Some time ago on TOPWAR there was a discussion about our great poet M. Yu. Lermontov … Moreover, it concerned not so much poetry, and this is understandable, given the interests of the audience, but purely the military. That is, what did he represent as an officer, how, in fact, he fought, what he received or what awards he presented himself to. And this topic is very interesting because it allows you to evaluate not only the poet himself, but also many people associated with him in the service. What images arise in the head when pronouncing this great surname? Well, let's get to know this side of his life. And we will begin by presenting this wonderful poet, the author of "A Hero of Our Time", who, following Pushkin's "Onegin", reflected the types of his era, the creator of the romantic images of "The Demon" and "Mtsyri", against the backdrop of the majestic Caucasus Mountains in a fluttering burka with a mountain dagger on a belt and in a Circassian hat riding a snow-white horse …
Portrait of M. Yu. Lermontov, dressed in a cornet mentic of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Artist P. E. Zabolotsky. 1837 year.
As for the comrades, they knew Lermontov as a desperately brave officer. Moreover, fate pushed him against the Caucasus twice. The first time was in 1837, when for his poem "The Death of a Poet" he was sent there into exile, as he allowed himself too explicitly to identify the culprits of Pushkin's death. But he did not stay there long. Soon, by the highest decree, he was transferred from the Caucasus to the Life Guards Grodno Hussar Regiment, which was quartered in the Nizhny Novgorod province. And then his grandmother asked for him, and … the poet was able to return to Tsarskoe Selo! The duel with Baron de Barant was the reason for his second exile. The court decision on his case said: "to keep in the guardhouse for three months, then to deprive the ranks and the nobility and send a private to the Caucasus." Nikolai commuted the punishment: to send the same rank to the Tenginsky infantry regiment. Immediately.
Portrait of M. Yu. Lermontov in the coat of the Tenginsky infantry regiment. Watercolor by the artist K. A. Gorbunov. 1841 year.
And on April 13 M. S. Lermontov left the capital. I must say that in Soviet times, all this was interpreted unambiguously: the progressive poet fell victim to the tsarist tyranny. But was it so, if you look closely, and were there any cases similar to Lermontov's? It turns out there were! So, the young prince Golitsin, being at a feast and having a fair amount of drinking, in the semi-darkness of the dressing room had the imprudence to put on not his own uniform, which had not silver embroidery, but gold, and in addition with an order cross, which he himself did not have. In this form, he walked along the Nevsky, met, unfortunately, the chief of his regiment, the Grand Duke, and … he, immediately noticing everything, ordered him to be immediately arrested, put in Petropavlovka and tried! "But how dare you arrange a comedy out of military honor, a uniform without the right to take and wear a cross that has not been assigned to you ?!" - the judges asked him, and the prince only answered: "He was drunk!" The verdict was similar to Lermontov's punishment - to send him to the Caucasus. So it turns out that the tsar did not act so cruelly if we compare these two offenses.
"Highlander" is a sculpture by E. A. Lancer.
Once in Stavropol, the poet ended up in a detachment to General Galafeev - on the left flank of the Terek line, in Chechnya. Initially, Lermontov acted as an adjutant to the general. At the same time, he showed courage, behaved calmly, was executive and knew how to instantly assess the situation and make the right decision - all these qualities of Lieutenant Galafeev noted, and this is what he later wrote about him: he was commissioned with excellent courage and composure, and with the first ranks of the bravest soldiers he burst into the enemy's rubble."
"Linear Cossack with a Cossack" - sculpture by E. A. Lancer.
Soon after arriving in the Caucasus, Lermontov takes part in his first battle on the Valerik stream. The battle did not seem terrible to the poet, he was ready at any moment to rush into the attack and do his duty. But in this carnage, he saw meaninglessness:
And there in the distance a discordant ridge, But forever proud and calm, Mountains stretched - and Kazbek
Sparkled with a pointed head.
And with a secret and heartfelt sadness, I thought: a pitiful man.
What does he want … the sky is clear
There is a lot of space under the sky for everyone
But incessantly and in vain
One is at enmity - why?
Lermontov later wrote about this battle: “We lost 30 officers and up to 300 privates, and their 600 bodies remained in place - it seems good! - Imagine that in the ravine, where there was fun, an hour after the case smelled of blood. Today we would not call a "load" of 600 "two hundredths" fun. But … let's make a discount on time. The time was … this!
General K. Mamantsev, a participant in this battle, recalled how Lermontov, riding on a white horse, rushing forward, disappeared behind the rubble, so they even thought that he was killed. But fate kept him from enemy bullets!
House in Pyatigorsk, where M. Yu. lived for the last two months. Lermontov.
However, the memories of friends and eyewitnesses are not always a reliable historical source - they are very often subjective. It is much more interesting to read, say, the conduit lists of the regiments of the Russian army, which were written by their commanders personally. There, there is much less subjectivity, because they could really ask for distortion! And here, for example, as M. Yu. Lermontov was certified during his officer service in the hussar regiment. In the service - "diligent", the ability of the mind - "good", in morality - "good" and in the economy, too - "good." Similarly, he was certified in the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon and Tengin Infantry, but the mental abilities were recognized as "excellent good." And this information was secret and went "upward", so it was impossible to make any special additions here. You could run into a test.
The poet's traveling folding bed and the table at which he wrote.
Interestingly, other officers were judged very harshly. For example, Lieutenant Count Alopeus was certified as follows: in morality - "fickle", but Lieutenant Lilie was decent in morality, but wasteful in the economy!
Lermontov's decisiveness, daring, courage and resilience were also noted in the conduit records and … made him the commander of a detachment of mounted volunteers (Cossack hundred), which was also called a flying detachment. “I inherited from Dorokhov, who was wounded, a select team of hunters, consisting of a hundred Cossacks, various rabble, volunteers, Tatars and others, this is something like a partisan detachment,” the poet wrote, “if I happen to be successful with him, then maybe they will give something."
Then it became obvious that in the conditions of a partisan war, the highlanders had a clear advantage over the regular army. Then there appeared in the Caucasus detachments of volunteers (as they said, "hunters"), who took on reconnaissance, and often sabotage, and punitive functions. The command over such a "detachment of daredevils", who went through many battles and looked at war and robbery as a means of enrichment, was taken over in October 1840 by the great Russian poet. The newcomers went through a kind of initiation. Anyone who wished was given something like an exam: the applicant was given some difficult task and he fulfilled it. Then, as a reward for this, they shaved his head, ordered him to wear a beard, dressed him in a Circassian costume, and as a weapon they gave him a double-barreled gun with a bayonet. At the same time, they were not interested in either the nationality or the religion of the "hunter": in the detachment of Lermontov, in addition to the Cossacks and Russian volunteers, many highlanders served. According to eyewitnesses, Lermontov has gathered a real gang of "dirty thugs". Not recognizing firearms, they flew into enemy auls, waged a real partisan war and called themselves a big name - "Lermontov detachment".
People at all times loved beautiful things and comfort. Pay attention to the candlestick with a reflective mirror and the ability to adjust the position of the candle.
At first, his associates reacted to the new centurion with distrust and even a share of disdain. But the first impression quickly changed. It turned out that the lieutenant had those fighting qualities that were highly valued by the Cossacks. Mikhail Yurievich was an excellent rider, a well-aimed shooter, he was excellent with melee weapons. And he did not distinguish himself from other fighters. “He sleeps on the ground, eats with a gang from a common cauldron…. Before the attack, he takes off his coat, rushes ahead of the lava on a white horse in a red Cossack shirt …"
His superiors also favored him, and that was why! In battles, after all, everything is in plain sight! "It was impossible to make a better choice: everywhere Lieutenant Lermontov, everywhere the first was subjected to shots of predators and in all matters showed selflessness and discretion, beyond praise." Since the end of September, Lermontov has been participating in another expedition to Chechnya. On October 4, in view of the burning village of Shali, Shamil himself tried to rouse the Chechens in a counterattack, but, falling under the aimed fire of the Russian artillery, "was showered with earth from a shot and immediately pulled back by his murids." In that battle, by the way, captain Martynov, the future killer of Lermontov, distinguished himself, commanding the Cossacks. “Always the first on horseback and the last on vacation,” Colonel Prince V. S. Golitsin, one of the commanders of the Caucasian line.
All of the above confirms the words of K. Mamatsev: “I remember Lermontov well and, as now, I see him in front of me, now in a red canaus shirt, now in an officer's coat without epaulettes, with a collar thrown back and a Circassian hat thrown over his shoulder, as usual paint him in portraits. He was of medium height, with a dark or tanned face and large brown eyes. It was difficult to comprehend his nature. In the circle of his comrades, the guard officers who participated with him on the expedition, he was always cheerful, loved to joke, but his witticisms often turned into petty and evil sarcasms and did not bring much pleasure to those at whom they were directed …
And this is the interior of the room of the disgraced poet in the same house under a reed roof!
He was desperately brave, surprised even the old Caucasian horsemen with his prowess, but this was not his vocation, and he wore a military uniform only because then all the young people of the best families served in the guard. Even on this campaign, he never obeyed any regime, and his team, like a wandering comet, roamed everywhere, appearing wherever they pleased. But in battle, she was looking for the most dangerous places …"
Flint Caucasian rifle in Lermontov's house.
Tula flintlock pistol.
Yes, it can and should be said that Lermontov knew the war firsthand. In Valerik, he addresses all of us, his contemporaries, the future generation:
… But I'm afraid to bore you, In the fun of light, you find it funny
Wild war anxieties;
You are not used to torturing your mind
Heavy thinking about the end;
On your young face
Traces of care and sorrow
Can't be found and you can hardly
Have you ever seen near
How they die. God bless you
And not to see: other worries.
Soon Mikhail Yuryevich was the first with his fighters to pass through the Shalinsky forest, “drawing on all the efforts of the predators,” and then, a few days later, when crossing the Goitinsky forest, the poet and his people managed to track down the enemy and did not allow him to advance further. On October 30, Lermontov also showed himself selflessly, he cut off the enemy's road from the forest and then destroyed a significant part of his detachment.
Of course, all these actions according to the article could not remain unremarked, that is, he was presented for awards.
So, for example, in September a petition for rewarding all those who distinguished themselves in the battle at Valerik went to St. Petersburg. And among them was M. Yu. Lermontov. In the petition for his reward, it was noted that “this officer, in spite of any dangers, carried out the assignment entrusted to him with excellent courage and composure, and with the first ranks of the soldier burst into the enemy's rubble. Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with a bow."
Somewhat later, the commander of the Separate Caucasian Corps again presented Lermontov for the campaign in Little Chechnya. In addition to these awards, Lermontov could also receive a gold saber with the inscription: "For Bravery", similar to the Order of St. George 4th degree. He was also presented to the Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree …
However, the tsar refused all these awards … And ordered at the same time "to be sure to be present in the front, not to dare, under any pretext, retire from front service with his regiment." Well, that was the way Tsar Nicholas the First was. He believed that discipline in the army should come first, and if an officer is given a cross, then he should wear it on his uniform, and not on a red silk shirt.
Although it can be firmly said that Lermontov, even if he was bypassed by awards, was lucky both in service and in friendship. So, the poet had a chance to meet Yermolov. And it happened quite by accident - his former adjutant handed him a letter through Lieutenant Lermontov. And a short meeting of the disgraced general with the disgraced poet was enough for Aleksey Petrovich in the summer of 1841, having received the news of Lermontov's death, said: you will see soon!"
Well, just a few days before the fatal 15 July, the duel and his death, the poet wrote "I go out on the road alone …"
Peace and quiet, but:
Why is it so painful and so difficult for me?
I'm waiting for what? Do I regret what?
I do not expect anything from life …
And I don't feel sorry for the past at all.
Charming, poetic lines that convey his feelings very well. However, the thought of death in poetry just flashed, as it happens with everyone. To say that Lermontov had a presentiment of her? Who knows … But, even if so, he could not imagine from whose hand he would die. The duel with Martynov took place on Tuesday July 15, 1841 near Pyatigorsk, at the very foot of Mount Mashuk. Mikhail Yurievich was killed by a bullet through the chest.
This is how the obelisk looks today at the foot of Mashuk Mountain at the site of the duel of M. Yu. Lermontov.
It is interesting that some of those officers with whom he was friends, served and fought together, were able to even rise to high ranks and receive general's shoulder straps. But Lermontov went into eternity, and as a military man remained in it only as a lieutenant of the Tengin infantry regiment …
