Dear Colin,

The short answer to your question is "because that's not where the Russian armies were." Napoleon's intention was not occupation of capital centers of Russia - his initial plan aimed at the defeat of the Russian armies in a decisive border battle, which would have allowed him to dictate turns of peace. The entire campaign was not supposed to last more than four weeks.

1. Routes and Terrain - it is indeed slightly shorter route to go to St. Petersburg than Moscow but this northern direction was also more challenging (fewer major roads, for examples), more sparsely populated and had comparatively fewer resources (breadbasket provinces were in the south).

2. The population of former Lithuanian provinces was more sympathetic to the French cause but these sympathies ultimately had no relevance to the outcome of the campaign; one example would be problems Napoleon faced in raising troops in the region.

3. I am not sure what you mean by "the Czar was more likely to be in St. Petersburg since it was the "new" Russian capital." Alexander could have easily departed the capital and moved somewhere else. He did threaten to retreat as far as Kamchatka, did not he?

4. The northern routes was not logistically easier - the Russian navy was present in the Baltic as was the British squadron (see operations around Riga for example).

5. "The Russian soldiers and people in general would not have reacted so patriotically if N attacked the new capital." - Why not? the war was not about the enemy despoiling "certain religious landmarks" but rather of the Fatherland as a whole. The Russian imperial decrees, proclamations and other documents spoke of responsibility to "defend your Faith, your Country, and your Liberty!"

6. "Do you think that the Russian troops would have given such a stout Borodino like resistance near the walls of St. Petersburg?" - yes, they would have - you can look at their diaries and letters to see that.

7. "The nobility would have pressured Alexander into a peace since their lavish palaces would be in great danger." - I highly doubt it. Bear in mind that the lavish palaces in St. Petersburg that you speak of were owned only a few Russian nobles.

8. For Bernadotte at Auerstadt, I suggest checking another thread on this forum where this issues has been discussed in detail. This issue is more complicated than Bernadotte's refusal to help Davout. As for Bernadotte's fear of 500,000 - these troops were not and would not have been directed at Sweden since Napoleon had to deal with great challenges than Sweden. But even if he had to invade Sweden, he would haave had to deal with the prospects of crossing the sea in the presence of the British (and possible Russian) navy.

Best wishes,
Alex