evidence: KUTUZOV, MIKHAIL (1745–1813), Russian field marshal. Field Marshal Kutuzov's career is emblematic of the evolution of a uniquely Russian military institution following the reign of Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century. It was Peter who had thoroughly reformed the kingdom of Muscovy's armed forces by establishing a standing conscript army and professional officer corps, modeled on Western standards, to defend and expand his newly proclaimed Russian Empire. He also decreed a lifetime obligation of state service for the nobility, preferably in the army, to staff his new state edifice. At a moment of crisis almost a century later, Kutuzov, a native Russian, would defeat a foreign invader, preserve the ruling dynasty, and project the empire to its apogee of power. [...] The historical memory of Kutuzov contrasts sharply with official distrust of him. While scholars continue to debate the character of the conflict as a "national" struggle, it is undeniable that in the face of a brutal invasion and occupation, the Russian people perceived the war not as one of defense, but survival. Kutuzov became emblematic of the sacrifice, determination, and sense of unity demonstrated in the Russians' resistance. He embodied the popular, as opposed to the dynastic, interpretation of the victory, a status immortalized by Leo Tolstoy's literary portrait of Kutuzov in the novel War and Peace.