Russian Hussar: A Story of the Imperial Cavalry, 1911-1920

by Vladimir S. Littauer

Book Overview

Captain Littauer served in the Russian Imperial Cavalry from 1911 to 1920, fighting on horseback in both the First World War and the Russian Revolution. With quiet humour he vividly describes a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0942597532
• ISBN13: 9780942597530
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: White Mane Publishing Company
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A true Renaissance man

Russian Hussar is a great read for any enthusiast of modern history written by a a remarkable individual who went on to a very illustrious career as an author and philosopher on the topic of English horseback riding and training, primarily hunters and jumpers. This well written, fascinating book is just one of the many points of light in Capt. Littauer's legacy. He developed a modern system of riding that has influenced the riding and training of horses around the world, based on a philosophy stressing the importance of thorough understanding of the horse - instincts, anatomy and physiology, physical and mental development, natural abilities - in order to train and ride in a manner that develops the horse to its best athletic abilities through a well considered, orderly and compassionate series of training exercises, intending to preserve the horse's natural way of going, cooperative nature, and calm behavior. He was well spoken, well educated and could discourse intelligently on many subjects. A rigorous taskmaster regarding proper riding and training, he was charming and kind, with a delightful sense of humor. I felt extraordinarily privileged to have spent time with him. His writing is literate, humorous, well researched, and personal.

A Look at a Forgotten World

Littauer describes the priveleged life of a Russian cavalry officer in the years immediately preceding the Revolution of 1917. He offers a series of vignettes starting with his days in officers training school. His military duties are interspersed by balls in glittering surroundings, drinking parties in the best clubs of Moscow and Petersburg, and even an impromptu meeting or two with the Tsar. The First World War, with its extended privations, intrudes upon and eventually destroys this idyllic existence. Littauer finally loses not just his life as a hussar, but his place in Russia itself, when the Bolsheviks defeat the White Russian army for which he fights. But he never loses his humor and, apparently, never became bitter about the destruction of a life which he clearly loved. This is a charming, wonderful book which allows the reader to know, from the inside, a life of privilege and tradition that none of us will be able to experience firsthand. Littauer's affection for the cavalry and for the Russia of his youth are strongly felt, yet never marred by sentimentality or exaggeration. It is a shame that this fascinating work has gone out of print.