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Abstract <p>This article examines the transformation of the image of the Decembrists in the Soviet historical narrative during the preparations for and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the 1825 uprising. Historical scholarship faced the task of overcoming prerevolutionary “legends” and creating a new concept that would integrate the Decembrists into the Marxist-Leninist genealogy of the revolutionary movement. However, in the 1920s, the scientific community continued to include representatives of the prerevolutionary school alongside young Marxist historians, which made it difficult to develop a unified position on key issues: the origins and social nature of the movement, its revolutionary character, unity, the nature of its political programs, etc. Despite the establishment of special commissions, mass publication of archival documents, and a broad awareness program, the 1925 anniversary campaign did not lead to the emergence of a new, universally accepted concept of the Decembrist movement: some scholars attempted to give a Marxist interpretation to old myths, while others proposed original but highly controversial concepts. Cinema played a special role in conveying the historical narrative, becoming one of the main channels of mass commemoration. To mark the anniversary, two films about the Decembrists were released, namely, <i>The Decembrists</i> (1927) and <i>S.V.D.</i> (1927), which reflected the transformation of the historical narrative about the Decembrist movement at a time when the Decembrists were not yet viewed as a monolithic community of “aristocratic revolutionaries,” but had already been incorporated into the revolutionary genealogy that served to legitimize Soviet power.</p>

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Decembrists in the Soviet Narrative of the Mid-1920s: From Scholarly Debates to Cinema

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月1日

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  • O. A. Plekh,
  • Yu. S. Filina

摘要

Abstract

This article examines the transformation of the image of the Decembrists in the Soviet historical narrative during the preparations for and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the 1825 uprising. Historical scholarship faced the task of overcoming prerevolutionary “legends” and creating a new concept that would integrate the Decembrists into the Marxist-Leninist genealogy of the revolutionary movement. However, in the 1920s, the scientific community continued to include representatives of the prerevolutionary school alongside young Marxist historians, which made it difficult to develop a unified position on key issues: the origins and social nature of the movement, its revolutionary character, unity, the nature of its political programs, etc. Despite the establishment of special commissions, mass publication of archival documents, and a broad awareness program, the 1925 anniversary campaign did not lead to the emergence of a new, universally accepted concept of the Decembrist movement: some scholars attempted to give a Marxist interpretation to old myths, while others proposed original but highly controversial concepts. Cinema played a special role in conveying the historical narrative, becoming one of the main channels of mass commemoration. To mark the anniversary, two films about the Decembrists were released, namely, The Decembrists (1927) and S.V.D. (1927), which reflected the transformation of the historical narrative about the Decembrist movement at a time when the Decembrists were not yet viewed as a monolithic community of “aristocratic revolutionaries,” but had already been incorporated into the revolutionary genealogy that served to legitimize Soviet power.