Kutuzov Hut is a small museum in the Fili district of Moscow. It is located at the place where the commander-in-chief of the Russian army Mikhail Kutuzov gathered a military council in a peasant hut on September 1, 1812. They discussed the condition of the Russian army after the Battle of Borodino, as well as the opportunity of protecting Moscow.
The Council in Fili is familiar to many people from the painting by the artist Alexey Kishenko "Military Council in Fili" (written in 1880). The painting depicts Mikhail Kutuzov and 10 generals. They discussed the very difficult issue of the surrender of Moscow to Napoleon`s troops. To some generals, the fact of the surrender of the ancient capital seemed humiliating. They thought it would undermine the morale of the soldiers. However, another major battle for the Russian army would be disastrous.
In the Battle of Borodino field, the losses of the Russian army amounted to about 40 thousand people, and the French – about 30 thousand people. French historians consider Napoleon the winner in the Battle of Borodino, since the battlefield was left to the French. However, the Russian army was not defeated. The losses of both sides were comparable, and the Russian army retreated to Moscow in an organized manner.
Near Moscow, Russian regiments occupied uncomfortable positions, so the defense of Moscow caused Kutuzov questions. Realizing the criticality of the situation, Kutuzov made an unpopular decision at the Fili council: to leave Moscow without a fight and retreat along the Kaluga Road to the south of the Moscow region.
Kutuzov said at the Fili council: "With the loss of Moscow, Russia has not yet been lost." He also believed that "the French army would dissolve in Moscow like a sponge in water." A month later, his assumptions were fully confirmed. Napoleon realized that he had fallen into a trap and began to seek peace with the Russians. Realizing the impossibility of wintering troops in burnt Moscow, Napoleon began to retreat. After the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, he was forced to retreat along the ruined Smolensk Road.
The Kutuzov hut in the village of Fili near Moscow belonged to a peasant Mikhail Frolov, a serf of Duke Naryshkin. In 1854, Naryshkin decided to move the village to a new location, but the Kutuzov hut was left in the same place and turned into a museum. A disabled soldier was placed in the hut, who looked after the property. In 1867, he was evicted from his hut. It remained abandoned and burned down in 1868. The Kutuzov hut can be seen in a painting by the artist Alexei Savrasov.
In 1883, the Society of Officers installed a memorial sign on the site of the Kutuzov hut, and in 1886 it was recreated as a museum. Later, a memorial complex dedicated to the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 was formed here. In 1966, a Triumphal Arch was erected on Kutuzovsky Avenue, and a huge building of the Borodino Panorama was built next to the Hut in 1962. Poklonnaya Hill is located on the opposite side of Kutuzovsky Avenue. In 1812 Napoleon was waiting for the keys to Moscow there. Now there is a Victory Park dedicated to the events of the WWII.
