“THERE IS NOTHING INSUPERABLE IN THIS WORLD”. HOW A WEAK BOY BECAME SUVOROV AND SUVOROV – A LEGEND

11/24/18 10:50

“THERE IS NOTHING INSUPERABLE IN THIS WORLD”. HOW A WEAK BOY BECAME SUVOROV AND SUVOROV – A LEGEND

A Russian military commander, whose victories led to the unification of Pridnestrovie and Russia, was born 288 years ago

“General-forward!”, “Sword of Russia”, “Northern Scythian” - these are just some of the epithets that European contemporaries named Alexander Suvorov. Compatriots and foreigners remember him as a nonstandard fighter with cool temper and aphoristic humor. His personality didn`t charm everyone, but even detractors could not doubt the extraordinary ability of Suvorov to win when it seemed impossible.

Y. Kreutzinger. Portrait of A.V. Suvorov

Й. Крейцингер, «Портрет фельдмаршала графа А. В. Суворова», фрагмент, 1799

Автор: Александр Смирнов
Источник: https://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-78930/
© Shkolazhizni.ru

Й. Крейцингер, «Портрет фельдмаршала графа А. В. Суворова», фрагмент, 1799 г.

Автор: Александр Смирнов
Источник: https://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-78930/
© Shkolazhizni.ru

Й. Крейцингер, «Портрет фельдмаршала графа А. В. Суворова», фрагмент, 1799

Автор: Александр Смирнов
Источник: https://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-78930/
© Shkolazhizni.ru

Й. Крейцингер, «Портрет фельдмаршала графа А. В. Суворова», фрагмент, 1799 г.

Автор: Александр Смирнов
Источник: https://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-78930/
© Shkolazhizni.ru

Й. Крейцингер, «Портрет фельдмаршала графа А. В. Суворова», фрагмент, 1799 г.

Автор: Александр Смирнов
Источник: https://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-78930/
© Shkolazhizni.ru

“He was one of the most extraordinary people of the century” - the governor of Novorossya and Bessarabia Count Alexander Langeron said about him.

“Where there was a dangerous case, a difficult or courageous feat, the chiefs sent Suvorov” - the French ambassador to Russia, Count L.-F. Segur recalled. “His feats were brilliant, his thoughts were deep, his actions were quick.”

"Suvorov destroyed modern military theory, because the rules of art belong to him" - Austrian Archduke Karl, whom Suvorov repeatedly criticized, or rather, in the internet language, simply "trolled", said.

Alexander Vasilyevich himself said about himself:

“Do you want to know me? I will reveal myself ... My friends were surprised by me, haters violated me ... I was Aesop, La Fontaine: I told the truth with jokes and bestial language”.

The symbol of Pridnestrovie

In Pridnestrovie, Suvorov is honored not only as a genius commander in the service of Russia, but also as one of the founding fathers of the republic capital. His image, personified in the work of sculptors Artamonov and architects Chistyakov and Druzhinin, on horseback with a raised hand, is the most famous symbol of the city of Tiraspol and all of Pridnestrovie. It should be also known that Suvorov not only founded the citadel on the Dniester river, but also contributed by his victories to the accession of Pridnestrovie to Russia.

Monument to Suvorov in the center of Tiraspol and good position of the sun. Photo by Artem Kulekin

In our area, the “Sword of Russia,” as the future king of France Louis XVIII once called Suvorov, appeared for a reason. By this time, his popularity was at its peak, and the personality of the general itself had a profound psychological effect not only on the soldiers of Russia, but also on its enemies. The latter circumstance was the decisive factor in the appointment of Suvorov as commander of Yekaterinoslav and Tavrichesky governorship troops. Empress Catherine II was well versed in politics and understood that the arrival of the “Turks thunderstorm” at the new western frontier of the empire, which the Dniester became after the Yassy peace of 1791, would be filled with deep symbolic meaning. They said, that Suvorov himself came to the frontier, and said: “Try to make a move on a newly acquired grounds, since you had forgotten affairs under Rymnik and Ishmael!”

The more powerful the military charisma of Alexander Vasilyevich became, the stronger was its peacekeeping impact. This is evidenced by the despatch to Suvorov from Russian resident in Istanbul, Alexander Khvostov, whose task was to prevent a new war with the Ottoman Empire, which the European powers were trying to unleash:

“One rumor about your presence on the frontiers made me relieved in my affairs, and a great impression on Porta (Turkey); your only name is a strong reflection to all the insults, which are being made from the side of the evil-minded [meant France and England] to make Porta inclined to enmity”.

To stop hostile intentions - such symbolism, if you look closely, can be seen in the monument to Suvorov, erected in Tiraspol in 1979. The Russian general, raising himself on the stirrups, with a gesture of his hand seemed to warn those who were coming from the other side of the Dniester - the territory under Turkey`s domination at the end of the 18th century.

Interview with sculptor Vladimir Artamonov while working on the monument to Suvorov, Dnestrovskaya Pravda, 1976

It is no coincidence that the Tiraspol fortress appeared here, not far from Bendery, which had strategic importance for the Ottoman Empire. And the general, being the south of Russia troops commander, organized a counterintelligence base in Pridnestrovie for a reason.

By the way, the fortress, around which the future capital of PMR grew over time, was laid by Suvorov personally. After painstaking work with the documents this conclusion came to the competent researcher G. Timchenko-Ruban, who wrote the book "Suvorov and Engineering" in 1913.

According to sources, the general also visited Dubossary, from where he sent various instructions and letters. In one of the local tracts there was even an old tree, which the locals call the Suvorov oak. According to foresters, it is over 200 years old.

Suvorov and "polite people"

But all this could not have happened if the father of Suvorov had not followed the advice of his great-great-grandfather Pushkin and had not signed his son up in the Semyonovsky Royal Guard Regiment. In fact, no one could then conceive that the naturally weak Alexander, who could not lift a rifle, would go from being a uniform to Generalissimo.

But, as Suvorov said later: "There is nothing insuperable in this world". Persistent character, non-standard behavior, daily physical and intellectual exercises made strong-willed and cunning fighter from a short, frail boy. A set of simple rules, such as “No matter how bad it may be, never despair, hold on while there is strength” and “Discipline is the mother of victory” helped Suvorov to change the space of his own reality.

Unknown artist. A.V. Suvorov.

He deserved his first rank by surprising Empress Elizabeth Petrovna with loyalty to his duty: having seen the young guardsman at the post, the daughter of Peter I handed him a silver ruble, but he refused, saying that he was forbidden to take money into her hands. The coin remained lying on the parade ground.

Then came the war with Prussia (1757 - 62), during which Suvorov was among those who took Berlin.

But the first major success came to Suvorov during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-74, when he conducted several successful operations on the other side of the Danube, which was a very risky business at that time. Since then, he was entrusted with the most important missions, where only victory was required. So, for example, Suvorov led the team of the first "polite people" sent to Crimea in 1776 to protect the interests of Russia. There he contributed to the assertion, as they would say now, of the pro-Russian khan on the throne.

When the impossible is possible

Soon he received the highest award of the Russian Empire - Order of St. Andrew - for an incredibly intense battle with the Ottoman troops on the Kinburn Spit at the beginning of the new Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. “The water in the estuary was red with blood” - eyewitnesses wrote about it.

Konstantin Keppen. The rescue of the commander-in-chief A.V. Suvorov by the Grenadier Stepan Novikov in the Battle of Kinburn on October 1, 1787

Two years later, Suvorov surprised all of Europe by winning in two battles - of Focsani and Rymnik - a numerically superior enemy. For the art of fighting "not by number, but by skill" he became the owner of a nominal golden sword with diamonds "Winner of the Vizier", the Order of St. George the First Degree and Count of dignity with the title of Suvorov-Rymniki.

Another fantastic victory - taking of the stronghold Ishmael in winter conditions. This was the case when the impossible turned out to be possible.

Francesco Giuseppe Casanova. Taking Ishmael

However, the peak of his career was a campaign in his old age (in 1799 Suvorov turned 69) to Italy and Switzerland, when within six months he defeated several French armies in three major battles, making an incredible crossing over the Alps.

Alexander Kotzebue. Transition of Suvorov's troops through Saint-Gothard on September 13, 1799

“We are Russians, and therefore we will win” - Suvorov said in such cases.

Competitive advantage

The successes of the Northern Scythian, as French General Moreau called him “the second after Napoleon”, caused universal admiration. But they were based on simple tactics, "an eye, speed and onslaught", as Suvorov admitted. He simply broke the military affairs stereotypes and introduced his own rules. First: the soldiers' excellent physical preparation - “where the deer comes through, the Russian soldier will do either; where a deer does not come through, a Russian soldier will still do”. Second: the power style of fighting - “the bullet is a mad thing; only the bayonet knows what it is about”, “shoot rarely and accurately; bayonet if firmly". Third: self-control - "the one who is scared is half beaten". And finally, the fourth: the sense of time - “money is expensive, human life is even more expensive, and time is most precious”.

These principles, brought to perfection, actually made Suvorov a legend. In the rating of Russian commanders of the end of the XVIII and beginning of the XIX centuries, compiled by Major General Pisarev, obviously, Alexander Vasilyevich takes the first place.

At that time, there was only one military leader in the world who was able to measure up with Suvorov. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte. However, two military geniuses were not destined to meet face to face, so we will never know who rules the land.

What is the secret of Suvorov`s personal growth? According to his own words, it`s quite simple: “From a young age, get used to forgiving your neighbor`s misdeeds and never forgive your own”.

Alexander Koretsky

 

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