A summary of Nikolai Svechin’s "Moscow Apocalypse"

This historical novel describes in detail the events of the Patriotic War in the ancient capital occupied by the French. Published in 2014, it is a detailed chronicle of the survival of ordinary people amidst total destruction, where historical realities are closely intertwined with an adventure plot. The text is based on eyewitness accounts of the fire and the harsh days of the occupation of the capital.

Prison escape and a burning city

The plot begins on September 2, 1812. The young nobleman Pyotr Akhlestyshev is falsely accused of murdering a relative. The former nobleman is stripped of his class rights, shackled, and sentenced to hard labor. A conspiracy against Pyotr was cleverly orchestrated by Prince Shekhonsky. The wily nobleman wanted to seize the colossal fortune of Akhlestyshev’s fiancée, Olga Barykova. In the overcrowded Butyrka prison, Pyotr meets the powerful former peasant Sasha-Batyr. The strongman becomes his most trusted comrade. Hidden among the prisoners is a secret agent, Staff Captain Yegor Yelchaninov.

As the French army approaches, all the prisoners are marched on foot toward Nizhny Novgorod. Taking advantage of the chaos, Pyotr, Sasha, and Yelchaninov successfully escape. The scout leaves to carry out his assignments. The friends head to the Barykov mansion on Ostozhenka Street. There, Pyotr finds Olga. The cowardly Prince Shekhonsky has fled, taking the jewel box with him and abandoning his young wife to her fate. Drunken Polish soldiers unceremoniously barge into the house. The fugitives kill their attackers in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Fleeing the inevitable vengeance of the French military command, the heroes hastily flee the mansion.

The city is engulfed in mass robberies and a wall of fire. The friends try to escape the Moscow outposts, but the French army cordons won’t let anyone through. They are forced to take refuge in a crime-ridden area on the Neglinnaya River — Volchya Dolina. There, Sasha-Batyr’s comrade-in-arms, Mortira Makarovna, helps the fugitives hide safely. Olga is taken to a safe house. Soon, fire engulfs almost every Moscow street. Pyotr and Sasha fight their way through the flames. The corrupt investigator Yakovlev, who fabricated the case against Akhlestyshev, notices them and opens fire. Yakovlev’s bullet kills Olga’s maid.

Guerrilla warfare in ruins

After a miraculous escape from a fire, Pyotr and Sasha join a squad of urban avengers. The group is commanded by the experienced guards non-commissioned officer Sila Otchayanov. The fighters hide in the deep basement of a completely burned-out building on Bronnaya Street. At night, the tough partisans eliminate French patrols and cruel marauders. Pyotr, fluent in French and German, becomes a skilled spy.

Soon, Akhlestyshev again encounters Staff Captain Yelchaninov by chance. The officer coordinates the actions of the Moscow underground fighters under direct orders from Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Kutuzov. The partisans receive orders to destroy enemy forage depots. Akhlestyshev disguises himself in an enemy infantry uniform. The detachment makes a daring raid several kilometers beyond the city limits. The soldiers destroy a peasant supply train and intercept an enemy courier carrying important documents. The documents contain Napoleon’s strategic military plans for a possible march on St. Petersburg. The information is immediately sent to Kutuzov’s headquarters to prepare a counter-defensive measure.

Then Akhlestyshev learns terrifying news. The mansion on Ostozhenka has been occupied by the French Colonel Polestel, head of the Grand Army’s secret police. Prince Shekhonsky cowardly serves the occupiers. Olga is completely at the mercy of her cruel enemies. Pyotr devises a bold plan. He infiltrates the partisans Salovarov and Stepanida Tyufyakina into the house, disguised as servants. The new servants secretly pass Pyotr the charred drafts of Colonel Polestel’s secret reports.

Arrest and release

The situation rapidly deteriorates. Polestel tracks down the spy network and arrests Yelchaninov. The staff captain is placed under strict guard in the Kremlin guardhouse. Pyotr attempts to infiltrate the heavily guarded fortress for reconnaissance, but accidentally encounters Shekhonsky. The traitor immediately betrays the convict. Polestel orders Akhlestyshev executed. The partisan is taken to the Taynitskaya Tower for a swift execution. Pyotr mentally prepares himself for his inevitable death by enemy bullets, but at the last moment, the execution is suddenly called off.

Olga learns of the arrest of her beloved. She begs Polestel to spare Peter’s life. In exchange, the princess promises to divorce Shekhonsky and marry the French colonel. He readily agrees, hoping to gain legal control of her vast fortune. Polestel cynically stages Akhlestyshev’s release. The Count brings Peter to deserted ruins, where Shekhonsky awaits him with four loaded pistols. The Frenchman had sabotaged the prince’s weapons in advance, wanting to easily rid himself of Olga’s unwanted husband.

The colonel’s valet, Maurice, brutally murders the unarmed Shekhonsky. Then the French swordsman attempts to stab Pyotr. At the critical moment, Otchayanov and Batyr come to the rescue. The non-commissioned officer coldly kills Maurice with a well-aimed dagger strike. Pyotr survives. Akhlestyshev assumes the difficult duties of the Russian rezident — the secret head of the intelligence network in Moscow.

Saving the shrines

Akhlestyshev devise a complex operation to rescue Yelchaninov. Peter disguises himself as a Parisian dandy and hires a carriage from the imperial stables. He brings Mortira and another prostitute to the Kremlin. The French guards are distracted by the unexpected living gift. Peter picks the prison cell and tells the prisoner, "A carriage awaits us." The fugitives safely escape the fortress.

The French army prepares to leave the devastated city. An embittered Napoleon gives the order to mine and blow up the Kremlin, the Arsenal, and the ancient Moscow cathedrals. Partisans stealthily infiltrate the fortress through an abandoned underground passage in the Borovitskaya Tower. The soldiers engage in desperate hand-to-hand combat with enemy sappers. Pyotr and Sasha-Batyr miraculously manage to cut the burning gunpowder cords at the base of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. Powerful explosions are heard. Some of the towers and Kremlin walls collapse, but the main Orthodox churches are saved from complete destruction in the flames of the Moscow fire.

The partisans suffer severe concussions and take refuge in the enormous building of the Orphanage. Hundreds of seriously wounded French soldiers have gathered there. An enraged mob of Moscow rabble, led by the bandit Leshak, storms the hospital wards. The brutal marauders begin beating the helpless cripples to death. Akhlestyshev, Batyr, and Otchayanov bravely rise to the defense of the wounded enemy. Pyotr shoots Leshak accurately, declaring, "I won’t let them finish off the cripples!" The three wounded partisans hold off the armed mob until General Benckendorff’s regular Cossack units arrive.

Return of peaceful life

The occupiers leave forever. The legitimate Russian administration returns to the city. Akhlestyshev accidentally encounters the vile investigator Yakovlev on the street, but now the partisan cannot be insulted with impunity. The villain retreats in fear before the combat officer. The Chief of Police personally reads a special decree from Emperor Alexander I. For his undoubted military exploits and skillful organization of a secret agent network behind enemy lines, Pyotr Akhlestyshev is fully exonerated. The Tsar orders the criminal case to be consigned to eternal oblivion. The hero is restored to his lost noble status, promoted to the rank of ensign in the Guards Artillery, and awarded the Order of St. Vladimir.

Sasha-Batyr deservedly receives the St. George’s Cross. The former fugitive officially enlists in the police force. Pyotr joyfully returns to the surviving house on Ostozhenka. Olga faithfully awaits his return. All barriers between the lovers have finally fallen. Now they can become legally married. The city lies in terrible ruins, devastation reigns everywhere, but the surviving heroes are ready to build a new, happy life on the ashes of the ancient capital. They know the value of every peaceful day.