It’s an old tradition in Russia to celebrate the anniversaries of the 1812 Patriotic War at a high national level. The history of the Museum-panorama the Battle of Borodino started on September 11, 1912. In honour of the centenary of the 1812 Patriotic War the Borodino panorama was opened in a wooden pavilion on Chistoprudny Boulevard in the center of Moscow.
In 1962, the 150th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812, a new museum building was opened on Kutuzovsky avenju, on the place, where used to be the village of Fili, on the outskirts of Moscow in 19th century. Here Field-Marshal Kutuzov held his historic Council of War in the peasant hut (izba). The fate of Moscow was decided here on September 13, 1812.
Not far from this place, there stands the Triumphal Arch erected in honour of the victory over Napoleon. The statue of Mikhail Kutuzov by N.V.Tomsky was also set up near the museum in 1973.
The highlight of the museum permanent exhibition is the Borodino panorama painted by an outstanding Russian battle artist Franz Roubaud (1856-1928). The canvas, 115 meters in length and 15 meters in height, depicts the decisive episode of the battle between the Russian and French armies near Borodino village on September 7, 1812. Franz Roubaud presented the high point of the battle when «all the infantry, cavalry and artillery were fighting desperately».
In 2012, the 200th anniversary of Russian victory in the 1812 Patriotic War, the Museum-panorama presented a renovated permanent exhibition. It was named the Honour of the Borodino Day and had a dominating idea of «man and war». More than 800 rarities from the museum collection including battle paintings, portraits of heroes, arms, uniforms of the Russian and French armies are on display in two halls. The tour around the museum is accompanied with special audio-visual effect.
Integrated into the 1812 memorial complex on Kutuzovsky prospekt, the Museum-panorama the Battle of Borodino and the Kutuzov’s hut Museum nowadays keep holding their special positions among other museums in Moscow.
The exhibition displays military equipment and weapons of both armies, decorations, applied art objects, graphic words and paintings inspired by the event.
The izba which accommodated the historic military council belonged to a peasant named Mikhail Frolov. The surviving original objects include icons, a tiled stove and a bench on which Kutuzov himself might have sat. The izba was transformed into a museum in 1886 according to a drawing by A. Savrasov. Having stood the test of time and circumstances, the museum underwent extensive renovation and was reopened to visitors in 2010. Today, Kutuzov’s Izba houses an exhibition dedicated to Field Marshal Kutuzov and the lifestyle of peasants at the time; a number of interactive activities for children are also on offer.
A chapel consecrated to Archangel Michael, the patron saint of the Russian army, was built near the izba in 1912. It was founded on 1 October, 1910 to commemorate the name day of Mikhail Kutuzov. The chapel built by N. Strukov and M. Litvinov is in the Byzantine style and features ornamental décor and mosaics.
