The invasion of Napoleon's troops into Russia was caused by the aggravation of Russian-French political and economic contradictions. The day after the council in Fili, namely September 2, 1812, the Russian army left Moscow. For 36 days, Napoleon was in Moscow, languishing in anticipation of peace negotiations. It was then that his officers and soldiers plundered the capital of Russia, desecrated the graves, and destroyed the churches.
Long after the war, legends circulated about the looting of unbelted French soldiers. They burst into monasteries, trampled holy icons into the mud, tearing off the vestments from them, took away the golden vestments of the clergy, and even rummaged in the shrines where the relics of the saints lay.
Leaving Moscow, Napoleon ordered to blow up part of the walls, mad and the Kremlin's buildings. The French took the valuables with them. However, it was not possible to take them to France. The treasures were hidden somewhere in Russia, either on the Old Smolensk road, or near Vyazma or near the village of Krasnoye, or near the village of Studenki on the Berezina. This is the legend. Until now, the so-called "Moscow booty" of Bonaparte are looking for treasure hunters of all stripes.
But what are the facts? After the Battle of Borodino on August 26, 1812, as a result of which none of the armies received a decisive advantage, it became clear that Moscow would have to be surrendered. It was necessary to urgently evacuate valuables, especially the Kremlin relics.
Moscow Governor-General Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Rostopchin was engaged in an urgent evacuation. It was he who took the firefighting tool out of the capital, and according to one version, he left a group of police officials for arson, who started the fire.
But Rostopchin was primarily concerned with saving the Kremlin's treasures. He instructed the senator and master of ceremonies P. S. Valuev. The latter demanded that Rostopchin provide 250 horses for the export of valuables to Nizhny Novgorod.
Time was running out, it was impossible to take out everything. Particularly bulky and less valuable things had to be abandoned, in particular, old sabers, checkers, guns decorated with silver and precious stones, as well as icon frames, silver picture frames, tapestries, and gold-woven fabrics. Everything that could not be taken out, Valuev hid in hiding places.
First of all, the master of ceremonies was engaged in the export of jewelry and objects of palace use, objects of decorative and applied art, weapons from the Armory. In addition, Valuev's concern was the values of the Patriarchal Sacristy, where priceless items of church use, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Faceted Chamber, Kremlin cathedrals and the Church of the Savior on Bor were kept.
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Everything was loaded onto 150 carts, which moved in the direction of the city of Vladimir. What could not be loaded onto carts was hidden in hiding places, walled up in walls, buried in the ground.
When the French left Moscow, Valuev and Rostopchin were the first to arrive at the ruins of the Kremlin. The count took up measures to restore the burned city, but despite active efforts, he lost his former popularity due to accusations of organizing arson. By his order, Valuev compiled a list of what was stolen by the French.
According to the most conservative estimates, the French "took" from the Kremlin 18 pounds of gold, 325 pounds of silver, thousands of jewelry with precious stones, ancient weapons, tons of church dishes, gold and silver frames with enamel, pearls, and gems.
With regret, Valuev discovered that many hiding places died, being looted or simply blown up along with the Kremlin walls.
Napoleon managed to withdraw from 20 to 80 thousand people from Russia. If we assume that each soldier carried at least a pound of coins and valuables, then the total weight of loot in Russia, excluding what was transported in carts, ranged from 10 to 40 tons. Some participants in the flight said that the soldiers literally sagged under the weight of their backpacks, which means that there was even more loot.
However, after Napoleon left, many valuable things were found on the territory of the Kremlin. The French threw icons invaluable for Russians to the ground, tearing off only the salaries. There were bronze double-headed eagles from the Kremlin towers, a large cross from the bell tower of Ivan the Great. However, much was lost forever …
The French left the capital on October 7. The booty greatly impeded the movement of the Napoleonic army in the direction of Kaluga. The troops were stretched out greatly. Some of the carts got stuck in the mud and had to be thrown on the road. The road behind the retreating French was littered with paintings, books, candelabra, figurines, vases. Some of these values probably went to local peasants.
It is known that Napoleon took out the first baggage train with looted valuables from Moscow even before the army left the city. The wagon train was accompanied by a strong cavalry guard.
The second train followed the emperor during his retreat from Moscow. Thanks to intelligence, Kutuzov determined that the French were moving to Kaluga, and transferred the main forces to Maloyaroslavets. The Russian army got in the way of the French.
A battle took place here, as a result of a fierce battle the city fell into the hands of the enemy. Then Napoleon decided to retreat along the already devastated Old Smolensk road. The wagon train, apparently, moved with him. The Russian army was on a parallel course along country roads, forcing the French to retreat faster.
The most widespread and, apparently, the most reliable version - "Moscow booty" was hidden while crossing the Berezina, buried or flooded in several places. Those soldiers and officers who directly participated in this action, most likely, died during the crossing and later. Napoleon, of course, knew the signs of those places, but he was no longer up to Russian treasures. He was not going to return to Russia.
It is known that for several years after the end of the war, local peasants dived into the Berezina, hoping to find something. Indeed, they found French rifles and sabers, horseshoes, gold and silver coins, but what could be called a "treasure" was not found.
So where to look for traces of "Moscow booty"? According to the testimony of some members of the Napoleonic army, the French began to get rid of the booty after they left Maloyaroslavets. Gerard's division, which was in the rearguard, had orders to destroy goods that could not be carried further. He was thrown into rivers, drowned in swamps.
Russian treasure hunters consider a ford on the Protva River very promising, through which the French retreated.
There is evidence that some "French girls" came here at the end of the 19th century, apparently descendants of the participants in Napoleon's Russian campaign. Foreigners were looking for something at the ford.
However, until now the secret of Napoleon's "Moscow booty" has not been revealed, apparently, the treasures are buried somewhere in the Russian land.