Springtime in Paris

In December 1812, Tsar Alexander I issued a manifesto proclaiming an end to what came to be known in Russia as “The Patriotic War” (Отечественная война, literally “The Fatherland War”). Indeed, in the historical memory of your average Russian, the war against Napoleon is strongly associated with the year 1812. Few remember what happened next or realize that fighting actually continued for another year and a half, or that it ended only after long campaigns beyond Russia's borders resulting in countless deaths (suffice it to remember the Battle of Leipzig, which took thousands of Russian lives) and, ultimately, brought the anti-French Sixth Coalition all the way to Paris. It was around this time that Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy quipped:

Казалося, ну ниже