Znamensky, who knew many of the Decembrists personally through his father, protoiereus Stepan Znamensky (who was canonized by Russian Orthodox Church in 1984, as Stefan Omsky), is credited with having authored the first ever Russian novel on the Decemberists, The Vanished Men (Исчезнувшие люди, 1872).

Part two, Tobolsk of the Forties (Тобольск сороковых годов, 1884), was serialized by the newspaper Vostochnoye obozreniye (Восточное обозрение, The Eastern Review).

Part three, The Fifties in Tobolsk (Пятидесятые годы в Тобольске) remained unfinished.

[1][2] Znamensky left numerous drawings and paintings which include the portraits of the Decembrists he had known, as well as the illustrations to the works by Pyotr Yershov, Ivan Goncharov and Kondraty Ryleyev, among many others.

[3] Znamensky left important memoirs on Pyotr Yershov, Matvey Muravyov-Apostol, Ivan Pushchin, Vasily Tisengausen and Ivan Yakushkin, and authored several ethnographical works, mostly on Tobolsk and its surroundings.