Aleksandr Samoilovich Figner (Alexandre Figner, russian: Алекса́ндр Само́йлович Фи́гнер) (1787—1813) was a Guards colonel of the army of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, known as the organizer of

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

units during the 1812

Napoleonic invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

and later of Germany. After the Russian army left Moscow after the

battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

, he received permission to act independently as a partisan. He entered the city and committed sabotage there. According to some stories, he even planned to kill

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. After that, he gathered a detachment of lagging soldiers and deserters and began to attack the retreating units of the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

. His detachment became a notable force and participated in the capture of the General Augereau brigade near Lyakhovo. Figner managed to create a resounding glory for himself, becoming the most famous partisan leader at that time. He was distinguished by a passion for dressing up for reconnaissance among enemy units. During the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

, he was sent to Danzig for espionage and agitation among the local population. He was distinguished by cruelty towards captured French, unusual even among the partisans of that time. Another famous partisan,

Denis Davydov Denis Vasilyevich Davydov ( rus, Дени́с Васи́льевич Давы́дов, p=dʲɪˈnʲis vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ dɐˈvɨdəf, a=Dyenis Vasilyevich Davydov.ru.vorb.oga; – ) was a Russian soldier-poet of the Napoleonic Wars who in ...

, severely criticized him for this. Figner often gave prisoners to the peasants for laceration and liked to kill prisoners himself with his favorite

air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemica ...

. But he tried to use captured Spaniards and Italians for his own purposes. During the

Truce of Pläswitz A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

he formed from them the so-called "Vengeful Legion" with the help of which he hoped to overthrow the

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. After the retreating of the main forces he tried to wage his own war in Westphalia (he hoped to provoke an uprising of the local population against the French). But he was defeated, and the units recruited from the prisoners showed themselves poorly. He came to his death swimming over the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

, while trying to break an encirclement by Napoleonic troops at

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

. It is believed that he could be one of the prototypes of Fedor Dolokhov, a partisan leader in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

's ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'', although the count

Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Толсто́й; 17 February 1782 – 5 November 1846), also known as "the American", was a Russian nobleman from the well-known Tolstoy family. Possessed of an unusual tempe ...

, also known as the "American", is considered a more likely candidate.Commentary of N.M. Fortunatov to ''War and Peace'' novel for the edition Толстой Л. Н. Собрание сочинений в 22-х томах. Т.4. Война и мир. М. «Худож. лит.», 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figner, Aleksandr Samoilovich 1787 births 1813 deaths Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars War and Peace