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MIKHAIL ILLARIONOVICH KUTUZOV AND THE BENDERY FORTRESS

The most respected biographers of M. I. Kutuzov pay attention to his achievements in the war with Napoleon. If we mean his military activities in Moldova, then Kutuzov’s participation in the battles of the Ryaba Mogila, the Larga and Cahul rivers, in the assault on Izmail, in the battles at Badadag and Machin, near Ruschuk and Slobodzeya are most detailed. There is little or no mentions at all of Bendery, or just one mention as an insignificant line.But exactly here, near Bendery, his talent of the commander was formed, developed and improved, he comprehended the intricacies of military art, and finally the maturation of the future Field Marshal, Duke of Smolensk, the savior of Russia ...

SECOND SEPARATE PONTOON BRIDGE REGIMENT. 50 YEARS IN THE FORTRESS

Second Separate Pontoon Bridge Regiment (SPBR) or military unit No. 16922, after the end of the Great Patriotic War, was stationed in the Bendery Fortress for almost half a century.Not only the military history of the regiment is remarkable but also its uniqueness itself, which took part in the Jassy–Kishinev operation of the Soviet troops.M.V. Sannikov, an honorary citizen of Bendery, a former deputy commander of this regiment for the political part, is one of the few living witnesses of that memorable time. Mikhail Vasilyevich is 96 years old, but memory still keeps exact names, events, dates. Where it is powerless, the gaps are filled with photographs, documents, diaries, whic...

THE PRIDNESTROVIAN “TRACE” IN THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION OF THE XVIII CENTURY

The intertwining of historical fates, forming an image of the historical past in the most fanciful and sometimes almost mysterious way, it is bound to become the subject of an interested search, sometimes leading to small, but still bright regional natural history discoveries. The assault of the Bendery Fortress, Baroness Korff, the Great French Revolution and King Louis XVI - such an unexpected combination of historical events and personalities can attract the attention of the most sophisticated history lover.In July-September 1770, the 33-thousandth 2nd Russian army under the command of Count Peter Ivanovich Panin besieged the Bendery fortress, which was defended by an 18-thousandth Turkis...

THE MYSTERY OF THE “KAUFFER’S CLOCK”...

Currently, about 60 epigraphic monuments are described on the walls of the Bendery fortress in the form of graffito, bas-reliefs, chronograms made both from local building stone-limestone, and separately made, and then mounted in the walls of the fortress plates with bas-reliefs made of granite or marble. These epigraphic monuments contain the most valuable information for researchers, as well as provide ample opportunities for identifying the construction periodization of this fortification complex. he most famous of them is the so-called tarikh of Suleiman – it is a marble slab with a six-line inscription in Farsi, previously placed on the wall of the Gate Tower in the citadel.In add...

DESCRIPTION OF THE BENDERY FORTRESS, SUMMER 1657 EVLIYA CHELEBI "BOOK OF TRAVEL" WITH COMMENTS

When Baezid Khan conquered the fortress of AK-Kerman in 889 (1484 A.D.), Gedik Ahmed Pasha built a small tower in this place, but it was useful for crossing the Tatars who were eager to meet the enemy. This fortification was destroyed by the Cossacks in the time of Suleiman Khan. Since the Rus' people defeated the Tatars when the Tatar army crossed the Dniester river, the Tatar Khan asked Suleiman Khan to build a fortress in this place, and by the highest decree the fortress was erected.Adjacent to Akkerman, it is now a powerful fortress and a strong border in the Ochakov Eyalet. The Sultan's grant Hass brings his bey an income of 340,000 akche. There are 312 timariots and 40 zaims. By law, ...

Monument to the soldiers of Podolsky Regiment

Here, near Bendery ferry,You can’t count battles of the military,Two-headed eagle savesRussia’s military base.Bowing low to the fallen, eagleMeasured the time everHe flew over the needleTo stay there forever.L. A. Litvinenko“Monument to the 55th Podolsk Infantry Regiment”, “Monument to valiant Russian Warriors”, “Monument to valiant ancestors from descendants”, “Monument to the Podolsk regiment”, “Monument of Russian glory” – this is Bendery monument “Oryol” (“Eagle”)! That’s just how the Bendery residents call this monument among themselves. It is the oldest in the town, it was laid i...

THE DATUM ON THE REGIMENTS THAT WERE PART OF THE GENERAL AND EARL P. PANIN’S SECOND ARMY IN 1769-1770…

Most of the regiments that were part of the P. Panin’s Second Army were army units of the so-called Ukrainian line, created by Peter the Great to protect the southern borders of the country from the Tatars and Poles’ raids. As a rule, such regiments were land-police regiments, so-called colonized regiments, tied to a single, specific territory. There were many divisions in the land-police among the irregular regiments, but there were also those that were created by Bogdan Khmelnitsky: Little Russian and Company one were among them. Part of the regiments were the one of the new territorial entity - New Serbia, created by immigrants from Serbia, namely Raiko Preradovich and I...

THE MARCH OF THE RUSSIAN TROOPS TO THE DNIESTER RIVER, THE SIEGE AND ASSAULT OF THE OTTOMAN FORTRESS BENDERY IN 1770

In the second half of the XVIII century, the Bendery fortress was a stronghold of Turkish rule in the Prut-Dniester region. On the eve and at the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war, which began in 1769, in Bendery there was the residence of seraskier, who commanded all the Turkish troops and garrisons of fortresses in Ochakov province, on the entire North-Western coast of the Black sea.The results of the campaign of 1769 caused serious discontent in St. Petersburg. The commander of the 1st Russian army, Prince A. Golitsyn, surrounded by Empress Catherine II, was accused of failing to take advantage of the results of his victories over the Turkish troops and develop a strategic success. Ind...

MEMORABLE DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BENDERY AND THE FORTRESS

Memorable dates in the history of the town of Bendery and the Bendery fortress cover the period from the X century AD from the first mention of the fortress of Tigina (Tunkatay) on the Dniester river in the Byzantine Chronicles, until 2018, when another significant stage of the reconstruction of the Bendery fortress, which began in 2007, ended. The table shows the most important, in our opinion, dates or time periods that are most important in the history of the town and the fortress itself.Sl.NoDate, time periodBrief description of events in the history of the town and fortressExtended description1 History of the town name (toponym)The Slavic period X-XI centuries-Tungaty, Tyaghin;Tata...

LOCATION OF MOSQUES IN THE BENDERY FORTRESS ...

In the course of systematization and study of sources, found in the Turkish archives (including new ones), and especially cartographic material (maps of 1770, 1789, 1790), 10 (ten) mosques were located on the territory of the Bendery fortress at the end of the XVIII century, i.e., their exact location was established. Also today, we know the name of some of them, as well as a description of the Main Cathedral mosque, including perhaps some information about their outward. Two mosques have been partially preserved to this day: one in the Gate Tower of the citadel, and the second in the middle tower on the Lower Fortress. These mosques are presented today in the form of mihrabs (prayer ambries...

THE DESCRIPTION OF BENDER OF 1789 YEAR BY P. CAMPENHAUSEN

Bender, the capital of Bessarabia is located on the river Dniester ... The fortress is notable only for the huge moat that surrounds it, since its fortifications were built very unreasonably. It surrendered during the last war, because the pasha, commander of the city, and the serasker, commander of the camp outside, were at odds with each other. The Janissaries were mainly engaged in trade and worried about their rich shops.We [the Russian army] found here 300 guns, 50 of which were iron, 25 mortars and 3 howitzers. The fortress was provided in abundance with gunpowder, kernels, rice, food, etc. There was 12-pound gun, which was donated to Emperor Leopold I by the city of Landau. On the muz...

SHOOTING OF JEWS IN THE MOAT OF THE BENDERY FORTRESS

On December 12, 1944, the Bendery Commission for investigating the atrocities of the German-Romanian invaders drew up an act stating that firing pits were found in the moat of the Bender fortress (the area of the Main gate on Panin St., opposite the Monument of Russian Glory. When the pits were opened, 58 civilian corpses were found in four places. Of these, 8 are children's, 28 are women's and 22 are men's. The execution of these civilians dates back to the period July-September 1941. During the examination of the remains, preserved documents were found (Soviet passports, certificates and other identification documents of the executed citizens. When checking the preserved documents, i...

WHEN SWEDEN WAS RULED FROM MOLDOVA. By Peter Sandin

The early years of Charles XIICharles XII was born in Stockholm in the Royal castle "Three crowns" on June 1, 1682. His parents were Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark. The baby's solemn baptism took place on July 12. He was named Charles after his father and grandfather, Charles X Gustav.Charles XI, the Prince's father, was a good monarch who carried out successful internal reforms for the benefit of the Kingdom. During his reign (1672-1697), he limited the power of the upper aristocracy and became the autocratic ruler of Sweden, which at that time was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. He left his successor a well-organized state with reliable finances, a powerful army, a...

…BENDERY MOSQUES AND CHURCHES UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE XIX CENTURIES. I. SAPOZHNIKOV…

The article continues a series of works about the fortresses of the North-Western Black Sea region and the temples located there (and near that place), mainly Ottoman mosques, some of which were re-consecrated (some of them more than once) to Christian churches [1]. It describes the corresponding monuments of the Bendery fortress, to which the author has previously devoted a number of publications [2]. I would like to emphasize that there are no remains of pre-Ottoman Christian churches and its suburbs in the Bendery fortress, and the literary data about them [3], in my opinion, belong to the category of legends rather than historical facts. The earliest systematic "Description of the B...

Bendery defense (Romanian occupation) 1918: One century ago

Chapter one. About the periodization2017 and 2018 are significant for us, not just like the epoch-making centenary dates that we celebrate. These dates require us not only to formally state facts and events, but also to pay even closer attention to them, to understand them in the light of the modern realities and of the rapidly changing world. Studying the past, we find answers to the burning questions of today. You understand this when you turn to a powerful historical layer of the first half of the 20th century, which included three Russian revolutions, two world wars, interventions, and the Civil War.In 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was celebr...

MILITARY TEMPLES OF TRANSNISTRIA: BENDERY

The need of the Russian people in spiritual life has always been great. This is especially true of the Russian soldier, whose whole life from birth to death was closely associated with the Church. Of course, the vast majority of military churches in the Russian Imperial army were Orthodox. However, we must not forget that in its essence the army was a multi-confessional. Therefore, in its structure there were many so-called Gentile churches, the construction of which was fully or partially financed from the military budget.An example of this is Kronstadt, where next to the Orthodox churches there were a mosque, two Lutheran churches, a Roman Catholic Church. The same picture was observed in ...

Baron Munchausen and Bendery Fortress

One might wonder but the well-known comic character Baron Munchausen in fact turned out to be an officer of Russian army and took part in a military campaign against Bendery. It is known how reverently the inhabitants of Bendery relate to their fortress, to its history and to everything connected with it. Therefore, the history of the stronghold is overgrown with various kinds of incredible stories, legends, tales, etc. Although the stories give a special flavor to the fortress, very often they are far from the truth. There are numerous fantastic stories about the underground tunnels, which go almost hundreds kilometers from the city. As for Minich with Munchausen and the unsuccessful a...

THE WAR PRISONERS IN BENDERY

It’s quite difficult to gather materials about prisoners of war, especially about captured soldiers and officers of the Soviet army during the World War the Second, even for researchers who have access to the central archives and direct documentary sources. It’s not a secret to anyone that to the soldiers and officers of the Soviet army who were taken as prisoners, as well as the citizens of the USSR from among the civilians, who were taken to “join” the so-called “Great German civilization” and who went through all the horrors of slavery, and then, after exhaustion of physical and moral strength, thrown out to die in concentration camps, the attitude in t...

Pilip Orlik”s Bendery Constitution

Attitude to the identity of Pilip (Philip) Orlik in Ukrainian and Russian historiography is extremely ambiguous. If in Ukrainian history his personality is connected only with the memorable events, in Russian history his name is closely connected with the name of the hetman of Ukraine, odious for many, Ivan Mazepa and the events that were connected with his fate: twenty years of loyal service to the Russian throne, the struggle for the complete independence of Ukraine, betrayal of the Russian Tsar Peter I, incitement of the Ukrainian Cossacks to treason, flight to Turkey, inglorious death. Whatever it was, but Pilip Orlik is one of the most interesting figures in Ukrainian history. He w...

MYSTERIOUS CHARM BENDER KALESI

What do the walls of the Bender fortress" tell " about? There is hardly a Pridnestrovian monument of history, whose legendarium would be richer than the Treasury of stories about Vender Kalesi. And let the last word not confuse fans of "game of thrones". So in Turkish it sounds familiar to us "Bender fortress". With this unique artifact of engineering is associated with many beliefs. Mazepa's Golden carriage, Mohammed's 90-carat diamond, Janissaries ' treasures buried in mysterious underground galleries and guarded by ghosts - such legends are kept by the inhabitants of Bender. It is said that the map of the fortress, stored in the Central Museum of the capital of Turkey, was closed for...

Aivazovsky and Bendery Fortress

You can ask any self-respecting resident of the town Bendery what the Swedish king Charles XII and the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa, the minion of the Russian empress Potyomkin and the Russian rebel Emelyan Pugachev, have to do with our fortress, and you will receive an exhaustive reply. Many will proudly tell you that the well-known Baron Munchhausen made his flight on a cannonball here. And lovers of mystic will add that at full moon on the citadel appears the ghost of the wife of John-Voda the Lute with a baby in her arms, and disappears on the top of the fortress wall. And this is not surprising. An ancient castle should have its own history, its legends and riddles. And what a castle without...

MAZEPA'S GOLD. THE STORY OF OLESYA BUZINA. Part 1 and part 2

Hetman Mazeppa was dying like a hero in a pirate novel: he was surrounded by stolen barrels of gold and bags of diamonds. This was the entire state Treasury of Ukraine, which he managed to embezzle and take away from Poltava to Bendery - a Moldavian town that was then on Turkish territory.The Swedish state archive has preserved a report of the unforgettable sight of the fugitive Hetman on his deathbed. “When I went to see him”, writes Gustav Soldan, Charles XII’s confidant, “I found him very weak… He asked me to stay with him and carefully watch over his belongings, which were in his room, namely, a chest and two barrels full of ducats, and a couple of travel b...

Легенды и мифы Бендерской крепости

Легенда о молдавской тарелочке (Злая Марюка)из книги Н.А. Маркса "Из истории Бендерской крепости". Одесса, 1917 год.Теперь никто не сидит у ворот старого замка.Забиты наглухо ворота, чтобы не расхитилилома, сваленного во дворе.12Нечего делать у ворот прошаку, незачем за-глядывать в Бендерскую крепость.И Петря Выздоагы забыл к ней дорогу. Сидитна базаре, поет Богородичин стих.- Ын нумеле Домнулуй дац че вэ ласы инима13.Прохожий остановится послушать Выздоагы,положит в его тарелочку медную монету.Сидит Выздоагы у прохода к лавкам, прислу-шивается к шагам.- Доамне милуеште, Господи помилуй.Больше горбится, когда узнает шаги городо-вого.Тырые брыу14.Когда в старину ходили янычары по базару,нароч...

CHARLES XII AND HIS RETREAT TO BENDERY

After the defeat in the battle of Poltava (1709), Charles XII was forced to retreat to the Bendery town in the Ottoman Empire.The conflict known as the Great Northern War began in 1700. Swedish king Charles opposed Russian tsar Peter the Great, Danish king Frederick IV, and Saxon elector Augustus II. While Russia and Peter the Great were of much interest to Sweden, Denmark and Saxony were not. The most difficult test was the famous battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709, when 30,000 Swedes of Charles XII were defeated by almost twice the superior army of Peter the Great. The Russians then took several thousand prisoners, while Charles XII and his ally Hetman Mazepa managed to escape by crossing ...