Composed in the Romantic style, the score received good reviews although responses to the ballet itself were mostly negative. The fortunes of the ballet only turned around with a new staging in New York in 1954.
The ‘storming of the Winter Palace’ presents the takeover of the Winter Palace as a huge battle. However, this popular image is a fabrication.
The Decembrists were driven by ideals of constitutionalism, liberal reforms, and a desire for a more participatory government but were defeated when Nicholas I ordered a cavalry charge and subsequent artillery attack using grapeshot.
Why the soldiers began firing on the peaceful march is unclear. Even the number of marchers killed or injured is uncertain with estimates ranging from the government’s official figure of 96 dead to revolutionary claims of more than 4,000.
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