Alexander Column in St. Petersburg on Palace Square. Installed in memory of the victory of Alexander I over Napoleon. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

On March 31, 1814, Russian troops entered Paris. The historian Pyotr Multatuli talks about the main Victory Day of the 19th century in his article

December 25, Christmas Day, in Russian Empire Victory Day over Napoleon was celebrated. After the victorious end of the wars with Napoleonic France and the capture of Paris, Emperor Alexander I the Blessed issued a manifesto that stated:

December 25, the day of the Nativity of Christ, will henceforth also be a day of thanksgiving celebration under the name in the church circle: the Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ and the remembrance of the deliverance of the Church and the Russian Empire from the invasion of the Gauls and with them the twenty tongues. Alexander".

This sacred holiday has been completely forgotten in Russia: it is not celebrated either in the country or in the Church. Meanwhile, it would be nice to remember him not only for us, the winners, but also for the vanquished. It is long overdue to place an equestrian statue of Emperor Alexander in front of Arc de Triomphe, adding to the gallery of sculptural monuments to the heroes of the War of 1812: M.I. Kutuzov, P.I. Bagration. It would also be nice to call new station metro station "Parizhskaya", similar to the "Stalingrad" station in the capital of France. These measures would not only honor the sacred memory of 1812, but would also cool down too hot heads in the Elysee Palace, and not only in it.

The 1814 campaign began from the banks of the Rhine, beyond which the French retreated. Napoleonic's army, defeated near Leipzig in October 1813, could no longer offer serious resistance. At the beginning of 1814, Allied troops entered French territory with the aim of overthrowing Napoleon Bonaparte. The Russian Guard, led by Emperor Alexander I, entered France from Switzerland, in the Basel region.

The Allies advanced in two separate armies: the Russian-Prussian Silesian Army was led by Prussian Field Marshal G.L. von Blucher, and the Russian-German-Austrian army was placed under the command of the Austrian Field Marshal K.F. zu Schwarzenberg. The main headquarters of the Allies settled in Frankfurt am Main. The undisputed leader of the allied coalition was the Russian Tsar.

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor K. von Metternich did not give up hope of preserving the weakened Napoleon on the French throne, in order to weaken Russian influence. Metternich proposed a plan for peace with Napoleon on the terms of his renunciation of conquests (already lost) and an end to the war. In this case, he was left with France within the borders of 1801.

Metternich's plan met no objections from England and Prussia. But Alexander I did not agree with them, rightly believing that Napoleon could not be trusted. Metternich began to hint unambiguously that if the peace proposals were rejected, then Austria could leave the coalition. I had to send peace terms to Bonaparte.

As noted by E.V. Tarle:

Already on the very edge of the abyss, after the terrible disasters of 1812 and 1813, under the immediate threat of an Allied invasion of France, a chance for salvation suddenly appeared. Napoleon remained the ruler of a first-class power."

But the Allied envoy arrived and found the French Emperor pacing back and forth in his office:

Wait, wait,” he said, not addressing anyone, “you will soon find out that my soldiers and I have not forgotten our craft!” We were defeated between the Elbe and the Rhine, defeated by treason... But between the Rhine and Paris there will be no traitors...".

Since Napoleon was slow to respond, Alexander I announced that he was continuing the campaign. On January 1, 1814, at the head of the army he crossed the Rhine and entered France. In his manifesto, the Emperor stated that the war was not against the French, but against the outrages and violence of Napoleon.

The Allied campaign took Napoleon by surprise. The Allied forces numbered 453 thousand people (of which 153 thousand were Russians). Napoleon could oppose them along the left bank of the Rhine with only 163 thousand people. But in fact he only had about 40 thousand on hand. In addition, the French army had just experienced a severe typhus epidemic that claimed many lives.

Basic fighting The campaigns unfolded in the basin of the Marne and Seine rivers, where Napoleon, skillfully maneuvering, managed to win several victories, confirming his reputation as an outstanding tactician. On January 13 (25), 1814, Napoleon left for the army from Paris to Chalon, transferring control of state affairs to his wife Empress Marie-Louise and his brother Joseph.

On January 17, Napoleon attacked Blucher's army, which was in the vanguard of the allied forces, and dealt it a sensitive blow at Brienne. Over the course of five days (from January 29 to February 2), Bonaparte won a series of successive brilliant victories (at Champaubert, Montmirail, Chateau-Thierry and Vauchamp) over the Russian-Prussian corps, scattered individually in the Marne valley. Taking advantage of Napoleon's successes, Schwarzenberg immediately proposed concluding a truce with him. Only the persistence of Alexander I forced the Austrian commander to move forward. This saved Blucher from inevitable defeat. Realizing that the Austrians could conclude a separate peace with Napoleon and withdraw from the coalition, Alexander I literally forced the allies to sign the Treaty of Chaumont, in which they pledged not to conclude either peace or truce with France without general consent.

On the 20th of March 1814, Napoleon decided to march to the northeastern fortresses on the border of France, where he hoped to relieve the French garrisons and, having significantly strengthened his army, force the allies to retreat. Napoleon hoped that the allies would follow him and hoped to thereby pull them away from Paris. At the end of February, the Cossacks, subordinate to Field Marshal Blucher, intercepted a Napoleon courier carrying a letter from Napoleon to his wife. It followed from it that the French emperor decided to move east and pull the Allied forces away from Paris.

As soon as Alexander I found out about this, he immediately ordered all the troops with him to move in accelerated marches to Paris.

Historian N.K. Schilder noted:

The bold decision to march on Paris, abandoning his messages, belongs entirely to Emperor Alexander."

Several battles took place during the advance to Paris. In one of them, according to military historian A.I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, Alexander I personally participated in the attack:

The Emperor himself rushed with the cavalry towards the French squares, showered with bullets. God protected the Great Monarch!"

And another military historian A.A. Kersnovsky noted:

The All-Russian Emperor, like a simple squadron commander, cut into the enemy formation."

During the march, Emperor Alexander traveled around the troops and encouraged them:

"Guys! It's not far from Paris!"

From time to time he drove to the nearest hills and watched the movement of military columns hurrying towards Paris.

Monument to Emperor Alexander I near the walls of the Moscow Kremlin in the Alexander Garden. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS

As soon as Napoleon learned of the advance of the Allied forces towards Paris, he immediately ordered his troops to move as quickly as possible to the aid of the capital. Napoleon highly appreciated the Allied maneuver: “This is an excellent chess move. I would never have believed that any Allied general was capable of doing this.”

Meanwhile, terrible rumors spread throughout Paris about the approach of the Allies, who were going to burn the city, just as Moscow was burned. On the evening of March 29, the Allied advance units saw the heights of Montmartre and the towers of Paris in the distance. The troops, exhausted by the long march, settled down for the night.

The city at that time numbered up to 500 thousand inhabitants and was well fortified. The defense of the French capital was led by Marshals E.A.K. Mortier, B.A.J. de Moncey and O.F.L.V. de Marmont. The supreme commander of the city's defense was Napoleon's elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte. The Allied troops consisted of three main columns: the right (Russian-Prussian) army was led by Field Marshal Blücher, the central one - Russian general M.B. Barclay de Tolly, the left column was led by the Crown Prince of Württemberg.

Alexander I together with Major General Prince N.G. Volkonsky and Count K.V. Nesselrode developed a plan of action for the next day. Alexander gave the order to storm the heights of Montmartre and a number of others in order to prevent the French from gaining a foothold on them. At the same time, he ordered, wanting to avoid bloodshed, to use every opportunity to negotiate with the Parisians about the surrender of Paris. On the morning of March 18 (30), at 6 a.m., the assault on the Montmarte Heights began. At 11 o'clock, Prussian troops with the corps of M.S. approached the fortified village of Lavilette. Vorontsov, and the Russian corps of General A.F. Langeron launched an attack on Montmartre. The fighting was difficult. The French made every effort to defend the approaches to their capital. Participant in the assault on Montmartre, Colonel M.M. Petrov recalled:

When we went to the fortifications of Paris, or, better to say, climbed onto the painful crown of France, each soldier glowed with the blush of heroism, understanding the importance of the final feat and revenge being accomplished, and each of us did not want to die before the conquest of Paris."

On the captured heights, the Allies installed guns that threatened Paris. Marshal O.F. de Marmont sent a parliamentarian to the Russian Tsar. Approaching Alexander I and taking off his headdress, the French officer said:

Marshal Marmont asks Your Majesty to cease hostilities and agree on a truce."

After several minutes of reflection, Alexander I answered the Frenchman:

I agree to your marshal's request. I will now order the battle to be stopped, but with the condition of the immediate surrender of Paris. Otherwise, by evening you won’t recognize the place where your capital was!”

Colonel M.F. Orlov learned from Napoleon Girardin's adjutant about Bonaparte's secret order to blow up gunpowder magazines and destroy Paris at a fateful moment. Orlov immediately informed Marmont and Mortier about this and thereby saved Paris for France and the world. But Marmont at first refused to sign the surrender on the terms of Alexander I. And only when the Russian cannons began to speak from the heights of Montmartre did they have no arguments left. Orlov came to the Tsar with good news - and immediately received the rank of general.

This great event is now associated with your name,"

Alexander told him.

Alexander I (right) and Napoleon in Tilsit. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The capitulation of Paris was signed at 2 a.m. on March 31 (new style) in the village of Lavillette. By 7 o'clock in the morning, according to the terms of the agreement, the French regular army was supposed to leave the defeated capital. Emperor Alexander I, at the head of his Guard and allied monarchs, solemnly entered the French capital, which greeted him with delight. The Emperor hastened to announce to the French:

I have only one enemy in France, and this enemy is a man who deceived me in the most unworthy way, abused my trust, betrayed all the oaths he swore to me, and brought the most unjust, most vile war to my country. No reconciliation between him and me is now possible, but I repeat that in France I have only this enemy. All the French, except him, are in good standing with me. I respect France and the French and wish they would allow me to help them. Tell the Parisians, gentlemen, that I am not entering their city as an enemy, and it is only up to them that I become their friend; but also tell me that I have only one enemy in France and that towards him I am irreconcilable.”

One Frenchman, pushing through the crowd towards Alexander, said:

We have been waiting for Your Majesty's arrival for a long time!"

To this the Emperor replied:

I would have come to you earlier, but the bravery of your troops delayed me."

Alexander's words were passed from mouth to mouth and quickly spread among the Parisians, causing a storm of delight. Hundreds of people crowded around Alexander I, kissing everything they could reach: his horse, clothes, boots. Women grabbed his spurs, and some clung to the tail of his horse. Some of the French rushed to the statue of Napoleon on the Place Vendôme to destroy it, but Alexander hinted that this was undesirable.

Meanwhile, Napoleon himself moved through Troyes to Fontainebleau. On March 18, in Troyes, he gave the disposition for the troops to approach Paris, and he himself rode by mail at midnight to the Cour-de-France station, 20 miles from the capital, thinking to assist her with his personal presence. Here he met troops retreating from Paris and learned that the capital had fallen. Napoleon sat down on the road and plunged into deep thought, surrounded by associates who silently awaited his orders. He sent Caulaincourt to Paris for negotiations, hoping to gain time, and he himself returned to Fontainebleau. The number of his troops, together with those who retreated from Paris, reached 36 thousand, and the allies gathered 180 thousand south of the capital. The marshals did not at all want to go to Paris, which they told the emperor, hinting at the need for abdication. On March 25, the emperor signed a renunciation for himself and his heirs, after which almost all of his associates abandoned Napoleon. On the night of March 31, he opened his travel box, took out the poison, prepared back in 1812, and took it. The poison had no effect.

For the capture of Paris, the Russian army paid a considerable price: 7,100 people. In all breakthrough sectors of the operation, it was Russian troops who went into battle. Cossack ataman M.I. Platov wrote in a sentimental message to Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna in those days:

I am not able to describe the triumph of this; but I most faithfully report only that this has not happened in past centuries and is unlikely to happen in future ones. On both sides there was indescribable joyful admiration, accompanied by the exclamation of the largest number of residents of Paris: Long live Alexander! who brought prosperity and peace to the whole of Europe."

As A.S. wrote Pushkin:

But God helped - the murmur became lower,

And soon by the force of things

We found ourselves in Paris

And the Russian Tsar is the head of kings.

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At noon on March 31, 1814, the cavalry led by Tsar Alexander I triumphantly entered Paris. The city was overrun by Russians. The Cossacks turned the banks of the Seine into a beach area. “Water procedures” were taken as in their native Don - in underwear or completely naked.

Chess move In the 20th of March, Napoleon, after successful actions against the allies in France, went to the northeastern fortresses to strengthen the army and force the allies to retreat. He did not expect an attack on Paris, counting on the well-known intractability of the allied armies. However, on March 24, 1814, the Allies urgently approved a plan to attack the capital. To distract Napoleon, a 10,000-strong cavalry corps under the command of General Wintzingerode was sent against him. Meanwhile, the Allies, without waiting for the concentration of troops, began an attack on Paris. 6,000 soldiers were lost due to lack of preparedness. The city was taken within a day. [C-BLOCK]

Having defeated a small detachment, Napoleon realized that he had been tricked: “This is an excellent chess move! I would never have believed that any Allied general was capable of doing this.”

All Paris

Most of all, the Parisians feared Russian revenge. There were stories about soldiers loving violence and playing barbaric games. For example, driving people naked for flogging in the cold.

Major General Mikhail Fedorovich Orlov, one of those who signed the surrender, recalled his first trip through the captured city:

“We rode on horseback and slowly, in the deepest silence. All that could be heard was the sound of the horses’ hooves, and from time to time several faces with anxious curiosity appeared in the windows, which quickly opened and quickly closed.” [C-BLOCK]

When a proclamation of the Russian Tsar appeared on the streets of houses, promising residents special patronage and protection, many townspeople rushed to the north-eastern borders of the city to get at least a glimpse of the Russian Emperor. “There were so many people in the Place Saint-Martin, the Place Louis XV and the avenue that the divisions of the regiments could hardly pass through this crowd.” Particular enthusiasm was expressed by the Parisian young ladies who grabbed the hands of foreign soldiers and even climbed onto their saddles in order to get a better look at the conqueror-liberators entering the city. The Russian emperor fulfilled his promise to the city, stopping the slightest crimes.

Cossacks in Paris

If Russian soldiers and officers could not be distinguished from Prussians and Austrians (except perhaps by their uniform), then the Cossacks were bearded, wearing trousers with stripes - the same as in the pictures in French newspapers. Only real Cossacks were kind. Delighted flocks of children ran after the Russian soldiers. And Parisian men soon began to wear beards “like the Cossacks”, and knives on wide belts, like the Cossacks.

During their stay in the French capital, the Cossacks turned the banks of the Seine into a beach area: they swam themselves and bathed their horses. “Water procedures” were taken as in their native Don - in underwear or completely naked. The popularity of the Cossacks and the great interest of Parisians in them is evidenced by a large number of mentions of them in French literature. George Sand's novel is even called: "Cossacks in Paris." [C-BLOCK]

The Cossacks captivated the city, especially beautiful girls, gambling houses and delicious wine. The Cossacks turned out to be not very gallant gentlemen: they squeezed the hands of Parisian women like bears, ate ice cream at Tortoni's on the Boulevard of Italians and stepped on the feet of visitors to the Palais Royal and the Louvre.

The Russians were seen by the French as gentle, but also not very delicate giants in their treatment. Parisian women gave the soldiers their first lessons in etiquette.

The French were frightened by the Asian cavalry regiments in the Russian army. For some reason they were horrified at the sight of the camels that the Kalmyks brought with them. French young ladies fainted when Tatar or Kalmyk warriors approached them in their caftans, hats, with bows over their shoulders, and with a bunch of arrows on their sides.

Once again about the bistro

The Parisians were amazed by their interactions with the Russians. French newspapers wrote about them as scary “bears” from a wild country where it is always cold. And the Parisians were surprised to see tall and strong Russian soldiers, who in appearance did not differ at all from the Europeans. And the Russian officers, moreover, almost all spoke French. There is a legend that soldiers and Cossacks entered Parisian cafes and hurried food peddlers: “Quickly, quickly!”, which is why eateries in Paris began to be called bistros. [C-BLOCK]

However, this version is confirmed by French linguists. The first mention of the use of the word "bistrot" in French dates back to the 1880s. In addition, there are similar dialect and colloquial words, for example, bist®ouille, bistringue or bistroquet. The French etymological dictionary "Robert" associates bistro with dialect bistouille - "swill, bad alcohol." The Russian version qualifies it as “pure fantasy.”

The commander of the Russian occupation corps, Count Mikhail Vorontsov, paid everyone’s debts in 1918, when the last soldiers were leaving France. To do this, he had to sell the Krugloye estate.

This day in history:

And the day before, a battle took place that put an end to the era of the Napoleonic Wars. The famous historical period known as the “100 Days”, which ended with the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, is another story that will put an end to Napoleon’s participation in political life France and Europe. And on this day, the army of Russia and the allies, having suppressed pockets of resistance, entered Paris.

Brief background of events

After a lost campaign in Russia in 1812, Napoleon managed to collect new army, and hostilities resumed in Europe. The Russian army took an active part in them, and this participation is known in Russian historiography as the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army. Defeat French army in Russia led to the formation of the sixth anti-French coalition. Until the spring of 1813, the war against Napoleonic troops was waged predominantly by the Russian army, but starting in March, they began to join Russia in the fight against Napoleon European states: Prussia, England, Austria, Sweden.

After the defeat of Napoleon's army near Leipzig in October 1813, fighting moved to France by 1814.

Individual successes of Napoleon's army in 1813 and 1814, which proved Once again the genius of the commander-emperor of France and the valor of the French troops could no longer turn the tide of events, since the forces were completely on the side of the allied contingent.

On March 29, 1814, the allied forces, most of which were Russian contingents, approached Paris. Marshals Mortier, de Moncey and de Marmont were responsible for the defense of the city under the general leadership of Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte.

The Allied forces were led by Emperor Alexander I and General M.B. Barclay de Tolly (from the Russian Empire), as well as Prussian Field Marshal G.L. von Blücher and Austrian Field Marshal K.F. zu Schwarzenberg.

On March 30, 1814, the battle for Paris began. During the battle, J. Bonaparte left the capital, leaving leadership of the battle and possible capitulation to Marshals de Marmont and Mortier.

The Battle of Paris became one of the bloodiest battles for the Allied armies, as in just one day the Allied army lost over 8,000 people killed, of which more than 6,000 were Russians. By the end of the day, Marshals Mortier and de Marmont realized the obviousness of their defeat and the pointlessness of further resistance.

On the night of March 30-31, a capitulation was signed, in which de Marmont managed to defend the possibility of withdrawing French troops from Paris.

On March 31, 1814, at noon, selected units of the allied forces, led by Emperor Alexander I and the commanders of the allied forces, solemnly entered Paris.

Entry of Russian and allied troops into Paris "Entry Russian troops in Paris. March 31, 1814." Painting by an unknown artist from the original by I.F. Yugelya

The capture of Paris, as well as the hesitation of part of the French army corps in terms of readiness to continue resistance, led to the formation of the Provisional Government, Napoleon's abdication of the throne and the restoration of the monarchy.

The Parisians were wary of the Russian army and allies. But they soon realized that there would be no pogroms and became bolder. One Frenchman, probably a supporter of the Bourbons, boldly approached the king and declared: “We have been waiting for you for a long time!” Alexander replied: “Blame the bravery of the French troops for the fact that I did not come to you earlier!”

The Russian emperor knew how to win the hearts of people, and soon crowds of jubilant Parisians shouted “Long live Alexander!” every time he appears. Paris was flooded with our officers, Cossacks and soldiers.

You can see how this was possible in the works of Georg-Emmanuel Opitz (1775-1841). This miniaturist, watercolorist, engraver and lithographer was an eyewitness to the events of 1814.

After the withdrawal of troops, cultural property was not removed from museums and palaces. The French issued a draconian bill for the occupiers' stay (for food and drink, troop billets, etc.). And our emperor paid for everything... the worst of the Russian occupiers...)))

Alexander clearly showed the whole world the difference between how the French entered Moscow and what they left there, and how the Russians entered Paris and what was left after them... and after this, will anyone talk about the culture and savagery of the Russian people? As we see today, none of this helps. It's time to draw the right conclusions.

Also, on this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened

On March 30, 1814, Allied troops began to storm the French capital. The very next day the city capitulated. Since the troops, although they were allied, consisted mainly of Russian units, Paris was flooded with our officers, Cossacks and peasants.

Checkmate

In early January 1814, Allied forces invaded France, where Napoleon gained superiority. Excellent knowledge of the terrain and his strategic genius allowed him to constantly push back the armies of Blucher and Schwarzenberg to their original positions, despite the numerical superiority of the latter: 150-200 thousand against 40 thousand Napoleonic soldiers.

In the 20th of March, Napoleon went to the northeastern fortresses on the border of France, where he hoped to strengthen his army at the expense of local garrisons and force the allies to retreat. He did not expect further advance of the enemies towards Paris, counting on the slowness and intractability of the allied armies, as well as the fear of his attack from the rear. However, here he miscalculated - on March 24, 1814, the allies urgently approved a plan for an attack on the capital. And all because of rumors about the fatigue of the French from the war and unrest in Paris. To distract Napoleon, a 10,000-strong cavalry corps under the command of General Wintzingerode was sent against him. The detachment was defeated on March 26, but this no longer affected the course of further events. A few days later the assault on Paris began. It was then that Napoleon realized that he had been fooled: “This is an excellent chess move,” he exclaimed, “I would never have believed that any Allied general was capable of doing this.” With a small army, he rushed to save the capital, but it was already too late.

All Paris

Major General Mikhail Fedorovich Orlov, one of those who signed the surrender, recalled his first trip through the captured city: “We rode on horseback and slowly, in the deepest silence. All that could be heard was the sound of the horses’ hooves, and from time to time several faces with anxious curiosity appeared in the windows, which quickly opened and quickly closed.” The streets were deserted. It seemed that the entire population of Paris had fled the city. Most of all, citizens feared the revenge of foreigners. There were stories that Russians loved to rape and play barbaric games, for example, in the cold, driving people naked for flogging. Therefore, when a proclamation of the Russian Tsar appeared on the streets of houses, promising residents special patronage and protection, many residents rushed to the north-eastern borders of the city to get at least a glimpse of the Russian Emperor. “There were so many people in the Place Saint-Martin, the Place Louis XV and the avenue that the divisions of the regiments could hardly pass through this crowd.” Particular enthusiasm was expressed by the Parisian young ladies who grabbed the hands of foreign soldiers and even climbed onto their saddles in order to get a better look at the conqueror-liberators entering the city.
The Russian emperor fulfilled his promise to the city; Alexander suppressed any robbery, punished looting, and any attacks on cultural monuments, in particular the Louvre, were especially strictly prohibited.

Scary forecasts

Young officers were gladly accepted into the aristocratic circles of Paris. Among other pastimes were visits to the fortune-telling salon of the fortune-teller known throughout Europe - Mademoiselle Lenormand. One day, eighteen-year-old Sergei Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol, famous in battle, came to the salon with his friends. Addressing all the officers, Mademoiselle Lenormand twice ignored Muravyov-Apostol. In the end, he asked himself: “What will you tell me, madam?” Lenormand sighed: “Nothing, Monsieur...” Muravyov insisted: “At least one phrase!”
And then the fortune teller said: “Okay. I’ll say one phrase: you will be hanged!” Muravyov was taken aback, but did not believe it: “You are mistaken! I am a nobleman, and in Russia they don’t hang nobles!” - “The emperor will make an exception for you!” - Lenormand said sadly.
This “adventure” was heatedly discussed among officers until Pavel Ivanovich Pestel went to see a fortune teller. When he returned, he said, laughing: “The girl has lost her mind, afraid of the Russians, who occupied her native Paris. Imagine, she predicted a rope with a crossbar for me!” But Lenormand’s fortune-telling came true in full. Both Muravyov-Apostol and Pestel did not die a natural death. Together with other Decembrists, they were hanged to the beat of a drum.

Cossacks in Paris

Perhaps the brightest pages of those years in the history of Paris were written by the Cossacks. During their stay in the French capital, Russian cavalrymen turned the banks of the Seine into a beach area: they swam themselves and bathed their horses. “Water procedures” were taken as in our native Don - in underwear or completely naked. And this, of course, attracted considerable attention from the locals.
The popularity of the Cossacks and the great interest of Parisians in them is evidenced by the large number of novels written by French writers. Among the surviving novels famous writer George Sand, which is called: “Cossacks in Paris.”
The Cossacks themselves were captivated by the city, although mostly by beautiful girls, gambling houses and delicious wine. The Cossacks turned out to be not very gallant gentlemen: they squeezed the hands of Parisian women like bears, ate ice cream at Tortoni's on the Boulevard of Italians and stepped on the feet of visitors to the Palais Royal and the Louvre. The Russians were seen by the French as gentle, but also not very delicate giants in their treatment. Although popular with ladies simple origin brave warriors still used it. So the Parisians taught them the basics of gallant treatment of girls: do not squeeze the handle too much, take it under the elbow, open the door.

New impressions

The French, in turn, were frightened by the Asian cavalry regiments in the Russian army. For some reason they were horrified at the sight of the camels that the Kalmyks brought with them. French young ladies fainted when Tatar or Kalmyk warriors approached them in their caftans, hats, with bows over their shoulders, and with a bunch of arrows on their sides. But the Parisians really liked the Cossacks. If Russian soldiers and officers could not be distinguished from Prussians and Austrians (only by uniform), then the Cossacks were bearded, wearing trousers with stripes, exactly the same as in the pictures in French newspapers. Only real Cossacks were kind. Delighted flocks of children ran after the Russian soldiers. And Parisian men soon began to wear beards “like the Cossacks”, and knives on wide belts, like the Cossacks.

Quickly at the Bistro

The Parisians were amazed by their communication with the Russians. French newspapers wrote about them as scary “bears” from a wild country where it is always cold. And the Parisians were surprised to see tall and strong Russian soldiers, who in appearance did not differ at all from the Europeans. And the Russian officers, moreover, almost all spoke French. There is a legend that soldiers and Cossacks entered Parisian cafes and hurried food peddlers - quickly, quickly! This is where a network of eateries in Paris called “Bistros” later appeared.

What did the Russians bring from Paris?

Russian soldiers returned from Paris with a whole baggage of borrowed traditions and habits. It has become fashionable in Russia to drink coffee, which was once brought by the reformer Tsar Peter I along with other colonial goods. For a long time the aromatic drink remained unrecognized among the boyars and nobles, but having seen enough of the sophisticated French who started their day with a cup of invigorating drink, Russian officers considered the tradition extremely elegant and fashionable. From that moment on, drinking the drink in Russia began to be considered one of the signs of good manners.
The tradition of removing an empty bottle from the table also came from Paris in 1814. Only this was done not because of superstition, but because of banal economy. In those days, Parisian waiters did not take into account the number of bottles given to the client. It is much easier to issue a bill - to count the empty containers left on the table after the meal. One of the Cossacks realized that they could save money by hiding some of the bottles. From there it went - “if you leave an empty bottle on the table, there will be no money.”
Some lucky soldiers managed to get French wives in Paris, who in Russia were first called “French”, and then the nickname turned into the surname “French”.
The Russian emperor also did not waste time in the pearl of Europe. In 1814, he was presented with a French album containing drawings of various designs in the new Empire style. The emperor liked the solemn classicism, and he invited some French architects to his homeland, including Montferrand, the future author of St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Elena Pankratova, Tatyana Shingurova

The Russian army led by Emperor Alexander I triumphantly entered Paris

On March 19 (31), 1814, Russian troops led by Emperor Alexander I triumphantly entered Paris. The capture of the French capital was the final battle of the Napoleonic campaign of 1814, after which the French Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte abdicated the throne.

The Napoleonic army, defeated near Leipzig in October 1813, could no longer offer serious resistance. At the beginning of 1814, Allied forces, consisting of Russian, Austrian, Prussian and German corps, invaded France with the aim of overthrowing the French emperor. The Russian Guard, led by Emperor Alexander I, entered France from Switzerland, in the Basel region. The Allies advanced in two separate armies: the Russian-Prussian Silesian Army was led by Prussian Field Marshal G. L. von Blücher, and the Russian-German-Austrian Army was placed under the command of the Austrian Field Marshal K. F. zu Schwarzenberg.

In battles on French territory, Napoleon won victories more often than his allies, but none of them became decisive due to the numerical superiority of the enemy. At the end of March 1814, the French emperor decided to march to the northeastern fortresses on the border of France, where he hoped to break the blockade of enemy troops, liberate the French garrisons, and, having strengthened his army, force the allies to retreat, threatening their rear communications. However, the allied monarchs, contrary to Napoleon's expectations, approved the plan for an attack on Paris on March 12 (24), 1814.

On March 17 (29), the allied armies approached the front line of defense of Paris. The city at that time numbered up to 500 thousand inhabitants and was well fortified. The defense of the French capital was led by Marshals E. A. C. Mortier, B. A. J. de Moncey and O. F. L. V. de Marmont. The supreme commander of the city's defense was Napoleon's elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte. The Allied troops consisted of three main columns: the right (Russian-Prussian) army was led by Field Marshal Blucher, the central one by Russian General M.B. Barclay de Tolly, the left column was led by the Crown Prince of Württemberg. The battle for Paris became one of the bloodiest battles for the allied forces, which lost more than 8 thousand soldiers in one day, 6 thousand of whom were soldiers of the Russian army.

The offensive began on March 18 (30) at 6 a.m. At 11 a.m., Prussian troops with the corps of M. S. Vorontsov approached the fortified village of Lavilette, and the Russian corps of General A. F. Langeron began an attack on Montmartre. Seeing from Montmartre gigantic size advancing troops, the commander of the French defense, Joseph Bonaparte, left the battlefield, leaving Marmont and Mortier with the authority to surrender Paris.

During March 18 (30), all suburbs of the French capital were occupied by the allies. Seeing that the fall of the city was inevitable and trying to reduce losses, Marshal Marmont sent an envoy to the Russian emperor. However, Alexander I presented a strict ultimatum to surrender the city under the threat of its destruction.

On March 19 (31), at 2 a.m., the surrender of Paris was signed. By 7 a.m., according to the terms of the agreement, the French regular army was supposed to leave Paris. At noon, the Russian guard, led by Emperor Alexander I, solemnly entered the capital of France.

Lit.: Lobanov M. E. Song for the capture of Paris. March 19, 1814: Dedicated to the high name of the Emperor (sold for the benefit of the disabled). St. Petersburg, 1816; Medal "For the capture of Paris on March 14, 1814" [Electronic resource] // Orders and medals of Russia. 2006-2018. URL: http://www.rusorden.ru/?nr=ri&nt=m7.

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