This chapter introduces another dichotomy - the prevalence of substance and the prevalence of form. Life in St Petersburg is an example of the latter. The salons of Anna Pavlovna have not changed from 1805 to 1812, despite the constant political upheaval in between. Basically, they are sharing the same sort of gossip - about how awful Napoleon is, and how Russia should burn France to the ground, essentially - with basically the same people. Helene's salons have also remained the same between 1808 and 1812. They are hoping Russia will make peace with the "great nation" of France and the "great man" Napoleon, possibly so they can all go back to speaking French as they are used to. The two are in conflict, especially now things are heating up in the warzones. Each group picks and chooses their specific gossip to support their own worldview. Prince Vasili goes to both and sometimes gets confused about what he should be saying where.
Anna;s circle all condemn Barclay de Tolly and discuss whether Kutuzov should take over. They are not a fan on the 25th of July. On the 29th, Kutuzov becomes a Prince, which might be a diplomatic way to get rid of him (I assume becoming a Prince means being given a Principality, i.e., land of your own, so basically they're sending him off to the countryside to turn his sword into a ploughshare or whatever). However, on the 8th of August, a committee decides that Kutuzov should be commander-in-chief, despite the Emperor's dislike of him, and this is done immediately. Suddenly, on the 9th of August, Vasili is Kutuzov's greatest fan and has always been so. I assume he has also always been at war with Eurasia.
Someone reminds Vasili that he said something differently a few days ago, which is very rude. This someone is a "man of great merit", who is basically working his way up the ladder the way Andrew and darling Bory did. Thinking he's flattering Anna Pavlovna, he continues to defend her previous opinion, which he has yet to realise is now embarrassing to her.
Gossip then moves to the fact that Kutuzov has made it an absolute condition that the Tsarevich should not be part of the army. I forget why it is they dislike one another. I assume it is because Kutuzov is competent and the Tsarevich is not. The actual reason Kutuzov is said to have given is "I can neither punish him if he is wrong nor reward him if he is right", which is fair enough. It didn't stop Peter the Great from joining his own army at the bottom and working his way up, but still. I guess not every Tsarevich can be great, otherwise they wouldn't have had those nasty revolutions.
The "man of great merit" shares another piece of gossip he has heard, that Kutuzov has banned the Tsar himself from the army. Anna and Vasili roll their eyes.
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