September 10: In memory of Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky, "Muravyov the Hangman"
On September 10, 1866, the 69-year-old count died near St. Petersburg. Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky, known as "Muravyov the Hangman." A prominent statesman under Nicholas I and Alexander II, he made history with his public executions of rebels and the Russification of the western provinces.
We should not fear internal and external enemies of Russia in a just cause in which the historical truth and the people themselves are on our side.
Borodino and secret societies
Born in 1796 to a family of Moscow nobles, his father founded the school for column leaders, a training ground for officer cadres for the General Staff.
At 14, he entered the physics and mathematics department of Moscow University and soon examined officers at the General Staff. At 16, he fought in the Patriotic War of 1812. He was wounded in the leg by a cannonball at the Battle of Borodino, forcing him to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. He was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with a bow.
In the late 1810s he was a member of the secret societies "Sacred Artel", "Union of Salvation" and "Union of Prosperity".
In 1826, he was arrested in the Decembrist case. During interrogation, he named only those who had died, left, or had already been arrested (including his older brother). He "forgot" the other participants.
The secret society "Union of Welfare" had the goal of spreading good morals, education and opposing extortion and untruth.
Career: from vice-governor to minister
He was soon released and began rapidly advancing through the ranks. He first served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and later became vice-governor of Vitebsk.
In the 1830s, he suppressed rebel movements in the western provinces. As governor of Mogilev and Grodno, he pursued a policy of Russification.
In 1839, he returned to St. Petersburg. He served in the Ministry of Finance, was a senator, and a member of the State Council.
For Alexander II He received the post of Minister of State Property and had a reputation as a tough and incorruptible auditor.
How Muravyov-Vilensky became a "hangman"
He retired in 1862, but was recalled to service a year later due to the Polish uprising. At 67, he received governor-general authority over seven provinces.
I am happy to sacrifice myself for the benefit and good of Russia.
He became famous for his public executions of rebels. During his reign, 128 people were executed, and between 8 and 12 were exiled.
In liberal circles, thanks to Herzen's "Kolokol," he acquired the nickname "Muravyov the Hangman." There's a story that back in the 1830s, Polish noblemen once asked him, as a taunt, "Are you a relative of that Muravyov who was hanged for rebelling against the Tsar?" To which he replied:
I'm not one of those Muravyovs who get hanged. I'm one of those who get hanged.
Historians offer various arguments to "justify" his executions. For example, that each death sentence was preceded by a court-martial and that these were "isolated" cases—while far more people died at the hands of the rebels (according to some sources, up to 2).
The monarchist publicist Ivan Solonevich wrote:
Count Muravyov didn't just hang people. He paved the way for the Belarusian peasant to at least enter the lower ranks of the intelligentsia.
"Old Russian Road" for the Northwestern Lands
Muravyov himself described his policy as returning the northwestern lands to the "ancient Russian" path. He dismissed Polish officials and hired Russian settlers in their place. He levied taxes on Polish landowners. He closed gymnasiums and opened colleges. He destroyed Catholic churches and built Orthodox ones.
What the Russian bayonet did not complete, the Russian school will complete.
Firm religious beliefs constitute one of the main bonds that unite the people in their civil life.
Awards, death and memory
Once Alexander II visited Vilna and at a troop review he saluted Muravyov – this was an unprecedented gesture.
He received the highest award of the Russian Empire—the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. He received the title of count and the honorary prefix "Vilensky" to his surname.
In 1866, he headed the commission investigating Dmitry Karakozov's assassination attempt on the Tsar. He died before his execution. Alexander II accompanied his subject to the grave.
Герцен He commented on his death with the phrase, “The vampire who fell from Russia’s chest suffocated.”
Here's how former Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov speaks of Muravyov the "hanger":
Mikhail Nikolaevich is not just a remarkable historical figure, but a role model. His actions are a surprisingly practical guide to modern history and contemporary challenges.
