On August 12 the horse expedition Moscow-Paris devoted to the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 will begin on the Poklonnaya Mountain.
Andrey Belyaniniv, Chairman of the Organizational Committee of the horse expedition Moscow-Paris
Everything started from a great care of our horse breeders about the Don horse breed, as the situation has been and is still alarming. It is a respectful breed and it is at the edge of extinction. One of the brightest stories connected with the Don horse breed is when ataman Platov brought 60 thousand Cossacks to France, Paris. Each Cossack had two horses. 120 thousand Russian horses came to France together with the expedition group and left only positive impressions.
For us it is not an attempt to organize a march of winners. The expedition is devoted to memory of all courageous warriors who died on battle fields of Russia and Europe during the period of Napoleon wars. Within the project I even met a descendant of Napoleon who heads the European Association of Napoleon Cities. By the way, he is much taller than his great ancestor.
It was a private initiative which was supported by the state. We were included into the national program of carrying out arrangements devoted to the events of 1812-1815. We bought horses. 23 Don horses will participate in the expedition. Our Cossacks have been training for a year, i.e. it is not a dilettantes’ journey. At first we intended to make the whole path riding horses. But independent circumstances prevented us from it. I mean environmental requirements, roads which are paved on the horse route created 200 years ago. We respect laws of every welcoming country.
The expedition will pass through six countries. We would like it will be connected with history because we see that these events cause a great interest. Every country has propitious mood. Military-sporting and military-historical societies of the countries where we will pass intend to support us.
Alexandrov Red Banner ensemble will be with us in key points. It will show once again no end of talents and skills. We will also be accompanied by the Kremlin Riding School. Guys will perform fancy riding. The first such a concert will take place on August 19 in Smolensk. During the path we will lay wreaths, mark our respect and memory of killed soldiers on graves and graveyards which we will meet during the expedition.
Sergey Shishkaryov, Deputy Chairman of the Organization Committee of the horse expedition, member of the guardian council of the fund “Russian Heritage”
The horse expedition is a very difficult logistics scheme. It includes not only horses, but also a great technical part which is connected with stud farms, baggage carts, ambulance, necessary devices for horseshoeing, and so on. There are a lot of procedures connected with crossing of state borders – sanitary regulations, customs regulations, insurance of both Cossacks and horses.
Pavel Moshchalkov, Deputy Chairman of the Organization Committee of the horse expedition
We speak about reappearance of the Don horse breed. It was the only breed which came to Paris and then returned home to the Don prairies. Other cavalry troops used European horses. The horses were non-resistant, they died, and soldiers have to change horses for many times. Why was Platov called “whirlwind ataman”? Because nobody in Europe could imagine that a horse could ride more than 100 km in one night. Nobody. But the Don horses managed to do it. According to the Horse Breeding Institute, there are three records of the Don horse – 305, 309, and 311 km per twenty-four hours. After the war of 1812 Emperor ordered to reseat 80% of cavalry on the Don horses. It is a military horse. Horses could lost 40% of weight and then recover. Others suffered dystrophy and died.
Leonid Malayev, Head of the A.V. Alexandrov Russian army twice red-bannered academic song and dance ensemble
Next year we will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the ensemble. During its whole history the ensemble visited about 70 countries and in all regions of our state. The program includes 3 000 songs. As for the concert program for the horse expedition, we will sing songs about Cossacks, residents of the Don region, as well as dance Cossacks cavalry dances. We will show Cossack prowess and skills in songs and dances. In recent years we have performed in various places of Europe. And we have our own interested audience. After concerts of the ensemble in Poland, Germany, and France young people who touched on our culture organize hobby groups in universities and learn the Russian language. We receive letters: “Visiting your concerts, we wanted to learn more about Russia.” They come to Moscow and St.-Petersburg. Through our concerts we attract dozen thousand people to our culture.
