True and false patriots war peace. True and false patriotism in the novel “War and Peace”

Patriotic theme in L. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”

“War and Peace” is the title of the eternal book, the great epic novel by L. N. Tolstoy. War... This word terrifies any person, because war is a “terrible thing.” Participation in this matter may be a monstrous crime, or it may be forced self-defense, a grave and bloody matter, but necessary, and therefore heroic and noble.

During the War of 1812, to the description of which many pages of War and Peace are devoted, an amazing unification of the Russian people took place, regardless of class, gender, age, because Russia found itself in mortal danger. Everyone was overwhelmed by a single feeling, Tolstoy called it “the hidden warmth of patriotism,” which manifested itself not in loud words and pompous slogans, but in truly heroic deeds, each of which in its own way brought victory closer. This moral feeling, of course, has long lived in the soul of every Russian person, lurking somewhere in the depths of his soul, but the moment came - a difficult time for the homeland - and it broke out and reached its highest manifestation. Thanks to him, the Russian people appeared as a real hero-hero in the War of 1812.

“When “the forces of the twelve languages ​​of Europe burst into Russia,” notes researcher K. Lomunov, “our people rose up in a holy war of liberation.” Tolstoy himself said that “the goal of the people was one: to cleanse their land from invasion.” This goal was clear to everyone: from the commander to the common soldier, peasant, and partisan.

Realizing the horror of the situation in which their homeland found itself, people went to their death, showed true heroism, and fulfilled their duty to the end. It was in Russia that Napoleon encountered extraordinary spiritual fortitude, courage, steadfastness and love for the fatherland.

Drawing episodes from various battles, Tolstoy shows that it is not numerical superiority, not military skill and strategic plans of wise commanders, but the inspiration of the combatants that influences the course of the battle, ensuring victory. Having become inspired, Timokhin, a man whom no one considers a hero and who himself absolutely does not think about his own heroism, infects his subordinates with this feeling. “Why feel sorry for yourself now!” - he exclaims.

Tushin with his battery, which everyone had forgotten about, also fights courageously and decides the outcome of the battle. He does not speak loud words, he silently does a great thing. Tushin showed himself to be a real brave man. Outwardly, this man is unremarkable, but his strength of spirit and inner core are obvious.

The central, pinnacle part of the novel is the Battle of Borodino. It was here that people's patriotism and heroism manifested themselves with the greatest strength and brightness, because it was here that everyone realized and understood the whole meaning and significance of this war as a holy, liberation war. The Russian participants in Borodino had no doubt about the outcome of the battle. For each of them there could only be one: victory at any cost. The Russian people fought for their land, for their homeland. Everyone understood that the fate of the fatherland depended on this battle. “...I believe,” says Andrei Bolkonsky, “that tomorrow will really depend on us... From the feeling that is in me, in him,” he pointed to Timokhin, “in every soldier.” Warriors put on clean linen solemnly before battle, as if it were the most important thing in life, preparing to fulfill their duty - to die, but not to allow the enemy to win.

The inner fire flared up more and more in everyone who fought: in the people of Raevsky’s battery, in Pierre Bezukhov, Andrei Bolkonsky, who heroically sacrificed himself, and in others. Thanks to this fire, the Russian army won greatest victory over your opponents.

In the novel “War and Peace” Tolstoy also talks about the club “ people's war", which made a significant contribution to the overall victory. This war was fought without knowledge of the rules of the art of war. The partisan detachments of Denisov and Dolokhov admire them for their feat, which Kutuzov himself blesses. The elder Vasilisa, “who killed hundreds of Frenchmen,” and the nameless sexton, “who took several hundred prisoners a month,” are surprised. Guerrilla detachments, armed only with axes and pitchforks, destroyed Napoleonic's great army piece by piece. These detachments were a good help in the affairs of the active army. Their strength lay in their fury, in their surprise, in the unpredictability with which they attacked the enemy, and in their elusiveness. Napoleon “never ceased to complain to Kutuzov and Emperor Alexander that the war was waged contrary to all the rules...”.

L.N. Tolstoy, drawing images of partisans and soldiers such as Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev, concentrated in them the main qualities of the Russian people. Shcherbaty is a vivid image of the people's avenger. He is active, fearless, cruel. He turned out to be "the most the right person"in Denisov's detachment. It combines the resourcefulness and daring of the Russian peasantry. Tikhon, like many others, rebels against the enemy not because someone forces him, but under the influence of natural patriotic feelings and hatred of uninvited guests.

The heart of Platon Karataev is also filled with patriotism, although in the novel he is contrasted with Shcherbaty. “...The worm gnaws the cabbage,” notes Plato, “and before that he himself disappears.” “Moscow, she is the mother of all cities,” Karataev also rightly says. He personifies the wisdom, patience and kindness of the Russian person. Having been captured and meeting Pierre Bezukhov there, Karataev teaches him patience and forgiveness.

National unity was also expressed in the attitude towards one’s own property, something that was acquired through many years of labor and was truly expensive, and in the ability to sacrifice it. The Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, imbued with a spontaneous patriotic feeling, calls on the soldiers to rob his own shop, although at first the owner spoke in his soul. “Get everything, guys! Don't let the devils get you!" - he nevertheless shouted, and in the end he set fire to his yard. The Rostov family, at the insistence of Natasha, who was possessed by a humane and patriotic feeling, leaves all property in Moscow and gives carts to the wounded.

The Smolensk scenes of the novel, according to K. Lomunov, are remarkable in that “they clearly show how feelings of insult and indignation caused by enemy actions were born in the Russian people, which soon turned into direct hatred of the invaders.”

The writer contrasted popular patriotism with the false patriotism of individual representatives of the secular nobility, which manifested itself only in pompous phrases about love for the motherland and insignificant deeds. Such characters include Prince Vasily Kuragin and his children Ippolit, Helen, Anatole; guests of Anna Pavlovna Sherer's salon; Boris Drubetskoy, whose main goal is not to stand up for his native land, but to make his own career; Dolokhov, seeking awards and ranks; Julie Kuragina, who introduced a fine for talking on French; Berg, trying to extract as many benefits from the war as possible for himself. Fortunately, there were still few like them.

Tolstoy depicts the greatness of the feat of the Russian people and at the same time castigates the war, which brings hardships, disasters, and torment. Many are ruined. Cities and villages are dying in the fires. The Russian army is suffering huge losses. But the writer calls all this a “terrible necessity” and speaks with love, pride and delight about those who endured difficult trials in the name of liberation native land. He puts fair, wonderful words about the Russian people into Kutuzov’s mouth: “Wonderful, incomparable people!”

The novel “War and Peace” is a historical epic of the valor and courage of the Russian people - the winner of the War of 1812. As in “Sevastopol Stories,” so in this novel Tolstoy realistically depicts the war in “blood, in suffering, in death.” Tolstoy tells us about the severity of war, its horrors, grief (population leaving Smolensk and Moscow, famine), death (Andrei Bolkonsky dies after being wounded, Petya Rostov dies). War requires the utmost effort of moral and physical strength from everyone. Russia during the Patriotic War, during the period of robbery, violence and atrocities committed by the invaders, suffered enormous material sacrifices. This is the burning and devastation of cities.

The general mood of soldiers, partisans and other defenders of the Motherland is of great importance during military events. War of 1805-1807 was conducted outside Russia and was alien to the Russian people. When the French invaded the territory of Russia, the entire Russian people, young and old, rose to defend their Fatherland.

In the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy divides people according to moral principles, especially highlighting their attitude to patriotic duty. The writer depicts true patriotism and false patriotism, which cannot even be called patriotism. True patriotism - this is, first of all, patriotism of duty, action in the name of the Fatherland, the ability to rise above the personal at a decisive moment for the Motherland, to be imbued with a sense of responsibility for the fate of the people. By Tolstoy's opinion, The Russian people are deeply patriotic. When the French occupied Smolensk, peasants burned hay so as not to sell it to their enemies. Each in his own way tried to hurt the enemy so that they would feel the hatred of the true owners of the earth. The merchant Ferapontov burned down his own shop so that it would not fall to the French. The residents of Moscow are shown as true patriots, who, leaving their hometown, leave their homes, because they consider it impossible to remain under the rule of impostors.

Russian soldiers are true patriots. The novel is replete with numerous episodes depicting the varied manifestations of patriotism by Russian people. We see the true patriotism and heroism of the people in the depiction of classical scenes under Shengraben, Austerlitz, Smolensk, Borodin. Of course, love for the fatherland, the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for it, is most clearly manifested on the battlefield, in direct confrontation with the enemy. It was in the Battle of Borodino that the extraordinary fortitude and courage of Russian soldiers was particularly demonstrated. Describing the night before the Battle of Borodino, Tolstoy draws attention to the seriousness and concentration of the soldiers who clean their weapons in preparation for battle. They refuse vodka because they are ready to consciously enter into battle with a powerful enemy. Their feeling of love for the Motherland does not allow reckless drunken courage. Realizing that this battle could be the last for each of them, the soldiers put on clean shirts, preparing for death, but not for retreat. While courageously fighting the enemy, Russian soldiers do not try to look like heroes. They are alien to panache and pose; there is nothing ostentatious in their simple and sincere love for the Motherland. When, during the Battle of Borodino, “one cannonball blew up the ground two steps away from Pierre,” the broad, red-faced soldier innocently confesses to him his fear. “After all, she will not have mercy. She will smack and her guts will be out. “You can’t help but be afraid,” he said laughing.” But the soldier, who was not at all trying to be brave, died soon after this short dialogue, like tens of thousands of others, but did not give up and did not retreat.

Outwardly unremarkable people become heroes and true patriots in Tolstoy. That's the captain Tushin, who found himself in the face of his superiors in a comical position without boots, embarrassed, stumbling and at the same time, at the most critical moment, doing exactly what was needed.

The strength of the people's spirit will give birth to outstanding commanders. Such as Mikhail Kutuzov . Kutuzov in the novel is an exponent of the idea of ​​patriotism, he was appointed commander against the will of the king and the royal court. Andrei explains this to Pierre this way: “While Russia was healthy, Barclay de Tolly was good... When Russia is sick, it needs its own man.” Kutuzov lives only with the feelings, thoughts, interests of soldiers, perfectly understands their mood, takes care of them like a father. He firmly believes that the outcome of the battle is determined by “an elusive force called the spirit of the army” and strives with all his might to support this hidden warmth of patriotism in the army.

The episode in Fili is important. Kutuzov takes upon himself the gravest responsibility and orders a retreat. This order contains the true patriotism of Kutuzov. Retreating from Moscow, Kutuzov retained an army that could not yet compare in numbers with Napoleonic's. Defending Moscow would mean losing the army, and this would lead to the loss of both Moscow and Russia. After Napoleon pushed beyond Russian borders, Kutuzov refuses to fight outside Russia. He believes that the Russian people have fulfilled their mission by expelling the invader, and there is no need to shed more people's blood.

The patriotism of the Russian people is manifested not only in battle. After all, not only that part of the people who were mobilized into the army took part in the fight against the invaders.

Andrey Bolkonsky. Still from the film “War and Peace” (1965)

Lev Nikolaevich shows that patriotic feelings embrace people of different political views: the progressive intelligentsia (Pierre, Andrey), the confrontational old Prince Bolkonsky, the conservative Nikolai Rostov, the meek Princess Marya. The patriotic impulse also penetrates the hearts of people who seem far from the war - Petya, Natasha Rostov. But it only seemed so. A real person, according to Tolstoy, cannot help but be a patriot of his Fatherland. All these people are united by a feeling that exists in the soul of every Russian person. (The Rostov family, leaving the city, gives all the carts to the wounded, thereby losing their property. After the death of her father, Maria Bolkonskaya leaves the estate, not wanting to live in the territory occupied by enemies. Pierre Bezukhov thinks about killing Napoleon, knowing full well how this could end.)

The writer attaches great importance partisan movement . This is how Tolstoy describes his spontaneous growth: “ Before the guerrilla war was officially accepted by our government, thousands of people of the enemy army - backward marauders, foragers - were exterminated by the Cossacks and peasants, who beat these people as unconsciously as dogs unconsciously kill a rabid dog.”. Tolstoy characterizes partisan “war not according to the rules” as spontaneous, comparing it with a club, “ rising with all its formidable and majestic power and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules... nailing the French... until the entire invasion perished.”.

Tolstoy contrasts the true patriotism of the bulk of Russian people false patriotism the highest noble society, repulsive with its falsehood, selfishness and hypocrisy. These are fake people, whose patriotic words and deeds become a means of achieving base goals. Tolstoy mercilessly tears off the mask of patriotism from German and half-German generals in Russian service, “golden youth” like Anatoly Kuragin, careerists like Boris Drubetsky. Tolstoy angrily denounces that part of the senior staff officers who did not take part in the battles, but tried to get a job at the headquarters and simply receive awards.

People like false patriots there will be a lot until people realize that everyone must defend their country, and that there will be no one else to do this except them. This is exactly what Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy wanted to convey through antithesis, contrasting true and false patriots. But Tolstoy does not fall into the false-patriotic tone of the narrative, but looks at events sternly and objectively, like a realist writer. This helps him more accurately convey to us the importance of the problem of false patriotism.

A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and other St. Petersburg salons:“...calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national calamity reign here greed, promotion, service.

The Count also displays false patriotism Rastopchin, who posts stupid ones around Moscow "posters", calls on the city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sends the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death. Meanness and betrayal are combined with conceit and pout: “It not only seemed to him that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that the people despise among themselves and which they do not understand when they hear it from above ».

Indicative for understanding author's attitude to what is happening and the reaction of the scene participants to Berg’s behavior - both direct and not having a direct connection with the hero’s monologues. The direct reaction is contained in the Count’s actions: “The Count wrinkled his face and choked...”; “Oh, you all get out to hell, to hell, to hell and to hell!..” Natasha Rostova’s reaction is even more definite: “... this is such disgusting, such an abomination, such... I don’t know! Are we some kind of Germans?..” Natasha Rostova’s exclamation is somewhat divorced from Berg’s monologues; the plot is connected with Petya’s story about his parents’ quarrel over carts. But it is obvious that Tolstoy puts these words into Natasha’s mouth, among other things, with the aim of giving a final assessment of Berg’s hypocritical shamelessness (the mention of the Germans is no coincidence).

This is finally Drubetskoy, who, like other staff officers, thinks about rewards and promotion, wants “to arrange for himself the best position, especially the position of adjutant to an important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army”. It is probably no coincidence that on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre notices this greedy excitement on the faces of the officers; he mentally compares it with “another expression of excitement,” “which spoke of not personal, but general issues, issues of life and death.”

Tolstoy convinces us that only those nobles who comprehend the spirit of the people, for whom there can be no happiness outside the peace and prosperity of their country, can be true patriots.

By uniting people on a moral principle, emphasizing the special importance when assessing a person of the truth of his patriotic feeling, Tolstoy brings together people who are very different in their own way. social status people. They turn out to be close in spirit, rising to the greatness of people's patriotism. And it is not without reason that during a difficult period of his life, Pierre Bezukhov, finding himself on the Borodino field, comes to the conviction that true happiness is merging with the common people. (“Be a soldier, just a soldier. Enter this common life with the whole being.")

Thus, true patriotism in Tolstoy’s understanding is the highest manifestation of the moral strength and spirit of the people. People's patriotism is an invincible force in the fight against enemies. The winner is the Russian people.

Municipal secondary school N 1

Literature abstract on the topic

True and false patriotism in the novel

"War and Peace"

Completed by a student of grade 10 “B”

Zinovieva Irina

Checked by literature teacher

Chinina Olga Yurievna

Voronezh 2006

Introduction

Heroically patriotic and anti-war themes are the defining, leading themes of Tolstoy's epic novel. This work has forever captured the feat of the Russian people, who defended their national independence with arms in their hands. “War and Peace” will continue to retain this meaning in the future, inspiring peoples to fight against foreign invaders.

The author of War and Peace was a committed and passionate advocate of peace. He knew well what war was, he saw it closely with his own eyes. For five years, young Tolstoy wore a military uniform, serving as an artillery officer in the field army, first in the Caucasus, then on the Danube and finally in the Crimea, where he participated in the heroic defense of Sevastopol.

The great work was preceded by a work on a novel about the Decembrist. In 1856, a manifesto was announced on amnesty for the people of December 14, and their return to their homeland caused an aggravation of Russian society. L.N. Tolstoy also showed attention to this event. He recalled: “In 1856, I began to write a story with a well-known direction, the hero of which was supposed to be a Decembrist returning with his family to Russia...” The writer did not intend to give the reader the apotheosis of the Decembrist movement: his plans included revising this page of Russian history in the light defeat of Decembrism and offer their understanding of the fight against it, carried out by peaceful means and through non-violence. Therefore, the hero of the story was supposed to, upon returning from exile, condemn his revolutionary past and become a supporter of another solution to the problem - moral improvement as a recipe for the improvement of the entire society. However, Tolstoy's plan underwent significant changes. Let’s listen to the writer himself: “Involuntarily, from the present (that is, 1856), I moved to 1825, the era of my hero’s delusions and misfortunes, and left what I started. But in 1825 my hero was already a mature, family man. To understand him, I needed to travel back to his youth, and his youth coincided with the glory for Russia of the era of 1812. Another time I abandoned what I had started and began to write from the time of 1812, the smell and sound of which are still audible and dear to us.” So the main theme of the new novel was the heroic epic of the struggle against the Napoleonic invasion. L. Tolstoy, however, continues: “The third time I returned back due to a feeling that may seem strange. I was ashamed to write about our triumph in the fight against Bonaparte’s France without describing our failures and our shame. If the reason for our triumph was not accidental, but lay in the essence of the character of the Russian people and troops, then this character should have been expressed even more clearly in the era of failures and defeats. So, having returned from 1825 to 1805, from now on I intend to take not one, but many of my heroines and heroes through the historical events of 1805, 1807, 1812, 1825 and 1856.” This important author’s testimony conveys the grandiose scale of what is captured in the novel, and the development of the latter into an epic, and the multi-heroic nature of the work, and the significance of comprehension in it national character, and its deep historicism. An important previous work of Tolstoy was “Sevastopol Stories”, and the impulse in coverage historical events became the Crimean War with its failures that needed comprehension.

The work on “War and Peace” was accompanied by a huge creative surge of the writer. Never before had he felt his mental and moral powers so free and intended for creative work.

L.N. Tolstoy begins a thorough study of historical sources, documentary literature, and memories of participants in ancient events. He studies the works of A. I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky about the wars of 1805-1814, “Essays on the Battle of Borodino” by F. N. Glinka, “Diary of Partisan Actions of 1812” by D. V. Davydov, the book “Russia and the Russians” by N. I. . Turgenev, “Notes about 1812” by S. N. Glinka, memoirs of A. P. Ermolov, memoirs of A. D. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, “Camping notes of an artilleryman” by I. T. Radozhitsky and many other works of this type. The Yasnaya Polyana library preserves 46 books and magazines that Tolstoy used throughout the time he was working on the novel War and Peace. In total, the writer used works, the list of which includes 74 titles.

The trip in September 1867 to the Borodino field, where a great battle once took place, became important. The writer walked around the famous field on foot, studying the location of Russian and French troops, the location of the Shevardinsky redoubt, Bagration's flushes, and Raevsky's battery. No less significant were the inquiries of the surviving contemporaries of the great battles and the study of the life of a distant era.

As you work on the novel, its folk origin. “I tried to write the history of the people,” Tolstoy left such a confession in the draft of the fourth volume. Gradually, “people's thought” became decisive in “War and Peace”; the favorite theme of the epic was the depiction of the feat of the people during the events of Russian history. The novel included 569 characters, including 200 historical figures. But among them the main characters of the work are by no means lost, whose fates the writer traces carefully, with all the necessary psychological persuasiveness. At the same time, the author connects them with a variety of ties of kinship, love, friendship, marriage, business relationships, and common participation in grandiose historical events. There are quite a few people in the novel whose individual traits of life and character reflect the properties of L. N. Tolstoy’s ancestors and closest relatives. Thus, in Count Rostov one can discern the features of Count Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, the writer’s grandfather, and in the old Prince Bolkonsky - the features of another grandfather; Countess Rostova resembles Tolstoy’s grandmother, Pelageya Nikolaevna Tolstoy, Princess Marya absorbed the traits of the Writer’s mother, Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, and Nikolai Rostov - the traits of his father, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy. Prince Andrei absorbed the characteristics of Sergei Nikolaevich, the writer’s brother, and Natasha Rostova imprinted the image of Tatyana Andreevna Bers, the writer’s sister-in-law. All this testifies to the significant autobiographical nature of the novel and the deep vitality of its characters. But “War and Peace” is by no means reduced to autobiography: it is a broad canvas that reflects Russian history. Its heroes and the diverse folk world.

Working on the great book required titanic work. The total number of surviving manuscripts of the novel is over ten thousand draft texts. Some of the parts of the epic were rewritten many times, individual scenes were redone, according to Tolstoy, “ad infinitum.” But as a result of the author’s tireless and intense work, a novel emerged that constituted an entire era in the history of Russian culture.

True and false patriotism in the novel “War and Peace”

The novel “War and Peace” in terms of genre is an epic novel, since Tolstoy shows us historical events that cover a large period of time (the action of the novel begins in 1805 and ends in 1821, in the epilogue); there are over 200 characters in the novel characters, there are real historical figures (Kutuzov, Napoleon, Alexander I, Speransky, Rostopchin, Bagration and many others), all social strata of Russia at that time: high society, noble aristocracy, provincial nobility, army, peasantry, even merchants.

In the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy created a voluminous and multifaceted picture of the war. But in this work the reader sees not galloping warriors with unfurled banners, not a parade and the splendor of victories, but ordinary military everyday life. On the pages of the novel we meet ordinary soldiers, we see their difficult, hard work.

The writer introduces us to the inner world of an ordinary person at first glance. But he shows us that even such inconspicuous people can be interesting and attractive with their spiritual beauty. The author reveals to us, the readers, the poetry of the hero’s spiritual life. It is often difficult to discern a person's true face under the layers of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The writer shows that one must be able to see human dignity in everyone, that divine spark that will not allow a person to commit a truly vile act. In extreme situations, in moments of great upheaval and global change, a person will definitely prove himself, show his inner essence, certain qualities of his nature. In Tolstoy's novel, someone utters loud words, engages in noisy activities or useless vanity - someone experiences a simple and natural feeling of “the need for sacrifice and suffering in the consciousness of general misfortune.” The former only consider themselves patriots and loudly shout about love for the Fatherland, while the latter are them and give their lives in the name of common victory or leave their own property to be plundered so that it does not fall to the enemy. In the first case, we are dealing with false patriotism, repulsive with its falseness, selfishness and hypocrisy. This is how secular nobles behave at a dinner in honor of Bagration: when reading poems about the war, “everyone stood up, feeling that the dinner was more important than the poetry.” A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salons of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and other St. Petersburg salons: “... calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national disaster, greed and promotion reign here.

Count Rastopchin also displays false patriotism, posting stupid “posters” around Moscow, calling on city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sending the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death. Meanness and betrayal are combined with conceit and pout: “It not only seemed to him that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that in its midst despises the people and which he does not understand when he hears it from above.”

Just like Rostopchin, the novel shows Berg, who, in a moment of general confusion, is looking for profit and is preoccupied with buying a wardrobe and a toilet “with an English secret.” It doesn’t even occur to him that now it’s embarrassing to think about purchases that are not necessary. This is, finally, Drubetskoy, who, like other staff officers, thinks about awards and promotion, wants to “arrange for himself the best position, especially the position of adjutant to an important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army.” It is probably no coincidence that on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre notices this greedy excitement on the faces of the officers; he mentally compares it with “another expression of excitement,” “which spoke of not personal, but general issues, issues of life and death.”

What “other” persons are we talking about? Of course, these are the faces of ordinary Russian men, dressed in soldiers' greatcoats, for whom the feeling of the Motherland is sacred and inalienable. True patriots in the Tushin battery fight without cover. And Tushin himself “did not experience the slightest unpleasant feeling of fear, and the thought that he could be killed or painfully wounded did not occur to him.” The blood feeling of the Motherland forces soldiers to resist the enemy with incredible fortitude. From the description of the janitor Ferapontov, we see that this man, who gives up his property for plunder when leaving Smolensk, beats his wife because she asks him to leave, he pettyly bargains with the cab driver, but, having understood the essence of what is happening, he burns down his own house and leaves . He is also, of course, a patriot. For him, there is no point in acquired wealth when the fate of his homeland is being decided. “Get everything, guys, don’t leave it to the French!” - he shouts to the Russian soldiers.

What is Pierre doing? He gives his money, sells his estate to equip the regiment. And what makes him, a rich aristocrat, go into the thick of the Battle of Borodino? The same feeling of concern for the fate of one’s country, the desire to help the Russian people.

Let us finally remember those who left Moscow, not wanting to submit to Napoleon. They were convinced: “It was impossible to be under the control of the French.” That is why they “simply and truly” did “that great deed that saved Russia.”

True patriots in Tolstoy's novel do not think about themselves, they feel the need for their own contribution and even sacrifice, but do not expect rewards for this, because they carry in their souls a genuine holy feeling of the Motherland.

There is a war going on in Austria. General Mack is defeated at Ulm. Austrian Army gave up. The threat of defeat loomed over the Russian army. And then Kutuzov decided to send Bagration with four thousand soldiers through the rugged Bohemian mountains to meet the French. Bagration had to quickly make a difficult transition and delay the forty-thousand-strong French army until the commander-in-chief arrived. His squad needed to accomplish a great feat in order to save the Russian army. This is how the author leads the reader to the depiction of the first great battle.

In this battle, as always, Dolokhov is bold and fearless. His bravery is demonstrated in battle, where “he killed one Frenchman at point-blank range and was the first to take a surrendering officer by the collar.” But after that he goes to the regimental commander and reports on his “trophies”: “Please remember, Your Excellency!” Then he untied the handkerchief, pulled it and showed the dried blood: “Wound with a bayonet, I stayed at the front. Remember, Your Excellency.” Everywhere and always Dolokhov worries about himself, only about himself, everything he does, he does for himself.

We are not surprised by Zherkov’s behavior either. When, at the height of the battle, Bagration sent him with an important order to the general of the left flank, he did not go forward, where the shooting was heard, but began to “look” for the general away from the battle. Because the order was not transmitted, the French cut off the Russian hussars, many died and were wounded. There are many such officers. They are not cowardly, but they do not know how to forget themselves, their careers and personal interests for the sake of the common cause. However, the Russian army consisted not only of such officers.

Heroism in the novel looks everyday and natural. In the chapters depicting the Battle of Shengraben, we meet the true heroes. In describing this battle, the author shows how confusion gripped the infantry regiments at the news of the encirclement. “The moral hesitation that decided the fate of the battles was apparently resolved in favor of fear.” Here he sits, the hero of this battle, the hero of this “deed,” small, thin and dirty, sitting barefoot, taking off his boots. This is artillery officer Tushin. “With big, smart and kind eyes, he looks at the commanders who entered and tries to joke: “The soldiers say that you are more agile when you take off your shoes,” and he is embarrassed, feeling that the joke was not a success. Tolstoy does everything to make Captain Tushin appear before us in the most unheroic form, even funny. But it was this funny man who was the hero of the day. Prince Andrei will rightly say about him: “We owe the success of the day most of all to the action of this battery and the heroic fortitude of Captain Tushin and his company.”

The second hero of the Battle of Shengraben is Timokhin. The battle seemed lost. But at that moment the advancing French suddenly ran back... and Russian riflemen appeared in the forest. This was Timokhin's company. He appears at the very moment when the soldiers panicked and ran. His actions occur at the behest of his heart. It is not numerical superiority, not the complex plans of the commanders, but the inspiration of the company commander who led the soldiers that decides the outcome of the battle; it was his determination and belligerence that forced the enemy to retreat. “...With such insane and drunken determination, with one skewer...” Only thanks to Timokhin, the defenders had the opportunity to return and gather battalions. The Russians won “a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness.”

Courage is diverse. There are many people who are uncontrollably brave in battle, but get lost in everyday life. Through the images of Tushin and Timokhin, Tolstoy teaches the reader to see truly brave people, their discreet heroism, their enormous will, which helps to overcome fear and win battles.

The author leads us to the idea that not only the outcome of a military battle, but the direction of the development of history is determined precisely by the activities of the human masses, bound by the unity of feelings and aspirations. Everything depends on the spirit of the soldiers, which can turn into panic fear - and then the battle is lost, or rise to heroism - and then the battle will be won. Generals become strong only if they control not only the actions of the soldiers, but also the spirit of their troops. And to accomplish this task, the commander must be not only the military commander-in-chief, but also its spiritual leader. This is how Kutuzov appears before us. During the Battle of Borodino, he concentrated in himself all the patriotism of the Russian army. The Battle of Borodino is a “people's battle”. The “hidden warmth of patriotism” that flared up in the soul of every soldier and the general “spirit of the army” predetermined victory. In this battle, the true beauty of the Russian man is revealed. The Russians won “a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness. In this battle, the Napoleonic army “was laid down by the hand of the strongest enemy in spirit.”

In the war of 1812, when every soldier fought for his home, for his family and friends, for his homeland, the consciousness of danger increased tenfold. The deeper Napoleon advanced into Russia, the more the strength of the Russian army grew, the more the French army weakened, turning into a bunch of thieves and marauders. Only the will of the people, only people's patriotism makes the army invincible. This conclusion follows from L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.”

References

1. L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”.

2. Yu. V. Lebedev “Russian literature of the 19th century.”

3. K. N. Lomunova “The Great Book of Life.”

Novel "War and Peace" - greatest work world literature.
It was created from 1863 to 1869. There are more than 600 characters in the novel.
The destinies of the heroes are traced over 15 years in peacetime and war.
And although Tolstoy considers peaceful life real life people, in the center of the story is a story about Patriotic War. Tolstoy hated wars, but this war on the part of Russia was a liberation war, Russia defended its independence, the Russian people defended their fatherland. Naturally, therefore, the author touches on the problem of patriotism in his novel, but views it ambiguously. He proves that in difficult days for Russia, the majority of Russian people showed true patriotism and courage in defending their homeland. But there were also those - they were a minority - who only played at patriotism and courage. This is hateful to Tolstoy secular society, regulars at the salons of Scherer, Kuragina, Bezukhova. Their so-called patriotism was expressed in the fact that they stopped speaking French, they did not serve French dishes on the table, and in Helene’s salon they did not refuse this and sympathized with Napoleon. There were people like Boris Trubetskoy who made their careers during the days of the suffering of their fatherland. Tolstoy contrasts this group of false patriots with the true sons of the fatherland, for whom the homeland was the main thing in times of trial. The people and the best part of the nobility, in Tolstoy's understanding, constituted the nation. During the days of the war true love The nobles Bolkonsky, Rostov and many others came to their homeland. They equipped the militia at their own expense; Bolkonsky’s son, Andrei, went into the active army, not wanting to be an adjutant. Pierre Bezukhov remains in Moscow to kill Napoleon. But he fails to do this. At the Raevsky battery he helps the battery workers. Residents of Moscow leave and burn the city. When the old man Bolkonsky sees off his son, he says that if Andrei behaves meanly, he will be bitter and ashamed. Natasha gives carts for the wounded. Princess Bolkonskaya cannot remain on an estate captured by enemies.
Tolstoy talks about the mood that possessed the soldiers. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, the soldiers put on clean shirts because they were going to a sacred mortal battle for Russia. They refused the extra portion of vodka because they did not want to be drugged. They said: “They want to attack the whole world, they want to make one end.” The writer shows how the soldiers of Raevsky’s battery fought. Pierre was struck by the routine with which they fulfill their duty in these terrible conditions. Tolstoy believes that Battle of Borodino was a moral victory for the Russian army. The Russians did not give in. The steadfastness and courage shown by the defenders of Moscow in the Battle of Borodino were fueled precisely by a sense of patriotism.
Pierre talks with Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei is extremely angry: “The French are your enemies and mine. They came to destroy Russia. War is an abomination, but the Russians are forced to wage this war, and Napoleon came as an invader, the enemy must be destroyed, then the war will be destroyed.”
Tolstoy depicts guerrilla warfare beautifully. He admires the fact that dozens of Karps and Vlasovs, armed with pitchforks and axes, went against the invaders. Ironic about the fact that Napoleon was outraged by the war not according to the rules. The club of the people's war rose and nailed the French until it drove out the last invader. Guerrilla movement was the most striking manifestation of the patriotism of the entire people.
Kutuzov in the novel is an exponent of the idea of ​​patriotism; he was appointed commander against the will of the tsar and the royal court. Andrei explains this to Pierre this way: “While Russia was healthy, Barclay de Tolly was good... When Russia is sick, it needs its own man.”
Kutuzov was a truly people's commander, he understood the soldiers, their needs, their mood, because he loved his people.
The episode in Fili is important. Kutuzov takes upon himself the gravest responsibility and orders a retreat. This order contains the true patriotism of Kutuzov. Retreating from Moscow, Kutuzov retained an army that could not yet compare in numbers with Napoleonic's. Defending Moscow would mean losing the army, and this would lead to the loss of both Moscow and Russia.
After Napoleon was pushed beyond Russian borders, Kutuzov refuses to fight outside Russia. He believes that the Russian people have fulfilled their mission by expelling the invader, and there is no need to shed more people’s blood.

(402 words) Telling readers about the Patriotic War against Napoleon in his epic novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy touched on the topic of the patriotic struggle of the Russian people. But the author, refraining from blind glorification of that struggle, was primarily interested in the question of what real patriotism is and how to distinguish it from ordinary populism.

Already at the very beginning, the writer demonstrates to us in all its glory the concept of false patriotism. We see mired in vulgarity and hypocrisy noble society, discussing the war in Europe. Loud pathetic speeches are heard, cursing Napoleon, pathetic wishes for victory for Russia. But behind these loud words there are no real deeds, the nobility, divorced from reality, has no real concept of war and is simply following the official government position. The overwhelming majority of noble society strives only to achieve their personal goals and strengthen their position on the social ladder. The picture of lies and hypocrisy becomes even clearer when we are transported to Austria, where we see demoralized soldiers who do not even understand who they are fighting. Tolstoy shows how the elite Russian Empire, hiding behind fashionable slogans about saving the fatherland, sends soldiers into a meaningless meat grinder for the sake of the interests of rulers and generals.

It is also characteristic that after the Peace of Tilsit, the anti-Napoleonic rhetoric of the noble class instantly changed to the exact opposite. Toasts are proclaimed to the French emperor, Russian-French friendship is extolled. Tolstoy once again emphasizes the unscrupulousness of the noble class, adapting to powerful of the world this.

Already in the twelfth year, Napoleon's troops invaded Russian territory. Tolstoy again stigmatizes the noble society, which, even at the most critical hour for the country, turns out to be unable to see beyond its own nose. Prince Kuragin, who is trying to maneuver between two opposing opinions about Kutuzov, Elena Kuragina, who in the midst of the war converts to Catholicism and is only interested in divorcing her husband, staff officers who are exclusively concerned with promotion. Only those nobles who have moved away from high society show true patriotism and truly care about the country and people. However, even such outstanding personalities as Nikolai and Pyotr Rostov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Fyodor Dolokhov are just grains of sand against the background of the popular upsurge that has swept the country. According to Tolstoy, it was the universal, not always conscious, strength of the ordinary Russian people that was able to break Napoleon’s previously invincible army. At the same time, Tolstoy remains true to himself: war, in his opinion, is a monstrous crime, covered in dirt and blood. People, defending their country, are capable of the most brutal and inhumane acts.

Tolstoy shows us that true patriotic feeling awakens in the hours of the most difficult trials. It is his spontaneity and sincerity, devoid of self-interest and empty boasting, that distinguishes him from the false patriotism that scoundrels and swindlers use for their own purposes.

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