Illustration copyright AFP Image caption Wilayat Sinai claims responsibility for the deaths Russian plane
Islamic State militants reiterated that jihadists from the Wilayat Sinai (or Sinai Province) group were responsible for the downing of the Russian plane. An audio message posted on the Internet said that in this way they celebrated the anniversary of the Islamic State joining the fight.
A few hours before the Islamists' statement appeared, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said in an interview with the BBC that the situation in the Sinai Peninsula is under the complete control of the central authorities, and IS statements are nothing more than propaganda aimed at tarnishing Egypt's reputation .
At the same time, the British government issued a statement that the death of the Russian plane was highly probable.
What is really happening in the Sinai Peninsula, which over the past four years has transformed from a sort of buffer zone between Israel and Egypt into a powerful hotspot of instability?
Buffer zone, or who is the boss in Sinai
Illustration copyright Hulton Archive Image caption Ariel Sharon watches the Israeli landings in Sinai in 1967In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed an agreement under which the Sinai Peninsula, which was returned to Egypt after the Israeli occupation, would be divided (vertically) into four zones.
In the first, westernmost zone, Egypt has the right to maintain a motorized infantry division with a total strength of 20 thousand people.
In the next strip, four battalions of border troops are based, which maintain security, together with local police.
Further east, the Egyptian military presence is no longer allowed at all. Maintaining relative peace in these areas is the responsibility of an international military contingent, which includes representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, Canada and New Zealand, as well as Egypt and Israel.
And finally, the fourth vertical is a narrow strip of land already on Israeli territory, where it can hold up to 4 infantry battalions.
Illustration copyright istock Image caption The Bedouins are unhappy that they receive nothing from the proceeds from the resorts of the Sinai PeninsulaHowever, as Mohammed Yahiya, a columnist for the BBC Arabic Service, told the BBC in an interview, at the same time as the official military mosaic, the Sinai Peninsula is actually divided into three more zones, but this time horizontally:
- South Sinai: this is where all the resorts are located, including Sharm el-Sheikh. This is a relatively rich, heavily fortified region that Egypt considers most strategically important.
- Middle Sinai: Sparsely populated, more or less controlled by Egyptian security forces and military. Its main part is occupied by the desert plateau at-Tikh.
- North Sinai: the most problematic. The area around the cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid on the border with Israel is practically not controlled by the Egyptian authorities. At the same time, the province of North Sinai has historically played and continues to play a vital role in the history of Egypt, being the first line of defense in repelling invasions from the east.
Restless Peninsula
Several factors are to blame for the growing influence of Islamist groups in the Sinai Peninsula.
Geographical and ethnic distance
The Sinai Peninsula is not only located away from the continental African part of Egypt, but its population, 70% of which are Bedouin Arab tribes, feels more related to the tribes living east of the Sinai, rather than to the Egyptians themselves.
Illustration copyright istock Image caption Bedouins of the Sinai Peninsula do not consider themselves part of EgyptRepresentatives of the Savarka, Tarabin and Rumailat tribes live both in the Sinai Peninsula, in the Gaza Strip, and in Israel.
In addition, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israeli troops completely left the Sinai Peninsula only in 1982, having occupied it in 1967.
Swiss Center for Security Studies (CSS) analyst Lisa Watanabe believes this has led the central Egyptian government to view and continue to view Bedouins with great suspicion, preventing them from serving in the army or security forces.
Economic insolvency
The isolation of the Sinai Bedouin tribes is also explained by the fact that Cairo failed to properly respond to the socio-economic needs of the population of the peninsula.
True, Anwar Sadat developed plans for the long-term development of the region, but these plans were conveniently forgotten by the government of Hosni Mubarak.
Bedouins believe that the development of the resort area in southern Sinai has benefited exclusively the population of mainland Egypt. They themselves were forced to leave their homes and go deeper into the peninsula.
Massive programs for the development of agro-industrial business in the north of the peninsula, as well as the construction of gas pipelines to Jordan and Israel, were, from the point of view of the Bedouins, the exploitation of their land, to which they formally have no rights.
Illegal economy
Illustration copyright AFP Image caption Smuggling through tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip has become one of the main sources of income for the Bedouins of the Sinai PeninsulaWithout the opportunity to become part of legal economic relations, the population of the Sinai Peninsula had no choice but to engage in smuggling.
In the north, smuggling through tunnels into the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Gaza Strip is rampant. As a result of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, by 2009, smuggling trade had become the main source of income for the Bedouin tribes.
In the south, near the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat, the main items of smuggling were people, cigarettes and drugs.
Sources and causes of radicalization
Illustration copyright AFP Image caption The Egyptian army harshly suppressed protests in the Sinai Peninsula- Dissatisfaction with the government in Cairo and growing hostility towards Israel
- Large-scale operation by Egyptian security forces against Islamist groups on the peninsula following terrorist attacks in 2004 on the resorts of Taba and Nuweida, and 2005 on Sharm el-Sheikh. As a result, a huge number of Bedouin leaders were imprisoned, whom the Egyptian authorities captured along with the jihadists. In addition, the authorities demolished more than five thousand Bedouin homes, saying it was a collective punishment not only for those they suspected of being dijadist sympathizers, but also for their family members. Illustration copyright AFP Image caption Exploded tourist bus in Taba resort
- The Israeli blockade of Gaza led to the fact that, on the one hand, the Bedouins became increasingly financially dependent on smuggling, and on the other, they increasingly fell under the influence of the radical ideology of Hamas.
Arab Spring in the Sinai Peninsula
The fall of Hosni Mubarak's government in 2011 provided an opportunity for local Bedouin tribes to strengthen their influence on the peninsula.
CSS analyst Laura Watanabe believes that the Cairo authorities, busy solving their own problems, made a fatal mistake by leaving several military bases in the north of the peninsula after a clash with armed Bedouin groups.
Illustration copyright Reiters Image caption The overthrow of Mubarak allowed the jihadists to strengthen their positions on the peninsulaAs a result, Islamists took advantage of the moment and looted military arsenals.
The fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya led to a sharp increase in the quantity and quality of weapons of the Sinai Peninsula factions.
Who's who in the Sinai Peninsula
Omar Ashour, a professor at the University of Exeter in Britain and an expert on Arab countries, noted in an interview with the BBC that the lack of safe access to remote areas of the Sinai Peninsula means that it is extremely difficult to really understand who is who.
However, the overall picture looks something like this:
Who and where
In the northeast of the peninsula, pro-Palestinian groups are most active. The basis of their activity is the smuggling of goods, weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip through tunnels dug under the border. Salafi jihadist groups that share the ideology of al-Qaeda or have joined forces with the Islamic State are also based there.
On both sides Suez Canal There are armed groups whose main goal is to arm the Egyptian authorities. Almost nothing is known about whether any formal ties exist between these groups, although the possibility of coordination of efforts at least at some level is very likely.
Who and with whom
The most active and extensive group is the so-called "Wilayat Sinai", formerly known as the Defenders of Jerusalem, joined forces with the Islamic State a year ago.
Illustration copyright AFP Image caption The army's overthrow of President Morsi has directed jihadist anger at Egypt's new government.Until 2012, its main enemy was Vilayat Sinai " revered Israel, but after the removal of Egyptian Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in 2013, he declared war on the Egyptian army and security forces.
Vilayat militants carried out an assassination attempt on the Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Mustafa in September 2013, blew up the headquarters of the security forces in the city of Mansoura in the Nile Delta in December 2013, and in January 2014 they almost simultaneously detonated a bomb in Cairo and An Egyptian military helicopter was shot down near the city of Sheikh Zuweid in northern Sinai. In October 2014, about 30 people were killed in a suicide bombing there in Sheikh Zuwede. The same group claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian plane a week ago.
Illustration copyright AFP Image caption Explosion of police headquarters in the city of Ar-Arish in the north of the Sinai PeninsulaAnother influential group is "Jerusalem Mujahideen Council"It was formed in 2012, and unites several jihadist groups from the Gaza Strip. They mainly oppose Israel and the terms of the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. The Mujahideen Council also declared support for the Islamic State in February 2014.
Next comes "Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula"This group was founded by Ramzi Mahmoud Mowafi, who was the personal physician of Osama bin Laden. The group claimed responsibility for several attacks on the gas pipeline running from Egypt to Jordan.
"Mohammed Jamal Network"- an organization with ties to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. This group organized training camps for terrorists in Libya and Egypt. Some of the participants in the terrorist attacks on the US embassy in Benghazi reportedly received training in camps organized by the Mohammed Jamal Network.
Sad future?
Most analysts agree that the crisis situation in the Sinai Peninsula will continue until the Egyptian government changes its attitude towards its indigenous population.
Illustration copyright AFP Image caption The attack on the US embassy in Benghazi in Libya involved militants trained in camps organized by the Sinai groupHowever, as Omar Ashour notes, it is difficult to imagine that the Egyptian authorities will be able to reconsider their attitude towards the Sinai Peninsula, and will suddenly begin to consider it a region of economic opportunity, and not a region from which a threat comes.
The Sinai Peninsula is an absolutely unique and amazing place in every way. You can at least start with geographical location: Sinai is the border between Asia and Africa; in fact, the peninsula itself is considered part of the Asian continent. Its nature is also unique - the mountainous and desert areas of Sinai are almost uninhabited, which means that the flora and fauna have been preserved in absolutely pristine form. I probably haven’t heard about coral reefs and diving in local waters, unless I’m lazy. Well, and of course, the historical and cultural role of these places for all humanity is extremely important. After all, it was here that the people of Israel wandered with Moses, and right there the prophet received a divine revelation.
How to get to the Sinai Peninsula
The largest air hub in Sinai is in Sharm el-Sheikh, whose international Airport receives hundreds of flights a week from all over the world.
It is most convenient to travel directly around the peninsula as part of an excursion group. As an option - by bus, but it is better to take tickets for 1st class and the so-called tourist buses, and not municipal ones, since they take a long time, they hardly follow the schedule, and in general their appearance leaves much to be desired.
Popular hotels in Sinai Peninsula
Entertainment and attractions
Of course, the Sinai Peninsula, like the whole of Egypt, is famous largely for its beautiful beaches, comfortable hotels, a fairly good level of service, and, most importantly, warm sea, where underwater life literally boils. It seems that this is some kind of compensation for the picturesque, but at the same time monotonous, nature of the land. However, despite the appearance of desert, there is something to see here. There are three in Sinai national parks- “Ras Abu Galum”, “Nabq” and “Ras Mohammed”. The latter, for example, is a reserve that simultaneously includes 5 ecosystems!
Another amazing natural monument of the Sinai Peninsula is its hot springs. The most famous of them are the Sources of Moses. They arose at that legendary time when Moses led the Jews out of Egyptian slavery. Having walked along the bottom of the Red Sea, they were exhausted, many were tormented by thirst. Then the prophet struck the ground several times with his staff, and immediately water began to gush out from under the ground.
To the south of the Springs of Moses, at a distance of about 100 km, there are other thermal baths - the Pharaoh's Baths and the Moses Baths.
Another unique attraction of the Sinai Peninsula can be called the Colored Canyon. It is located just an hour's drive from the popular resort of Nuweiba. What is a place with such an intriguing name? The canyon stretches approximately 700 m in length, and the height of the gorge sometimes reaches up to 100 m. This place will be very interesting for those who have dreamed of being on the Moon all their adult lives.
Of course, the main historical attraction of the peninsula is the monastery of St. Catherine. Its appearance is associated with the name of the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helen. In 330, a small church was built in Sinai, as well as a fortification so that the monks could survive the raids of nomads. Life was not easy for the first inhabitants of the monastery: they spent the night in caves, obtained their own food and prayed fervently. In addition, the monks were active in missionary work and over several centuries they managed to convert a significant part of the inhabitants of the Sinai Peninsula to Christianity.
Last week, we and a small group of sisters of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, with Fr. Leonty and our workers visited the monastery of St. Vmch. Catherine and served the Liturgy on the top of the mountain of the prophet Moses - on Mount Sinai.
The first series of photos is our path to the holy mountain. The roads of mountains and deserts are the most enchanting journey. (a lot of photos - more than 70)
It was my first time in Sinai and in Egypt in general, so I was interested to see what everything looked like along the way. The path turned out to be not very close. At 4:30 we left Tel Aviv, at 5:30 we transferred to our pilgrim bus in Jerusalem, which took us to the border with Egypt in the southernmost Israeli city Eilat. We had to wait at the border for some time. The day before in Egypt, on the way to the monastery of St. Catherine's road was washed away, the rainy season began. The first washout seemed to have been eliminated by the morning, but this morning a mudflow occurred in another place and work was underway to eliminate it. Luckily we didn't have to wait long. The Israeli border was crossed well, but there was a hitch on the Egyptian side. There were no people - the season was over, but in our group there were 2 workers with Moldovan passports, and they needed some kind of special visa, which is not issued at the border. We waited almost 3 hours. In general, we were ready to leave at about 13:00 (although there was still an hour time difference).
And off we went - from the border of Israel to Mount Sinai 220 km. High-speed Egyptian minibuses for tourists cover this distance in 2 hours (well, maybe a little more). We stopped once along the way. But along the entire road for another 200 km, there are as many as 12 checkpoints, sometimes they check documents, sometimes they just look, sign some kind of piece of paper for the driver, like a permit. This is the fight against ISIS, just not far from here the other day there was a battle and Israeli border Up to 50 IS fighters were killed (aka Daesh in Arabic)
This is also a stopover on the way to Israel. Sapir station in the Arava desert
Eilat - the Red Sea splashes at the border, mountains to the right - this is Jordan
Israeli-Egyptian border, crossed it on foot
Mizraim in Hebrew, Egypt in all other languages
it’s not the season, there are no tourists, there is no officer in the booth, he also had to wait quite a while
While our Egyptian buses are waiting for us, we have a snack, since we probably took provisions for a month of travel.
m. Feodosia is already starting to film a report for the RDM website
the first Egyptian city on the way is Taba. There are luxurious hotels (as they say), equally luxurious diving among coral reefs and some completely shabby village, it feels like it’s half empty. And along the entire coast, as we drove to Nuweiba, and maybe the same thing continues to Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh: complete unfinished and abandoned buildings, a new road is being built, but in some places there is almost no road. A feeling of great desolation. But maybe it's just not the season...
first Bedouin village
Interesting - stop at a Korean-Chinese Arabic cafe. We didn’t try the cuisine, we drank water and tea.
one of the checkpoints.
(all other photos were taken on Fuji XT-1 with 16-55mm and 50-140mm lenses)
The thing is that we had to film through the glass of our minibus; the glass had not been washed there for probably six months, and in general filming through the glass of a car with bumps and unnecessary reflections is evil. But there was no way out, so I apologize in advance for the low-quality photo. But without unnecessary sentimentality, the Sinai deserts are incomparable. If you believe the geological review, then the mountains of South Sinai, and with them Mount Moses, belong to the oldest terrestrial Precambrian rocks of volcanic origin. So to speak, from the very creation of the world. They are different in appearance from anything we know. In the next report on climbing Mount Sinai, you will see this for yourself.
But for now the path to Sinai is through Sinai.
in the Nuweiba area - a mudflow blocked the road, but it’s already possible to drive through
the valley from which the stream came
the roads are empty, which allows minibus drivers to drive as they please
Bedouin villages
very diverse desert of South Sinai
I don’t know the names of the mountains and valleys - I’d have to somehow detailed map see everything
don't see the camel? but he is, and not alone
light and darkness
and this is the second flood - just yesterday, at this time it is already completely safe
this relief reminded me of the recent photographs of the New Horizons spacecraft, which it took while flying past Pluto, only there are no bushes there, of course
streams have flooded the desert - after all, October is already ending, and there have been no good rains yet
desert boats
the closer to the mon. St. Catherine, the harsher the earthly space
Almost arrived. These are the rules - do you go alone or with a group - take a Bedouin guide, this is how jobs are created
Bedouin market near the monastery of St. Catherine
everything is elegant, Bedouin
penultimate checkpoint in front of the monastery
the grave of the prophet Harun (Muslim) - in our opinion this means Aaron
green is not grass - these are minerals
sand streams
and a few people of the desert, which is how the word “Bedouin” is actually translated
the children are wonderful, but from an early age they are trained to beg, sweets are understandable, but begging for money seems too much, the key words in the dictionary are “caramel, van dollar, van yuro”
The Sinai Peninsula connects Africa with Asia, to which it belongs geographically. Sinai is wedged into the Red Sea and is washed from the west by the Gulf of Suez, and from the east by the Gulf of Aqaba. In terms of landscape, Sinai is one of the most amazing regions of Egypt.
The northern part of the peninsula is occupied by a desert plateau, low mountains in the south are formed by crystalline rocks, colored blue, green and red and forming the famous Multi-colored Canyon. Stone and sandstone cliffs, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, make you hold your breath with delight. Here God spoke to Moses; through these lands along the “Silk Road” merchants transported goods from the East to Egypt.
Mount Sinai
The most famous local landmark is Mount Sinai(Mountain of the Law, Gabal Musa or Mount Moses) 2285 m high. At the top of the mountain, according to legend, the Lord handed Moses the stone tablets of faith with the famous Ten Commandments. There are two paths leading to the top - one is short but steep, the other is flatter but also longer. Not far from the top, where the chapel of the monastery of St. Catherine stands, they connect - here begins a staircase of 3,400 steps carved by the monks into the rock, which pilgrims have to overcome (you can do this on a camel, but this undertaking is not for the faint of heart). Every night dozens of pilgrims from different countries of the world climb from the monastery to Mount Moses to meet the dawn.
Monastery of St. Catherine
At the foot of the mountain, in the place where the Lord spoke with Moses, he grew up Monastery of St. Catherine- the oldest operating Christian monastery in the world. Located at an altitude of 1570 m in a valley between the mountains of Moses, Katarina and Safsaf, 200 km from Sharm el-Sheikh, the monastery was built in the 6th century. On the territory of the monastery grows the “Burning Bush” - a bush in the flame of which, according to the Old Testament, God first appeared to the prophet Moses. In the labyrinth of monastic buildings stands the famous three-nave basilica, for which thousands of tourists come here. The head and hand of the martyr St. Catherine are kept in two golden caskets next to the marble tabernacle. Behind the choir is the small Chapel of the Burning Bush. It is believed that the roots of the biblical bush are located under the altar, supported by marble columns. The monastery's collection contains more than two thousand icons, and the monastery library is also famous - in terms of its collection of religious literature and manuscripts, it is considered second only to the Vatican.
Hot Springs
An interesting natural phenomenon of Sinai is the hot springs located along it. west coast, close to the highway leading to Sharm el-Sheikh. The most famous are the Sources of Moses (Uyun-Musa). According to biblical legend, when the prophet Moses led the children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt, Moses struck the ground five times with his staff, and springs appeared in these places. 130 km to the south are the Hammam Pharaoh - "Pharaoh's Baths", and even further south, near the city of Tor - the "Moses Baths", which have long been used by local residents to treat rheumatism and arthritis.
Sinai peninsula(Arabic: شبه جزيرة سيناء , Sina; Hebrew סיני) is a peninsula in the Red Sea, on the border between Asia and Africa, part of the territory of Egypt. Territorially belongs to Asia.
Geography
The peninsula, shaped like a wedge, pointed to the south, is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean coast or by a line connecting the northern ends of the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba; from the west - the Gulf of Suez, from the east - the Gulf of Aqaba. Since the boundaries of the peninsula are arbitrary, its territory, depending on the determination method, is estimated to range from 25 thousand to 61 thousand km². The territory is mainly occupied by desert; there are mountains closer to the south (the most high point this is Mount St. Catherine, 2637 m) and plateau. Oil fields have been discovered on the peninsula, and turquoise has also traditionally been mined.
Climate
The climate of almost the entire Sinai Peninsula is tropical desert, with the exception of the northern part adjacent to Mediterranean Sea where the Mediterranean climate is typical. The climate is very arid everywhere, especially the south of the peninsula, which is closed by mountains from the arrival of rare cyclones from the north, and where in some years there is no precipitation at all, and on average only a few millimeters fall per year, as in Sharm el-Sheikh. Summer temperatures are very high, usually reaching +40 °C or more in the shade, winter temperatures are lower, and night frosts are not uncommon in deserts. The south of the peninsula, heated by the Red Sea, has the warmest winters.
Story
The land of the peninsula was developed by the ancient Egyptians back in the era of the First Dynasty.
Since 2011, Islamist militants have become more active on the peninsula (see Conflict in Sinai).
In 2015, on October 31, a plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh (Ophira airport) to St. Petersburg (Pulkovo airport) crashed over Sinai. 224 people died.
Ecology
The Sinai coast is on the brink environmental disaster. The dominance of tourism, fishing, and widespread urbanization of the coast leave little chance of preserving this unique corner of the planet. Scientists estimate that most of the reefs will disappear from the face of the Earth in the next decade.
There are many reasons for the widespread death of corals. First of all, this is the clogging of coral pores with sand, vandalism of vacationers, an increase in water temperature and its acidity. The biggest damage to corals is from off-road vehicles, which destroy a thin layer of lichens and rocks. This leads to soil erosion and more frequent sandstorms, bringing tons of sand and dust into the sea. Sand brought by the wind or lifted from the bottom by divers' fins clogs the pores of the coral and leads to its death. The greenhouse effect and global warming are no less dangerous for corals. An increase in water temperature above +29 °C causes the coral to expel the algae. At these temperatures, the algae becomes toxic to the coral. An orphaned coral cannot survive for long and dies of starvation. Harmless feeding of coral fish changes their diet, thereby disturbing the ecological balance. Water blooms and surges in the population of starfish feeding on corals are just a small part of the consequences of such a disturbance.
Coastal pollution has reached catastrophic proportions in recent years. One of the expeditions from Dahab to Sharm el-Sheikh discovered that the northern Nabek protected area is the most littered. Beach holidaymakers are not the only source of plastic waste. There are many reports of garbage being thrown openly from boats and ferries. It is difficult for a Bedouin to understand that the plastic he throws away is harmful to the environment. For generations they dealt only with organics, and this behavior is still considered the norm. Bedouins still fish in the reserves and catch shellfish to this day. South of Dahab, entire coastlines are covered with broken shells. Shells are obtained from shallow waters during high tides. Sometimes entire villages come to the coast to eat shellfish. There is no one to deal with environmental education in Egypt. The country is riding the wave of a tourism boom and is trying to squeeze the maximum benefit from its sea coasts.
Exodus of anatomically modern humans from Africa
According to the hypothesis of the British pediatrician S. Oppenheimer, about 120 thousand years ago (during the Eemian (Ipswich) interglacial (English)Russian) Homo sapiens exodus from Africa through the Sinai Peninsula to the Levant region, but these representatives are anatomically modern people became completely extinct there during the next ice age, and all non-African peoples descended from the few hundred people who crossed the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb about 80 thousand years ago, some of whom returned to North Africa through the Sinai about 50 thousand years ago. According to scientists from the University of Tübingen (Germany), the first wave of modern people, who became the ancestors of the Australian Aborigines, Papuans and Melanesians, crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait about 130 thousand years ago, and other Asian populations are descendants of the second wave of Homo sapiens that emerged from Africa north of the Red Sea about 50 thousand years ago.
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Notes
Literature
- Chichagov V. P. Sinai desert and ancient Pelusium // Nature. - 2012. - No. 11. - pp. 35-42.
- Matthew Teague. New Sinai // National Geographic Russia, July 2009, p. 120-137.
Links
- by Haubitz, Zoche Publisher: Fotohof Editions, 2006 (English) ISBN 3-901756-64-7 ISBN 978-3-901756-64-1
Excerpt characterizing the Sinai Peninsula
“I think it’s better to contact this general,” said m lle Bourienne, “and I’m sure that you will be given due respect.”Princess Marya read the paper, and dry sobs shook her face.
-Who did you get this through? - she said.
“They probably found out that I’m French by name,” said m lle Bourienne, blushing.
Princess Marya, with a paper in her hand, stood up from the window and, with a pale face, left the room and went to the former office of Prince Andrei.
“Dunyasha, call Alpatych, Dronushka, someone to me,” said Princess Marya, “and tell Amalya Karlovna not to come to me,” she added, hearing the voice of m lle Bourienne. - Hurry up and go! Go quickly! - said Princess Marya, horrified by the thought that she could remain in the power of the French.
“So that Prince Andrei knows that she is in the power of the French! So that she, the daughter of Prince Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky, asks Mr. General Rameau to provide her with protection and enjoy his benefits! “This thought terrified her, made her shudder, blush and feel attacks of anger and pride that she had not yet experienced. Everything that was difficult and, most importantly, offensive in her position, was vividly imagined to her. “They, the French, will settle in this house; Mr. General Rameau will occupy the office of Prince Andrei; It will be fun to sort through and read his letters and papers. M lle Bourienne lui fera les honneurs de Bogucharovo. [Mademoiselle Bourien will receive him with honors in Bogucharovo.] They will give me a room out of mercy; soldiers will destroy their father's fresh grave to remove crosses and stars from him; they will tell me about victories over the Russians, they will feign sympathy for my grief... - Princess Marya thought not with her own thoughts, but feeling obligated to think for herself with the thoughts of her father and brother. For her personally, it didn’t matter where she stayed and no matter what happened to her; but at the same time she felt like a representative of her late father and Prince Andrei. She involuntarily thought with their thoughts and felt them with their feelings. Whatever they would say, whatever they would do now, that is what she felt necessary to do. She went to Prince Andrei’s office and, trying to penetrate his thoughts, pondered her situation.
The demands of life, which she considered destroyed with the death of her father, suddenly arose with a new, still unknown force before Princess Marya and overwhelmed her. Excited, red-faced, she walked around the room, demanding first Alpatych, then Mikhail Ivanovich, then Tikhon, then Dron. Dunyasha, the nanny and all the girls could not say anything about the extent to which what M lle Bourienne announced was fair. Alpatych was not at home: he had gone to see his superiors. The summoned Mikhail Ivanovich, the architect, who came to Princess Marya with sleepy eyes, could not say anything to her. With exactly the same smile of agreement with which he had been accustomed for fifteen years to respond, without expressing his opinion, to the old prince’s appeals, he answered Princess Marya’s questions, so that nothing definite could be deduced from his answers. The summoned old valet Tikhon, with a sunken and haggard face, bearing the imprint of incurable grief, answered “I listen with” to all the questions of Princess Marya and could hardly restrain himself from sobbing, looking at her.
Finally, the elder Dron entered the room and, bowing low to the princess, stopped at the lintel.
Princess Marya walked around the room and stopped opposite him.
“Dronushka,” said Princess Marya, who saw in him an undoubted friend, the same Dronushka who, from his annual trip to the fair in Vyazma, brought her his special gingerbread every time and served her with a smile. “Dronushka, now, after our misfortune,” she began and fell silent, unable to speak further.
“We all walk under God,” he said with a sigh. They were silent.
- Dronushka, Alpatych has gone somewhere, I have no one to turn to. Is it true that they tell me that I can’t leave?
“Why don’t you go, your Excellency, you can go,” said Dron.
“They told me it was dangerous from the enemy.” Darling, I can’t do anything, I don’t understand anything, there’s no one with me. I definitely want to go at night or early tomorrow morning. – The drone was silent. He glanced at Princess Marya from under his brows.
“There are no horses,” he said, “I told Yakov Alpatych too.”
- Why not? - said the princess.
“It’s all from God’s punishment,” said Dron. “Which horses there were were dismantled for use by the troops, and which ones died, what year it is today.” It’s not like feeding the horses, but making sure we don’t die of hunger ourselves! And they sit like that for three days without eating. There is nothing, they are completely ruined.
Princess Marya listened carefully to what he told her.
- Are the men ruined? Do they have no bread? – she asked.
“They’re dying of starvation,” said Dron, “not like the carts...”
- Why didn’t you tell me, Dronushka? Can't you help? I will do everything I can... - It was strange for Princess Marya to think that now, at such a moment, when such grief filled her soul, there could be rich and poor people and that the rich could not help the poor. She vaguely knew and heard that there was master's bread and that it was given to the peasants. She also knew that neither her brother nor her father would refuse the needs of the peasants; she was only afraid of somehow making a mistake in her words about this distribution of bread to the peasants, which she wanted to dispose of. She was glad that she was presented with an excuse for concern, one for which she was not ashamed to forget her grief. She began asking Dronushka for details about the needs of the men and about what was lordly in Bogucharovo.
– After all, we have the master’s bread, brother? – she asked.
“The master’s bread is all intact,” Dron said proudly, “our prince did not order it to be sold.”
“Give him to the peasants, give him everything they need: I give you permission in the name of my brother,” said Princess Marya.
The drone said nothing and took a deep breath.
“You give them this bread if it is enough for them.” Give everything away. I command you in the name of my brother, and tell them: what is ours is also theirs. We will spare nothing for them. So tell me.
The drone looked intently at the princess while she spoke.
“Dismiss me, mother, for God’s sake, tell me to accept the keys,” he said. “I served for twenty-three years, I didn’t do anything bad; leave me alone, for God's sake.
Princess Marya did not understand what he wanted from her and why he asked to dismiss himself. She answered him that she never doubted his devotion and that she was ready to do everything for him and for the men.
An hour after this, Dunyasha came to the princess with the news that Dron had arrived and all the men, by order of the princess, gathered at the barn, wanting to talk with the mistress.
“Yes, I never called them,” said Princess Marya, “I only told Dronushka to give them bread.”
“Only for God’s sake, Princess Mother, order them away and don’t go to them.” It’s all just a lie,” Dunyasha said, “and Yakov Alpatych will come and we’ll go... and if you please...
- What kind of deception? – the princess asked in surprise
- Yes, I know, just listen to me, for God’s sake. Just ask the nanny. They say they do not agree to leave on your orders.
- You're saying something wrong. Yes, I never ordered to leave... - said Princess Marya. - Call Dronushka.
The arriving Dron confirmed Dunyasha’s words: the men came on the orders of the princess.
“Yes, I never called them,” said the princess. “You probably didn’t convey it to them correctly.” I just told you to give them the bread.
The drone sighed without answering.
“If you order, they will leave,” he said.
“No, no, I’ll go to them,” said Princess Marya
Despite the dissuading of Dunyasha and the nanny, Princess Marya went out onto the porch. Dron, Dunyasha, the nanny and Mikhail Ivanovich followed her. “They probably think that I am offering them bread so that they will remain in their places, and I will leave myself, abandoning them to the mercy of the French,” thought Princess Marya. – I will promise them a month in an apartment near Moscow; I’m sure Andre would have done even more in my place,” she thought, approaching the crowd standing in the pasture near the barn in the twilight.
The crowd, crowded, began to stir, and their hats quickly came off. Princess Marya, with her eyes downcast and her feet tangling in her dress, came close to them. So many different old and young eyes were fixed on her and there were so many different faces that Princess Marya did not see a single face and, feeling the need to suddenly talk to everyone, did not know what to do. But again the consciousness that she was the representative of her father and brother gave her strength, and she boldly began her speech.
“I’m very glad that you came,” Princess Marya began, without raising her eyes and feeling how quickly and strongly her heart was beating. “Dronushka told me that you were ruined by the war.” This is our common grief, and I will not spare anything to help you. I’m going myself, because it’s already dangerous here and the enemy is close... because... I give you everything, my friends, and I ask you to take everything, all our bread, so that you don’t have any need. And if they told you that I am giving you bread so that you can stay here, then this is not true. On the contrary, I ask you to leave with all your property to our Moscow region, and there I take it upon myself and promise you that you will not be in need. They will give you houses and bread. - The princess stopped. Only sighs were heard in the crowd.
