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The year 1812 was a watershed in Russian history. In June, Napoleon invaded Russia. After the historic battle of Borodino (where Russians suffered 42,000 casualties and the French, 58,000 on a single day), Napoleon entered the Kremlin. Rather than submit, Alexander I (1801-1825) continued to fight and Moscow burned to the ground. Heroic efforts by soldiers and peasants—and the approach of winter—eventually contributed to the expulsion of the French from Russian territory.
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