Monument to the Decembrists, erected in memory of the participants of the 1828 Zerentuy Conspiracy led by Ivan Nikolayevich Sukhinov

«1. Location of the monument. The monument is located in the park area of Gorny Zerentuy Village, northeast of the mine office.

2. The burial (grave) in its entirety: Interment of a human body (remains). It consists of a three-meter-tall sculpture: a full-length figure placed on a tall pedestal (223 cm) and on a platform (400 by 380 cm). The sculpture, pedestal and platform are made of concrete with the sculpture painted bronze. At the time of inspection, the memorial plaque with the following inscription was missing: ‘Our sorrowful labor will not be in vain, from a spark a flame will ignite. And our enlightened people will gather under the sacred banner. Chita. 1828. A. Dostoevsky. To the Decembrists I.I. Sukhinov, V.N. Solovyov, A.E. Mozalevsky, who endured hard labor in Gorny Zerentuy. Here in 1828 the Decembrist I.I. Sukhinov perished.’ Of the original metal fence — composed of posts and two rows of chains between them — only the posts remain».

Monument to the Decembrists, erected in memory of the participants of the 1828 Zerentuy Conspiracy led by Ivan Nikolayevich Sukhinov // EGROKN. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417077 (accessed: 30 September 2025).

«The Zerentuy Conspiracy at the Nerchinsk hard labor site was an unsuccessful attempt by participants in the Chernigov Regiment uprising (1825), exiled to Siberia, to organize the liberation of their comrades from the Chita prison. One of the most determined and active participants in the conspiracy was a former Lieutenant of the Alexandrovsky Regiment and a member of the Society of United Slavs, I.I. Sukhinov. In 1827, preparations for an uprising began in the Zerentuy mine: Sukhinov together with barrack elder P. Golikov and merchant’s son V. Bocharov, obtained weapons, gunpowder and lead, and prepared up to 1,000 cartridges. About 20 people were initiated into the plan. The uprising was scheduled for 25 May 1828. It was decided to free all prisoners at the Zerentuy and Klichkinsky mines, then attack the barracks, seize weapons, arm all hard labor convicts across the seven Nerchinsk plants and 20 mines in Chita: free the Decembrists and jointly discuss a plan for further actions. However, as a result of betrayal by A. Kazakov, the conspiracy was uncovered, and all participants were arrested. An investigation began, during which only Golikov confessed that the instigators intended to break into the powder cellar and the money storeroom, and force everyone to rebel and flee. A rifle, gunpowder and a dagger were found on Sukhinov during a search. Kazakov was killed by Bocharov and Golikov for betrayal (Bocharov went into hiding after the conspiracy was uncovered but was later apprehended). Sukhinov made two attempted to take his own life by poison twice during the investigation. Twenty-two people were brought to the trial. The Emperor General S.R. Leparsky the authority to make final decisions on the military court sentences (Decree dated 13 August 1828). According to the verdict of the military-judicial commission, Sukhinov and five other conspirators were sentenced to 400 lashes of the knout and to be hanged. Leparsky abolished the knout punishment and replaced hanging with execution by firing squad, which was not communicated to Sukhinov. Unable to bear the thought of the shameful punishment, Sukhinov hanged himself in his cell on the eve of the execution day, 1 December 1828, using a strap from his leg irons. His body was thrown into a common grave. Golikov, Bocharov, Morshakov, Mikhailov and Timofey Nepomnyashchy were executed by firing squad on 3 December. Leonov, Shinkarenko, Semenov and Glaukhin were sentenced to the knout and rebranded on their faces. Nine others were sentenced to flogging. V.N. Solovyov and A.E. Mozalevsky were exonerated of all charges and transferred to Chita. The uncovering of the conspiracy accelerated the construction of a special prison for the Decembrists in Petrovsky Zavod».

Bodyak M.G. Zerentuy Conspiracy // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita Region: Vol. 2: A-Z / ed. by R.F. Geniatulin. –  Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2004. – P. 407. 

1. Monument to the Decembrists, erected in memory of the participants of the 1828 Zerentuy Conspiracy // EGROKN. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417077 (accessed: 30 September 2025).

2. Bodyak M.G. Zerentuy Conspiracy // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita Region: Vol. 2: A-Z / ed. by R.F. Geniatulin. – Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2004. – P. 407.

3. Scientific-practical conference "Personality. Individuality. Development" https://7500027.есимп.рф/upload/7935/files/d4/73/d473a9f8883264f2c183606d17bcf27d.pdf  (accessed: 30 September 2025).