Fearless Denis Davydov. Interesting facts from the life of Denis Vasilievich Davydov

Childhood and youth

Military career

Patriotic War of 1812

Personal life

Relatives

Cousins

Interesting Facts

Creation

Perpetuation of memory

Bibliography

(July 16 (27), 1784, Moscow - April 22 (May 4), 1839, village of Verkhnyaya Maza, Syzran district, Simbirsk province) - lieutenant general, ideologist and leader of the partisan movement, participant Patriotic War 1812, Russian poet of Pushkin's Pleiad.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Born into the family of foreman Vasily Denisovich Davydov (1747-1808), who served under the command of A.V. Suvorov, in Moscow. From an ancient noble family, tracing its history back to the Tatar Murza Minchak, who left for Moscow at the beginning of the 15th century. . A significant part of his childhood was spent in a military situation in Ukraine, where his father served, commanding the Poltava light horse regiment. Denis got involved in military affairs early and learned horse riding well. But he was constantly tormented by the fact that he was short, snub-nosed and ugly.

At the end XVIII century throughout Russia the glory of the great Suvorov thundered, to whom Denis treated with extraordinary respect. Once, when the boy was nine years old, he had a chance to see the famous commander, he came to their estate to visit. Alexander Vasilyevich, looking at the two sons of Vasily Denisovich, said that Denis, “this daring one, will be a military man, I will not die, and he will already win three battles,” and Evdokim will go into the civil service. Denis remembered this meeting for the rest of his life.

After the death of Catherine II and the accession to the throne of Paul I, who did not like Suvorov, the well-being of the Davydovs came to an end. An audit of the Poltava regiment, which my father commanded, discovered a shortage of 100 thousand rubles and Davydov Sr. was fired and ordered by court to pay this amount. Although his only fault was that he relied on the honesty of his quartermasters. I had to sell the estate. Over time, having gotten out of debt, my father bought a small village near Moscow, Borodino, near Mozhaisk. During the Battle of Borodino, the village, along with the manor's house, burned down. The father decided to assign his sons in accordance with the words of Suvorov - Denis to the cavalry guards, and his brother Evdokim to the archives of the Foreign Collegium.

Military career

In 1801, Davydov entered service in the Guards Cavalry Regiment, located in St. Petersburg. Moreover, when Denis showed up to be assigned to the regiment, the officer on duty flatly refused to accept him because of his short stature. But Denis still managed to be accepted. The officers of the regiment very quickly fell in love with him for his charm, wit and modesty and gave him patronage. In the fall of 1801 he became an estandard cadet. In September 1802 he was promoted to cornet, and in November 1803 to lieutenant. At this time he began to write poetry and fables, but he got carried away and in his fables he began to very caustically ridicule the top officials of the state.

Because of the satirical poems, Denis was transferred from the guard to one of the army hussar regiments, to the Kyiv province in Ukraine. This was done to cavalry guards very rarely and only for major offenses - cowardice in battle, embezzlement or cheating at cards. But Denis liked the hussars. Dashing feasts, riotous jokes. He now sang all this in his “desirable songs”, abandoning the writing of fables.

The only bad thing was that Denis Davydov almost missed the first war with Napoleon. The Guard took part in the battles with the French, but his hussar regiment did not. The young cavalry officer, who dreamed of military exploits and glory, was forced to remain aloof from these events. While his brother Evdokim, having left the service, joined the cavalry guards and managed to become famous at Austerlitz. Evdokim was seriously wounded (five saber wounds, one bullet wound and one bayonet wound) and was taken prisoner. Napoleon, when he visited the infirmary where he was lying, had a conversation with him. This conversation was described in all European newspapers.

Denis decided to go to the front at any cost. In November 1806, Davydov at night penetrated Field Marshal M.F. Kamensky, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army at that time. Kamensky, a small, dry old man in a nightcap, almost died of fear when Denis appeared in front of him and demanded that he be sent to the front. But all this turned out to be in vain, since Kamensky commanded the army for only a week. He was removed because he lost his mind. He came out to the army in a hare sheepskin coat and a scarf and declared: “Brothers, save yourself as best you can...”. According to one version, he went crazy after Denis Davydov appeared in front of him at night.

But the fame of such a desperate hussar reached Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, the sovereign’s favorite. And she helped him in his desire to fight. At the beginning of 1807, he was appointed adjutant to General P. I. Bagration. At one time, Davydov joked in one of his poems a long nose Bagration and therefore was a little afraid of the first meeting with him. Bagration, seeing Denis, said to the officers present: “here is the one who made fun of my nose.” To which Davydov, without being taken aback, replied that he wrote about his nose only out of envy, since he practically doesn’t have one himself. Bagration liked the joke. And he often, when it was reported to him that the enemy was “on the nose,” asked again, on whose nose? If on mine, then you can still have lunch, and if on Denisov, then on the horses.

Already on January 24, 1807, Denis Davydov took part in battles with the French. In the battle of Preussisch-Eylau, he was under Bagration, who appeared with his adjutant in the most dangerous and critical areas. One battle, according to Bagration, was won only thanks to Davydov. He single-handedly rushed at a detachment of French lancers and they, chasing him, were distracted and missed the moment of the appearance of the Russian hussars. For this battle, Denis received the Order of St. Vladimir IV degree, a cloak from Bagration and a trophy horse. In this and other battles, Davydov distinguished himself with exceptional courage, for which he was awarded with orders and a golden saber.

At the very end of the campaign, Davydov had a chance to see Napoleon. At that time, peace was concluded in Tilsit between the French and Russian emperors, and many did not approve of it. Bagration said he was ill and sent Davydov in his place. Davydov was very pleased that Napoleon was even shorter than him, and when, at the meeting, Napoleon tried to look at Denis, Davydov did not lower his eyes.

In the winter of 1808, he was in the Russian army operating in Finland, marched with Kulnev to Uleaborg, occupied Karloe Island with the Cossacks and, returning to the vanguard, retreated across the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia.

In 1809, being under Prince. Bagration, who commanded the troops in Moldova, Davydov participated in various military operations against the Turks, and then, when Bagration was replaced by c. Kamensky, entered the vanguard of the Moldavian army under the command of Kulnev.

Patriotic War of 1812

At the beginning of the war of 1812, Davydov was a lieutenant colonel in the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment and was in the vanguard troops of the general. Vasilchikova. On August 21, 1812, in sight of the village of Borodino, where he grew up, where they were already hastily dismantling parents' house on fortifications, five days before the great battle, Denis Vasilyevich proposed to Bagration the idea of ​​a partisan detachment. He borrowed this idea from the Guerillas (Spanish partisans). Napoleon could not cope with them until they united in regular army. The logic was simple: Napoleon, hoping to defeat Russia in twenty days, took so much food with him. And if you take away carts, fodder and break bridges, this will create big problems for him.

From Davydov’s letter to the prince, General Bagration:

Bagration's order to create a flying partisan detachment was one of his last before the Battle of Borodino, where he was mortally wounded. On the very first night, Davydov’s detachment of 130 hussars was ambushed by peasants and Denis almost died. The peasants had little understanding of the details of military uniforms, which were similar among the French and Russians. Moreover, the officers usually spoke French. After this, Davydov put on a peasant’s caftan and grew a beard (in the portrait by A. Orlovsky (1814) Davydov is dressed in Caucasian fashion: a checkmen, a clearly non-Russian hat, a Circassian saber). With 130 hussars in one of the forays, he managed to capture 370 French, while repelling 200 Russian prisoners, a truck with ammunition and nine trucks with provisions. His detachment grew rapidly at the expense of peasants and freed prisoners.

His rapid successes convinced Kutuzov of the advisability of guerrilla warfare, and he was not slow to give it wider development and constantly sent reinforcements. The second time Davydov saw Napoleon was when he and his partisans were in ambush in the forest, and a dormez with Napoleon drove past him. But at that moment he had too little strength to attack Napoleon’s guards. Napoleon hated Davydov fiercely and ordered Denis to be shot on the spot during his arrest. For the sake of his capture, he allocated one of his best detachments of two thousand horsemen with eight chief officers and one staff officer. Davydov, who had half as many people, managed to drive the detachment into a trap and take him prisoner along with all the officers.

One of Davydov’s outstanding feats during this time was the case near Lyakhov, where he, along with other partisans, captured General Augereau’s two-thousand-strong detachment; then, near the city of Kopys, he destroyed the French cavalry depot, scattered the enemy detachment near Belynichi and, continuing the search to the Neman, occupied Grodno.

After crossing the border, Davydov was assigned to the corps of General Wintzingerode, participated in the defeat of the Saxons near Kalisz and, having entered Saxony with an advanced detachment, occupied Dresden. For which he was put under house arrest by General Wintzingerode, since he took the city without permission without orders. Throughout Europe, legends were made about Davydov’s courage and luck. When Russian troops entered a city, all the residents went out into the street and asked about him in order to see him.

For the battle on the approach to Paris, when five horses were killed under him, but he, together with his Cossacks, still broke through the hussars of the Jacquinot brigade to the French artillery battery and, having chopped up the servants, decided the outcome of the battle - Davydov was awarded the rank of major general.

Service after World War II

After the Patriotic War of 1812, Denis Davydov began to have troubles. At first he was sent to command the dragoon brigade, which was stationed near Kiev. Like any hussar, Denis despised dragoons. Then he was informed that the rank of major general had been assigned to him by mistake, and he was a colonel. And to top it all off, Colonel Davydov is transferred to serve in Oryol province commander of the horse-jaeger brigade. This was the last straw, since he had to lose his hussar mustache, his pride. Huntsmen were not allowed mustaches. He wrote a letter to the king saying that he could not carry out the order because of his mustache. Denis was waiting for resignation and disgrace, but the tsar, when they reported to him, was in good location spirit: “Well then! Let him remain a hussar." And he appointed Denis to the hussar regiment with... the return of the rank of major general.

In 1814, Davydov, commanding the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment, was in Blucher’s army, participated with it in all major affairs and especially distinguished himself in the battle of La Rotier.

In 1815, Denis Davydov was elected a member of Arzamas with the nickname “Armenian”. Together with Pushkin and Vyazemsky, he represents a branch of the Arzamas circle in Moscow. After the collapse of Conversations, the controversy with the Shishkovists ended, and in 1818 Arzamas disbanded. In 1815, Davydov took the place of chief of staff, first in the 7th and then in the 3rd corps.

In 1827 he successfully acted against the Persians.

His last campaign was in 1831 - against Polish rebels. He fought well. He took the city of Vladimir-Volynsky, for which he received Anna I degrees.

Personal life

The first time Davydov fell in love with Aglaya Antonovna. But she chose to marry his cousin, a tall dragoon colonel. Then he fell in love with a young ballerina, Tatyana Ivanova. Despite the fact that Denis stood for hours under the windows of the ballet school, she married her choreographer. Davydov was very worried about this.

While serving near Kiev, Davydov fell in love once again. His chosen one was the Kiev niece of the Raevskys - Liza Zlotnitskaya. At the same time, the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature elected him as a full member. He was very proud, since he himself had not dared to call himself a poet before. An indispensable condition of Lisa’s parents was that Denis would obtain a government estate for rent from the sovereign (this was a form state support persons who are not rich, but have distinguished themselves in service). Davydov went to St. Petersburg to do some work. V. A. Zhukovsky, who simply adored Davydov, helped a lot. With his help, Davydov was quickly granted “in connection with his upcoming marriage” to rent the state-owned Balta estate, which brought in six thousand rubles a year.

But then he received a new blow. While he was busy in St. Petersburg, Lisa became interested in Prince Pyotr Golitsyn. The prince was a gambler and a reveler, and besides, he had recently been expelled from the guard for some dark deeds. But he was extraordinarily beautiful. Davydov was refused. Moreover, Lisa did not even want to see him, conveying the refusal through her father.

Davydov took Lisa’s refusal very hard. All his friends began to save him and for this they arranged a meeting for him with the daughter of the late General Nikolai Chirkov, Sophia. At that time she was already at a mature age - 24 years old. But her friends vying with each other praised her. Pretty, modest, reasonable, kind, well-read. And he made up his mind. Moreover, he was already 35 years old. But the wedding was almost upset, as the bride’s mother, having learned about his “desirable songs,” ordered Davydov to be rejected as a drunkard, a dissolute person and a gambler. Friends of her late husband barely persuaded her, explaining that General Davydov does not play cards, drinks little - and these are only poems. After all, he is a poet! In April 1819, Denis married Sophia.

As soon as Sophia began to give birth to his children, Denis lost the desire to pull the military burden. He wanted to be at home, near his wife. Davydov called in sick every now and then and went on vacations of many months. Even Caucasian war, where he was sent under the command of General Ermolov, did not captivate him. He stayed in the active army for only two months, and then asked Yermolov for a six-week leave to improve his health. Stopping by for a view mineral water, having sent several letters about his illness (including to Walter Scott) for persuasiveness, he rushed to the Arbat in Moscow, where at that time three sons and Sophia, who was once again pregnant, were waiting for him. In total, nine children were born in the marriage of Denis and Sophia.

After the Polish company, when he was 47 years old and all he could think about was peace, they finally left him behind. True, he was never allowed to resign, but they did not touch him, and his entire service was limited to wearing a lieutenant general’s uniform.

D.V. Davydov spent the last years of his life in the village of Verkhnyaya Maza, which belonged to the poet’s wife, Sofya Nikolaevna Chirkova. Here he continued to engage in creativity, conducted extensive correspondence with A.F. Voeikov, M.N. Zagoskin, A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, other writers and publishers. I visited my neighbors - the Yazykovs, Ivashevs, A.V. Bestuzhev, N.I. Polivanov. Visited Simbirsk. He ordered books from abroad. I was hunting. He wrote military-historical notes. He was involved in raising children and running the household: he built a distillery, set up a pond, etc. In a word, he lived for his own pleasure.

But, in 1831, he went to visit a colleague in Penza and fell madly in love with his niece, 23-year-old Evgenia Zolotareva. He was 27 years older than her. Despite the fact that he loved his family very much, he could not help himself. I couldn't hide it either. This passionate affair lasted three years. Then Evgenia married the first groom she came across, and Denis, having let his beloved go this time easily, without pain, returned to the family.

Five years later he died - still quite young and quite healthy at less than 55 years old. He died in his estate, his ashes were transported to Moscow and buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent. His wife, Sofya Nikolaevna, outlived Denis by more than 40 years.

As a person, Davydov enjoyed great sympathy in friendly circles. According to Prince P. A. Vyazemsky, Davydov retained an amazing youth of heart and disposition until his death. His gaiety was infectious and exciting; he was the soul of friendly conversations.

Relatives

Cousins

• the legendary general Alexei Petrovich Ermolov, who conquered the Caucasus;
• Vasily Lvovich Davydov - Decembrist, a prominent figure in Southern society, convicted in 1825 and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor;
• Evgraf Vladimirovich Davydov - Colonel of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, later Major General. His portrait by Kiprensky was for a long time considered to be a portrait of Denis Davydov;

Children

1. Denis Denisovich Davydov
2. Vasily Denisovich Davydov
3. Nikolay Denisovich Davydov
4. Vadim Denisovich Davydov (1832-1881)
5. Yulia Denisovna Davydova (1835-1882)
6. Akhill Denisovich Davydov
7. Maria Denisovna Davydova
8. Ekaterina Denisovna Davydova
9. Sofya Denisovna Davydova

• Denis Davydov once said the following: “It’s enough to invite a hundred Armenians, and they will repel the enemy.”

• Shortly before his death, Davydov petitioned for the reburial of his boss P.I. Bagration on the Borodino field, which was carried out according to the Highest will of Emperor Nicholas I after the death of Denis Vasilyevich.

Creation

Lyrics

Davydov's literary activity was expressed in a number of poems and several prose articles.

Successful partisan actions in the War of 1812 glorified him, and since then he has been creating a reputation for himself as a “singer-warrior”, acting “at once” in poetry, as in war. This reputation was also supported by Davydov’s friends, including Pushkin. However, Davydov’s “military” poetry in no way reflects the war: he glorifies the life of the hussars of that time. Wine, love affairs, riotous revelry, daring life - this is their content.

“Message to Burtsov”, “Hussar Feast”, “Song”, “Song of the Old Hussar” were written in this spirit. It is important to note that it was in his works listed above that Davydov showed himself as an innovator of Russian literature, for the first time using professionalism in a work intended for a wide range of readers (for example, in the description of hussar life, hussar names of items of clothing, personal hygiene, and names of weapons are used). This innovation of Davydov directly influenced the work of Pushkin, who continued this tradition.

Along with poems of bacchanalian and erotic content, Davydov had poems in an elegiac tone, inspired, on the one hand, by a tender passion for the daughter of a Penza landowner, Evgenia Zolotareva, and on the other, by impressions of nature. This includes most of his best works of the last period, such as: “Sea”, “Waltz”, “River”.

In addition to the original works, Davydov also had translations - from Arno, Vigee, Delisle, Ponce de Verdun and imitations of Voltaire, Horace, Tibullus.

Prose

Davydov's prose articles are divided into two categories: articles that are in the nature of personal memoirs, and historical and polemical articles. Of the first, the most famous are: “Meeting with the great Suvorov”, “Meeting with Field Marshal Count Kamensky”, “Memories of the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau”, “Tilsit in 1807”, “Diaries of Partisan Actions” and “Notes about Polish campaign 1831." Based on the value of the data reported, these military memoirs still remain important sources for the history of the war of that era. The second category includes: “Did frost destroy the French army”, “Correspondence with Walter Scott”, “Notes on the obituary of N. N. Raevsky” and some others.

Davydov's collected works went through six editions; Of these, the most complete are the three-volume editions of 1860 and 1893, ed. A. O. Krugloy (addendum to the magazine “North”)

Perpetuation of memory

• On the occasion of the 176th anniversary of the birth of D.V. Davydov, on July 16, 1960, a monument to D.V. Davydov was erected in the village of Verkhnyaya Maza, Radishchevsky district, Ulyanovsk region. Davydov is immortalized in military uniform.
• On the eve of the 200th anniversary of the birth of D.V. Davydov, on May 19, 1984, his bust was unveiled in Penza. The peculiarity of the monument is that Davydov is immortalized not in military uniform, as he was usually depicted, but in civilian clothes of that time. This emphasizes that the monument was erected to him primarily as a poet.
• Davydov served as the prototype for the character in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” Vasily Denisov.
• For the 150th anniversary of the Patriotic War, in 1962, the feature film “Hussar Ballad” was shot, which shows Denis Davydov as the commander of a partisan detachment. Also for this date, USSR postage stamps were issued, one of which is dedicated to Davydov.
• In 1980, the film “Squadron of Flying Hussars” was made about Denis Davydov.
• Andrei Belyanin’s book “Hunting the Hussar” was written about Denis Davydov (and on his behalf).
• In Moscow there is Denis Davydov Street.
• In Vladivostok there is Denis Davydov Street, and his bust is installed in the park at the beginning of the street.
• There are Denis Davydov streets in Kazan.
• Denis Davydov Street is in Novosibirsk.
• A bust of Denis Davydov was erected in Ufa.
• In Kostroma there are microdistricts named after Denis Davydov - “Davydovsky-1”, “Davydovsky-2” and “Davydovsky-3”.

Bibliography

• Russian Biographical Dictionary, ed. Russian Historical Society, St. Petersburg, 1905 (Art. A. Petrov).
• Sadovsky B., “Russian Kamena”, - M., 1910
• Gervais V.V., Partisan-poet Davydov, St. Petersburg, 1913.
• Rozanov I. N., Russian lyrics. From impersonal poetry to confession of the heart, - M., 1914.
• Mezier A.V., Russian literature from the 11th to the 19th centuries. inclusive, part II, - St. Petersburg, 1902.
• Vengerov S. A. Sources of the dictionary of Russian writers, vol. II, - St. Petersburg, 1910.
• Dictionary of Russian generals who took part in the fighting against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812-1815. // Russian archive: Sat. - M.: studio "TRITE" N. Mikhalkov, 1996. - T. VII. - pp. 374-375.
• Glinka V.M., Pomarnatsky A.V. Davydov, Denis Vasilievich // Military Gallery Winter Palace. - 3rd ed. - L.: Art, 1981. - P. 100-102.
• Gennady Serebryakov Denis Davydov (ZhZL)
• Osipov A.A. Denis Vasilievich Davydov. 1784-1839 (Experience in literary characterization) // Historical Bulletin, 1890. – T. 41. – No. 7. – P. 71-93.

Partisan of the Patriotic War of 1812, military writer, poet, lieutenant general (1831). Commanding a partisan detachment of hussars and Cossacks, he successfully operated in the rear of the French army. He was close to the Decembrists and A.S. Pushkin. Military historical works, theoretical works on partisan actions. In lyrics ("hussar" songs, love elegies, satirical poems) new type hero warrior-patriot, active, freedom-loving, open person.

Biography

One of the most vivid impressions of childhood was the meeting of a nine-year-old boy with the legendary A. Suvorov, who prophesied his fate for Davydov: “This will be a military man...”

Davydov spent most of his life serving in the army, retiring in 1832 with the rank of lieutenant general. He bravely fought in 1806-1807 with the French in Prussia, in 1809 with the Swedes in Finland, in 1809-1810 with the Turks in Moldova and the Balkans, in 1812-1814 he crushed the French in Russia and drove them all the way to Paris.

In popular memory, the name of Denis Davydov is inseparable from the Patriotic War of 1812 as the name of one of the leaders of the army partisan movement, which played an important role in the victory over Napoleon.

He was a multi-talented person. Davydov’s first literary experiments date back to 1803–1805, when his political poems (the fables “Head and Legs”, “The River and the Mirror”, the satire “The Dream”, etc.) were widely circulated in manuscripts.

Davydov was associated with many Decembrists who valued his poetry, but he refused the offer to join the secret society.

He entered the history of Russian literature as the creator of the genre of “hussar lyrics”, the hero of which is a lover of wild life, at the same time a free-thinking person, an opponent of violence against the individual (“The Hussar Feast”, “Song of the Old Hussar”, “Half-Soldier”, “Borodin Field”. The latter, written in 1829, is considered one of the best historical elegies of Russian romantic poetry).

A significant phenomenon in the literature of the 1830s was military prose Davydov his memories of A. Suvorov, N. Raevsky, M. Kamensky. The poetry of Denis Davydov was highly appreciated by A. Pushkin, with whom he had a long-term friendship.

IN last years For a long time he sought to transfer Bagration’s ashes to the Borodino field and eventually achieved this, but he himself did not have the opportunity to participate in the ceremony. On April 22 (May 4 n.s.) he died suddenly.

Denis Vasilyevich Davydov - Russian general, famous poet (1781 - 1839). Having received an excellent home education, he began his military career in 1807. Appointed as an adjutant to Prince Bagration, Davydov participated in almost all the battles of this campaign. In the winter of 1808, during Russian-Swedish war, he was in the army operating in Finland, marched with Kulnev to Uleaborg, occupied the island of Karloe with the Cossacks and, returning to the vanguard, retreated across the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia. Soon the war with Turkey began. In 1809, being under Bagration, who commanded the troops in Moldova, Davydov took part in battles with the Turks, and when Bagration was replaced by Count Kamensky, he entered the vanguard of the Moldavian army under the command of Kulnev.

Portrait of Denis Vasilievich Davydov. Artist J. Doe. Previously 1828

Denis Davydov. The first Russian saboteur

As a person, Davydov enjoyed great sympathy in friendly circles. According to Prince P. A. Vyazemsky, Denis Vasilyevich retained an amazing youth of heart and disposition until his death. His gaiety was infectious and exciting; he was the soul and flame of friendly conversations. Davydov's literary activity was expressed in a number of poems and several prose articles. The poetry of Denis Davydov, small in volume, is rude like a soldier. His early and most popular poems were written in the “hussar” style he himself invented. In them, he glorifies reckless valor - both on the battlefield and behind the glass. The language of some is, to put it mildly, unconventional; words sometimes have to be replaced with periods. But there is always a strong play of imagination and a powerful rhythmic charge in them. His later poems are inspired by his love for a very young girl. They are passionately sentimental, and in language and flexible rhythm are as full of life as his hussar songs. Pushkin had a high opinion of Davydov’s poetry and used to say that Davydov showed him the path to originality.

Davydov’s poems “Message to Burtsov”, “Hussar Feast”, “Song”, “Song of the Old Hussar” were written in the “hussar” spirit. Along with poems of bacchanalian and erotic content, Davydov had poems in an elegiac tone, inspired, on the one hand, by a tender passion for E. D. Zolotareva, on the other, by impressions of nature. This includes most of his best works of the last period: “Sea”, “Waltz”, “River”. Davydov’s “Modern Song” enjoyed great fame. Written in a satirical tone, this play was aimed at those layers of Davydov’s contemporary society in which there was dissatisfaction with the existing order of things. The satirical direction was also reflected in his earlier works: “The River and the Mirror”, “Head and Legs”, “Treaties” and several epigrams.

Davydov’s poetic works are not distinguished by either the depth of content or the processing of style, but they have one advantage - originality. In addition to the original works, Davydov also had translations - from Arno, Vigee, Dedil, Ponce de Verdun and imitations of Voltaire, Horace, Tibullus. In 1816, Davydov was elected a member of the literary society " Arzamas", where he received the nickname "Armenian".

Davydov's prose articles are divided into two categories: personal memoirs and historical and polemical works. Of the first, the most famous are: “Meeting with the great Suvorov”, “Meeting with Field Marshal Count Kamensky”, “Memory of Battle of Preussisch Eylau", "Tilsit in 1807", "Diaries of Partisan Actions" and "Notes on the Polish Campaign of 1831". Based on the value of the data reported, these military memoirs still remain important sources for the history of the war of that era. The second category includes: “Did frost destroy the French army”, “Correspondence with Walter Scott”, “Notes on the obituary of N. N. Raevsky” and a number of others.

There is an opinion that Denisov is War and peace Leo Tolstoy is based on Denis Davydov. Although the latter probably partly served as the impetus for the creation of this image, the character of Tolstoy's character is still very different from the real Davydov.

D.V. Davydov belongs to an ancient noble family, tracing its history back to the Tatar Murza Minchak, who left for Moscow at the beginning of the 15th century. His father, Vasily Denisovich Davydov (1747-1808), served as a brigadier (commander of 2-3 or more regiments) under the command of A.V. Suvorov, and his mother was the daughter of the Kharkov Governor-General E. Shcherbinin. A significant part of Denis Davydov’s childhood was spent in a military situation in Little Russia and Slobozhanshchina, where his father served.

It is known about the childhood of the future hero that the great commander A.V. Suvorov, while visiting the Davydov estate, remarked to Denis: “this daring guy will be a military man, I won’t die, and he will already win three battles”. These words determined the boy’s future; Denis Davydov’s military career began in 1801. Despite the lack of natural abilities (small height, inherited from his father), he enters the cavalry guard, where in a couple of years he advances in ranks and discovers his poetic talent, especially in writing satirical fables. In the end, for the fable “Head and Legs” in 1803, Davydov was demoted to captain and transferred to hussars in the Belarusian Hussar Regiment in the Podolsk province in Ukraine. At that time, this was considered a disgrace for a guardsman, but the poet liked this change; “sweet songs” began to dominate in his work, glorifying the riotous hussar feasts, revelry and fun.

The only drawback of this service was the inability to get to the front during the Napoleonic wars of 1806-1807. Davydov was ready for all sorts of tricks; they say that he scared Field Marshal M.F. Kamensky out of his mind by making his way to him at night. With the help of influential patrons D.V. Davydov still managed to get to the front as an adjutant to General P.I. Bagration.

Denis Vasilyevich fought with exceptional courage in 1806-1807 with the French in Prussia, in 1809 with the Swedes in Finland, in 1809-1810 with the Turks in Moldova and the Balkans, for which he was awarded orders and insignia.

The most significant military campaign in his life was the War of 1812. Five days before the Battle of Borodino, he proposed using partisan actions against French transports and soldiers. Successfully operating with his detachment, he defeated French convoys, took prisoners and armed the peasants with weapons captured from the enemy, creating new partisan detachments from them.

Davydov’s experience was later used by the partisan detachments of A.N. Seslavina, A.S. Figner and others. However, Davydov’s first foray could have ended sadly for him - the peasants surrounded the detachment and almost killed the hero. Davydov himself in the notes “Diary of Partisan Actions of 1812.” explains it this way: “ How many times I asked the residents after the conclusion of peace between us: ‘Why did you think we were French?’ Each time they answered me: ‘Yes, you see, darling (pointing to my hussar's mentik), this, they say, is their clothes similar.’ - ‘Don’t I speak Russian?’. - ‘But they have all sorts of people!’ - Then I learned from experience that in people's war must not only speak the language of the people, but adapt to them in their customs and in their clothing. I put on my checkmen, began to grow my beard and spoke in a language that he understood.”

Denis Vasilyevich ended the war with the rank of major general and a recognized national hero. His fame spread far beyond Russia; even the Scottish poet and novelist Walter Scott had a portrait of Davydov in his office.

After the war and returning from Europe to Russia, Davydov began to have troubles in his service and in his personal life. He was demoted to the rank of colonel, and almost lost his pride - his famous mustache (the hero was almost transferred to the huntsman brigade, and the huntsmen did not have the right to a hussar mustache). The mustache was saved only by a personal letter of petition to the Tsar - the brave man was returned to the hussar regiment with the rank of major general. Around the same time, Davydov experienced several disappointments in love and only in 1819 he married the daughter of the late General N. Chirkov, Sofya Nikolaevna.

However, he was successful in the literary field. D.V. Davydov wrote poetry and was published in the best magazines and almanacs, became a member of the Arzamas literary society and was on friendly terms with A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky. He communicated closely with the Decembrists, although he refused to join their society, believing that Russia had not matured enough to have a constitution.

D.V. Davydov spent the last years of his life on an estate in the village of Verkhnyaya Maza. Here he continued to engage in creativity, compiled military-historical notes, raised his 9 children and took care of the household.

On April 22, 1839, Denis Vasilyevich died suddenly from a stroke. The partisan poet was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.