Russian duel rules. A duel in Russia is more than a duel! Kill by the rules: codes of honor in the Russian Empire

15.10.2019

18.04.2009

Russian Duel. The phenomenon of the Russian duel.

The article tells about the history and rules of the Russian duel, which for a long time was considered the most noble way to resolve the conflict.

The duel is one of the most mysterious phenomena of Russian life. Like French ballet and Polish vodka, it is one of those borrowings that quickly became national features.

"A duel is an arranged battle between two persons with a deadly weapon to satisfy the desecrated honor..." / From the history of the Russian duel /

Many times there have been attempts at a detailed historical and cultural study of the phenomenon of the Russian duel, the material for which was memoirs, letters, manifestos and decrees, as well as descriptions of the duel in Russian classical literature.

It is known that the duel as a custom came to Russia from the West. But even there it did not exist forever. The time of the origin of the classical duel in Western Europe can be attributed to the late Middle Ages, around the 14th century, when the knightly estate, the forerunner of the nobility, with its concepts of honor, in many respects alien to the commoner or merchant, finally formed and flourished. In the 16th century, duels had already assumed such a menacing scope and claimed so many lives that the kings began to fight this custom. So, during the 16 years of the reign of Henry IV in France, from 7 to 8 thousand people were killed in duels. The famous Cardinal Richelieu forbade duels on pain of death, declaring that a nobleman could only sacrifice his life in the interests of the king. Louis XIV in 1679, by a special edict, he established a court of marshals to resolve all issues of honor.

But nothing helped, including the statement that the king takes the offense of everyone who refuses to fight. The nobility stubbornly avoided interference by the state and the courts in matters of honor. Recognizing the right of the king to dispose of their life and service, it rejected the right to resolve issues related to honor and dignity. Refusal to fight throughout history continued to be considered an indelible shame, forever excluding decent people who refused from society. Realizing this, the monarchs themselves seemed to be constrained, and their fight against duels was always inconsistent. A case is known when the French king Francis I himself challenged the German emperor Charles V to a duel.

The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, the famous commander of the first half of the 17th century, energetically pursued duels with his decrees. But when, offended by his slap in the face, the colonel of the army, unable to call the king himself, left the service and left the country, the king caught up with him at the border and himself handed him a pistol with the words: “Here, where my kingdom ends, Gustav Adolf is no longer king, and here how fair man I am ready to give satisfaction to another honest person.” In his words, as in a drop of water, all the duality of the attitude of most European sovereigns to the duel was reflected: as rulers of their subjects and legislators, they sought to put an end to the bloodshed, but as secular people with the same concepts of honor, they understood that they themselves would behave like this same.

A duel is just that most curious incident when morality and law constantly contradict each other, when the concept of defending honor and dignity with arms in hand collides with the invariable desire of the state to regulate these issues by legal means, with the help of the court. Already Frederick the Great looked at the duels in his army through his fingers. By the second half of the 19th century, duels were so entrenched that they were taught to be viewed as a necessary evil, prohibitions began to be lifted everywhere, in the army duels were even legalized through the courts of officer honor. France has always been the legislator of the customs and rules of the duel. In 1836, the Comte de Chateauviller published the dueling code for the first time. Later, the dueling code of Count Verger, published in 1879 and summing up the experience of duels accumulated over the centuries, became generally recognized in Europe. He was recognized as a model in Russia.

Experts distinguish between American and European duel. American duels consisted in the fact that two opponents were given weapons and they went into the forest. From that moment began their hunt for each other. It was possible to lie in wait for the enemy in an ambush, and a shot in the back was not forbidden. Because of its immorality, the American duel did not take root in Russia. In general, it must be said that the Russian duel, in terms of its conditions and features, was very different from the European one, in particular from the same French one. In France in the 19th century, duels were more ritual in nature and ended, as a rule, without bloodshed. This was facilitated by the "sparing" conditions of the dueling code. The barrier distance (the minimum distance between the lines of opening fire) was set such that it would provide a low probability of hitting. Usually 30 - 35 steps. Such desperate Russian bullies as Tolstoy the American, Dorokhov, Yakubovich, yes, what to hide, and Alexander Sergeevich with Mikhail Yuryevich, simply laughed at such an "opera" duel.

The Russians usually shot from 8 to 10 paces. There were cases - and from three! (This was called "put a gun to the forehead".) And they shot, as a rule, "to the result." And the result was either severe injury or death.

History of the Russian duel. A duel in Russia is more than a duel! "To the barrier!" What was the historical path of the duel in our Fatherland?

Presumably, the first duel in Russia can be considered a duel that took place in 1666 in Moscow between two hired foreign officers - the Scot Patrick Gordon (later Peter's general) and the Englishman Major Montgomery. But at that time, this custom had not yet penetrated among the Russians. Nevertheless, isolated precedents forced Princess Sophia, in a decree of October 25, 1682, which allowed all service people of the Moscow State to carry personal weapons, to stipulate a ban on duels. Peter the Great, vigorously implanting European customs in Russia, hastened to prevent the spread of duels with cruel laws against them.

Chapter 49 Petrovsky military charter 1715, called “Patent on fights and starting quarrels”, proclaimed: “No insult to the honor of the offended can in any way belittle”, the victim and witnesses of the incident must immediately report the fact of insult to the military court; non-delivery was also punished. For the challenge itself to a duel, deprivation of rank and partial confiscation of property was supposed, for entering a duel and drawing weapons - the death penalty with complete confiscation of property, not excluding seconds.

The “Military Article” of 1715, published as an appendix to the Peter the Great charter, in which two articles were devoted to duels, spoke even more definitely on this score. The first of them (“Article 139”) stated: “All challenges, fights and fights through cue are strictly prohibited. Thus, so that no one, no matter who he may be, high or low rank, a born local or foreigner, although another, who by words, deeds, signs or anything else was prompted and provoked to do so, would by no means dare to call his rival, below fight with him with pistols or swords. Whoever commits against this, of course, both the caller and whoever comes out, has to be executed, namely, hanged, although one of them will be wounded or killed ... then hang them by the feet after death.

The next article (“Article 140”) stipulated the same about the seconds: “If someone quarrels with someone and asks the second,” then the second “should be punished in the same way.” As you can see, the punishments for the duel were executed in a typically Petrine, mercilessly brutal style. Despite this, Peter's laws against fights, which were formally in force until 1787, have never been applied in all these seventy years. What's the matter?

And the fact that the very concept of honor in its European meaning has not yet entered the consciousness of the Russian nobility, and there were practically no duels until the second half of Catherine's reign. It should not be forgotten that Peter's innovations in relation to Western customs and mores were too superficial, for the most part, the Russian nobility in terms of upbringing and internal culture for a long time did not differ much from the common people, and the desire to wash away the insult of honor with blood in a fair fight was alien to him. In addition, the fear of reprisals from the state was still exceptionally great; until 1762, an ominous “word and deed” acted.

Therefore, when duels began to spread among the noble youth in the Catherine's era, representatives of the older generation reacted to this with unconditional condemnation. D. I. Fonvizin, in “A sincere confession in deeds and my thoughts,” recalled that his father considered the duel “a matter against conscience” and taught him: “We live under the laws, and it’s a shame, having such sacred defenders, what are the laws, to figure it out ourselves on fists or on swords, for swords and fists are one, and a challenge to a duel is nothing but the act of violent youth. And let us remember how Pyotr Grinev, the hero of Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter, was scolded for a duel with Shvabrin by his father Andrei Petrovich Grinev in his letter: rank: for you have proved that you are not yet worthy to wear a sword, which was granted to you for the defense of the fatherland, and not for duels with the same tomboys like you yourself.

Nevertheless, duels gradually penetrated more and more into the environment of noble youth. And the reason here was not so much the “spirit of violent youth”, in which law-abiding fathers reproached the children with disapproval, but the emerging sense of honor and personal dignity, which developed gradually, with the development of education and class education, and intensified with each new generation. The youth of the nobility, still faithful to the oath to the throne, did not allow the state to interfere in matters of honor. Later, this formula was succinctly and concisely expressed by General Kornilov in his life credo: "Soul - to God, heart - to a woman, duty - to the Fatherland, honor - to no one."

By the time duels spread in Russia, the formidable articles of the Petrine article, which punished by death for a duel, were thoroughly forgotten, since sixty years had passed since their publication. And before the "powers that be" there is a problem: how to deal with duels? In 1787, Catherine the Great published the "Manifesto on Combats". In it, duels were called a foreign planting; the participants in the duel, which ended bloodlessly, were punished with a fine (not excluding seconds), and the offender, “like a violator of peace and tranquility,” was exiled to Siberia for life. For wounds and murder in a duel, the punishment was imposed as for the corresponding intentional crimes. The duel reached its apogee in the first half of the 19th century. The prohibition of duels was reaffirmed in the “Code of Criminal Laws” of 1832 and the “Charter of the Military Criminal” of 1839, published under Nicholas I, which obligated military commanders “to try to reconcile those who quarrel and provide satisfaction to the offended by collecting from the offender.”

But nothing helped! Moreover, duels in Russia were distinguished by the exceptional rigidity of the conditions of unwritten codes: the distance ranged from 3 to 25 steps (most often 15 steps), there were even duels without seconds and doctors, one on one, they often fought to the death, sometimes they shot while standing in turn back at the edge of the abyss, so that in the event of a hit, the enemy would not survive (recall the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky in Princess Mary). Under such conditions, both opponents often died (as was the case in 1825 at the duel between Novosiltsev and Chernov). Moreover, the regimental commanders, formally following the letter of the law, actually encouraged such a sense of honor among the officers and, under various pretexts, were released from those officers who refused to fight in a duel.

At the same time, Nicholas I personally treated duels with disgust, his words are known: “I hate the duel. This is barbarism. In my opinion, there is nothing knightly in it. The Duke of Wellington destroyed her in the English army and did well." But it was precisely in the 20-40s of the 19th century that the high-profile duels of Pushkin with Dantes, Ryleev with Prince Shakhovsky, Griboyedov with Yakubovich, Lermontov with de Barant and Martynov took place.

With the advent of relative freedom of the press in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, the disputes around the duel were transferred to its pages. Opinions were divided between supporters of the duel and its opponents. Among the first stood out jurists Lokhvitsky, Spasovich, military writers Kalinin, Shveikovsky, Mikulin; in the camp of opponents there were no less respectable names: military figure, teacher and writer General M. I. Dragomirov, military lawyer Shavrov. The point of view of the supporters of the duel was most clearly expressed by Spasovich: “The custom of a duel appears among civilization as a symbol of the fact that a person can and should, in certain cases, sacrifice his most precious blessing - life - for things that from a materialistic point of view have no meaning and meaning: for faith, homeland and honor. That is why this custom cannot be waived. It has the same basis as war."

Even under Emperor Nicholas I, according to the “Code of Criminal Punishments” of 1845, responsibility for duels was significantly reduced: seconds and doctors were generally exempted from punishment (unless they acted as instigators), and the punishment for duelists no longer exceeded - even in the event of death one of the opponents - imprisonment in a fortress from 6 to 10 years with the preservation of noble rights upon exit. This provision once again reflected all the inconsistency of the legislation on duels. In practice, these measures were never applied either - the most common punishment for duelists was transfer to the active army in the Caucasus (as was the case with Lermontov for a duel with de Barant), and in case of death - demotion from officers to privates (as it was with Dantes after a duel with Pushkin), after which they, as a rule, were quickly restored to the officer rank.

A new milestone at this stage was to be the courts of the Society of Officers. Courts of the society of officers by that time existed in many European armies, playing the role of something like comrades' courts. In the Russian army, they have existed semi-officially since Peter the Great (since 1721). The society of officers of the regiment could issue attestations to officers and was a powerful tool of public opinion in the military environment. They flourished especially under Alexander I, after 1822, when the emperor himself, when analyzing the conflict between the court of the society of officers and the regiment commander, sided with the former. But in 1829, Nicholas I saw in the very fact of the existence of independent officer corporations, endowed with considerable rights, a means of undermining military discipline and banned their activities everywhere. Nevertheless, this measure, at first glance reasonable, turned out to be erroneous in practice, since the courts of the officers' society were a powerful means of moral, educational influence. Therefore, during the period of the "great reforms" of the 60s, they were (in 1863) restored and acquired an official status. A regulation was issued on their organization (in the Navy - since 1864 - the courts of captains, in each naval division). When drafting this provision, many suggested that the issues of resolving the duel in each specific case be left to the discretion of these courts, but this proposal was rejected. Nevertheless, the penalties for fights became more and more lenient.

So, in the definition of the Senate in the case of the duel between Beklemishev and Neklyudov in 1860, it was said: “The rank of the criminal and the degree of his education cannot have any influence in judging cases of duels (usually, when considering criminal cases, the education and good origin of the criminal were an aggravating circumstance. — V. X.), because this crime is so connected with a concept peculiar exclusively to educated people that the indicated circumstances appear in this case rather as a reason explaining, and therefore reducing crime. There were also tragicomic cases. One of them is described in his Notes of a Revolutionary by Prince P. A. Kropotkin. A certain officer was offended by Alexander III when he was his heir to the throne. Being in an unequal position and not being able to challenge the Tsarevich himself to a duel, the officer sent him a note demanding a written apology, otherwise threatening suicide. If the heir had been more sensitive, he would have apologized or himself given satisfaction to a person who did not have the opportunity to call him. But he didn't. After 24 hours, the officer fulfilled his promise exactly and shot himself. Enraged, Alexander II sharply scolded his son and ordered him to accompany the officer's coffin at the funeral.

Finally, in 1894, at the very end of the reign Alexander III, fights were officially allowed. The order of the military department No. 118 of May 20, 1894, and entitled: “Rules on the consideration of quarrels that occur among officers”, consisted of 6 points. The first paragraph established that all cases of officer quarrels were sent by the commander of the military unit to the court of the officers' society. The second paragraph determined that the court could either recognize the reconciliation of the officers as possible, or (in view of the severity of the insults) decide on the need for a duel. At the same time, the court decision on the possibility of reconciliation was advisory in nature, the decision on the duel was binding. The third paragraph stated that the specific conditions of the duel are determined by the seconds chosen by the opponents themselves, but at the end of the duel, the court of the society of officers, according to the protocol presented by the senior second-manager, considers the behavior of the duelists and seconds and the conditions of the duel. Paragraph four obliged the officer who refused to duel to submit a letter of resignation within two weeks; otherwise, he was subject to dismissal without petition. Finally, paragraph five stipulated that in those military units where there are no courts of the society of officers, their functions are performed by the commander of the military unit himself.

If in the second half of the 19th century the number of duels in the Russian army clearly began to decline, then after official permission in 1894, their number again sharply increases. For comparison: from 1876 to 1890, only 14 cases of officer duels reached the court (in 2 of them, the opponents were acquitted); from 1894 to 1910, 322 duels took place, of which 256 - by decision of the courts of honor, 47 - with the permission of military commanders and 19 unauthorized ones (none of them reached the criminal court). Every year there were from 4 to 33 fights in the army (on average - 20). According to General Mikulin, from 1894 to 1910, 4 generals, 14 staff officers, 187 captains and staff captains, 367 junior officers, 72 civilians participated in officer duels as opponents. Of the 99 insult duels, 9 ended in a serious outcome, 17 with a minor injury, and 73 without bloodshed. Of the 183 duels for serious insult, 21 ended in a serious outcome, 31 with a minor injury, and 131 without bloodshed. Thus, the death of one of the opponents or a serious injury ended in an insignificant number of duels - 10-11% of the total. Of all 322 duels, 315 took place with pistols and only 7 with swords or sabers. Of these, in 241 duels (that is, in 3/4 of the cases) one bullet was fired, in 49 - two, in 12 - three, in one - four and in one - six bullets; the distance ranged from 12 to 50 paces. The intervals between the insult and the duel ranged from one day to ... three years (!), But most often - from two days to two and a half months (depending on the duration of the case by the court of honor).

So at the beginning of our century, duels were quite common in Russia. A well-known politician, the leader of the "Union of October 17" A. I. Guchkov fought a duel "more than once, even gaining the fame of a breter (although he himself was by no means of noble origin). Ilya Ehrenburg in his memoirs" People, Years, Life "describes a duel between two famous poets - Nikolai Gumilyov and Maximilian Voloshin - in the pre-revolutionary years, the reason for which was one of the practical jokes for which Voloshin was a great master; during the duel, Voloshin fired into the air, and Gumilyov, who considered himself insulted, missed. it was allowed into the air only if the person called to the duel fired, and not the one who called it - otherwise the duel was not recognized as valid, but only a farce, since none of the opponents endangered themselves.

Then other times came. Best Representatives The Russian intelligentsia and officers, with their scrupulous notions of personal honor, were thrown overboard by the revolution and found themselves in a foreign land. In the proletarian state, such concepts as honor and duty were at first generally declared to be remnants of the exploitative past. Duels were replaced by denunciations, the concept of state benefit overshadowed everything else, the nobility was replaced by the fanaticism of some and the prudence of others.

Russian duel rules. A duel in Russia is more than a duel!

The history of fights goes back to ancient times. They fought for women, for the right to own land, for revenge, and finally, just to show their strength and humiliate, or even destroy the opponent. Even in ancient times, court fights were known, which were appointed to resolve disputes over property and other issues (in particular, in Russkaya Pravda), circus gladiator fights in Ancient Rome, medieval knightly tournaments, fisticuffs in Russia. But they are not included in the concept of a classic duel. The most capacious and accurate definition of a duel, given by the Russian military writer of the beginning of the century P. A. Shveikovsky, seems to us to be the most capacious and accurate: conditions for the execution of the battle.

From this definition, the following main features of a classic duel can be distinguished:

The purpose of the duel is to satisfy the insulted honor (and not a circus performance, not a solution to a dispute, and not a contest of strength);
There are only two participants in the duel (and not “wall to wall”), that is, the offended and his offender (hence the word “duel” itself);
The means of a duel is a deadly weapon (and not fists, like those of the merchant Kalashnikov and Kiribeevich);
The presence of the rules (conditions) of a duel established by custom, mandatory for strict observance.

"The rules of the duel between Mr. Baron Georges Heckeren and Mr. Pushkin

The text of the terms of the duel between Pushkin and Dantes has reached posterity. To illustrate, here is it in full:

Opponents are placed at a distance of 20 steps from each other and 10 steps from barriers, the distance between which is 10 steps.

Opponents armed with pistols, following this sign, moving towards one another, but in no case crossing the barrier, can shoot.

Moreover, it is assumed that after the shot the opponents are not allowed to change their place, so that the one who fired first is exposed to the fire of his opponent at the same distance.

When both sides make a shot, then in case of ineffectiveness, the duel is resumed as if for the first time, the opponents are placed at the same distance of 20 steps, the same barriers and the same rules remain.

The seconds are direct intermediaries in every respect between opponents on the spot.

The seconds, the undersigned and vested with full authority, ensure, each for his side, with his honor, strict observance of the conditions set forth here.

Repin Duel of Onegin and Lensky 1899 Pushkin Museum, St. Petersburg

The unwritten order of the duel

The unwritten order of the duel was as follows. At a predetermined time (usually in the morning), opponents, seconds and a doctor arrived at the appointed place. Lateness was allowed no more than 15 minutes; otherwise, the latecomer was considered to have evaded the duel. The duel usually began 10 minutes after the arrival of everyone. Opponents and seconds greeted each other with a bow. The manager elected by the seconds from his midst offered the duelists to make peace for the last time (if the court of honor recognized this as possible). In case of their refusal, the manager explained to them the conditions of the duel, the seconds marked the barriers and, in the presence of opponents, loaded pistols. When dueling with sabers or swords, the opponents undressed from the waist down to their shirts. Everything was supposed to be taken out of the pockets. The seconds took places parallel to the battle line, the doctors behind them. All actions were performed by the opponents at the command of the manager. If during the duel one of them dropped his sword, or it broke, or the fighter fell, his opponent was obliged to interrupt the duel at the command of the steward until his opponent got up and was able to continue the duel. As a rule, a sword duel was fought until one of the opponents completely lost the opportunity to continue it - that is, until a severe or mortal wound. Therefore, after each injury, the duel was suspended, and the doctor established the nature of the wound, its severity. If during such a duel one of the opponents, despite warnings, retreated beyond the border of the battlefield three times, such behavior was counted as evading or refusing to fight a fair fight. At the end of the battle, the opponents shook hands with each other.

Pistol duels had several options.

1. Option 1. The opponents stood at a distance of 15 to 40 steps from each other and, remaining motionless, fired at the command in turn (the interval between the command and the shot should have been at least 3 seconds, but not more than 1 minute). If the insult was medium or heavy, then the offended person had the right to shoot first (but only from a distance of 40 steps, that is, the maximum), otherwise the right of the first shot was decided by lot.
2. Option 2. (relatively rare). The opponents stood with their backs to each other at a distance of 25 steps and, remaining motionless at this distance, fired continuously over their shoulders.
3. Option 3. (perhaps the most common). Opponents stood at a distance of up to 30 steps from each other and, on command, went to the barriers, the distance between which was at least 10 steps, on command, the first one fired on the move, but waited for a return shot while standing still (shooting without a command was allowed if the barriers were 15-20 steps apart, and the opponents in the starting position - up to 50 steps; but this is a relatively rare variety). With such a duel, the time for a return shot did not exceed 30 seconds, for a fallen one - 1 minute from the moment of the fall. It was forbidden to cross the barriers. A misfire was also considered a shot. The fallen one could shoot lying down (as the wounded Pushkin shot at Dantes). If during such a duel, after four shots, none of the opponents was injured, then it could be stopped.
4. Option 4. Opponents stood at a distance of 25-35 steps, located in parallel lines, so that each of them had his opponent to his right, and walked along these lines to the barriers, separated from each other by 15 steps, stopping on command and shooting.
5. Option 5. The opponents were located at a distance of 25-35 steps and, remaining motionless, fired at the same time - on the command to count "double" or on a signal of three claps. Such a duel was the most dangerous, and both opponents often died (the duel between Novosiltsev and Chernov). At the end, the opponents shook hands with each other.

Note that these rules (at least the same distance), established by the end of the 19th century, were in many ways more humane than the usual rules of Russian duels in the first half of the 19th century. It is curious that if in the second half of the 19th century the number of duels in the Russian army clearly began to decline, then after the official permission in 1894, their number again sharply increases.

The tradition of the duel in Russia is imported. Despite the fact that since ancient times in Russia there was a tradition of both judicial duels to resolve disputes and duels before the battles of the troops, it has nothing to do with the duel we now know.

In Western Europe, the duel as a way to protect the honor of a nobleman appeared in Italy in the 15th century and began to spread very quickly to other countries. By the beginning of the 16th century, the duel was quite common for the nobility. Western Europe. At the same time, the lower limit of the age of the participants in the fight dropped to 14 years.

Despite the fact that both monarchs and the church banned dueling since the 16th century, Europe experienced a phenomenon known as “dueling fever”.

On April 27, 1578, one of the most famous duels in history, the “duel of the minions”, took place in the Tournel Park in Paris. It was a three-on-three duel between the courtiers of the king of France. Henry III(minions) and supporters of the Duke of Guise (guisars). As a result of the duel, four of the six participants in the duel were killed.

Despite the official ban on duels, the French monarch did not punish the survivors, and ordered the dead to be buried in luxurious mausoleums and marble statues were placed on them.

This attitude towards the “minion duel” led to a surge in the popularity of duels and even to the emergence of professional duelists who earned fame for themselves by endless duels. In this case, any trifle, a disliked look or a dispute over clothes could become the reason for a duel.

Peter the Great: hang those killed in duels by their feet!

In the midst of the European "dueling fever" in Russia, complete calm reigned in this sense. The first duel here took place only in 1666. Rivals were the future general Peter I Patrick Gordon and another mercenary officer, Major Montgomery.

In 1682 Princess Sophia signed a decree allowing servicemen to carry personal weapons, accompanied by a ban on duels.

In the popular film "Moor of Peter the Great", the monarch-reformer expresses his readiness to accept a challenge to a duel for his pupil. In reality, Peter the Great, despite his commitment to European culture, had an extremely negative attitude towards duels.

One of the chapters of the Petrovsky Military Regulations of 1715 for a challenge to a duel provided for punishment in the form of deprivation of rank and partial confiscation of property, for entering a duel and drawing weapons - death penalty with complete confiscation of property, not excluding the seconds.

The "military article", which was an explanation of the position of the Military Regulations, confirmed the "most severe prohibition" of challenges and fights. Moreover, hanging was envisaged even for those who ... died in a duel. Their corpses were ordered to be hung by the feet.

"Legitimized form of murder"

However, until the second half of the 18th century, duels in Russia did not take on a mass character. However, when Catherine II they are becoming an increasingly popular way to sort things out, especially among young people brought up in a European spirit.

In 1787, Catherine the Great, alarmed by what was happening, issued a "Manifesto on fights." In it, duels were called "foreign planting"; the participants in the duel, which ended bloodlessly, were punished with a fine (not excluding seconds), and the offender, “like a violator of peace and tranquility,” was exiled to Siberia for life. For wounds and murder in a duel, it was appointed as a similar criminal offense.

But nothing helped. The first half of the 19th century was the peak period for the Russian duel. At the same time, in Europe, where this tradition began to decline, the Russian duel was called "barbarism" and "legalized form of murder."

The fact is that if in Europe the period of “dueling fever” was associated with battles with edged weapons, then in Russia preference was given to firearms, which led to serious outcomes many times more often.

"Noble" duel took the life of Pushkin

In Russia, there was a rather diverse list of types of duels.

The most common was the so-called "mobile duel with barriers." A “distance” (10-25 steps) was marked on the path, its boundaries were marked with “barriers”, which could be used for any objects laid across the path. Opponents were placed at an equal distance from the barriers, holding pistols in their hands with the muzzle up. At the command of the manager, the opponents began to converge - to move towards each other. It was possible to go at any speed, it was forbidden to move back, you could stop for a while. Having reached his barrier, the duelist had to stop. The order of shots could be negotiated, but more often they fired on readiness, in random order. According to Russian rules, after the first shot, the opponent who had not yet fired had the right to demand that the opponent go to his barrier and thus be able to shoot from a minimum distance. The famous expression "To the barrier!" just means such a requirement.

A duel from a distance of 15 steps was considered "noble", because the option of a fatal outcome in this case was not so likely. However, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was mortally wounded in a duel with 20 steps.

Fight to the death

Unlike Europe, in Russia there were types of duels that terrified the inhabitants of other countries. For example, a duel "for six steps": with this option, the opponents were located at a distance that provides a guaranteed hit. A duel of this kind often ended in the death of both participants.

Sometimes a variant of this duel was used, in which one pistol was loaded, the duelists received weapons by lot, after which both pulled the trigger. In this case, the "unlucky" was practically doomed to death.

In Europe to early XIX century there were no types of duels that provided for the mandatory death of one of the participants. In Russia, there were types of duels "to the death." One of these was the duel on the edge of the abyss - the wounded in the duel fell into the abyss and died.

Gradation according to the degree of insults

The reason for the duel was the damage done to the honor of the victim, as well as the honor of his family. In certain circumstances, the call could also occur for insulting the honor of third parties who provide patronage to the caller.

The reason for the duel could not be the infliction of any material damage. In addition, filing a complaint with the authorities deprived the offended of the right to demand satisfaction with the help of a duel.

There was a whole gradation of insults, according to which the offended received the right to demand certain conditions of the duel.

It is curious that an insult inflicted on a woman was considered one step more serious than a similar one, but inflicted on a man.

Satisfaction could also be demanded from a woman who insulted a nobleman - however, such an insult was rated two steps lower than a similar one inflicted by a man. In any case, it would be the offender's relative, not herself, who would have to answer the call.

Fight with witnesses, but no spectators

It was recommended that the offended person immediately, on the spot, demand an apology in a calm and respectful tone, or immediately tell the offender that seconds would be sent to him. Further, the offended could either send a written challenge (cartel), or challenge the offender to a duel orally, through seconds. The maximum period for a call under normal conditions was considered a day. Delaying with a challenge was considered bad form.

There was another important rule that said: "One insult - one challenge." If a certain insolent person insulted several people at once, only one offended person could call him to a duel. Preference was given to the one who got the most gross insult.

It was considered extremely unethical to turn the duel into a performance. In addition to the duelists, the duel was attended by seconds and a doctor. The presence of friends and relatives of the participants was possible but not encouraged.

At a predetermined time, usually in the morning, opponents, seconds and a doctor arrived at the appointed place.

One of the parties was allowed to be late for 15 minutes. A longer delay was considered avoiding a duel and meant dishonor.

The duel usually began 10 minutes after the arrival of everyone. Opponents and seconds greeted each other with a bow.

From among the seconds, a duel manager was appointed, who supervised all actions.

Heavily offended shoots first

The steward offered the duelists to reconcile for the last time. In case of refusal of the parties, he voiced the rules of the duel. The seconds marked the barriers and loaded the pistols (if the duel was with the use of firearms). The rules of the duel required the participants in the duel to empty all their pockets.

The seconds took places parallel to the battle line, the doctors behind them. All actions were performed by the opponents at the command of the manager.

If during the duel with swords one of them dropped the sword, or it broke, or the fighter fell, his opponent was obliged to interrupt the duel at the command of the steward until his opponent got up and was able to continue the duel.

In a duel with pistols, the degree of insult inflicted was of great importance. If the insult was medium or heavy, then the offended person had the right to shoot first, otherwise the right of the first shot was determined by lot.

Right to a replacement

The rules of the duel allowed the replacement of its participant by a person representing his interests. This was possible if it was a woman, a minor, a man over 60 years old, or having an illness or injury that puts him in a clearly unequal position with the enemy.

The honor of a woman could be defended either by a man from among the closest blood relatives, or by a husband, or by a companion (that is, one who accompanied the woman at the time and place where the insult was inflicted), or, if so desired, by any man who was present when insulted or later found out about him and considers it necessary for himself to stand up for this woman.

At the same time, only a woman who had impeccable behavior from the point of view of social norms could receive the right to defend her honor. If the lady managed to become famous for her excessively free behavior, the challenge in her defense was not considered valid.

A pair of pistols in the XIX century. was kept in many noble houses in case of a duel. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The surviving duelists became friends

Dueling rules forbade fights with close relatives, which included sons, fathers, grandfathers, grandchildren, uncles, nephews, brothers. Duels with cousins and second cousins were considered quite acceptable.

If, as a result of the duel, both opponents remained alive and conscious as a result, then they were supposed to shake hands with each other, the offender - to apologize (in this case, the apology no longer offended his honor, since it was considered restored by the duel, but was a tribute to ordinary courtesy). At the end of the duel, honor was considered restored, and any claims of opponents to each other about the former insult were invalid.

It was believed that the duelists who survived the battle should have become friends, or at least continue to maintain normal relations. The repeated challenge of the same person to a duel was possible only in the most extraordinary cases.

How Minister Vannovsky staged a renaissance of the Russian duel

For almost the entire 19th century, Russian monarchs passed laws aimed at banning fights. Emperor Nicholas I said: “I hate the duel. This is barbarism. In my opinion, there is nothing knightly in it. Duke of Wellington destroyed her in the English army and did well. At the same time, he significantly reduced the responsibility for duels. Approved in 1845, the "Code of Criminal Punishments" completely exempted seconds and doctors from liability, and the participants in the duel were threatened with 6 to 10 years in prison with the preservation of noble rights.

In practice, the punishment was even more lenient - most often the perpetrators, even in a deadly duel, were limited to several months in prison and a slight demotion in rank.

By the end of the 19th century, the popularity of duels in Russia began to decline. However, in 1894, at the suggestion of the Minister of War Peter Vannovsky, in order to strengthen morale in the army, duels were not just legalized, but in some cases became mandatory for officers.

The logical result was a sharp increase in the number of duels. If in the period from 1876 to 1890 in Russia only 14 cases of officer duels came to court, then in 1894-1910 322 duels took place. At the same time, over 250 of them were held by decision of the courts of officer honor, which were given the right to appoint fights. Unauthorized duels, without the permission of the chiefs, turned out to be only 19, and not a single participant was held accountable.

Of the 322 duels of this period, 315 took place with pistols and only 7 with edged weapons. Most of the fights of 1894-1910 ended in bloodless or light wounds, and only 30 ended in death or serious wounds of the duelists.

Rifle fights: how Russian emigrants died

At the beginning of the 20th century, duels fought not only the military, but also politicians, as well as cultural figures. The leader of the Union of October 17 was an avid duelist Alexander Guchkov, a duel between the poets of the Silver Age is known Nikolai Gumilyov and Maximilian Voloshin.

The institute of the Russian duel ceased to exist after the October Revolution of 1917, along with other attributes of a class society.

In the White Army, and then among the Russian emigration, until the 1930s, another original type of duel was popular - a duel on Mosin rifles. At the same time, the lethal force of this weapon made a lethal outcome almost inevitable. For desperate people, such a duel became a kind of “noble” way of suicide.

For the duel, paired single-shot pistols were used. The weapon should not have been familiar to any of the opponents, this was given great importance, since before the era of mass industrial production, each weapon had pronounced individual characteristics, and one of the duelists could get a serious advantage. Opponents came to the field of honor each with their own pair of pistols, testified with their word of honor that the weapon had not been shot, then they determined by lot which pistols to fire.

In the most traditional duels, each of the opponents fired only one shot. If it turned out that as a result both opponents remained unharmed, it was considered, however, that honor was restored and the matter was over. In the case when the seconds agreed on a duel “to the result” or “to the injury”, in such a situation the pistols were loaded again and the duel was repeated either from the very beginning, or, if it was agreed, with a change in conditions (for example, at a minimum distance).

Fixed duel.

Opponents are located at a specified distance from each other (as a rule, in Western Europe a distance of about 25-35 steps was used, in Russia - 15-20 steps). They shoot after the command of the steward, depending on the conditions previously agreed, either in random order, or in turn, according to the lot. After the first shot, the second must be fired no more than a minute later.

Mobile duel with barriers.

The most common type of duel in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries. A “distance” is marked on the track (10-25 steps), its boundaries are marked with “barriers”, which can be used as any objects placed across the track. Opponents are placed at an equal distance from the barriers, holding pistols in their hands, muzzle up. At the command of the manager, the opponents begin to converge - to move towards each other. You can go at any speed, it is forbidden to move back, you can stop for a while. Having reached his barrier, the duelist must stop. The order of shots can be negotiated, but more often they shoot when they are ready, in random order (they aim at the enemy in motion and shoot when they stop). There are two versions of the rules for this duel. According to the first, more common in Western Europe, the enemy who fired first had the right to stop where he fired from. According to the second, adopted in Russia, after the first shot, one of the opponents who had not yet fired had the right to demand that the enemy go to his barrier and, thus, get the opportunity to shoot from a minimum distance. The famous expression "To the barrier!" just means such a requirement.

Duel on parallel lines.

Two parallel lines are marked on the ground at a barrier distance determined by agreement (usually 10-15 paces). Opponents stand opposite each other and go along the lines, gradually reducing the distance. You can not move back, increasing the distance to the line. You can shoot at any time.

Fixed duel blind.

Opponents stand motionless at a specified distance, with their backs to each other. After the command of the steward, they, in a certain or random order, shoot over their shoulders. If both are still intact after two shots, the pistols can be loaded again.
"Put the gun to your forehead."
A purely Russian version of the "extreme" duel. Opponents stand at a distance that provides a guaranteed hit (5-8 steps). Of the two pistols, only one is loaded, the weapon is chosen by lot. At the command of the steward, the opponents simultaneously shoot at each other.
"Blow to blow".
Also used exclusively in Russia. Similar to the previous option, but both pistols are loaded. In such duels, both opponents often died.
"Through a scarf."
Opponents stand with their backs to each other, each holding on to the corner of a scarf stretched diagonally between them with their left hand. At the command of the steward, the opponents turn around and shoot.

What is a duel? This is a duel between two people, regulated by a special code. His goal is to satisfy the desire of one of the duelists. Such fights took place, as a rule, within certain social strata. What is a duel? This is a way to resolve the conflict, which was used mainly by representatives of the aristocracy. Duels have long been banned. How they were carried out, we know mainly from fiction.

Rules

The nobleman did not tolerate insults. In the event that his honor or the honor of his relatives was offended, he demanded satisfaction. The person who inflicted the insult, of course, theoretically had the right to refuse. But such an act would be a disgrace to him.

The duel was held strictly established rules with which every aristocrat was acquainted. Even those who have not yet had a chance to shoot themselves in a duel. What is a code? This is a set of rules that aristocrats followed. But throughout the history of duels, it has changed. So, initially they used exclusively edged weapons. The nobles were in constant readiness to fight a duel. At any moment they carried a saber, sword, rapier or rapier. In the 18th century pistols were increasingly used.

It was customary to challenge to a duel in a respectful, calm tone. As is known from the works classical literature, not a single fight was complete without seconds. Quite often there was a doctor nearby. Of course, relatives could follow the duel, but it was considered bad form to turn the duel into a performance.

The offended and the offended did not meet each other before the duel. Seconds helped them negotiate the terms of the duel. The duel was to take place in a secluded place in early time. Let's remember Onegin's duel. In the sixth chapter of Pushkin's work, the hero is late for the duel, in addition, he violates several rules. But Onegin does it on purpose. He understands that he behaved incorrectly at Tatyana's name day, and hopes that he will not have a chance to shoot at the harmless Lensky.

Today, a person who has been insulted goes to court. Or trying to forgive the offender. Matches have long been banned. As already mentioned, they modern man knows from historical sources and fiction, for example, the novels "Fathers and Sons", "Eugene Onegin". The German film "Duel of the Brothers" tells about the events of the twenties of the last century. This word is used in the title of the movie. figurative meaning. Below is Short story duels and told about the most famous fights.

Fights without rules

In the old days there were no duels. So-called judicial fights were arranged between people. Such battles, of course, had little in common with classical duels. It was allowed, for example, to put another person in his place. It was believed that everything depends on God's will, and therefore it does not matter who exactly fights. Pο concepts of people, ο kept pο trouble always tοt, on whose side is the truth.

However, the winner was often a clear villain, and an honest man was defeated. The Almighty was not always objective. For this reason, such fights came to naught, as they seemed unviable.

Middle Ages

Knightly tournaments can also be called the forefathers of duels, although they carried exclusively competitive functions. The knights demonstrated their strength, lοvkοst. At the same time, they tried not to kill the rival, but to knock him off the horse. In the knightly environment wasο very strong developedο concept of honor. It was these moral attitudes that later passed to the aristocrats of the fifteenth century.

The nobles no longer exhausted themselves with physical exercises from an early age in order to learn to fight dexterously and briskly in heavy armor. Powerful crossbows appeared, and then muskets. Hο notions of honor and dignity οstand. Therefore, the lords, dressed to the nines, meeting on the narrow city streets, did not want to give way to each other. Pοbοbnye conflicts were resolved, as a rule, with the help of swords. The fighting sometimes managed to separate the city guard. But more often the soldiers failed to arrive in time.

The birth of dueling culture

The birthplace of fights between aristocrats is Italy. The first duels took place at the end of the 14th century. It is in this sunny country that the mοlοdyh dvοryans enteredοshlο in οbychay to resolve conflict situations when pοmοschi hοlοdnοgο οruzhiya. Οni went to a Ukrainian place and there they fought for the first blood or for death οdnοgο from the enemy.

What is a duel? This is part of the noble culture. Originating in Italy, duels quickly gained popularity. Similar events soon became widespread in France. But in England duels were practiced much less frequently. The same thing can be said about Germany.

Peak of popularity

Massive duel fever fell on the XVI-XVIII centuries. The nobles began to die in the οgrοmnοm quantity. This forcedο kοrοley to issue laws directed against the bloody pοedinkοv. Nο pοmοgali οni weakο. People lied with amazing tenacity to kill each other. Moreover, pοvοdοm for the bout mοg can serve as a straightοstο kοsοy look or impolite tone.

Wοrοe breath deadly fights got in the XIX century, when in οbihοd inοshlο οgnestrelnοe οruzhie. Here, the physical data of the enemy did not play any role. Much depended on good luck. After all, they shot in succession, according to the lot. Opponents stood twenty paces from each other, so it was difficult to miss.

Duel Code

It was in the 19th century that the set of rules for conducting a fair duel was finally created. Their strict execution was considered xοrοshim tοnοm. The deviations from the norms and rules were condemned. The challenge to a duel was carried out either in oral form, or in writing. And οskοrbleny dοlzhen was sοοbschit ο the desire to join the pοedοk during the day.

The most οdangerous was considered pοedοk, when οgda opponents fired οdnοtemporalο pο to the steward's command. In this case, οba could die. The maximum distance between the duelists usually did not exceed thirty steps. This is approximately 15-20 meters, so it was almost impossible to miss. If the first shooter still missed, tο vtοrοy mοg οput behind withοbοy the right to shoot for an indefinite time or, having shot in the air, resolve the conflict with the most favorable for all οbrazοm.

In Russia

Here duel fever began at the end of the XVIII century, in the period of the end of the reign of Catherine II. The Empress died in 1796, and fights in her presence were extremely rare. To this to a large extent spοsοbstvοval "Decree ο fights", published in 1787 gοdu. Participants stοl unsightly action threatened exile in Siberia. If the duel ended in murders, then the surviving participant shone with catοrga.

A huge number of fights fell on the years of the reign of Nicholas I. It was during this period that duels took place with the participation of such famous personalities as Pushkin, Lermontov, Ryleev, Griboyedov. It is worth saying that the king himself could not stand such events. Duelists were immediately sent to the active army in the Caucasus, in the event of a lethal outcome, they could even be demoted to the ranks. But for aristocrats there was another law - the law of honor. They were not afraid of death or punishment, and continued to shoot with amazing tenacity. In addition, participation in fights was considered xοrοshim tοnοm.

Duel Pushkin

This is perhaps the most famous fight in the history of Russia. Pushkinists believe that the great poet was a participant in at least fifteen duels. And in most cases, he was the initiator. True, only six took place. During a duel with Dantes, the poet was mortally wounded, and died two days later. What caused the conflict?

For several years, gossips in the capital have been spreading rumors about an affair between Natalia Goncharova and officers of the cavalry regiment Georges Charles Dantes. Once Pushkin challenged a Frenchman to a duel. But it had to be cancelled. The fact is that just these days the Frenchman made an offer to Ekaterina Goncharova and became a relative of the poet, which excluded the possibility of a duel. Later, they still shot, and this time the Frenchman was the initiator.

This story is too long and confusing. Pushkinists are still trying to find the person responsible for the death of the poet. Most likely, the reason was the endless speculation and rumors about Natalia's sympathy for Dantes. One way or another, on February 8, 1837, a duel took place, as a result of which the greatest poet and writer of the 19th century was mortally wounded.

Four years later, another high-profile duel took place - Lermontov and Martynov. A quarrel that took place on July 13 at the Verzilins' house led to the duel. Mikhail Lermontov had the imprudence to make a rude joke about Nikolai Martynov. The reason for the challenge to a duel was the poet's sharp tongue and caustic nature.

MENSBY

4.9

In Europe, the Russian duel was called "barbarism" and "legalized form of murder." The fact is that if in Europe the period of "dueling fever" was associated with battles with edged weapons, then in Russia preference was given to more deadly firearms.

In Europe in the first half of the 19th century, the Russian duel was called "barbarism" and "legalized form of murder."

All evil from "minions"

In Western Europe, the duel as a way to protect the honor of a nobleman appeared in Italy in the 15th century and began to spread very quickly to other countries. By the beginning of the 16th century, the duel was quite common for the nobility of Western Europe. At the same time, the lower limit of the age of the participants in the fight dropped to 14 years.

Despite the fact that both monarchs and the church banned dueling since the 16th century, Europe experienced a phenomenon known as “dueling fever”.

On April 27, 1578, one of the most famous duels in history took place in the Parisian park Tournelle - the "duel of the minions". It was a three-on-three duel between the associates of King Henry III of France (the minions) and the supporters of the Duke of Guise (the Guizars). As a result of the duel, four of the six participants in the duel were killed.

Despite the official ban on duels, the French monarch did not punish the survivors, and ordered the dead to be buried in luxurious mausoleums and marble statues were placed on them.

A minion is a member of the king's retinue. The word mignonne is translated from French as "tiny". Since the 16th century, favorites have been called this word. royalty. In English, the borrowed word minion is more neutral, it means a devoted servant.

Peter the Great: hang those killed in duels by their feet!

In the midst of the European "dueling fever" in Russia, complete calm reigned in this sense. The first duel here took place only in 1666. The rivals were the future general of Peter I Patrick Gordon and another mercenary officer, Major Montgomery.

In 1682, Princess Sophia signed a decree allowing servicemen to carry personal weapons, accompanied by a ban on duels.

One of the chapters of the Petrine Military Regulations of 1715 for a challenge to a duel provided for punishment in the form of deprivation of rank and partial confiscation of property, for entering a duel and drawing weapons - the death penalty with complete confiscation of property, not excluding seconds.

"Legitimized form of murder"

However, until the second half of the 18th century, duels in Russia did not take on a mass character. However, under Catherine II, they are becoming an increasingly popular way to sort things out, especially among young people brought up in a European spirit.

In 1787, Catherine the Great, alarmed by what was happening, issued a "Manifesto on fights." In it, duels were called "foreign planting"; the participants in the duel, which ended bloodlessly, were punished with a fine (not excluding the seconds), and the offender, “like a violator of peace and tranquility,” was exiled to Siberia for life. For wounds and murder in a duel, it was appointed as a similar criminal offense.

"Noble" duel took the life of Pushkin

In Russia, there was a rather diverse list of types of duels.

A duel from a distance of 15 steps was considered "noble", because the option of a fatal outcome in this case was not so likely. However, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was mortally wounded in a duel with 20 steps.

Fight to the death

In Europe, by the beginning of the 19th century, there were no types of duels that provided for the obligatory death of one of the participants. In Russia, there were types of duels "to the death." One of these was the duel on the edge of the abyss - the wounded in the duel fell into the abyss and died.

Gradation according to the degree of insults

There was a whole gradation of insults, according to which the offended received the right to demand certain conditions of the duel.

It is curious that an insult inflicted on a woman was considered one step more serious than a similar one, but inflicted on a man.

Fight with witnesses, but no spectators

At a predetermined time, usually in the morning, opponents, seconds and a doctor arrived at the appointed place.

One of the parties was allowed to be late for 15 minutes. A longer delay was considered avoiding a duel and meant dishonor.

The duel usually began 10 minutes after the arrival of everyone. Opponents and seconds greeted each other with a bow.

From among the seconds, a duel manager was appointed, who supervised all actions.

Heavily offended shoots first

The seconds took places parallel to the battle line, the doctors behind them. All actions were performed by the opponents at the command of the manager.

Right to a replacement

The surviving duelists became friends

How Minister Vannovsky staged a renaissance of the Russian duel

For almost the entire 19th century, Russian monarchs passed laws aimed at banning fights. Emperor Nicholas I said: “I hate the duel. This is barbarism. In my opinion, there is nothing knightly in it. The Duke of Wellington destroyed her in the English army and did well." At the same time, he significantly reduced the responsibility for duels. Approved in 1845, the "Code of Criminal Punishments" completely exempted seconds and doctors from liability, and the participants in the duel were threatened with 6 to 10 years in prison with the preservation of noble rights.

In practice, the punishment was even milder - most often the perpetrators, even in a deadly duel, were limited to several months in prison and a slight demotion in rank.
By the end of the 19th century, the popularity of duels in Russia began to decline. However, in 1894, at the suggestion of the Minister of War, Pyotr Vannovsky, in order to strengthen morale in the army, duels were not only legalized, but in some cases became mandatory for officers.

Of the 322 duels of this period, 315 took place with pistols and only 7 with melee weapons. Most of the fights of 1894-1910 ended in bloodless or light wounds, and only 30 ended in the death or serious wounds of the duelists.

Rifle fights: how Russian emigrants died

At the beginning of the 20th century, duels fought not only the military, but also politicians, as well as cultural figures. An avid duelist was the leader of the "Union of October 17" Alexander Guchkov, the duel between the poets of the Silver Age Nikolai Gumilyov and Maximilian Voloshin is known.

The institute of the Russian duel ceased to exist after the October Revolution of 1917, along with other attributes of a class society.

Russian duel

Reconstruction of the classic Russian duel on swords-noblewomen.

Movie The Duelist (2016) - Trailer