When the last war veteran of 1812 died. Two from Yalutorovsk

Some quick statesmanlike mind gave a sudden thought: to gather in the Borodino positions as many veterans as possible who took part in the ever-memorable battle, as well as simply ancient old-timers who had the opportunity to see Napoleon.

A.I. Kuprin.
"Shadow of Napoleon"

Two from Yalutorovsk

From a photograph - excellent quality even by today's standards! - looks at us. Member of the Patriotic War of 1812, a resident of the city of Yalutorovsk. Next to him is his 80-year-old wife. Both are in anticipation of an exciting and, perhaps, the main event in their lives. The head of the family was invited to Moscow, to the Borodino field, to celebrate the centenary of the victory over Napoleon ...

Governors competition

The Russian Empire decided to celebrate historical event on an unprecedented scale. The day before, a search began across the country for participants in the old war, who were called to decorate the celebrations. Oddly enough, there were quite a few of them - by August 1912, 25 surviving eyewitnesses of Napoleon's invasion of Russia were identified, including 14 participants in the hostilities. From archival documents and newspaper publications in 1912, a modern researcher was able to establish the names of most of these people:

1] retired sergeant-major Akim Vintonyuk, 122 years old, lived in the city of Chisinau, Bessarabian province ("he participated, in his words, in the Patriotic War and in the defense of Sevastopol");

2] cornet Burnos, 113 years old, lived in the Kuban region;

3] soldier Korenevsky, 116 years old, lived in the Vitebsk province;

4] peasant Ette, 120 years old, lived in the Livonian province ("militia of the Patriotic War");

5] the peasant Volontsevich, 115 years old, lived in the Grodno province;

6] the peasant Vorobyov, 104 years old, lived in the Mogilev province;

7] the peasant Gordey Gromov, 110 years old, lived in the village of Krasnoye, Pokolyubicheskoye volost, Gomel district, Mogilev province ("an eyewitness to the French troops following through the village of Krasnoe");

8] peasant Zhernoshenkov, 111 years old, lived in the Mogilev province;

9] peasant Zherrilov, 110 years old, lived in the Mogilev province;

10] peasant Stepan Zhuk, 110 years old, lived in the village of Shavelki, Drissensky district, Vitebsk province ("after the battle at Kulbov, after the troops left there, he collected bullets on the battlefield");

11] peasant Efim Kobylin, 109 years old, lived in the village of Rogozino, Klyuchkovskaya volost, Barnaul district, Tomsk province;

12] Petr Laptev, a petty bourgeoisie, 118 years old, lived in the village of Milyah, Sventsianskaya volost, Sventsiansk district, Vilna province ("an eyewitness of Napoleon and his army following through Sventsiany");

13] peasant Monarsky, 108 years old, lived in the Vitebsk province ("eyewitness of the battle at Klassisen");

14] the peasant Novikov, 119 years old, lived in the Smolensk province;

15] Jew Ovruchin, 111 years old, lived in the Mogilev province;

16] peasant Maxim Pyatachenkov, 120 years old, lived in the Zagumenshchina settlement (near the town of Kirsanov) of the Irsk volost of the Kirsanovsky district of the Tambov province ("an eyewitness to the stay of French soldiers in the city of Kirsanov");

17] tradesman Serdyukov, 119 years old, lived in the city of Yekaterinoslav;

18] "candidate for a class position" Stepanov, 115 years old, lived in the Simbirsk province;

19] a peasant woman Maria Zheltyakova, 110 years old, lived in the village of Podbereznaya Rozhdestvenskaya volost, Bronnitsky district, Moscow province;

20] a peasant woman Yevgenia Zhernosenkova, 115 years old, lived in the village of Irinovka, Vylevskaya volost, Gomel district ("an eyewitness to the events of the Patriotic War; her father, according to her, took part in hostilities").

The search, as often happens in Russia, took on the character of a competition - each governor wanted to present to the tsar "his" veteran. Bessarabia succeeded most of all, where Little Russian sergeant-major Akim Voytinyuk was found.

He and four other long-livers were taken to the Borodino field by the day of the celebrations. This event had such a resonance that the veterans were captured not only in photographs, but even in films.

Victorious people

It was claimed that Voytinyuk (he was also called Vintonyuk, Ventanyuk, Bentenyuk) was either 122 years old, or as much as 133 years old, that he participated in the Battle of Borodino and received a medal, but after that it disappeared somewhere along with the metric. Therefore, Akim's deeds were judged only from his words - he spoke boldly and generally looked much younger than his years. This can be judged by the footage of the chronicle filmed by the French firm "Pathé" - in which he and another veteran talk with Nicholas II. The Moscow governor Dzhunkovsky recalled: “Akim Bentenyuk ... was the most talkative, he talked about his participation in the battle, how he was wounded, and even pointed to a bush behind which he“ jumped. ”When he told the Emperor, he could not hold back smiles. " In the evening, the tsar wrote in his diary: "Just think, to speak with a man who remembers everything and tells the great details of the battle!"

There is also a photo (see above), in which the Grand Dukes John and Gabriel Konstantinovich talk with the veterans. From left to right sit Akim Voytinyuk, Pyotr Laptev, Stepan Zhuk, Gordey Gromov and Maxim Pyatochenkov. Strictly speaking, only Voytinyuk was a veteran of them - the rest came to the holiday as eyewitnesses of the events. True, Laptev claimed that he also fought with the French, but since he was then 12 years old, they preferred to record the young participant in the war as a witness. The same incident happened to the 110-year-old Zhuk - he, however, did not claim anything, the magazine "Ogonyok" wrote him down as a veteran. The 107-year-old peasant Maria Zheltyakova also took part in the celebrations, who said that she had seen the French emperor himself in Moscow.

A response to these fantasies was A. Kuprin's feuilleton "The Shadow of Napoleon", where a "wonderful old man" is described, sharing his impressions of the meeting: "What was he like, Napoleon? up to the knees and how thick fear, and in his hands he had a huge ax ... One word - empire! "

However, most of those invited did not report anything heroic about themselves: Maxim Pyatochenkov only saw captured French soldiers in his native Tambov region, Gordey Gromov witnessed the passage of a French column through his village Krasnoe. Nobody expected heroic stories from them. The veterans were treated with care: they were given good housing, their own carriages, they were allowed to sit in the presence of the emperor, "in respect of old age." Dzhunkovsky recalled: "It touched everyone very much, the old people sat, and the sovereign and the grand dukes stood. Each of the old men stood up when the sovereign addressed him directly." Among the brilliant gentlemen and fashionable ladies, these elders in gray army jackets, with long white beards and staffs in stiff hands looked so alien that all eyes involuntarily turned to them - they seemed to embody the people who defeated Napoleon, even if the old people themselves were to they have nothing to do with this victory ...

Trains Yalutorovsk - Moscow

The author of one of the articles published in 1912, Vladimir Belinsky, analyzing the social composition of the old-timers, wrote: nobility, unable to preserve either wealth or even health) ". 1

Two more real participants Patriotic War - 116-year-old soldier Korenevsky from the Vitebsk province and 120-year-old Latvian Ette, who allegedly served in the militia, for various reasons could not be sent to Moscow. With the end of the celebrations, others were taken to their places of residence and, as usual, forgotten. True, by order of the tsar, increased pensions were issued - for example, Akim Voytinyuk received as much as 300 rubles. What happened to the old people next is unknown: hardly any of them survived the troubled years of wars and revolutions.

And what about Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov *? Preparing him for a long journey, the local authorities reported to the capital: the old man is "relatively cheerful", although he is "deaf and sees poorly," but "he has a clear memory." Just this year, the first train arrived in Yalutorovsk from Tyumen and the northern wing of the Trans-Siberian Railway started working. It seemed that the veteran was waiting for a not very tiring and well-deserved journey. But it didn’t happen.

P.S. Pavel Yakovlevich died on the eve of the trip - either from old age, or from excitement. Only these photographs, which captured their moment of glory, remained from him and his peers-Borodino. The only one in their entire long life.

1. Bochkov E.A. "To give the anniversary of the Patriotic War the significance of a nationwide celebration": the activities of the highest and central authorities and administration Russian Empire on the organization of festive events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 // Recent history Russia. 2012. N 3 (5). S. 11 - 12.

Historical science does not stand still. What seemed to be true yesterday may be considered wrong today. For one simple reason - previously unknown were discovered and introduced into scientific circulation. historical sources.

This is exactly what happened to Pavel Tolstoguzov, a "veteran of the Battle of Borodino", widely known for his many publications. "Rodina" () also told about him. However, local historian Anatoly Zvezdin and historian Alexander Yarkov found materials in the archives of the Tyumen region that make us admit the erroneousness of previously existing information.

We are pleased to give the floor to our new authors to restore the historical truth.

"Buried 87 years old, from decrepitude ..."

The well-known photograph, taken in 1912 in the city of Yalutorovsk, Tobolsk province and now stored in the city archive of Tobolsk, has a frequently replicated inscription: "Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov, a 117-year-old man is comparatively vigorous, deaf and does not see well. His wife is 80 years old next to him. Amateur Photographer A. Levin "1.

It is to this photo that those who believe that Pavel Yakovlevich participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 as a young grenadier of the Tobolsk infantry regiment refer.

However, we were confused first of all by the fact that in early XIX centuries in recruits were taken from the age of 21. It turns out that the grenadier Tolstoguzov fought at Borodino at the age of 17?

We decided to check the date of birth of Pavel Yakovlevich. It is known that in 1912 the old man, unable to withstand the noise that arose around him, took to his bed and died. And he did not even have time to come to the celebrations at the Borodino field. But death had to be recorded in the birth register of some of the temples of Yalutorovsk. And, indeed, in the book of the Church of the Ascension there was a record that "on 2 [August. - Ed.] Died, on August 4, the city of Tyumen was buried bourgeois Pavel Iakovlev Tolstoguzov, 87 years old, from decrepitude" 2.

Eighty seven years old. It appears in 1812 that Tolstoguzov was not yet in the world.

Just one entry destroyed a legend that had existed for more than a century. But where did it come from?

How officials created the legend

Continuing our archival search, we found a telegram from V.O. Kremer of July 7, 1912, in which he reported to Tobolsk: it was not possible to fulfill the task received from St. Petersburg, "there were no veterans and contemporaries who were at a conscious age eyewitnesses of the Patriotic War of 1812 in the city of Yalutorovsk and the district" 3.

But two days later they telegraphed from Tobolsk: "Yalutorovsk. Correction. Does Pavel Tolstoguzov remember the Patriotic War? Tell us everything you learn. Governor Stankevich" 4.

It was not possible to establish who decided to marry him off as a 117-year-old. It is clear that it was not so easy to find a living participant in the events of 1812 in Siberia. You could also count on a reward. But from that moment on, history began to develop with extraordinary rapidity.

On July 10, the Governor of Tobolsk A.A. Stankevich received a dispatch from Yalutorovsk: "Pavel Tolstoguzov is in an unconscious state. For the police chief Kremer."

On the same day, the Governor telegraphed to the Department of General Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: "A contemporary of the Patriotic War was found, one 117-year-old old man, due to his strength, cannot go" 5.

The next week a photographer was sent to Yalutorovsk - who took the "historical photograph".

Well, on August 18, Kremer reported that "Pavel Yakovlev Tolstoguzov died on July 31" 6. Vice Governor N.I. Gavrilov informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs about this by telegram ...

And nevertheless, we decided to double-check - now ourselves.

I did not plow, did not serve, did not fight ...

If Pavel Tolstoguzov was a soldier, then he should have been entered during audits in the lists of retired soldiers.

We looked into the audit tales. There is Pavel Tolstoguzov! But not a soldier! In the fairy tale of 1858 in the village of Yurginsky, Yalutorovsky district, among the peasants under N 44/39 appears "Pavel Yakovlev Tolstoguzov. 32 years 6/2 months - 40 years 5 days" 7.

Class affiliation (peasant) and age also refute the legend about "military campaigns of the grenadier of the Tobolsk regiment" ...

We tried to identify the ancestors of Paul. To do this, they looked (on the archives website) registers of the Trinity Church of the village of Yurginsky from 1804 to 1862 (they are stored in the Tobolsk city archive). And they found out that the ancestors of the peasant (and at the end of his life - the tradesman) Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov were coachmen.

Here is the revision tale of 1782.

"Yurginsky Pogost. Coachmen. [...]

Demid Artamonov son of Tolstoguzov 50 - will die in 1779. His wife, Anna Andreeva, 49 - died in 1770. They have a son, written in the last revision, Dmitriy 22 - 41. He has a wife Ulyana Vasilyeva 22 - 41. Children born after the revision: Matvey 17, Khariton 14, Kozma 11, Clement 8 "8.

Paul is gone ...

Here is the revision tale of 1795 "the village of Yurginsky about the Coachmen".

"Dmitry Demidov is the son of Tolstoguzov 41 - 54. His wife is Ulyana Vasilyeva 41 - 54.

They have children, written in the last before this revision: 1. Matvey 17 - 30. 2. Khariton 14 - 27. His wife Lukerya Yakovleva 24. 3. Kozma 11 - 24. 4. Klementey 8 - recruited in 1794 ... Khariton Dmitriev has a son, Yakov 1 "9, who was born after the revision.

Paul is not here either ...

The revision tale of 1816 does not mention him either.

But then, finally, he was born - moreover, born out of wedlock. Here is an entry in the register of births for November 5, 1817: "The village of Yurginsky was born to the girl Matryona (daughter) of the sexton Nikolai Popov" 12.

It is no longer possible to find out who was the biological father of the child. And the maiden's sin was "amnestied" on May 8, 1821, when "the Yurginsky village Yamshchik Yakov Kharitonov Tolstoguzov" got married from "the same village of the sexton Nikolai Popov with his daughter Matryona, his first marriage" 13.

From now on, Pavel became Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov.

And on January 19, 1840, our hero married "his first marriage, 22 years old, with the girl Paraskeva Simeonova, the daughter of the village itself, the peasant Simeon Ivanov Krestyaninov, 18 years old."

Thus, Pavel Yakovlevich died at the age of 94. Which, however, does not negate the indisputable fact: he did not participate in the Patriotic War of 1812 - and could not even remember it.

Old man's heart

The latest information about Pavel Yakovlevich is given to us by the 1897 census. He then lived no longer in Yurginsky, but in Tyumen - at 14 Arkhangelskaya Street, apartment 4. According to the census, he was then 77 years old (again a mistake and again an unprincipled one. - Auth.), already belonged to the bourgeois class, was a widow, illiterate ("does not read") and served as a "guard street". Kept the cook - the maiden Alexandra Fedorovna Fedorova 16.

By 1912, Tolstoguzov moved to Yalutorovsk. Here he found his last life upheavals. Or rather, officials who wanted to please their superiors and betrayed an elderly tradesman who had never served in the army and was born five years after Borodin as a participant in the Battle of Borodino. Moreover, they were put on the photo to the widower's "spouse".

Perhaps no one will check ...

Wouldn't bother the 94-year-old man, maybe he would have lived to be a hundred.

1. State Archives in Tobolsk. F. I-152. Op. 36.D. 436.L. 44.
2. State Archives of the Tyumen Region (GATO). F. I-255. Op. 3.D. 209a. L. 220 ob.-221.
3. State Archives in Tobolsk. F. I-152. Op. 36.D. 9.L. 4.
4. Ibid. D. 34.L. 5.
5. Ibid. D. 45.L. 6.
6. Ibid. L. 52.
7. Ibid. F. I-154. Op. 8.D. 947.L. 22 ob.-23.
8. Ibid. D. 22.L. 980 ob.
9. Ibid. D. 192.L. 22 ob.-23.
10. Ibid. D. 316.L. 477.
11. Ibid. D. 370.L. 642 ob.-643.
12. Ibid. F. I-156. Op. 15.D. 1161.L. 71.
13. Ibid. D. 1165.L. 74.
14. Ibid. F. I-154. Op. 8.D. 490.L. 94 ob.-95.
15. Ibid. F. I-156. Op. 15.D. 1185.L. 360 ob.-361.
16. Ibid. F. I-417. Op. 2.D. 3289.L. 11.

So tell me about the others .. Very curious.

It is believed battle of Borodino happened in 1812. The reason for considering this dating groundless for the author was photographs of living participants in the Patriotic War, their service records and a real photo of Napoleon himself.

According to authoritative printed publications pre-revolutionary Russia, at least 25 participants in the Battle of Borodino and witnesses of the Patriotic War were alive in 1912, a hundred years later. Photographs of 7 such centenarians, aged from 107 to 122 years, have been preserved. The pictures refer to the celebrations marking the centenary of the Battle of Borodino in 1912. Two veterans even got caught on a movie camera.

History has brought to us the names of heroic centenarians who gathered at the call of the tsar for the Borodino celebrations or who did not live up to these celebrations just a little:

1. Feldwebel Akim Vintanyuk (other options Voitvenyuk or Voytinyuk), participant of the Battle of Borodino, 122 years old. According to the magazine "Ogonyok" No. 34 for 1912, in the same 1912 he was 133 (one hundred thirty three) years old. How long he lived - only God knows. In the newsreel footage, where Voitvenyuk is standing talking with the emperor and where he poses in a group with other participants and witnesses of the Patriotic War, he looks perhaps better than others.

"Just think, talking to a man who remembers everything and tells the great details of the battle, shows the place where he was wounded then!" - this is how Nicholas II describes his impressions of the conversation with Voitvenyuk in a letter to his mother.

Chronicle footage from the film "Tsarevich Alexei" - Channel One, TV company "Adam's Apple". The Emperor is informed that Feldwebel Voitvenyuk has just celebrated his 122nd birthday.

(Voitvenyuk is the one that is shorter)

2.Petr Laptev, 118 years old, eyewitness of the Patriotic War (source of information is unknown).
3. Maxim Pyatochenkov - 120 years old, participant of the Battle of Borodino ("Ogonyok", ref. Number). According to other sources, he was a "witness of the Patriotic War," although he could have taken part in his age. But apparently, there was too much in the number of 120-year-old centenarians even without him.
4. Stepan Zhuk - 122 years old participant of the Borodino battle ("Ogonyok", ref. Number). According to other sources, "witness of the Patriotic War", age 110 years.

They are:

Voitvenyuk, 122 years old, on the far left (the one with light brown hair).

Once again:

Princes John Konstantinovich (right) and Gabriel Konstantinovich talk with eyewitnesses (and participants) of the Patriotic War of 1812 near the House of Invalids. Among them (from left to right): Akim Voitinyuk, Pyotr Laptev, Stepan Zhuk, Gordey Gromov, Maxim Pyatochenkov. Borodino, August 26, 1912

5. Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov, 117 years old, participant of the Battle of Borodino, with his 80-year-old wife

It can be stated that the Battle of Borodino and Patriotic War In the 12th year, they became, as it were, the elixir of immortality that imbued with longevity all those who were directly related to them. Below is information from the site of the 1st channel (sources not specified):

“It is surprising that the living witnesses of Napoleon's invasion of Russia and even the participants in the Battle of Borodino managed to survive not only to the invention of photography and cinema, but also to the centenary of the battle. By order of the tsar, they were searched all over the country and 25 people were found. "

Twenty five people 110-120-year-olds! And how many were not found?

Continuation:
“Pavel Tolstoguzov, a resident of the then Tobolsk province (photo above), a former recruit of the army of Alexander the First, also received an invitation to come in August 1912 for the celebrations in Moscow.

"He was 118 years old. He walked himself, without glasses he saw well, he heard well! But, apparently, the memories of what he had to endure during this war flooded and on July 31, 1912, he died, "says Albina Bolotova, an employee of the Yalutorovsk museum." (From the same place).

One could consider the given information a newspaper duck, the participants themselves - hired actors or impostors, the entry in the letter of Nicholas II to be explained by his naivety, etc., however, information about long-lived veterans is not limited to this. Two decades earlier, an article was published about another participant in the Battle of Borodino, the fireworks Kochetkov Vasily Nikolayevich, who lived for 107 years and died suddenly while traveling by rail in Russia, despite his disability (he lost his leg during the battles on Shipka). The main thing is not even age, but the fact that out of his 107 years, allegedly at least 66 he spent in battles and campaigns: starting his military path near Borodino, he ended up in a war with the Turks in 1877, where he took part as a soldier, being 92 years old. (According to the "Government Gazette" No. 192 - September 2, 1892 - p.3).

To confirm that the age of the Borodino soldiers is greatly overestimated, one can also cite a photograph of a participant in the Patriotic War F.N. Glinka, filmed at the age of 92, in 1878. It looks like you won't give it more than 60 years.

Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka (1786-1880); according to the signature, photographed in 1878. (To the centenary of the Patriotic War of 1812-1912. Issue 2. - M., 1912).

Reference:
The documented lifespan record for a man is 116 years. The oldest veteran of the armed forces lived 115. Among the six long-lived males aged between 114 and 116 - not a single Russian.

Out of respect for the exploits of Russian soldiers, there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the biographies of World War II veterans. I would rather rather doubt the correctness of the dating of the Battle of Borodino.
In my opinion, it would be wiser than complaining about modern ecology and genetics.

The trick is that, in addition to the three participants in the battle near Borodino and a couple of witnesses to the events associated with it, information about super-long-livers in historical borders the Russian state does not appear anywhere else. Except perhaps for those 20 participants and witnesses of the Patriotic War, who, for various reasons, could not accept the tsar's invitation to visit Borodino a hundred years later.

Even if you believe that the age of Voitvenyuk and his younger comrades is determined correctly, it looks more than strange that so many long-lived veterans among one relatively small local group. Even 110 years of age is definitely a phenomenon of world significance, but here there are 25 such people and all of them are veterans or witnesses of the Patriotic War ...
One can believe in the veracity of information about isolated cases of long life of 110-115-year-old people scattered around the world, living in different decades, but it is difficult to believe in the concentration of two dozen even more ancient old people, almost the same age, exactly on the path of Napoleon.
A photo of Napoleon himself, it turns out, also exists. He was photographed during Crimean War English war correspondent Fenton.

Photo caption: "Prince Napoleon".
The photo depicts someone unlike Napoleon III, who allegedly ruled at that time (a mustachioed, hump-nosed and lean subject). But the closeness of the features with the same beardless "little corporal" inclined to corpulence is obvious.

For comparison:

Napoleon in 1812 (engraving).

Of course, the evidence cited provides a basis only for a speculative conclusion about the fact of forgeries in the history of the 19th century. Well, probably you shouldn't look in the archives for something similar to a signed confession.

And now a few thoughts about when the battle of Borodino really could have taken place?
Or so: what date of the Borodino battle is the most probable? (At least approximately).

If not in 1812, then when?
Without a doubt, such a significant event as the Battle of Borodino cannot be so simply falsified, even at the level of dates. The Patriotic War was known not only to science, it was spoken of among the people for some reason as "the war of the 12th year." Under this diplomatic formulation, she entered history books and in literary works(Suffice it to recall at least Pushkin's similar expression: "thunderstorm 12").
The formulation itself is rather vague, and may be associated with the wars of other centuries, say, the Time of Troubles in 1612. Nevertheless, it was used. Why?
The explanation for such a vague wording is that it is not at all about the 12th year of the 19th century.
It is known that all the royal documents had two dates: the year of such and such from the Nativity of Christ and the year of the reign of the now living emperor.
It may very well be that the war of the 12th year means the war of the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich, the victor of Napoleon.

The second clue will be the comparison of the “war of 12th year” with some equally large-scale conflict in which at least France would participate.
The only such event is the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in 1871.
If the Communard uprising is compared with the 100 days of Napoleon, if 1871 is considered a reflection of the year 1815, or rather the opposite: the Napoleonic Wars had a consequence of the Franco-Prussian War, then if we subtract from 1871 the three years that the Allies took to put an end to Napoleonic France, we get an approximate date World War II.

Clues to the Franco-Prussian War
There are many ambiguities about the Franco-Prussian war, which historical science does not provide an exhaustive explanation.
First of all, the reason for Russia's non-interference in the process of creating a unified German state based on both Slavic lands, and on the territory of the former Russian province called Prussia.
Finally, the complete non-intervention of Russia in the protection of the Slavic population in Germany is unclear, and the patronage of the Slavs around the world was in the traditions of the Russian politics of that time.
The German Empire, whose geographical map is literally replete with Slavic names of cities and areas, where the under-German Slavs still live, whose population is very close to Russian in their genotype, will invariably threaten the existence of the Russian statehood itself, which will manifest itself later in the sending of Comrade. Lenin in a sealed carriage, and in Hitler's eastern politics. The creation of a unified German state, striving for world domination or at least for the colonization of Ukraine, will cost Russia two bloody wars, the fall of one regime, revolution and associated dramatic events and about 30 million lives as a result of World War II alone.
Germany at one time was not only allowed to unite, it was then allowed to become immeasurably stronger at the expense of defeated France. This will be the second inexplicable mistake of the Russian emperors.
Only a decade later, the Russian autocracy, as if recollecting itself, would begin to seek an alliance against monarchist Germany with a weakened republican France, where the autocracy was destroyed by Russian weapons ... The union, to be sure, unexpected, running counter to the previous traditional pro-German policy, an alliance more than unnatural , and most importantly, belated and for this his delay tsarist regime will pay with its existence in 1917.
What is the explanation for the reasons for the contradictory policy of tsarism in relation to the German Empire? What explains the incomprehensible blindness of the French supreme power in the person of Napoleon, who also did not react in any way to the creation of the German Empire, and this despite its obvious hostility, primarily to France?
If we assume that the German Empire did not pose any threat before 1870, because such an empire did not exist in nature, that the unification of "iron and blood" is no more than an ideological myth that Prussia was just liberated by Russian arms from the power of the French - in In this case, everything falls into place.
The German Empire was not overslept, it was not taken into account. And Napoleon's illness, which they are trying to explain his indulgence in the appetites of Prussia, has absolutely nothing to do with it. Dominating Europe, Napoleon, despite all his ailments, felt politically more than confident and could only fear Russia.
After the liberation of Germany, the German by blood Russian monarchs, the Germans will be the highest allowed to have their own statehood. This is the alleged creation German Empire.
It so happened that the Russian soldiers, who thought at one time to pacify Europe, paved the way for the militant European nationalisms, warming themselves under the wing of the French eagle.
Is it not for this unnecessary trip abroad for the good of the German states that Russia, in the words of the dying Kutuzov, will never be able to forgive Alexander I?
For France, rapprochement with Russia will also be a completely natural decision: an unpretentious Russia is better than a predatory Germany.
As for the Russian ruling circles, who surprised the whole world with their undemandingness either to territorial claims or to political influence in France and Germany, their disinterested policy only succeeded in sowing the seeds of envy of others' glory among the liberated.
Successful punitive expeditions against poorly trained communard militias in 1871 are the real first fruits of the military victories of the newly-made German Empire, and the total war of annihilation in the East in 70 years will become its swan song.
When a strengthened Germany, taking advantage of the uprising in Paris, introduces troops there, occupies France and seizes Alsace and Lorraine from her, this will be the first signal of a future German-Russian confrontation. The next step on the way of aggravating Russian-German relations will be the blackmail by Germany of Russia during the Turkish war in 1878, which did not allow an easy seizure of Constantinople.

The next ambiguity during the Franco-Prussian War is in fact numerous awards to German soldiers and officers with Russian military awards- the insignia of the military order and the orders of St. George for "The war with the French in 1870" as if Russia and Prussia were allies against a common enemy, as it was during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814. If someone thinks that "numerous awards" are just an artistic exaggeration and that we are in fact talking about isolated cases, I refer to the book by P. A. Zayonchkovsky. The government apparatus of autocratic Russia in the 19th century. - M., 1978 .-- p. 182-183, where it is said even more categorically: (during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870) "the crosses of St. George were generously distributed to the German officers, and the insignia of the order to the soldiers, as if they were fighting for the interests of Russia."

German officers were awarded orders up to the Order of St. George, 2nd degree (only 4 awards out of 125, or about 3% of awards in history). Awards German soldiers still float up at auctions for the sale of awards, complete with purely German orders.

Shoe of a German - a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 from Württemberg, awarded the Badge of Distinction of the Military Order of St. George 4th degree No. 22848.
According to collectors, these awards belonged to a veteran who served in the 5th Württemberg Grenadier Regiment (123rd Regiment according to general German numbering) named after King Charles and who participated in the Franco-Prussian War in the battles of Sedan, Wörth, Willers, Paris. A source:

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The Austrians, who did not seem to take part in the Franco-Prussian war, also suffered from Russian bounty. The fact of awarding the Austrian (and not the German) commander for the same Franco-Prussian war with the Order of St. George as much as the 1st degree. Of the 25 soldiers awarded this order in the entire history of its existence, the Austrian Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf, Duke von Teschen became the 23rd. His leadership skills were appreciated along with the talent of Suvorov himself. The same Austrian soon received the title of Russian field marshal.
Except for the Order of St. George as a commemorative medal, which was handed out without any significant reason, the following explanation suggests itself: Russia and Austria were allies, which is confirmed by the rank of the recipient - at that time it was customary to give the highest command personnel of the allied powers high ranks.

Returning to dating
Let's check the date of the Borodino battle obtained above (1867 or 1868), adding 12 to the date of accession to the throne of the emperor reigning at that time, and this is 1855, the year of death (as a result of a cold) of the previous king. We get all the same 1867.

There is a possibility that the Battle of Borodino could have taken place not in 1867, but a year later, since in 1868 the day of the week on which this battle took place (Monday, September 7 new style / August 26 old style) exactly coincides with the same in 1812
You can check it here:

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In autumn 1867, the writer Tolstoy visited the Borodino field, before writing last parts his epic "War and Peace" - a long and verbose work, which was popular, apparently because of its topical nature and became a template for writing similar boring epics by other authors. And they do not realize that Tolstoy worked in the genre of documentary, he lived, as it is assumed, in the era Napoleonic Wars and almost did not invent anything myself.

Analogies between the Decembrist uprising in 1825 and the regicide in 1881
The uprising of the Decembrists took place 13 years after the war of the 12th year. If we add 13 to 1867 (the probable time of the Patriotic War), we get 1880 - the approximate date of the coming to power of the new emperor (1881), who never introduced the constitution, already fully prepared for adoption. The Constitution is exactly what the insurgent Decembrists demanded ... The insurgent soldiers were then explained that they should shout "Constitution!"
The sympathy of the troops exclusively for this son of Paul I can be explained not only by the fact that he was in the Italian campaign of Suvorov, but also by the striking external resemblance of Constantine, brother of Alexander I, to Alexander I. Judging by the preserved images on the "Constantine ruble", practically a copy - a massive chin, a button nose, the bald patch praised by Pushkin, and only a fuller face does not agree with the appearance of Alexander I, as he looked 10-15 years before the December uprising.
Two months difference between the December 25 uprising and the March assassination of the emperor Alexander III does not allow us to consider the first event as just a part of the second pushed into the past. But even this can be explained.
It can be suggested that the perpetuation of the date of regicide in Russia was taboo. Such is the whim of the emperors, like Catherine's renaming of the Yaik River into the Urals, for the mere participation of the Yaik Cossacks in the Pugachev uprising.
The shameful uprising of the Decembrists was ordered to be moved to the past, and the last month of the year, when it took place, was ordered to be replaced from the biography of the late king with another, so that this month would not have the reputation of a month in which kings are killed.
If we consider that the March murder and the December uprising are links of the same chain, the question arises: what event is considered chronologically reliable?
Most likely, the uprising of the Decembrists did indeed take place in December. Such mass events are too much of a rumor to hide or obscure the name of the month. The falsifiers contented themselves with pushing this uprising more than half a century into the past.
So, the murder of Alexander, which happened immediately before the uprising, was moved from December 1880 to March 1881, in order to throw off the trail of all future "free thinkers" from among those interested in the history of popular uprisings, so as not to give them a reason. Everything was done so that the masses would never in the future draw an analogy between the murder of the tsar himself by a handful of terrorists and the organized uprising of entire regiments against his heir.
If the first is nothing more than an excess, the second, after all, is a popular revolt, the first provoked the second. Such an analogy destroyed the mass idea of ​​the sacred inviolability of the royal persons, of the unity between the king and the army, of Orthodoxy and autocracy and nationality.
It was difficult for the Russian tsar to remain merciful to the population of the country where his German dad was killed.
Therefore, everyone was ordered to forget about the revolution and regicide as synchronous events, and the corresponding order was immediately sent to historians.
Moving the dates undoubtedly damaged the chronology of the year 1881 - the first two months and part of December were "thrown out" of it.

Motives and opportunities

The order for falsification was undoubtedly lowered from the very top, actions to falsify history were synchronous in all the leading countries of the world. Nothing is impossible here. The fact is that after the destruction of the French Empire (1870), the world briefly became monopolar and was ruled by kindred clans, between whose representatives there was initially complete cordial agreement. Problems of international politics (and history is politics turned into the past) were the subject of discussion in a narrow family circle.
The task of rewriting history was, although difficult, but solvable, given the scanty circulation of the press of that time and the illiteracy of the peasant population, which in Russia at that time was 90%.

What's left of true history in a country where the state of emergency was in effect until 1917? Only oral memory, only living witnesses of events, but over the years they became less and less.
As mentioned above, in 1912 all over Russia only 25 people were found participants and witnesses of the Patriotic War of the 12th year (1867 or 1868), and after all real age veterans actually did not exceed 77 years, which is clearly seen in the photo. That is:
Voitvenyuk - allegedly 122 years old, probably born in 1845 (or 1846). In 1912 he was 77.
Petr Laptev, "118 years old", b. in 1849.73.
Maxim Pyatochenkov - 75.
Stepan Zhuk - 73.
Tolstoguzov - 72, etc.
It is more difficult to establish the biography of Kochetkov, because it is not exactly clear from what time he entered the service - whether in the Crimean War of 1855 or in the Patriotic War, later (yes, exactly that!).

... When a new generation of educated people grew up, they completed the rest of the work: everything that does not fit into the chronological matrix will be declared a fake.

How it happens, you can see the example of comments on a real photo of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (look in Google: a photo of Pushkin, you will not regret it).

Benefits of falsifying history:

Above, an attempt was made to substantiate the assumption that the history of the 19th century was lengthened by at least 50 years. Now about what interest in this could be for Germany, Austria and Russia - the powers that literally created the history of the 19th century.

• appropriation of the property of the French nobility after the overthrow of the Napoleonic regime, under the pretext that the owners have long been dead.
• "Nationalization" of copyright for technical inventions and works of art, under the same pretext. It is worth remembering that Pushkin's widow was graciously allowed to extend the rights to publish her husband's works for another 50 years. Might not be allowed.
• Elongation of the pedigree of noble families and ruling dynasties;
• fabrication of a pedigree, so that the ruling clan of some impostor on paper to deduce from the legally ruling king.
• Attribution of all unpopular decisions to the past in order to create a good reputation for the Russian Tsar and his descendants.
• Substantiation of territorial and political claims of new national states and the very fact of their emergence.

To the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812
Pavel BELOGLAZOV

Call from Kurgan, from the studio documentaries, who was going to shoot a film about our fellow countryman, a participant in the Battle of Borodino Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov, stirred up the interest of local historians to one of the insufficiently studied pages in the centuries-old history of Yalutorovsk - the Patriotic War of 1812.

Museum workers collected historical material literally bit by bit. Newspapers, chronological chroniclers of history, two centuries ago, as you understand, did not come out in our area. The first issue of "Tobolsk Provincial Gazette", where the avaricious information from the district towns was collected, was released only in 1857. The first periodicals in Yalutorovsk - "Krestyanskaya Gazeta" and "Yalutorovskaya Zhizn" came to readers at the beginning of the twentieth century and did not appear for long - censorship crushed. Something could be found in the archives and funds of museums, in the research works of Siberian scientists.

Preparing for the 350th anniversary of Yalutorovsk the fundamental chronicle "From Elisey Gilev and Peter Ulyanov to the present day", the staff of Yalutorovsk museum complex thoroughly walked along the bottom of the barrel. And here is what, in relation to this topic, was taken out for review by fellow countrymen.

Only in December 1812 from the Yalutorovsky district, in addition to the obligatory recruitment sets(5 recruits from 500 revision souls), 17 peasants, two officials, four townspeople voluntarily went to war with Napoleon. Residents donated 13637 rubles from their savings. 57 kopecks, as well as 260 yards of canvas, 3 guns, 1 pistol.

In 1812, a stone Church of the Ascension in the strict forms of classicism was erected in Yalutorovsk in the name of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War. With two thrones - in honor of the Ascension of the Lord and in the name of All Saints. It was in this church that the future philanthropist and industrialist Savva Mamontov, the creator of Russian culture, was baptized in 1841. And, probably, it was predetermined from above. After all, the Yalutor residents owe the birth of the Ascension Church not to the state, but to private initiative in the person of the merchants, and first of all to the benefactor Alexei Danilovich Bykov, the city headman and assessor of the order of public charity. The merchant built the Ascension Church mainly at his own expense. Aleksey Bykov also helped the city community to complete the construction of the Sretensky Cathedral, the district school, and contributed the initial capital for the maintenance of the parish school. For charitable activities A.D. Bykov was awarded a silver medal on a Vladimir ribbon with the inscription "For useful things."

The main brainchild of his life - the Orthodox church in the name of the Victory of the Russian people over Napoleon - was destroyed by ungrateful fellow countrymen in the thirties of the twentieth century, along with the Sretensky Cathedral. The cathedral has been restored from oblivion today, and in our time they are going to install commemorative sign... No one can say what fate befell the iconostasis and the main relic of this temple - the icon of the Ascension of the Lord made of ivory with a wonderful fine carving, which was located above the entrance to this church. Going to the service, parishioners could see ten images - the Savior ascending to heaven and two angels in the clouds, the Mother of God and the apostles, who turned their eyes to the Savior. This icon was ranked among the significant material monuments of church antiquity in the Tobolsk diocese.

Speaking about the war of 1812, we, of course, first of all remember the Decembrists. Of the nine political exiles who in the period from 1829 to 1856. were in exile in Yalutorovsk, five fought with Napoleon. Two of them - Colonel V. I. Vranitsky, Czech by nationality, from the family of brewers, and Lieutenant Colonel of artillery A. V. Entaltsev rest in the old city cemetery. A memorial sign "White Angel" (sculptor - VN Sharapov, now an honorary citizen of the city of Yalutorovsk) was installed at the place of the alleged burial of the first, the grave of the latter is a monument of federal significance.

The folk path to the memorial houses of M. I. Muravyov-Apostol and I. D. Yakushkin, the main historical sights of Yalutorovsk, also monuments of federal significance, which today are part of the museum complex, does not overgrow. In the museum exposition, along with the original items of the Decembrists and their descendants, the visitors can see awards, samples of weapons from the Patriotic War of 1812, and in the Decembrist's office you can even see a portrait of Napoleon. There is no stretch here. The fact is that Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol, together with his executed brother Sergei, received their education in Paris, where their father served as the Russian envoy. In 1804, the brothers attended the coronation of Bonaparte, and Napoleon even met the youngest, Sergei, at the boarding house where he was brought up, and then everyone talked about their amazing external similarity. After returning to Russia, Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol was assigned to the Semyonovsky Life Guards regiment and fought under its banners at Borodino and Kulm, entered Paris as a winner. Injured. He was twice awarded with military orders. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1821.

Together with the brothers Muravyov-Apostles and P. Ya. Chaadaev 19-year-old youth reached the defeated capital of France and Ivan Dmitrievich Yakushkin. He retired with the rank of captain. While in exile in Yalutorovsk, I.D. Yakushkin with the support of the Archpriest of the Sretensky Cathedral S.Ya. Znamensky, who was the official petitioner, opened the first all-estate school for girls in Siberia in memory of his wife Anastasia, who died early.

It is impossible not to mention another hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 - Colonel V. K. Tizengauzen, commander of the Poltava regiment, a member of the Southern Society, who was the first of the Decembrists in May 1829 to arrive in the provincial Yalutorovsk from Surgut. His ancestors - holders of the baronial rank, owned lands in Lithuania and Poland, but the descendant of the knights of the Livonian Order faithfully served the Russian throne. He is known as the first Yalutorovsky gardener. He spent 24 years in Yalutorovsk. He left for his homeland, Narva, before the amnesty, in 1853.

And what about Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov, whose persona interested the documentary filmmakers? Too insultingly little is known about him. In 2003, journalist Konstantin Eliseev published in Tyumenskaya Pravda Today the material "The Last Soldier of Alexander I", which is based on documents from the funds of the Tobolsk State Archives concerning the preparation of the celebration of the centenary of the Patriotic War of 1812. On the eve of this most important event for Russia, in 1911, the highest order was sent from St. Petersburg to the provinces to find contemporaries and participants of those days. From the office of the Tobolsk governor, it was duplicated in the cities and counties: "By the order of the governor ... it is proposed to find participants or eyewitnesses to the glorious events of the Patriotic War ... whom it is proposed to send to Moscow to participate in the celebration." I don’t presume to judge what the official was thinking when he was preparing the rescript doomed to failure, because a simple calculation shows that the participants or eyewitnesses of those days exceeded a hundred years, and much more! There were disappointing telegrams from the localities: "We hereby inform you that no participants in the Patriotic War were found either in Kurgan or in the surrounding villages ... In Ishim, no eyewitnesses of the events of 1812 were found." And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a telegram from the Yalutorovsk mayor: "I inform Your Excellency that a participant in the events of 1812, Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov, lives in the city." It was further reported that he was 117 years old, but the old man was "relatively vigorous", although he was "deaf and sees poorly," but "distinguished by a clear memory." The archive also contains a photograph of the veteran, captured by a specially sent photographer together with his 80-year-old wife.

The end of this story, as the author of the publication notes, is sad: P.Ya. They began to prepare Tolstoguzov for a trip to the celebrations in Moscow, but he did not wait for this hour: he died. Either from excitement, or from old age. Yes, and how the 117-year-old centenarian endured a long journey, although in 1912 the first train arrived in Yalutorovsk from Tyumen and the northern wing of the Trans-Siberian Railway started working.

In 2010, in Tobolsk, in the building of the State Archives, a photo exhibition "Veterans Today" was opened, where, along with portraits of participants in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. a unique photograph of P.Ya. Tolstoguzov, a participant in the Battle of Borodino, made in 1912. As the director of the archive Tatyana Koklyagina told UralPolit.Ru, this legendary photograph has long been known to scientists, and now, thanks to the exhibition, it has been presented to the general public for the first time.

So, this is not a legend, Indeed, the Yalutorovsk land gave birth to a miracle hero, who, as a 17-year-old warrior, shoulder to shoulder with the future Decembrists under the leadership of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov stood, watered with buckshot of the enemy, on the Borodino field, outlived four emperors and ended his earthly journey under the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II.

Another significant historical parallel arises. In 2011, when Russia began to prepare for the 70th anniversary of the parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, just like in the above story, they began to look for participants in this commemorative action, held several tens of kilometers from the front line. And it turned out that in the entire vast Tyumen region only in Yalutorovsk lives and lives a participant in that legendary parade - Mikhail Alekseevich Vorobyov, holder of two Orders of the Red Star. Stepping from the walls of the Kremlin straight into the inferno of war, he honorably went through the great battles of World War II. Like his distant predecessor - Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov. Today, the portrait of the 90-year-old veteran can be seen on the main street of the city.

Yes, everyone has their own Borodino!

And who after that would dare to doubt the military qualities of the Siberians!

For Russian statehood, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War are of equal importance. In either case, the price of victory or defeat is identified with concepts such as the death or preservation of a nation. Exactly.