June 2012 marked the 200th anniversary of the start of the Franco-Russian War of 1812 - 1815. The author of the book shows what terrible disasters that distant war brought to the lands of Belarus. Among them is the death of a quarter of the population of the “Belarusian provinces” as a result of military operations, famine and epidemics; colossal destruction in cities and rural areas; complete collapse of the economy; demoralization of all segments of the population. For many readers, it will be a revelation that not only the French conquerors, but also the Russian authorities led by their tsar were to blame for the suffering of our ancestors, and that for the Belarusians the “war of the twelfth year” was not “Patriotic”.