Egor Zaitsev. Molieben on the Borodino Field. 2000-2002

A Molieben on the Borodino Field (Egor Zaitsev, 2000-2002)

Firstly, a “molieben” (literally, “prayers” in Old Slavonic) is an intercessory service celebrated before undertaking a serious enterprise, to ask for healing, or in thanksgiving for some good result or other. It is not a liturgy. It is directed to Christ, the Most Holy Mother of God, or to one of the saints. Obviously, the molieben portrayed in the picture is directed to the Mother of God as the icon carried on the shoulders of the soldiers is dedicated to her.

The Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) was the pivotal battle in the First Great Patriotic War of 1812-14 (one of the conflicts that made up the “Napoleonic Wars”). It was the largest single-day battle in the Napoleonic Wars, and it was the last offensive battle fought by Napoleon in Russia. Over 250,000 troops were engaged on both sides, and there were over 70,000 casualties in total. It ended in a draw, with both sides withdrawing from the field. Marshal Kutuzov, the Russian commander (you can see him kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God in the above painting), decided to withdraw to maintain his forces in being so he could strike the French at an opportune moment. The Russians destroyed all stocks of provisions and followed a “scorched earth” policy. The French occupied Moscow for a short time, but they could not hold it, as all the supplies were destroyed. Furthermore, its inhabitants put the city to the torch, so the French were forced to withdraw during the worst weather of the Russian winter. The offensive power of the French was destroyed, and the Russian forces led the coalition that defeated Napoleon and entered Paris in triumph in 1814. Tsar Aleksandr Pavlovich dictated the peace that followed the war and no major war amongst the Great Powers erupted in Europe for a century (although there were many “minor” conflicts).