Collage 553

Another gruesome scene. The French army is inside the Kremlin walls, and a few Russian soldiers defending it are fired upon. A French officer is reporting to his superior what happened. He says in French (which I hand wrote on this piece)

These wretches [the Russian soldiers in kaftans] had invaded the sacred citadel, had taken guns from the arsenal, and had fired (the wretches) on the French. Some were put to the sword and the Kremlin was purged of their presence.

You can see how Tolstoy's politics were affected by the years he spent in the Caucuses in the army and how he eventually became a pacifist. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 361-362, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/10/10
Pevear/Vookhonsky translation page 894-896