125 km west of Moscow stands the Borodino open-air museum. There are more than 200 monuments dedicated to the Russian-French War of 1812 and World War II.
Scroll down to see more
Nikolay Korolyoff
125 km west of Moscow stands the Borodino open-air museum, one of the oldest military history museums in the world. Located across the 110 sq km site are more than 200 monuments dedicated to the Russian-French War of 1812 and World War II.
Nikolay Korolyoff
During the war of 1812, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army Mikhail Kutuzov set up a defensive position at Borodino.
Nikolay Korolyoff
The outline of the redoubts and some weapons from the war have survived. For example, this cannon.
Nikolay Korolyoff
In French history the Battle of Borodino is known as the Battle of the Moskva River, although here the river is nothing like in Moscow. In the region of Borodino, it is more like a rivulet overgrown with willows along the banks.
Nikolay Korolyoff
Out in the field, where the battles of two wars once thundered, birds glide and ears of rye flutter in the wind as ever. War and peace live side by side.
Nikolay Korolyoff
There are monuments not only to the Russian army, but also to the French. The inscription on this monument reads: "To the Fallen of the Grande Armée." It is here that Napoleon had his command center.
Nikolay Korolyoff
All the monuments at Borodino devoted to French soldiers are surmounted with eagles soaring towards the Russian positions.
Nikolay Korolyoff
The monuments to Russian soldiers are surmounted with crosses. For example, this monument was erected at the site of the demise of one of the heroes of the war of 1812.
Nikolay Korolyoff
The cemetery here at Borodino is the resting place of thousands of soldiers and officers who perished during the war of 1812 and World War II.
Nikolay Korolyoff
The villages and croplands that lay here before the war of 1812 still exist. The descendants of those peasants continue to sow rye.
Nikolay Korolyoff
This building houses the Battle of Borodino Museum. It was built in 1912 on the 100th anniversary of the battle. It was previously the site of a small hut where there lived two veterans of the Battle of Borodino.
Nikolay Korolyoff
This is the main monument to Russia's soldiers and heroes of the Battle of Borodino. It was opened in 1839. Buried at its foot lies one of the main heroes of the battle, Prince Bagration.
Nikolay Korolyoff
During the advance of German troops on Moscow in 1941, Borodino field was one of the fortified areas along the way. This pillbox, or dug-in guard post, is one of the monuments to those events.
Nikolay Korolyoff
Every year, in September and November, members of military-historical clubs from Russia, France, and Germany descend on Borodino to reconstruct the events of 1812 and World War II.
.jpg)
.jpg)
