Marking Time 349ings, 33 were officers and 20 of them were in his own unit, the Moscow regi-
ment, which had been prominent in the events of December 1825.^163 One
member of this group, Captain F. N. L'vov, taught chemistry at the Pavlov-
sky cadet corps. In another group which met at the home of an official named
S. F. Durov there were two guards subalterns, Lieutenants N. P. Grigor'yev
of the Mounted Grenadiers and A. I. Pal'm of the Chasseurs, who were
graduates of the Page Corps and the Noblemen's regiment respectively. Its
most celebrated member, Fedor Dostoyevsky, had been educated as a military
engineer and had reached lieutenant's rank before retiring to civilian life in1844.^164 Grigor'yev composed an effective piece of agitational literature, A
Soldier's Chat, for distribution among the troops.^165 No approach was,
however, actually made to the soldiers; nor did circle members try to set up
secret cells in their units or contemplate a military coup. Such tactics had been
discredited by the Decembrists' failure, and these men were in any case more
moderate in their views. As humanitarian idealists they hoped to spread their
message by non-violent means.
Despite this they were treated as dangerous criminals. As is well known,
Dostoyevsky was one of those subjected to the terrible psychological ordeal of
a mock execution, being pardoned at the last moment; Mombelli and
Grigor' yev were each sentenced to 15, and L'vov to 12, years of forced labour
in the Siberian mines.^166 In all 280 men were investigated and 122 of them tried
in secret. This unduly repressive action helped to ensure that the Russian
public remained tranquil in the revolutionary year 1848. There were some mut-
terings of dissatisfaction in the army, however, and in one incident which
alarmed Nicholas some officers of the 2nd Cavalry Div1sion drank a toast to
the cause of French liberty.^167 An investigation revealed that they were from
the western provinces, and the matter was settled by a few transfers.
Rather more serious was the disaffection among the troops sent to Hungary
in 1849. As in 1831, a number of men deserted. One group of over 60 defectors
is reported to have fought on the insurgents' side.^168 Their action seems to have
been prompted by service grievances rather than political motives, but these
certainly existed too. The antagonism that the more nationalistically-inclined
officers felt towards Germans in command positions in their own army
naturally carried over to the Austrians. By upholding dynastic legitimism
in the Habsburg lands Nicholas seemed to be acting contrary to Russian
interests, while the Hungarians were admired for their bravery, cheerfulness,
163 Vcrzhbitsky, Revol. dvizheniye, pp. 202, 222; D'yakov, Osvobod. dvizheniye, pp. 52-3; cf.
Mombclli's evidence in Delo petrashevrsev, i. 383.
164 Verzhbi1sky, Revol. dvizheniye, p. 217.
165 Ibid., pp. 212-14.
166 Beskrovnyy, Potentsia/, p. 241; er. Leykina, 'Mombelli'. Grigor·yev went insane. See A. F.
Voznyy, Politseyskiy sysk: kruzhok petrashev1sev, Kiev. 1976, p. 44.
167 Vcrzhbitsky, Revol. dvizheniye, pp. 239-44; D'yakov, O.wohod. dvizheniye, pp. 247, 261.
168 Verzhbitsky, 'Sochuvstviye peredovykh ofitscrov'; id.· Revol. dvizheniye, p. 251; Aver-
bukh, Revol. i nats.-osvobod. bor'ba, p. 323.