Summary
Moscow erupts into chaos as Russian troops retreat through the city. What starts as an orderly military withdrawal quickly dissolves into widespread looting when soldiers realize no one is really in charge. The scene at the bazaar becomes a perfect storm of desperation and opportunity—hungry soldiers grab what they can while overwhelmed officers struggle to maintain any semblance of control. The shopkeepers reveal human nature under pressure: some beg for protection, others accept their fate with resignation, understanding that normal rules no longer apply. When one officer tries to restore order, he's quickly overwhelmed by the scale of the breakdown. The chapter reaches its climax at the bridge, where panic spreads through the crowd like wildfire. General Ermolov's dramatic gesture of threatening to fire cannons finally clears the bridge, but only through the threat of violence. Tolstoy shows us how quickly civilization's thin veneer can crack. The soldiers aren't inherently evil—they're exhausted, scared, and far from home. The shopkeepers aren't cowards—they're trying to survive an impossible situation. Even the officers aren't incompetent—they're facing forces beyond their control. This moment captures a universal truth: when systems fail, people fall back on instinct and self-preservation. The chapter serves as a microcosm of war's broader chaos, where moral absolutes become luxuries few can afford.
Coming Up in Chapter 251
As Moscow empties and the last troops depart, the city transforms into something entirely different. What happens to a great metropolis when it's abandoned by both its defenders and its people?
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The Russian troops were passing through Moscow from two o’clock at night till two in the afternoon and bore away with them the wounded and the last of the inhabitants who were leaving. The greatest crush during the movement of the troops took place at the Stone, Moskvá, and Yaúza bridges. While the troops, dividing into two parts when passing around the Krémlin, were thronging the Moskvá and the Stone bridges, a great many soldiers, taking advantage of the stoppage and congestion, turned back from the bridges and slipped stealthily and silently past the church of Vasíli the Beatified and under the Borovítski gate, back up the hill to the Red Square where some instinct told them they could easily take things not belonging to them. Crowds of the kind seen at cheap sales filled all the passages and alleys of the Bazaar. But there were no dealers with voices of ingratiating affability inviting customers to enter; there were no hawkers, nor the usual motley crowd of female purchasers—but only soldiers, in uniforms and overcoats though without muskets, entering the Bazaar empty-handed and silently making their way out through its passages with bundles. Tradesmen and their assistants (of whom there were but few) moved about among the soldiers quite bewildered. They unlocked their shops and locked them up again, and themselves carried goods away with the help of their assistants. On the square in front of the Bazaar were drummers beating the muster call. But the roll of the drums did not make the looting soldiers run in the direction of the drum as formerly, but made them, on the contrary, run farther away. Among the soldiers in the shops and passages some men were to be seen in gray coats, with closely shaven heads. Two officers, one with a scarf over his uniform and mounted on a lean, dark-gray horse, the other in an overcoat and on foot, stood at the corner of Ilyínka Street, talking. A third officer galloped up to them. “The general orders them all to be driven out at once, without fail. This is outrageous! Half the men have dispersed.” “Where are you off to?... Where?...” he shouted to three infantrymen without muskets who, holding up the skirts of their overcoats, were slipping past him into the Bazaar passage. “Stop, you rascals!” “But how are you going to stop them?” replied another officer. “There is no getting them together. The army should push on before the rest bolt, that’s all!” “How can one push on? They are stuck there, wedged on the bridge, and don’t move. Shouldn’t we put a cordon round to prevent the rest from running away?” “Come, go in there and drive them out!” shouted the senior officer. The officer in the scarf dismounted, called up a drummer, and went with him into the arcade. Some soldiers started running away in a group. A shopkeeper with red pimples on his cheeks near the nose, and a calm, persistent, calculating expression on his...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of System Collapse - When Order Becomes Everyone for Themselves
When authority breaks down, people abandon normal rules because they assume others will, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of disorder.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to spot the early warning signs when institutions start failing and normal rules stop applying.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when authority figures seem overwhelmed or absent—at work, in your community, even in your family—and watch how people's behavior starts to shift.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Military retreat
When an army withdraws from a position, usually under pressure or to avoid defeat. In this chapter, the Russian troops are pulling back through Moscow, creating chaos as they move.
Modern Usage:
We see this pattern when any organization pulls out quickly - like when a company closes a location and employees scramble to take what they can.
Breakdown of order
When normal rules and authority stop working, usually during crisis. Here, soldiers ignore commands and start looting because no one can effectively control them.
Modern Usage:
This happens during natural disasters, riots, or any situation where normal authority can't function - people fall back on survival instinct.
Mob mentality
How people in crowds often do things they'd never do alone. Individual soldiers might be honest, but in a group they become looters.
Modern Usage:
We see this in everything from Black Friday stampedes to social media pile-ons - people lose individual judgment in groups.
Civil authority collapse
When the systems that normally keep society running - police, government, military discipline - stop functioning effectively during crisis.
Modern Usage:
This happens during major emergencies when normal services break down and people have to fend for themselves.
Scapegoating
Blaming individuals for systemic problems. Officers blame individual soldiers for looting instead of recognizing the impossible situation.
Modern Usage:
Companies fire low-level employees for problems caused by bad management, or politicians blame teachers for education system failures.
Survival pragmatism
When people abandon moral ideals to focus on immediate needs. Shopkeepers help soldiers steal their own goods because resistance is pointless.
Modern Usage:
People compromise their values during layoffs, economic crashes, or family crises - doing whatever it takes to get through.
Characters in This Chapter
Russian soldiers
Collective protagonist
They're exhausted troops who turn to looting when military discipline breaks down. Tolstoy shows them as human beings pushed beyond their limits, not evil villains.
Modern Equivalent:
Employees cleaning out office supplies when they know the company is going under
Shopkeepers and tradesmen
Victims of circumstance
They're caught between protecting their property and staying alive. Some fight back, others accept the inevitable, showing different responses to powerlessness.
Modern Equivalent:
Small business owners during riots or economic collapse - trying to protect what they can
Military officers
Failed authority figures
They try to maintain order but are overwhelmed by the scale of the breakdown. Their commands become meaningless when they can't enforce them.
Modern Equivalent:
Middle managers during company meltdowns - responsible for control they don't actually have
General Ermolov
Crisis leader
He finally restores order at the bridge by threatening to use cannons on the crowd. His dramatic action works where reasoning failed.
Modern Equivalent:
The executive who makes the hard call that everyone else was afraid to make
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Some instinct told them they could easily take things not belonging to them"
Context: Describing why soldiers break away from the march to loot the bazaar
Tolstoy shows how quickly people abandon moral rules when they sense no consequences. It's not evil - it's human nature responding to opportunity and desperation.
In Today's Words:
They could tell no one was really watching, so why not grab what they could?
"There were no dealers with voices of ingratiating affability inviting customers to enter"
Context: Describing the eerie quiet of the normally bustling bazaar during the looting
The contrast highlights how completely normal life has collapsed. The absence of ordinary commercial activity makes the chaos more disturbing.
In Today's Words:
The place that used to buzz with salespeople trying to make deals was dead silent
"They unlocked their shops and locked them up again, and themselves carried goods away"
Context: Showing how shopkeepers respond to the impossible situation
This captures the absurdity of trying to maintain normal procedures during chaos. The shopkeepers end up helping steal their own merchandise because resistance is futile.
In Today's Words:
They kept going through the motions of running a business while helping people rob them blind
Thematic Threads
Authority
In This Chapter
Military hierarchy crumbles as officers lose control over desperate soldiers
Development
Earlier chapters showed authority through aristocratic privilege; now we see it fail under real pressure
In Your Life:
You might see this when your supervisor is overwhelmed and workplace rules start getting ignored by everyone.
Survival
In This Chapter
Soldiers and shopkeepers both prioritize immediate needs over social norms
Development
Builds on earlier themes of characters adapting to war's demands
In Your Life:
You face this choice during any crisis—follow normal rules or do what you need to survive.
Class
In This Chapter
Social distinctions between soldiers and civilians dissolve in the chaos
Development
War continues to break down the rigid class structures shown earlier
In Your Life:
You see this when emergencies make everyone equal—rich and poor waiting in the same FEMA line.
Fear
In This Chapter
Panic spreads through the crowd at the bridge like a contagious disease
Development
Fear has evolved from personal anxiety to mass hysteria
In Your Life:
You experience this in any crowd situation where one person's panic triggers everyone else's.
Leadership
In This Chapter
General Ermolov restores order only through the threat of extreme violence
Development
Shows how leadership must adapt to circumstances—gentle authority won't work here
In Your Life:
You might need to use firm boundaries when normal politeness isn't working in a crisis.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What triggered the breakdown of order when the Russian troops retreated through Moscow?
analysis • surface - 2
Why did the soldiers start looting even though they weren't inherently bad people?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen this same pattern of 'when no one's watching, rules disappear' in your own life or community?
application • medium - 4
If you were one of the overwhelmed officers trying to maintain order, what would you have done differently?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about the difference between civilization and human nature under pressure?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Spot the System Breakdown
Think of a situation in your life where normal rules seemed to disappear—maybe during a crisis at work, a family emergency, or a community disruption. Map out the three stages: the initial crack that showed authority was overwhelmed, the first person who tested the boundaries, and how quickly others followed. Write down what you learned about people (including yourself) when the usual structure wasn't there.
Consider:
- •People aren't evil when systems break down—they're scared and trying to survive
- •The breakdown usually happens faster than anyone expects
- •Someone always has to step up to restore order, or chaos continues
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you had to decide whether to follow your own moral code or go along with what everyone else was doing during a chaotic situation. What did you choose and why?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 251: Kindness in an Empty House
As the story unfolds, you'll explore small acts of generosity create unexpected connections, while uncovering dignity matters even when you're desperate. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.