In the rolling fields to the west of Moscow, armed men are on the march. The afternoon sun glints off the steel of a cavalier's sword; double-headed eagles and imperial crowns gleam amid the flames of combat. Cannons roar and the whiff of gunpowder hangs in the air once again.
Two centuries after the Battle of Borodino, where Napoleon's march across Europe came to a juddering halt, Russia is getting ready to celebrate the anniversary of its Great Patriotic War of 1812. Throughout the year, historians and enthusiasts have recreated key moments of Napoleon's ill-fated Eastern campaign - some on the original battlefields near cities such as Smolensk, some far behind the imperial frontlines in cities as remote as the Bashkir capital, Ufa.
The high point, though, is to be the biggest ever re-enactment of the Battle of Borodino, fought just outside the town of Mozhaisk on September 7, 1812. More than 4,000 people are expected to take part and crowds of 100,000 are likely to witness history in the re-making on September 2.
The battle is refought every year, and with a full day of combat to condense into a dramatic 90-minute summary, the action is fast and furious. A running commentary is provided, but the sheer scale of the exercise means that even native Russian speakers struggle to understand what is going on. Once the 19th-century cavalry reach full gallop, however, the historical details become less important than the spectacle.
Not that those involved are amateurs when it comes to the tricky business of determining what exactly happened within the fog of battle in 1812. Oleg Polyakov, editor-in-chief of the 1812.ru web portal and a keen re-enactor, is well versed in the debate about what happened, how and why.
'We are slowly approaching an understanding of what happened in the battle,' he says. 'But of course, if all the mysteries were revealed, we could not kindle the same strong interest in Borodino, among both Russian and international researchers.'
The event is growing in international stature: this year Polyakov will welcome re-enactors from Europe and America. To mark the anniversary, officials from the Borodino Military History Museum promise a wealth of new and restored memorials to the fallen, an extensive exhibition called 'Borodino - the Battle of the Giants' and a reconstruc-tion of rooms from the Imperial Palace of Borodino.