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This year Russia celebrates the 200th anniversary of the 1812 Patriotic War and its victory over French army headed by Napoleon.

The 1812 campaign, named the Patriotic War by the Russians, is known to many foreigners primarily through Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which recounts how the seemingly invincible Corsican, Napoleon, tasted defeat. Initially outnumbered by the French, the two Russian armies retreated, avoiding major battles. They eventually joined forces at Smolensk, where Field Marshal Kutuzov took command over the Russian forces. The bloodiest battle was fought on Sept. 7 at Borodino, a little more than 60 miles west of Moscow. The Russians consider it their victory although the Russian army had to retreat after a battle that was inconclusive in the military sense.

Historians of the period are still trying to separate facts from fiction while archeologists continue finding artifacts on the Borodino field.

News, Articles and Blogs

Moscow turned into a Cossack village for one day

October 19, 2012 Ricardo Marquina

The “Cossack village” festival was held in “Luzhniki” Olympic complex on the 17th of October 2012. It commemorated 200th anniversary of the Cossacks gathering that set the task of expelling Napoleon forces from Moscow.

The War of 1812: A Soldier's Uniform

September 10, 2012 Anton Panin

The uniforms worn during Napoleonic Wars represent the most elaborate display of pomp in the whole history of military dress

Military sections gather in Moscow for music, not war

September 6, 2012 Ekaterina Zabrovskaya

On Sept. 1, the International Military Music Festival ‘Spasskaya Tower’ opened in Moscow, bringing an air of sincerity and joy to the ordinarily stress-laden metropolis

200-year history: Napoleon's army is back to Borodino

September 3, 2012

Two hours of clanking swords, firing canons, hundreds of horses, tons of armor and pure fun for spectators. The famed 1812 Battle of Borodino has been reconstructed in the Moscow region, marking its bicentenary jubilee.

The historic battlefield at Borodino 200 years later

September 2, 2012 Alberto Caspani

A little while ago, RBTH Correspondent Alberto Caspani reported on the sights and sounds around Borodino, as the village prepared to open celebrations on the 200th anniversary of the battle with Napoleon

A Yankee Napoleon readies for battle

September 2, 2012 Joy Neumeyer

Virginia’s Mark Schneider will portray the French Emperor at the bicentennial reenactment of the Battle of Borodino

The War against Napoleon in Cartoons

August 25, 2012 Alexander Ganjushin

When the Grand Armée of Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, Russians responded in a variety of ways. Inspired by domestic popular prints and by British caricature, a handful of patriotic Russian artists created the Russian caricature tradition.

Remembering their roots in 1812

August 17, 2012 Sergei Melnikov, Ogoniok magazin

Descendents of the heroes of the Battle of Borodino describe what the event meant to their families

1812 anniversary kicks off with Lubino battle reenactment

August 14, 2012 Dmitrii Raichev, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Organizers of the large-scale reenactment of a major battle between Russian and French troops hope the event will remind people that Borodino was not the only battle of the Patriotic War of 1812

Starting historic ride from Moscow to Paris

August 13, 2012

A Don Cossack detachment caught on camera moments before the beginning of an historic ride from Moscow to Paris, which will take place to honour the bicentenary of the Russian victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1812

Separating facts from fiction

August 12, 2012 Kirill Reshetnikov, Vzglyad newspaper

Russia celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 on Sept. 2, and historians try to separate facts from fiction

The noble struggle of 1812 has lessons for us today

June 27, 2012 Alexander Yakovenko

If you walk past the Russian embassy in Bayswater Road, London, you can see the sculpture of an eagle on a double column at Orme Square. Not everybody knows that it is a memorial to the Russo-British efforts in the war against Napoleon

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