(274 words) The Patriotic War of 1812 extraordinarily raised the self-awareness of the Russian people. In the struggle against the French, nobles and peasants, military and ordinary people rallied. Napoleon Bonaparte with his "great" army, conquering the countries of Europe, hoped to subdue Russia without too much effort. However, Russian soldiers, officers and militias, seized with a sense of national pride and ready to give their lives for their homeland, defeated his troops and forced him to flee.
In the novel War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy describes the main battles with the French from the perspective of the feelings and emotions of living people. Here is the nascent love between Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky, which is not destined to develop into a full-fledged mature feeling, because Prince Andrei dies from a severe wound received at the Battle of Borodino. And Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, crying with joy, received the news of the French leaving Moscow. The war affected all classes of the Russian people. However, even in such an unstable and difficult time, there was a place for kindness, compassion and the desire for peace. So, the Rostov family, leaving occupied Moscow, gives all the supplies to the wounded, leaving their acquired property. Petya Rostov, being a fighter in Denisov’s partisan detachment, invites a captured French drummer to eat with them. And Pierre Bezukhov believes that peaceful life is better than war, and is trying to help other people as best he can.
The war of 1812 strengthened the spirit of the Russian people, allowed Russia to strengthen its position in the international arena. As a result of the defeat of the French army, a liberation movement began in the countries conquered by Napoleon. In my opinion, for a “great commander” like Napoleon Bonaparte to conquer another country or city - this is how to win the game of chess. And for millions of soldiers and ordinary people, war means broken destinies, grievous sufferings and lives taken away. I think our task - the modern descendants of the once warring nations - to value and protect the fragile world, and never put our own ambitions above someone else's life.
