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It is also interesting that Russian army officers could talk to French without a translator, because Napoleon invasion happened in the period of "westernization

It is also interesting that Russian army officers could talk to French without a translator, because Napoleon invasion happened in the period of "westernization", started by Peter the Great. The buildings were built in a Western style, calendar was changed to European, government, army and fleet were reformed, noblemen were required to shave their traditional beards, wear western-style clothes, used French language, and danced to classical Western music in events like balls and fought duels.

username332211 11mo ago
It's a lot less interesting once you look trough the names of senior Russian officers - de Tolly, Bagration, von Benningsen, Wittgenstein, Osterman-Tolstoy. One begins to suspect that the reason Kutuzov replaced Barkley was for a sort of reverse-DEI reasons.
- codedokode 11mo ago
  I remember reading one of Peter the Great's orders regarding creating 10 new units in the army. Out of names of the commanders only 3-4 were Russian. So hiring foreign talent was also part of westernization.
- vitus 11mo ago
  And if you look at the people behind those names, you'll find that most of them were either born in the Russian Empire or moved there at a young age. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Andreas_Barclay_de_Tolly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Andreas_Barclay_de_Tol... - moved to St Petersburg around the age of 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Bagration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Bagration - born in Russia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wittgenstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wittgenstein - born near Kyiv https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ivanovich_Ostermann-Tolstoy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ivanovich_Ostermann-... - part of Russian nobility; the Ostermann name came from his great-uncles.
- smogcutter 11mo ago
  To add - there’s also an Austrian general named O’Reilly, and a famously subpar Macdonald for the French. The French at the time were busy inventing nationalism. Someone suitably aristocratic could find a place as an officer basically anywhere.
  - potato3732842 11mo ago
    > Austrian general named O’Reilly, No contribution to military logistics or motor pool related just in case anyone else is tempted to read up on him to find out.
ternus 11mo ago
This is a major through-line in War and Peace. Native Russian characters write to each other in (untranslated-in-the-original! Hope your translation comes with footnotes!) French, and a significant chunk of the dialogue is in French as well.

username332211 11mo ago

It's a lot less interesting once you look trough the names of senior Russian officers - de Tolly, Bagration, von Benningsen, Wittgenstein, Osterman-Tolstoy. One begins to suspect that the reason Kutuzov replaced Barkley was for a sort of reverse-DEI reasons.

codedokode 11mo ago
I remember reading one of Peter the Great's orders regarding creating 10 new units in the army. Out of names of the commanders only 3-4 were Russian. So hiring foreign talent was also part of westernization.
vitus 11mo ago
And if you look at the people behind those names, you'll find that most of them were either born in the Russian Empire or moved there at a young age. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Andreas_Barclay_de_Tolly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Andreas_Barclay_de_Tol... - moved to St Petersburg around the age of 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Bagration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Bagration - born in Russia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wittgenstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wittgenstein - born near Kyiv https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ivanovich_Ostermann-Tolstoy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ivanovich_Ostermann-... - part of Russian nobility; the Ostermann name came from his great-uncles.
smogcutter 11mo ago
To add - there’s also an Austrian general named O’Reilly, and a famously subpar Macdonald for the French. The French at the time were busy inventing nationalism. Someone suitably aristocratic could find a place as an officer basically anywhere.
- potato3732842 11mo ago
  > Austrian general named O’Reilly, No contribution to military logistics or motor pool related just in case anyone else is tempted to read up on him to find out.

ternus 11mo ago

This is a major through-line in War and Peace. Native Russian characters write to each other in (untranslated-in-the-original! Hope your translation comes with footnotes!) French, and a significant chunk of the dialogue is in French as well.