New issue

Issues of 2008

Duel forever! the history of duels in Russia

On June 20 at 2 p.m. the State Museum of Artillery, Engineers Corps and Signal Corps in St. Petersburg launched a subject exhibition titled ╚Duel in Russia in XVIIth√early XXth century╩. The display oriented on the wide public unveils the history of duels in Russia and will probably change comprehension of modern people about the duel traditions, formed during the so╛called Golden Age of the Russian nobility.

The art project ╚Duel in Russia in XVIIth√early XXth century╩ was launched under the auspices of the Russian National Library with the participation of renowned collector S.S. Rymsha. During the opening ceremony organizers of the event made speeches concerning the exhibition. Among those who delivered opening speeches were V.M. Krylov, the Director of the State Museum of Artillery, Engineers Corps and Signal Corps, V.N. Zaitsev, the Head of the Russian National Library and S.V. Efimov, the chief curator of exhibition projects of the museum. A costume performance relating to the history and traditions of duel was prepared by a specialized studio ╚Silhouette╩. After the opening ceremony was over, S.V. Efimov conducted an excursion for the guests.

As practiced from the XVth to XXth centuries in Western societies, a duel was a consensual fight between two people, with matched deadly weapons, in accordance with rules explicitly or implicitly agreed upon, over a point of honour, usually accompanied by seconds (who might themselves fight), and in contravention of the law.

The duel usually developed out of the desire of one party (the challenger) to redress a perceived insult to his honour. The goal of the duel was not so much to kill the opponent as to gain ╚satisfaction╩, i.e., to restore one▓s honor by demonstrating a willingness to risk one▓s life for it.

Pistol duel. Drawing. Early XIXth century. The State Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps [zoom (48k)]

Duels may be distinguished from trials by combat, in that duels were not used to determine guilt or innocence, nor were they official procedures. Indeed, duels were often illegal, though in most societies where dueling was socially accepted, participants in a fair duel were not prosecuted, or if they were, were not convicted. Only gentlemen were considered to have honor, and therefore qualified to duel. If a gentleman was insulted by a person of lower class he would not duel him but would beat him with a cane or whip or have his servants do so. Duels could be fought with some sort of sword or, from the XVIIIth century on, with pistols. For this end special sets of duelling pistols were crafted for the wealthiest of noblemen.

After the offense, whether real or imagined, the offended party would demand ╚satisfaction╩ from the offender, signalling this demand with an inescapably insulting gesture, such as throwing the glove before him, hence the phrase ╚throwing down the gauntlet╩. This originates from medieval times, when a knight was knighted. Each party would name a trusted representative (a second) who would, between them, determine a suitable ╚field of honor╩, the chief criterion being isolation from interruptions. Duels traditionally took place at dawn, for this very reason. It was also the duty of each party▓s second to check that the weapons were equal and that the duel was fair. At the choice of the offended party, the duel could be: to first blood, even if the wound was minor: until one man was so severely wounded as to be physically unable to continue the duel; to the death, or, in the case of pistol duels, each party would fire one shot. A pistol duel could continue until one man was wounded or killed, but to have more than three exchanges of fire was considered barbaric, and somewhat ridiculous if no hits were achieved.

By the late XVIIIth century a duel became an integral part of life of Russian nobility. Russian dueling traditions significantly differed from the ones establish in the Western Europe (at first Russian duel often reminded of brawls and fistfights).

The display unveils the history of duel in Russia starting from the very first documented duel that took place in Moscow in July 1637 and up to the early XXth century (the so-called duels of the Silver Age). The comprehensive showcase features uniforms and weapons from the collection of the museum as well as rare and unique documents and illustrations lent by the Russian National Library.

Many of the pieces are displayed to the wide public for the first time: important duel sabers, broadswords, small swords, spadroons, as well as duel pistols created by celebrated European and Russian masters Kuchenroiter, Lepage, Boutais, G. Mikhailov, P. Goltyakov, E. Prokhorov, Krapivinsov and others. Such pistols cost much more than usual guns (360√500 francs and 30 francs respectively). One of the display▓s sections is dedicated to fencing.

The first edicts prohibiting duels were issued by Peter I (1716) and Catherine II. The displays features many historical references concerning prominent duels. Among the renowned duelists of the past were General Patrick Gordon, decembrists M. Lunin, A. Bestuzhev, K. Ryleev, adventurer F. Tolstoi, writers Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoi, poets of the Silver Age Nikolai Gumilev and M. Voloshin and others. In the Russian Empire duels were legalized in 1894 by Emperor Alexander III