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Putin visits Borodino Battle Museum

He visited the Borodino Battle Museum founded in 1839 on the orders of Emperor Alexander II
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

BORODINO, Moscow region, September 2 (Itar-Tass) —— President Vladimir Putin took part in celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Borodino Battle and awarded the “City of Military Glory” titles to Mozhaisk and Maloyaroslavets on Sunday.

He visited the Borodino Battle Museum founded in 1839 on the orders of Emperor Alexander II. The museum has about 2,600 exhibits, including a true-to-life battlefield model which depicts positions of the Russian and French armies, the direction of Napoleon’s strike and post-battle positions. More than 1,000 artifacts found on the Borodino battlefield are displayed around the model.

Excavations continue and more details of the Borodino Battle become known, Museum Deputy Director Alexander Gorbunov said. “Archaeologists find projectile fragments, bullets and buttons. The location of each bullet is recorded to reconstruct the course of the battle. The excavations help us determine the limits of the Borodino field and explain why it is impossible to build home here,” he said.

A diorama of the battle central spot, where the Savior Monastery of Borodino is now located, is an important exhibit. The widow of Gen. Tuchkov who died in the Borodino Battle founded the monastery.

The museum presents personal belongings of military commander Mikhail Kutuzov and trophies, such as Napoleon’s bed and some other things. “The emperor had several beds like that. In fact, he died on one of them on the St. Helena Island,” Gorbunov said. There are some valuable documents on display, among them maps dating back to 1812, memoirs of battle participants and a Napoleon’s marshal report with comments and signature of the emperor.

Uniforms, armaments and banners of Russian and Napoleonic armies were shown to Putin.

The Borodino Museum was awarded a UNESCO prize for preservation and governance of the Borodino Field cultural landscape in 2007.