Prisoners of the Great Army in the Smolensk Province in 1812–1814

Abstract

During the Patriotic War of 1812, a significant number of military personnel of Napoleon’s Great Army were captured on the territory of the Smolensk province. Many of them later lived here until the summer of 1813, after that they were transferred deeper into Russia. Later, other parties of prisoners of war were transported through the province, both to the east and, after liberation, and in the opposite direction. Some of the prisoners wished to accept Russian citizenship and connect their future fate with our country. Previous studies on this topic were based mainly on materials from the State Archives of the Smolensk Region. In this work, the source base is expanded to include documents from the Russian State Historical Archive and memoirs. The article clarifies the number of prisoners of war who were in the Smolensk province in 1812–1814, their ethnic composition, besides it deals with the conditions of their detention, their acceptance of citizenship, and memories of their time in captivity in the Smolensk province.