PERCEPTION OF ALEXANDER I’s NATIONAL POSITION BY INDIVIDUALS IN 1812 (based on letters and memoirs written by Muscovites P.A. Vyazemsky and M.A. Volkova)

DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-107-121

УДК 94(470–25)

ББК 63.3(2)47–7

Elena L. SARAEVA

Key words

Alexander I, M.I. Kutuzov, the war of 1812, P.A. Vyazemsky, M.A. Volkova, Napoleon, history of Russia at the beginning of the XIX century, history of Moscow, Manifesto dated July 6, 1812, Moscow society in 1812, national consciousness.

Abstract

The relevance of the research lies in the need for modern Russia to take into account the historical experience of uniting the people and the government, and to mobilize the country’s potential to fight an external rival, including Napoleon’s army in 1812. The analysis of the ideological foundations to the successful confrontation of the Russian people to the French makes it possible to identify the absolute values of the country’s population in a period of external challenge.

The purpose of the research is to study the ideas of Moscow inhabitants, the city which fell into the sphere of Napoleon’s strategic interests in 1812, about the influence of Alexander I on forming the people’s determination to stand up for the homeland.

Materials and methods of the study. The sources are the letters of Maria Apollonovna Volkova, memoirs and diary notes of Peter Andreevich Vyazemsky. Letters are the most reliable source on the topic of personality mentality, since they recorded the mood that make up the identity of their authors at the time they experienced certain events, which makes it possible to reveal the features of the worldview at that time. Volkova’s letters provide an opportunity to understand the attitude of Moscow’s civilians towards power in 1812. Vyazemsky, the author of memoirs written in 1869, called himself a “Russian veteran of 1812,” emphasizing that his national consciousness was formed in 1812, when he, previously a civilian, joined the ranks of the regiment and participated in the Battle of Borodino. He gave his understanding of the emperor’s role in explaining the Russian people the goals of Napoleon and the need to protect the fatherland. The work is carried out in the context of socio-cultural and axiological approaches; it makes it possible to identify the specifics of the national identity of the Russian people in 1812.

Research results. The invasion of Napoleon’s troops into Russia, the course of military operations and possible consequences of the war were discussed daily in Moscow by both men and women. Initially, the Muscovites, ordinary people who did not serve in the army and administrative institutions, did not fully understand the goals of the French, the balance of the warring parties forces. Their realization of the essence of the military-political confrontation occurred after Alexander I met with the residents of the city, when he explained his vision of events, voiced national tasks: providing civilians with maximum assistance to the Russian troops, creating the people’s volunteer army, and destroying the enemy. The Muscovites realized that the emperor intended to increase the Russian armed forces in order to eliminate the advantage of the French in numbers and defeat the enemy. Volkova and Vyazemsky reproduced the opinion expressed by the majority of Moscow noble society that they considered the defense of the homeland to be the responsibility not only of the army, but of the people as well. According to Vyazemsky’s strong opinion, Alexander managed to give the war a national character. The appointment of Kutuzov by the Emperor as commander-in-chief of the Russian army was perceived by Moscow society as the emperor’s firm intention to put at the head of the national army a commander who had high authority in the Russian society.

Conclusion. In 1812, Alexander I showed political will in the fight against Napoleon, mobilizing the country’s human and military resources. The Emperor’s position was clearly stated for all residents of the country in the Manifesto dated July 6, and for Muscovites in the speech on July 12, which, according to Vyazemsky, was an act of developing national consciousness, since it revealed the idea of uniting all social forces to fight the enemy, outlined the priorities of the country. The threat to Russia’s independence in 1812 was understood by the Russian society, which rose above its private problems and realized the need to protect the interests of the homeland.

References

1. Akul’shin P.V. A. Vyazemskii: vlast’ i obshchestvo v doreformennoi Rossii [P.A. Vyazemsky: power and society in pre-Reform Russia]. Moscow, Pamyatniki istoricheskoi mysli Publ., 2001, 234 p.
2. Akul’shin P.V. Obshchestvenno-politicheskie vzglyady knyazya P.A. Vyazemskogo: formirovanie, soderzhanie i mesto v politicheskoi istorii Rossii [Socio-political views of Prince P.A. Vyazemsky: formation, content and place in the political history of Russia]. Vestnik Surgutskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta, 2012, no 4 (19), pp. 6–17.
3. Bondarenko V.V. Vyazemskii [Vyazemsky]. Moscow, Molodaya gvardiya Publ., 2014, 688 p.
4. Vysochaishii Manifest o sbore vnutri Gosudarstva zemskogo opolcheniya. 1812 g., Iyulya 6. [The highest Manifesto on the gathering of the Zemstvo militia within the State. July, 1812 ]. Available at: https://russportal.ru/index.php?id=russia.manifest1812_07_06_01= (Access Date: 2024, Apt. 30).
5. Vyazemskii P.A. Vospominaniya o 1812 gode [Memoirs of 1812]. In: Vyazemskii P.A. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii [Complete Works]. St. Petersburg, 1882, vol. 7, pp. 192–213.
6. Vyazemskii P.A. Staraya zapisnaya knizhka. 1813–1877 [An old notebook. 1813–1877]. Moscow, Zakharov Publ., 2003, 906 p.
7. Vyazemskii P.Ya. Dopotopnaya ili dopozharnaya Moskva [Antediluvian or pre-fire Moscow]. In: Vyazemskii P.Ya. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii [Complete works]. St. Petersburg, 1882, vol. 7, pp. 80–116.
8. Gillel’son M.I. A. Vyazemskii: zhizn’ i tvorchestvo [P.A. Vyazemsky: life and creativity]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1969, 390 p.
9. Griboedovskaya Moskva v pis’makh M.A. Volkovoi k V.I. Lanskoi. 1812–1818 gg. [Griboyedovskaya Moscow in the letters of M.A. Volkova to V.I. Lanskaya. 1812–1818]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennaya publichnaya istoricheskaya biblioteka Rossii Publ., 2013, 459 p.
10. Mitrofanova O.I. Bazovye kontsepty russkoi mental’nosti v poeticheskom yazyke P.A. Vyazemskogo: dis. … kand. filolog. nauk [Basic concepts of the Russian mentality in the poetic language of P.A. Vyazemsky. Abstract of Cand. Dicc.]. Kazan, 2006, 24 p.
11. Savinova E.N. Zhizn’ moskovskogo barstva v pis’makh M.A. Volkovoi k V.I. Lanskoi [The life of the Moscow nobility in the letters of M.A. Volkova to V.I. Lanskaya]. In: Griboedovskaya Moskva v pis’makh M.A. Volkovoi k V.I. Lanskoi. 1812–1818 gg. [Griboyedovskaya Moscow in the letters of M.A. Volkova to V.I. Lanskaya. 1812–1818]. Moscow, 2013, pp. 3–33.
12. Chizhov N.S. Konstitutsionnye vzglyady N.M. Karamzina i P.A. Vyazemskogo (sravnitel’nyi analiz) [Constitutional views of N.M. Karamzin and P.A. Vyazemsky (comparative analysis)]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. 7. Filosofiya, 2019, no. 3, pp. 14–21.

2. Sheremetev S.D. Knyaz’ Petr Andreevich Vyazemskii [Prince Peter Andreevich Vyazemsky]. St. Petersburg, 1891, 34 p.

About the author

Elena L. Saraeva – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Department of Russian History, Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky, Russia, Yaroslavl (els5656@yandex.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6140-7806).

For citations

Saraeva E.L. Perception of Alexander I’s national position by individuals in 1812 (based on letters and memoirs written by Muscovites P.A. Vyazemsky and M.A. Volkova). Historical Search, 2025, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 107–121. DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-107-121 (in Russian).

Download the full article