SEVERNYYE AMURY

SEVERNYYE AMURY (Northern Cupids), the title given to Bashkir soldiers by the French during the Napoleonic Wars of 1807–14. Appeared at the end of the Russian‑Prussian‑French War of 1806–07 when the French first met the Bashkir Cavalry on June 4th, 1807, in the battle near Velau. The nickname appeared due to the Empire style which prevailed in the European culture at that time. The French compared the Bashkirs, who were armed with bows and arrows, with the ancient god Cupid. The nickname was also used during the Patriotic War of 1812 and Foreign Campaigns of the Russian Army of 1813–14. In 1814, Paris residents also called the Bashkirs the Siberian Amury (Cupids).