of political aspirations of various groups in the last part of Alexander's reign is described by Vernadsky.
Soon after 1815 secret societies began to be formed with the
aim of completely reorganizing internal affairs in Russia.
These were set up partly under the influence of the Masonic
lodges and had some connection with them. The lessons of
history were not missed by the liberal nobles who formed the
opposition. The program of all the secret societies included
the abolition of serfdom. Among the revolutionary groups, two
had especial importance: the Southern Society, which was
composed of officers of the southern army and was headed by
Col. Paul Pestel, and the Northern Society of St. Petersburg.
The plan for a constitution drawn up by Pestel was known as
the Russkaia Pravda (Russian Law). Pestel visualized the
future Russian state as a centralized republic with democratic
policies. He also recognized the necessity of a powerful
...