Nicholas 1

December 20, 1825. Interrogation of I. I. Pushchin, "the foremost villain of them all. "

• He was brought into the office; it was almost pitch dark. *

• Pushchin was pushed forward; he almost fell, but managed to hold on. His wrists were tightly bound. *

• The guards left. Strange. Leave someone with this criminal? Aren't they afraid for this man's life? What if Pushchin does something? Or something happens to him... *

• Ivan didn't yet know who would interrogate him. K. F. Toll? A. H. Benckendorff? Or maybe Nikolai Pavlovich himself? *

• He only knew that they wanted to extract information about the Decembrists, who was involved, all the culprits, whether there were similar organizations, where their headquarters were, how long this had been planned... They wanted to know everything. *

• They were ready to use corporal punishment, to put psychological pressure on them, to extract information by threatening the lives of the Decembrists' relatives. *

• Some gave in because of the pressure, fatigue, fear, and the hope that they would be pardoned and not beheaded. *

• The darkness did not last long. *

• Someone suddenly opened the curtains. The sun, already setting, became visible from the window. *

• Only a minute later did he realize who was standing at the window. It was Nicholas I. Ivan was the last person he had expected.