A brief summary of Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”

Volume One
The book begins in the summer of 1805 in St. Petersburg. At the evening, the maid of honor Scherer is present among other guests Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a wealthy nobleman, and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. The conversation is about Napoleon, and both friends are trying to protect the great man from the convictions of the mistress of the evening and her guests. Prince Andrew is going to war, because he dreams of glory equal to the glory of Napoleon, and Pierre does not know what to do, participates in the sprees of St. Petersburg youth; for another mischief Pierre was expelled from the capital, and Dolohov was demoted to the soldiers.
Further the author takes us to Moscow, to the house of Count Rostov, a kind, hospitable landlord who organizes a dinner in honor of his wife’s name-day and his youngest daughter. A special family structure unites the parents of the Rostovs and children – Nikolai, Natasha, Petya and Sonya; only the eldest daughter

Vera appears to be a stranger.
The Rostovs continue the holiday, everyone is having fun, dancing, and at this time in another Moscow house – the old Count Bezukhov – the master at death. The intrigue begins around the count’s will: Prince Vasily Kuragin and three princesses-all of them distant relatives of the Count and his heirs-are trying to steal a portfolio with Bezukhov’s new will, according to which Pierre becomes his chief heir; Anna Mihailovna Drubetskaya, a poor lady from an aristocratic old family, devoted to her son Boris and devoted to him everywhere, prevents the stolen portfolio from being stolen, and Pierre, now Count Bezukhov, gets a huge fortune. Pierre becomes his man in the Petersburg light; Prince Kuragin tries to marry him to his daughter – the beautiful Helen – and succeeds in this.
In Bald Hills, the estate of Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, the father of Prince Andrew, life goes on a long-established order; the old prince is constantly busy – he writes notes, then gives lessons to his daughter Marya, then works in the garden. Prince Andrey comes with his pregnant wife Liza; he leaves his wife in the house of his father, and he goes to war.
Autumn of 1805; The Russian army in Austria takes part in the campaign of the allied states against Napoleon. Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov does everything possible to avoid the participation of the Russians in the battle – at the inspection of the infantry regiment, he draws the attention of the Austrian general to the bad outfit of Russian soldiers; right up to the Austerlitz battle, the Russian army retreats to unite with the allies and not to take battles with the French. To the main forces of the Russians could retreat, Kutuzov sends a four-thousand detachment under the command of Bagration to detain the French; Kutuzov manages to conclude a truce with Murat, which allows him to gain time.
Junker Nikolai Rostov serves in the Pavlograd hussar regiment; he lives in an apartment in the German village where the regiment stands, along with his squadron commander, captain Vasily Denisov. One morning, Denisov lost his purse with money – Rostov found out that the lieutenant Telyanin took the coiner. But this offense of Telyanin casts a shadow on the whole regiment – and the regimental commander demands that Rostov acknowledge his mistake and apologize. The officers support the commander-and Rostov concedes; he does not apologize, but renounces his accusations, and Telyanin is expelled from the regiment for illness. Meanwhile, the regiment goes on a campaign, and the military baptism of the cadet occurs during the crossing over the river Enns; Hussars must cross last and set fire to the bridge.
During the battle of Shengraben, Rostov is wounded; he sees the approaching French and “with the feeling of a hare running away from dogs”, throws the pistol at the Frenchman and runs.
For participation in the battle, Rostov was made into cornets and awarded a soldier’s George Cross. He comes from Olmyuts, where, preparing for a review, the Russian army is encamped, to the Izmaylovsky Regiment, where Boris Drubetskaya is to meet with a childhood comrade and collect letters and money sent to him from Moscow. He tells Boris and Berg, who lodges along with Drubetskiy, the story of his wound – but not as it really was, but as they usually say about cavalry attacks.
During the review, Rostov feels a feeling of love and adoration for Emperor Alexander; this feeling only intensifies during the Austerlitz battle, when Nicholas sees the king – pale, crying from defeat, one in the middle of an empty field.
Prince Andrew up to the battle of Austerlitz lives in anticipation of the great feat that he is destined to commit. He is annoyed by everything that is discordant with this sense of it – and the outburst of the mocking officer Zherkov, who congratulated the Austrian general on another defeat of the Austrians, and the episode on the road, when the medicinal wife asks her to intercede for her and Prince Andrew encounters an overseas officer. During the Battle of Shengraben, Bolkonsky notices Captain Tushin – a “small stooped officer” with a non-heroic appearance, the commander of the battery. Successful actions of Tushin’s battery ensured the success of the battle, but when the captain reported to Bagration about the actions of his artillerymen, he was more timid than during the battle. Prince Andrew is disappointed – his idea of ​​the heroic does not tally with Tushin’s behavior, nor with the behavior of Bagration himself,
On the eve of the Battle of Austerlitz there was a military council, at which Austrian General Weyroter read the disposition of the forthcoming battle. During the council, Kutuzov openly slept, not seeing any prokan in any disposition and foreseeing that tomorrow’s battle will be lost. Prince Andrey wanted to express his views and his plan, but Kutuzov was interrupted by the council and invited everyone to leave. At night Bolkonsky thinks about tomorrow’s battle and his decisive participation in it. He wants fame and is ready to give everything for it: “Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing to me is not scary.”
The next morning, as soon as the sun came out of the fog, Napoleon gave the sign to start the battle – it was the anniversary day of his coronation, and he was happy and confident. Kutuzov, however, looked gloomy-he immediately noticed that confusion was beginning to arise in the Allied forces. Before the battle, the emperor asks Kutuzov why the battle does not start, and he hears from the old commander-in-chief: “Therefore, I do not begin, sir, that we are not at the parade and not at Tsaritsyn Lug.” Very soon the Russian troops, finding the enemy much closer than expected, upset the ranks and flee. Kutuzov demands to stop them, and Prince Andrew, with a banner in his hands, rushes forward, dragging the battalion behind him. Almost immediately it is wounded, it falls and sees above itself a high sky with creeping clouds creeping over it. All his former dreams of fame seem to him insignificant; insignificant and petty it seems to him and his idol, Napoleon, going around the battlefield after the French had defeated the Allies. “This is a beautiful death,” says Napoleon, looking at Bolkonsky. Making sure that Bolkonsky is still alive, Napoleon orders him to be taken to the dressing station. Among the hopeless wounded, Prince Andrew was left in the care of the inhabitants.
Tom the Second
Nikolai Rostov comes home on vacation; Denisov goes with him. Rostov everywhere – and at home, and acquaintances, that is, all of Moscow – is accepted as a hero; he approaches Dolokhov. Dolokhov makes an offer to Sonya, but she, who is in love with Nicholas, refuses; at the farewell party arranged by Dolokhov for his friends before leaving for the army, he defeats Rostov on a large sum, as if avenging him for Sonin’s refusal.
In the house of the Rostovs there is an atmosphere of love and fun, created primarily by Natasha. She sings beautifully, she dances. When Rostov, after losing, returns home in a depressed state, he hears Natasha’s singing and forgets everything – about the loss, about Dolokhov: “all this is nonsense and here it is – real.” Nikolai confesses his father’s loss; when he manages to collect the right amount, he leaves for the army. Denisov, admiring Natasha, asks for her hands, receives a refusal and leaves.
In the Bald Mountains in December 1805 Prince Vasily visited with his youngest son Anatol; Kuragin’s goal was to marry his dissolute son on a wealthy heiress – Princess Mary. Princess Extraordinary excited the arrival of Anatole; The old prince did not want this marriage – he did not like the Kuragins and did not want to part with his daughter. Accidentally Princess Mary notices Anatole, hugging her French companion, m-lle Bourien; to the joy of her father, she refuses Anatoly.
After the battle of Austerlitz, the old prince receives a letter from Kutuzov, in which it is said that Prince Andrew “fell a hero worthy of his father and his fatherland.” It also says that Bolkonsky was not found among the dead; this allows us to hope that Prince Andrew is alive. Meanwhile Princess Liza, Andrei’s wife, must give birth, and on the very night of childbirth Andrey returns. Princess Lisa is dying; on her dead face Bolkonsky reads the question: “What did you do to me?” – the feeling of guilt before the late wife no longer leaves him.
Pierre Bezukhov is tormented by the question of his wife’s connection with Dolokhov: hints of acquaintances and anonymous letter constantly raise this issue. At a dinner in the Moscow English Club, arranged in honor of Bagration, a quarrel broke out between Bezukhov and Dolokhov; Pierre summons Dolokhov to a duel, on which he hurts his opponent. After a difficult explanation with Ellen, Pierre left Moscow for Petersburg, leaving her with a power of attorney to manage her Great Russian estates.
On the way to St. Petersburg, Bezukhov stops at a post station in Torzhok, where he meets a famous mason Osip Bazdeev, who instructs him – disappointed, confused, not knowing how and why to live on – and gives him a letter of recommendation to one of the St. Petersburg masons. Upon arrival, Pierre enters the Masonic lodge: he is delighted with the truth that has been revealed to him, although the ritual of initiation into the Masons is somewhat embarrassing. Full of the desire to do good to his neighbors, in particular to his peasants, Pierre goes to his estates in the Kiev province. There he very zealously embarks on reforms, but, not having “practical tenacity,” is completely deceived by his manager.
Returning from the southern journey, Pierre visits his friend Bolkonsky on his estate Bogucharovo. Prince Andrew after Austerlitz firmly decided not to serve anywhere. All his worries are closed on his son. Pierre notices the “extinct, dead look” of his friend, his detachment. Pierre’s enthusiasm, his new views contrast sharply with the skeptical mood of Bolkonsky; Prince Andrew believes that neither schools, nor hospitals for peasants are needed, and the abolition of serfdom is not necessary for the peasants – they are used to it – but for landlords who corrupt unlimited power over other people. When friends go to the Bald Mountains, to the father and sister of Prince Andrew, there is a conversation between them: Pierre expounds his new views to Prince Andrey, and Bolkonsky sees for the first time after Austerlitz “the high, eternal sky”; “something better,
Returning from vacation to the regiment, Nikolai Rostov felt at home. Everything was clear, known in advance; True, it was necessary to think about what to feed people and horses – from famine and disease the regiment lost almost half of the people. Denisov decides to repel the transport with food, assigned to the infantry regiment; summoned to the headquarters, he meets Telyanin there, beats him and must be brought to justice for this. Taking advantage of the fact that he was slightly injured, Denisov goes to the hospital. Rostov visits Denisov in the hospital – he is struck by the sight of sick soldiers lying on straw and on greatcoats on the floor, the smell of rotting body; in the officers’ chambers he meets Tushin, who lost his hand, and Denisov, who after some persuasion agrees to lodge a request for clemency to the tsar.
With this letter Rostov goes to Tilsit, where there is a meeting of two emperors – Alexander and Napoleon. At the apartment of Boris Drubetsky, enrolled in the retinue of the Russian emperor, Nikolai sees yesterday’s enemies – French officers, with whom he willingly communicates with Drubetskaya. All this – and the unexpected friendship of the adored tsar with yesterday’s usurper Bonaparte, and the free friendly communication between the officers of the Swatian and the French – all irritates Rostov. He can not understand why battles were needed, torn hands and feet, if the emperors are so kind to each other and reward each other and soldiers of the enemy armies with the highest orders of their countries. Accidentally he manages to transmit a letter with Denisov’s request to the familiar general, who gives it to the Tsar, but Alexander refuses: “The law is stronger than me.” The terrible doubts in the heart of Rostov end with the fact, that he persuades familiar officers, like him, who are dissatisfied with the peace with Napoleon, and most importantly himself in that the sovereign knows best what needs to be done. And “our business is to cut and not to think,” he says, drowning out his doubts with wine.
Those enterprises that Pierre started up and could not bring to any result, were executed by Prince Andrew. He transferred three hundred souls to free farmers; replaced the corvée with pay in other estates; peasant children began to teach literacy, etc. In the spring of 1809 Bolkonsky went on business to Ryazan’s estates. On the way, he notices how everything is green and sunny; only a huge old oak “did not want to obey the charm of spring” – Prince Andrew in the mood with the appearance of this clumsy oak seems that his life is over.
On behalf of Bolkonsky, you need to see Ilya Rostov, the district leader of the nobility, and Prince Andrey goes to Otradnoye, the estate of the Rostovs. At night, Prince Andrew hears the conversation between Natasha and Sonya: Natasha is full of delight from the charm of the night, and in the soul of Prince Andrew “there was an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes.” When – already in July – he passed the very grove where he saw the old clumsy oak, he was transformed: “through a century of hard bark, juicy young leaves broke through without knots.” “No, life is not over in thirty-one years,” – decides Prince Andrew; he goes to Petersburg to “take an active part in life.”
In St. Petersburg, Bolkonsky draws closer to Speransky, a state secretary close to the emperor, an energetic reformer. To Speransky Prince Andrew feels a sense of admiration, “similar to the one he once felt for Bonaparte.” The prince becomes a member of the commission for drafting the military statute. At this time, Pierre Bezukhov also lives in Petersburg – he was disappointed in Freemasonry, reconciled with his wife Helen; in the eyes of the world he is an eccentric and kind fellow, but in his heart he continues “the difficult work of internal development.”
The Rostovs also find themselves in St. Petersburg, since the old count, wanting to fix money matters, comes to the capital to look for places of service. Berg makes an offer to Vera and marries her. Boris Drubetskaya, already a close friend in the salon of Countess Helen Bezukhova, begins to travel to the Rostovs, unable to resist the fascination of Natasha; in a conversation with her mother, Natasha confesses that she is not in love with Boris and is not going to marry him, but she likes that he goes. The Countess talked with Drubetskiy, and he stopped visiting the Rostovs.
On the eve of the New Year there should be a ball at the Catherine’s grandee. Rostovs carefully prepare for the ball; at the ball Natasha feels fear and timidity, delight and excitement. Prince Andrew invites her to dance, and “the wine of her charm hit him in the head”: after the ball, his sessions in the commission, the speech of the sovereign in the Council and the activities of Speransky seem insignificant to him. He makes an offer to Natasha, and the Rostovs accept him, but according to the condition set by the old prince Bolkonsky, the wedding can take place only after a year. This year, Bolkonsky goes abroad.
Nikolay Rostov comes on holiday to Otradnoye. He is trying to tidy up business matters, trying to check accounts of steward Mitenka, but nothing comes of it. In mid-September, Nicholas, the old Count, Natasha and Petya, with a pack of dogs and a retinue of hunters, set out on a big hunt. Soon they are joined by their distant relative and neighbor. The old Count and his servants missed the wolf, for which the swift Danilo cursed him, as if forgetting that the Count was his master. At this time another wolf came to Nikolai, and Rostov’s dogs took him. Later hunters met the hunt of a neighbor – Ilagin; dogs Ilagin, Rostov and uncles drove the hare, but took his uncle’s dog Rugai, which led to the admiration of my uncle. Then Rostov with Natasha and Petya go to the uncle. After supper, my uncle began to play the guitar, and Natasha went to dance. When they returned to Otradnoye,
The saints came; Natasha languishes in longing for Prince Andrew – for a short time her, as well as everyone, entertains a trip by mummers to neighbors, but the thought that “her best time is wasting her time” torments her. During the saints, Nicholas was particularly keenly aware of the love for Sonia and announced it to his mother and father, but their conversation was very upset: the Rostovs hoped that their property circumstances would correct Nicholas’s marriage to a rich bride. Nikolay returns to the regiment, and the old count with Sonya and Natasha leaves for Moscow.
Old Bolkonsky also lives in Moscow; he became noticeably older, became more irritable, his relationship with his daughter deteriorated, which torments the old man himself, and especially Princess Mary. When Count Rostov and Natasha come to the Bolkonsky, they take the Rostovs hostile: the prince – with the calculation, and Princess Mary – herself suffering from embarrassment. Natasha painfully hurts; To help her, Marya Dmitrievna, in whose house the Rostovs stopped, took her a ticket to the opera. In the theater, the Rostovs meet Boris Drubetsky, now the groom Jules Karagina, Dolokhov, Helen Bezukhov and her brother Anatol Kuragin. Natasha meets Anatoly. Helen invites the Rostovs to her, where Anatole pursues Natasha, tells her about her love for her. He secretly sends her letters and is going to kidnap her to secretly get married.
The abduction is not possible – Sonya accidentally finds out about him and admits Marya Dmitrievna; Pierre tells Natasha that Anatole is married. Arrived Prince Andrew finds out about Natasha’s refusal and about her romance with Anatole; he through Pierre returns to Natasha her letters. When Pierre comes to Natasha and sees her tear-stained face, he feels sorry for her and at the same time he unexpectedly tells her that if he were the “best man in the world”, then “on his knees he would ask for his hand and love” for her. In tears of “affection and happiness” he leaves.
Volume three
In June 1812, the war begins, Napoleon becomes the head of the army. The Emperor Alexander, having learned that the enemy had crossed the border, sent an adjutant-general, Balashev, to Napoleon. For four days Balashev conducts with the French, who do not recognize for him the importance he had in the Russian court, and finally Napoleon receives him in the same palace from which the Russian emperor sent him. Napoleon listens only to himself, not noticing that he often runs into contradictions.
Prince Andrew wants to find Anatol Kuragin and summon him to a duel; for this he travels to St. Petersburg, and then to the Turkish army, where he serves at Kutuzov’s headquarters. When Bolkonsky finds out about the beginning of the war with Napoleon, he asks for a transfer to the Western Army; Kutuzov gives him an order to Barclay de Tolly and lets him go. On the way, Prince Andrew visits the Bald Mountains, where everything is still the same, but the old prince is very annoyed by Princess Mary and visibly brings m-lle Bourienne closer to her. Between the old prince and Andrew there is a difficult conversation, Prince Andrew is leaving.
In the Drissky camp, where the main apartment of the Russian army was located, Bolkonsky finds many opposing parties; at the military council he finally realizes that there is no military science, and everything is decided “in the ranks”. He asks the emperor for permission to serve in the army, and not at the court.
The Pavlograd Regiment, in which Nikolai Rostov still serves, is already a captain, retreating from Poland to the Russian borders; no one from the hussars thinks about where and why they are going. On July 12, one of the officers tells in the presence of Rostov about Raevsky’s feat, which brought two sons to the Saltanovo Dam and attacked them; this story causes Rostov to doubt: he does not believe the story and does not see the point in such an act, if it was in fact. The next day, at Ostrovne, Rostov’s squadron struck French dragoons who were hustling the Russian lancers. Nicholas took the French officer prisoner “with a roomy face” – for which he received the St. George Cross, but he himself could not understand what confused him in this so-called feat.
The Rostovs live in Moscow, Natasha is very ill, doctors go to her; At the end of the Petrine post, Natasha decides to taunt. On July 12, on Sunday, the Rostovs drove to mass in the house church of Razumovsky. On Natasha, a very strong impression is made by prayer. She gradually returns to life and even begins to sing again, which she has not done for a long time. Pierre brings Rostov’s proclamation of the Tsar to the Muscovites, everyone is moved, and Petya asks that they let him go to war. Not having received permission, Petya decides to go next day to meet the sovereign who comes to Moscow to express to him his desire to serve the fatherland.
In the crowd of Muscovites, who met the Tsar, Petya was nearly crushed. Together with others, he stood in front of the Kremlin Palace, when the Emperor went to the balcony and began to throw people biscuits – one biscuit went to Petya. Returning home, Petya announced resolutely that he would certainly go to war, and the old count went out the next day to find out how to make Petya somewhere safer. On the third day of his stay in Moscow, the tsar met with the nobility and merchants. Everyone was in affection. The nobility sacrificed the militia, and the merchants money.
The old prince Bolkonsky is weakening; Despite the fact that Prince Andrew in a letter informed his father that the French already have Vitebsk and that his family’s stay in the Bald Mountain is unsafe, the old prince laid in his estate a new garden and a new building. Prince Nikolai Andreevich sends the manager of Alpatych to Smolensk with errands, he, arriving in the city, stops at an inn, from a familiar master – Ferapontov. Alpatych gives the governor a letter from the prince and hears advice to go to Moscow. The bombing begins, and then the Smolensk fire. Ferapontov, who had not previously wanted to hear about his departure, suddenly starts distributing to the soldiers sacks of food: “Bring it all, guys! It’s decided! Raseya!” Alpatych meets Prince Andrew, and he writes a note to his sister, urging him to leave urgently for Moscow.
For Prince Andrew, the Smolensk fire “was an epoch” – a sense of bitterness against the enemy made him forget his grief. He was called “our prince” in the regiment, loved him and was proud of him, and he was kind and gentle “with his regimental”. His father, having sent home to Moscow, decided to stay in the Bald Mountains and protect them “to the last extremity”; Princess Mary does not agree to leave with her nephews and remains with her father. After the departure of Nicholas with the old prince, a blow happens, and he is transported to Bogucharovo. Three weeks, the paralyzed prince lies in Bogucharovo, at last he dies, before begging for forgiveness from his daughter.
Princess Mary after her father’s funeral is going to leave Bogucharova for Moscow, but the Bogucharovo peasants do not want to let the princess. Accidentally in Bogucharovo is Rostov, easily pacified the peasants, and the princess can leave. Both she and Nikolay think about the will of Providence, who arranged their meeting.
When Kutuzov is appointed commander-in-chief, he calls Prince Andrew to himself; he arrives in Tsarevo-Zaymishche, the main apartment. Kutuzov listened with sympathy to the news of the demise of the old prince and invited Prince Andrew to serve at the headquarters, but Bolkonsky asked permission to remain in the regiment. Denisov, who also arrived at the main apartment, hastens to expound to Kutuzov the guerrilla war plan, but Kutuzov listens to Denisov clearly inattentively, as though “by his experience of life,” despising all that he was told. And Prince Andrew leaves Kutuzov quite calm. “He understands,” thinks Bolkonsky of Kutuzov, “that there is something stronger and more significant than his will-this is the inevitable course of events, and he knows how to see them, knows how to understand their meaning, and most importantly is that he is Russian.”
Same. he speaks before the battle of Borodino, Pierre, who came to see the battle. “While Russia was healthy, she could serve as a stranger and was a wonderful minister, but as soon as she is in danger, she needs her own, native person,” Bolkonsky explains Kutuzov’s appointment as commander-in-chief instead of Barclay. During the battle, Prince Andrew was mortally wounded; He is brought to the tent at the dressing station, where he sees Anatol Kuragin on the next table – the leg is amputated to him. Bolkonsky is seized by a new feeling – a feeling of compassion and love for everyone, including his enemies.
The appearance of Pierre on the Borodino field is preceded by a description of the Moscow society, where they refused to speak in French, where the rastopchinsky placards spread, with their pseudo-national rude tone. Pierre feels a particularly joyful “sacrificial” feeling: “all nonsense in comparison with something”, which Pierre could not understand. On the way to Borodino, he meets militiamen and wounded soldiers, one of whom says: “All people want to crash.” On the field of Borodino Bezukhov sees a moleben in front of Smolensk miraculous icon, meets some of his friends, including Dolokhov, who apologizes to Pierre.
During the battle, Bezukhov was on Rayevsky’s battery. Soldiers soon get used to it, call it “our master”; when the charges run out, Pierre is summoned to bring new ones, but before he could reach the charging boxes, there was a deafening explosion. Pierre runs to the battery, where the French are already in charge; the French officer and Pierre at the same time seize each other, but the flying nucleus forces them to unclench their hands, and run up Russian soldiers drive the French away. Pierre is horrified by the sight of the dead and wounded; he leaves the battlefield and three versts along the Mozhaisk road. He sits on the shoulder; After a while, three soldiers plant a fire nearby and call Pierre supper. After dinner, they go together to Mozhaisk, on the way they meet Pierre Pierre, who takes Bezukhov to the guest house. At night, Pierre sees a dream in which the benefactor speaks to him; the voice says that you must be able to connect in your soul “the meaning of everything.” “No,” Pierre remembers in a dream, “do not unite, but need to be mated.” Pierre returns to Moscow.
Two more characters are given close-up during the battle of Borodino: Napoleon and Kutuzov. On the eve of the battle, Napoleon receives from Paris a present from the empress-a portrait of his son; he orders to take out a portrait to show his old guard. Tolstoy argues that Napoleon’s orders before the battle of Borodino were no worse than all his other orders, but nothing could depend on the will of the French emperor. Under Borodino, the French army suffered a moral defeat – this is, according to Tolstoy, the most important result of the battle.
Kutuzov did not make any orders during the battle: he knew that the decisive outcome of the battle was “an elusive force called the spirit of the army,” and he directed this force “as far as it was in his power.” When the adjutant adjutant Voltssogen comes to the commander-in-chief with the news from Barclay, that the left flank is upset and the troops are fleeing, Kutuzov furiously attacks him, claiming that the enemy is repulsed everywhere and that there will be an offensive tomorrow. And this mood of Kutuzov is passed on to the soldiers.
After the battle of Borodino, Russian troops retreat to the Philae; the main issue discussed by the military leaders is the question of defending Moscow. Kutuzov, who understands that there is no possibility of defending Moscow, gives the order for retreat. At the same time, Rostopchin, not understanding the meaning of what is happening, ascribes to himself the guiding importance in the abandonment and fire of Moscow – that is, in an event that could not be accomplished at the will of one person and could not fail to take place in the circumstances of that time. He advises Pierre to leave Moscow, reminding him of his connection with the Freemasons, giving the crowd the mercy of the merchant’s son, Vereshchagin, and leaving Moscow. Moscow is joined by the French. Napoleon stands on Poklonnaya Hill, waiting for the deputation of the boyars and playing in his imagination magnanimous scenes; they tell him that Moscow is empty.
On the eve of the departure of Moscow from the Rostovs there were fees for departure. When the carts were already packed, one of the wounded officers asked permission to go with the Rostovs on their cart further. The Countess initially objected – after all, the last state was lost – but Natasha convinced her parents to give all the carts to the wounded, and leave most of the things. Among the wounded officers who rode with the Rostovs from Moscow, was Andrei Bolkonsky. In Mytishchi, during another stop, Natasha entered the room where Prince Andrew lay. Since then, she has taken care of him on all the rest and overnight lodging.
Pierre did not leave Moscow, but left his house and began to live in the house of the widow of Bazdeev. even before the trip to Borodino he learned from one of the Masonic brothers that Napoleon’s invasion had been predicted in the Apocalypse; he began to calculate the meaning of the name of Napoleon, and the number was equal to 666; The same amount was obtained from the numerical value of his name. So Pierre opened his destiny – to kill Napoleon. He remains in Moscow and is preparing for a great feat. When the French enter Moscow, an officer, Ramballe, arrives at Bazdeev’s house with his orderly. Mad brother Bazdeyev, who lived in the same house, shoots at Rambala, but Pierre tears his gun from him. During dinner, Rambale frankly tells Pierre about himself, about his love affairs; Pierre tells the Frenchman the story of his love for Natasha. The next morning he goes to the city, no longer really believing his intention to kill Napoleon, saves the girl, pleads for the Armenian family, which is robbed by the French; he is arrested by a detachment of French lancers.
Tom the fourth
Petersburg life, “worried only by ghosts, reflections of life,” was the old way. Anna Pavlovna Scherer had an evening at which the letter of Metropolitan Platon to the Emperor was read and the illness of Helen Bezukhova was discussed. The next day, news was received of the abandonment of Moscow; After a while, Colonel Michaud arrived from Kutuzov with the news of the abandonment and fire of Moscow; during a conversation with Michaud, Alexander said that he himself would stand at the head of his army, but did not sign the peace. Meanwhile, Napoleon sends Lauriston to Kutuzov with a proposal of peace, but Kutuzov refuses “any kind of deal.” The king demands offensive action, and, in spite of Kutuzov’s reluctance, the Tarutino battle was given.
In the autumn night Kutuzov receives news that the French have left Moscow. Until the enemy’s expulsion from the limits of Russia, Kutuzov’s entire activity is aimed only at keeping troops from useless offensives and clashes with the perishing enemy. The army of the French is melting during the retreat; Kutuzov on the road from Krasnoe to the main apartment addresses soldiers and officers: “While they were strong, we did not regret ourselves, and now they can be pitied, they are the same people.” Against the commander-in-chief intrigues continue, and in Vilna the sovereign reprimands Kutuzov for his slowness and mistakes. Nevertheless, Kutuzov was awarded the first degree by George. But in the forthcoming campaign – already outside of Russia – Kutuzov is not needed. “The representative of the people’s war had nothing left but death, and he died.”
Nikolay Rostov goes for repairs to Voronezh, where he meets Princess Mary; he again thinks of marrying her, but he is bound by the promise he gave to Sonya. Unexpectedly, he receives a letter from Sonya, in which she returns his word to him. Princess Mary, learning that her brother is in Yaroslavl, the Rostov, goes to him. She sees Natasha, her grief and feels the closeness between herself and Natasha. She finds the brother in that condition, when he already knows that he will die. Natasha understood the meaning of the crisis that took place in Prince Andrew shortly before her sister’s arrival: she tells Princess Mary that Prince Andrew is “too good, he can not live.” When Prince Andrew died, Natasha and Princess Mary were “reverently touched” before the mystery of death.
Arrested Pierre is taken to the guardhouse, where he is held together with other detainees; he is interrogated by French officers, then he is interrogated by Marshal Davout. Davout was known for his cruelty, but when Pierre and the French marshal exchanged glances, they both vaguely felt that they were brothers. This view saved Pierre. He, along with others, was taken to the place of execution, where the French shot five, and Pierre and the other prisoners were taken to a barrack. The spectacle of execution had a terrible effect on Bezukhov, in his soul “everything fell into a heap of mindless litter.” A neighbor in the barracks fed Pierre and with his gentle speech reassured him. Pierre forever remembered Karataev as the personification of all “Russian good and round.” Plato sews French shirts and several times notices that among the French people are different. The party of prisoners is taken out of Moscow, and along with the retreating army they march along the Smolensk road. During one of the transitions Karataev falls ill and is killed by the French. After that, Bezukhov sleeps at a halt, in which he sees a ball, the surface of which consists of drops. Drops move, move; “here he, Karataev, spilled and disappeared,” Pierre dreams. The next morning a detachment of prisoners was beaten off by Russian partisans.
Denisov, the commander of the partisan detachment, is going to join a small detachment of Dolokhov, attack a large French transport with Russian prisoners. From the German general, the chief of a large detachment, the sent one arrives with a proposal to join for joint action against the French. This one was sent by Petya Rostov, who remained for a day in Denisov’s detachment. Petya sees how Tikhon Shcherbaty returns to the detachment, a peasant who went “to take the language” and escaped the chase. Dolohov arrives and, along with Petya Rostov, goes on reconnaissance to the French. When Petya returns to the detachment, he asks the Cossack to sharpen his sword; he almost falls asleep, and he dreams of music. In the morning the detachment attacks French transport, and during the exchange of fire Petya dies. Among the captured prisoners was Pierre.
After liberation, Pierre is in Orel – he is sick, physical deprivation, experienced by him, affects, but mentally he feels his freedom never before experienced. He learns about the death of his wife, that Prince Andrew was alive a month after the injury. Arriving in Moscow, Pierre goes to Princess Mary, where he meets Natasha. After the death of Prince Andrew, Natasha closed her grief; From this state, she is informed of the death of Petit. She does not depart from her mother for three weeks, and only she can relieve the Countess’s grief. When Princess Mary goes to Moscow, Natasha, at the insistence of her father, goes with her. Pierre discusses with Princess Mary the possibility of happiness with Natasha; in Natasha, too, a love for Pierre awakes.
Epilogue
Seven years passed. Natasha in 1813 goes for Pierre. The old Count Rostov is dying. Nicholas retires, takes over the inheritance – debts are twice as much as the estate. He, along with his mother and Sonia, settles in Moscow, in a modest apartment. Met Princess Mary, he tries to be with her restrained and dry, but between them there is an explanation, and in the fall of 1814 Rostov marries Princess Bolkonskaya. They move to the Bald Mountains; Nikolay ably manages the economy and soon pays with his debts. Sonia lives in his house; “she, like a cat, took root not to people, but to the house.”
In December 1820, Natasha and her children are staying with their brother. They are waiting for Pierre to come from St. Petersburg. Pierre comes, brings gifts to all. In the study between Pierre, Denisov and Nikolai, a conversation takes place, Pierre is a member of a secret society; he talks about a bad government and the need for change. Nikolai does not agree with Pierre and says that he can not accept a secret society. During the conversation, there is Nikolenka Bolkonsky – the son of Prince Andrew. At night he dreams that he, along with Uncle Pierre, in helmets, like in the book of Plutarch, is ahead of a huge army. Nicholas wakes up with thoughts of her father and glory coming.