The book is dedicated to one of the most tragic episodes of the Decembrist movement - the uprising of the Chernihiv Infantry Regiment. Attracting new archival materials, the author analyzes the state of secret societies on the eve of the uprising, its course. The historical inevitability of the defeat of the southern Decembrists, who could not cope with the element of the soldier's rebellion, is shown. The monograph is of considerable interest as the first attempt at a deideologized and rigorous documentary study of the Decembrist movement in terms of the history of the formation of modern management models.