Emperor Alexander I fought against Napoleon on the side of Austria in 1805. If the Allied offensive and defensive movements had been more organized, the War of 1812 could have been avoided. In the summer, the tsar sent two of his armies to the Austrian lands and appointed General Kutuzov as commander-in-chief of one of them. The image and characterization of Kutuzov in the novel “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy help to see the reasons for the defeat of the Russian army in the battles against the French.
Portrait of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov
The field marshal's face is easily recognizable in historical paintings because he had to lose one eye in Turkish battles. The deep scar gave the man a terrifying expression. He often wore a black bandage on the mutilated half, so as not to arouse compassion for himself with the unseeing eye. But the scar on his temple from the Izmailovo bullet still remained open.
But Kutuzov was characterized by a barely noticeable smile, turning him into a caring old man. Leo Tolstoy often mentions this kind, fatherly smile, which endears him to officers and ordinary soldiers. The senile puffiness of the face testified to the outpourings of wine necessary to warm up and lift the spirit in the field.
When the commander-in-chief says goodbye to Bagration before the battle, a tear flows down his cheek from a solitary eye. The face becomes soft from moisture, expressing care and concern. At the end, Mikhail Illarionovich offers his best general his cheek for a kiss. Kutuzov behaved unpretentiously in everyday life; he could receive generals in an unbuttoned uniform, because the collar pinched his fat neck.
The old man likes to take a nap in his Voltaire chair, his head covered with gray hair bowed on his chest. A stoop bends his shoulders downward in his seventh decade of life, but he sits perfectly in the saddle, as befits an army commander.
Human advantages and disadvantages of Kutuzov
Mikhail Illarionovich is characterized by kindness, he easily forgives the captain, demoted for hooliganism. The general is smart and attentive to detail, able to notice every detail of the uniform of the adjutant standing in front of him. The always calm hero remains calm at a critical moment in any difficult situation. He tries in every possible way to hide his excitement and not give away the thoughts running feverishly in his head.
Commander-in-Chief reserved in oratory, especially when you have to speak in front of the entire army. His speech is correct, he expresses himself with grace, as is customary at court. A simple character created by the author on the basis of historical evidence is seen by the reader, first of all, as an ordinary person. Small joys interest him, awkward weaknesses emphasize natural character flaws.
Kutuzov, like everyone else loving father, wrote letters to his children. In his free time, he enjoyed a good fiction book and loved to while away the evening in the company of beautiful women. He tended to make jokes to lighten the situation. The general joked equally cheerfully in the company of high ranks, officers, and soldiers.
The most important character trait of Kutuzov, according to the author, was that knew how to speak kindly to soldiers. There was respect, understanding and care in his voice. Looking at the worn-out boots of ordinary soldiers, he shook his head so sadly that anyone watching the old man could understand how upset he was.
At one time the general received a good education, his knowledge of French and German commands respect from Bolkonsky. The commander received Andrei very favorably, as the son of his old friend, knowing the value of true friendship, tested in battles with the enemy. Even the young prince was well aware of the old man's ability to sob and sob.
Kutuzov was often baptized as a person deeply religious relied on the power of God, trusted the sign of the cross. Leo Tolstoy admires the military skill of the commander; through the words of the author, the reader learns how smart and wise the Old One of the North was, as his enemies called him. But the power of the aged general over the army was very conditional. He had to strictly adhere to the instructions coming from St. Petersburg from the military leadership.
In the current situation, Kutuzov preferred not to interfere in the natural course of events, remaining to his own opinion, adhering to his own point of view, but not being able to use his experience in fighting battles.
Introduction
Russian commanders received great attention from sovereigns, politicians and writers. L.N. Tolstoy wrote the image of Kutuzov in the novel “War and Peace”. He turned out to be self-possessed, modest, but strong and great.
Kutuzov Mikhail Ilarionovich (Tolstoy indicates Kutuzov’s patronymic with one “l”). On the pages of the novel we do not meet him as often as, for example, the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. But we feel his presence: they talk about him in the world, soldiers think about him, Russian generals hope for him, Emperor Alexander is angry with him. Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” runs like a red thread through the plot of the entire novel - he is hope, he is faith, he is strength, he is the “father” of the Russian army.
The attitude of the novel's heroes towards Kutuzov
Princess Drubetskaya tearfully asks Prince Vasily Kuragin for her son Boris, so that he can be placed in the Semenovsky regiment and certainly closer to Kutuzov himself. The old Prince Bolkonsky writes a letter to his friend Kutuzov, where he expresses a request to appoint his son Andrei as his adjutant. The soldiers called Kutuzov “Sam” behind his back and sang a drawn-out soldier’s song, which included the lines: “Kutuzov the father.”
Before the Battle of Shengraben, Andrei Bolkonsky was at a loss as to how innocent people could be sent to certain death. But, looking into Kutuzov’s eyes, I realized: “Yes, he has the right to talk so calmly about the death of these people!”
Portrait of Kutuzov
L.N. Tolstoy gives an incomplete description of Kutuzov, there is only a small description of his appearance, the author shows us everything else through the hero’s speech. But it is precisely this characteristic of Kutuzov in the novel “War and Peace” that is basic and understandable. We see that he is kind, smiling, affectionate, and not indifferent to others. His speech is filled with the words “darling”, “buddy”, “darling”, “beauty”, this confirms his sensitive attitude towards people. Kutuzov showed a special attitude towards Andrei Bolkonsky. He sincerely regretted the death of the old prince and cried about the loss of his friend, and said to Bolkonsky: “... remember, my friend, that I am your father, another father...”
Kutuzov's attitude towards his soldiers makes us understand that for him there was no glory for himself. While inspecting the troops at Braunau, Kutuzov “walked through the ranks, occasionally stopping and speaking a few kind words to the officers... and sometimes to the soldiers.” He also remembered Timokhin, telling him: “Brave officer!” The image of Kutuzov in “War and Peace” was woven by Tolstoy from his human qualities and the character of a commander, a true Russian commander-in-chief. He often writes about his state of mind: “A barely noticeable smile ran across Kutuzov’s plump, wound-disfigured face,” “Christ is with you. “I bless you for this great feat,” said Kutuzov, saying goodbye to Bagration. Tears rolled from his eyes."
Kutuzov and the Battle of Austerlitz
In the novel “War and Peace,” the image of Kutuzov is presented to us not only in his positive assessment. We also see a negative attitude towards the commander-in-chief when they speak about him in a mocking tone: Prince Vasily, secular society, the military council. And Emperor Alexander himself was angry with Kutuzov for Austerlitz. Kutuzov spoke about the Battle of Austerlitz: “I think that the battle will be lost...” But no one understood the meaning of his words, and he felt with his whole existence that it would be a collapse. Tolstoy gives us at this moment another portrait of Kutuzov: “... seemed exhausted and irritable,” “said angrily,” “screamed biliously,” “angry and caustic expression of his gaze.” He was worried about people, about their lives, he didn’t want to take risks, because there were people behind him, living people. When the sovereign arrived, “he took on the appearance of a commanding, unreasoning person,” because he knew how Alexander treated him. To the sovereign’s question why we weren’t starting, Kutuzov answered: “...we are waiting...” But the sovereign’s grin gave him a sign to go forward. The decision was made by force. And could he argue? When Kutuzov saw what was really happening, that the French were under their very noses, and there was nowhere to retreat, he was already wounded in the cheek, but only said: “The wound is not here, but here!” and pointed to the running soldiers. He was pained by the fact that all his expectations and thoughts were justified, but he could not change anything.
At the military council before the Battle of Austerlitz, Tolstoy shows Kutuzov “in an unbuttoned uniform, from which, as if freed, his fat neck floated out onto the collar, sat in a Voltaire chair, placing his plump old hands symmetrically on the armrests, and was almost asleep...” Kutuzov’s condition can be explained - he understood the entire course of this battle, but no one listened to him, the conversation of the generals was uninteresting to him.
After the flight of the Russians at Austerlitz, no one spoke about Kutuzov, “some scolded him in a whisper, calling him a court turntable and an old satyr.”
Kutuzov - commander
The transition from Kreis to Znaim was Kutuzov’s decision, which led the Russians to their goal. An unexpected opportunity to save the Russian army, Murat's mistake gave Kutuzov a chance to withdraw his troops. Having sent Bagration’s detachment to detain the enemy, Kutuzov managed to save the rest. Calculation or chance helped Kutuzov win the Battle of Shengraben, be that as it may - he is a great commander who deserves true recognition.
The Battle of Borodino was just around the corner, but no one remembered Kutuzov. But nevertheless, the committee appointed him commander-in-chief of the army, although it knew about the sovereign’s dislike for Kutuzov. This is proof that they believed in Kutuzov, they waited for him, they respected him, they loved him. He held the Russian spirit, the Russian faith, and he turned out to be higher and stronger than Napoleon. Inconspicuous, not claiming anything, he appeared in the novel as a real Russian patriot who fought not for himself, not for glory, but for the sovereign and the people.
This essay can be ended with the words of Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, which he said to Andrei Bolkonsky before the Battle of Borodino: “Yes, they reproached me a lot for both the war and the peace... but everything came on time. Everything comes on time for those who know how to wait.”
Work test
IMAGE OF KUTUZOVBy writing "War and Peace", L.N. Tolstoy created not just a novel, he created a historical novel. Many pages in it are devoted to a specifically Tolstoy understanding of the historical process, his philosophy of history.
In this regard, the novel contains many real historical characters who in one way or another influenced the state of European and Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century. These are Emperor Alexander I and Napoleon Bonaparte, General Bagration and General Davout, Arakcheev and Speransky. And among them is a character-sign with a very special semantic content - Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, His Serene Highness Prince Smolensky - a brilliant Russian commander, one of the most educated people of his time.
Kutuzov, depicted in the novel, is strikingly different from the real historical figure. For Tolstoy, Kutuzov is the embodiment of his historical innovations. He is a special figure, a person endowed with the instinct of wisdom. It is like a vector, the direction of action of which is determined by the sum of thousands and millions of causes and actions performed in historical space.
“History, that is, the unconscious, swarm, general life of humanity, uses every minute of the life of the kings for itself, as an instrument for its own purposes.”
And one more quote: “Every action... in the historical sense is involuntary, is in connection with the entire course of history and is determined from eternity.”
This understanding of history makes every historical figure a fatal figure and makes his activity meaningless. For Tolstoy, in the context of history, it acts as a passive pledge of the social process. Only by understanding this can one explain the actions, or more precisely, the non-actions of Kutuzov on the pages of the novel.
In Austerlitz, having a superior number of soldiers, an excellent disposition, generals, the same one that he would later lead to the Borodino field, Kutuzov melancholy remarks to Prince Andrei: “I think that the battle will be lost, and I told Count Tolstoy so and asked him to convey this to the sovereign ".
And at the meeting of the military council before the battle, he simply, like an old man, allows himself to fall asleep. He already knows everything. He knows everything in advance. He undoubtedly has that “swarm” understanding of life that the author writes about.
However, Tolstoy would not have been Tolstoy if he had not also shown the field marshal as a living person, with passions and weaknesses, with the capacity for generosity and malice, compassion and cruelty.
He is going through the 1812 campaign hard. “What... what they’ve brought us to!” Kutuzov suddenly said in an excited voice, clearly imagining the situation in which Russia was.” And Prince Andrei sees tears in the old man’s eyes.
“They will eat my horse meat!” - he threatens the French. And he fulfills his threat. He knew how to keep his word!
His inaction embodies collective wisdom. He performs actions not at the level of their understanding, but at the level of some innate instinct, just as a peasant knows when to plow and when to sow.
Kutuzov does not give a general battle to the French not because he does not want - the sovereign wants this, the entire headquarters wants this - but because it is contrary to the natural course of things, which he is not able to express in words.
When this battle takes place, the author does not understand why, out of dozens of similar fields, Kutuzov chooses Borodino, no better and no worse than others. By giving and accepting the battle in Borodino, Kutuzov and Napoleon acted involuntarily and senselessly. Kutuzov on the Borodino field does not issue any orders, he only agrees or disagrees. He is focused and calm. He alone understands everything and knows that at the end of the battle the beast received a mortal wound. But it takes time for him to die. Kutuzov makes the only textbook-historical decision in Fili, One against all. His unconscious popular mind defeats the dry logic of military strategy. Leaving Moscow, he wins the war,
Having subordinated himself, his mind, his will to the elements of the historical movement, he became this element. This is exactly what Leo Tolstoy convinces us of: “Personality is a slave of history.”
Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov in the novel "War and Peace" is presented not only as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, but also as a character connected by ordinary relationships with other heroes of the novel. We first meet Kutuzov at a review near Braunau, where he seems absent-minded, but shows his knowledge and pays great attention to all the soldiers. Kutuzov is a wise commander, he takes the interests of the Motherland very close to his heart. His ability to see and predict further events helps him correctly assess the situation. Kutuzov is very close to the soldiers; before the Battle of Borodino, he followed the preparations for the battle with them and prayed in front of the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God for a successful victory. He was a favorite of military officers and soldiers, everyone respected him for his simplicity and diplomacy.
When he had to leave Moscow, Kutuzov left the city with tears in his eyes, but was sure that the French would be defeated, and victory simply needed time. It pained him to look at the burning city, but he knew that retreat was necessary for the soldiers, that this was a respite before a decisive offensive.
Kutuzov had a favorable attitude towards Andrei Bolkonsky, even invited him to remain to serve at the headquarters, but Andrei did not agree. Kutuzov had friendly relations with the old Prince Bolkonsky, a former colleague, and upon learning of his death he was very worried.
Having directed all his forces to liberate his homeland, Kutuzov does not see the point in active actions, he just does not interfere with the flow of events, maintains the morale of the soldiers and listens to the reports of the generals in order to make the right decision. Kutuzov dies when his role in the novel is fulfilled: the French are driven out of Russia, the Russian army is victorious.
Among the real historical characters depicted in the epic novel by L.N. Tolstoy, Kutuzov, a commander who embodied the spirit of the people, occupies an important place. However, Kutuzov depicted in Tolstoy’s novel is not at all the same figure whom Russian history knows. For the author, the commander is an even more significant, special figure, endowed with the instinct of universal folk wisdom.
Kutuzov is an “old man”, with a loose body and a disfigured face, he gets tired quickly and is a great lover of sleep, he is not devoid of human passions and weaknesses, like any living person. However, fulfilling the role of commander-in-chief of the Russian army, he appears as a subtle and intelligent diplomat with a sharp mind and military leadership talent.
Kutuzov possessed “an extraordinary power of insight in the sense of occurring phenomena.” For Tolstoy, this phenomenon is so important that in his philosophical digressions he states that it is not the individual who plays the main role in history, but the entire people. The commander-in-chief directed all his forces “not to exterminate and kill people, but to save and take pity on them.” Kutuzov is modest, simple and unassuming, which is why he is great, because, according to Tolstoy, “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” During the Battle of Borodino, Kutuzov feels what every soldier experiences and inspires confidence in victory: “The meaning of his words was communicated everywhere, because what Kutuzov said did not stem from cunning considerations, but from the feeling that lay in the soul of the commander-in-chief, just like in the soul of every Russian person.”
The psychological image of Kutuzov, his relationships with soldiers, and his very life are imbued with a deep folk spirit. The commander with all his being understood and felt everything that every soldier experienced. On behalf of the people, the commander-in-chief refuses Lauriston a truce. He understands perfectly well that victory in the Battle of Borodino is a victory in the war. Kutuzov supports Denisov’s plan to launch partisan actions, understanding the popular nature of the war and knowing that history is made by the people and only they can lead to victory. He “knew that the fate of the battle was being decided by that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he monitored this force and led it as far as it was in his power.” The merging of Kutuzov with the “spirit of the army” leads to victory: “Russia has been liberated and placed on the highest level of glory.” Having learned about the flight of the French from Moscow, the commander says in a trembling voice: “Russia has been saved. Thank you Lord,” and tears flow from his eyes.
The image of Kutuzov is depicted by Tolstoy statically. This is a hero whose character does not develop. But this cannot be, because this is a historical figure, integral from the very beginning, whose authority for Tolstoy is indisputable. Only the age of the hero changes. If at first he is depicted as a gallant general, then in the War of 1812 he appears as a white-headed old man who evokes irony from his enemies and deep respect from Russian soldiers. Sometimes the commander’s behavior causes bewilderment, but he is absolutely confident in what he is doing, as if his actions were dictated to him from above. So, in Austerlitz, with a large number of soldiers, an excellent disposition, and generals, Kutuzov says: “I think that the battle will be lost, and I told Count Tolstoy so and asked him to convey this to the sovereign.” It seems strange that at the meeting of the military council, which took place before the battle, the commander fell asleep like an old man. But this is not strange, he simply foresaw the outcome of the battle in advance. On the Borodino field, the commander does not give orders, he only expresses his agreement or disagreement with what his subordinates propose. The only decision that Kutuzov makes himself, alone against everyone, becomes historical - this is the decision made at the council in Fili. Here the author demonstrates how popular reason diverges from military strategy and defeats it.
In the novel, Kutuzov becomes an exponent of Tolstoy’s views, which are based on the understanding that the creator of history and historical events is the whole people, and not individual people, and that the spirit and mood of the masses are most powerful. Tolstoy portrays Kutuzov as a fatalist who passively watches the events taking place. The author does not talk about how the commander-in-chief prepared the army for battle after the surrender of Moscow, how he carried out his plan of action to defeat the French army. However, in some episodes Tolstoy shows Kutuzov historically correctly: when the commander spends long nights thinking about the strategy of the upcoming campaign.