Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / The Romanovs and the 1812 Patriotic War: Borodino and the Burning of Moscow
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, we've talked about Alexander I before — his mysterious end, his victory over Napoleon. But I want to zero in on the war itself, the Patriotic War of 1812, because it really was the crucible of his reign. And at the heart of it is the Battle of Borodino, one of the bloodiest single days in European history before the twentieth century. Luna: Borodino — I know it from Tolstoy, but the real battle must have been even more horrific. Lucas: Absolutely. September 7, 1812 — about 250,000 men faced off near the village of Borodino, about 110 kilometers west of Moscow. Napoleon had his Grande Armée, over 130,000 strong, and the Russians under General Mikhail Kutuzov had about 120,000. The French had been pushing deeper into Russia all summer, and Kutuzov knew he had to make a stand. Lucas: But what's fascinating is the command structure. The Russian commander before Kutuzov, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, had been retreating for weeks — a scorched-earth strategy that infuriated the nobility. They demanded a fight, so Alexander I replaced Barclay with Kutuzov, who was old, cunning, and very popular with the army. Luna: So Kutuzov gave them the battle they wanted, even if he knew it might not win the war? Lucas: Exactly. Kutuzov later said that losing Moscow wasn't losing Russia, but he needed to preserve the army. At Borodino, he chose a defensive position along a ridge, with field fortifications called the Shevardino Redoubt and the Raevsky Redoubt. The fighting there was savage — the French took the redoubts but at enormous cost. Lucas: One key figure was Prince Pyotr Bagration, a Georgian prince who commanded the Russian left wing. He led a counterattack and was mortally wounded — his death demoralized the troops. On the French side, Marshal Michel Ney seemed almost suicidal, leading charges into the thick of the fighting. Luna: How many casualties? Lucas: Historians estimate around 70,000 total casualties — roughly a third of each army. Napoleon lost about 30,000, the Russians about 40,000. It was a tactical draw, but strategically, the Russians withdrew. Kutuzov made the agonizing decision to abandon Moscow without another fight, to save what was left of his army. Lucas: So the French entered Moscow on September 14, expecting surrender. Instead, they found a ghost city — most of the population had fled. And then that night, fires broke out. The Great Fire of Moscow burned for four days, destroying three-quarters of the city. Napoleon had to evacuate the Kremlin. Luna: Was the fire deliberate? Russian scorched-earth? Lucas: That's the big debate. Many historians believe the Russians set it — possibly on orders from Governor-General Fyodor Rostopchin. But Napoleon and his officers assumed it was Russian sabotage. Either way, it left the French without shelter or supplies in a ruined city, and Napoleon's position became untenable. Luna: It reminds me of something we talked about earlier — the deliberate destruction to deny the enemy. It's extreme, but it worked. Lucas: That's right. And it's a thread running through a lot of our episodes. The burning of Moscow was a turning point. Napoleon waited a month for Alexander I to negotiate, but the tsar refused. Finally, in October, Napoleon began the retreat — and that's when the Russian winter and guerrilla attacks annihilated his army. Lucas: One of the most effective guerrilla leaders was Denis Davydov, a poet and hussar officer. He formed flying detachments of cavalry and peasants, harassing French supply lines and picking off stragglers. His memoirs give a vivid picture of the war from the Russian side. Lucas: The war became a national crusade. The Orthodox Church blessed the fight, and peasants joined militia units. It was called the Patriotic War — Otechestvennaya Voyna — because it was seen as defending the fatherland, not just the tsar. Luna: And that sense of national unity must have strengthened the Romanov dynasty for a while. Lucas: Absolutely. After the war, Alexander I was hailed as the savior of Europe. Russia's prestige soared, and the dynasty seemed unshakable. But the war also planted seeds of discontent — soldiers who had seen France and Germany returned with ideas about liberty and constitutions. That would lead to the Decembrist revolt in 1825, which we covered in episode 127. Lucas: And you know, speaking of covering these stories thoroughly — we deliberately don't run ads on these episodes. If you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's great that we can focus entirely on the history without interruptions. And for listeners who find value in that, it's an easy way to help. Lucas: Anyway, back to 1812. One of the lasting monuments to the victory is the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Alexander I commissioned it to thank God for saving Russia. It took decades to build, was demolished by Stalin in the 1930s, and rebuilt in the 1990s. A strange, symbolic history in itself. Luna: So the war ended Napoleon's invasion, but it also created myths and memories that shaped Russian identity for centuries. Lucas: Exactly. And the Romanovs rode that wave of patriotic fervor, but the cracks were already forming. The war exposed the inefficiency of the Russian state, the serfdom that held back the economy, and the gap between the Westernized elite and the peasant masses. Alexander I himself became more religious and conservative after the war, which led to the repressive Arakcheyev regime we mentioned in episode 121. Luna: It's like the victory was both a peak and a turning point. Lucas: Yes. And the human cost was staggering. Of the 600,000 men in Napoleon's Grande Armée who crossed into Russia, fewer than 100,000 made it out. The Russians lost at least 200,000 soldiers and countless civilians. But the war cemented Kutuzov's legend — he's still a national hero, with monuments and streets named after him across Russia. Luna: What about the lesser-known figures? Like Davydov, the poet-guerrilla. Lucas: Davydov is fascinating. He was a dashing hussar who wrote poems and songs about his exploits. He pioneered partisan warfare — his detachment would ambush French supply wagons, free prisoners, and melt back into the forests. He became a folk hero, and Tolstoy used him as a model for Denisov in War and Peace. He's a great example of how the war allowed individual initiative and blurred class lines. Lucas: Another figure is Vasilisa Kozhina, a peasant woman who supposedly led a band of partisans with a scythe and a pitchfork. The stories may be exaggerated, but they show how the war mobilized ordinary people. Luna: So the war wasn't just about generals and tsars — it was a national experience. Lucas: Exactly. And that national experience is what the Romanovs tried to harness, but it also created expectations they couldn't meet. The Decembrists, many of whom were officers who fought in 1812, wanted political reform. Alexander II's Great Reforms in the 1860s were a delayed response to the same pressures. So in a way, the Patriotic War is the hinge of 19th-century Russian history. Luna: That's a great way to put it. Thanks for diving into this, Lucas. Lucas: My pleasure. Next time, we might look at the cultural aftermath — how the war influenced Russian art, music, and literature beyond Tolstoy. But for now, I think we have a good picture of the blood and fire that forged a dynasty's greatest triumph.