Reden und Beiträge des Botschafters

Excellences,
Dear representatives of the Swiss Army,     
Dear members of the “Suvorov Foundation”,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

I am delighted to welcome you at the Embassy of the Russian Federation at our traditional reception within the framework of Suvorov days in Switzerland. This year, we are celebrating 219th anniversary of the Alps crossing by the Russian army under the command of the brilliant military leader Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. As per the tradition set up more than 20 years ago, the young cadets from the Moscow Suvorov Military Music College are the centerpiece of our celebration today and during all the Suvorov days in Switzerland.
They will show us how skillful they are in playing musical instruments.

March of Suvorov through the Alps remains a subject of numerous studies in the field of military strategy. Despite its more than 200-year history, it is still one of the most remarkable events in the history of warfare in terms of the challenges – natural, military and material that Russian troops had to face and of the great resolution, tactical intuition and mobility demonstrated by soldiers.

Alexander Suvorov is one of the
few generals in the world history whose personality has never stirred up controversy. Never having been defeated in battle, having received all the possible awards of his days,
and holding the highest military rank Generalissimo – the rank that has been awarded to only 4 people throughout the Russian history – Suvorov also remains in our memory as a commander who took care of his soldiers.

The great Russian general came to Switzerland with his army as a liberator from the occupying French when the Confederation, that consisted of only 13 cantons at the time, became a theatre of war between the European powers. There is no doubt that the French invasion jeopardized state integrity of Switzerland and its further development.

 

March of Suvorov through the Alps was highly praised by the contemporaries and researches of future generations. It had an enormous political and historical value: it was this heroic Alpine crossing that became a prologue to further victory of the Russian army and its allies over Napoleon and to the securing of neutral status of Switzerland that was envisaged by a special international act signed in 1815.

Another important aspect is that thanks
to this Alpine march Suvorov wrote a common chapter into the history of both Russia
and Switzerland. Commemoration of this
event represents an important link between
our countries and our people.
We can see that the Swiss Confederation preserves our common historical roots with great care, and we are grateful for that.     

Russia has a rich centuries-long history. Suvorov’s march across the Alps is a bright but not the only page of this history. Events of this scale inspire future generations to new heroic feats.

It is hard to count all the deeds that have been influenced by the achievements of Alexander Suvorov and other prominent figures; and nobody knows how many there will be in future.

It is the historical evolution of Russia - a tough but glorious path of our country – that played a major role in shaping self-consciousness of our multi-ethnic and multi-faith population and unifying it within one state. It strengthened our national spirit to such an extent that no one managed to break it.

Despite the current complicated political satiation in the world, we are fully aware of the fact that our history, as well as the current development of Russia, give us every reason to be proud of our people and our country. We are happy that Russia and Switzerland had walked part of the historical path together. We are sure that strong historical connections, that were established two centuries ago, will help foster closer Russian-Swiss collaboration for the benefit of our countries and our people.

And now I would like to give the floor to our young cadets.

Thank you for your attention.

ВЫСТУПЛЕНИЕ КАДЕТОВ (30 мин.)

Thank you very much for such a beautiful performance. Now I would like to give the floor to Mr. Artem Gusev, the head of the society for military history “Immortal Hussars” and his colleagues from the Russian city of Samara.

КРАТКАЯ РЕЧЬ А.ГУСЕВА (3 мин., перевод на французский – Ю.Обозный)

ИСПОЛНЕНИЕ ПОЛЕВОЙ ПЕСНИ
(3 мин.)

ПОКАЗАТЕЛЬНОЕ ВЫСТУПЛЕНИЕ С ШАШКОЙ (3 мин.)

ВРУЧЕНИЕ ШАШКИ ПОСЛУ С.В.ГАРМОНИНУ

ОТКРЫТИЕ БУФЕТА