The Russians entered Paris in 1814. The capture of Paris by the Russians! (10 photos)

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 the political life of 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 raise a 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. The defeat of the 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, European states began to join Russia in the fight against Napoleon: Prussia, England, Austria, Sweden.

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

The individual successes of Napoleon's army in 1813 and 1814, which once again proved 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 troops, 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 of Russian troops into 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

31 On March 1814, Russian and allied troops triumphantly entered Paris.
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. This is another story, which will put an end to Napoleon’s participation in the political life of France and Europe. And on this day, the army of Russia and its allies, having suppressed pockets of resistance, entered Paris... as it happened...

Brief background of events

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

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.

It is surprising that at the time of the storming of Paris, cafes continued to operate in Montmartre, even during the firefight. The visitors calmly drank wine and discussed the chances of the warring parties. By the way, when the resistance was broken, the truce was celebrated here.

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

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.

Razaks were popular with women, especially commoners. That’s when the expression “making love a la Cossack” appeared, which meant unceremoniousness, speed and pressure. The Cossacks called love affairs backgammon.

And the "Bistros" were left here from the Russians. "Quickly! Quickly!" - the Cossacks hurried the waiters and the expression stuck, becoming the name. By the way, the Russian tradition of removing an empty bottle from the table appeared at the same time. The waiters calculated customers based on the number of empty containers on the table. And the Russian warriors quickly realized how they could save money. That’s where it started - if you leave an empty bottle on the table, there will be no money.

Russians were amazed by the presence of frogs in restaurants and the abundance of children begging on the streets. After all, in Russia at that time people begged for alms only on the porch, and there was no youthful begging at all.

General Miloradovich begged the tsar for a salary for three years in advance, but lost everything. However, they made money in Paris easily. It was enough to come to any local banker with a note from the corps commander, which stated that the giver of this was a man of honor and would certainly return the amount.

In addition to cards, wine and girls, Russian officers in Paris had one more entertainment - a visit to the salon of Mademoiselle Lenormand, a famous fortune teller. One day, in the company of colleagues, young Muravyov-Apostol came to the salon. Lenormand readily predicted the future for the officers, while ignoring Muravyov-Apostol. When he began to insist on the prophecy, the fortune teller uttered only one phrase: “You will be hanged!” Muravyov laughed: “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 prediction was a joke among officers for a long time, but everything came true. Together with other Decembrists, after some time, Muravyov-Apostol was hanged.

After the withdrawal of Russian troops, the cultural values of museums and palaces remained intact. No one took anything away or appropriated it.

By the summer, only the occupation corps remained in France, headed by Count Mikhail Vorontsov, who was there until 1818. The government allocated the corps a salary for two years of service, so that the heroes had something to taste all the joys of life. And they tasted... Before being sent home, Vorontsov ordered to collect information about the debts left by the officers.

A considerable sum was accumulated - 1.5 million rubles in banknotes. The count did not turn to the tsar for help, realizing that Russia was in a difficult financial situation. He sold the Krugloye estate, which he inherited from his aunt Ekaterina Dashkova, and, left with almost nothing, paid the debt out of his own pocket.

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. They don’t remember and don’t appreciate it, it’s time to draw the right conclusions)))

The basis of the information is Calend.ru and other Internet, pictures from the Internet, my photos.

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, mainly consisted 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 the 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 those that have survived to this day is the novel by the famous writer Georges 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 the brave warriors still enjoyed popularity among ladies of simple origin. 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. In Russia, it has become fashionable to drink coffee, which was once brought along with other colonial goods by the reformer Tsar Peter I. For a long time, the aromatic drink remained unrecognized among the boyars and nobles, but after seeing enough of the sophisticated French who began their day with a cup of invigorating drink, Russians officers found 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 out of superstition, but out 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

200 years ago, 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 capital of France 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. 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, strengthening 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 total number of defenders of Paris at this time, together with the National Guard (militia), did not exceed 45 thousand people. The Allied armies numbered about 100 thousand people, including 63.5 thousand Russian troops.
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.
French losses are estimated by historians at more than 4 thousand soldiers. The allies captured 86 guns on the battlefield and another 72 guns were given to them after the surrender of the city; M.I. Bogdanovich reports 114 captured guns.
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 the gigantic size of the advancing troops from Montmartre, 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. The act of surrender was signed by Marshal Marmont. At noon, the Russian guard, led by Emperor Alexander I, solemnly entered the capital of France.

Napoleon learned of the capitulation of Paris at Fontainebleau, where he awaited the approach of his lagging army. He immediately decided to gather all available troops to continue the fight, but under pressure from the marshals, who took into account the mood of the population and soberly assessed the balance of forces, Napoleon abdicated the throne on April 4, 1814.
On April 10, after Napoleon's abdication, the last battle of this war took place in the south of France. Anglo-Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington attempted to capture Toulouse, which was defended by Marshal Soult. Toulouse capitulated only after news from Paris reached the city's garrison.
In May, a peace was signed, returning France to the borders of 1792 and restoring the monarchy there. The era of the Napoleonic Wars ended, only breaking out in 1815 with Napoleon's famous brief return to power.

RUSSIANS IN PARIS

At noon on March 31, 1814. columns of the allied armies with drumming, music and unfurled banners began to enter Paris through the Saint-Martin gate. One of the first to move was the Life Guards Cossack Regiment, which formed the imperial convoy. Many contemporaries recalled that the Cossacks took the boys in their arms, put their horses on the rumps and, to their delight, drove them around the city.
Then a four-hour parade took place, in which the Russian army shone in all its glory. Poorly equipped and battle-worn units were not allowed to enter Paris. The inhabitants, who were not without trepidation expecting a meeting with the “Scythian barbarians,” saw a normal European army, not much different from the Austrians or Prussians. In addition, most of the Russian officers spoke French well. The Cossacks became a real exotic for Parisians.

The Cossack regiments pitched bivouacs right in the city garden on the Champs Elysees, and bathed their horses in the Seine, attracting the curious gaze of Parisians and especially Parisian women. The fact is that the Cossacks took “water procedures” exactly as in their native Don, that is, in a partially or completely exposed form. For two months, the Cossack regiments turned into perhaps the main attraction of the city. Crowds of curious people flocked to watch them roast meat, cook soup over a fire, or sleep with a saddle under their heads. Very soon, “steppe barbarians” became fashionable in Europe. Cossacks became a favorite subject for artists, and their images literally flooded Paris.
The Cossacks, it must be said, never missed an opportunity to profit at the expense of the local population. In the famous ponds of the Fontainebleau Palace, for example, the Cossacks caught all the carp. Despite some "pranks", the Cossacks had great success with the French, especially with commoners.

It should be noted that at the end of the war, desertion flourished among the lower ranks of the Russian army, who were mostly recruited from serfs. Moscow Governor-General F. Rostopchin wrote: “What a decline our army has come to if old non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers remain in France... They go to farmers who not only pay them well, but also give their daughters for them.” It was not possible to find such cases among the Cossacks, people who were personally free.
Spring Paris was capable of spinning anyone in its joyful whirlpool. Especially when three years of bloody war were left behind, and the feeling of victory was filling my chest. This is how F. Glinka recalled about Parisian women before leaving for his homeland: “Farewell, dear, lovely charmers for whom Paris is so famous... The big-haired Cossack and the flat-faced Bashkir became the favorites of your hearts - for money! You have always respected the ringing virtues!” And the Russians had money: the day before, Alexander I ordered the troops to be given triple their salaries for 1814!
Paris, which the Decembrist S. Volkonsky called “the moral Babylon of modern times,” was famous for all the temptations of a riotous life.

The Russian officer A. Chertkov described the most important of the hot spots, the Palais Royal: “On the third floor there is a gathering of public girls, on the second there is a game of roulette, on the mezzanine there is a loan office, on the first floor there is a weapons workshop. This house is a detailed and true picture of what rampant passions lead to.”
Many Russian officers had a blast at the card table. General Miloradovich (the same one who would be killed 11 years later during the Decembrist uprising) begged the tsar for a salary for 3 years in advance. And he lost everything. However, even unlucky players always had a chance. Russian officers easily made money in Paris. It was enough to come to any Parisian banker with a note from the corps commander, which said that the bearer of this was a man of honor and would certainly return the money. Naturally, not all of them were returned. In 1818, when the Russians were leaving Paris forever, Count Mikhail Vorontsov paid the officer's debts out of his own pocket. True, he was a very rich man.
Of course, not all Russians spent their lives at the Palais Royal. Many preferred Parisian theaters, museums and especially the Louvre. Culture lovers greatly praised Napoleon for bringing a wonderful collection of ancient antiquities from Italy. Emperor Alexander was praised for allowing her not to be returned.

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Once, when Alexander I was still a child, when asked by his grandmother, Russian Empress Catherine II, what he liked most about the history of the reign of Henry IV, the boy replied: “The act of the king when he sent bread to besieged Paris.”

Many years passed, and he got the opportunity to demonstrate Russian nobility and generosity to Europe. In the spring of 1814, Alexander I set off for Paris on a horse given to him 6 years earlier by Napoleon.

TEST OF RUSSIAN GENEROSITY

200 years ago, in March 1814, Allied troops began an assault on Paris, which did not last long: the very next day the French capital capitulated. At 7 o'clock in the morning on March 31, 1814, columns of allied troops led by Alexander I entered the city.

Memoirs of contemporaries allow us to obtain an accurate picture of the victorious procession. Several squadrons of cavalry went first, then Alexander I, accompanied by the Prussian king and Austrian field marshal Karl Schwarzenberg. Behind them moved a column consisting of selected infantry, cavalry and artillery of the imperial guard.

Early in the morning, the Parisians learned of the capitulation, and the city was gripped by panic. Memories of the fire in Moscow in 1812 were still fresh, and everyone expected a response from the Russians. Residents of the French capital were preparing to flee, selling their property for next to nothing. However, before the ceremonial entry of Russian troops into French territory, Alexander I received a delegation of the mayors of Paris and informed them that he was taking the city under his protection: “I love the French. I recognize only one enemy among them - Napoleon."

It is not surprising that after such a statement, the Russian troops were given an enthusiastic reception by the Parisians. Of course, in the crowd welcoming the victors, there were some calls for resistance to the Allies, but they found no response. One incident did occur. Mikhailov-Danilevsky noticed a man not far from the emperor who raised a gun, and, rushing to him, snatched the weapon from his hands, ordering the gendarmes to take the bandit.

However, Alexander repeated several times: “Leave him, Danilevsky, leave him,” after which the man disappeared into the crowd. The French historian Louis-Adolphe Thiers wrote about Alexander: “No one wanted to please him as much as these French, who defeated him so many times. To conquer this people with generosity is what he strived for most of all at that moment.”

The Emperor, in the presence of a huge crowd of Parisians, freed one and a half thousand French prisoners of war, and also ordered the immediate suppression of unrest and reprisals against the Bonapartists, looting and robberies. When some of the French tried to destroy the statue of Napoleon, Alexander hinted that this was undesirable and placed a guard at the monument. Later, in April, the statue was carefully dismantled and taken away.

The fact that the Russian emperor was an excellent diplomat and a man with a subtle sense of humor is confirmed by another incident. The Frenchman, pushing through the crowd towards Alexander, exclaimed: “We have been waiting for the arrival of Your Majesty for a long time!” To this the emperor replied: “I would have come to you earlier, but the bravery of your troops delayed me.” His words, which caused a storm of delight, began to be passed on from mouth to mouth.

The Parisians crowded around Alexander, kissed everything they could reach, and he patiently endured these manifestations of popular love. When a Frenchman expressed his amazement that the emperor allowed people to come so close to him, Alexander replied: “This is the duty of sovereigns.”

The Russian emperor became the idol of French women, and they, as you know, know how to give exquisite compliments. Having visited a shelter for women who have lost their minds because of love, Alexander asked the director how many patients lived there, to which he received a simply sparkling answer: “Your Majesty, until now there have been few of them, but one can fear that their number will increase with that.” minutes when you entered Paris."

Alexander I suppressed all cases of looting in Paris, but he also treated the distrust of local residents harshly. “I am not entering as an enemy, but returning peace and trade to you,” he said. Once, while visiting one of the museums, he noticed that there were no statues on some pedestals. Having inquired about their fate, he heard the answer from the head of the museum that when the danger of occupation loomed over Paris, the statues were sent to Orleans.

“If you had left them in Paris,” said Alexander, “then I assure you that no one would have touched them, but now, if the Cossacks take them on the road, then it will be legitimate booty.”

But that was later, but for now the Russian troops shone in all their glory at the parade dedicated to the capture of Paris. Units in poor and shabby uniforms were not allowed to participate in the parade. The inhabitants, who were not without fear expecting a meeting with the “Scythian barbarians,” saw a normal European army.

WALK AND SING, COSSACK DON!

There were scary stories among Parisians: that Russians liked to rape women, flog naked people with rods in the bitter cold, etc. But after Alexander’s proclamation, which promised protection and patronage, all the horror stories were immediately forgotten. The people rushed to the borders of the city to look at the emperor and his army.

The Parisian women showed particular enthusiasm, grabbing the soldiers by the hands and even climbing into their saddle. The Cossacks took the curious boys in their arms, put them on the horse's croup and drove them around the city, to the great joy of the children. Soon the cavalry began to present a very picturesque sight, which made Alexander smile.

The wife of Napoleonic General Junot, Duchess of Abrantes, recalled how Count Matvey Platov told her a comical story that happened to him in Champagne. While staying with a woman who had a one and a half year old daughter, he, who loved children very much, took the girl in his arms. The mother suddenly began to cry, sobbed and threw herself at his feet. Platov, who did not know French, did not immediately understand the reason for the hysteria and only then realized that the woman was asking... not to eat her daughter.

The Cossack regiments pitched bivouacs right in the city garden on the Champs Elysees, which at that time were dense green groves. Crowds of onlookers came here to watch the Cossacks fry meat, cook soup over a fire, sleep on the remains of hay that the horses did not eat, using the saddle as a pillow. It is worth saying that the highest authorities ordered the Cossack camp to be located in the middle of the city in order to eliminate the possibility of looting.

But the most striking impression on the Parisians was that the Cossacks turned the granite embankments of the Seine into a beach area: they swam themselves and bathed their horses. They did it like on the Don: either in their underwear or naked. The Cossacks had a fair amount of fun at Fontainebleau: in the famous ponds of the palace they caught and ate all the giant carps that had been bred here since the 16th century, since the time of Henry IV.

Residents of the capital watched in amazement as these huge bearded men walked around the halls of the Louvre in their trousers with stripes or gorged themselves on ice cream on the boulevards. Nevertheless, Parisian fashionistas very soon grew beards “like the Cossacks” and began to wear knives on wide belts, like the Cossacks.

Despite this, the Cossacks enjoyed success with women, especially commoners, although they were not very gallant: they squeezed the graceful hands of Parisian women with their bearish hands, and stepped on the feet of visitors to the Louvre and Pope Royal. So the French women had to teach them how to behave.

They say that it was then that the expression “making love a la Cossack” appeared, which meant speed and pressure. The Cossacks themselves called their love affairs backgammon, thus explaining what exactly they needed. The French made fun of the Russians’ habit of eating even noodle soup with bread, and the Russians, in turn, were taken aback by the frog legs on the menus of Parisian restaurants.

Since then, many eateries in Paris have been called bistros. The tradition of removing an empty bottle from the table appeared at the same time. Only the reason was not superstition, but economy. The waiters calculated customers not by the number of bottles ordered, but by the number of empty containers left on the table. The Cossacks quickly realized that by hiding some of the bottles they could save money. That’s where it came from: if you leave an empty bottle on the table, there will be no money.

This is how General Muravyov-Karssky recalled the capture of Paris: “By morning, our camp was filled with Parisians, especially Parisian women, who came to sell vodka a boire la goutte and made a living... Our soldiers soon began to call vodka berlagut, believing that this word exists real translation of the fowl in French. They called red wine vine and said that it was much worse than our green wine.”

In the occupied territories at that time, Russian laws and regulations were in force, and even the Russian police worked. But for our compatriots the French unit of distance measurement was not very clear. Therefore, they re-measured all the roads in miles and placed mileposts everywhere.

The Russian army also included Asian cavalry regiments, which especially terrified the sensitive French. French young ladies fainted at the sight of Tatar or Kalmyk warriors in caftans, hats, and with bows and arrows. Nevertheless, making fun of them, they called them “Russian cupids.”

In general, Parisians have established friendly relations with the shaggy and good-natured “Russian bears”. But the Russians were amazed by the abundance of children begging on the streets, because in Russia at that time people begged only on the porch, and there was no youthful begging at all.

And only one, but rather serious, reproach was found against the Cossacks. They took goods from residents of the suburbs, brought them to Paris and sold them on the New Bridge, where they set up a bazaar. When the robbed tried to return their property, things led to fights and scandals.

GENTLEMEN OFFICERS

The officers of the Russian army happily plunged into the social life of Paris; by the way, they were gladly received in aristocratic circles. But they did not hesitate to visit the capital’s hot spots: brothels and gambling establishments. And all this, as you know, requires a lot of money.

To which Muravyov laughed: “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 prediction was a joke among officers for a long time, but everything came true. Together with other Decembrists, after some time, Muravyov-Apostol was hanged.

The consequences of the presence of Russian troops in Paris have not yet been fully explored. In those years, not every Russian nobleman could afford such a trip. The foreign campaign opened France to thousands of officers, not to mention soldiers.

Once Napoleon uttered the following phrase: “Give me some Cossacks, and I will go with them all over Europe.” And it looks like he was right.