Shards of the great army. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills Historical documents no one to study
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the military-historical patriotic event - the Patriotic War of 1812, which is of great importance for the political, social, cultural and military development of Russia.
The beginning of the war
June 12, 1812 (old style) the French army of Napoleon, having crossed the Neman in the area of the city of Kovno (now it is Kaunas in Lithuania), invaded Russian Empire... This day is listed in history as the beginning of the war between Russia and France.
In this war, two forces clashed. On the one hand - Napoleon's half-million army (about 640 thousand people), which consisted only of half of the French and included, in addition to them, representatives of almost all of Europe. An army intoxicated with numerous victories, led by renowned marshals and generals led by Napoleon. Strengths the French army was large in size, good material and technical support, combat experience, belief in the invincibility of the army.
She was opposed by the Russian army, which at the beginning of the war represented one third of the French in number. Before the start of the Patriotic War of 1812, the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812 had just ended. The Russian army was divided into three groups far apart from each other (under the command of generals MB Barclay de Tolly, P.I.Bagration and A.P. Tormasov). Alexander I was at the headquarters of Barclay's army.
The attack of Napoleon's army was taken over by the troops stationed on the western border: the 1st army of Barclay de Tolly and the 2nd army of Bagration (a total of 153 thousand soldiers).
Knowing his numerical superiority, Napoleon pinned his hopes on lightning war. One of his main miscalculations was underestimation of the patriotic impulse of the army and the people of Russia.
The beginning of the war was successful for Napoleon. At 6 o'clock in the morning on June 12 (24), 1812, the vanguard of the French troops entered the Russian city of Kovno. The crossing of 220 thousand soldiers of the Great Army near Kovno took 4 days. 5 days later, another grouping (79 thousand soldiers) under the command of the Viceroy of Italy Eugene de Beauharnais crossed over to the south of Kovno Neman. At the same time, 4 corps (78-79 thousand soldiers) under the general command of King Jerome Bonaparte of Westphalia crossed the Neman even further south, near Grodno. In the northern direction near Tilsit, the Neman crossed the 10th corps of Marshal MacDonald (32 thousand soldiers), which was aimed at St. Petersburg. In the southern direction from Warsaw through the Bug, a separate Austrian corps of General Schwarzenberg (30-33 thousand soldiers) began an invasion.
The rapid advance of a powerful French army forced the Russian command to retreat inland. The commander of the Russian troops Barclay de Tolly avoided a general engagement, keeping the army and striving to join with the army of Bagration. The numerical superiority of the enemy raised the question of urgent replenishment of the army. But in Russia there was no general military service. The army was recruited by recruiting. And Alexander I decided to take an unusual step. On July 6, he issued a manifesto calling for the creation of a militia. This is how the first partisan detachments began to appear. This war united all segments of the population. As now, so then, the Russian people are united only by misfortune, grief, tragedy. There was no difference who you are in society, what kind of wealth you have. The Russian people fought unitedly, defending the freedom of their homeland. All people have become a single force, which is why the name "Patriotic War" was defined. The war became an example that the Russian people will never allow freedom and spirit to be enslaved, he will defend his honor and name to the end.
The armies of Barclay and Bagration met at Smolensk at the end of July, thus achieving their first strategic success.
Battle for Smolensk
By August 16 (n.style) Napoleon approached Smolensk with 180 thousand soldiers. After the connection of the Russian armies, the generals began to insistently demand from the commander-in-chief Barclay de Tolly a general battle. At 6 am 16 august Napoleon began his assault on the city.
In the battles near Smolensk, the Russian army showed the greatest staunchness. The battle for Smolensk marked the unfolding of a nationwide war between the Russian people and the enemy. Napoleon's hope for lightning war collapsed.
Battle of Smolensk. Adam, circa 1820
The stubborn battle for Smolensk lasted 2 days, until the morning of August 18, when Barclay de Tolly withdrew his troops from the burning city in order to avoid a big battle with no chance of victory. Barclay had 76 thousand, 34 thousand more (Bagration's army).After the capture of Smolensk, Napoleon moved to Moscow.
Meanwhile, the protracted retreat caused public discontent and protest among most of the army (especially after the surrender of Smolensk), therefore, on August 20 (according to the new style), Emperor Alexander I signed a decree appointing M.I. Kutuzov. At that time, Kutuzov was 67 years old. The commander of the Suvorov school, with half a century of military experience, he was universally respected both by the army and among the people. However, he too had to retreat in order to gain time to collect all his forces.
Kutuzov could not avoid a general battle for political and moral reasons. By September 3 (New Style), the Russian army retreated to the village of Borodino. Further retreat meant the surrender of Moscow. By that time, Napoleon's army had already suffered significant losses, and the difference in the size of the two armies had narrowed. In this situation, Kutuzov decided to give a general battle.
West of Mozhaisk, 125 km from Moscow near the village of Borodina August 26 (September 7 new style) 1812 there was a battle that forever entered the history of our people. - the biggest battle Patriotic War 1812 between the Russian and French armies.
The Russian army numbered 132 thousand people (including 21 thousand poorly armed militias). The French army, pursuing her on the heels, -135 thousand. Kutuzov's headquarters, believing that there are about 190 thousand people in the enemy's army, chose a defensive plan. In fact, the battle was an assault by French troops on the line of Russian fortifications (flushes, redoubts and lunettes).
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Napoleon hoped to defeat the Russian army. But the perseverance of the Russian troops, where every soldier, officer, and general was a hero, upset all the calculations of the French commander. The battle lasted all day. The losses were enormous on both sides. The Battle of Borodino is one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century. According to the most conservative estimates of cumulative casualties, 2,500 people died on the field every hour. Some divisions have lost up to 80% of the composition. There were almost no prisoners on either side. The losses of the French were 58 thousand people, the Russians - 45 thousand.
Emperor Napoleon later recalled: “Of all my battles, the worst thing is that I gave near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy to win in it, and the Russians - to be called invincible. "
Cavalry battle
On September 8 (21), Kutuzov ordered a retreat to Mozhaisk with a firm intention to save the army. The Russian army retreated, but retained its combat capability. Napoleon failed to achieve the main thing - the defeat of the Russian army.
September 13 (26) in the village of Fili Kutuzov had a meeting on a further plan of action. After the military council in Fili, the Russian army was withdrawn from Moscow by Kutuzov's decision. "With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not yet lost, with the loss of the army, Russia is lost."... These words of the great commander, which went down in history, were confirmed by subsequent events.
A.K. Savrasov. The hut where the famous council in Fili was held
Military Council in Fili (A.D. Kivshenko, 1880)
The capture of Moscow
In the evening September 14 (September 27 new style) Napoleon entered the deserted Moscow without a fight. In the war against Russia, all of Napoleon's plans were consistently ruined. Expecting to receive the keys to Moscow, he in vain stood for several hours on Poklonnaya Hill, and when he entered the city, he was greeted by deserted streets.
Fire in Moscow 15-18 September 1812 after the capture of the city by Napoleon. Painting by A.F. Smirnova, 1813
Already on the night of 14 (27) to 15 (28) September, the city was engulfed in fire, which by the night of 15 (28) to 16 (29) September intensified so much that Napoleon was forced to leave the Kremlin.
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On suspicion of arson, about 400 townspeople from the lower classes were shot. The fire raged until September 18 and destroyed most of Moscow. Of the 30 thousand houses that were in Moscow before the invasion, after Napoleon left the city, "hardly 5 thousand" remained.
While Napoleon's army was inactive in Moscow, losing its combat effectiveness, Kutuzov retreated from Moscow first to the southeast along the Ryazan road, but then, turning west, went to the flank of the French army, occupied the village of Tarutino, blocking the Kaluga road. gu. In the Tarutino camp, the foundation was laid for the final defeat of the “great army”.
When Moscow flared up, bitterness against the invaders reached the highest intensity. The main forms of the war of the Russian people against the invasion of Napoleon were passive resistance (refusal to trade with the enemy, leaving grain unharvested in the fields, destroying food and fodder, going into the forests), partisan warfare and mass participation in militias. To the greatest extent, the course of the war was influenced by the refusal of the Russian peasantry to supply the enemy with provisions and fodder. The French army was on the verge of starvation.
From June to August 1812, Napoleon's army, pursuing the retreating Russian armies, covered about 1200 kilometers from the Neman to Moscow. As a result, its lines of communication were severely stretched. Considering this fact, the command of the Russian army decided to create flying partisan detachments for operations in the rear and on the enemy's communication lines, in order to impede its supply and destroy its small detachments. The most famous, but far from the only commander of the flying detachments was Denis Davydov. The army partisan detachments received all-round support from the spontaneously emerging peasant partisan movement. As the French army moved deeper into Russia, as the violence from the Napoleonic army grew, after the fires in Smolensk and Moscow, after the discipline in Napoleon's army was reduced and a significant part of it turned into a gang of marauders and robbers, the population of Russia began to move from passive to active resistance to the enemy. During its stay in Moscow alone, the French army lost more than 25 thousand people from the actions of the partisans.
The partisans constituted, as it were, the first circle of encirclement around Moscow, which was occupied by the French. The second ring was made up of militias. Partisans and militias surrounded Moscow in a tight ring, threatening to turn Napoleon's strategic encirclement into a tactical one.
Tarutino battle
After the surrender of Moscow, Kutuzov, obviously, avoided a major battle, the army was accumulating strength. During this time, in the Russian provinces (Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula, Kaluga, Tver and others), a 205 thousand militia was recruited, in Ukraine - 75 thousand. By October 2, Kutuzov led the army south to the village of Tarutino, closer to Kaluga.
In Moscow, Napoleon was trapped, it was not possible to spend the winter in a city devastated by a fire: foraging outside the city did not work well, the stretched communications of the French were very vulnerable, the army began to decay. Napoleon began to prepare for a retreat to winter quarters somewhere between the Dnieper and Dvina.
When the "great army" retreated from Moscow, its fate was decided.
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Battle of Tarutino, October 6th (P. Hess)
18 october(new style) Russian troops attacked and defeated near Tarutino Murat's French corps. Having lost up to 4 thousand soldiers, the French retreated. The Tarutino battle became a landmark event that marked the transition of the initiative in the war to the Russian army.
Napoleon's retreat
19 october(n.style) the French army (110 thousand) with a huge baggage train began to leave Moscow along the Old Kaluga road. But the road to Kaluga to Napoleon was blocked by Kutuzov's army, located near the village of Tarutino on the Old Kaluga road. Due to the lack of horses, the French artillery fleet was reduced, large cavalry units practically disappeared. Not wanting to break through with a weakened army through a fortified position, Napoleon turned in the area of the village of Troitskoye (modern Troitsk) onto the New Kaluga road (modern Kievskoye highway) in order to bypass Tarutino. However, Kutuzov transferred the army to Maloyaroslavets, cutting off the French retreat along the New Kaluga road.
By October 22, Kutuzov's army numbered 97 thousand regular troops, 20 thousand Cossacks, 622 guns and more than 10 thousand militia warriors. Napoleon had up to 70 thousand combat-ready soldiers at hand, the cavalry practically disappeared, the artillery was much weaker than the Russian.
October 12/24 took place battle near Maloyaroslavets... The city passed from hand to hand eight times. In the end, the French managed to capture Maloyaroslavets, but Kutuzov took a fortified position outside the city, which Napoleon did not dare to storm.On October 26, Napoleon ordered a retreat north to Borovsk-Vereya-Mozhaisk.
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A. Averyanov. Battle for Maloyaroslavets 12 (24) October 1812
In the battles for Maloyaroslavets, the Russian army solved a major strategic task - it thwarted the plan for a breakthrough of the French troops into the Ukraine and forced the enemy to retreat along the Old Smolensk road, which it had destroyed.
From Mozhaisk, the French army resumed its movement to Smolensk along the road along which it attacked Moscow
The final defeat of the French troops took place while crossing the Berezina. The battles on November 26-29 between the French corps and the Russian armies of Chichagov and Wittgenstein on both banks of the Berezina River during Napoleon's crossing went down in history as battle on the Berezina.
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The retreat of the French through the Berezina on November 17 (29), 1812. Peter von Hess (1844)
While crossing the Berezina, Napoleon lost 21 thousand people. In total, up to 60 thousand people managed to cross the Berezina, most of them are civilian and non-combatant remnants of the "Great Army". The unusually strong frosts, which struck even during the crossing of the Berezina and continued in the following days, finally exterminated the French, already weakened by hunger. On December 6, Napoleon left his army and went to Paris to recruit new soldiers to replace those killed in Russia.
The main result of the battle on the Berezina was that Napoleon avoided a complete defeat in the conditions of a significant superiority of the Russian forces. In the memoirs of the French, the crossing of the Berezina occupies no less place than the largest battle of Borodino.
By the end of December, the remnants of Napoleon's army were expelled from Russia.
The "Russian campaign of 1812" was over December 14, 1812.
Results of the war
The main result of the Patriotic War of 1812 was the almost complete destruction of Napoleon's Great Army.Napoleon lost about 580 thousand soldiers in Russia. These losses include 200 thousand killed, from 150 to 190 thousand prisoners, about 130 thousand deserters who fled to their homeland. The losses of the Russian army, according to some estimates, amounted to 210 thousand soldiers and militias.
In January 1813, the "Foreign campaign of the Russian army" began - fighting moved to the territory of Germany and France. In October 1813, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, and in April 1814 he abdicated the throne of France.
The victory over Napoleon raised the international prestige of Russia as never before, which played a decisive role at the Vienna Congress and in the following decades had a decisive influence on European affairs.
Key dates
June 12, 1812- the invasion of Napoleon's army into Russia across the Neman River. 3 Russian armies were at a great distance from each other. Tormasov's army, being in Ukraine, could not participate in the war. It turned out that only 2 armies took the blow. But they had to retreat to connect.
August 3rd- the connection of the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly near Smolensk. The enemies lost about 20 thousand, and ours about 6 thousand, but Smolensk had to be abandoned. Even the united armies were 4 times less than the enemy!
8 August- Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief. An experienced strategist, many times wounded in battles, Suvorov's student fell in love with the people.
August, 26th- The Battle of Borodino lasted more than 12 hours. It is considered a general battle. On the outskirts of Moscow, the Russians displayed massive heroism. The losses of the enemies were greater, but our army could not go on the offensive. The numerical superiority of the enemies was still great. Reluctantly, they decided to surrender Moscow in order to save the army.
September October- sitting of Napoleon's army in Moscow. His expectations were not met. They failed to win. Kutuzov rejected requests for the conclusion of peace. The attempt to go south has failed.
October December- the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Russia along the destroyed Smolensk road. From 600 thousand enemies left about 30 thousand!
December 25, 1812- Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto on the victory of Russia. But the war had to continue. Napoleon still had armies in Europe. If they are not defeated, he will attack Russia again. The foreign campaign of the Russian army lasted until the victory in 1814.
Prepared by Sergey Shulyak
INVASION (animated film)
Napoleon claimed that he never gave erroneous orders. But behind him are criminal orders, in particular an order worthy of a vandal: to blow up the Moscow Kremlin. This was a completely senseless act, dictated by only one low desire to destroy the cultural and historical heritage of the rebellious people.
Preparing to retreat from Moscow, Napoleon ordered to take away from the Kremlin all the valuables that could be taken away. Kremlin cathedrals were looted clean. They even removed the cross from the bell tower of Ivan the Great, believing that it was gold. The rest was doomed to destruction.
The execution of the barbaric action was entrusted to Marshal Mortier, who received all the artillery supplies that remained in Moscow after the departure of the French. For two days, Mortier was actively filling the Kremlin with gunpowder. On the night of October 22-23, the marshal left Moscow and already from a distance with a cannon shot gave a signal to the sappers who remained in the city.
A series of monstrous explosions shook the sleeping capital. Ceilings and walls collapsed in the houses adjacent to the Kremlin, people were literally thrown out of their beds. Half-dressed, wounded by shards of glass and stones, Muscovites rushed about the streets in horror. But, despite the panic, many fled to the Kremlin to put out the fires that had begun.
Defending our national shrine, nameless Russian people - Muscovites and Cossacks who entered the city - gave their lives. An eyewitness, the French general Segur recalled: "They were destroyed, crushed, thrown into the air along with the walls of palaces ... then, mixed with the debris of walls and weapons, the torn off parts of their bodies fell far to the ground, like a terrible rain."
Fortunately, the destruction in the Kremlin was not as great as one might expect. Only parts of the eastern and southern walls with four towers were damaged. The bell tower of Ivan the Great cracked from top to bottom, but resisted. All the Kremlin palaces, cathedrals, churches and monasteries have also survived.
The reason for this is usually seen in the fact that the rain gushing during the explosions poured several mines and tunnels with 60 barrels of gunpowder, and the phrases were in too much haste to leave the city to engage in mining again. But there is also a testimony from a captured French officer Fezanzac that Marshal Mortier deliberately released unusable gunpowder for explosions, not wanting to be responsible for Napoleon's insane order. If this is true, then perhaps the devils in hell bother the marshal not as much as the emperor himself.
To save the whole world, as Dostoevsky dreamed, beauty is probably beyond the power of beauty, but sometimes it can save at least itself.
In the afternoon, the first detachment of Russian troops entered Moscow. These were the Don Cossacks under the command of Major General Ilovaisky. The general urgently reported to his command two important news: “Moscow is empty! The French tried to destroy the Kremlin, but, despite the destruction, it resisted! "
Alas, today nothing in the Kremlin reminds of the self-sacrifice of those who prevented its destruction in the terrible 1812.
P.S. The overall result of the stay of the French in Moscow was as follows: out of 9,158 stone and wooden houses, 2,626 remained, and out of 8,520 of the same stores, 1,368. Of the 290 churches, 12 burned down, 115 burned down, the rest were plundered. On the streets and squares there were 11,959 human and 12,576 horse corpses.
On June 24 (June 12, old style), 1812, the Patriotic War began - Russia's liberation war against Napoleonic aggression.
The invasion of the Russian Empire by the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was caused by the aggravation of Russian-French economic and political contradictions, the actual refusal of Russia to participate in the continental blockade (the system of economic and political measures used by Napoleon I in the war with England), etc.
Napoleon strove for world domination, Russia interfered with the implementation of his plans. He hoped, having inflicted the main blow on the right flank of the Russian army in the general direction of Vilna (Vilnius), to defeat it in one or two general battles, to take over Moscow, force Russia to surrender and dictate a peace treaty to it on favorable terms.
On June 24 (June 12, old style), 1812, Napoleon's "Great Army", without declaring war, crossed the Neman and invaded the Russian Empire. It numbered over 440 thousand people and had a second echelon, which consisted of 170 thousand people. The "Great Army" included the troops of all the countries conquered by Napoleon Western Europe(French troops accounted for only half of its strength). She was opposed by three Russian armies, far apart from each other, with a total strength of 220-240 thousand people. Initially, only two of them acted against Napoleon - the first, under the command of infantry general Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, covering the St. Petersburg direction, and the second, under the command of infantry general Pyotr Bagration, focused on the Moscow direction. The third army of general from the cavalry Alexander Tormasov covered the southwestern borders of Russia and began hostilities at the end of the war. At the beginning of hostilities, the general leadership of the Russian forces was carried out by Emperor Alexander I, in July 1812 he transferred the main command to Barclay de Tolly.
Four days after the invasion of Russia, French troops occupied Vilna. On July 8 (June 26, old style) they entered Minsk.
Having unraveled Napoleon's plan to separate the Russians of the first and second armies and defeat them one by one, the Russian command began a systematic withdrawal of them for connection. Instead of a phased dismemberment of the enemy, the French troops were forced to move behind the elusive Russian armies, stretching communications and losing superiority in forces. Retreating, the Russian troops fought rearguard battles (a battle undertaken with the aim of delaying the advancing enemy and thereby ensuring the retreat of the main forces), inflicting significant losses on the enemy.
To help the active army to repel the invasion of the Napoleonic army on Russia, on the basis of the manifesto of Alexander I of July 18 (July 6, old style) of 1812 and his appeal to the inhabitants of the "First Capital of our Moscow" with an appeal to become the initiators, temporary armed formations began to form - the people's militia. This allowed the Russian government to mobilize large human and material resources for the war in a short time.
Napoleon tried to prevent the connection of the Russian armies. On July 20 (July 8, old style), the French occupied Mogilev and did not allow the Russian armies to connect in the Orsha region. Only thanks to stubborn rearguard battles and the high skill of the maneuver of the Russian armies, which managed to upset the enemy's plans, they united on August 3 (July 22, according to the old style) near Smolensk, keeping their main forces combat-ready. The first big battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 took place here. The Smolensk battle lasted three days: from 16 to 18 August (from 4 to 6 August according to the old style). The Russian regiments repelled all the attacks of the French and retreated only on orders, leaving the burning city to the enemy. Almost all the inhabitants left it with the troops. After the battles for Smolensk, the combined Russian armies continued to withdraw in the direction of Moscow.
Unpopular neither in the army nor in Russian society the retreating strategy of Barclay de Tolly, leaving the enemy a significant territory forced Emperor Alexander I to establish the post of commander-in-chief of all Russian armies and on August 20 (August 8, according to the old style) to appoint infantry general Mikhail Golenishchev-Kutuzov, who had great combat experience and was popular both among the Russian army and among the nobility. The emperor not only put him in charge of the army in the field, but also subordinated the militias, reserves and civilian authorities to him in the war-torn provinces.
Based on the requirements of Emperor Alexander I, the mood of the army, eager to give the enemy a battle, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov decided, relying on a pre-selected position, 124 kilometers from Moscow, near the village of Borodino near Mozhaisk, to give the French army a general battle in order to inflict the greatest possible damage on it and stop the attack on Moscow.
By the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, the Russian army had 132 (according to other sources, 120) thousand people, the French - about 130-135 thousand people.
It was preceded by the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt, which began on September 5 (August 24 according to the old style), in which Napoleon's troops, despite more than three-fold superiority in forces, only by the end of the day managed to master the redoubt with great difficulty. This battle allowed Kutuzov to unravel the plan of Napoleon I and timely strengthen his left wing.
The battle of Borodino began at five o'clock in the morning on September 7 (August 26, old style) and lasted until 20 o'clock in the evening. For the whole day Napoleon did not manage to break through the Russian position in the center, nor to bypass it from the flanks. The private tactical successes of the French army - the Russians retreated from their original position by about one kilometer - did not become victorious for it. Late in the evening, the frustrated and bloodied French troops were withdrawn to their original positions. The Russian field fortifications they had taken were so destroyed that there was no point in holding them back. Napoleon never succeeded in defeating the Russian army. In the Battle of Borodino, the French lost up to 50 thousand people, the Russians - over 44 thousand people.
Since the losses in the battle turned out to be huge, and the reserves were used up, the Russian army withdrew from the Borodino field, retreating to Moscow, while waging rearguard battles. On September 13 (September 1, old style), at the military council in Fili, the decision of the commander-in-chief "for the sake of preserving the army and Russia" to leave Moscow to the enemy without a fight was supported by a majority vote. The next day, Russian troops left the capital. Together with them, most of the population left the city. On the very first day of the entry of French troops into Moscow, fires began, devastating the city. For 36 days, Napoleon languished in the burnt-out city, waiting in vain for an answer to his proposal to Alexander I about peace, on favorable terms for him.
The main Russian army, leaving Moscow, made a march and settled in the Tarutino camp, reliably covering the south of the country. From here, Kutuzov launched a small war with the forces of army partisan detachments. During this time, the peasantry of the Great Russian provinces, engulfed in war, rose to a large-scale people's war.
Attempts by Napoleon to enter into negotiations were rejected.
On October 18 (October 6, old style), after the battle on the Chernishna River (near the village of Tarutino), in which the vanguard of the "Great Army" under the command of Marshal Murat was defeated, Napoleon left Moscow and sent his troops towards Kaluga to break through into the southern Russian provinces rich in food resources. Four days after the departure of the French, the advanced detachments of the Russian army entered the capital.
After the battle at Maloyaroslavets on October 24 (October 12, old style), when the Russian army blocked the enemy's path, Napoleon's troops were forced to start retreating along the ruined old Smolensk road. Kutuzov organized the pursuit of the French along the roads passing south of the Smolensk highway, acting with strong vanguards. Napoleon's troops lost people not only in clashes with their pursuers, but also from attacks by partisans, from hunger and cold.
To the flanks of the retreating French army, Kutuzov pulled up troops from the south and north-west of the country, which began to actively act and inflict defeat on the enemy. Napoleon's troops actually found themselves surrounded on the Berezina River near the city of Borisov (Belarus), where on November 26-29 (November 14-17, old style) they fought with Russian troops trying to cut off their escape routes. The French emperor, having misled the Russian command with the device of a false crossing, was able to transfer the remnants of the troops across two hastily built bridges across the river. On November 28 (November 16, old style), Russian troops attacked the enemy on both banks of the Berezina, but, despite the superiority of forces, due to indecision and incoherence of actions, they did not succeed. On the morning of November 29 (November 17, old style), the bridges were burned on the orders of Napoleon. On the left bank there were carts and crowds of lagging French soldiers (about 40 thousand people), most of whom drowned during the crossing or were captured, and the total losses of the French army in the battle of Berezina amounted to 50 thousand people. But Napoleon in this battle managed to avoid complete defeat and retreat to Vilna.
The liberation of the territory of the Russian Empire from the enemy ended on December 26 (December 14, old style), when Russian troops occupied the border towns of Bialystok and Brest-Litovsk. The enemy lost up to 570 thousand people on the battlefields. The losses of the Russian troops amounted to about 300 thousand people.
The official end of the Patriotic War of 1812 is considered to be the manifesto signed by Emperor Alexander I on January 6, 1813 (December 25, 1812 according to the old style), in which he announced that he had kept his promise not to stop the war until the enemy was completely expelled from the territory of the Russian Federation. empire.
The defeat and death of the "Great Army" in Russia created conditions for the liberation of the peoples of Western Europe from Napoleonic tyranny and predetermined the collapse of Napoleon's empire. The Patriotic War of 1812 showed the complete superiority of the Russian military art over the military art of Napoleon, and caused a nationwide patriotic enthusiasm in Russia.
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Trophies, fame, all the blessings for which we sacrificed everything have become a burden to us; now it was not about how to decorate your life, but how to save it. In this great crash, the army, like a large ship smashed by a terrible storm, did not hesitate to throw into this sea of ice and snow everything that could hinder and delay its movement(from the Notes of the Adjutant of Emperor Napoleon I Philippe Paul de Segur)
Napoleon's retreat from Russia
Jerzy KOSSAK
Napoleon's retreat from Russia (detail)
Jerzy KOSSAK
Trophies taken from Moscow were thrown into the waters of Lake Smelevskoye: cannons, ancient weapons, Kremlin decorations and a cross from the bell tower of Ivan the Great were flooded.
A few words about the hardships befell the Napoleonic Great Army on the territory of Russia. It just so happened that the non-combat losses of the army exceeded the combat ones, which, however, happened quite often in those days. As we remember, in the first half of the campaign, the terrible heat, dust that covered the eyes and penetrated everywhere, and not only in the upper respiratory tract, endless intense marches, diseases tormented and mowed down the soldiers. People died from heat strokes, heart attacks, intestinal and lung infections, and simply from physical exhaustion.
Retreat after Smolensk
Adolph NORTERN
Road
Jan HELMINSKY
Hard road
Jan HELMINSKY
Literally a few days after the exodus of the French army from Moscow, interruptions in the supply of foodstuffs began, and the further, the worse.
In the evening, hunger began to be felt among those parts that had time to deplete their reserves. Until then, every time the soup was cooked, everyone gave his portion of flour, but when it was noticed that not everyone was participating in the pooling, many began to hide in order to eat what they had; they ate together only horse meat soup, which they began to cook in recent days.
Preparing for dinner
Alexander APSIT
Retreat of the French from Russia
Friedrich KAMP
They used not only the meat of fallen and specially slaughtered horses, but also birds, bears, everything that came across the path of hungry people:
– Since yesterday I have eaten only half of the crow I raised on the road, and a few spoons of cereal chowder, half with oat straw and rye, salted with gunpowder.
The flight of the French with their families from Russia.
Bogdan WILLEWALDE
Lost in thought. 1812 year
Wojzeck KOSSAK
Return
Jerzy Kossak
Two French hussars
Wojzeck KOSSAK
In addition, it was necessary to take care of the coming winter ahead of time, especially since on the way to Moscow some soldiers, exhausted from the intense heat, got rid of their warm uniforms. And from Moscow they did not take warm winter clothes with them and this became one of the fatal mistakes. As Dominique Pierre de la Vlyse, Assistant Surgeon General of the French Army and Imperial Guard, Jean-Dominique Larrey, wrote: ... our French did not seem to have foreseen it. The Poles, who are more shrewd, and even familiar with the region, in advance, back in Moscow, stocked up with fur coats they collected in stores and rows, since no one prevented them from doing this, and their vans were full of this good... He argued, and apparently had grounds for this, since he lived both in France and in Russia (after the Russian captivity he did not want to return to his homeland, remained in the Russian Empire, got married) that those who believe that , the French, Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese who were in the army died from the cold, as the inhabitants of the south were not accustomed to it. On the contrary, the doctor believed that this Russian peasant, who had grown up in a warm, stuffy hut, was more sensitive to the cold than the French and Italians, accustomed to it in their unheated rooms; they tolerate frost 5-6 ° quite well in light clothing.
Departure of the French from Moscow
Yanuariy SUKHODOLSKY
The weather was good both near Maloyaroslavets and near Vyazma, but this did not help the French army to win the battles. A participant in the campaign, Henri Boyle (future writer Stendhal) wrote: It would be a mistake to think that winter came early in 1812; on the contrary, the weather was very beautiful in Moscow. When we set out from there on October 19, it was only three degrees below zero, and the sun was shining brightly... Although it should be noted that spending the night outdoors, even at low positive temperatures, high humidity, causing chills, are sometimes more dangerous than severe frosts.
Retreat from Russia
Theodore JERICO
They say that when leaving Moscow, Emperor Napoleon intended to send all the wounded, in order to avoid Russian revenge, saying:
– I will give all the treasures of Russia for the life of one wounded ...
Dutch regiment during the retreat from Russia
Kate ROKKO
In fact, it turned out differently. Carriages full of wounded often got stuck on the Russian roads, were left without help, despite the cries for salvation and the groans of the dying. Everyone passed by. At first, the order of Napoleon was executed, according to which everyone who had a carriage was obliged to seat one wounded man, each waitress had a sick or wounded person in the cart, but this did not last long. Later they were simply thrown onto the road.
Return from Russia
Theodore JERICO
... many sick and wounded, who were not able to walk, were forced to leave on the road; between them were women and children, emaciated by hunger and prolonged walking. In vain they tried to persuade us to help them, but we did not have the means for that ... ... the wounded trudged as best they could, some on crutches, some with a bandaged hand or head; after taking a few steps, they sat down on the edge of the road.
The moment we left the battlefield was terrible and sad; our poor wounded, seeing that we were leaving them on the field of death, surrounded by the enemy - especially the soldiers of the 1st Voltizhorsk regiment, most of whose legs were crushed by buckshot - trudged behind us on their knees, staining the snow with their blood; they raised their hands to the sky, emitting heart-rending screams and pleading for help, but what could we do? After all, the same fate awaited us ourselves every minute; retreating, we were forced to leave to the mercy of fate all who fell in our ranks.(from Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne)
The return of the French army from Russia
J. RUSSO
Return of Napoleon from Russia in 1812
Marie Gaston Onfrey de BREVILLE
Retreating French
Kazimir PULATSKY
Hussar in the snow
Wojzeck KOSSAK
Russian frosts began in early November, very severe after Smolensk, they alternated with thaws, but did not play a decisive role in the defeat of the French, since the army was demoralized even before their onset. The daily endless transitions did not contribute to the strengthening of combat effectiveness. People were so weak, even tempered, that, having fallen down, they could not get up and froze; the whole road was strewn with corpses. Despair, hopelessness and fear that gripped many, contributed to an increase in losses, especially after Smolensk, when hopes for a warm shelter and more or less decent food collapsed.
The main reason for the death of the French in the coming frosts was the lack of warm clothing, the lack of nutritious food and vodka, which one cannot do without, being constantly in the cold.(Napoleon's campaign to Russia in 1812, de la Fleese)
Backward
Vladimir ZVORYKIN
Backward
Alexander APSIT
Soon, chronic hunger and exhaustion led to the fact that many soldiers, obeying the instinct of self-preservation, began to disperse alone or in groups in search of food and shelter, to lag behind their columns. But in vain, everything in the area was devastated by them even during the invasion. The laggards were met by Cossacks, partisans or local peasants, who did not stand on ceremony with them, undressed them, drove them onto the Smolensk road, or even killed them altogether.
In 1812. Captive French
Illarion Pryanishnikov
As Leo Tolstoy aptly noted, The partisans destroyed the Great Army piece by piece. They picked up those falling leaves that fell by themselves from a withered tree - the French army, and sometimes shook this tree ...
Partisans in ambush
Alexander APSIT
Partisans
Alexander APSIT
Alexander APSIT
Do not hide - let me pass!
Vasily Vereshchagin
The painting is dedicated to the peasant struggle against the enemy in 1812. In its center is a generalized image of the hero of the partisan movement in 1812, about which the artist learned from oral legends. In my search, I collected what I could from the oral folk legends of old people, such as, for example, the legend about a partisan, the head of one of the villages of the Mozhaisk district, Semyon Arkhipovich, whom I portrayed in the painting Do not hush - let me come!
The guerrillas are leading the prisoners of the French. Illustrations for Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace
Dementy Shmarinov
It happened that the peasants themselves fell into the hands of the French, whom they also did not spare.
With weapons in hand - shoot
Vasily Vereshchagin
Napoleon condemns partisans to be shot
Alexander APSIT
Military execution. The shooting of Lieutenant Colonel P.I. Engelhardt in October 1812.
Engraving by JAZET after the original by Pierre Roche VINIERON
At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Pavel Ivanovich Engelhardt, a retired lieutenant colonel, lived in his estate Diaghilevo, Smolensk province. When the enemy occupied Smolensk, he, along with several other landowners, armed his peasants, organizing a people's detachment. Engelhardt's detachment inflicted quite serious damage on the enemy, robbing French convoys and attacking individual groups of the French who were looting throughout the county.
The shooting of Lieutenant Colonel P.I. Engelhardt in October 1812
Semyon KOZHIN
Engelgart's execution
Engraving by an unknown author
Engelhardt's feat
Alexander APSIT
Later Pavel Ivanovich was taken prisoner, they say, his own peasants surrendered him. The French tried to persuade him to betray the Fatherland, go to their service, but to no avail. He was sentenced to be shot. In Smolensk, behind the Molokhovsky gates, an execution took place. Courageously, not allowing himself to be blindfolded, he accepted death.
Arrival in Omsk of a party of Polish prisoners of the great army of Napoleon.
Enrollment in the Cossacks and distribution to the regiments by Esaul Nabokov.
Nikolay KARAZIN
By the way, you can listen to or read about the prisoners in the war of 1812 and their fates in the transmission of a brilliant storyteller, historian
Alexey Kuznetsov
Retreat of the Grand Army
L. KRATKE
The army marched shrouded in cold fog ... It seemed as if the sky had descended and merged with this land and with this hostile people to end our death!
While our soldiers were struggling to make their way in the raging whirlwind of snow, the wind blew up the snowdrifts. These snowdrifts hid from us ravines and potholes on a road unfamiliar to us; the soldiers fell through them, and the weakest of them found their own grave there.
A whirlwind of snow both from above and from below whipped them in the face; he seemed to rebel fiercely against their campaign. The Russian winter, in its new form, attacked them from all sides: it made its way through their light clothes and torn shoes. The wet dress froze on them; this ice shell bound and curled up the body; the harsh and fierce wind prevented breathing; beards and mustaches were covered with icicles. The unfortunate ones, shivering from the cold, were still dragging along until some fragment, a branch, or the corpse of one of their comrades made them slip and fall. Then they began to moan. In vain: they were immediately covered with snow; small mounds let us know about them: here was their grave! The entire road was covered with these elevations, like a cemetery. Nature, like a shroud enveloped the army! The only objects that stood out from the darkness were spruces, these grave trees with their gloomy greenery, and the stately immobility of their dark trunks, their sad appearance complemented the spectacle of general mourning, wildlife and an army dying in the midst of dead nature! (from the Notes of the Adjutant of Emperor Napoleon I Philippe Paul de Segur)
While working on a book about the churches of Moscow in 1812, I simultaneously collected references to the monuments of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square during the French invasion. The source was both special literature on individual monuments and numerousmemories of the Russians and the French about the entry of Napoleon's army into the Kremlin, its undermining and state after the French left the ancient capital. ..
Kremlin before 1812
View of the Moscow Kremlin from the side of the Stone Bridge. Artist F. Ya. Alekseev, early. XIX century.
Before the fire of 1812, there was no direct route between the Borovitsky and Spassky gates. Between the Borovitsky Gate and the place where the southwestern corner of the Grand Kremlin Palace is now, there was the oldest church in Moscow, consecrated in the name of Nativity of John the Baptist on Bor, built in stone in 1461 and rebuilt in 1508-1509 by the architect Aleviz. This temple was demolished in 1846, when the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace was being completed, as it obscured the view from the palace to the west of Zamoskvorechye.
Moscow Kremlin plan. P.V. Sytin
Behind the Aleviz Church on the site of the Grand Palace there was old palace, built by V.V. Rastrelli in the 1750s and by 1812 it was very dilapidated.
Old Rastrelli Palace, view from the south from Zamoskvorechye. Drawing by F. Comporezi, 1780s
In 1812, the building of the palace was damaged by a fire set in the Kremlin by the retreating Napoleonic army.
The southern facade of the Rastrelli Winter Palace. Drawing by M.I. Makhaeva, 1763
By the arrival of Alexander I in Moscow in August 1816, the palace was restored according to the project of architects A.N. Bakarev, I.L. Mironovsky and I.T. Tamansky with the participation of the architect V.P. Stasov. In 1817, a third floor was added to it. In 1839, Nicholas I approved the project of the new Grand Kremlin Palace by the architect K.A. Tones. The old palace was dismantled.
From the Old Palace to the edge of the slope to the Moscow River there was a neglected regular garden. To the left of the Borovitsky Gate stood old stables and small houses.
In 1862, on the site of the old palace, there was the current Grand Kremlin Palace, and on the site of the stables - the modern building of the Armory, between which a square was formed. Between Borovitsky and Troitsky gates, this square was continued by Komendantskaya street, on the left side of which in 1862 the Amusement Palace and that stood before the fire of 1812 were preserved. other houses, on the right side were built residential buildings, the so-called Cavalry buildings.
On Ivanovskaya Square, near the bell tower of Ivan the Great from 1735 to 1836, there was a large pit in which the Tsar Bell was lying, red-hot by a fire in 1737. and who gave the shard. Only in 1836, A.A. Montferrand raised the bell with a splinter and put it on the granite platform, on which it stands today.
On the eastern side of Ivanovskaya Square in 1812 stood Miracles monastery with the metropolitan's house at its southern end.
Miracles monastery.
In 1812, the Metropolitan's house was two-story, and in 1824 it was built on a third floor. Behind the Metropolitan's house, which in 1820 was turned into the Nicholas Palace, there was several churches.
Alekseev F.Ya. View in the Kremlin on the Senate, Arsenal and Nikolskie gates 1800.
Troitskaya Square stretched from Ivanovskaya Square to the Trinity Gates. On its western side in 1812 stood the building of the Armory, built in 1807-1810 by the architect IV Yegotov, but in 1852 converted into barracks with all the decorations removed from it. After 1812, ancient Russian artillery pieces were placed near this building. Arsenal stood on the eastern side of Troitskaya Square in 1812, as it stands today. In the 1830s, 879 cannons, captured from Napoleon's troops in 1812, were placed on a special stage along the main facade of the Arsenal. Along the front side of the Arsenal, facing south, Senate Square went to the Nikolsky Gate. Opposite the Arsenal, on it stood the Senate building (now the house of the USSR Council of Ministers).
View of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. Giacomo Quarenghi, 1797.
To the east of Ivanovskaya Square to the Spassky Gate runs Spasskaya Street. Until 1817, on the verge of it with Ivanovskaya Square, there was an ancient Church of St. Nicholas Gostunsky, but in 1817 it was demolished.
The southern side of Spasskaya Street was freed from buildings in the 18th century. In 1850 Spasskaya Street and the square that formed on the site of its southern side to the edge of the slope to the Moscow River were named Tsarskaya Square.
Red Square before 1812
In 1812, Red Square was a space enclosed from the east by Gostiny Dvor (Upper Trading Rows).
Alekseev, Fedor Yakovlevich. Red Square in Moscow. 1801.
On the western side of the square, by the moat in front of the Kremlin walls, there were two-storey Trade Rows, also with large projections to the east - opposite the projections of Gostiny Dvor. Between these and other projections there was a small space in the south, through which neither the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed nor the Spassky Gate of the Kremlin could be seen. On the north side of the square, projections closed the Nikolskie Gates of the Kremlin and the Public Places building (where the State Historical Museum is now).
In the fire of 1812, the Trading Rows near the moat burned down, partly the projections of this building and the Upper Trading Rows also collapsed from the fire. The architect OI Bove demolished the remnants of the Trading Rows near the moat, reduced the risalits of the Gostiny Dvor, corrected its facade and added a portico with columns and a pediment in the middle, over which he erected a small dome, echoing the dome of the Senate building in the Kremlin. A monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected in front of the portico. The moat was filled up and a boulevard was planted in its place. The bridges across the moat at the Spassky and Nikolsky gates were demolished as unnecessary. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, standing on the "forehead" of the slope from the square to the Moscow River, from the east, from the south and from the west, was reinforced by a wall of granite buttresses. The Kremlin embankment from modern Lenivka Street to Moskvoretskaya Street was already planted with an avenue of trees under the Kremlin wall at the end of the 18th century. In 1812 they burned down, but then the alley was restored. From the side of the Moskva River, the embankment was dressed in a hewn stone with stairs and ramps to the water for water carriers and water carriers.
Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, built in 1686-1692, in 1857-1859. was replaced by a new one, iron, on stone bulls.
The wooden Moskvoretsky bridge was burned by the Cossacks on September 3, 1812 and restored after the liberation of Moscow from the invaders, burned down again in 1829. An iron bridge appeared in its place only in 1870.
The entry of the French into the Kremlin on September 14 (2nd century), 1812.
The day before, on Sunday, September 13 (1) at 9 am A.D. Bestuzhev-Ryumin “... went to the Assumption Cathedral. The Divine Liturgy was performed by the vicar bishop, and the service was carried out with extraordinary haste. "
Moscow in September 1812. Painter: S. Cardelli.
Alexei Dmitrievich Bestuzhev Ryumin, who witnessed the entry of the French into the Kremlin, wrote: “At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, cannon shots with blank charges announced the enemy's entrance to the Moscow outposts along Arbatskaya and other streets. I counted the shots, there were 18 of them. The ringing in the Ivanovskaya bell tower died down. Soon the Trinity Gates in the Kremlin, which were tightly boarded up, and only one gate was left for the passage, were broken down, and several Polish uhlans entered the Kremlin through them. This place can be seen from the windows of the Patrimony Department, for some windows are directly opposite the Trinity Gate. I cried out: "It is true, this is the enemy!" - "Eh, no!" answered my sign, who had come to the department to say goodbye to me; "This is our retreating rearguard." But we saw that the lancers who drove in began to chop down several people standing at the arsenal with the weapon they had just taken from it, and already ten people had fallen bloody, and the rest, throwing away their weapons and kneeling down, asked for pardon. The lancers dismounted from their horses, fought off the butts of the guns, which were already unfit for use, took the people and put them in the newly built Armory / ... / Soon, behind the advanced Polish lancers, the enemy cavalry began to enter. The general rode ahead, and the music thundered. When this army entered the Kremlin, the wall clock in the department showed 4 and a half hours. This army entered the Trinity and Borovitsky gates, passed the Senate building and entered Kitay-gorod through the Spassky gates; the march of this cavalry continued until deep dusk without interruption. A cannon was brought into the Kremlin and a shot was fired at the Nikolsky Gate, with a blank charge; probably this shot served as a signal.
The French in Moscow. Unknown German artist, 1820s.
François Joseph d'Isarn de Villefort recalled: “A detachment of the French avant-garde, under the command of General Sebastiani, belonging to the corps of the King of Naples, went to the Kremlin. Passing through the Kremlin gates overlooking Nikolskaya Street, the general saw about two hundred armed citizens who had gathered in a crowd in the Kremlin; he turned to some curious who was with him under the gate and said to him: "You speak French. Go and tell these people to put down their weapons, otherwise I will order to shoot at them." on this assignment (he knew very little in Russian), but prompted by a feeling of compassion, which he was invited to prove in practice, he went to the Russians with negotiations in order to prevent an overly unequal battle.Nevertheless, the French, all moving forward, were met with several rifle shots, to which they responded with two cannons; but thanks to the negotiator, the battle stopped there. The Russians dropped their guns and peacefully dispersed ".
Fire of Moscow. Artist: V. Mazurovsky.
According to the memoirs of F.N. Shcherbakova: “The French troops entered the Kremlin at two o'clock; there were thousands of Russian people, on the occasion of the analysis in the arsenal of weapons, including myself, Shcherbakov, with two of the same comrades, took a gun, two pistols and a saber; the French, seeing such a crowd of people, made a shot at him from a cannon with a blank charge to disperse them. The people, all drunk and violent, shouted: “The Frenchman has entered, load your guns! Let's drive the enemy out of Moscow! " There were no cartridges, the flints of the rifles were wooden, they were stored in boxes, new ones had not yet been used in business. At this time, I jumped out from behind the iron grating into the window of the Arsenal on the cornice, and then went down the 3 sazhen board to the moss, which is now the first Kremlin garden from the pool, threw everything away and came to Kudrino to the house of Prince Dolgoruky to my parents. "
Fire of Moscow. Artist Johann-Adam Klein.
On Monday, September 14 (2nd century), the merchant Yakov Chilikin went to the Kremlin. Later he recalled: “…. I walk past the commandant to the old arsenal, I see a lot of people crowding around it; I go up and ask the reason; I am told that everyone is allowed to take as many tools as he wants, and to come for supplies the next day, that is, 3rd hour. With the others, I made my way too, took 2 guns and 2 sabers, but for what? I don’t know myself, I brought it to the apartment; after lunch I decided to go to the arsenal to choose a couple of pistols / ... / went to the Arsenal, I enter it, choose a saber and a couple of pistols, suddenly a cannon shot was fired near the arsenal and another followed. Because of this, the people were extremely agitated; I rushed into the yard; people run up and down; between them, the Cossacks on horseback also did not know where to go; I run to the gate, but what do I see? The French cavalry guard flies, as if on wings, past the commandant's house and us to the Nikolsky gate; imagine what position we were in! I was so frightened that my arms and legs trembled, through great force I reached the corner of the gate, there was still a shot from a cannon from our side; Having come to his senses a little, I moved away from the wall and I see two daredevils from soldiers with guns shooting at the French, and the others were shouting hurray! Hooray! But the French did not abandon their order, galloped past us with drawn sabers and, despite the insolence of our two soldiers, did not fire a single shot against us. Some of us began to say that they would not touch us; I, hoping for this, was about to leave the gate and went to the corner to get into the Nikolsky Gate, and did not have time to move 10 yards away, as one French officer jumped out from around the corner (where I should have gone) after our Russian, who ran to meet me with a gun, overtook it and chopped it up; Seeing this, I don’t remember how I got to the gate again; Seeing that death was inevitable, I do not know what to do, however, remembering from fear, I ran into the interior of the Arsenal, relying on the power of God, but did not manage to run in half the stairs, when another blow from the cannon followed; I looked around, smoke blanketed the entire passage through the gates; it is evident that the French were already very annoyed by our drunken daredevils that they let such a folktale into us; / ... / I gather with the spirit, I run into the interior of the Arsenal, the people in it are running back and forth, each looking for his own salvation, but nowhere, everywhere they can find, and stay in such a place there is no reason. "
Fire of Moscow in 1812. I. L. Rudegans, 1813.
Moscow expert I.K. Kondratyev wrote in 1910: “In 1812, on the day the French entered Moscow, September 2 (Art.), Their vanguard, which was under the command of King Murat of Naples, approaching the Trinity Bridge, noticed with surprise that the gates were locked and the walls around them are dotted with armed men, while by a verbal agreement between the king and General Miloradovich, military operations were stopped for the entire period of the Russian troops' movement from the capital. The French stopped, but at the same instant there was a volley of rifles mounted against them. It was then that the French saw that they were dealing not with troops, but with unfortunate residents who, in their hatred of their enemies, wanted to repel Napoleon's army from the Kremlin. "
Chapel of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God at the Resurrection Gate , built in 1782 on the site of the old chapel in 1669, was demolished in 1929 and restored together with the Resurrection Gate in 1994-1996.
In 1812, the chapel housed the miraculous icon of the Iberian Mother of God, which took part in Augustine's processions of the cross. On the eve of the entry of the French into Moscow, O. Grigory (Voinov) wrote: “Archimandrite Lawrence was immediately sent to take the Iberian icon from the chapel at the Resurrection Gate. This is what he conveys in his notes about the Perervinsky monastery: “I arrived at the chapel, although at night (at first o'clock), however, I also found many leaving and then entering the chapel to worship the miraculous icon; and candles burning in lamps spilled bright light along the street itself. Therefore, in order to hide this icon more inconspicuously from the worshipers, I ordered Hieromonk Isaac, who was then living at the chapel, to put on priestly clothing, carry a lit candle in front of the icon, and with the psalmists singing the Theotokos verses, transfer the icon to the monks' cells, telling others that the icon is raised for the sick, as is usual, and in its place put a list of that icon that was fulfilled without hindrance from the people. The icon, upon being brought to the cells, was placed in a prepared box and sent to the house of the Right Reverend. " .
Under the French: “There was a guardhouse in the Iverskaya chapel, hay for Napoleon's horses was kept at the Savior on Bor; in the Senate and in the Armory was his headquarters. Borovitsky and Taininsky gates were dug in with ditches, ramparts were made around them and cannons were placed on them under the strict supervision of sentries. The Nikolsky Gate was in the same position. The Kremlin and the French entered with the special permission of the authorities: Qui vive? - the sentries asked those who entered, and, after a double demand, they shot at those who did not answer. "
According to the stories of Tolycheva (Novosiltseva): “Before the entry of Napoleon, they could not take out all the warehouses of copper coins from Moscow, and huge sacks of nickels and pennies fell into the hands of the French, who established a kind of exchange shops at the Resurrection Gate, at the Stone Bridge and in other parts of the city, and sold to ours with a huge concession copper coin for gold and silver ".
On November 24 (10), the Iberian icon was returned to the chapel: “In 1812, on November 10, Augustine, after serving Mass in the Sretensky Monastery, recited a special prayer of himself, with tears interrupting the reading thereof; then he transferred the icon of the Iberian Mother of God with the procession to the chapel at the Resurrection Gate and, before placing the icon in its original place, performed the blessing of water in front of the chapel doors, around which the whole square, the ruins of buildings and the burnt walls of houses were covered by the people. "
Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat , better known as St. Basil's Cathedral, was built between 1555 and 1561.
Intercession Cathedral. Engraving, 1839
L.E. Belyankin, in a book devoted to the history of the temple, wrote: “In 1812, at a time when Moscow was hesitating from the enemies, this cathedral was destroyed, except for its appearance; in all the side-altars everything was scattered, even from the thrones themselves, not only clothes, but also shirts were torn off; some thrones and altars were broken. Only that which was taken to Vologda under the supervision of Deacon Pyotr Mikhailov survived. The lower temples were filled with horses. /… / In 1812, on December 1, the first day after the devastation, the lower cathedral church of St. Basil the Blessed was consecrated by Bishop Augustine of Dmitrov, vicar of Moscow. At the end of the divine service, there was a procession of the cross around the city of China with sprinkling of holy water, which consecrated the city of China. "
The Great Moscow Fire of 1812 and the Kremlin
Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky personally saw the French in the Kremlin on September 16 (4): “I entered the Kremlin through the Nikolskie Gates; The Senate Square was covered with papers. From the arsenal all the guns were put forward; the grenadiers of the Napoleonic guard walked around the square and sat on a large cannon; they occupied the interior of the arsenal. Further, at the steps of the Red Porch, there were sentries on horseback, two mounted grenadiers in ceremonial uniforms. /… / The weather was pretty good; but the terrible wind, intensified, and perhaps even produced by the raging fire, barely allowed him to stand on his feet. There was no fire inside the Kremlin yet, but from the platform, across the river, one could see only flames and terrible clouds of smoke; occasionally, in some places, it was possible to discern the roofs of the still unlit buildings and the bell tower; and to the right, behind the Faceted Chamber, behind the Kremlin wall, a black, thick, smoky cloud rose to heaven, and a crackling was heard from the collapsing roofs and walls. "
Fire of Moscow 1812 1965 Artist V. Astaltsev.
On the same day, September 16 (4), the fire came close to the Kremlin walls.Napoleon moved the main apartment to the Petrovsky Palace outside the city so that the fire would not cut him off from the army.
According to A.D. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, - “On September 4, the fire was strong in the Kremlin circle, and the Troitskaya clock tower had already burned out, in the reasoning of which all the old guard soldiers living in the Senate house, of whom there were about 5,000 people (they themselves said about the number of them), were expelled were to put out the fire. "
Moscow in 1812: Napoleon leaves the Kremlin. Artist: M. Orange.
According to P.V. Sytina: “The fire of 1812 destroyed all wooden buildings on Moskvoretskaya Street. After the fire, the old wooden houses and benches were replaced by stone ones. Moat at the Kremlin wall in 1817-1819 was filled up, and in its place was opened to the south of the Spassky Gate, between the Kremlin wall and St. Basil's Cathedral, Vasilyevskaya Square. "
Kremlin under the French
Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Bor in the Moscow Kremlin (1882).
IN Cathedral of the Transfiguration on Bor From 16 (4) to 17 (5) September, the captive Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky was held. Here is what he wrote in his memoirs: “One of General Berthier's adjutants came up to me:“ Follow me, ”he said, and went down the stairs; I follow him; he stopped at the door of the Church of the Savior on Bor, and asked to enter it. "You will not wait here for a long time, be patient a little, they will immediately come for you." - "But what has General Berthier decided about me, will they let me go?" - Without giving me any answer to this, he went out, locked the heavy iron door behind him, slid the thick bolt, put the lock, turned the key and left! Left alone, I fell into despair; losing hope of escaping captivity, I found myself in a painful situation; however, he consoled himself that at least they had not locked me in the basement. After spending several hours in the church, and seeing that no one came for me, it occurred to me that they had forgotten about me. I was not wrong; I spent the whole day in mournful anticipation, no one came to the door! From the very morning I was on my feet, walked a lot, did not eat anything, and although I did not feel hunger, my moral and bodily weakness took possession of me.
View of the Kremlin and the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Bor. Demertre engraving. XIX century.
I was in a kind of weary, heavy unconsciousness. Evening has come, night has come; I was lying on the stone floor. A fire across the river illuminated the interior of the church through the windows. The shadow of the old iron bars fell to the floor; everything around me calmed down, all that was heard was the dull, distant noise of the fire and the signals of the sentries. " On September 17 (5), soldiers of the old Napoleonic guard were housed in the church. The Church of the Savior-na-Boru was demolished on May 1, 1933
Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Kremlin. The Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin was erected between 1484 and 1489. I.K. Kondratiev wrote: “The Cathedral of the Annunciation has four chapels: 1) The entry of Christ into Jerusalem; 2) Archangel Gabriel, 3) Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, and 4) St. Alexander Nevsky. - In the first 3 aisles in the iconostasis, all the images of high ancient Greek workmanship and all are decorated with silver gilded frames and crowns. It is remarkable that in 1812 all these three side-chapels remained intact, so that the locks and seals were not even touched. "
“The Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals suffered the same fate as the Assumption and Kremlin churches; only surprisingly, in the latter, the three upper churches with iconostases in silver remained completely intact. " “The fourth church just above was robbed and the iconostasis was destroyed; in it, by the Highest permission, a temple was built in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky and in the iconostasis there are images of saints, the same names for all the sovereigns of the Romanov house, from Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to Emperor Alexander I , in the name of whose patron this throne was built in the Cathedral of the Annunciation ”.
The Guidebook of 1827 stated: “During the invasion of enemies in 1812, much was lost and stolen. As proof, let us say that after the expulsion of the French, between the pieces of copper and iron was found, of course, a broken gold frame unnoticed by predators with an image of the Don Mother of God weighing 12 pounds, which is again placed on the same image. "
Ivan the Great belltower was built between 1505 and 1508.
In one of the stories about 1812, collected by T. Tolycheva (Novosiltseva), it was told about a man who, under the French, “was more than once in the Kremlin and saw in the guardhouse, which then stood behind Ivan the Great, a forge set up by the French: several people worked there. ... Before them lay heaps of crosses, vestments, frames with images and various things made of precious metals. They were poured into ingots or burned out. "
Ivan the Great belltower. Artist: Alekseev F.Ya. 1800.
Dominique Jean Larrey (DJ Larrey) - the father of the ambulance, the chief field surgeon of the French army, who participated in all military campaigns of Napoleon I, left a description of the bell tower of Ivan the Great: “Between the two temples an almost cylindrical tower rose in the form of a column, known as the bell tower of Ivan Great. It looked like an Egyptian minaret. Inside it were suspended many bells of various sizes, and one - of an amazing size, mentioned by historians, stood next to it on the ground. From the height of the tower you can see the whole city, which was represented as a star with four forked ends, and the multi-colored roofs of houses and the tops of numerous churches and bell towers covered with gold and silver give the picture a very picturesque look.
On Wednesday 16 (4) September, according to an eyewitness, “a new sacrilege happened: the golden cross was removed from the bell tower of Ivan the Great; they will take him, I hear, to Paris and put up on the dome of the House of Invalids. Napoleon himself watched the workers from the Kremlin palace. The Russian workers, of course, flatly rejected such a godless deed. Then they called carpenters and roofers from their own French army. The huge cross, however, turned out to be too heavy for them; they could not keep them on the chains, and he crashed from a height onto the pavement. Fortunately, nobody was killed. "
An interesting legend is given in the Guidebook of 1827: “Someone told Napoleon that this cross was golden, and that the people retained the tradition that with the lifting of this cross, freedom and glory of Russia would inevitably fall. The arrogant predator wanted to take advantage of this opinion of the people and weaken its spirit, or maybe he wanted to turn this pseudo-golden cross into money, or send it to Paris as a trophy. He ordered to take it off; when he was presented with the inconveniences associated with this, that is: making the stage, for a long time and finally the special courage to work at such a height, then he ordered to ask if there was any of the Russians who remained in Moscow who wanted to take on this business - of course, with this In the event, a reward was promised - the latter captivated some unfortunate Russian and - the former emperor of the French himself witnessed the ease and agility with which this rope hunter climbed the cross, riveted it and lowered it; but when Napoleon saw that the cross was only covered with gilded copper leaves, then, either annoyed at the hope that had deceived him, or wishing to act according to the well-known rule preached by him, he ordered the traitor to be shot at once. "
Ivan the Great Bell Tower after the departure of the French. Figure 1812
"Moskovskie Vedomosti" dated March 29 (old style) 1813: "The cross from the head of the Ivanovskaya bell tower is now found in the Kremlin near the wall of the large Assumption Cathedral, near the northern doors between various iron fragments, with chains and screws belonging to it, which, like the cross, they were gilded with pure gold. It is damaged in many places, probably from a fall from a great height. "
According to rumors spreading among Muscovites with incredible speed, "Napoleon, agitated by doubt and despair, cut through the windows on the head of Ivan the Great in order to find and observe our troops."
An eyewitness testimony has survived who managed to penetrate the Kremlin immediately after the enemy was driven out: "... he (Ivan the Great) was not damaged, but the part of the bell tower near him was blown up ... The destroyed part of the bell tower was presented in the form of a huge heap of crushed stones, on it lay three large bells (from one thousand to three thousand pounds), like light wooden vessels turned upside down by the force of an explosion. "
Augustine (Vinogradsky), Archbishop. Moscow. Portrait. Unknown artist (TSL. Patriarch's apartments).
“The big bell of the Assumption - the Moscow evangelist of victories of celebrations and festivities - was shattered from its fall during the explosion of the bell tower and lay on the ground without a tongue; it had to be poured. After many searches for a master who would take on this important matter, the Right Reverend finally entrusted this to the keeper of the bell foundry in the Balkans, merchant Mikhail Bogdanov, who still had a master, 90-year-old elder Yakov Zavyalov, who was a worker for Alderman Slizov during the casting of the Uspensky evangelist in the penultimate year of the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. On March 8, 1817, Augustine himself consecrated and laid the foundation for a new bell of four thousand pounds; when, during its casting, the decisive moment came for the melted copper to be released from the casting furnace into a mold placed in the same pit where the former bell had been cast, the Right Reverend retired to a special room to pray for the successful completion of this business, on which all the welfare of the breeder depended. God heeded his prayer. Already shortly before his death, Augustine, listening from the Trinity courtyard to the ringing of this bell at the bell factory, thanked God that He helped him to build this monument for Moscow; he also made the inscription depicted on it in order to convey to posterity the memory of the time of casting this huge bell in Russia, which is still known among the common people as Augustine ”.
View of the bell tower and belfry of Ivan the Great before the explosion by the French. Engraving, 1805.
After the expulsion of the enemy from Moscow, urgent work began to restore the destruction in the Kremlin. The work was supervised by a specially appointed commission headed by the Moscow Bishop Augustine (Vinogradsky). “In 1813, when analyzing the material of the destroyed bell towers adjacent to Ivan the Great, four large bells were opened, which had previously hung on these bell towers. the bell (which after it was overfilled), the former one was cracked on the outside, a measure of 8 1/2 inches arrived at 2 1/2 inches, inside the bracket on which the tongue was hung broke; 2) at the Reut bell of eight ears, four ears broke off on one side ... 3) The Sunday bell with its tongue intact, and 4) the Everyday bell intact, too. "
Contemporaries wrote about the large bells that survived: “With this terrible explosion (1812), three of the big bells: Reut, Swan and Voskresny (Seven-hundred) remained unharmed and only the first of them had its ears knocked off ... The largest bell, called the Uspensky, weighing 3,555 pounds, it broke completely ... this bell was replaced by a new one, it weighs 4,000 pounds; it is lit by the master Bogdanov and images have been added to the previous imperial portraits ... the only pity is that one cannot praise the finishing of these, which was incomparably superior in the same ... ".
By a decree of 1813, on November 10, the Synod ordered two bells of the Resurrection and the Daily to be hung on the pillars so that the evangelism in these bells would still apply to the great three cathedrals ... Archangel Cathedral were hanged ... ".
In 1624, on the north side of the belfry, master Bazhen Ogurtsov erected the so-called Filaretovsky pavilion, ending with white-stone pyramids and a tiled tent. Its second and third floors were set aside for the patriarchal sacristy. In 1812, Napoleon's troops retreating from Moscow tried to blow up the bell tower. It survived, but the belfry and the Filaretovskaya extension collapsed. In 1819, they were restored by the architect D. Gilardi according to the type of the old ones, but with some elements of the 19th century architecture. “The supervision of the Right Reverend was entrusted, at the will of the Emperor, the restoration of the Ivanovo bell tower, of which one part (namely the Filaretovskaya bell tower and the Christmas church with it under the bells) was blown up by the enemy and fell in its ruins, and the other part, the state’s one, only cracked from top to bottom from terrible explosion. When the Right Reverend was reviewing the surviving Ivanovsky pillar, when the architects were conflicting about the strength of the two-century building, then Augustine sent Archimandrite Gerasim of Simonov to inspect the bell tower. He, having entered her, rang the bells. Hearing the ringing, the Right Reverend said: "If Ivan the Great resisted the French, then he will resist now, hear how it is ringing!" He agreed with those who only offered to make a crack and restore this monument in its former form. The cross from the Ivanovskaya bell tower was still missing. It was believed that he was taken away from Moscow among Napoleon's trophies, but he was also found in piles of stones. "
Vereshchagin V.V. Marshal Davout at the Chudov Monastery. 1887-1895. Gim
IN Miracle monastery for a short time the headquarters of Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout was located. In the altar of the cathedral churchin the name of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael, the marshal's bedroom was arranged... The relics of the saintAlexia was desecrated and thrown out of the shrine.
Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Photo from here.
Cathedral of Michael the Archangel (Arkhangelsk) in the Kremlin was built in 1505-1508, and in 1812 the French stole a silver reliquary with the relics of St. wonderworkers of Chernigov, Grand Duke Mikhail and his boyar Fyodor.
Deputation of the Old Believers of the Preobrazhensky cemetery to Napoleon. Artist I. M. Lvov. Postcard published in 1912 in Moscow by I. E. Selin /
Researcher A. Lebedev leads interesting story associated with the holy relics of St. Tsarevich Dmitry in the Archangel Cathedral. “Tradition conveys the following story: the French did not touch the relics and only robbed the jewelry on the shrine; Russian Old Believers, immediately after the French left Moscow, took the relics of the tsarevich out of the shrine and wanted to take them out of the cathedral, the priest of the Ascension Monastery, Ivan Yakovlevich Veniaminov, who lived in Moscow during the occupation of it by the enemy, and with the help of Orthodox passers-by, took away from the Old Believers St. ... relics and hid them in his monastery, in the main cathedral behind the iconostasis, in the choirs. The schismatics allegedly lay in wait for him and beat him so badly that he soon died, having revealed shortly before his death about the location of the relics to his brother, the priest of Kazan, in the Church of Sushchev. The latter, upon his return to Moscow, the Right Reverend Augustine, informed him about St. relics, for which he received a legguard as a reward.
Robbery in the Archangel Cathedral. Postcard early. XX century.
Under the French, according to the stories of Tolycheva, - "... in the Archangel Cathedral [was] arranged a pantry: there were sacks of oats and rye, finally, a supply of potatoes and vats of corned beef." According to an eyewitness: “A French cook is sleeping behind the altar of the Archangel Cathedral; she prepares food by the window; she sewed herself a dress from priest's, velvet and other vestments. "
A. Lebedev: “It is appropriate to tell here a still living, witnessed story about this enemy invasion, which left terrible traces and a memory that revolts the soul. Enemies not only tore off local icons and cancer from St. expensive silver - gilded vestments with relics, but even the icons themselves were disfigured, using them instead of doors, benches, beds, etc. gilded salaries, which seemed to them gold, or at least silver-plated; having been deceived in their calculations, they nevertheless spoiled many salaries, leaving here traces of their barbaric deed. By introducing various obscenities into the temple, they defiled it, and by exposing the throne and altar from the vestments and damaging them, they clearly proved wild ignorance, and by greed for plunder they became like the ancient Tatars. In addition to this rampage over the shrine, they did not spare the tombstone over the ashes of Prince Athanasius-Yaroslav Vladimirovich, located near the western entrance, half destroying it, hoping to open something precious, and thus satisfy their greed for predation; but, having not received what they wanted, they no longer dared to disturb the peace of the other dead. In addition to the fury that was said, they piled up the entire cast-iron platform in the cathedral with barrels of various wines, which they brought from city cellars, and barrels with the same product rolled onto the tombs. "
“When leaving Moscow,“ the vexed and embittered predators smashed the barrels and barrels of wine in the cathedral; the wine that flowed out of the barrels flooded the cathedral platform by several inches, as eyewitnesses told about this, who soon returned to Moscow after fleeing enemies. , Afanasy Mikhailovich Nizyaev lived at the Krestovskaya outpost during the entire stay of the enemies in the capital, and several times, stripped and undressed by them, was urged by beatings to carry different weights for them over long distances.On the night of their flight from Moscow, Father Nizyaev heard all the terrible gunpowder explosions in the Kremlin, and on the very next day, having made his way through the Cossack chain, he came to the Archangel Cathedral and was an eyewitness to both broken barrels and barrels with wine spilled on the floor, and a dilapidated monument to Prince Afanasy-Yaroslav Vladimirovich, as well as desecration of the shrine. the actions of foreign predators I have repeatedly heard from Afanasy Mikhailovich himself, who served in the cathedral for 40 years t from 1800 - 1841 " .
The restoration of the cathedral began at the end of 1812. “The Right Reverend Augustine, with his zealous care for the cathedral for three months, November and December 1812, and especially January 1813, managed to prepare the Archangel Cathedral, before other cathedrals, for consecration, which, to the great joy of Moscow citizens, was solemnly accomplished by him with the clergy. February 1, with an innumerable gathering of people of all classes. During this all-cheerful Kremlin church festival, the rectors of all monasteries, archpriests with priests of the cathedral and gun churches of the Kremlin, and all the Chinese forty, with bells ringing in the Kremlin, the Chinese and Zamoskvoretsky magpies, took part in the procession of the cross around the cathedral. The main shrine in this course was the relics of St. Tsarevich Demetrius, who, after 200 years of rest in this temple, were surrounded by him; and on the next day, on February 2, these relics were carried in the procession of the cross around the Kremlin, which was accompanied by a bell ringing for the whole day in front of all Moscow churches and cannon firing. Such celebrations opened the entrance to the Kremlin for all estates, hitherto few accessible to anyone, on the occasion of the work carried out in the Kremlin to clean it up and fix it. ".
Amusing palace and home church of the Praise of the Mother of God ... The amusing palace, which is now located between the Commandant and Troitskaya towers of the Kremlin, was built in 1651. According to N.M. Snegireva: "In 1812, the Amusement Palace, which served as a room for the French Guards, was preserved from fire and explosion, and in 1813 the captured French General Vandam was kept in it." General Dominique-Joseph-Rene Vandam, Count d "Junseburg (1770-1830) was captured in the battle of Kulm on August 18 (30), 1813.
Church of the Deposition of the Robe (Position of the venerable robe of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Blachernae) in the Kremlin. Built in 1484-1486 on the site of the burnt church of the same name in 1451. The researcher of the temple N.D. Izvekov wrote: “... in 1812 a large crack was discovered in the altar vault of the temple, of course, from explosions made by the enemy. /… / But apart from damage to the wall, the church suffered at the hands of predators. Although the best utensils were taken away in advance, the remaining one was plundered, as well as three small icons, and also the salaries and attachments from some images were robbed. Therefore, as being desecrated along with other churches, the Church of the Robe demanded consecration in 1813 ”.
In the church Catherine the Great Martyr, located adjacent to the Church of the Position of the Robe of the Theotokos, there was an image of St. Martyrs Catherine, Evdokia and Joasaph, Prince of India. According to I.K. Kondratyev: “On the image of St. Catherine there is a precious crown, lavishly adorned with diamonds - a gift from Catherine II, happily preserved from the plunder in 1812 ”.
Cathedral of the Savior Image Not Made by Hands (Verkhospassky) in the Kremlin was built in 1635/1636
“During the invasion of Moscow in 1812, all the richest church utensils [of the Savior Cathedral] were removed from Moscow to Vologda in advance, and therefore they were preserved intact, and what remained in the church was plundered. The iconostasis in the main church remained intact, but the royal gates were broken, the walls of the temple were beaten with nails, the altar was broken and on it after the enemy left Moscow, gnawed bones and crumbs remained white bread, in the church and in the meal there were beds without beds, and on the windows and on the floor there were empty bottles. "
According to A. Popov, in 1812, after the enemy left Moscow, in the Verkhospassky Cathedral, in addition to plundering, all wall paintings were beaten with nails. The cathedral was re-finished in 1836. In the Verkhospassky Cathedral, the throne served as a table for dinners, there were beds in it.
As N.D. Izvekov, - "At the beginning of January 1813, the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest John Alekseev, reporting to the Reverend Augustine that the clerk of the cathedral had safely returned from Vologda with church property, at the same time asked permission to print the cathedral and hand it over to him, noticing at the same time, that “the temple had neither appearance nor kindness.” The commission of the temple was carried out by the rector of the Archangel Cathedral, Archpriest Alekseev. 651 rubles 65 were allocated from the sums released by the commission of theological schools to repair the damage both in the cathedral itself and in the marginal church. j. Of the damages that were in the cathedral at that time, first of all, attention was drawn to the chapters and crosses, when examined by the architect, it turned out that the gilded crosses lacked some decorations, such as the tops and diameters, while the main ones were nailed gilded sheets, and some of them were not even on the roof ”.
Church of Constantine and Helena, view from the northwest. Photo of the 1880s.
Church of St. Constantine and Helena. In 1812, the French ravaged the Church of St. Constantine and Helena, built by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy during the erection of the stone Kremlin between 1362 and 1367. According to I.K. Kondratyev: "In 1812, the church was completely ruined and was destined to be demolished, but by the will of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich it was renewed and solemnly consecrated by Metropolitan Filaret on September 22, 1837".In 1928 the church of Saints Constantine and Helena was demolished.
Patriarchal Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Kremlin. (Built between 1475 and 1479). Among the stories collected by Tolycheva there is one curious story: “... Napoleon wanted to see the episcopal service. Pylayev, or Pylay, as the people called him, the priest of the Novinsky monastery, volunteered to treat Napoleon with a new spectacle for him. He appeared at the Assumption Cathedral (which was later converted into a stable) and served the Liturgy under the bishop's vestments, for which Napoleon awarded him a kamilavka. Death rescued blazing from the strict judgment appointed over him after the removal of the enemy. "
In the Assumption Cathedral. Artist: V.V. Vereshchagin.
According to A. Popov, in the Assumption Cathedral, instead of a chandelier, there were scales on which they hung melted gold and silver from stolen church and other treasures; on the iconostasis the figures were written: 325 pounds of silver and 18 pounds of gold. There were smelting forges and stables for horses.
“Examining the Kremlin on the night of November 20 (8th century) after the prayer service in the Sretensky Monastery, Vladyka approached the Assumption Cathedral, which was locked and sealed. Those who accompanied Vladyka were afraid to enter the cathedral for fear of an explosion similar to those that Napoleon did before leaving Moscow. But the archpastor was not afraid. Armed with the power of faith in the Providence of God, he ordered to open the doors of the cathedral, said to his companions: “pray” and bowed three times on the church threshold. Then, having overshadowed the entrance with the sign of the cross, the first entered the cathedral and exclaimed: "May God rise and scatter him!" Everywhere in the cathedral there were traces of blasphemy, sacrilege, unbridledness and anger ... / ... / At the site of the chandelier there were scales, on which the enemies hung the stolen gold and silver. Wood shavings, coal, and manure lay along with piles of snow that had been poured into the broken windows. The decorations have been removed from the iconostasis. The icons, along with broken utensils and vestments, are scattered on the floor. Insolence touched for more than a century the unopened shrine of the relics of St. Peter - it was discovered by the enemies. The silver that adorned the shrine of St. Philip was stolen. At such an outrageous spectacle, Vladyka exclaimed in the words of the psalm: "God, the tongues have come into your possession, you have defiled your holy temple" (Psalm 78: 1). But a few more steps - and the grief of the Vladyka and those who were with him was quickly replaced by a feeling of reverent joy and quivering delight as they approached St. the relics of St. Jonah: here everything remained inviolable: St. relics, a silver cancer, the image of the Savior in a silver setting, an icon lamp and a silver candlestick! According to the old-timers-Muscovites, an invisible force did not allow predators to visit the relics of St. Jonah, although they attempted to do so several times; once even they saw clearly. As the saint raised a threatening hand. Napoleon wanted to go to the shrine himself, but after taking a few steps, quickly turned back and left the cathedral with the order to lock and seal it. "
Procession to the Assumption Cathedral. Engraving in 1749.
“According to the testimony of the eyewitness G.I. on the shrine of St. Jonah they found after the release of the enemies, quite a piece of gold. Others say that the miracle from St. The hand of the blasphemers held back the relics. Essays on the life of the Moscow archbishop Augustine. M., 1848. Approx. P. 113. “Smelting forges were placed around the cathedral and stables for horses were arranged. The grave of Saint Philip was destroyed, and the plank gravestones of the graves of the Moscow patriarchs were exposed. And Patriarch Hermogenes, who was incorruptible, was lying on the floor. Only the shrine of St. Jonah remained intact, as did the silver candlestick in front of it. "
I.K. Kondratyev: “On the right side of the royal gates there is a local image of the All-Merciful Savior, called the Golden Robe. /… / In 1812 the icon was damaged, but then it was completely renovated. /… / The image of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos /… / In 1812, the enemies deprived him of a rich salary, which was replaced in 1818 with a new one by the same ustyuzhan, as evidenced by the inscription at the bottom of the image. On the southern pillar is the image of the Mother of God, called Jerusalem. /… / The original icon disappeared in 1812 and was replaced by an exact, also ancient copy, which from ancient times was in the palace church of the Nativity of the Virgin on the Seny. "
“The relics of St. Peter the Metropolitan, the founder of the church and the first Moscow saint. They were found during the reconstruction of the cathedral in 1472. Until 1812, they were under wraps. After the enemy left Moscow, the relics were found open and, with the blessing of the Holy Synod, were not closed again. " .
About the Old Believers who stole the icon of the Jerusalem Mother of God.
Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Monastery. Fig. early XIX century.
Ascension nunnery on the right side of the Spassky Gate inside the Kremlin, it survived the fire and was restored to its proper form at the end of 1812.
It was not possible to find data on the stay of the French in the Church of the Twelve Apostles in the Patriarchal House in the Kremlin and the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on Seny.
Kremlin in front of the French exits from Moscow
According to the memoirs collected by Tolycheva: "Napoleon's generals often inspected the regiments at the Kremlin ponds [the ponds were in the place where the Alexander Garden is now]" .
According to M. Korelin: “Quite a lot of the surrounding peasants came to the city, but not to sell supplies of life, but to buy copper money in bags of 25 rubles each, and salt in quarters, as well as collect everything that was left in burnt houses and shops and what they could take away on their carts. A bag of copper money of 25 rubles (a huge mass of them lay in the basements of the Kremlin) cost the same as a quarter of the salt (which was also in large quantities) - 4 rubles or one silver ruble. Likewise, a few silver rubles could buy whole packages of old credit notes. The number of buyers increased daily as the peasants with whole loads of salt and copper money returned safely from Moscow to their villages. "
“After the speech of the French from Moscow, the robberies resumed with renewed vigor. When a French garrison was still in the Kremlin, preparing the explosions, and the gates were guarded by soldiers, the peasants nevertheless tried to enter the Kremlin for salt and copper money and, not understanding the French shouts, died under the shots of the sentries. Finally convinced that the usual entrances to the Kremlin had become inaccessible, they broke a passage in the wall to the place where the copper money lay. “Now,” says the author, “everyone was able to take as much copper money as he wanted, or, better to say, as much as he could; but at the same time people died like flies, because as soon as someone came out of the gap made in the wall, others wanted to take the prey from him; a bloody struggle began, and the one who survived took possession of the money ".
The bombing of the Kremlin by the French on October 23 (11) 1812
At 5 o'clock in the morning on Monday 19 (7 Old Style) October, Monday, Napoleon left Moscow and with the main army went to Kaluga. In Moscow, seated in the Kremlin, the division of Marshal Mortier remained. The Mortier detachment left Moscow on the night of 20 (8) to 21 (9) October. During the retreat, Napoleon gave the order to blow up the Kremlin. Mines were laid under many Kremlin buildings, including the towers. Six explosions one after the other thundered at 10 o'clock in the morning on 23 (11) October.
Fire of Moscow. Painted engraving. Unknown engraver. First third of the 19th century
According to Tolycheva: “On the very day of their [French] departure, we were awakened at around twelve o'clock by such a thunder and crack that we did not see the light. We began to call out to each other to make sure that everyone was alive, and ran out into the street to see what happened. The fire illuminated it as before, silence fell again, and here and there ran our people, who were also driven out of their shelters by fear. , and stones flew like a hail from all sides. All scattered. We rushed again to our basement. Finally, at the third explosion, over our heads, our church shook so much that it cracked from top to bottom. The family did not sleep all night, and the next day Vasily Mikhailovich saw terrible traces of destruction.The Kremlin walls collapsed in several places, Ivan the Great's bell tower cracked, the palace burned down, the upper half of the Nikolskaya tower was destroyed, and part of the iron roof of the arsenal was torn off and brought to Nikolsk th street ".
Yakov Chilikin told how, after the Kremlin was blown up, “being in such fear, we went to the embankment [near the Orphanage], and imagine what the blows were! Even in the Moscow river the water turned like white milk and smelled of gunpowder and sulfur, the fish swam on the surface of the water already sleepy! And the water was so disgusting that it was impossible to put it in your mouth, and that was the day. "
P.V. Sytin: “Nevertheless, the belfries of the Ivan the Great bell tower were blown up, the Vodovzvodnaya, 1st Nameless and Petrovskaya towers were blown up, Nikolskaya was badly damaged and Borovitskaya and the corner Arsenalnaya towers were slightly damaged. Part of the Arsenal was also blown up ”.
Nikolskaya Tower 24 (11) October 1812. Book engraving.
Nikolsky gate. “In its original form, the gate existed until 1812. This year, during the explosions of the Kremlin, the upper part of the gate was overthrown in the very image of St. Nicholas. As for the rest, the lower part of the gate, not only it, but even the glass of the image of the miracle worker, despite the terrible shock caused by the explosion, remained unharmed. This miraculous event is evidenced by the inscription on the gate. The gates were renewed by the architect Rossi on the model of the Spasskys. " Kondratyev I.K. Moscow Kremlin, shrines and monuments East. description of cathedrals, churches and monasteries. M., 1910.S. 111.
Spassky Gate F. Alekseev. 1800-1801
Spassky gate“In 1812, when the French wanted to blow up the Kremlin into the air, a tunnel was made under the Spassky Gate; but the fire had not yet reached the wick to the tunnel, when a heavy rain fell, which extinguished the wick, and thus the entire Kremlin and its Shrine, as well as these Spassky Gate, memorable in the history of Moscow, with its Gothic tower, were preserved. During the stay of the enemies of our fatherland in Moscow in 1812, many of them repeatedly tried to rip off the robe from the image of the Savior that was above the gate, but had no success. " The expulsion from the Kremlin on October 10, 1812 by the Cossacks of the Ilovaisky of the remnants of the detachment of Marshal Mortier, who exploded the Kremlin. (1779 - 1848) 1810s
In October 1812, Napoleon, leaving Moscow, gave the order: to lay powder charges and blow up historic buildings in the Moscow Kremlin. Monstrous explosions destroyed the Arsenalnaya, Vodovzvodnaya and partially Nikolskaya towers, the adjacent Kremlin walls, the Arsenal and the Faceted Chamber were badly damaged. Most of the buildings in the Kremlin, nevertheless, could not be destroyed, due to the fact that heavy rain began, and because the residents of Moscow managed to extinguish many of the already lit fuses at the last moment. But the Kremlin belfry with large bells could not be saved. The blown up belfry collapsed, and the multi-tiered Ivanovskaya bell tower stood.
State of the Kremlin after the exit of the French
The plan for the destruction of the Moscow Kremlin in 1812. Completely destroyed buildings are marked in black. Ivan Yegotov, 1813.
Around October 11, 1812, a List of burnt, blown up and surviving buildings was compiled after the French left Moscow. “Blown up and burned. In the Kremlin, the 1st Palace, 2nd Faceted Chamber, 3rd annex to the Ivanovskaya bell tower, 4th Commandant's house, 5th Arsenal, 6th Alekseevskaya tower to the bottom, 7th Nikolskaya first is damaged, 10th Senate is slightly damaged. The cathedrals remained intact, the cross was removed from the Ivanovskaya bell tower and the head was damaged, the Spasskaya and Trinity towers were intact, as well as the Ascension Monastery.
Moscow Arsenal. The destruction of 1812 (below) and the reconstruction project (above). View from the outside (west) side. 1814.
Consecration of Kremlin churches
“Having buried his father and benefactor, the unforgettable Metropolitan Platon, who died on November 11, Augustine received an order from the sovereign to govern the Moscow diocese until the appointment of a new archpastor. With regard to benefiting those in need, Vladyka acted both as a petitioner for benefits, as a distributor of charitable donations sent and as a benefactor from his own funds. /… / On December 1, after the consecration of the Intercession, Basil the Blessed Cathedral, Vladyka with a procession arrived at the Execution Ground on Red Square opposite the Spassky Gate. Hence, during the prayer service with the consecration of water, Vladyka sprinkled the city crosswise with the words: “The omnipresent grace of God by sprinkling sowing water sanctifies this ancient pious city, by the God-hating presence of the wicked enemy, the enemy of God and men, defiled. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. " Upon completion of the prayer service, the procession was divided into three sections: one went to the Nikolsky Gate, the other went along the Embankment near the Kitay-Gorod wall, and with the third section, Vladyka walked outside the Ilyinsky Gate himself. All three branches met at the Barbarian Gate and then returned to the Intercession Cathedral. The solemn consecration of the White City followed on December 12 - the birthday of the sovereign. The necessary corrections in the Kremlin took about three months. During all this time, the curious were not allowed into it. The opening of the Kremlin began on February 1, 1813 with the consecration of the Archangel Cathedral. The relics of St. Tsarevich Demetrius, preserved by the zeal of the priest of the Resurrection Monastery, were carried around the cathedral that day, and around the entire Kremlin the next day. A religious procession inside the Kremlin was performed after the consecration of the Chudov Monastery. The consecration of the Assumption Cathedral, the renovation of which was carried out under the personal daily supervision of Vladyka, was postponed until August 30, the day of the sovereign emperor's namesake. Earlier this day, on Saturday, Lazarev was consecrated for the time being in this cathedral the side-chapel of Sts. Ap. Peter and Paul, and on June 2, with the blessing of the Holy Synod, the shrine of the relics of St. Peter was solemnly unveiled, so that “the lamenting inhabitants of Moscow, looking at the incorruptibility of the relics of this saint of God, could be comforted in their sorrows and, touching them with the kiss of the saints, to be enlivened with the hope that their short-term sadness will be rewarded with long-term and inviolable prosperity. " “On the day of the namesake of the sovereign emperor, r. Augustine consecrated the Dormition Cathedral, and around the cathedral were surrounded by the relics of St. Peter, and inside the cathedral, to the indescribable delight of those who were coming, Easter songs were sung by order of Vladyka. " to G. P. Vonifatyev from November 13, 1812 - “Image of military operations in 1812 / Composition of Barclay de Tolly. SPb., 1912, p. 93-94.
35. Lebedev A. Moscow Cathedral of the Archangel. M., 1880.S. 89-92.
