Schoolchildren from the Rossony district will present their museum at international readings dedicated to the War of 1812

June 26, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Schoolchildren from the village of Klyastitsy, Rossony district, will present their museum at the international historical and local lore readings "Pages of the History of the Patriotic War of 1812 of the Border Territories of Russia, Latvia, Belarus," the ideology department of the Rossony District Executive Committee told a BELTA correspondent. The international readings will open in Sebezh (Pskov region, Russia) on June 27. Representatives from Belarus, Latvia, and Russia will take part. Thus, employees of the Ludza Museum of Local Lore of Latvia will dedicate their presentation to the merits of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Yakov Kulnev, who was born near the village of Klyastitsy, Rossony district, and died in battle near this village. It is noteworthy that students of the Klyastitsy Secondary School will also take part in the readings and will conduct a virtual tour of the exhibition on the Patriotic War of 1812, which is housed in the school's Museum of National Glory. The exhibition features reconstructions of the uniforms of Russian and French troops, and installations of toy battles. There are also exhibits dating back to 1812 - fragments of cannonballs, pieces of combat weapons, sabers found at the bottom of the Nishcha River. The school museum is known not only in Belarus but also abroad. Russian tourists often come here for excursions. In addition to schoolchildren, the readings will be attended by Rossony local historian Dmitry Kuzyakov, who will present his research "Rossony in 1812: Events, Destinies, Memory," as well as the keeper of the collections of the Volynetsky Museum named after I.D. Chersky from the Verkhnedvinsk district, Nadezhda Sosnovskaya, who will talk about the unknown pages of the battle near Svjany. After the plenary session, participants of the international readings will travel with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" of Pskov-Pechersk to Klyastitsy to the field of military glory, where a memorial service will be held for the fallen soldiers in the Battle of Klyastitsy before the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. According to numerous historians, the battle near Klyastitsy predetermined the outcome of the Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleon intended to capture the capital of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg, in a few weeks, so he sent one of his best marshals, Count Oudinot, from Polotsk along the Pskov tract towards the Russian capital at the head of a twenty-eight-thousand-strong corps. On Oudinot's path stood the corps of Russian General Count Wittgenstein. Oudinot was to make an flanking maneuver, unite with the thirty-four-thousand-strong corps of Marshal Macdonald, cut off the Russians from their base in Pskov, defeat them, and continue their advance towards St. Petersburg. The Russian commander decided to attack Oudinot near Klyastitsy. The battle began on July 18 (Old Style) at two o'clock in the afternoon, when the Russian vanguard, led by Major General Kulnev, clashed with the French vanguard. After a fierce skirmish, which turned into hand-to-hand combat, Russian soldiers seized a favorable artillery position and deployed a battery. Grape shot fire suppressed all French attacks. Having suffered significant losses, they began to retreat towards Klyastitsy. A detachment under the command of Kulnev was sent to pursue the enemy. The renowned general died in this battle. A monument has been erected on the bank of the Drissa River, where the heroic general died. An obelisk to Kulnev is also installed in the village of Druya, Braslav district.-0-