a village near Moscow (now the Kiev Raion of Moscow), where on Sept. 1 (13), 1812, during the Patriotic War, M. I. Kutuzov convened a council of war to decide whether to defend or abandon Moscow. The council was attended by the generals M. B. Barclay de Tolly, L. L. Bennigsen, D. S. Dokhturov, A. P. Ermolov, P. P. Konovnitsyn, A. I. Osterman-Tolstoi, N. N. Raevskii, K. F. Tof, and F. S. Uvarov. After listening to the various opinions, Kutuzov, aware that the army had been weakened at the battle of Borodino (1812) and that the position taken up by Bennigsen near Moscow had proved unfavorable, decided to withdraw from the city without giving battle. In his words, “the loss of Moscow does not mean the loss of Russia.” The withdrawal would enable the army to continue the war and to link up with approaching reserves. The hut of the peasant A. Frolov, in which the council was held, burned down in 1868 but was restored in 1887 and in 1962 became a branch of the Battle of Borodino Panorama and Museum.

Fili is also the site of an outstanding example of Russian architecture—the Pokrov Church (Church of the Intercession of the Virgin), built between 1690 and 1693 in the Naryshkin style. The circular church, of the type known as izhe pod kolokoly (“crowned by a belfry”), rests on an elevated terrace-like substructure with arcades and three staircases. Over the tetragonal base rise two tiers of octagonal prisms, diminishing in size, which terminate in an octagonal drum supporting a cupola. The base is surrounded by semicircular appurtenances, one of which serves as a sanctuary and the others serve as narthexes. The well-proportioned composition and magnificent white stone decoration add to the solemnity and splendor of the building.