Borisov Brothers

Decembrists. Andrei Ivanovich Borisov was born in 1798 and died Sept. 30 (Oct. 12), 1854, in the village of Malaia Razvodnaia, Irkutsk Province. He retired as a second lieutenant. Petr Ivanovich Borisov was born in 1800 and died Sept. 30 (Oct. 12), 1854, in the village of Malaia Razvodnaia, Irkutsk Province. He was a second lieutenant of the 8th Artillery Brigade. Members of the class of landless dvorianstvo (nobility or gentry), the Borisov brothers founded the secret Society of the First Agreement in 1818. This group soon became the secret political Society of the Friends of Nature, and in 1823 it became the Society of the United Slavs. The Borisov brothers worked out the provisions of the society’s program and organizational regulations and also directed its practical work; in March 1825, Petr Borisov was chosen its president. Upon the unification of the United Slavs with the Decembrist Southern Society (1825), he spoke out against the “military” character of the forthcoming revolution and supported a policy of drawing the local population into the movement. The Borisovs conducted revolutionary propaganda among soldiers and officers and joined a group of individuals who were preparing to make an attempt on the life of Alexander I. In the days of the uprising of the Chernigov Regiment (Dec. 29, 1825 through Jan. 3, 1826, old style), they took measures to win over other military units to their side. At the inquest they displayed exceptional fortitude. They were condemned to perpetual penal servitude, but their sentences were reduced first to 20 and then to 13 years. In Siberia they headed a democratic circle and from 1839 lived in exile in Irkutsk Province. After the sudden death of Petr, Andrei, who was suffering from a psychological disorder, committed suicide.