318 SPERANSKY AND THE DECEMBRISTS
that he had learned in the seminary, and which he had applied from
the very start of his public life, as we recall from his relations with
Prince Kurakin and Procurator General Obolianinov. It was his way of
courting and gaining favor, of achieving his ends.
In 1825-1826 his immediate goal was - and could not have, been
anything else - to gain the confidence and respect of the new master,
Nicholas I. In this he succeeded completely. After 1826 he was one of
the most prominent and respected high officials in the bureaucracy,
though he never came as close to Nicholas as he had been at one point
to Alexander I. His prominent position in the new reign is shown in
his participation and active role in the Committee of December 6th,
1826 and other secret ad hoc committees - the favorite instrument of
Nicholas' government. Speransky's greatest assignment was to come in
1826, when he was put in charge of the codification of Russian law.
SOURCES
The literature on the Decembrist movement and revolt is immense, and still
constantly growing thanks to the numerous contributions and archival publications
in Soviet Russia. It is impossible to survey it here. For a complete guide of the
literature up to 1926 consult N. Chentsov. Vosstanie Dekabristov - Bibliografiia,
Tsentrarkhiv. Moscow-Leningrad 1929. There is a summary account in English of
the principal events. Anatole G. Mazour. The First Russian Revolution 1825 - the
Decembrist Movement, Its Origins, Development, and Significance (Berkeley. Calif.
1937). The most recent summary is M. V. Nechkina. Dvi%henie Dekabristov, (Mos-
cow 1955).
For our present limited purpose the most important sources are:
Tsentrarkhiv. Vosstanie Dekabristov - Materialy, vols. I &: II, Moscow 1925-1926;
N. A. Borovkov (ed.). "Aleksandr Dmitrievich Borovkov i ego avtobiograficheskie
zapiski." Russkaia Starina, Vol. 95 (Sept. 1898) pp. 533-564. vol. 96 (Oct. 1898),
pp. 41-63. (Nov. 1898) pp. 331-~fi2. (Dec. 1898) pp. 591-616; "Donesenie Sledstvennoi
Kommissii. 30 maia 1826 g .... in Tainoe obshchestvo i 14go dekabria 1825 g. v Rossii,
(2d ed.. Leipzig. n d). pp: 99-204; M. V. Dovnar-Zapol'skii. Memuary Dekabristov
(Kiev 1906); I. D. Iakushkin. Zapiski, stat'i, pis'ma dekabrista 1. D. IakusMtina,
(Moscow 1951); graf E. F. Komarovskii. "Zapiski grafa E. F. Komarovskogo." Chapter
XI. Istoricheskii Vestnik, LXX (1897). pp. 443-458; B. L. Modzalevskii and Iu.
Oksman (eds), Dekabristy - neiulannye materialy i stat'i, (Leningrad 1925);
"Pri1ozhenie k dokladu sledstvennoi kommissii 0 tainykh obshchestvakh. otkrytykh
v 1825 g.... Russkii Arkhiv, (1875). No.3. pp. 434-438; B. E. Syroechkovskii {ed.),
Me:r.hdutsarstvie 1825 g. i vosstanie dekabristov v perepiske i memuarakh chlenov
tsarskoi sem'i (Tsentrarkhiv. Moscow-Leningrad 1926); "Verkhovnyi Ugo1ovnyi Sud
nad zloumyshlennikami uchrezbdennyi po Vysochaishemu Manifestu 19o iunia 1826
g." in Tainoe obshchestvo i 14go dekabria 1825 g. V Rossii, pp. 235-286; D. I.
Zavalishin. Zapiski Dekabris(a (Munich 1904)..Sec 0 n dar y stu die 5 particularly relevant to our theme: M. A. Aldanov,
"Speransky et 1es Decembristes." Le Monde Slave, (Decembre 1926). pp. 432-448
(also appeared in Russian. "Speranskii i Dekabristy," Sovremennye Zapiski, vol. 26,
1925); A. Fateev. "Bumagi Speranskogo (kak mogli popast' v ruki Dekabristov
preobrazovatel'nye plany Speranskogo)," Zapiski Russkogo Istoricheskogo Obshchestva
v Prage, Bk. 1 (Prague 1927). pp. 103-113; B. B. Glinskii. Bor'ba za konstitutsiiu
1612-1861, St. Pbg. 1908; Prince N. V. Golitsyn. "M. M. Speranskii v verkhovnom
sude nad dekabristami," Russkii Istoricheskii Zhurnal, Nos. 1-2 (1917). pp. 61-102;