Europe joins Russia celebrating 200 years of victory over Napoleon
This year many cultural events in Russia are timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the country’s victory over Napoleon. A great number of historical monuments have been restored by this date.
The anniversary is being marked by various exhibitions and theatre productions. The celebration has a very important educational meaning providing an opportunity to remember the glorious pages in Russia’s history and raise the country’s prestige.
The key celebrations will be held in autumn and the main event will be the reconstruction of the Battle of Borodino near Moscow, which added significantly to the defeat of Napoleon’s Grand Army in Russia. Although there were no real victors in that battle and the Russian command took the decision to leave Moscow to the French, the triumph of the French Emperor was illusive. Actually the occupation of Moscow by the French was the beginning of Napoleon’s retreat from Russia.
The staged reconstruction of the battle has been a good tradition for many years. It is held annually in early September. But this time about 700 foreign “warriors” will join the battle. They are members of different historical reconstruction clubs. Two hundred years ago almost the whole Europe fought against the Russian army in Borodino. But the honor to perform the overture “1812” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky has been given to the French military orchestra.
Another important event is the opening of the 1812 war museum in the center of Moscow. The space of 1,500 square meters will house a permanent exposition and halls of changing exhibitions. The exhibits for this museum have been kept in the Moscow historical museum for about 100 years. The decision to establish such a museum was taken in 1912, right after the 100th anniversary celebration, but the First World War and the 1917 revolution ruined those plans. Finally it has become possible. The opening ceremony will be attended by the French experts from the Legion of Honor Order museum and Louvre.
A number of events marking the anniversary will be held in European countries, which were involved in the events of 1812-1814. In late August, a horseback ride from Moscow to Paris by Russian Don Cossacks is to kick off. Twenty-five horse-mounted Cossacks clad the 1812 Cossack uniforms will travel 3,000 km separating Russia from France. They will repeat the route travelled by the Cossacks of Matvey Platov in 1812. Recently, a conference of Napoleonic wars experts was held in Austria. In autumn, Russia will also receive experts from Germany, Poland and France. Descendants of the Romanov dynasty are also among the foreign guests who will attend the celebrations in Russia in autumn.
Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Ivanov held this year’s last meeting of the State Commission for the Preparation of Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Russia’s Victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.
According to Sergei Ivanov, celebrations of the 200th anniversary of victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 this year were organised and held well and had a positive effect on the patriotic education of young people and on increasing Russia’s prestige in the world.
Russia’s defeat of Napoleon in 1812 is one of the most famous and most frequently recounted stories in Russian and European history. My new book on this subject, Russia against Napoleon: The Struggle for Europe, looks at the struggle from many different angles: it studies not just war and diplomacy but also, for example, the Russian home front, the war economy and military logistics. Nevertheless at the book’s core are geopolitics, military operations and diplomacy, in other words the most traditional areas for historical research. Moreover this is the study of war and diplomacy in the era of the European Old Regime. So, to some extent anyway, my book is the story of kings and battles, the oldest and most conservative strain in the writing of history.
On 3 December 2012 the Russian Embassy in London hosted a reception on theoccasion of the Bicentenary of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. A well-known historian Dominic Lieven, whose book Russia against Napoleon recently saw its Russian edition, made a speech at the reception. The historian noted that while the Russians recall the 1812 war quite often, they tend to overlook the later developments of the European campaign against Napoleon’s France, in which the Russian army played a decisive role.
The jury of the creative writing contest dedicated to the bicentenary of Russia's victory over Napoleon has established the winner in the Best blog nomination (held jointly with the Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo):
Russian Cossacks have successfully completed an equestrian expedition from Moscow to Paris along the route which was followed by Ataman Platov 200 years ago. Horses of the Don breed have demonstrated excellent stamina covering a total of 3,000 kilometers.
The jury of the creative writing contest dedicated to the bicentenary of Russia's victory over Napoleon has established the winner in the Poetry nomination (held jointly with the Pushkin in Britain poetry festival). The poem by Mikhail Pipko (United States) is published at http://www.facebook.com/RussianEmbassy/posts/473712379329254
On behalf of the Russian Embassy in London I would like to thank you for joining us today in paying tribute to George Dawe, an English artist who made a crucial contribution to the creation of one of the most important monuments of Russia’s military history – the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace in St.Petersburg.
The Embassy has finished accepting entries for the creative writing competition to celebrate the 200 anniversary of the defeat of the 1812 Napoleonic invasion by Russia. A total of 33 entries have been submitted. The winners will be determined by a competent jury chaired by the eminent British scholar of Russia Professor Simon Dixon. Follow the updates of our website!
I am happy to welcome you here today as we are officially opening the exhibition of the scale model of the Borodino battle made by Mr. Gerry West – a British enthusiast of Russian history. This is really a remarkable day. First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. West on accomplishment of his 40 years’ work. Thank you for your dedication and I hope your excellently researched and built model will be admired by many people in many places.
Vladimir Putin visited the Borodino Field State Borodino War and History Museum and Reserve and took part in celebrations marking the 200thanniversary of the battle of Borodino.
Tweet Follow @russianembassy