The Union of Prosperity () or Union of Welfare was a larger secret society of the

Decembrists The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

, established in early 1818 on the basis of the dissolved

Union of Salvation The Union of Salvation (), formed in 1816, also known as the Society of True and Loyal Sons of the Fatherland () since 1817, was the first secret political society of the Decembrists. In 1816, at the initiative of , a group of young officers of ...

and contained the literary society, the Green Lamp.

Members

The members of the Union of Prosperity (UoP) included Alexander Nikolayevich Muravyov,

Nikita Muravyov Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov (; – ) was an Imperial Guards staff officer and plotter in what led to the Decembrist revolt of 1825. Muravyov was active in a number of proto-Decembrist organizations. In 1816, he was among the founders of the ...

, Sergey Muravyov-Apostol, Matvei Muravyov-Apostol,

Pavel Pestel Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel (; – ) was a Russian revolutionary and ideologue of the Decembrists. Early life Pavel Pestel was born in Moscow on . He came from a Lutheran family of Saxon descent that had settled in Russia during the r ...

Ivan Yakushkin Ivan Dmitrievich Yakushkin (Russian:Иван Дмитриевич Якушкин; 9 January 1793, Safonovsky District - 23 August 1857, Moscow) was a Russian military officer, Decembrist, and educator. Biography He was born into a noble family, ...

, Mikhail Lunin and others. ''Korennaya Uprava'' (Коренная управа, or Board) was the governing body of the UoP and the 6-member ''Soviet'', or ''Duma'' (Совет, Дума) was the executive body of the society. The UoP was divided into ''upravas'' (управа, or regional branches), located in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Tulchin, Kishinev and other cities. Most of the UoP members were nobles. Organizational structure and legal activities of the UoP were stated in the first part of its charter called the ''Green Book'' ("зелёная книга"). The second part of the charter, only to a small number of members, formulated the final purpose of the UoP, which was the abolishment of

autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

and

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

and introduction of constitutional form of government. These goals were to be reached by relatively peaceful means. The UoP members strived to overcome the inner reserve and conspiratorial tactics of the Union of Salvation by attempting to exert influence on public opinion. A number of literary and pedagogical societies,

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

s, and magazines sided with the UoP. In their works and speeches, the UoP members criticized serfdom,

despotism In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...

, Arakcheyev's army reforms, lawlessness of tsarist court, authorities and censorship. In 1820, the members of the Korennaya Uprava argued for the introduction of the republican system of government in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

after Pavel Pestel's speech at their meeting in Petersburg. Simultaneously, there were people in the UoP who suggested a "military revolution" due to the increasing disagreements over UoP's program and tactical questions. In order to "drop" some unreliable and most radical members and to mislead the tsarist authorities, the Moscow meeting of the members of the Korennaya Uprava voted for the dissolution of the UoP in early 1821. Its most active members formed the basis for the establishment of the

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

and

Southern Society of the Decembrists The Southern Society of the Decembrists () was one of two, along with the Northern Society, main secret revolutionary organizations of the Decembrists. Created in March 1821 on the basis of the Tulchin Council of the Union of Prosperity. The ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union Of Prosperity 1818 establishments in the Russian Empire 1821 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Conspiracies Decembrist revolt Political organizations based in Russia Political parties established in 1818 Political parties disestablished in 1821 Secret societies in Russia

Members

See also

References

Bibliography