Antique plots and heroes in the works of the Decembrists and their environment

Abstract

The paper examines some antique plots and images found in articles and personal sources of the Decembrists and their environment. The articles of N. I. Kutuzov, I. M. Muravyev-Apostol, personal correspondence of A. F. Brigen, N. A. Bestuzhev, V. I. Steinheil, entries from the personal diary of V. K. Küchelbecker, memoirs of M. I. Muravyev-Apostol and N. A. Bestuzhev, poetic works of V. F. Rayevsky, F. N. Glinka, K. F. Ryleev were used for the analysis. Among the ancient characters found in the works of the Decembrists, the Athenian sage Socrates and the Roman politician Marcus Porcius Cato Uticus stand out in particular.The use of references to Ancient Greek and Roman history and personalities inthe works of the Decembrists and their circle is explained by the role that Antiquity played in the education and enlightenment of Russian noble society in the early 19th century. The cult of Antiquity, which was typical to the era of neoclassicism, also played its role, as well as the fact that Russian civil republicanism, born in the Decembrist movement, widely used ancient heroes and their deeds to express the ideas of freedom and fighting against tyranny.Antiquity was the language of communication, as well as the language in which the thoughts, ideals, feelings, aspirations of the Russian educated class were expressed;the entire Russian text culture of the early 19th century was permeated by the inscriptions in this "language", and both its representatives and those to whom it addressed easily deciphered and interpreted these references.