200 years since the Battle of Borodino
Russia 7 September marks the 200 anniversary of the battle of Borodino. AT stories The country is one of the most important battles, both because of its importance during the Patriotic War 1812, and the role of the memory of this battle in the formation of the national consciousness of the people.Most of the ceremonial events dedicated to the battle, including the reconstruction of the battle on the Borodino field near Moscow, were held on September 2. But exactly 200 years from the day Russian and French troops stood on this field to death against each other, it is still being celebrated today. Although here, as in many other moments surrounding the history of the battle, there are differences. In 1812 Russia lived in the old style, according to which the battle took place on August 26. The French on the same day were 7 September. At the same time, the federal law “On the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia” points to September 8 during the battle. The reason for the discrepancy is that when preparing the law in 1995. the date was calculated based on the fact that the discrepancy between the old and the new style was 13 days. However, this is true for the beginning of the 20th century, and in 1812g. the difference between the two styles was only 12 days.
Public Council for the Promotion of the State Commission on Preparations for the Celebration of the 200 Anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War 1812. previously proposed to make the necessary clarifications in federal law. At the same time, the traditional reconstruction of the Battle of Borodino, which takes place annually and to which the main celebratory events were timed this time, is usually held on the first weekend of September.
There is another controversial point in the history of Borodin - the question of winners. In a report to Emperor Alexander I, the commander of the Russian army, Mikhail Kutuzov, reported on his victory. However, on the tomb of Napoleon Borodino is listed among the greatest triumphs of the French commander. Usually, in such disputes, they recall the saying of the French emperor that the French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians deserved the right to be invincible. True, Napoleon himself did not use this “formulation” in his memoirs — one of his generals, Jean-Jacques Germain Pele, leads it. Supporters of the "French" victory indicate that the troops of M. Kutuzov left the main fortifications on the Borodino field and surrendered Moscow, their opponents - that the army was nevertheless saved. But the fact that it was the main, most difficult and fierce battle of the 1812 war, no one doubts.
In history it often happens that the importance of an event is realized much later than how it happened, or the interpretation of its meaning changes to the opposite. With the battle of Borodino and World War 1812g. this did not happen. Already in 1814g. The date of the final expulsion of Napoleon's troops from Russia - December 25 - becomes one of the main holidays of the empire. In 1814, to the return of Russian troops from Paris, in Moscow and St. Petersburg were built Triumphal arches, in 1834g. The Alexander Column was built in St. Petersburg, and in 1837, during the celebration of Borodin's 25 anniversary, a decision was made to build the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Emperor Nicholas I gave a new shine to the celebration of victory. He paid special attention to the Borodino field. In 1839 a monument to Russian soldiers was erected here and a museum was founded. At the same time, the first "reconstruction" of the battle took place, during which 120 thousand soldiers of the regular army were involved.
However, with the greatest scope, the victory was celebrated in 1912, which was the centenary of the battle. Celebrations then held 25-29 August (old style), that is, in the days of the Battle of Borodino and the previous battles. A special touch was the presence at the celebrations of war veterans 1812. In total, the 25 empire turned out to be such people between the ages of 108 and 122 years, including the participant of the Borodino battle, Pavel Tolstoguzov, who was 112 years old. But only five veterans were able to arrive in Moscow. The famous panorama of the Battle of Borodino was created for the 100 anniversary.
The memory of Borodino manifested itself not only in museums and monuments. Already for younger contemporaries, the name of a village near Moscow turned into a symbol. For Mikhail Lermontov, the symbol of this feat in the era of “heroes of our time”, for Alexander Pushkin in the poem “The Borodino Anniversary” - a symbol of the power of Russia, able to withstand the military power of all Europe, for Leo Tolstoy - a symbol of the national spirit.
After the October Revolution, for a while, assessments of the 1812 war. changed - in the historical works devoted to her, the shortcomings of tsarism and the "anti-people" nature of the conflict were emphasized. The peasants, according to this interpretation, defended their homes from marauders, and not the Fatherland, and the reasons for the war were the contradictions of the leading bourgeois powers (Russia was not among them and as a result played a secondary role in the history of the Napoleonic wars) . At the beginning of the 30's the museum was plundered, the symbols of the Russian statehood were torn down, the temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, erected in memory of the fallen, became a workshop.
However, when in the war years the struggle against the invasion of the “two-tongues” again became topical, the previous assessments of the 1812 events returned. Perhaps for the fallen at the Borodino field in 1812g. the best sign of memory was the fierce resistance that the soldiers of the Red Army put to the fascist troops in the battles of Borodino in October 1941. In December of the same year, the museum reopened, albeit in evacuation in Almaty. The Museum-Reserve on the Borodino field reopened to the 150 anniversary of the battle - in 1961, while the temple was restored.
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