French invasion of Russia part of the government. During the Cold War, many Western historians were inclined to see Russia as "the enemy", and there was a tendency to downplay and dismiss Russia's contributions to the defeat of Napoleon. As such, Napoleon's claim that the Russians did not defeat him and he was just the victim of fate in 1812 was very appealing to many Western historians. Russian historians tended to focus on the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and ignore the campaigns in 1813–1814 fought in Germany and France because a campaign fought on Russian soil was regarded as more important than
Monument to Leo Tolstoy on Prechistenka Monument to Leo Tolstoy on Prechistenka The Monument to Leo Tolstoy on Prechistenka () was installed in Moscow in the courtyard of the State Museum of Leo Tolstoy (11, Prechistenka Street). Granite sculpture was made in 1913 by sculptor S. D. Merkurov. At the present place has been since 1972. In November 1910 the sculptor S. D. Merkurov removed the death mask from the face of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy. After that, he began to create a monument to the writer, who ordered from him a Moscow patron N. A. Shakhov. In 1913, a sculpture carved from Finnish granite was ready.