A full-life portrait of the man Tolstoy immortalized, Stalin lionized, and Russian history has manipulated and mythologized beyond recognition.Every Russian knows him purely by his patronym. He was the general who triumphed over Napoleon's Grande Arm?e during the Patriotic War of 1812, not merely restoring national pride but securing national identity. Many Russians consider Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Golenischev-Kutuzov the greatest figure of the 19th century, ahead of Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, even Tolstoy himself. Immediately after his death in 1813, Kutuzov's remains were hurried into the pantheon of heroes. Statues of him rose up across the Russian empire and later the Soviet Union. Over the course of decades and centuries he hardened into legend.As award-winning author Alexander Mikaberidze shows in this fascinating, often startling, and wholly humanizing new biography, Kutuzov's story is far more compelling and complex than the myths that have encased him. An unabashed imperialist who rose in the ranks through his victories over the Turks and the Poles, Kutuzov was also a realist and a skeptic about military power. When the Russians and their allies were routed by the French at Austerlitz he was openly appalled by the incompetence of leadership and the sheer waste of life. Over his long career?marked equally by victory and defeat, embrace and ostracism?he grew to despise those whose concept of war had devolved to mindless attack.Here, at last, is Kutuzov as he really was?a master and survivor of intrigue, moving in and out of royal favor, committed to the welfare of those under his command, and an innovative strategist. When, reluctantly and at the 11th hour, Czar Alexander I called upon him to lead the fight against Napoleon's invading army, Kutuzov accomplished what needed to be done not by a heroic charge but by a strategic retreat. Across the generations, portraits of Kutuzov have ranged from hagiography to dismissal, with Tolstoy's portrait of him in War and Peace perhaps the most indelible of all. This immersive biography returns a touchstone figure in Russian history to human scale.

List of MapsAcknowledgmentsAuthor's NoteProloguePART IChapter 1 A Boy from Pskov Province, 1747- 1762Chapter 2 The Masters and the Apprentice, 1763- 1771Chapter 3 At Death's Door, 1772- 1785Chapter 4 "An Eagle from the Lofty Flock," 1786- 1789Chapter 5 "The Gutters Dyed with Blood, 1790Chapter 6 The Glorious Hero of Macin, 1791- 1792PART IIChapter 7 The Envoy of Her Imperial Majesty, 1793Chapter 8 At the Court of the Sultan, 1794Chapter 9 Military Philosophe and Courtier, 1794- 1797Chapter 10 The Wrathful Czar, 1796- 1801Chapter 11 Walking the Tightrope, 1801- 1804 1PART IIIChapter 12 Confronting Napoleon, 1805Chapter 13 The Glorious Retreat"Chapter 14 The Tale of Two RusesChapter 15 The Eclipse of AusterlitzPART IVChapter 16 The Wilderness Years, 1806- 1808Chapter 17 The Carnage on the Danube, 1809Chapter 18 Call to Arms, 1810- 1811Chapter 19 The Master of War, 1811Chapter 20 Between War and Peace, January- June 1812PART VChapter 21 The Fateful YearChapter 22 The Road to BorodinoChapter 23 The Hollow VictoryChapter 24 The Torrent and the SpongeChapter 25 The Old Fox of the North"Chapter 26 The Turning PointChapter 27 The Golden Bridge"Chapter 28 The ChaseChapter 29 The Great EscapeChapter 30 The Last CampaignEpilogueNotesSelect BibliographyIndex