Михаил Кутузов

Once again, with a certain portion of champagne, Kutuzov reports to Suvorov that he needs to retreat. To which Alexander Vasilyevich, in his style, responds: “What? I already reported to Petersburg about Ishmael’s conquest”. Kutuzov turns around and goes on a second attack. And breaks into the fortress. That huge bullet hits Kutuzov in the left temple, pierces it, passes through the entire skull somewhere behind the nose and exits in the region of the right eye. Since then Kutuzov really became a more restrained person. Stories from Russian history Vladimir Medinsky 19th Century Dear friends, good evening! I’m saying good evening, because we’re recording this lecture on a Friday evening after work. Today we’re going to talk about a very interesting person. I love such heroes. He seems to be one person, but in reality he’s totally different. He’s very unusual, versatile, very controversial. Everyone knows him, but everyone imagines him differently. For some, he’s an outstanding military genius. And at the same time he's a cynical courtier-sycophant. He’s a brave combat officer, badly wounded many times in battle. And at the same time he’s a sleepy, sluggish commander in chief. He’s a very caring family man. He has a large family - six children. He tenderly loves his wife, with whom he lived together all his life until old age. And at the same time in the eyes of others he’s a voluptuary, old satyr, a great lover of young maidens. As you understand, we’re talking about our wonderful compatriot Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Napoleon’s vanquisher. In fact, he’s not just Kutuzov. His full name according to documents is Golenishchev-Kutuzov. It’s a double surname. Later it even became triple. He became Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky when he was given the title of Most Serene Prince of Smolensk. Part of this title became part of his surname for the rest of his life. This is one of the few tsarist commanders who didn’t fall into oblivion in the Soviet years. Moreover, the year the Great Patriotic War ended, 1945, coincided with the commander's round anniversary - 200 years since his birth. On September 8, 1945, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a special resolution on the celebration of Mikhail Kutuzov’s anniversary. There were many different activities. Even Stalin spoke out on that issue when the “Bolshevik” magazine of the Central Committee of the CPSU Party published the answer of the Generalissimo to Colonel Razin. I want to dig into whether it was the same Razin who wrote the manual on military history. I read it a long time ago. It’s very interesting. For the students of the Frunze Academy. Didn't have time to find out before the lecture. You can look it up. In response to Colonel Razin’s letter the Generalissimo wrote: “Our brilliant commander Kutuzov ruined Napoleon and his army with the help of a well-prepared counteroffensive”. Engels once said that of the Russian commanders of 1812, Barclay de Tolly was the only one worthy of attention. Of course, Engels was wrong. For Kutuzov as a commander was, no doubt, two heads ahead of Barclay de Tolly. That’s what Generalissimo Stalin thought. In the Soviet military encyclopedia, the article on Kutuzov is given six and a half times more space than the article on Barclay de Tolly. It doesn't really tell us anything. Because even more space was given to the article on Brezhnev. Much more than on Napoleon, Caesar, Macedon, Suvorov. Perhaps even all of them combined. Where did he come from? The Kutuzovs were one of the oldest noble families. It goes back to the middle of the 13th century. Its founder is considered to be a certain Gabriel, who arrived in Rus' from Prussia. Just like the Romanovs. At that time, Prussia was inhabited by Prussians. Prussians were not Germans. A legend connects the founder of the Kutuzov family with a real chronicle hero of the Battle of the Neva in 1240, Gabriel Aleksich. To be honest, I think that there’s a huge distance between Gabriel and Kutuzov, that it’s all fiction. But it sounds nice. Illarion Golenishchev-Kutuzov was the father of the future Field Marshal. The second part of the surname “Golenishchev” came from one of Kutuzov's ancestors, who was nicknamed the “golenishe” (a bootleg). Apparently, he walked in special boots. There were different boots back then. Kutuzov could have well ridden in such boots. These are cavalry boots. More precisely, cavalry over-the-knee boots. They are very comfortable. They are from the War of 1812. With special tie-down spurs. Only the cavalrymen walked in such over-the-knee-boots. Why were they so tall? They covered the knee. They were very popular in the army. Peter the Great was a big fan of over-the-knee boots. Due to the fact that these are high boots, the knee didn’t rub against the saddle. It was comfortable to ride. Horse crossings were long, officers spent days in the saddle. I got distracted, remembered the bootleg... Kutuzov's father was a rather prominent and famous person. He was known at the court of Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. He was considered one of the most educated nobles of St. Petersburg. He was a hero of the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774). He distinguished himself in many battles under the command of Rumyantsev. After his retirement, he served as a senator. Then, too, often honored military men remained senators of the Russian Empire after retiring. Little has changed in this respect. Because a senator is a respected position for an experienced, distinguished boss. Almost nothing is known about Kutuzov's mother, Anna Illarionovna. She died very young. She wasn’t even 20. His father never remarried afterwards. He raised his son himself. Kutuzov received a good home education. According to family legend, he learned to walk and talk very early. He wasn't even a year old yet. Honestly, I know many children who have learned to walk before the age of one. As a father of many children, I can attest to this. And as for talking, it’s a very rare thing. Misha was a smart boy. He grasped everything in a single flash. As a child, he learned many foreign languages. Kutuzov, in addition to excellent Russian, also spoke French, German, Turkish, English and Swedish. He had only one drawback. From a young age, he didn’t like active boyish games. When he had free time, he liked to sleep. As a teenager, Kutuzov entered the Artillery and Engineering Noble School, the artillery department. That is, he’s a professional artillery officer. Just like Napoleon. It was a very famous educational institution with the best teachers. Mikhail Lomonosov taught physics there. Kutuzov studied well. So well that from the first year he was appointed headman of the course. It wasn’t a public position, but a paid job. Kutuzov received an increased study allowance for being a headman, keeping discipline and helping to pull up his classmates in their studies. He was only 14 years old, but he was already teaching junior cadets. He taught them mathematics and geometry. After graduating from artillery school, he had a regular military career. He served a little at the headquarters, then at the front. At the age of 25, together with his father, he was subordinate to Rumyantsev in that same Russian-Turkish war. Rumyantsev wrote very favorably at first about the young Kutuzov: "He was asking for all dangerous cases." That is, he was a brave young 25-year-old officer. Later, Kutuzov was always described as a person who knew how to communicate with superiors, who was cautious in his statements. But it wasn't always like that. In his youth, Kutuzov wasn’t like that. A contemporary described him the following way: “With a cheerful disposition, he combined the art of imitating any person in gait, pronunciation, and gimmicks. His comrades really liked it.” Kutuzov was a born artist, an impressionist. Once, again after another portion of champagne, Kutuzov in a large company of officers did his commander-in-chief Rumyantsev’s impression very wittily. Rumyantsev was informed about it, he didn’t like it. He sent Kutuzov to a minor theatre of military operations, which was then in the Crimea. Rumyantsev got angry, and from that time on Kutuzov really became a more restrained person. Apparently, Mikhail Kutuzov learned any lesson from the first time. Even though the Crimea was a minor theater of military operations, there was still a war there. In one of the battles, the young officer Kutuzov was seriously wounded. As the commander of the army in the Crimea, Dolgorukov, reported to the empress: “The staff officer was wounded by a bullet that hit him between the eyes and temple, and went straight through in the same place, but on the other side of the face.” That bullet was of this caliber. Probably half an inch in diameter. That huge bullet hits Kutuzov in the left temple, pierces it, passes through the entire skull somewhere behind the nose and exits in the region of the right eye. Amazing but true. Kutuzov survived. It was a bad injury. But he didn't lose his eye. The bullet exited near the eye socket. He was treated for about a year. No one believed it, but he recovered and returned to the active army. Fights, campaigns, promotions followed. More responsibility. More than ten years passed, the next Russian-Turkish war began, this time the Potemkin war. The siege of Ochakov, 1788. During the sortie of the Turks, Kutuzov was again seriously wounded in the head. And almost on the same trajectory. Again the bullet hit him in the left side of the face, just below the temple. Having pierced his head through, it came out to the right, somewhat lower than the first time. Here’s an extract from the report on Kutuzov's injury: “The bullet passed right through from temple to temple, behind both eyes. This dangerous shot went through the most delicate parts of the temporal bones and eye muscles, the optic nerves, and the brain itself. He kept his right eye but it is slightly lopsided.” The chief surgeon of the Russian army, who treated Kutuzov, was shocked to the core. He wrote: “I guess fate left here Kutuzov to do something truly great, for he remained alive after two absolutely fatal wounds according to all the rules of medical science.” Amazing but true. After the second wound, Kutuzov recovered even faster than after the first one, and after 6 months he was in the ranks again. And not somewhere in the headquarters or in a remote garrison as a disabled person of the highest degree. He was back at the forefront. In January 1789, with two barely healed holes in his head, Kutuzov commanded one of the troops near Ishmael. His battalions overcame the ditch in front of the rampart, climbed the rampart. But the reserves that arrived in time for the Turks threw them back into the ditch. Kutuzov reports to Suvorov that he needs to retreat. To which Alexander Vasilyevich, in his style, responds: “What? I already reported to Petersburg about Ishmael’s conquest”. And appointed Kutuzov the commandant of Ishmael. Kutuzov turns around and goes on a second attack. And breaks into the fortress. In the list of those presented for awards for the capture of Ismail, Suvorov, opposite to Kutuzov’s name, writes with his own hand: "General Kutuzov fought on my left wing, but he was my right hand." After that war, Kutuzov was a lieutenant general, a holder of many orders and had a well-deserved reputation as one of the best military generals in the Russian army. Despite severe injuries, Kutuzov never wore an eye patch. His eye was squinting, but in all lifetime portraits he was depicted without an eye patch. The image of the one-eyed field marshal became popular with us only after the release of the famous film by Eldar Ryazanov "The Hussar Ballad". The real Kutuzov saw with both eyes. After the war, the military general was appointed ambassadors to Turkey. There Mikhail Illarionovich showed diplomatic talents. He wrote to his wife: "The diplomatic career, may be tricky , but, by God, not as tricky as a military one." He spent several years as an ambassador in the Turkish capital. He completely chermed both Ahmed Pasha - the actual vizier, and the Sultan - Selim III. The court was surprised how a man who fought with the Turks for many years could be so pleasant in life, in society. Moreover, our Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Mikhail Illarionovich was the only ambassador in history who visited the holy of holies, the most forbidden place, the Sultan's harem. And he survived after it. That’s how it was. Kutuzov knew that there were women who had great influence on the Sultan. Kutuzov needed to conclude a number of trade and diplomatic agreements with Turkey beneficial for Russia. With the help of intrigues, bribery, he managed to get into the garden of the Sultan's harem, where he was met by 3 beautiful women, one more influential than the other. All these 3 ladies were well educated, smart and quickly realized what benefits Turkey would have from a trade union with Russia. All Russia’s wishes, including the most incredible ones, like the passage for merchant ships through the strait, were fulfilled. There was also a scandal, because according to tradition a stranger who entered the Sultan's harem was to be immediately executed. But here they had an ambassador. They didn’t know what to do. The situation was ambiguous. The situation was saved by the head of the harem guard, who let the diplomat into the garden for a colossal bribe. He assured the Sultan that it was okay to keep Kutuzov alive, because he was the chief eunuch at the court of Catherine the Great. So, technically, there was no violation. Eunuch-ambassador. The Sultan pretended to believe him. In addition to the trade agreement and the exclusive passage for our ships through the straits, Kutuzov obtained a lot of other diplomatic concessions from the Turks, which helped Russia also materially. Upon his return, he decided to receive not only an order, an award and a title, but also some material micro-percentage of the profits for the Russian budget. He turned directly to the favorite Platon Zubov with a reminder of his merits and a request to somehow note them materially. Catherine wasn’t a greedy lady, she understood everything, therefore she granted for his service, as it was written, the eternal hereditary possession of two thousand souls. That’s a whole fortune. Two years later, she added some territories sequestered from the Polish rebels in the western part of the Russian Empire, and an additional two and a half thousand serfs. Kutuzov wasn’t a poor landowner. Catherine knew Kutuzov personally. I highly valued him as a military leader and diplomat. But back then it was important to have good relations not only with the empress, but also with her favorites. Here Kutuzov's diplomatic talent manifested itself in full glory. As an adult man, he was in his 50s, he got a bit chubby, gained some solidity, and spent his mornings in Platon Zubov's chambers in the Winter Palace. He sometimes waited for an hour, or two, for Zubov to finish his morning toilet and speak to him. While waiting for Platon, he didn’t hesitate to make him coffee according to a special secret Turkish recipe that some padishah in Constantinople told him. He personally brewed coffee for him in a jezve, added oriental spices, apparently cardamom and cinnamon, and carried that coffee in a coffee pot with a cup along to Platon. For some reason, the story of the personal barista outraged our nobility in the future. Even Pushkin wrote about it ironically in his notes on Russian history. I don’t see anything shameful in it, because I bet that over a cup of hot coffee Kutuzov solved some issues much more successfully than just standing in front of the all-powerful favorite, because after all, a favorite is a favorite. At that time, unfortunately, Zubov was the second person in the empire. Catherine saw in Kutuzov not only a warrior and a diplomat, but also a teacher. Upon her return from Constantinople, she added to the mass of his other posts and duties the position of headmaster of the Shlyakhetsky Cadet Corps. That corps was a very good educational institution. Catherine called it the hothouse of great people. Kutuzov headed it for 3 years. And quite actively. He probably remembered how he was a teacher in his younger years. Remembered himself as a cadet. He completely reoriented the entire curriculum and the entire lifestyle of the cadets. I read a separate pamphlet about it when we were preparing an exhibition dedicated to the history of cadets in the Russian Empire. Then to the Suvorovites in the Soviet Union. We were preparing this exhibition at the Museum of Military Uniforms and I read an interesting brochure. About how Kutuzov reorganized the curriculum. Although it was an elite cadet corps, the discipline there was loose. A lot of subjects were taught there, which probably would be good for civilians, but they wouldn’t be that useful to a future military officer. While military training wasn’t given enough attention. The discipline was pretty bad there. Kutuzov immediately tightened the screws. He began to demand to learn how to use weapons, cold-arms, firearms. To practice combat tactics. They conducted exercises with the cadets on the ground. They learned the secrets of fortification and artillery. Moreover, being the headmaster, he himself personally lectured the cadets on military history. At first, it caused great outrage. Someone was even going to complain to the empress, to leave the cadet corps. But gradually they reconciled themselves, got used to this new approach. Kutuzov also behaved very unusually. On the one hand, he was an evil headmaster, and on the other hand, he secretly asked to take measurements from all the poor cadets, and sewed uniforms for them at his own expense. He paid them stipends. It was all done on behalf of the sponsors. The Cadets had no idea who was paying for everything. When another headmaster was appointed three years later, the Cadets cried as they parted. It so happened that Kutuzov was among those last nobles who had dinner with Catherine the Great right before her stroke. When Paul the First comes to power, he will remove from the court, from the service a wide circle of Catherine's, Potemkin's, Rumyantsev's, Zubov's supporters. He will dismiss 7 field marshals from the army, including Suvorov and Rumyantsev, 333 generals. That’s a lot. And thousands of officers. And Kutuzov, although he was close to all the people whom Paul hated, by virtue of his character, somehow remained afloat. At the same time, it cannot be said that he greatly fawned over Paul. There’s a well-known story. When Paul arranged military exercises in Gatchina, Kutuzov provoked him by showing up somewhere on a hillock with a small guard. Paul I decided to end that training battle by capturing his commander in chief. Therefore, he personally led the detachment, which galloped to that hillock in order to capture Kutuzov. It turned out that Kutuzov fooled Paul, because there was a significant reserve behind the hillock, which Paul and his bodyguards met. He, however, wasn’t upset, but even amused. He praised Kutuzov for such cunning. The personal disposition of the emperor was expressed in many ways. For example he baptized two of Kutuzov's grandchildren. Two of his daughters were granted the title of ladies-in-waiting. And he appointed his wife at court as a lady of state. Kutuzov didn’t know anything about the conspiracy against Paul, headed by the Zubovs and Count Panin. I think that the conspirators simply knew about Kutuzov's reputation and were afraid of him. On the last day of Paul’s life, on March 11, 1801, Kutuzov had lunch and dinner with Paul at the imperial table. An hour and a half before his murder. At night he slept peacefully, and in the morning he woke up in a new era. Where new ups and downs awaited him. Stories from Russian history Vladimir Medinsky 19th Century Alexander I was rather cautious. He didn’t get rid of Paul’s supporters right away. However, within a few months, Kutuzov was dismissed from his post. And not just dismissed, but dismissed from military service. As it was written in the decree he was “on vacation due to illness”. Kutuzov was ill for two years. He was ill at his estate, doing housework. However, the war with France approached, and in 1804 Alexander summoned the already quite middle-aged sixty-year-old Kutuzov to St. Petersburg and entrusted him with the command of his army. For the first time after Peter the Great, the tsar wished to personally go to war abroad with the army. I think Kutuzov wasn’t very happy about it. Kutuzov acted professionally, retreated effectively, maneuvered. Bagration acted heroically, covering Kutuzov's retreat from the many times superior French forces. But when the sun went down at Austerlitz, November 20, 1805 ... There was the battle of the three emperors. On the one hand there was Bonaparte, on the other, the Russian and Austrian emperors ... It was bad. Our army, which did not know big defeats after Narva and Pruth, wasn’t just beaten, but defeated. The tsar basically fled. Before that, Napoleon theatrically pretended not to want to fight. He invited Alexander to meet, asked for truce. Kutuzov didn’t believe Napoleon. He suggested to retreat till connecting with reinforcements coming from Russia. However, it must be taken into account that together the Russian and Austrian armies had a numerical superiority over the French. And to turn their backs again and retreat being led by two emperors ... Alexander thought that it would be perceived as a flight. Then he reproached Kutuzov for being young and inexperienced. “True, Kutuzov tried to convince me that we must act differently, that we should not accept the battle, but he should have been more persistent.” The battle plan near Austerlitz was developed by the general staff of the Austrian army. Kutuzov performed it in detail. And then there was that disaster. For Alexander, it was not only the defeat of the army, but also a personal shock. I told you about it in the previous lecture about Alexander. When we talked about Austerlitz. Kutuzov was again wounded. The injury wasn’t very serious. He was wounded in the face. But there was a lot of blood. It was scary. Despite everything, Alexander rewarded Kutuzov for commanding the army, giving him 50 thousand rubles to pay off his debts acquired in the service. And after that he appointed him military governor of Kyiv. By the way, Kutuzov's son-in-law was killed near Austerlitz. Back then these things happened. His son-in-law was in the forefront, although he was the closest relative of the commander in chief. When Kutuzov was informed during the battle about the death of his son-in-law, he didn’t even change his face expression. As if he didn't pay any attention to it. The next day he was found in sorrow. He seemed to be crying. He said to those close to him: “Yesterday I could not change my face, because yesterday I was the boss, and today I’m a father.” In 1811, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Moldova. I have a great story. One of my favorite military operations. Kutuzov’s cunning during his war with the Turks cannot but amaze. Then later, already being an ambassador to Constantinople, he became friends with him. And having arrived in Moldova, the first thing our cunning diplomat did was to congratulate his Turkish friend on his appointment. Then he smashed him to smithereens again. What did he do? Having arrived at the Russian army in the summer of 1811, Kutuzov occupied the Ruschuk fortress on the right bank of the Danube and began to prepare for the big battle with the Turks. At the same time, he made it clear in every possible way that he had few troops and it was easy to defeat him. The Turks began to attack. There really had a huge advantage. From Kutuzov's party, there were about 15 thousand soldiers. The Turks attacked him with a fourfold advantage. However, our defense was built very competently. Losses were small. Literally 1:10. The Turks retreated. Kutuzov transferred his troops to the offensive, allegedly pursuing the Turks. There could be no talk about any persecution, because we had few soldiers. Seeing the large Turkish camp, seeing the huge Turkish army, ours began to frantically retreat, creating the illusion that they were very afraid of the Turks. The Turks continued to attack. Everyone advised Kutuzov to lock himself in Ruschuk and prepare for a long siege. The fact is that Kutuzov didn’t have the task of keeping Ruschuk. He was faced with the task of ending the war as quickly as possible in a way that was beneficial to Russia. At least without defeat. We didn’t have the strength to wage war upon Turkey, when a war with France was approaching. Kutuzov wasn’t going to defend Ruschuk against all advice. He ordered to leave the fortress occupied by the Russians and sailed across to the left bank of the Danube. It seemed like a pointless move. Everyone dissuaded him. No, the commander gave the command to sail across. Russian troops crossed to the left bank of the Danube, blowing up all the fortifications in Ruschuk before. Leaving there not a fortress, but ruins. The Turks were inspired, they pursued Kutuzov's army. They followed it across the Danube. It turned out that on the other side of the Danube everything was prepared for defense. Trenches had already been dug in advance. Our army reunited with the part that remained on the left bank and waited. The Turks increased the landing. Ours didn’t interfere with the crossing, they didn’t fire. The Turks transferred to our side of the Danube most of their army. More than 30 thousand bayonets. Ours were in trenches. Having crossed the Turks decided to attack. It didn't work out very well for them. The trenches were well done. Artillery was dug into the ground. The shaft was already made in advance. That is, when attacking, our troops prepared defensive positions in advance for withdrawal. While the Turks were trying to figure out what to do next, because they had a large foothold on foreign territory, separated from the fortress by a river, Kutuzov took a small corps of soldiers of 7 and a half thousand and secretly crossed the Danube at night. At dawn, they broke into Ruschuk and defeated the entire remaining Turkish army there. About 20 thousand soldiers remained in Ruschuk. They all either died or fled. Our losses were 40 people wounded, nine killed. That corps captured all the artillery and took up positions in Ruschuk. Thus, the Turkish army instantly decreased from 50 thousand to 30. The remaining soldiers were surrounded. On the one hand, there were dug trenches and Kutuzov’s artillery, on the other hand, Ruschuk was captured by the Russians. There was no way to get back. Because our flotilla immediately entered the Danube. A cross artillery barrage began. Now the Russian artillery was firing from Ruschuk. Our ship flotilla fired from the sides. Our army fired cannons from the trenches. The losses were huge. Moreover, it all happened in autumn, it was getting colder, famine began. There was a shortage of ammunition. Kutuzov wasn’t going to storm the Turkish positions. He kept them locked up and waited for them all to surrender. But the fact is that since the vizier and some of the relatives of the Turkish Sultan were surrounded, they could not surrender. Then Kutuzov did the following. He allowed the vizier to escape along with those relatives. That is, to save face. Only after leaving the encirclement, he could start peace negotiations. Then peace negotiations began. There was nowhere to go. Closer to November 1811 the Turkish army lost a huge part of its sick, dead, surrendered, capitulates on the most favorable terms for Russia. At the same time, formally it retained honor. After they signed the surrender, Kutuzov allowed them to leave that encircled camp along with weapons and banners. He even supplied the Turkish army with food and medicine. The Turks saved their face. Why did Kutuzov do it? He didn’t need the destruction of Turkish soldiers. He didn’t need this arithmetic, how many Turks died, how many of ours died. He needed peace with the Turks. He needed peace until the war with Bonaparte began. The peace treaty was signed on favorable terms unprecedented for Russia. All of Bessarabia, Sukhum, went to us. We were paid a substantial indemnity. But most importantly, the entire southern army was released. It left the Turkish front, moving north to confront Napoleon. They say, when Napoleon found out about that peace, signed by Kutuzov, he exhausted the entire set of French swear words. He cursed the Turks, cursed Kutuzov’s treachery. He cursed the Russians. Because he hoped that the Russians would fight both with him and with the Turks on two fronts. Immediately after the conclusion of peace, Kutuzov left for his estate to rest. He didn't get to rest for long. A few weeks later he received word of Napoleon's invasion. We won’t tell further. We know Barclay's plan. We know from textbooks that this plan was executed brilliantly. Only not by Barclay himself, but by Kutuzov. What we don’t know is that at first Alexander didn’t want to remove Barclay and appoint Kutuzov as the savior of the Fatherland. He was prompted to do so by the will of his subjects. How did it happen? In the summer in both capitals, the assembly of the nobility elected the military leaders of the people's militia. The first elections were held in Moscow. The nobility chose Kutuzov there. His opponent was the Governor-General of Moscow Rostovchin. Even despite the administrative resource, he could not beat Kutuzov. Then, a few days later, the St. Petersburg nobility, not knowing about the results of the election in Moscow, unanimously and by common consent elected Kutuzov as the head of the St. Petersburg militia. That's how popular he was. We know perfectly well what was happening at that time in the Russian army. Barclay wildly argued with the commander of the second army, Bagartion. Alexander I was trying to find some kind of unifying compromise figure that Barclay, Bagration, and other authoritative military leaders would obey. He considered the candidacy of the French General Moreau, but it was not possible because Moreau had emigrated to the United States. He thought about Wellington. Wellington was in Europe. They say he even made an offer to Sweden's prince Bernadotte. A special committee was gathered, Alexander did not want to make those decisions alone. He assembled a special committee for the election of the commander-in-chief. That committee met only once. It included 6 people. They were Alexander's teacher Count Saltykov, Arakcheev, Kochubey, Knyaz Lopukhin, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire, General Vyazmitinov, Minister of Police Balashov. This committee was to choose a commander-in-chief from various candidates. Taking into account the fact that the foreigners I mentioned above could not lead the Russian army. They considered the candidacies of Bennigsen, Dokhturov, Bagration, Tormasov, Palen and Kutuzov. As a result, Kutuzov was recommended to the emperor. He was the oldest in age, the oldest in terms of service, at the time of promotion to the highest general ranks. And finally, Kutuzov was an absolutely Russian person. Back then a patriotic attitude against any, even the most trusted foreigner, or a Russian with a foreign surname, could play a very negative role. The next day, the members of the committee dared to declare to the tsar "Russia wants the appointment of General Kutuzov, because it’s more fitting to be a real Russian commander in the Patriotic War." The army accepted it with enthusiasm. Previously, there was a general who only talked the talk. And now Kutuzov came to beat the French. Alexander, having shown the miracles of democracy, felt the desire and mood of the Russian soldier. Kutuzov took this appointment with a heavy heart. He understood how deadly the task was, and honestly admitted "I will not beat Bonaparte, but I will deceive him." He deceived Bonaparte many times. He deceived him on the Borodino field, when he unexpectedly retreated and did not give battle on the 2nd day, which Napoleon was counting on. He deceived him by organizing a unique partisan movement that greatly damaged the French army, while fooling Bonaparte when Bonaparte filed numerous protests that the Russians were fighting against the rules. He deceived him by leaving Moscow. It was the hardest decision. Bonaparte found himself in exactly the same mousetrap as the Turkish vizier at the Danube. He carried out the brilliant Tarutino maneuver when Bonaparte lost Kutuzov's army and for a week didn’t know where it was. And when it ended up in the southern province of the empire, he deceived him again blocking the road and not letting him into the rich areas where Bonaparte's army could replenish supplies of fodder, food and stay in the more comfortable winter quarters. I won’t list popular versions of alternative historians who are trying to achieve popularity due to made-up fables. We’ll adhere to history that has been tested for centuries. The battle of Borodino is still the bloodiest one-day battle in almost all history. And one of the bloodiest multi-day battles. By the way, the Battle of Stalingrad is considered the most bloody among the multi-day battles. It lasted about 12 hours. Kutuzov didn’t initially intend to enter the battle, trying to lure the French further and further inland, but the public was outraged by the constant offensive. It was decided to fight. For his military career that lasted for many decades, Kutuzov received 14 military ranks. The last and highest was the rank of field marshal received by Kutuzov after Borodino. For the victory in the Patriotic War, Kutuzov's salary was increased to 100,000 rubles a year. It was huge money. It exceeded the salary of an ordinary soldier by 10,000 times. For comparison. A soldier received a bonus of 5 rubles per person for Borodino. The foreign campaign was Kutuzov’s last campaign. He will die in April 1813 in Prussia. Now it’s the territory of Poland. Kutuzov’s body and heart will be embalmed and buried in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Kutuzov was the first of the Russian military leaders who received all the degrees of the Order of St. George. Our highest military awards. In the history of the Order of St. George, the highest degrees were not given for nothing. In total, there were only 3 full holders in the Russian Empire. So, after Kutuzov there was Barclay de Tolly, then Paskevich and Debich. That’s it. Napoleon called Kutuzov in his memoirs the old northern fox. In general, Mikhail Illarionovich was a very cheerful and hospitable person. He was very fond of theatre. From abroad, he often wrote about new productions, about famous actresses with whom he met. I repeat that many contemporaries considered him excessively obsequious. But people liked it at the court of that time. Those were the manners. This pleased Catherine, who, in her old age, accepted flattery with pleasure. So, thanks to such simple psychological tricks, Kutuzov entered the circle of those closest to Catherine. He spent her last evening with her, just as he would later spend Paul’s last evening with him. Stories from Russian history Vladimir Medinsky 19th Century Everyone who knew Kutuzov personally admired the refinement of his manners, his intelligence, education and eloquence. Denis Davydov called him the smartest, subtlest, kindest and most enlightened of the nobles. Fyodor Glinka wrote: “In his social circle Kutuzov was cheerful and playful. Among his other talents there was the art of storytelling. He spoke with captivating skill, especially in the presence of the fair sex. By the way, now Kutuzov would also be called an excellent PR manager. Once there was a rumor in the army that the old man Kutuzov began to see very badly. Mikhail Illarionovich decided to play a performance. He sent a Cossack patrol in advance to a place where the enemy could theoretically appear. And having left together with the officers, Kutuzov suddenly stopped and began, squinting, to examine the figures on the horizon of barely distinguishable horsemen. Everyone wondered if by chance it were patrols of the enemy, but Kutuzov said squinting his left eye: “No, these are Cossacks, send someone to help them.” And continued on his way. Soon the sent adjutants returned and confirmed that they were indeed Cossacks. After that, the rumor that the field marshal could not see well stopped. Everyone who didn’t like Kutuzov loved to gossip, emphasizing his special love for the female sex. Until the last months of his life, he kept young women near him, trusted them with his life and not only life. Everyone knew about it, and allegedly Alexander I called Kutuzov an old gray-haired satyr. In 1812, in a letter to the sovereign, the chief of staff of Kutuzov's army, Bennigsen, complained that the commander-in-chief was carrying a woman, disguised as a Cossack. Later, Shcherbinin corrected his friend, said that Bennigsen was wrong. But truth be told, there were 2 women. When this letter from Bennigsen was read out at a meeting in the presence of the emperor in St. Petersburg, the very old Knorring responded, “So what? Only two ladies. Rumyantsev used to take four with him in the old days. ”So let's not judge Kutuzov. Let’s just envy him. Despite all the gossip, Kutuzov was monogamous, he was married once, to Catherine Bibikova. It was a happy marriage. They lived together for 35 years. Their correspondence shows that they had a sincere relationship. Kutuzov missed his family during his long overseas campaigns and battles. He especially missed his beloved daughters. He had 6 children. The boy died in infancy. Five daughters have grown up. Someone told me that some Eastern philosophers of the Muslim faith have the opinion that if a man gives birth and raises 5 daughters, then all his sins are forgiven in the face of the Almighty. Kutuzov raised five daughters. Some of them were friends with Pushkin. They were very enlightened girls. All of them married well. They married generals, senators, members of the State Council. Kutuzov had a huge number of grandchildren. Krylov's fable "The Wolf in the Kennel" was dedicated to Kutuzov. We all learned it in school. Bonaparte is the wolf, and Kutuzov is the hunter. Kutuzov liked this fable very much. Once, at a halt, Kutuzov read it aloud by the fire to the soldiers. And on the last words of the fable: “You’re gray, and I’m gray-haired”, he took off his famous cap, covering his gray hair. A mighty hooray, as contemporaries write, echoed over the field. Stories from Russian history Vladimir Medinsky 19th Century Kutuzov’s memory is immortalized in our country, probably like no one else’s. There’s a tomb in the central hall of the Kazan Cathedral. In front of the cathedral there’s a magnificent bronze monument. In Moscow, near the Borodino panorama, there has been an equestrian statue of Kutuzov since 1973. And nearby there’s the Kutuzov hut museum. That’s where that very fateful council in Fili took place. Partially burnt down, it was restored in the 19th century and served as a museum ever since. There are many monuments and busts to Kutuzov in other cities. By the way, in Soviet times, after the war, there was a museum of Kutuzov in Poland in the very house where he died. Now the Poles have closed this museum. Now there’s a museum of ceramics of the city of Bolesławiec. The ceramics of the city of Bolesławiec is certainly more important than the winner of Napoleon. During the Great Patriotic War, in 1942, the very next day after the famous order №227, known in the troops as the order “Don’t step back”, Stalin ordered to establish the Order of Kutuzov. On the Order Kutuzov is side-drawn. Commanders of the Red Army were awarded with it for a well-developed and carried out plan of operation, as a result of which the enemy was defeated. That is, if the Order of Suvorov was more offensive, then the Order of Kutuzov was considered more defensive. It wasn’t awarded for a spontaneous successful attack. No, it was necessary to think over and develop a military operation in order to get it. To think, to develop, to calculate and to implement. Concluding our conversation about Kutuzov, I want to emphasize once again that he was a living person. Like any living person, he had his weaknesses. He knew how to maintain and build relationships with the right people. Including the monarchs and courtiers. The most important thing was this. He put his extraordinary talents at the service of his homeland. As you know, he spoke several foreign languages perfectly. And speaking them, he literally became a different person. He was an artist. His facial expressions changed, his posture changed. He even walked differently when speaking in a foreign language. The French have always taken him for their own. The Germans mistook him for a German. Kutuzov liked to joke: "In conversations with the Germans, I’m a German, in conversations with the French – I’m a Frenchman, but in reality I’m a true Russian." He was a Russian man with the Russian surname Kutuzov. Here I’d like to end our telling. But a thought came to my mind. He didn’t have it easy during the last years of his life. All the time while he opposed Napoleon, he was criticized. He was criticized for abandoning Moscow. He was cursed for his listless pursuit of Napoleon, leading his main forces in a parallel course and attacking only from the flank. He was scolded for letting Napoleon escape. That he didn’t catch Bonaparte, didn’t take him prisoner. As if someone could catch Bonaparte! It broke his heart. It was hard for him. He was an old man, almost 70 years old. Nonetheless. Let's judge not by the process, but by the result. That old, sleepy veteran, almost an invalid, a man of a different era, Catherine's nobleman, cynical, outdated - this very calm and wise old man, did not just deceive Bonaparte. He wiped him to dust. He turned the largest army in the history of mankind at that time, 680 thousand bayonets, an army led by a talented commander, into dust in 4-5 months. Leaving Bonaparte a few thousand barely escaped soldiers. Isn't that the true greatness of our wonderful compatriot? Thank you for attention. Till next time. As part of our course, we will talk more than once about the sovereigns of the 19th century, and about the great generals of the 19th century, and about interesting people. Thank you for your attention. I wish you all the best. See you next time.

Once again, with a certain portion of champagne, Kutuzov reports to Suvorov that he needs to retreat. To which Alexander Vasilyevich, in his style, responds:  “What? I already reported to Petersburg about Ishmael’s conquest”. Kutuzov turns around and goes on a second attack. And breaks into the fortress. That huge bullet hits Kutuzov in the left temple, pierces it, passes through the entire skull somewhere behind the nose and exits in the region of the right eye. Since then Kutuzov really became a more restrained person. Stories from Russian history
Vladimir Medinsky
19th Century Dear friends, good evening! I’m saying good evening, because we’re recording this lecture on a Friday evening after work.  Today we’re going to talk about a very interesting person. I love such heroes. He seems to be one person, but in reality he’s totally different. He’s very unusual, versatile, very controversial. Everyone knows him, but everyone imagines him differently. For some, he’s an outstanding military genius. And at the same time he's a cynical courtier-sycophant.  He’s a brave combat officer, badly wounded many times in battle. And at the same time he’s a sleepy, sluggish commander in chief. He’s a very caring family man. He has a large family - six children. He tenderly loves his wife, with whom he lived together all his life until old age. And at the same time in the eyes of others he’s a voluptuary, old satyr, a great lover of young maidens.  As you understand, we’re talking about our wonderful compatriot Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Napoleon’s vanquisher. In fact, he’s not just Kutuzov. His full name according to documents is Golenishchev-Kutuzov. It’s a double surname. Later it even became triple. He became Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky when he was given the title of Most Serene Prince of Smolensk.  Part of this title became part of his surname for the rest of his life. This is one of the few tsarist commanders who didn’t fall into oblivion in the Soviet years.  Moreover, the year the Great Patriotic War ended, 1945, coincided with the commander's round anniversary - 200 years since his birth. On September 8, 1945, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a special resolution on the celebration of Mikhail Kutuzov’s anniversary. There were many different activities.  Even Stalin spoke out on that issue when the “Bolshevik” magazine of the Central Committee of the CPSU Party published the answer of the Generalissimo to Colonel Razin.  I want to dig into whether it was the same Razin who wrote the manual on military history. I read it a long time ago. It’s very interesting. For the students of the Frunze Academy. Didn't have time to find out before the lecture. You can look it up. In response to Colonel Razin’s letter the Generalissimo wrote:  “Our brilliant commander Kutuzov ruined Napoleon and his army with the help of a well-prepared counteroffensive”. Engels once said that of the Russian commanders of 1812, Barclay de Tolly was the only one worthy of attention. Of course, Engels was wrong. For Kutuzov as a commander was, no doubt, two heads ahead of Barclay de Tolly. That’s what Generalissimo Stalin thought.  In the Soviet military encyclopedia, the article on Kutuzov is given six and a half times more space than the article on Barclay de Tolly. It doesn't really tell us anything.  Because even more space was given to the article on Brezhnev. Much more than on Napoleon, Caesar, Macedon, Suvorov. Perhaps even all of them combined. Where did he come from? The Kutuzovs were one of the oldest noble families. It goes back to the middle of the 13th century. Its founder is considered to be a certain Gabriel, who arrived in Rus' from Prussia.  Just like the Romanovs. At that time, Prussia was inhabited by Prussians. Prussians were not Germans. A legend connects the founder of the Kutuzov family with a real chronicle hero of the Battle of the Neva in 1240, Gabriel Aleksich. To be honest, I think that there’s a huge distance between Gabriel and Kutuzov, that it’s all fiction. But it sounds nice. Illarion Golenishchev-Kutuzov was the father of the future Field Marshal.  The second part of the surname “Golenishchev” came from one of Kutuzov's ancestors, who was nicknamed the “golenishe” (a bootleg). Apparently, he walked in special boots. There were different boots back then. Kutuzov could have well ridden in such boots. These are cavalry boots. More precisely, cavalry over-the-knee boots. They are very comfortable.  They are from the War of 1812. With special tie-down spurs. Only the cavalrymen walked in such over-the-knee-boots. Why were they so tall? They covered the knee. They were very popular in the army.  Peter the Great was a big fan of over-the-knee boots. Due to the fact that these are high boots, the knee didn’t rub against the saddle. It was comfortable to ride. Horse crossings were long, officers spent days in the saddle. I got distracted, remembered the bootleg... Kutuzov's father was a rather prominent and famous person.  He was known at the court of Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. He was considered one of the most educated nobles of St. Petersburg. He was a hero of the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774).  He distinguished himself in many battles under the command of Rumyantsev. After his retirement, he served as a senator. Then, too, often honored military men remained senators of the Russian Empire after retiring. Little has changed in this respect. Because a senator is a respected position for an experienced, distinguished boss. Almost nothing is known about Kutuzov's mother, Anna Illarionovna.  She died very young. She wasn’t even 20. His father never remarried afterwards. He raised his son himself. Kutuzov received a good home education. According to family legend, he learned to walk and talk very early. He wasn't even a year old yet. Honestly, I know many children who have learned to walk before the age of one.  As a father of many children, I can attest to this. And as for talking, it’s a very rare thing. Misha was a smart boy. He grasped everything in a single flash. As a child, he learned many foreign languages. Kutuzov, in addition to excellent Russian, also spoke French, German, Turkish, English and Swedish. He had only one drawback. From a young age, he didn’t like active boyish games.  When he had free time, he liked to sleep. As a teenager, Kutuzov entered the Artillery and Engineering Noble School, the artillery department. That is, he’s a professional artillery officer. Just like Napoleon. It was a very famous educational institution with the best teachers. Mikhail Lomonosov taught physics there. Kutuzov studied well.  So well that from the first year he was appointed headman of the course. It wasn’t a public position, but a paid job. Kutuzov received an increased study allowance for being a headman, keeping discipline and helping to pull up his classmates in their studies. He was only 14 years old, but he was already teaching junior cadets. He taught them mathematics and geometry. After graduating from artillery school, he had a regular military career.  He served a little at the headquarters, then at the front. At the age of 25, together with his father, he was subordinate to Rumyantsev in that same Russian-Turkish war.  Rumyantsev wrote very favorably at first about the young Kutuzov: "He was asking for all dangerous cases." That is, he was a brave young 25-year-old officer. Later, Kutuzov was always described as a person who knew how to communicate with superiors, who was cautious in his statements. But it wasn't always like that. In his youth, Kutuzov wasn’t like that.  A contemporary described him the following way: “With a cheerful disposition, he combined the art of imitating any person in gait, pronunciation, and gimmicks. His comrades really liked it.” Kutuzov was a born artist, an impressionist. Once, again after another portion of champagne, Kutuzov in a large company of officers did his commander-in-chief Rumyantsev’s impression very wittily.  Rumyantsev was informed about it, he didn’t like it. He sent Kutuzov to a minor theatre of military operations, which was then in the Crimea. Rumyantsev got angry, and from that time on Kutuzov really became a more restrained person. Apparently, Mikhail Kutuzov learned any lesson from the first time.  Even though the Crimea was a minor theater of military operations, there was still a war there. In one of the battles, the young officer Kutuzov was seriously wounded.  As the commander of the army in the Crimea, Dolgorukov, reported to the empress: “The staff officer was wounded by a bullet that hit him between the eyes and temple, and went straight through in the same place, but on the other side of the face.” That bullet was of this caliber. Probably half an inch in diameter. That huge bullet hits Kutuzov in the left temple, pierces it, passes through the entire skull somewhere behind the nose and exits in the region of the right eye.  Amazing but true. Kutuzov survived. It was a bad injury. But he didn't lose his eye. The bullet exited near the eye socket. He was treated for about a year. No one believed it, but he recovered and returned to the active army. Fights, campaigns, promotions followed. More responsibility. More than ten years passed, the next Russian-Turkish war began, this time the Potemkin war.  The siege of Ochakov, 1788. During the sortie of the Turks, Kutuzov was again seriously wounded in the head. And almost on the same trajectory. Again the bullet hit him in the left side of the face, just below the temple. Having pierced his head through, it came out to the right, somewhat lower than the first time.  Here’s an extract from the report on Kutuzov's injury: “The bullet passed right through from temple to temple, behind both eyes. This dangerous shot went through the most delicate parts of the temporal bones and eye muscles, the optic nerves, and the brain itself. He kept his right eye but it is slightly lopsided.”  The chief surgeon of the Russian army, who treated Kutuzov, was shocked to the core. He wrote: “I guess fate left here Kutuzov to do something truly great, for he remained alive after two absolutely fatal wounds according to all the rules of medical science.” Amazing but true. After the second wound, Kutuzov recovered even faster than after the first one, and after 6 months he was in the ranks again.  And not somewhere in the headquarters or in a remote garrison as a disabled person of the highest degree. He was back at the forefront. In January 1789, with two barely healed holes in his head, Kutuzov commanded one of the troops near Ishmael. His battalions overcame the ditch in front of the rampart, climbed the rampart. But the reserves that arrived in time for the Turks threw them back into the ditch.  Kutuzov reports to Suvorov that he needs to retreat. To which Alexander Vasilyevich, in his style, responds: “What? I already reported to Petersburg about Ishmael’s conquest”.  And appointed Kutuzov the commandant of Ishmael. Kutuzov turns around and goes on a second attack. And breaks into the fortress. In the list of those presented for awards for the capture of Ismail, Suvorov, opposite to Kutuzov’s name, writes with his own hand: "General Kutuzov fought on my left wing, but he was my right hand."  After that war, Kutuzov was a lieutenant general, a holder of many orders and had a well-deserved reputation as one of the best military generals in the Russian army. Despite severe injuries, Kutuzov never wore an eye patch. His eye was squinting, but in all lifetime portraits he was depicted without an eye patch.  The image of the one-eyed field marshal became popular with us only after the release of the famous film by Eldar Ryazanov "The Hussar Ballad". The real Kutuzov saw with both eyes. After the war, the military general was appointed ambassadors to Turkey.  There Mikhail Illarionovich showed diplomatic talents. He wrote to his wife: "The diplomatic career, may be tricky , but, by God, not as tricky as a military one." He spent several years as an ambassador in the Turkish capital. He completely chermed both Ahmed Pasha - the actual vizier, and the Sultan - Selim III.  The court was surprised how a man who fought with the Turks for many years could be so pleasant in life, in society. Moreover, our Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Mikhail Illarionovich was the only ambassador in history who visited the holy of holies, the most forbidden place, the Sultan's harem. And he survived after it. That’s how it was. Kutuzov knew that there were women who had great influence on the Sultan. Kutuzov needed to conclude a number of trade and diplomatic agreements with Turkey beneficial for Russia. With the help of intrigues, bribery, he managed to get into the garden of the Sultan's harem, where he was met by 3 beautiful women, one more influential than the other. All these 3 ladies were well educated, smart and quickly realized what benefits Turkey would have from a trade union with Russia.  All Russia’s wishes, including the most incredible ones, like the passage for merchant ships through the strait, were fulfilled.  There was also a scandal, because according to tradition a stranger who entered the Sultan's harem was to be immediately executed. But here they had an ambassador. They didn’t know what to do. The situation was ambiguous. The situation was saved by the head of the harem guard, who let the diplomat into the garden for a colossal bribe. He assured the Sultan that it was okay to keep Kutuzov alive, because he was the chief eunuch at the court of Catherine the Great.  So, technically, there was no violation. Eunuch-ambassador. The Sultan pretended to believe him. In addition to the trade agreement and the exclusive passage for our ships through the straits, Kutuzov obtained a lot of other diplomatic concessions from the Turks, which helped Russia also materially.  Upon his return, he decided to receive not only an order, an award and a title, but also some material micro-percentage of the profits for the Russian budget.  He turned directly to the favorite Platon Zubov with a reminder of his merits and a request to somehow note them materially. Catherine wasn’t a greedy lady, she understood everything, therefore she granted for his service, as it was written, the eternal hereditary possession of two thousand souls.  That’s a whole fortune.  Two years later, she added some territories sequestered from the Polish rebels in the western part of the Russian Empire, and an additional two and a half thousand serfs.  Kutuzov wasn’t a poor landowner. Catherine knew Kutuzov personally. I highly valued him as a military leader and diplomat. But back then it was important to have good relations not only with the empress, but also with her favorites. Here Kutuzov's diplomatic talent manifested itself in full glory. As an adult man, he was in his 50s, he got a bit chubby, gained some solidity, and spent his mornings in Platon Zubov's chambers in the Winter Palace. He sometimes waited for an hour, or two, for Zubov to finish his morning toilet and speak to him. While waiting for Platon, he didn’t hesitate to make him coffee according to a special secret Turkish recipe that some padishah in Constantinople told him.  He personally brewed coffee for him in a jezve, added oriental spices, apparently cardamom and cinnamon, and carried that coffee in a coffee pot with a cup along to Platon. For some reason, the story of the personal barista outraged our nobility in the future. Even Pushkin wrote about it ironically in his notes on Russian history. I don’t see anything shameful in it, because I bet that over a cup of hot coffee Kutuzov solved some issues much more successfully than just standing in front of the all-powerful favorite, because after all, a favorite is a favorite. At that time, unfortunately, Zubov was the second person in the empire. Catherine saw in Kutuzov not only a warrior and a diplomat, but also a teacher.  Upon her return from Constantinople, she added to the mass of his other posts and duties the position of headmaster of the Shlyakhetsky Cadet Corps.  That corps was a very good educational institution. Catherine called it the hothouse of great people. Kutuzov headed it for 3 years. And quite actively. He probably remembered how he was a teacher in his younger years. Remembered himself as a cadet. He completely reoriented the entire curriculum and the entire lifestyle of the cadets. I read a separate pamphlet about it when we were preparing an exhibition dedicated to the history of cadets in the Russian Empire.  Then to the Suvorovites in the Soviet Union. We were preparing this exhibition at the Museum of Military Uniforms and I read an interesting brochure. About how Kutuzov reorganized the curriculum. Although it was an elite cadet corps, the discipline there was loose. A lot of subjects were taught there, which probably would be good for civilians, but they wouldn’t be that useful to a future military officer.  While military training wasn’t given enough attention. The discipline was pretty bad there. Kutuzov immediately tightened the screws. He began to demand to learn how to use weapons, cold-arms, firearms.  To practice combat tactics. They conducted exercises with the cadets on the ground. They learned the secrets of fortification and artillery.  Moreover, being the headmaster, he himself personally lectured the cadets on military history. At first, it caused great outrage. Someone was even going to complain to the empress, to leave the cadet corps. But gradually they reconciled themselves, got used to this new approach. Kutuzov also behaved very unusually.  On the one hand, he was an evil headmaster, and on the other hand, he secretly asked to take measurements from all the poor cadets, and sewed uniforms for them at his own expense.  He paid them stipends. It was all done on behalf of the sponsors. The Cadets had no idea who was paying for everything. When another headmaster was appointed three years later, the Cadets cried as they parted.  It so happened that Kutuzov was among those last nobles who had dinner with Catherine the Great right before her stroke. When Paul the First comes to power, he will remove from the court, from the service a wide circle of Catherine's, Potemkin's, Rumyantsev's, Zubov's supporters.  He will dismiss 7 field marshals from the army, including Suvorov and Rumyantsev, 333 generals. That’s a lot. And thousands of officers.  And Kutuzov, although he was close to all the people whom Paul hated, by virtue of his character, somehow remained afloat. At the same time, it cannot be said that he greatly fawned over Paul. There’s a well-known story. When Paul arranged military exercises in Gatchina, Kutuzov provoked him by showing up somewhere on a hillock with a small guard.  Paul I decided to end that training battle by capturing his commander in chief. Therefore, he personally led the detachment, which galloped to that hillock in order to capture Kutuzov.  It turned out that Kutuzov fooled Paul, because there was a significant reserve behind the hillock, which Paul and his bodyguards met. He, however, wasn’t upset, but even amused. He praised Kutuzov for such cunning. The personal disposition of the emperor was expressed in many ways. For example he baptized two of Kutuzov's grandchildren.  Two of his daughters were granted the title of ladies-in-waiting. And he appointed his wife at court as a lady of state. Kutuzov didn’t know anything about the conspiracy against Paul, headed by the Zubovs and Count Panin.  I think that the conspirators simply knew about Kutuzov's reputation and were afraid of him. On the last day of Paul’s life, on March 11, 1801, Kutuzov had lunch and dinner with Paul at the imperial table.  An hour and a half before his murder. At night he slept peacefully, and in the morning he woke up in a new era. Where new ups and downs awaited him. Stories from Russian history
Vladimir Medinsky
19th Century Alexander I was rather cautious. He didn’t get rid of Paul’s supporters right away. However, within a few months, Kutuzov was dismissed from his post.  And not just dismissed, but dismissed from military service. As it was written in the decree he was “on vacation due to illness”. Kutuzov was ill for two years. He was ill at his estate, doing housework.  However, the war with France approached, and in 1804 Alexander summoned the already quite middle-aged sixty-year-old Kutuzov to St. Petersburg and entrusted him with the command of his army.  For the first time after Peter the Great, the tsar wished to personally go to war abroad with the army. I think Kutuzov wasn’t very happy about it. Kutuzov acted professionally, retreated effectively, maneuvered. Bagration acted heroically, covering Kutuzov's retreat from the many times superior French forces. But when the sun went down at Austerlitz, November 20, 1805 ...  There was the battle of the three emperors. On the one hand there was Bonaparte, on the other, the Russian and Austrian emperors ... It was bad.  Our army, which did not know big defeats after Narva and Pruth, wasn’t just beaten, but defeated. The tsar basically fled. Before that, Napoleon theatrically pretended not to want to fight.  He invited Alexander to meet, asked for truce. Kutuzov didn’t believe Napoleon. He suggested to retreat till connecting with reinforcements coming from Russia. However, it must be taken into account that together the Russian and Austrian armies had a numerical superiority over the French. And to turn their backs again and retreat being led by two emperors ...  Alexander thought that it would be perceived as a flight. Then he reproached Kutuzov for being young and inexperienced.  “True, Kutuzov tried to convince me that we must act differently, that we should not accept the battle, but he should have been more persistent.”  The battle plan near Austerlitz was developed by the general staff of the Austrian army. Kutuzov performed it in detail. And then there was that disaster.  For Alexander, it was not only the defeat of the army, but also a personal shock. I told you about it in the previous lecture about Alexander.  When we talked about Austerlitz. Kutuzov was again wounded. The injury wasn’t very serious. He was wounded in the face. But there was a lot of blood. It was scary. Despite everything, Alexander rewarded Kutuzov for commanding the army, giving him 50 thousand rubles to pay off his debts acquired in the service.  And after that he appointed him military governor of Kyiv. By the way, Kutuzov's son-in-law was killed near Austerlitz. Back then these things happened.  His son-in-law was in the forefront, although he was the closest relative of the commander in chief. When Kutuzov was informed during the battle about the death of his son-in-law, he didn’t even change his face expression.  As if he didn't pay any attention to it. The next day he was found in sorrow. He seemed to be crying. He said to those close to him: “Yesterday I could not change my face, because yesterday I was the boss, and today I’m a father.”  In 1811, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Moldova. I have a great story. One of my favorite military operations. Kutuzov’s cunning during his war with the Turks cannot but amaze. Then later, already being an ambassador to Constantinople, he became friends with him. And having arrived in Moldova, the first thing our cunning diplomat did was to congratulate his Turkish friend on his appointment.  Then he smashed him to smithereens again. What did he do?  Having arrived at the Russian army in the summer of 1811, Kutuzov occupied the Ruschuk fortress on the right bank of the Danube and began to prepare for the big battle with the Turks.  At the same time, he made it clear in every possible way that he had few troops and it was easy to defeat him. The Turks began to attack. There really had a huge advantage. From Kutuzov's party, there were about 15 thousand soldiers. The Turks attacked him with a fourfold advantage. However, our defense was built very competently. Losses were small. Literally 1:10.  The Turks retreated. Kutuzov transferred his troops to the offensive, allegedly pursuing the Turks. There could be no talk about any persecution, because we had few soldiers.  Seeing the large Turkish camp, seeing the huge Turkish army, ours began to frantically retreat, creating the illusion that they were very afraid of the Turks. The Turks continued to attack.  Everyone advised Kutuzov to lock himself in Ruschuk and prepare for a long siege. The fact is that Kutuzov didn’t have the task of keeping Ruschuk.  He was faced with the task of ending the war as quickly as possible in a way that was beneficial to Russia. At least without defeat. We didn’t have the strength to wage war upon Turkey, when a war with France was approaching. Kutuzov wasn’t going to defend Ruschuk against all advice.  He ordered to leave the fortress occupied by the Russians and sailed across to the left bank of the Danube. It seemed like a pointless move. Everyone dissuaded him.  No, the commander gave the command to sail across. Russian troops crossed to the left bank of the Danube, blowing up all the fortifications in Ruschuk before. Leaving there not a fortress, but ruins.  The Turks were inspired, they pursued Kutuzov's army. They followed it across the Danube. It turned out that on the other side of the Danube everything was prepared for defense.  Trenches had already been dug in advance. Our army reunited with the part that remained on the left bank and waited. The Turks increased the landing. Ours didn’t interfere with the crossing, they didn’t fire. The Turks transferred to our side of the Danube most of their army. More than 30 thousand bayonets. Ours were in trenches.  Having crossed the Turks decided to attack. It didn't work out very well for them. The trenches were well done. Artillery was dug into the ground. The shaft was already made in advance.  That is, when attacking, our troops prepared defensive positions in advance for withdrawal.  While the Turks were trying to figure out what to do next, because they had a large foothold on foreign territory, separated from the fortress by a river, Kutuzov took a small corps of soldiers of 7 and a half thousand and secretly crossed the Danube at night.  At dawn, they broke into Ruschuk and defeated the entire remaining Turkish army there. About 20 thousand soldiers remained in Ruschuk. They all either died or fled. Our losses were 40 people wounded, nine killed. That corps captured all the artillery and took up positions in Ruschuk. Thus, the Turkish army instantly decreased from 50 thousand to 30.  The remaining soldiers were surrounded. On the one hand, there were dug trenches and Kutuzov’s artillery, on the other hand, Ruschuk was captured by the Russians.  There was no way to get back. Because our flotilla immediately entered the Danube. A cross artillery barrage began. Now the Russian artillery was firing from Ruschuk. Our ship flotilla fired from the sides. Our army fired cannons from the trenches. The losses were huge. Moreover, it all happened in autumn, it was getting colder, famine began.  There was a shortage of ammunition. Kutuzov wasn’t going to storm the Turkish positions. He kept them locked up and waited for them all to surrender.  But the fact is that since the vizier and some of the relatives of the Turkish Sultan were surrounded, they could not surrender. Then Kutuzov did the following. He allowed the vizier to escape along with those relatives.  That is, to save face. Only after leaving the encirclement, he could start peace negotiations. Then peace negotiations began. There was nowhere to go.  Closer to November 1811 the Turkish army lost a huge part of its sick, dead, surrendered, capitulates on the most favorable terms for Russia. At the same time, formally it retained honor. After they signed the surrender, Kutuzov allowed them to leave that encircled camp along with weapons and banners. He even supplied the Turkish army with food and medicine. The Turks saved their face. Why did Kutuzov do it? He didn’t need the destruction of Turkish soldiers. He didn’t need this arithmetic, how many Turks died, how many of ours died. He needed peace with the Turks.  He needed peace until the war with Bonaparte began. The peace treaty was signed on favorable terms unprecedented for Russia. All of Bessarabia, Sukhum, went to us.  We were paid a substantial indemnity. But most importantly, the entire southern army was released. It left the Turkish front, moving north to confront Napoleon. They say, when Napoleon found out about that peace, signed by Kutuzov, he exhausted the entire set of French swear words. He cursed the Turks, cursed Kutuzov’s treachery. He cursed the Russians. Because he hoped that the Russians would fight both with him and with the Turks on two fronts. Immediately after the conclusion of peace, Kutuzov left for his estate to rest.  He didn't get to rest for long. A few weeks later he received word of Napoleon's invasion. We won’t tell further. We know Barclay's plan. We know from textbooks that this plan was executed brilliantly.  Only not by Barclay himself, but by Kutuzov. What we don’t know is that at first Alexander didn’t want to remove Barclay and appoint Kutuzov as the savior of the Fatherland.  He was prompted to do so by the will of his subjects. How did it happen? In the summer in both capitals, the assembly of the nobility elected the military leaders of the people's militia. The first elections were held in Moscow. The nobility chose Kutuzov there. His opponent was the Governor-General of Moscow Rostovchin.  Even despite the administrative resource, he could not beat Kutuzov. Then, a few days later, the St. Petersburg nobility, not knowing about the results of the election in Moscow, unanimously and by common consent elected Kutuzov as the head of the St. Petersburg militia. That's how popular he was. We know perfectly well what was happening at that time in the Russian army. Barclay wildly argued with the commander of the second army, Bagartion.  Alexander I was trying to find some kind of unifying compromise figure that Barclay, Bagration, and other authoritative military leaders would obey.  He considered the candidacy of the French General Moreau, but it was not possible because Moreau had emigrated to the United States. He thought about Wellington. Wellington was in Europe. They say he even made an offer to Sweden's prince Bernadotte. A special committee was gathered, Alexander did not want to make those decisions alone.  He assembled a special committee for the election of the commander-in-chief. That committee met only once. It included 6 people. They were Alexander's teacher Count Saltykov, Arakcheev, Kochubey, Knyaz Lopukhin, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire, General Vyazmitinov, Minister of Police Balashov.  This committee was to choose a commander-in-chief from various candidates. Taking into account the fact that the foreigners I mentioned above could not lead the Russian army.  They considered the candidacies of Bennigsen, Dokhturov, Bagration, Tormasov, Palen and Kutuzov. As a result, Kutuzov was recommended to the emperor. He was the oldest in age, the oldest in terms of service, at the time of promotion to the highest general ranks. And finally, Kutuzov was an absolutely Russian person.  Back then a patriotic attitude against any, even the most trusted foreigner, or a Russian with a foreign surname, could play a very negative role. The next day, the members of the committee dared to declare to the tsar "Russia wants the appointment of General Kutuzov, because it’s more fitting to be a real Russian commander in the Patriotic War."  The army accepted it with enthusiasm. Previously, there was a general who only talked the talk.  And now Kutuzov came to beat the French. Alexander, having shown the miracles of democracy, felt the desire and mood of the Russian soldier. Kutuzov took this appointment with a heavy heart. He understood how deadly the task was, and honestly admitted "I will not beat Bonaparte, but I will deceive him."  He deceived Bonaparte many times. He deceived him on the Borodino field, when he unexpectedly retreated and did not give battle on the 2nd day, which Napoleon was counting on. He deceived him by organizing a unique partisan movement that greatly damaged the French army, while fooling Bonaparte when Bonaparte filed numerous protests that the Russians were fighting against the rules.  He deceived him by leaving Moscow. It was the hardest decision. Bonaparte found himself in exactly the same mousetrap as the Turkish vizier at the Danube. He carried out the brilliant Tarutino maneuver when Bonaparte lost Kutuzov's army and for a week didn’t know where it was. And when it ended up in the southern province of the empire, he deceived him again blocking the road and not letting him into the rich areas where Bonaparte's army could replenish supplies of fodder, food and stay in the more comfortable winter quarters.  I won’t list popular versions of alternative historians who are trying to achieve popularity due to made-up fables. We’ll adhere to history that has been tested for centuries. The battle of Borodino is still the bloodiest one-day battle in almost all history. And one of the bloodiest multi-day battles. By the way, the Battle of Stalingrad is considered the most bloody among the multi-day battles. It lasted about 12 hours. Kutuzov didn’t initially intend to enter the battle, trying to lure the French further and further inland, but the public was outraged by the constant offensive. It was decided to fight.  For his military career that lasted for many decades, Kutuzov received 14 military ranks. The last and highest was the rank of field marshal received by Kutuzov after Borodino. For the victory in the Patriotic War, Kutuzov's salary was increased to 100,000 rubles a year. It was huge money. It exceeded the salary of an ordinary soldier by 10,000 times. For comparison.  A soldier received a bonus of 5 rubles per person for Borodino. The foreign campaign was Kutuzov’s last campaign. He will die in April 1813 in Prussia. Now it’s the territory of Poland.  Kutuzov’s body and heart will be embalmed and buried in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Kutuzov was the first of the Russian military leaders who received all the degrees of the Order of St. George. Our highest military awards. In the history of the Order of St. George, the highest degrees were not given for nothing. In total, there were only 3 full holders in the Russian Empire.  So, after Kutuzov there was Barclay de Tolly, then Paskevich and Debich. That’s it. Napoleon called Kutuzov in his memoirs the old northern fox. In general, Mikhail Illarionovich was a very cheerful and hospitable person.  He was very fond of theatre. From abroad, he often wrote about new productions, about famous actresses with whom he met. I repeat that many contemporaries considered him excessively obsequious.  But people liked it at the court of that time. Those were the manners. This pleased Catherine, who, in her old age, accepted flattery with pleasure. So, thanks to such simple psychological tricks, Kutuzov entered the circle of those closest to Catherine. He spent her last evening with her, just as he would later spend Paul’s last evening with him.  Stories from Russian history
Vladimir Medinsky
19th Century Everyone who knew Kutuzov personally admired the refinement of his manners, his intelligence, education and eloquence. Denis Davydov called him the smartest, subtlest, kindest and most enlightened of the nobles. Fyodor Glinka wrote: “In his social circle Kutuzov was cheerful and playful. Among his other talents there was the art of storytelling. He spoke with captivating skill, especially in the presence of the fair sex. By the way, now Kutuzov would also be called an excellent PR manager. Once there was a rumor in the army that the old man Kutuzov began to see very badly.  Mikhail Illarionovich decided to play a performance. He sent a Cossack patrol in advance to a place where the enemy could theoretically appear.  And having left together with the officers, Kutuzov suddenly stopped and began, squinting, to examine the figures on the horizon of barely distinguishable horsemen. Everyone wondered if by chance it were patrols of the enemy, but Kutuzov said squinting his left eye: “No, these are Cossacks, send someone to help them.” And continued on his way.  Soon the sent adjutants returned and confirmed that they were indeed Cossacks. After that, the rumor that the field marshal could not see well stopped.  Everyone who didn’t like Kutuzov loved to gossip, emphasizing his special love for the female sex. Until the last months of his life, he kept young women near him, trusted them with his life and not only life. Everyone knew about it, and allegedly Alexander I called Kutuzov an old gray-haired satyr. In 1812, in a letter to the sovereign, the chief of staff of Kutuzov's army, Bennigsen, complained that the commander-in-chief was carrying a woman, disguised as a Cossack.  Later, Shcherbinin corrected his friend, said that Bennigsen was wrong. But truth be told, there were 2 women.  When this letter from Bennigsen was read out at a meeting in the presence of the emperor in St. Petersburg, the very old Knorring responded, “So what? Only two ladies. Rumyantsev used to take four with him in the old days. ”So let's not judge Kutuzov. Let’s just envy him. Despite all the gossip, Kutuzov was monogamous, he was married once, to Catherine Bibikova. It was a happy marriage. They lived together for 35 years. Their correspondence shows that they had a sincere relationship.  Kutuzov missed his family during his long overseas campaigns and battles. He especially missed his beloved daughters. He had 6 children. The boy died in infancy. Five daughters have grown up.  Someone told me that some Eastern philosophers of the Muslim faith have the opinion that if a man gives birth and raises 5 daughters, then all his sins are forgiven in the face of the Almighty. Kutuzov raised five daughters. Some of them were friends with Pushkin. They were very enlightened girls. All of them married well. They married generals, senators, members of the State Council.  Kutuzov had a huge number of grandchildren. Krylov's fable "The Wolf in the Kennel" was dedicated to Kutuzov. We all learned it in school. Bonaparte is the wolf, and Kutuzov is the hunter. Kutuzov liked this fable very much. Once, at a halt, Kutuzov read it aloud by the fire to the soldiers. And on the last words of the fable:  “You’re gray, and I’m gray-haired”, he took off his famous cap, covering his gray hair. A mighty hooray, as contemporaries write, echoed over the field. Stories from Russian history
Vladimir Medinsky
19th Century Kutuzov’s memory is immortalized in our country, probably like no one else’s. There’s a tomb in the central hall of the Kazan Cathedral. In front of the cathedral there’s a magnificent bronze monument.  In Moscow, near the Borodino panorama, there has been an equestrian statue of Kutuzov since 1973. And nearby there’s the Kutuzov hut museum. That’s where that very fateful council in Fili took place.  Partially burnt down, it was restored in the 19th century and served as a museum ever since. There are many monuments and busts to Kutuzov in other cities. By the way, in Soviet times, after the war, there was a museum of Kutuzov in Poland in the very house where he died. Now the Poles have closed this museum.  Now there’s a museum of ceramics of the city of Bolesławiec. The ceramics of the city of Bolesławiec is certainly more important than the winner of Napoleon.  During the Great Patriotic War, in 1942, the very next day after the famous order №227, known in the troops as the order “Don’t step back”, Stalin ordered to establish the Order of Kutuzov. On the Order Kutuzov is side-drawn. Commanders of the Red Army were awarded with it for a well-developed and carried out plan of operation, as a result of which the enemy was defeated.  That is, if the Order of Suvorov was more offensive, then the Order of Kutuzov was considered more defensive. It wasn’t awarded for a spontaneous successful attack.  No, it was necessary to think over and develop a military operation in order to get it. To think, to develop, to calculate and to implement.  Concluding our conversation about Kutuzov, I want to emphasize once again that he was a living person. Like any living person, he had his weaknesses. He knew how to maintain and build relationships with the right people. Including the monarchs and courtiers. The most important thing was this. He put his extraordinary talents at the service of his homeland.  As you know, he spoke several foreign languages perfectly. And speaking them, he literally became a different person. He was an artist. His facial expressions changed, his posture changed. He even walked differently when speaking in a foreign language. The French have always taken him for their own. The Germans mistook him for a German. Kutuzov liked to joke:  "In conversations with the Germans, I’m a German, in conversations with the French – I’m a Frenchman, but in reality I’m a true Russian." He was a Russian man with the Russian surname Kutuzov. Here I’d like to end our telling. But a thought came to my mind. He didn’t have it easy during the last years of his life. All the time while he opposed Napoleon, he was criticized.  He was criticized for abandoning Moscow. He was cursed for his listless pursuit of Napoleon, leading his main forces in a parallel course and attacking only from the flank. He was scolded for letting Napoleon escape.  That he didn’t catch Bonaparte, didn’t take him prisoner. As if someone could catch Bonaparte! It broke his heart. It was hard for him. He was an old man, almost 70 years old. Nonetheless. Let's judge not by the process, but by the result. That old, sleepy veteran, almost an invalid, a man of a different era, Catherine's nobleman, cynical, outdated - this very calm and wise old man, did not just deceive Bonaparte. He wiped him to dust. He turned the largest army in the history of mankind at that time, 680 thousand bayonets, an army led by a talented commander, into dust in 4-5 months.  Leaving Bonaparte a few thousand barely escaped soldiers. Isn't that the true greatness of our wonderful compatriot? Thank you for attention. Till next time. As part of our course, we will talk more than once about the sovereigns of the 19th century, and about the great generals of the 19th century, and about interesting people.  Thank you for your attention. I wish you all the best. See you next time.

Transcript for:Михаил Кутузов

Transcript for:
Михаил Кутузов