Petr Svistunov Decembrist, member of the St. Petersburg cell of the Southern Society. Date of Birth: 27.07.1803 Country: Russia

1. Childhood and Education
2. Involvement in Decembrist Movement
3. Arrest and Imprisonment
4. Trial and Sentencing
5. Exiled Life in Siberia
6. Service and Family in Tobolsk and Kurgan
7. Amnesty and Return to European Russia
8. Later Life and Legacy

Childhood and Education

Nikolai Petrovich Svistunovwas born in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, also named Nikolai Petrovich Svistunov, was an Imperial Chamberlain, and his mother was Maria Alekseevna Rzhevskaya. The family had significant wealth, owning over 5,000 serfs in various provinces and a large stone house in St. Petersburg.

Nikolai was educated at a Jesuit boarding school, the boarding school of Baron Chabot, and later at the Page Corps. He graduated as a cornet in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment on April 20, 1823.

Involvement in Decembrist Movement

In 1823, Svistunov became a member of the St. Petersburg branch of the Southern Society, a revolutionary organization that opposed the autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas I. He also participated in the activities of the Northern Society.

Arrest and Imprisonment

After the failed Decembrist Uprising on December 14, 1825, Svistunov was arrested in Moscow on December 21. He was transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg and imprisoned in the Alexeevsky Ravelin. In June 1826, he attempted suicide.

Trial and Sentencing

Svistunov was convicted as a second-class criminal and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. His sentence was later reduced to 15 years. On January 18, 1827, he was transported to Siberia.

Exiled Life in Siberia

Svistunov arrived at the Peter and Paul Fortress in September 1830. His sentence was further reduced to 10 years in 1832. In 1835, he was exiled to the village of Idinskoe in Irkutsk Governorate.

Service and Family in Tobolsk and Kurgan

In 1837, Svistunov was granted permission to transfer to the town of Kurgan in Tobolsk Governorate. He bought a house there and served in the local governorate administration.

In 1842, Svistunov married Tatyana Aleksandrovna Neugodnikova, the adopted daughter of the superintendent of the Kurgan district school. They had four children.

Amnesty and Return to European Russia

After the amnesty of August 26, 1856, Svistunov and his family were granted hereditary nobility. They moved to Moscow in 1857.

Later Life and Legacy

Svistunov spent his later years in Moscow, where he served as a member of the Kaluga provincial committee on the settlement of peasant life. He also taught French literature at the Kaluga women's gymnasium.

Nikolai Petrovich Svistunov died in 1889 and was buried in the Alexeyevsky Monastery. His remains were later transferred to the Donskoy Monastery in 1929. He is remembered as a prominent member of the Decembrist movement and as a writer of memoirs about his experiences in Siberia.