Burning of Library at Lomonosov Moscow State University -1812.
Napoleon's Invasion of Moscow
Lomonosov Moscow State University, named for the “Father of Russian Science”- Mikhail Vasil’evich Lomonosov (1711–1765)1, was burned during the Moscow fire when Napoleon invaded in 1812.2
The University buildings burned during the French occupation; the library, the archives, the museum and all the equipment were destroyed.3
Sergei Bondarchuk’s epic 1968 film WAR & PEACE4 seen by a quarter of a billion people includes the burning of Moscow.
Bondarchuk’s crew built a huge wooden set of Moscow (not sure if the Lomonosov Moscow State University was represented in the movie) and then torched it in sections until there was nothing left. As the characters run, wander, and scream through the burning city, those are clearly real flames surrounding them, and real gusts of black ash choking them.5
Mikhail Lomonosov was the great polymath of the Russian Enlightenment. SAINT-PETERSBURG.COM. Retrieved 6/7/2021.
Mikaberidze, Alexander. The Burning of Moscow: Napoleon's Trial by Fire, London. Pen and Sword. 2014.
History of Moscow University. Retrieved 6/6/2021.
Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, 1969.
Ebiri, Bile (2019) The Fascinating Story Behind Sergei Bondarchuk’s 1968 Epic War and Peace. Vulture. (Feb.15)