Duel: history of origin. The difference between Russian duels and European ones

In an old joke about the Wild West, there is a sign in a saloon: “Don’t shoot the pianist, he plays the best he can.” If by some miracle Kieran Darcy-Smith had ended up in that pianist's place, he would still have been shot. The director who released the film “Duel” is too false.

In general, talk that the Western as a cinematic genre has completely and completely died out, like Triceratops and Stegosaurs, has subsided slightly after the triumphant march across the screens of the latest hits by Iñárritu (The Revenant) and Tarantino (The Hateful Eight). “The Duel,” unfortunately, does not provide additional reasons for optimism. Daris-Smith guaranteed a disastrous result already at the script selection stage. He discovered Matt Cook’s creation on the famous “Hollywood Black List,” where the most promising scripts are stored. But if the text of “The Duel” is considered promising, then what is considered unpromising? Defects are visible to the naked eye. Whole ones sag storylines, logic is lame, aesthetic genre canons are violated with tenacity worthy of better use. The climax is built in such a way that you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Women in Westerns, as we know, should remain in the background (the exception is Sharon Stone's role in The Quick and the Dead). In "The Duel," the main character's wife tags along with her husband (David Kingston, played by Liam Hemsworth) and accompanies him on a deadly business trip. Of course, the main villain (Abraham Brandt played by Woody Harrelson) begins to want something from the restless lady. But until the end of the film, these intentions remain unclear. Tell me, what do you need? Do not torment the woman, her husband and us, innocent spectators. Either he wants to beat her off, or to make her a prophetess in his sect (the woman’s name is promising - Marisol - that is, Masha Solnechnaya... and maybe Solntsevskaya). As a result, Abraham Brandt defends his matrimonial prospects so unconvincingly that Marisol is left with nothing, and her hubby embarks on the final journey all alone. Another female character - the whore Naomi - appeared in the film for no one knows why. It seems that the screenwriter simply decided that it was necessary. What would a Western be without hapless prostitutes brutally exploited by cowboys and Indians? At the same time, this is another reason for the main character to show courage in defending the humiliated, raped and insulted (who wouldn’t remember Clint Eastwood’s “The Bad, the Good, the Ugly”). The authors did not act as cruelly with this character as with Marisol; the lady found peace in a very picturesque place, from where a good view opens up for those who are able to see.

Okay, God be with them, with women. Let's talk better about the God of Abraham. Brandt is not only a bloody bandit, a sexist and a xenophobe. He is also a preacher. What his creed consists of is impossible to understand. Snatches of sermons, rituals with reptiles, mysterious rituals with Marisol (whether they instill demons in her, or drive her out, or simply bring her to orgasm - you can’t tell). In short: Abraham is not a good person and also believes in something frankly bad. Also, the characters in the film talk too much. A Western is a story about silent men. Usually they say: “They shot.” The longest phrase they allow themselves is: “Peacocks, you say.” Clint Eastwood's heroes, so as not to inadvertently say too much, do not take the cigar out of their mouths. They perfectly remember the truth that the characters in “Duel” forgot: more good deeds can be done with a pistol and a kind word than with a kind word alone. Clint Eastwood took this principle to perfection: he completely abandoned kind words. He shoots right away. Abraham Brandt chatters almost incessantly, talking some kind of pseudo-religious nonsense. Probably to give clever film critics a reason to talk about the fact that “Duel” is not a Western, but even a heartfelt philosophical parable. To which one can immediately object: the parable is very reminiscent of a Western. It should be simple and understandable; excessive reflection of the characters is as inappropriate here as in stories about cowboys and sheriffs.

The main secret of the film is Abraham's business. He, it turns out, makes money on two human vices at the same time: xenophobia and the desire to kill everything that moves. The authors wanted to create just a universal monster, but from a psychological point of view it somehow turns out to be implausible: a fanatical sectarian and a calculating criminal businessman rolled into one. But who knows. Like an honest blonde, I tried to read “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” by Max Weber, but fell asleep too early. One thing seems very implausible to me: at the end of the century before last, only a madman would have agreed to pay 200 dollars (not a small amount at that time) for the dubious pleasure of shooting a Mexican old woman. In Texas, white people shot Latinos absolutely free at every opportunity, just as the police now shoot blacks, and vice versa. In general, the topic of “white males against unfortunate national minorities” in the United States today is openly politicized: Trump promises to build a wall on the border with Mexico. So you can forget about credibility. But not to the same extent as when making a shock ending, without which a Western is simply unthinkable. I, of course, am not the greatest expert in physiology, but when they try to convince me that a person is capable of cutting off his own leg and, without losing consciousness from pain shock, try to kill the enemy (and thus give a weak girl a chance to hold a heavy revolver with her gentle hands background of the setting sun) – it’s not even funny. Just bad.

Horses are also annoying. They categorically do not want to gallop, gallop, or even trot. These slow creatures simply move on foot! For an hour, we watch the film's large cowboy population move back and forth on lazily plodding horses. Why don’t people walk with their feet, because it will be faster? Probably for the same reasons as the Moscow majors who are stuck in traffic jams on Gelikas: that’s how they’re supposed to be cool. Only towards the end of the film we were pleased with several horses that galloped, tails up, towards the sunset. But in the finale, the lonely hero again trudges on a barely trudged horse somewhere into the distance. At this rate, he won't get there soon.

German Klimov. About time, sports and cinema...

Business card

German Germanovich Klimov, screenwriter.

Born on May 9, 1941 in Stalingrad, brother famous Soviet film director, People's Artist of Russia Elem Klimov.

In 1964 he graduated from the All-Union Institute physical culture. International Master of Sports in Athletics. From 1959 to 1970 he was a member of the USSR national track and field athletics team. Prize-winner of the USSR Championship and a number of international competitions in decathlon and long jump.

When Vladimir Vysotsky wrote his “Song about the Long Jumper,” the prototype of its hero for him was German Klimov.

In 1970 he graduated from the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors at the USSR State Committee for Cinematography. Author of the script for the feature-journalistic film “Sport, Sports, Sports” (1970). Based on the scripts of German Klimov, the feature films “Men’s Games at fresh air"(1978), "Tactics of Long Distance Running" (1978), "Farewell" (1978), a number of documentaries. German Klimov wrote the script for a documentary film about Battle of Stalingrad“Not a Step Back” (2003), helped Ales Adamovich and Elem Klimov in working on the script for the film “Come and See” (1985).

From 1986 to 1991, German Klimov headed the USSR Sports Film Federation. From 1988 to 1991 he was president of the International Federation of Sports Film and Television.

Fifteen scripts by German Klimov were not realized for reasons beyond his control, but he continued to work on new projects. In May 2011, German Klimov presented a collection of his poems, “Time Blows in the Face,” in Volgograd.

Now, based on his script, director Sergei Golovetsky is completing work on the documentary film “Duel. Final" - about matches between USSR and US track and field athletes.

"Matches of Giants"

In 1958, the USSR and the USA concluded an Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, Technology and Education in Washington. This Agreement also provided for the organization of regular competitions between sports teams of both countries.

...The “giants’ matches,” as the meetings of the USSR and US track and field athletics teams were once called, are drifting further and further into the past, taking with them the unique atmosphere of that time, it is already almost forgotten signs and features. However, film masters can bring back to the screen the reality captured in archival footage, reviving it with their talent and their memories.

It would seem that it was I who should have come up with the idea of ​​making a film about “giant matches,” says German Klimov. - After all, in those years I was part of the world of athletics, lived in its atmosphere and was present at the first match meeting of Soviet and American athletes. However, this idea did not come from me, but from the famous documentary director, great expert on athletics Sergei Golovetsky (he is a former javelin thrower), who approached me with an offer to become the screenwriter of this film.

...Those famous meetings were preceded by a rather complex backstory.

At the end of the fifties of the last century, when the threat of the Cold War became completely real, we all wanted there to be at least a little more trust between us and the Americans. But how to get closer to such a goal? Where to begin? The answer to these questions was given at the Olympics in Melbourne Main coach USSR track and field team Gavriil Vitalievich Korobkov, who proposed holding annual match meetings between the national teams of the USSR and the USA.

Korobkov met with the leaders of American athletics and outlined his idea to them. They were inspired by it, but met stiff resistance from politicians. Senator McCarthy, obsessed with hatred of the Soviet Union, came out with particularly harsh criticism. Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev also objected to such meetings, fearing that our athletes might lose.

But still, in July 1958, the first USSR-USA match took place at the Luzhniki Stadium.

The Americans came to Moscow not just to win, but to crush us, because they were sure that our team could not be compared with the American one. But we won, and in the difficult situation of the confrontation at that time, it was the most Right way if not to friendship, then at least to some kind of mutual understanding. We got to know each other better, and our spectators greeted the athletes of both countries with enthusiasm and friendliness.

That meeting became the main event in sports life all over the world. And all the newspapers and magazines wrote about her...

Pre-production work on the new film began just a few months ago, in February 2017. However, the fate of German Klimov was such that he began preparing for it many decades ago... In the recent past, he was one of the elite Soviet light athletics: starting with the decathlon, he then became one of our strongest long jumpers, a member of the USSR national team. By the way, he is one of the few Soviet athletes who managed to beat the legendary Valery Brumel in the all-around and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan in the all-around and even in the long jump...

In the new film, says German Germanovich, we want to convey the spirit of the sport of those years and give an idea of ​​the openness that helped us better understand each other.

At the first matches, both here and in the USA, the stadiums were, as they say, packed to capacity. Our athletes Valery Brumel, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Vasily Kuznetsov were the idols of not only Soviet but also American athletics fans, who, watching the performances of our athletes, were convinced that we were people just like them, and that we We are not inferior to them in anything.

And then perestroika began (1985-1991), and everything began to decline. The final matches of that series, held in our country in secondary arenas, no longer aroused almost any interest among spectators, who now had no time for sports: having lost their jobs, people did not live, but survived, not knowing how to ensure the existence of their families.

The last “match of giants” took place in 1985 in Japan, because the Japanese also wanted to take part in these competitions. But this, of course, was completely off topic.

And then it was all over. Unfortunately…

When I started working on the film, I had only one thought: it was necessary to do everything possible to save that unprecedented series of meetings between the national teams of the USSR and the USA from oblivion and to trace all its stages. (Then, by the way, Soviet athletes won 15 victories in stadiums, suffering only one defeat.)

Nostalgic memories and “leap for the apartment”

Apparently, under the influence of this unrelenting nostalgic feeling, German Germanovich decided to show me photographs from old newspapers, which today look like identification marks of those ancient times.

One of them, dated 1959, depicts the champions of the Sixth All-Union Schoolchildren Spartakiad, held at the Moscow Stadium young pioneers" “In the photo,” reads the caption underneath, “the winners of the pentathlon competition: G. Klimov, V. Brumel and A. Lipeev.”

“I then beat Valerka in the last event - in the one and a half kilometer run,” German Germanovich smiles. - And he and I were taken to the adult USSR national team. I was 18 years old then.

In February 1960, we arrived in Lviv for training camp. We lived with Valera in the same room and came to the arena together for our first training session. And there are the best jumpers: Robert Shavlakadze and Viktor Bolshov, who have already jumped 2.14 and 2.15. By the standards of those years, it was space... Brumel then held only the youth record - 2.01. But he treated our best high-altitude climbers without any respect. “This year,” he told me, “I will make them.” - “Are you laughing?” “I’ll do it,” he repeated. And did…

This memory immediately led to another - about how our great athlete managed to solve the housing problem.

Do you know how Valera got an apartment on Ryleeva Street? - German Germanovich continued almost without a pause.

- No. Never heard of this...

In 1963, in Moscow, in Luzhniki, another match between USSR and US track and field athletes was held. The bar in the jumping sector was set at a height of 2.28. The rain had just stopped, which had washed out the cinder path so much that it was impossible to jump.

Before the third attempt, Leonid Khomenkov (one of our main athletics leaders) appeared in the sector, who, passing by Brumel, uttered some words. And Brumel took 2.28 (this was his last record). “What did Khomenkov tell you?” - I then asked Valera. - “On the podium is Khrushchev. If you jump, you’ll get an apartment.”

Valera jumped.

“But why did my interlocutor consider it necessary to talk about the “leap for the apartment”? Maybe because he also had to experience something similar? - I thought and immediately asked him this question.

I found myself in a similar situation in 1970, when I seemed to have already finished with big-time sports,” German Germanovich confirmed my assumption. - But I had to get an apartment from the Dynamo society, for which I competed for many years, so I had to jump well at the USSR Championships in Minsk. And I succeeded. I showed 7.86, that is, the same result as young Vladimir Skibenko from Rostov-on-Don, but lost to him on the second attempt. As a result, he became the champion, and I became the silver medalist...

And the next day, the premiere of the film “Sport, Sports, Sports” took place at the Minsk House of Cinema (this is my graduate work at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors at Goskino). I was the screenwriter of this film, and my brother Elem was the director (he came to Minsk on the eve of the premiere).

The entire USSR athletics team was present in the hall at that time. The film was received with a bang. And just like that, to applause, my transition from sports to cinema took place.

- When did you enter the Higher Courses?

In 1968, four years after the end of the All-Union state institute physical culture. I still continued to train, but, of course, not nearly as much as before, since I spent whole days on the Courses. There was a completely different atmosphere here than the one I was used to in the national team. I met people who were new to me, began to communicate with them, and this attracted me more and more. Nevertheless, in 1968, at the championship of the Soviet Union in Leninakan, where the selection for the Olympics in Mexico City took place, I still managed to take fifth place.

That same year, my brother and I applied for the film “Sport, Sports, Sports” and went to the Olympics as tourists. We filmed a lot in Mexico City, getting into the spirit of big sport that reigned there.

What the Klimov brothers could not forgive themselves

I remember how Vitold Kreer and I, sitting during the Olympic competitions in the jumping sector, told Vita Saneev how he got on the bar.

Entry into the Olympic Village was strictly prohibited, but with the help of friends (and I had half a team of them) we made our way there. Our guys lived in three-room apartments; in each room there is one athlete.

And there we witnessed three amazing scenes.

We enter the first room. Before us is Vitya Saneev, who became Olympic champion and world record holder, and his coach Hakob Kerselyan. They rejoice and drink champagne.

We go into the second room. Estonian decathlete Rein Aun lies on the bed. In 1964, in Tokyo, he was a silver medalist, but in Mexico City he was injured (he tore the back of his thigh) and retired. Rain's tears flow, and the girls sit next to him and sing a song to him in Estonian.

Third room. A grief-stricken Igor Ter-Ovanesyan sits on the bed, leaning against the wall (Bob Beamon has just completed his phenomenal jump of 8.90). “Well, Igor? How are you?" - I asked him. “They took away the toy,” he said without any expression, and we understood that he called his world record a toy.

In that apartment, on an area of ​​several tens of meters, we saw three athletes who simultaneously experienced transcendental feelings and emotions in Mexico City - from delight to hopelessness and tragedy...

But we didn't film anything. And then they couldn’t forgive themselves for it...

During 1969, my brother and I worked on our film: we filmed, did editing and dubbing. In this film, among other things, I also played myself.

We did a lot of work to find the materials we needed in the Krasnogorsk Film Archive. We went to St. Petersburg and delved into the archives there too. Alas, we were unable to establish cooperation with American television studios, so we were unable to get anything from them either.

Our composer was Alfred Schnittke. And one day he told us: “Guys, in the music for the film I have an organ part. Tonight we will sneak into the Small Hall of the Conservatory (I have already agreed on this), and I will show it to you.” And the three of us “sneaked” into the Small Hall; Schnittke played the organ himself, and we recorded it...

In the film “Sport, Sports, Sports,” the voice of Bella Akhmadulina was heard, who, having chosen running as a symbol of the endless human movement “up and away,” comprehended with a poetic immutability characteristic only of her, “that the essence of fate is the eternal run to victory.” And in these words of hers, it seems to me, the main idea of ​​​​this film was expressed.

Guerrilla story with a stayer in the title role

German Klimov’s next work was the script for the feature film “Long Distance Running Tactics,” which was released in 1978. It is based on the fate of one of the Znamensky brothers, Georgy, who during the Great Patriotic War was a doctor in a partisan detachment...

From the first days of the war, many of our athletes volunteered to go to the front. Already on June 17, 1941, the first detachments of the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade for Special Purposes (OMSBON) were formed from volunteer athletes.

In total, from 1941 to 1945, more than two hundred task forces were sent behind the front line, formed from volunteer athletes who were trained to mine highways and railways, shoot with sniper precision, and silently shoot sentries.

German Klimov, who fought as part of the OMSBON, was told about how they acted behind enemy lines by his first coach Ali Kholadaevich Isaev, a discus thrower who won the USSR championships nine times. He won his first victory in such competitions in 1940.

His words made such an impression on me that for a long time I could not think about anything else,” says German Germanovich. - I did not invent the story of my hero Ivan Rusak, who treated the wounded and sick in a partisan detachment. She was born in me under the influence of the stories of Ali Kholodaevich and everything that I knew about the exploits of our athletes who fought behind the front line. I had to live it and write it down.

...When the Germans discovered a partisan detachment, Ivan Rusak, who in peacetime was one of the best Soviet runners, went out to meet the enemy column and, using long-distance running tactics, led the Nazis away from the partisan camp, luring them into a dense forest...

Sports and cinema: a catamaran on the waves of time

Sports and cinema. Interpenetrating into each other, they played a decisive role in the fate of German Klimov. It is not surprising, therefore, that he spent a lot of time to unravel the mystery of their parallel coexistence and mutual attraction.

Ten years ago,” says Klimov, “I made a five-part documentary film “Olympia on the Boulevard des Capucines” about sports and cinema, which can probably be called the main phenomena of the twentieth century.

They were born almost simultaneously: in December 1895, the first public paid film show took place, which was held in the basement of the Grand Café in Paris by the Lumière brothers, and in April 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens.

I was keen to find out how they developed through very similar stages. And the parallelism of their historical movement amazed me...

At the beginning of the century, cinema was silent; no one really knew how to film it. Sport was also far from its subsequent achievements. At the first Olympic Games, athletes competed in only nine sports, and women were not allowed to participate in these competitions, and the records of that time may seem ridiculous today.

However, both cinema and sports moved uncontrollably towards their peaks. And in the 60s they were achieved. Such masters as Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni appeared in cinema, whose level of skill remains unsurpassed today. And in sports, outstanding athletes have grown up, stunning fans not only with their results, but also with their dedication and sports inspiration. The spectators saw and felt that their idol completely devotes himself to the fight in the arena because his soul, his human essence demands it, and not at all the thirst to hit the big jackpot at any cost.

Once upon a time, experiencing great interest in the Olympic Games held in Ancient Greece, I followed in detail how the sport developed there. Modern Olympiads have a hundred-year history, while ancient ones have a thousand-year history. But they are very similar. The program of the first ancient Greek Olympics included only a few sports. Then there were more and more of them. The number of participants in the competition was constantly growing: the first Olympians were only natives of Greece, then they were joined by athletes from the regions under its control.

The Olympic Games became a center of attraction for a huge number of traders and businessmen, athletes and judges began to be bribed, since the success of businessmen depended on their victories and defeats. This reached its peak in Ancient Rome, where the sport had already become purely professional, and it all ended with the Colosseum, where wild animals and gladiators were brought from all over the world. And where thousands of murders were committed at the request of the public.

The Colosseum accommodated three hundred thousand spectators (we don’t even dream of such stadiums now). There were also battles on the water. To do this, the Colosseum was filled with water from the Tiber, and ships with gladiators sailed there, killing and drowning each other. Then the floodgates were opened, the water left, and gladiatorial battles continued on land...

Modern sport is also slowly moving in the same direction. This thought does not leave me when I see representatives of mixed martial arts fighting.

When gladiator fights took place in the Colosseum, thousands of fans gathered around it, who did not skimp on mutual insults and fought each other with boundless bitterness. But don’t our football fans sometimes behave exactly the same way?

In the film “Olympia on the Boulevard des Capucines” I also emphasized some obvious analogies between sports and cinema, comparing, say, directors and coaches, since both of them often act in three forms: father, friend and dictator.

Actors who, refusing the services of stuntmen, perform the most difficult stunts themselves, compete with athletes, and the stars of football, tennis or boxing, in brief moments of triumph and defeat, to the envy of the artists, express their human essence with the utmost sincerity.

Sometimes they act only to deceive either the judges or their rivals...

Nowadays, an athlete is sometimes judged not by his results, but by his earnings, which is why competitions such as, say, the Diamond League starts, the winners of which receive huge amounts of money, are so popular today. But in the past the sport was truly amateur; and would anyone dare call the members of the national team of the Soviet Union, who received 150-160 rubles a month, professionals?

But human power is not limitless, therefore, in the twenty-first century, sport began to move to new heights due to the improvement of training methods, new materials and technologies...

- According to research recently conducted by the Americans, Valery Brumel’s world record in the high jump - if he had performed in modern spikes and not on a cinder track, but on a tartan track - would have been 2.45, not 2.28. Probably, your best result in long jumps is 7.98, if you “modernize” it in the same way, it would increase to 8.30.

Maybe. We jumped into the sand, and the poles jumped into the sawdust. And we ran along the cinder path in spiked shoes with three-centimeter spikes, which, falling into it, left behind holes.

Now everything is different: coatings, studs, preparation methods and, of course, medicine. And we had no idea about pharmacology, which today has become a constant companion of professional sports. We were only given multivitamins: yellow balls.

We trained the way God wanted us to. And our mentors learned their coaching art while working with us.

The same thing happens in movies. Now it is developing due to high technologies. Behind last years none of the filmmakers managed to penetrate into the depths of the human soul and discover something new in us humans. Success is achieved through incredible filming, external effects, in a word, what I would call machinery.

To restore a sense of trust...

- But let’s return to your latest work, which does not yet have a title...

We started filming on May 19 this year, on Igor Ter-Ovanesyan’s birthday, at his dacha in Vladimir region. Igor is going to invite former and current long jump champions and organize competitions between them. He has already made a jumping pit.

We played golf, and he told me about his dream, which, probably, only a jumper could dream. Igor dreamed that, having jumped, he felt that he could fly. He remembered those feelings. And now, when training children, he will teach them techniques according to the prompts of his dreams.

“And I,” I said in response, “often dreamed that, having pushed off from the ground, I took off and flew. It would seem that I should land, but now the pit is left behind, and I keep flying and flying, experiencing the pleasure of flying.”

In addition to Ter-Ovanesyan, we filmed several more of our athletes who distinguished themselves in the “giant matches”: triple jumpers Vitold Kreer and Oleg Ryakhovsky (in 1958 he won with a world record), Aida Chuiko, who excelled in the long jump, Galina Filatova, twice who won the high jump, sprinters Leonid Bartenev and Edwin Ozolin, who competed on equal terms with the Americans, hurdler Anatoly Mikhailov, who was ahead of everyone in the 110-meter hurdles, Nadezhda Besfamilnaya, who won the 100-meter dash, and Alexander Baryshnikov, who surpassed his rivals in the shot put .

To film Baryshnikov, we went to St. Petersburg. Alexander is a student of the famous coach Viktor Ilyich Alekseev, who was the first to teach his players how to put the shot in a circular motion, that is, in a way that was typical only for discus throwers. Now, by the way, such technology has become ubiquitous. Using this circular motion, Baryshnikov broke the world record in 1976, sending a projectile 22 meters for the first time...

This is how I plunged into that world that I had already forgotten. I enjoyed meeting my friends, former colleagues, listening to stories about their lives today, experiencing an amazing feeling of returning to those times when athletics really conquered the world...

A feeling of mutual trust. Today, when on shift cold war new terrible threats came, it turned out to be in huge shortage. And therefore, a documentary film should become extremely relevant, which will remind us of those times when in the matches between the athletes of the USSR and the USA a planetary feeling of trust was born, which forced people, abandoning the canons of propaganda, to try to get closer, starting to take steps towards each other.

The jumps they once performed also turned out to be a warm-up before the jumping-flights that they make in their dreams...

Andrey BATASHEV

The tradition of dueling originated in modern times among the Western European aristocracy. Such fights had strict regulations. It was determined by a code - a set of generally accepted rules. Duel in Russia was adopted in its classical European form. The state has been fighting this custom for a long time, declaring it illegal and persecuting those who, despite the prohibitions, went to shoot or fight with the enemy with edged weapons.

Code

The generally accepted code established the reasons and reasons for fights, their types, the procedure for conducting, rejecting and accepting a challenge. Every duel in Russia complied with these rules. If a person violated these guidelines, he could be dishonored. There were several national codes. The differences between them were insignificant.

The first dueling code can be considered a French document from 1836. It was published by the Comte de Chateauvillars. On the basis of this code, analogues were built in other countries, including Russia. Another important pan-European set of rules was the collection published by Count Verger in 1879. The most famous Russian domestic document of this kind was the Durasov Code of 1912. According to the rules from which it was compiled, duels were organized in Russia. The 19th century became a period of generalization of these traditions. Therefore, the code was known to every nobleman and officer even before the appearance of its Duras edition. The 1912 edition was merely a set of recommendations reinforcing well-known customs.

The tradition of the classical duel of the New Age is considered the successor to the Western knightly tournaments of the Middle Ages. In both cases, the battle was considered a matter of honor with a certain ritual from which none of the opponents deviated. were abolished in the 16th century due to the fact that the usual equipment of opponents became outdated and ineffective. It was then that the foot duel was born, which reached the pinnacle of its evolution in the 19th century.

Weapon

Initially, duels in Russia, as in other countries, were fought exclusively with edged weapons. These were blades that aristocrats or soldiers usually carried with them. These types of weapons were rapiers, swords, and daggers. If it was a judicial duel (common only in the Middle Ages), then the choice depended on the decision of the court. He was also influenced by the class of his opponents. If the opponents did not belong to the “noble” strata of society, they could even fight with axes or clubs.

Dags and shields ceased to be used in the 17th century. At that time, fencing technology was rapidly developing. Attack speed began to play a big role in battle. As a result, a massive transition to rapiers began, which were already exclusively piercing, rather than chopping weapons.

In the 18th century, when duels in Russia were gradually becoming a widespread tradition in the army, single-shot hammer pistols began to spread more and more. The use of firearms changed a lot in the tradition of one-on-one duels. Now it did not affect the outcome of the battle physical training or the age of its participants. Cold steel required more skills. If one duelist was distinguished by skillful fencing and better defense, he risked almost nothing. In a fight with pistols, on the contrary, everything was decided by almost blind chance. Even a bad shooter could kill his opponent, all he needed was luck.

Canonicity and exoticism

Many duels in 19th century Russia were deliberately fought using an identical pair of pistols (specially made and similar down to the smallest detail). All these factors equalized the opponents' chances as much as possible. The only difference between such pistols could be the serial numbers on the barrels. Today, a duel in Russia is remembered only as a foot fight. However, such a format did not arise immediately. Previously, gun duels were popular, in which opponents sat on horseback.

More rare were fights where rifles, shotguns or carbines were used. Nevertheless, cases of the use of long-barreled weapons have been recorded. Some fights were even more exotic. There is a well-known duel in Russia, when the opponents (staff captain Zhegalov and bailiff Tsitovich) used copper candelabra, since one of the participants could neither fence nor shoot.

Call

Traditionally, duels began with a challenge. The reason for it was an insult when a person believed that he had the right to challenge his offender to a duel. This custom was associated with the concept of honor. It was quite broad, and its interpretation depended on the specific case. At the same time, material disputes about property or money were resolved among the nobility in the courts. If the victim filed an official complaint against his offender, he no longer had the right to challenge him to a duel. Otherwise, fights were fought out of public ridicule, revenge, jealousy, etc.

It is also important that, according to the concepts of that era, only someone equal in social status could insult a person. That is why duels were held in narrow circles: between nobles, military men, etc., but it was impossible to imagine a battle between a tradesman and an aristocrat. If a junior officer challenged his superior to a duel, the latter could refuse the challenge without damage to his honor, although there are known cases when such battles were nevertheless organized. Basically, when a dispute concerned people from different social classes, their litigation was resolved exclusively in court.

In the event of an insult, the code recommended calmly demanding an apology from the offender. In case of refusal, a notification followed that seconds would arrive to the enemy. The challenge could be written (cartel) or oral. It was considered good form to contact the offender within the first 24 hours after the insult. Delaying a call was frowned upon.

There were often cases when a person insulted several people at once. The rules of duels in the 19th century in Russia in this case established that only one of them could challenge the offender to a duel (if several challenges were received, only one of his choice would be satisfied). This custom excluded the possibility of reprisals against the offender through the efforts of many people.

Types of insults

The Code divided insults into three types according to severity. Ordinary insults were caused by words and only hurt the nobleman’s pride. They were not about reputation or good name. These could be sarcastic statements, public attacks on appearance, manner of dressing, etc. Serious insults were inflicted by an indecent gesture or word. They affected reputation and honor. This could be an accusation of deceit or obscene language. Such actions, as a rule, led to duels until injury or first blood.

Finally, the code regulated insults of the third degree. These included aggressive actions: throwing objects, slapping, hitting. Similar insults, completed or not completed for some reason, were regarded equally. These also included his wife’s betrayal. If the insulted person responded with a similar insult towards his offender, he was not deprived of his right to schedule a duel. However, there were also nuances. If the insulted person responded with a more serious insult (for example, gave a slap in response to a slight mockery), then the insulted party became the offender, who received the right to order a duel.

Characters

Only the duelists themselves, their seconds, and the doctor could be present at the duel in Russia. The 19th century, the rules of which were based on generally accepted principles, is considered the heyday of this tradition. The later code prohibited challenging close relatives to a duel. For example, you couldn’t fight with your own brother, but you could with your cousin. Duels between debtors and creditors were also prohibited.

Women, as well as men with serious injuries or illnesses, could not take part in the battle. There was also an age limit. Calls from older people over 60 were not welcomed, although there were exceptions. If a person who was unable or did not have the right to participate in a duel was insulted, he could be replaced by a “patron.” As a rule, such people were the closest relatives.

The honor of a woman could theoretically be defended with arms in hand by any volunteer man, especially if the insult was inflicted on her in a public place. If a wife was unfaithful to her husband, her lover would end up in a duel. If the husband cheated, he could be called by the girl’s relative or any other man who wanted.

Seconds

The classic rules of pistol duels stipulated that between the challenge and the fight itself, the insulter and the insulted should not communicate or meet with each other. Seconds were appointed to conduct negotiations, and they organized preparations for the fight. For them, the code recommended choosing people with an untarnished reputation and equal social status. The seconds vouched with their honor that the duel would comply with the norms of the code and be organized under equal conditions for rivals.

It was considered wrong when an interested person took on the task of organizing a fight. That is why duels in Russia, the rules of which were mandatory for all parties, prohibited the appointment of a second close relative. Powers " right hand" were determined by who participated in the duel. The duelist could allow his second to act entirely at his own discretion, or even accept peace from the second of the person who insulted him. As a rule, assistants only conveyed messages, acting as couriers.

If the proxies failed to agree on peace, a discussion began on the technical details of the upcoming clash. It depended on their agreement whether the duel would be fatal or only until first blood, what the barrier distance would be (if these were pistol duels). In Russia, the code allowed turning to a person respected on both sides so that he could act as an arbitrator if the seconds could not agree on the terms of the duel. The decisions of such a person were accepted by opponents without objection. One of the two seconds took on another important function. He gave orders during the duel itself (gave the command to shoot, etc.). A doctor at a duel was needed, firstly, to ascertain injuries or death, and secondly, to help those injured.

Progress of the battle

As a rule, duels took place in secluded places and early in the morning. The time of arrival of the opponents was strictly defined. If a participant was late by more than 15 minutes, his opponent could leave the place of the duel, and the one who was delayed in this case was recognized as having deviated and deprived of honor.

At the beginning of the fight, the seconds once again proposed ending the conflict peacefully. In case of refusal, they announced the pre-agreed rules of the duel. In Russia, apologies before the last barrier were prohibited. Anyone who began to hesitate when the manager had already announced the start of the duel was recognized as a coward. The opponents shot or attacked each other with edged weapons after the command of one of the seconds. He declared the duel over. The duel ended after the use of pistols, injury or death (depending on the agreements) of one of the participants from a stabbing weapon.

If in the end the duelists remained alive, they shook hands at the end. The offender apologized. Such a gesture no longer humiliated him, since honor was restored by the duel. Apologies after the fight were considered only a tribute to tradition and the norm of the code. Even when duels in Russia were characterized by cruelty, the seconds, after the end of the battle, always drew up a detailed protocol of what happened. It was certified with two signatures. The document was necessary to confirm that the duel took place in full accordance with the norms of the code.

Duels with bladed weapons

Standard options for conducting duels were established in the aristocratic environment by the 19th century. First of all, the nature of the fight was determined by the weapon used. Duels in Russia in the 18th century were fought with rapiers. Subsequently, this generally accepted set was preserved and became classic. Most often, identical weapons were used, but with the consent of the parties, each opponent could use his own blade.

Duels with the use of bladed weapons could be mobile or stationary. In the first option, the seconds marked out a long area or path on which free movement of the fighters was allowed. Retreats, detours and other fencing techniques were allowed. A stationary duel assumed that the opponents were located at striking distance, and the battle was fought by duelists standing in their places.

The weapon was held in one hand, and the other remained behind the back. It was impossible to hit the enemy with your own limbs. Capturing an enemy blade was also prohibited. The fight started after the signal given by the managing second. Only this person had the right to immediately stop the battle at the first request. This principle was one of the most important for any duel in Russia. The 19th century, the rules of which seem surprising today, instilled in people the concept of honor, and it was they who forbade disobeying the manager, even if he was the enemy’s second.

If the opponent dropped his weapon, his counterpart stopped the fight and waited for the blade to be raised. Duels until wounded or until first blood were stopped after the first hit. Then the doctor spoke. If he concluded that the wound was too severe to continue the fight, the duel ended.

Pistol fights

In the 19th century, a pair of pistols was always kept in the house of every noble family. He held on for a very specific purpose. Firearms were obtained after a challenge to a duel. These pistols were single-shot. In this case, only those that had not yet been used and were considered unfired were used. This rule was necessary in order not to give any of the opponents a noticeable advantage.

The familiar pistol immediately gave the shooter a certain head start. It was all the stronger because in the 19th century, firearms were made mainly individually, and each specimen had unique characteristics. The use of dual pistols solved this problem. The participants arrived at the fight site with their pairs sets intact. The rules of pistol duels in Russia stated that the choice between sets was made by lot.

According to widespread tradition, duelists using firearms fired only one shot at a time. Quite often, as a result of such salvoes, no one was killed or even injured. Even in this case, the duel was considered over and honor restored. The opponents were not at all eager to deal with each other. At the same time, an intentional (or even demonstrative) shot past the target could generally be regarded as an insult. There are cases when such gestures led to a new duel.

Less common was the practice in which the seconds agreed on the fight before the first wound. In this case, if the shots did not hit anyone, the pistols were loaded again until someone hit an opponent. With a new attempt, the seconds could reduce the distance between the opponents and thereby increase the risk for the duelists.

Types of gun duels

Like the rules for duels with edged weapons, the rules for firearms assumed the possibility of a stationary duel. In this case, the opponents stood at a distance of 15-20 steps from each other. Shots could be fired simultaneously at the command of the manager or in sequence, determined by random drawing.

The most common in Russia was a mobile fight with barriers. In this case, a special path was marked between the opponents. Its boundaries were marked by obstacles, which could be any large objects. After the manager’s command, the rivals began to converge, moving towards each other. Stopping at the barrier, the duelist fired.

A distance of 15 steps in Russia was considered “peaceful”. At such a distance, the arrows rarely hit the target. It was a “noble distance.” However, despite his imaginary safety, Alexander Pushkin is 20 steps away. Blind duels were also practiced. In such a duel, men fired shots over the shoulder, standing with their backs to each other.

Some duels were arranged according to the principle of Russian roulette. It was resorted to in cases of irreconcilable hostility between shooters. The opponents stood at a distance of 5-7 steps. Of the two pistols, only one was loaded. Weapons were distributed by lot. Thus, the rivals maximized the risk and randomness of the outcome. The lot provided equal chances, and it was on this principle that the rules of pistol duels were based. The code also included gun-to-gun combat. The only difference with the previous one was that both pistols were loaded. Such showdowns often ended in the death of both shooters.

The most brutal fights forced Western Europeans to perceive Russian duels of the 19th century as “legalized murder.” In fact, the state has been fighting this tradition for a long time. Duelists were often stripped of their titles and ended up in exile.

Translated from Latin word"duel" means "combat". 2 people take part in it. One of them is the offender, and the second defends his honor. In this case, the death of one of the duelists is not excluded. These days, such fights happen extremely rarely, and they are punishable in accordance with the law. If one of the combatants kills the other, it is considered murder. According to current concepts, a humiliated and insulted person should go to court, and not take up a pistol or sword.

Things were completely different 100 years ago. The grave insult was washed away only by blood. But such a practice took place only among members of the noble class. People of low origin settled controversial issues with their fists. But the nobles used edged weapons or firearms. Pistols, swords and sabers were used. At different times government treated duels differently. But more often negative than positive. After all, young people full of strength who could have brought great benefit to their state died.

History of the duel

In ancient times there were no duels. So-called judicial duels were arranged between people. It was believed that God was on the side of the innocent, and that person would definitely win. It was allowed to nominate another person for such a duel instead of yourself. After all, it was God’s judgment, and therefore it didn’t matter who was fighting. According to people's concepts, the one who has the truth on his side always wins.

However, practice has proven that God is not always objective. Often the obvious villain was the winner, and the honest man was defeated. Therefore, such fights gradually faded away, as they turned out to be unviable.

Joust

Knightly tournaments can also be called the ancestors of duels, although they carried purely competitive functions. The knights demonstrated their strength and dexterity. At the same time, they did not try to kill the opponent, but to knock him off his horse. But among them the concept of honor was very strongly developed. It was these moral principles that were passed on to the nobles born in the 15th and 16th centuries.

They no longer exhausted themselves physical exercise from the age of 5, to tirelessly swing a huge sword in heavy armor. This lost its relevance as powerful crossbows and then muskets appeared. But the concepts of honor and dignity remained. Therefore, dressed up gentlemen, meeting on narrow city streets, did not want to give way to each other. They resolved such conflicts with the help of swords. Sometimes the city guards managed to separate the fighters, and sometimes the soldiers ran up to the cold corpses.

When did the duel begin?

The duel in the sense in which we imagine it first originated in Italy at the end of the 14th century. It was in this sunny country that it became a custom for young nobles to resolve conflict situations with the help of edged weapons. They went to a secluded place and fought there until the first blood was drawn or until the death of one of the opponents.

This epidemic turned out to be very contagious and quickly spread to France. These people are also southern, so their blood is hot. But in England, such fights were practiced much less frequently. The same can be said about Germany.

Dueling fever

Massive dueling fever occurred in the 16th-18th centuries. Nobles began to die in huge numbers. This forced kings to pass laws against bloody combat. But they were of little help. People continued to kill each other with amazing persistence. Moreover, the reason for the fight could simply be a sidelong glance or an uncivil tone.

Death matches received a second wind in the 19th century, when firearms came into use. Here the physical characteristics of the opponents did not play any role. A lot depended on luck. After all, they shot in turn, according to the lot. The opponents stood 20 steps from each other, so it was difficult to miss.

Pistols used in duels

Duel Code

It was in the 19th century that the dueling code was finally formed. Its strict implementation was considered good form. Deviations from norms and rules were condemned. The challenge to a duel was made either orally or in writing. Moreover, the offended person had to report his desire to engage in a duel within 24 hours.

They arrived at the scene early in the morning. Seconds and a doctor were present. One of the seconds took on the functions of a manager. He invited the duelists to make peace and forget their grievances. As a rule, a refusal followed. After this, the pistols were loaded and handed over to the participants in the fight. They shot by lot. First one, then the other. In this case, opponents could stand at a certain distance or walk towards each other up to a pre-designated barrier.

The most dangerous fight was considered to be when the opponents fired simultaneously at the command of the manager. In this case, both could have died. The maximum distance between duelists usually did not exceed 30 steps. This is about 15-20 meters, so it was almost impossible to miss. If the first shooter still missed, then the second could reserve the right to shoot for an indefinite period, or, by shooting in the air, resolve the conflict in the most favorable way for everyone.

The duel very often ended in the death or serious injury of one of its participants

Duel in Russia

As for Russia, dueling fever began here at the end of the 18th century during the end of the reign of Catherine II. The Empress died in 1796, and duels under her happened extremely rarely. This was largely facilitated by the “Decree on Duels” issued in 1787. Participants in such an unsightly action were threatened with exile to Siberia. If the duel ended in murder, then the surviving participant would face hard labor.

The largest number of duels occurred during the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855). It was during these years that fights took place with the participation of such famous personalities as Lermontov, Pushkin, Ryleev, Griboedov. This is the color and pride of the Russian nation. However, the emperor himself hated duels. The participants in the fight were sent to the active army in the Caucasus, but in the event of a death they could even be demoted to the ranks. But the nobles still shot with amazing tenacity. Participation in such fights was considered good manners and added respect and authority to a person.

Russia was characterized by very short barrier distances. They were only 10-12 meters. An unpleasant nuance was also that the fight was considered over only in the event of the death or loss of consciousness of one of the participants. Therefore, if both missed the first time, the pistols were reloaded. This has never been practiced in Europe. Hence the large number of dead.

It was impossible to be more than 15 minutes late for the bloody duel. It began immediately after the arrival of all participants. The whole process took no more than 10 minutes. They received pistols and fired. One fell, they put him in a carriage and took him away. The second one went to celebrate the successful ending. And this went on for many years.

On May 13, 1894, by the highest order of Alexander III (1881-1894), fights between officers over personal grievances were allowed. Until 1914, 329 such incidents occurred, but only 32 resulted in death for one of the participants. In all other cases, only minor injuries were recorded. During the First World War there were practically no fights. This was condemned, since life had to be given for the Fatherland.

Conclusion

These days, dueling has lost its former popularity. After all, it was the prerogative of the nobility, and in the 21st century everyone is equal. Concepts such as honor and dignity are defended in court with the help of lawyers. Among officers there are courts of honor, but they have nothing to do with fights. Therefore, life has become much calmer. But the number of violent deaths is growing every year. This is due to the increase in crime, which has no connection with the bloody fights that have gone down in history.

The word “duel” is of Latin origin and is translated as “duel.” Typically this event involves two people. So, one of them is considered an offender, and the other is considered a defender of his honor. At the same time, it was possible that in such an action one of the duelists could die tragically.

Nowadays, similar confrontations happen extremely rarely, and punishment for this can be received to the fullest extent of the law. IN modern society humiliated and insulted people should seek the truth in court, and not engage in arbitrariness.

However, just a hundred years ago everything was not quite like this. Then the offense could only be washed away with blood. Nobles or persons of noble origin encountered similar practices. While the public of the lower classes dealt with controversial issues with the help of their fists. The noble nobles used everything from bladed weapons to firearms.

Controversial issues were resolved with swords, sabers and, of course, pistols. IN different times The state treated duelists and duels in a variety of ways, but mostly negatively. And this was a serious challenge for the state. Because young people, full of strength, perished, and often the military elite, which could have brought great benefits to their fatherland.

From the history of duels

In ancient times there was no need to engage in duels. Then they relied on the will of the Almighty. And then something like so-called judicial duels was organized for people. In those days, it was believed that the Almighty would always be on the side of the innocent, which means that he had nothing to fear, and he must certainly win.

At the same time, any of the duelists were allowed to bring their understudy instead of themselves to the place of the duel. All the same, the judgment is God’s, and it doesn’t matter who fought. People of that time were of the opinion that victory went only to the side that had the truth.

However, practice has shown that the Almighty was not impartial in all cases. Often the outright bandit won, and the honest man had to endure only humiliation or death. As a result, such confrontations ceased to be popular, and gradually they had to be abandoned.

However, they quickly found a replacement in the form of knightly tournaments. To some extent, it can be said that knights are the progenitors of duelists, despite the fact that tournaments were mainly of a competitive nature, and the lists least of all resembled a place for a duel. Knights mainly demonstrated strength and dexterity. During the clashes, the rivals tried not to kill each other, but only to knock each other off their horses.

Duel of knights

In further clashes, the knights were allowed to use only slashing blows using their swords. They were reliably protected from them by armor. In addition to the high incidence of injuries, there were also deaths at such competitions, but the matter of honor was then paramount. Actually, these moral principles began to pass to the nobility of the 15th-16th centuries.

They, in turn, stopped exhausting themselves with training from the age of five, because there was no longer a need to “hang around” in heavy armor and wield huge swords. Since they were replaced by weapons of a new generation in the form of powerful crossbows, and later muskets, but dignity and honor remained, or rather selfishness and pride - this is the true reason for the duel. As a result, there was little space for the dressed-up gentlemen who met on the narrow streets of the cities. No one wanted to give way to one another - it was bad form. And then the swords were used. Sometimes the city guards made it to the scene of the duel, and sometimes they approached the already cold bodies.

The origin of duels

The concept of a duel in the form in which it is usually presented first arose in Italy in the 14th century. Actually, here young nobles originated the tradition of resolving conflict situations with the help of weapons. They found a secluded place for a duel, and there they fought until the first blood appeared or until the death of one of the enemies.

Such examples turned out to be extremely contagious and quickly spread throughout France. This southern people is also characterized by a quick temper. Whereas the British did not practice such showdowns as often, however, neither did the Germans.

Knight Tournament

Dueling rush

Massive dueling excitement occurred in the 16th-18th centuries. The mass death of nobles began. The kings began to issue decrees prohibiting bloody fights, but this led to nothing. The nobility continued to persistently destroy itself. It got to the point where the pretexts for fights were things like a sidelong glance or an uncivil tone.

Death matches found a second life in the 19th century. It was then that the time of firearms came. And here there is no time for the physical characteristics of the opponents, it depends on who is lucky. Since only the lot determined the order of shooting. The duelists were twenty paces away, one opposite the other - try, don’t get hit.

Duelists Code

Actually, in the 19th century, things came to the formation of a dueling code. Violating it was considered bad manners. Any deviation from the rules resulted in the censure of the violators. Challenges to a duel were made orally or in writing. In addition, the offended person was obliged to report the upcoming fight throughout the day.

People gathered at the site of the duel early in the morning. The presence of a doctor and seconds was considered mandatory. Moreover, one of the latter became the manager. His duties included an offer of reconciliation to the duelists, which was generally not accepted. Next came loading the pistols and handing them over to the duelists. After which they began shooting according to the lot. Enemies were allowed to stand at a set distance or approach each other towards the intended barrier.

Duels were considered the most dangerous when enemies opened fire, guided by the command of the manager. Often in such cases both died. The maximum distance between shooters did not exceed 30 steps. This is approximately 15-20 meters, it was almost impossible to miss. However, if it did happen, then the second one sometimes reserved the right to fire for himself, and for an indefinite time. Shot in the air conflict situation could be resolved most happily for everyone.

Women's duels

In 1829, a saber duel took place in the Oryol province. As a result, the duelists died. So what? This won't surprise anyone. But this was not a male, but a female duel, with the participation of landowners Olga Zavarova and Ekaterina Polesova, over a simple quarrel. However, that's not all. Five years later, their grown-up daughters met in a duel. Anna Polesova died.

Women's duels were common in Russia and Europe. In Russia, duels between women and men were exotic, but not for Europe, where it was the norm.

Women's duel

Interestingly, the future Empress Catherine II had to take part in the duel. As a princess in 1744, she fought with her sister with swords. It was Princess Anna Ludwig of Anhalt. For the fifteen-year-old duelists, everything ended without bloodshed.

Some historians believe that during the reign of Catherine II, only three women's duels were not very lucky, and they ended in tears. Many ladies of that time were well aware of weapons. And they often sorted things out with his help. In those days, there were often references to the fact that, for example, in 1765, the ladies of the court took part in 20 duels, and in 8 of them the second was none other than Catherine II herself.

The most famous women's fight of that time was the duel of 1770. Princess Ekaterina Dashkova and Duchess Foxon took part in it. However, this was not in St. Petersburg or Moscow, but in London. And so it was. Countess Pushkina invited two highly educated women to her house for peaceful conversation. Little by little, the conversation began to develop into polemics, and then into heated debates. In general, the dispute ended in mutual accusations. Then it came to slaps in the face and, naturally, to a call to the barrier. The ladies did not agree to reconciliation, and it came to a sword fight. Everything happened right here in the garden. It all ended non-fatally. Countess Dashkova was wounded in the shoulder area.

It is known that men's fights usually took place outdoors, and the duelists themselves preferred pistols. Whereas Russian women preferred to deal with it with the help of swords, without leaving the premises. In those days there was even the presence of secular salons that organized ladies' fights. For example, in Madame Vostroukhova’s salon, 17 women’s fights were organized in 1823 alone.

Fascinating notes about the duels of Russian women were compiled by the Frenchwoman Marquise de Mortenay. She wrote that Russian ladies love to fight with each other using weapons. These fights are not at all graceful, like those of the French ladies. They exhibit only blind rage aimed at exterminating their rivals. By the way, at that time, French women in duels were naked to the waist, which could have looked more elegant.

What’s interesting is that there is no mention of women’s duels in Russian literature and painting. But in Europe this was written about in novels and depicted in paintings. The most famous painting was “Duel of Women,” by the Spaniard José de Rivera in 1636. You can see it in the Spanish capital at the Prado National Museum.

The duel itself took place even before the painting was painted in 1552. The duel took place between the Neapolitans Isabella de Carazzi and Diambra de Pettinella, who became interested in the young rake Fabio de Zeresola. In the end, they decided to sort out the fight using swords. The Neapolitan sword was slightly heavier than a sword, and many ladies managed to wield it masterfully. In those days, ladies' fights were a curiosity, so rumors about it persisted for a long time, which gave the artist an idea for the subject of the canvas.

However, at the time of its writing, European ladies were already in full swing engaged in sorting things out with the help of weapons. Thus, there were many rumors about the duel between the Marquise de Nesle and the Countess de Polignac, which took place in 1624. The confrontation between these women was because of Cardinal De Richelieu, who had just become the first minister of France, a famous character in the books of Alexandre Dumas.

To sort things out, the ladies decided to choose pistols. The fight ended with the marquise receiving a slight wound to her shoulder. Obviously, this high-profile event amused the ambition of the first minister, because he mentioned it in his notes. This piquant story was discussed by all Parisian aristocratic circles for a long time.

Women of that time were so accustomed to owning weapons that they often posed with them for artists. Thus, on Beraud’s canvases one could often see very elegant French women holding swords with ease. Moreover, they looked as if swords were ordinary accessories of ladies' outfits, such as a fan or an umbrella.

Some ladies were so captivated by the art of fencing that they often challenged people of the opposite sex to duels. The most popular was Mademoiselle de Maupin, who had several successful fights with men. Moreover, she was so popular that Théophile Gautier wrote the novel “Mademoiselle de Maupin” about her real-life adventures.

Duels in Russia

Regarding Russia, the dueling excitement here began towards the end of the 18th century. This was just the end of the reign of Catherine II. The Empress happened to die in 1796, and there is the most contradictory information about the fights under her. On the one hand, she herself took part in one of these in her youth and more than once was a second for her court ladies.

On the other hand, the “Decree on Fights” of the 1787 model. According to him, all participants in the fights were expected to be inevitably exiled to places not so remote, and then this place was Siberia. If, on top of that, the duel ended in death, then the survivor could go straight to hard labor.

The largest number of duels occurred during the reign of Nicholas I. In fact, in those years many people took part in duels famous personalities such as Lermontov, Pushkin, Ryleev, Griboyedov, etc. The flower of the nation participated and died in duels, and the emperor himself could not stand duels. The duelists were sent to the troops operating in the Caucasus.

If there was a fatal outcome of the fight, then the winner could be demoted to private. However, even such measures did not stop the nobles. They still continued to shoot with amazing persistence. Participation in such events was considered good example, which only added credibility to the duelist.

Russian duels were characterized by extremely short barrier distances. It was some 10-12 meters. In addition, the duel was considered over only after the death or fainting of one of the participants. Unlike Europe, if both missed after the first shots, then everything was repeated again.

Dueling set

It was forbidden to stay in a duel for more than 15 minutes. It began after the arrival of all participants. Everything took about 10 minutes. Getting a weapon, shooting. Someone fell, they picked him up and took him away. Another went to celebrate a successful ending.

In May 1894, Alexander III allowed officer duels due to personal grievances. Before 1914, there were almost 330 fights, but only 32 ended in death. The rest were slightly wounded. During the First World War there were almost no fights.

The strangest duel

The strangest duel was recorded in France in 1400. There was a murder of one nobleman by another. He hid the corpse, but the dead man’s dog first pointed people to the grave and then barked at the killer. They decided to arrange a trial in the form of a duel. The killer was unable to control the dog. He was found guilty and hanged.

Instead of a conclusion

Nowadays, dueling has lost its former popularity. It was the privilege of the nobles, and in the 21st century it is democracy. Dignity and honor are now defended in the courts. Officers have formal courts of honor that do not decide anything. The cowboy duel remained only in Westerns. Now life is almost serene. Although the number of murders is only increasing every year. This is all explained by the fact that crime is constantly growing, and has nothing to do with the duels that have sunk into oblivion.