2012 Recap. Insight into History of Patriotic War of 1812

A 6-month military campaign, which the Emperor of France later described as a “fatal mistake” ended by the middle of December of 1812.Napoleon’s remaining troops crossed the River Neman, and several days later the liberation march of the Russian army abroad started. The 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 caused a great deal of interest, Director of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Chubaryan said.

“Lessons dedicated to this date were held practically in all schools of Russia. Scientific conferences were held not only in Russia but also in France, Austria, Latvia, and Poland. That event was met with a great scientific, public and political response”

A large-scale conference with the participation of historians belonging to the best scientific schools of Europe was held in Moscow in July of this year. That conference offered proof of the fact that international coordination of knowledge about the Epoch of Napoleonic Wars should become a must.

Foreign scientists made a number of reports. The discussion of the book “Russia Against Napoleon” by Professor Dominic Lieven from the London School of Economics and Political Science took place as part of the Moscow conference. Professor Dominic Lieven highly praised the role of the Russian Empire in the achievement of peace in Europe, which enabled it to continue its economic development Marie-Pierre Rey (France ) presented a monograph about Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who throughout the decades was the spirit of the anti-Napoleon coalition. Her second book shows that today France would like to get an adequate and heightened opinion on the events dealing with the Patriotic War of 1812.

It is simply impossible to enumerate all the events relating to the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. Thematic exhibitions were held in many museums in Russia. The Chief Keeper of the Battle of Borodino Museum-Panorama Lidiya Ivchenko says:

“A new exposition has been staged in the Battle of Borodino Museum-Panorama. The dream to set up a museum dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 was finally put into practice. What hampered it 100 years ago was the First World War. Then a civil war broke out in Russia. The museum coming into being was one of the most important events in the festivities on that occasion.“

A congress of the descendants of the participants in the 1812 war was held in Moscow as part of the festivities to mark the 200th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Napoleon, which brought together ethnic Russians living in this country, Australia, France, the USA, and some other countries. The Moscow-Paris horse march of the Don Cossacks, who chose the route of the legendary ataman Matvei Platov, proved to be an event of great significance too. The military and historical re-enactment of the Battle of Borodino at the Borodino Field, in which 3,000 representatives of Russian and European clubs took part, proved to be one of the most unforgettable events.

The Voice of Russia radio provided a broad coverage of all events dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. The best materials were posted on the Voice of Russia website at http://english.ruvr.ru/history/.