander I was considered a “dreamy friend” of the despotic temporary ruler Arakcheev ), considering oneself a citizen meant following the latest European fashions. Spreading the rumor "Oh my God, he's a Carbonari!" was no less flattering for an enlightened nobleman than being known as a materialist or even an "Afei"—an atheist.
It is believed that after the assassination of Paul I (the penultimate Guards coup, if we consider the Decembrist uprising to be the last), Alexander promised: “Under me, it will be like under my grandmother.”
And the “golden age” of Ekaterina Alekseevna’s grandmother coincided with the spread of the ideas of the French enlighteners in Europe and Russia: Voltaire and Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Charles-Louis Montesquieu.
Catherine II, who corresponded with Voltaire, Diderot, and the “defender of liberty and rights” Friedrich Melchior Grimm, was one of those who correctly assessed the power of the Enlightenment ideology.
But at the same time, she realized the utopian nature of the West's progressive ideas for our conditions. And for enlightened Europe—long before the Jacobin Terror—she understood the incendiary and destructive power contained in the works of Monsieur Voltaire.
Either by herself or not without the help of Grigory Potemkin, who wrote to the empress about the mood in Paris: “Those who bewitch the blind minds of the people with imaginary freedom are multiplying,” warning that “games of Voltaireanism” will not end well.
It ended with the guillotine for the enemies of freedom and rights, and then with the tyranny of Bonaparte, which suppressed all freedoms and rights - which Catherine, fortunately, did not live to see.
But generations of Russian aristocrats grew up, educated first on the "Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility," and then on Rousseau's theory of the social contract, on the "Marseillaise" with its calls to "tremble, tyrants!" ( the quatrain "We will amuse good citizens..." attributed to Pushkin did not appear without reason).
And—in admiration for Napoleon's military and political genius. This fascination with the French emperor was not spared even by his victors—the young generals of 1812.
OLD FRONDEURS AND YOUNG OFFICERS
The enlightened reigns of Catherine II, and then her grandson Alexander I, seemed insufficiently enlightened for the aristocrats who considered themselves democrats (winning perhaps only against the backdrop of the short period of "tyranny" of Paul I).
As has happened so often in our history, attempts at reform—whether Catherine's legislative projects or the proposals of the young Alexander's associate, Mikhail Speransky —met with the "material resistance" of the bureaucratic system. And they were rolled back. The rebellious aristocracy was once again convinced that the authorities not only could not, but also did not want, "liberties."
At the same time, those for whom rebellion had already become a sacred tradition extolled those who, from their point of view, went against the system.
Among the idols were Nikolai Novikov, a retired lieutenant, editor-educator, and seeker of true Freemasonry. So did Alexander Radishchev, the head of the St. Petersburg customs office, who suffered for publishing "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" (a book "filled with the most harmful intellectualism," according to the empire's most influential literary critic, Empress Catherine), and the far more moderate bureaucrat Speransky, who had fallen into disgrace.
Novikov, who served time in the Shlisselburg fortress under Catherine—including for dealings with the Duke of Brunswick and other foreigners—survived the victory of 1812 and died on his estate.
At the end of his life, Radishchev received a full pardon from Alexander I and joined the legislative commission. One of the freethinker's sons, Afanasy Radishchev, rose to the rank of major general and governor (of Podolsk, Vitebsk, and Kaunas). The "systemic liberal" Speransky was restored to his former position from disgrace.
But in radical mythology, Novikov, Radishchev, and Speransky all found themselves in the category of "victims of those who fell in a fatal struggle." "Fallen," in part, for reasons of their own moderation.
But Novikov and Radishchev were precisely the ones who theoretically admitted that a change of power in Russia was possible not only through succession to the throne and a “snuffbox to the temple,” but also through European revolutionary means.
The 19th century was approaching – the century of lieutenants, colonels and generals who rewrote history to suit themselves.
And this isn't just Lieutenant and later General Bonaparte. But also a "fresh" hero—Captain General Rafael del Riego y Flores, commander of the Spanish Liberal troops during the 1820–23 revolution.
But there was also General Simón Bolívar, President of the Republic of Gran Colombia with the title of “El Libertador” – “The Liberator”, who in those same years was destroying the Spanish Empire in its South American possessions.
And the next French Revolution was just around the corner - July 1830, with the final overthrow of the senior Bourbons (who, in fact, were restored to the throne by the Russian Tsar Alexander).
If the Decembrists were idealists, they were idealists striving for power. After all, history itself has confirmed Voltaire's aphorism: " God is not on the side of the big battalions; he is on the side of the best shooters"—"God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best." Read: determination and a well-timed blow can overthrow the system.
FROM LUNIN TO LENIN
Did the Decembrists wish the Fatherland well? Perhaps here one can agree with the phrase from Lenin's textbook article "In Memory of Herzen": "The circle of these revolutionaries is narrow, they are terribly distant from the people."
For this terrible separation we should “thank” Peter the Great, from whose era the linguistic, cultural and even religious gap between the elite and the people began to grow.
Therefore, when "a hundred ensigns decided to turn Russia upside down," the coup was conceived along European lines—even though Pavel Pestel called his draft constitution "Russian Truth," and planned not only to expand and strengthen the secret police, but also to rename it the "Dept. of Decency."
On the other hand, in sync with the Europeanization of the ruling class during the "age of the golden Catherine," the peasant class's serfdom intensified. During those blessed days for the nobility, a breakdown in the peace between the classes became apparent.
But did the Decembrists in 1825 want to do what Alexander II did in 1861 – give freedom to the peasants?
Lenin insisted - yes, they wanted it, according to the advanced European model:
“Having defeated Napoleon’s most powerful enemy in the Patriotic War of 1812, having passed through the whole of Europe, which had been virtually conquered by Russian arms, the sons of the most distinguished Russian noble families had the opportunity to compare the life and legal status of Europeans with all the horrors and darkness of the old Russian serfdom.”
The "legal status of Europeans" is a flexible concept. In the German states, the second iteration of serfdom (harsher than the Russian one at the time) took place in the second half of the 17th century, while in Austrian Galicia, corvée was abolished in the 1840s. The life of "free Europeans" who toiled in British manufactories and later factories (without, it should be noted, any special political rights) gave Karl Marx the impetus to write "Das Kapital," so highly valued by Ilyich.
Be that as it may, the Decembrist "constitutions" did indeed declare the abolition of serfdom, along roughly the same lines as those envisioned in the government projects of Alexander I from 1803 to 1818.
But it's worth noting that of all the Decembrists, only one— Mikhail Lunin— instructed his heirs in his will, written in 1819, to free peasants and house servants. The other domestic "libertadores" had no such intention.
Perhaps the release was postponed until “when we come to power.”
There's a common saying: history knows no subjunctive mood. But one can surmise that if "rebels worse than Pugachev" had seized power, the unresolved land issue and "suppressed" social problems would have given rise to a genuine new Pugachev rebellion. Which, in fact, is precisely what emerged almost a century later.
But the victory of the Decembrists is a plot for an alternative history.
There's another famous saying: " A rebellion cannot end successfully. Otherwise it's called something else." The phrase belongs to the English poet and courtier of Elizabeth I, John Harrington. It was written long before the first European "otherwise"—the English Revolution, during which the king was beheaded. Interestingly, the original uses the word "treason" instead of "rebellion."
We've seen the consequences of attempts to forcibly bestow blessings in modern times: when freedom turned into permissiveness, equality into indifference, and formal brotherhood into the impoverishment of the majority and the omnipotence of the "brotherhood." History has shown the advantage of evolution over great upheavals, and the benefit of taking people's opinions into account over a fundamental overhaul, in keeping with yet another progressive idea.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Belarus has received another batch of Russian Su-30SM2 fighter jets. The Belarusian Defense Ministry's press service reported this on Friday, December 26.
"Another batch of Su-30SM2 fighter jets has arrived at one of the Belarusian airfields," the military department's Telegram channel reported.
Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces – Chief of Aviation, Colonel Alexander Belyaev, noted that it has become a good tradition for Belarus to receive new aircraft, the fleet of which is constantly being updated.
Earlier, on December 19, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that the Russian hypersonic missile system "Oreshnik" had entered combat duty in the republic. He previously noted that the deployment of the Oreshnik in the country was a response to the escalating situation in the region and current threats.
Commentary from Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Regarding our current difficulties in Kupyansk.
1. The current situation defies two extremes: "Everything is bad, everything is lost," and "What do we care about Kupyansk? We don't need it at all," which is to say we didn't really want it.
2. We need Kupyansk. There's no point in squandering our lands, especially considering how hard it was to enter Kupyansk. If the LBS freezes, Kupyansk will remain in the hands of whoever controls it. And it's not a given that it will be included in any post-war territorial swaps. Therefore, we must establish control over the entire city one way or another.
3. For now, our troops still hold part of the city, but the problems have only worsened over the past week, and stabilization of the situation in Kupyansk and the surrounding area is out of the question. Yes, the enemy is effectively sacrificing some of its positions in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, from where it has pulled reserves near Kupyansk, so our command is already taking advantage of this and making significant progress there.
But to turn the situation in its favor, the "West" group needs to stabilize the LBS in Kupyansk and on the western bank of the Oskol, so that it can begin to restore lost positions somewhat later, when the enemy is exhausted and additional reserves are transferred to the Kupyansk sector.
4. This story once again demonstrates that the enemy should not be underestimated in war, even when the overall dynamics of events at the front are in our favor. Let me remind you that even in the spring of 1945, our troops lost cities and even ended up encircled (see, for example, the battle for Bautzen in April 1945), although this did not significantly affect the overall outcome.
5. Will we experience unpleasant events at the front during the war? Of course there will be. Will they change the final outcome of the war? They will not. One can recall Syria and the hysteria in the media after our military failures in Palmyra and Tabqa. Did these local successes save ISIS from defeat? No, they did not. Just as the overall dynamics of the war are quite clear for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including for Ukraine itself.
6. Regarding mistakes and finger-pointing, I'm confident the military-political leadership will draw conclusions, just as they did with the previous 3rd Army leadership, which misused false reports about the situation on the front in the Seversky Salient. As we can see from the developments near Seversky in recent months, the personnel changes by the General Staff have yielded results, and Seversky has been captured.
Russian troops have liberated the center of Hulyaipole.
The Russian flag has been placed on the sandbagged monument to Nestor Makhno. The ruins of the Makhno Museum near the city administration building were also occupied earlier. Drone footage shows a soldier placing a flag on a pile of sandbags surrounding the monument.
The enemy is retreating to the western part of the city, fighting, but having lost most of the major buildings, holding on in the private sector will be problematic, especially given the city's encirclement from the north.
Yesterday's sensational video of a battalion command post of the 102nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured by our troops sparked outrage in Ukraine, with accusations of Syrskyi lying. The capture of almost entire command posts like these is extremely rare in the news after 2022.
Overall, amid ongoing problems in Kupyansk, where the enemy continues to press, the Vostok group continues to be a reliable source of good news from Zaporizhzhia and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
