At the Rostov dinner party at their Moscow estate, the genial host, Count Illya Rostov, tells visitors that his son has joined the Hussars. A Colonel Schubert (fictional) is visiting the Rostovs and is set to take their dear son to the front. Ilya does not come across as overly worried. The intensity of the war to come is unknown and heavy engagement is not looked upon as realistic. There is always talk of war but Napoleon and his Grande Armée seem very far away.
Though the Rostovs are fictional, the Pavlograd Hussars are not. They are a light calvary unit created by Peter the Great in 1723. The identity was based on the Serbian Hussars of the Habsburg dynasty. The officers were known for their distinctive uniforms and carrying a sword and two pistols.
In modern times, Pavlohrad is a city in Ukraine that wants nothing to do with Russia. Just as Napoleon invaded a people he could not defeat, the people of Pavlohrad (using the Ukrainian-English spelling) overwhelmingly feel the same way about foreign encroachment. Pavlohrad was an important city historically; as it was the home of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, a group who greatly contributed the Ukrainian identity. The Cossacks were of various ethnicities, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and Tatar. As opposed to the serfs tied to the land and their lords (depicted quite extensively in War & Peace), the Cossacks of the Pavlohrad area went beyond the borders of areas of the empires they were threatened by to chart their own course. Their legendary status is something akin to the samurai or medieval knights.
The Russian Empire recognized this legacy and stamped the name "Pavlograd" on an Army regiment given the fierce history associated with the city.
Back to Chapter 9: Nikolai explains to his father that the Army is his vocation as he does not see himself as a government clerk or diplomat. He expresses himself in a straight-forward manner in front of the dinner guests. He is going where his talents, ability and interests lead him. His father accepts this with humor and grace.
Sonya sees that Julie Karagina is getting close to Nikolai and that the two smile while in quiet conversation. Sonya gets jealous, tears up and leaves the drawing room. The adults notice and get a a kick out of the youthful demonstration of love. Nikolai soon follows her. Nikolai’s mother starts relaying some timeless parental wisdom to her peers – including that the relationship between parent and child should be open. She praises her own relationship with Natasha but notes her relationship with her eldest daughter, Vera, is more distant.
