ALEXANDER FIGNER IS MY HERO

 

 

 

 

Alexander Figner (1787-1813)

 

                                                                                                                                    

Who can be called a hero? I think that first of all we should remember those people, who defended their Motherland, daring their lives- the heroes of wars.

  I am going to tell you about the hero of the Patriotic war of 1812 in Russia when Napoleon tried to conquer the Russian Empire. One can say that the greatest heroes of this war were famous Russian generals- Kutuzov, Bagration, Barklay-de-Tolly, but many historians agree that the main power which defeated the enemy was Russian people, all the nation, that is why this war is called patriotic. The phenomenon, which had played the decisive role in the war, was guerilla warfare.

  Partisans unexpectedly attacked the enemy’s army in small detachments, intercepted post, trains with food and weapon, gathered information about Napoleon’s army. The actions of partisans were closely connected with risk and danger, so they had to possess such traits of character as courage, endurance and wits. All of the partisans were people of heroic qualities and great courage, but the most outstanding one was Alexander Figner.

  Alexander was born in a poor nobiliary family. He was sent to a military school where

 he showed excellent results in math, history, martial arts, and foreign languages.                 

     In 1812 Figner, who understood the possibilities of guerilla war asked Kutuzov for a   permission to organize his own partisan detachment of about 50 men. Figner managed to convince everyone, that  the organization of partisan groups, co-operated with  local peasants, was one of the most efficient forms of military actions.

      Soon Figner’s detachment became well-known among the”Great Army” for its daring attacks. In the day time partisans were hiding in the forest. At that time Figner, dressed up as a French officer would go to the enemy’s rear, where he talked to the officers in pure French, telling them the wrong data about the disposition of the Russian army and collecting necessary information for the Russians. At night, Figner with his partisans suddenly attacked the French army. Sometimes his small detachment took about 200 -300 prisoners.

      Figner was also known for his slyness. Due to his perfect knowledge of the French, Italian, Polish and German languages, he could easily pretend a French officer, a foreign traveler or an ordinary Russian peasant.

      Once Figner’s behavior caused suspicion of the enemy soldiers, so he was arrested and imprisoned. Through numerous inquests and tortures the French wanted to find out who he was. But Figner kept answering that he was an Italian traveler. At that time there was a rich merchant from Milan at that fortress, so the confrontation was held; but Figner, who used to live in Milan earlier, told them who his parents were, where they lived and even the colour of their house’s roof and shutters. The merchant confirmed the truth of this information, and Alexander was set free. However, during the imprisonment he even didn’t sleep in order not to speak Russian while sleeping.

     Alexander Figner perished at the age of 26 when crossing the Elbe.

 

Zhenya Tribunskaya

Form 10 M, Lyceum 130

Novosibirsk, Russia