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Sholokhov-Centre Opened Exhibition “Russian Cavalry in the Era of the Napoleonic Wars”

On October 12, 2018, an opening ceremony of the exhibition “Russian Cavalry in the Era of the Napoleonic Wars” presented by the State Borodino Military-Historical Museum-Reserve took place in Rostov-on-Don, Sholokhov-Centre.

The first visitors were the students of the Second Don Emperor Nicholas II Cadet Corps, representatives of the cultural and exhibition centre “Don Cossack Guard” of the Don State Technical University and the members of the military history clubs named after ataman M.I.Platov and “Skarzhinsky Squadron” – frequent members of the military historical reconstructions including those in Borodino Field. A special atmosphere was created by the performance of girls-drummers of the model folk dance ensemble “Kabluchok”. The exhibition opening ceremony was visited by the finalists of the All-Russian competition of elegance, beauty and success “Missis Russia” held on these days in Rostov-on-Don.

Greeting the audience O.A.Anistratenko, Director of the National M.A.Sholokhov Museum-Reserve, noted that the exhibition will arouse great interest in the residents and guests of Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov Region, and thanked the private collector N.L.Novikov, who presented for the exhibition a full set of authentic Cossack outfit. “The Patriotic War of 1812, is one of the brightest pages in the history of Russia, and Don Cossacks played a significant role in it. We are glad that a cycle of events dedicated to the coming 180th anniversary of the foundation of the Museum-Reserve “Borodino Field” starts namely in the Don country, – said Olga Alexandrovna.

The first exhibition tour telling about the era of the Napoleonic Wars – a historical period of 1796 – 1815, – was made by E.V.Semenishcheva, head of the exhibition department of the Museum-Reserve “Borodino Field”. She underlined that selecting the exhibits the museum workers tried to show what is more interesting for the people of the Don country, so the Cossack theme was paid a special attention. For example, the exhibition displays books and paintings devoted to the main battles of the Russian Empire at the turn of the centuries, and we can see representatives of the Don Cossacks.

There are 276 items from the unique collection of the Museum-Reserve “Borodino Field”. The visitors are shown unique objects of the early XIX century: models of the uniform and equipment of Russian cavalrymen, rare books,

archaeological finds – cannonballs, rifle bullets, buckshot, grenade fragments, breastplates of Russian cavalry regiments.

A special interest and spiritual excitement is the genuine standard of the Astrakhan cuirassier regiment of 1811, which a Russian warrior hit by the enemy shell dropped from his hands. Among the unique exhibits there is a book of memories written by a “cavalry girl” Nadezhda Durova, a masterful tapestry “Ladies and Hussars”, portraits of participants in the war of 1812, from the Ilovaisky clan, a sculpture of Denis Davydov.

The State Borodino Military-Historical Museum-Reserve was established in 1839, by the Decree of Emperor Nicholas I and is the oldest of the world museums created on the battlefields. In 1995, it was included in the State Code of the Most Valuable Objects of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation, and in 2007, it was the first of the Russian museums to be awarded the international UNESCO Prize named after Melina Mercury for preservation and use of cultural landscapes.

The exhibition “Russian Cavalry in the Era of the Napoleonic Wars” from the collection of the Museum-Reserve “Borodino Field” will run until December 10, 2018.

Welcome to Sholokhov-Centre of the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov in: 125/69, Bolshaya Sadovaya, Rostov-on-Don. The exhibition runs: from 10.00 to 17.00 (Wednesday and Friday from 10.00 to 19.00), no days off (from November 12, – Monday is a day off).

Tours: 8(863)210-90-14: 8(863)210-90-14 (tour orders), 8(863)210-90-17 (cashdesk); e-mail: rostov@sholokhov.ru

Dmitry Anistratenko
Olga Bakhtiyarova 

We thank Mariya Kim and Vera Voloshina for the photos presented.