Russia
Putin propagandist threatens to invade Switzerland
Vladimir Solovyov has repeatedly made a name for himself on Russian state TV with radical demands. Now he suggests that, as in 1799, the Russian army could again cross the Alps and conquer western territories.
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Vladimir Solovyov has once again caused a stir with extreme statements on Russian state television.
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In view of the current situation, the Russian army may have to cross the Alps again – the TV presenter subliminally warns of a Russian invasion.
20Min/Leo Butie
You can then also visit the Suvorov memorial. The memorial is dedicated to soldiers who died in a battle in 1799.
20Min/Leo Butie
At that time, Russia was part of the second coalition that tried to limit the power of France and especially Napoleon’s rulers.
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General Suworow, after whom the monument is named, accepted high losses in order to pass the Teufelsbrücke and the Urnerloch and planned to stab the French troops in the back near Zurich.
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The high losses were pointless, however, because the battle for Zurich was decided at this point. The Russians then began the arduous retreat. In general, too, the second coalition could do little to oppose Napoleon and broke up in 1802.
20Min/Leo Butie
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The Suvorov Monument in the Schöllenen Gorge commemorates soldiers who fell in the battle of 1799.
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The same monument is now to be visited by the Russian army – as part of an invasion.
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For example, Vladimir Solovyov, who is considered one of the most important figureheads of Russian propaganda, called for a renewed crossing of the Alps.
Vladimir Solovyov once again put forward bold plans to “make the bastards tremble” in his program on Russia’s state broadcaster Rossiya 1. In addition to Ukraine, which has been defending itself against the Russian invaders for more than a year, the derogatory term probably also refers to most western countries collectively.
«The Russian saddles up slowly, but rides fast»
Solowjov suggests that the Russian army should cross the Alps again in view of “the high stakes”. «Let’s go visit the Suvorov Monument and let’s see if people in Milan still remember how they kissed the hands of the Russian soldiers. If you want to be rude, you have to know: the Russians saddle up slowly, but ride fast,” Solovyov rumbles in his monologue.
In doing so, the TV presenter is referring to events that happened more than 200 years ago in his subliminal arguments for an invasion of Europe. Because the Suworow monument, which was carved into the stone in 1898 in the Schöllenen Gorge and shows a cross, is reminiscent of Participants in the battle of 1799when Russian troops under General Alexander Sovorov fought against Napoleonic soldiers led by Claude-Jacques Lecourbe – but how did the battle on Swiss soil between the French and Russians come about?
Napoleon’s meteoric rise in the military
After the French Revolution in 1789, a still young Napoleon Bonaparte rose rapidly in the ranks of the French military, being promoted to brigadier general at just 24 years old. The suppression of a right-wing uprising against those in power in Paris finally gave Bonaparte the title of commander-in-chief of the army at home.
In the years that followed, France under Napoleon Bonaparte succeeded in conquering more and more territories in Europe, such as Italy and Belgium and also parts of what was then Prussia. In 1792, Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria therefore founded the so-called “first coalition”, which was intended to push Napoleon back and curb his power. The alliance between the states fell apart in 1796.
Two years later and one year before the Battle of the Schöllenen Gorge, Switzerland was then occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops and the previously largely autonomous cities were united to form the Helvetic Republic. At the same time, a second coalition, consisting of Britain, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal and various Prussian royal houses, had joined forces to once again contain the power of France and Napoleon.
Battle ended in Russian defeat
On September 24, 1799, the Russian army, coming from Ticino, reached the Gotthard Pass, from which they were able to successfully drive out the French troops. A day later General Suworow forced the passage of the Teufelsbrücke and the Urnerloch with enormous losses. In the Schöllenen Gorge alone, 700 soldiers died like them NZZ writes that the bridge was so badly damaged that it was impassable for years and had to be replaced by a new building.
The tour de force in the Schöllenen Gorge was intended to enable the Russian troops to stab the French in the rear near Zurich. After it became known that the French had already won the battle, the Russians began the arduous retreat across the Alps. The second coalition also failed and broke up in 1802 – first internal power struggles and a Russian campaign that failed spectacularly finally meant the end for Napoleon, who died in exile on the island of St. Helena on May 5, 1821.
Only once did Solovyov step out of line
Extreme demands from Solovyov’s mouth are nothing new. As he has suggested in the past Attack London with nuclear weapons – one of his sons works there as a model. To drive the mobilization, the moderator argued that life anyway “excessively overestimated” become. Only once did he criticize a Kremlin report: When the flagship Moskva was sunk in April 2022, he asked in his program how the Russian military leadership could explain this loss.
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