Alfred Rambaud 
History of Russia [PDF ebook] 
From the Earliest Times to 1880

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The Society of the North, existing partly in Saint Peters burg and partly in Moscow, was composed in large measure of government officials and members of the aristocracy. Everything that was done in the palace was immediately announced to the conspirators. It was known that the senators were to take the oath of allegiance to Nicholas on the twenty-sixth of December. The Society of the North resolved to act.