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SUMMARY:War and Peace: The Reality.  How and Why Russia Defeated Napoleon 
 - Professor Dominic Lieven FBA
DTSTART:20120201T173000Z
DTEND:20120201T190000Z
UID:TALK31334@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Clare Kitcat
DESCRIPTION:Based on Dominic Lieven's book\, Russia against Napoleon\, whi
 ch won a Wolfson Prize in 2010. Russia's battle with Napoleon is one of th
 e best-known stories in European history thanks above all to Tolstoy. But 
 the story as usually told is wrong. This lecture explains why Russia not j
 ust defeated Napoleon in 1812 but pursued him all the way to Paris in 1813
 -14 and toppled him from his throne. The Russians won above all because th
 eir government pursued a more realistic and intelligent strategy than Napo
 leon\, a strategy which played to Russian strengths and French weaknesses.
  But the highpoint of Russia's war effort came not in 1812 but in 1813\, w
 hen Russian military and diplomatic efforts played the leading role in des
 troying Napoleon's empire and restoring a European balance of power. The l
 ecture looks not just at war and foreign policy but also at how the Russia
 n home front was mobilised in pursuit of victory.
LOCATION:Yusuf Hamied Centre\, Christ's College
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