Ivan Dmitriyevich 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, dating from the 15th century. His father, Dmitri Andreyevich Yakushkin († 1826), was a major landowner. From 1808 to 1811, he attended Moscow University, where he studied literature with Aleksey Merzlyakov, and history with . After graduating, he enlisted as a Podpraporshchik (Ensign) in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment and participated in numerous actions during the Napoleonic wars, for which he was awarded the Orders of St. George and of Saint Anna and the Kulm Cross. His time spent outside Russia had a strong influence on his political opinions. In 1816, he joined with Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy and several of his fellow officers to create a secret organization known as the Union of Salvation; a precursor to what would later be called the Decembrist movement. They were motivated by the mistreatment of soldiers and their opposition to serfdom, with the ultimate goal of creating a representative government. Later that year, when it appeared that Russia would go to war with the Turks, he requested a transfer to a unit in Chernigov Governorate that was under the command of his friend, Mikhail Fonvizin, who he persuaded to become a member. When the unit was brought back to Moscow, he expressed disagreement with the Union's charter, written in his absence, citing the blind obedience required, and helped to write a new one, based on the German Tugendbund. Following a rumor that Tsar Alexander I was planning to move the capital to Warsaw, it was suggested that his reign should be brought to an end. Yakushkin volunteered to be the assassin. When they changed their minds, he persisted and was criticized for putting the Union in danger. He abandoned his plans, but also resigned. Shortly after, he retired from the military and returned to his family estates, where he began to act on some of the proposed reforms; eventually deciding to free his serfs entirely. Much to his surprise, they chose to maintain the status quo; although this may have been due to pressure from the Ministry of the Interior, which he had informed of his intentions. He later came to believe that simply setting them free would not be a practical solution.