Mikhail Sergeyevich Lunin

Mikhail Lunin around 1822

Michael Lunin ( Russian Михаил Сергеевич Лунин ; born December 18, ^jul. / 29. December  1787 ^greg. In Saint Petersburg , † November 21 ^{. Jul} / 3. December  1845 ^{. Greg} in Akatui, Trans-Baikal ) was a journalist, and opposition political prisoner in Russia during the reign of Czar en Nikolai I.

After childhood, Lunin grew up in the provinces from 1793 in the immediate vicinity of his uncle Mikhail Nikititsch Muravjow , one of the most educated men of the time (he was the educator of the Grand Dukes Alexander Pavlovich and Konstantin Pavlovich , later deputy to the Minister of Education), who was personally very concerned with the Mikhail Lunin's education (selection of teachers, etc.) made an effort. As was customary at the time, a young man of good nobility began his career in the Imperial Guard . Michail Lunin had to prove himself to Austerlitz and Preussisch Eylau from 1805-1807 , took part in the battles against Napoléon from 1812-15 and, like many young intellectuals of his time, was enthusiastic about freer and fairer social systems than those represented by Russia. After an attempt to become self-employed as a writer in Paris (1816/17), he returned to Russia, visited England and became a member of the Decembrist Welfare Association (until 1820). In order to demonstrate that he belonged to the best of his time, he presented himself to the investigative commission in St. Petersburg in April 1826, which investigated the causes and co-conspirators of the uprising of December 14, 1825. For his convictions and the proven intention of the murder of the emperor (expressed in 1816) he was sentenced to life-long forced labor in Siberia under Category II . Before he took the penalty which was initially alleviated by decree of 10 July 1826 to 20 years of hard labor, he had to in the Peter and Paul Fortress in Sveaborg and Vyborg two years imprisonment serve. After settling in Urik (near Irkutsk ) on June 16, 1836, he continued to work secretly on opposition publications. Upon learning of this, he was arrested again on March 27, 1841. This time he was brought to Akatui in the south-east of what is now the Transbaikalia region , where a notorious exile prison ( katorga ) was located from 1832 to 1917 near a lead and silver mine . Here he died on December 3, 1845 under unknown circumstances.

Lunin is considered one of the most ardent fighters for a reformed Russia in the Decembrist circles. He was cousin of the Decembrist Nikita Murawjow (1795-1843) and u. a. friends with the writers Alexander Pushkin and Hippolyte Auger . His letters from Siberia are an important testimony to the times.

Works

• Reflection on the Russian secret society of the years 1816-1826
• Assessment of the report of the secret commission of inquiry to the Mr. Imperator in the year 1826
• Historical studies
• A look at Polish affairs from the perspective of Mr. Ivanov, member of the secret society of the United Slavs

literature

• Joachim Winsmann, "LUNIN"; A life drama from the era of decaffism , Norderstedt 2011 ( ISBN 978-3-8334-9186-3 )

Web links

• Biography on peoples.ru (Russian)
• Biography on rulex.ru (Russian)