humanity from which he, the general-in-chief, employed all his efforts, not to kill and exterminate men, but to save and have pity on them." During World War II (known as "The Great Patriotic War" in Russia), the Soviet government established the Order of Kutuzov which, among several other decorations, was preserved in Russia upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, thus remaining among the highest military awards in Russia, only second to the Order of Zhukov. Also, during World War II, one of the key strategic operations of the Red Army, the Orel Strategic Offensive Operation "Kutuzov" was named after the Field Marshal () (12 July – 18 August 1943). No less than ten Russian towns have been named "Kutuzovo" in honour of the general. Notable among them is the former German town of Schirwindt (now Kutuzovo in the Krasnoznamensky District of the Kaliningrad Oblast) – the first town in Germany proper that was reached by Soviet infantry. A Sverdlov-class cruiser named for Kutuzov was commissioned in the Soviet Navy in 1954. It is now preserved, thanks to the efforts of Evgeny Primakov, as a museum ship in Novorossiysk. From May 1813 to 2020, at least 24 ships were identified in United Kingdom, USA, Russian Empire, Soviet Union and Russia, named after Kutuzov. The monument to Kutuzov in the city of Brody in Western Ukraine was demolished in February 2014 as part of the Euromaidan demonstrations. Due to decommunization policies the street named after Kutuzov in (Ukraine's capital) Kyiv was renamed after and a lane dedicated to his legacy was renamed after Yevhen Hutsalo (both) in 2016. Aeroflot named one of its planes after Kutuzov. Praise and criticism Napoleon: ...the sly old fox from the north... Leo Tolstoy: ...a simple, modest and therefore truly great figure... Suvorov: ...he is crafty. And shrewd. No one will fool him... Jean Colin: ...Napoleon's audacity succeeded at Austerlitz, but only because Kutuzov was ignored... Alexander I: ...a hatcher of intrigues and an immoral and thoroughly dangerous character... Barclay de Tolly: ...get the answer in writing. One has to be careful with Kutuzov... Clausewitz: ...a true Russian, a slightly reduced Suvorov... General Bennigsen: ...he, Bennigsen, would be a far better leader for the army... Alexander's sister: ... the inaction of his army is the result of his laziness... Wilson: ...Kutuzov was utterly lazy, incompetent and perhaps even a friend of the French... Richard K. Riehn: