The 80 tons of gold that Napoleon’s army rescued from Moscow are said to be hidden at the bottom of Lake Bolshaya Rutavech. (Illustration)

Legend has it that the Emperor of France secretly ordered the burial of 80 tons of stolen gold when his army retreated from Moscow in 1812, but where is it now?

According to Russian historian Vyacheslav Ryzhkov, the information that this huge treasure was buried in Lake Semlevo in Smolensk was just a ruse to distract the army of the former Russian Emperor Alexander I.

Instead, he believes the treasure may have been buried 40 miles from Lake Bolshaya Rutavech, near the historian’s hometown of Rudnya.

Mr. Ryzhkov told Rabochy Put that he believed that rumors spread by people close to Emperor Napoleon must hide the true location of the treasure near the Belarusian border.

“Emperor Napoleon did not throw the gold in a barrel into the lake, that would have been very easy. He ordered to bury them at the bottom of the lower lake,” the historian told the newspaper.

Mr Ryzhkov also claimed that Emperor Napoleon had the treasure cast into gold bullion before it was loaded onto 400 carts with 500 cavalry and 250 elite guards escorting it to Lake Bolshaya Rutavech.

According to historian Rizhkov, the Napoleon impersonator then took on a number of tasks, including burying the fake gold.

Meanwhile, the real Emperor Napoleon went to Smolensk to issue brief orders and orders, pigeonholed Paris and waited for his army to retreat.

However, it still takes time to see if historical treasures will be discovered in Lake Bolshaya Rutavech.

Mr. Rizhkov believes that the treasure can be discovered with the help of advanced technologies and experts.

In addition, he also noted that chemical analysis of the lake’s water in the 1980s showed high concentrations of silver ions.