Film Basjkiers Mini-Festival in Veessen, 13 december 2025

BASHKIR MINI-FESTIVAL, VEESSEN – 13 DECEMBER 2025

Filmische impressie van het Basjkierse mini-festival, op 13 december 2025, samengesteld door schrijver en illustrator Azat Kuzhin.

Bashkortostan and the Netherlands share a little-known historical connection dating back more than two centuries, to the Napoleonic era. When Napoleon annexed the Netherlands into the French Empire, the country became part of the broader European theatre of war. Following Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Leipzig (Völkerschlacht) in October 1813, French troops retreated from occupied territories, pursued by Allied forces from Russia, Austria, Sweden, and Prussia under the command of Tsar Alexander I, advancing westward.

By mid-November 1813, a contingent of the Tsar’s army—including a vanguard regiment of Bashkir cavalry—reached the eastern bank of the River IJssel. The river formed a natural barrier, temporarily halting the advance and prompting the Bashkir troops to encamp near the village of Wijhe. General Alexander von Benckendorff, the Baltic German commander responsible for the campaign to liberate the Netherlands from French occupation, was aware that Bashkir units were also trained in pontoon construction. He therefore ordered the building of a temporary “ship bridge” across the IJssel near Veessen.

For approximately two months, thousands of troops and their equipment crossed the river via this improvised structure. Amsterdam had already been liberated by late November 1813, paving the way for the Prince of Orange to assume sovereignty and later become King of the Netherlands. The Bashkir forces continued their campaign southward, ultimately reaching Paris.

This episode—largely forgotten in Dutch public memory—was commemorated in January 2018 with the installation of a monument in the proximity of the historical crossing site near Veessen (municipality of Heerde). The monument, created by Russian-Dutch sculptor Alexander Taratynov, depicts a Bashkir horseman, armed with lance, long whip and the highly feared bow and arrows, On the opposite bank, near the former encampment site in Wijhe, a bronze statue of General von Benckendorff was erected. The initiative was undertaken by Museum Geelvinck in cooperation with the municipalities of Heerde and Wijhe, and with financial support from the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Since the monument’s installation, Bashkir delegations have periodically visited Veessen to pay tribute to their courageous ancestors. These commemorative gatherings have consistently included performances of traditional music and dance, transforming acts of remembrance into vibrant expressions of living cultural heritage.

On 13 December 2025, a second Bashkir mini-festival was organized in Veessen by Museum Geelvinck, in collaboration with local parties and  with the support of the Lubizar cultural group, as well as financial assistance from the municipality of Heerde. Azat Kuzhin, a member of the twelve-person Bashkir diaspora delegation attending the event, produced a ten-minute video impression of the festival. The mini-festival demonstrates how historical commemoration and traditional musical practice, in a diasporic context, converge in contemporary Europe, offering fertile ground for ethnomusicological reflection.