Berezina river - Definition

Bathers in the Berezina river near Barysau

Berezina river (alternative spelling "Beresina") (Belarusian: Бярэ́зіна) is a river in Belarus, a tributary of the Dnepr river.

Cities and towns that stay on Beresina

(In flow order)

• Babruysk
• Svetlahorsk

Historical significance

• Napoleon Bonaparte's army suffered big losses when crossing Berezina in November 1812, retreating from Russia (see Patriotic War). Since then "Berezina" is used in French as a synonym of catastrophe. see for visual graphic of the army's fate (http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/1812/1812.htm)

• Charles XII of Sweden army crossed Berezina on June 25, 1708 where he won first major battle with Peter the Great but eventually lost the war at Poltava. (see ISBN 0306808633 for details)

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