Kutuzov's final days, reconciliation with Alexander I and the funeral procession

On 28 April 1813 Mikhail Kutuzov died of a cold in Bunzlau, aged 68.

It is held that before his death the great Kutuzov was at last reconciled with his perpetual adversary, Tsar Alexander I. The constant quarrels between Alexander I and Kutuzov had begun as long ago as 1805, during the ill-fated descent from the Pratzen Heights.

The 36-year-old Tsar spent several days at Kutuzov's deathbed and, before leaving for Dresden, begged his field marshal's forgiveness for their long enmity. By way of farewell Kutuzov said to Alexander: "I forgive you, Your Majesty, but Russia never will." The very next day, having softened, Kutuzov sent the Emperor a letter in which he said that he bore him no ill will, remembering him from his boyhood years.

In his last days Kutuzov was broken by Parkinson's disease, which scarcely allowed him to hold a pen, and he signed military papers with difficulty.

Kutuzov's body was embalmed and sent to Petersburg, and the procession was constantly halted by crowds of mourners, who bowed before the coffin and paid homage to the dead hero.

There is testimony that an eagle hovered continually over Kutuzov's funeral procession, just as an eagle had flown over Kutuzov on the first day of his command.

Alexander I wrote to Kutuzov's widow: "You are not the only one who sheds tears for him: I weep with you and all Russia weeps. May God, who has called him to Himself, console you with the thought that his name and deeds remain immortal. A grateful fatherland will never forget his services."