The Great Patriotic War in literature: the best works about the feat of the Soviet people. Works about the Great Patriotic War

The most popular books about the war were written by eyewitnesses of the terrible war years:

The three most popular writers who covered the events of the war years:

1. The famous Soviet writer Boris Vasiliev went to the front in 1941, while still a schoolboy. His most famous work can be considered the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”; a film was made based on this book, which takes an honorable 1st place in our ranking of the TOP 70 best films about the war. Boris Vasiliev wrote quite a few interesting books about the war, which later formed the basis for films.
2. No less popular Belarusian writer Vasil Bykov. He, like Boris Vasiliev, was still very young when the Great Patriotic War began. In June 1941, V. Bykov graduated from 10th grade, and in 1942 he was called up to the front. He took part in military battles. His works brought him fame: “Sotnikov”, “To Live Until Dawn”, “To Go and Never Return” and others.
3. Konstantin Simonov is another famous Soviet writer on military topics. When the war began, he was drafted into the army. He was a war correspondent and visited all fronts. In 1943 he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel, after the war he was promoted to colonel. Konstantin Simonov wrote not one of the best books about the war. It’s not for nothing that his name appears frequently on our list.

In our list of the best books about the war you will see works by famous writers such as Yu. Bondarev, M. Sholokhov, B. Polevoy, V. Pikul and others.

Great battles are described in many works about war. From these fiction books you can learn many historical facts. For this reason, they are very useful for teenagers and schoolchildren to read. Patriotism and courage are also described in poems about war; such poems make everyone think.

The best books about battles and battles

• “In the trenches of Stalingrad” - Viktor Nekrasov
• “The Living and the Dead” - Konstantin Simonov
• “They are not born soldiers” - Konstantin Simonov
• “Last Summer” - Konstantin Simanov
• “Hot Snow” - Yuri Bondarev
• “The battalions are asking for fire” - Yuri Bondarev
• “The Siege Book” - Ales Adamovich, Daniil Granin
• “They fought for their homeland” - Mikhail Sholokhov
• “The Road of Life” - N. Khoza
• “Not on the lists” - Boris Vasiliev
• “Brest Fortress” - Sergei Smirnov
• “Baltic Sky” - Nikolai Chukovsky
• "Stalingrad" - Viktor Nekrasov

The heroism of the common man during the war is not so grandiose, but no less important, because it was thanks to the Russian people that we won a great victory over fascism.

The best books about heroism and the destinies of people

• "Sotnikov" - Vasil Bykov
• “Vasily Terkin” - Alexander Tvardovsky
• “Obelisk” - Vasil Bykov
• “Live Until Dawn” - Vasilya Bykova
• “Cursed and Killed” - Viktor Astafiev
• “Life and Fate” - Vasily Grossman
• “Live and Remember” - Valentin Rasputin
• “Penal Battalion” - Eduard Volodarsky
• “In war as in war” - Viktor Kurochkin
• "Officers" - Boris Vasiliev
• “The soldiers were marching aty-baty” - Boris Vasiliev
• “Sign of Trouble” - Vasil Bykov
• “Swamp” - Vasil Bykov
• “The Tale of a Real Man” - Boris Polevoy

Soviet intelligence officers made a significant contribution during the Great Patriotic War, which is why so many books have been written about the exploits of Soviet intelligence officers. We have selected for you the best books on this topic.

The best books about intelligence officers

• "Moment of Truth" - Vladimir Bogomolov.
• "Seventeen moments of spring" - Yu. Semenov
• “Strong in spirit” - Dmitry Nikolaevich Medvedev
• “Shield and Sword” - Vadim Kozhevnikov
• “Take Alive” - Vladimir Karpov
• “On the edge of the abyss” - Yu. Ivanov
• "Ocean Patrol" - Valentin Pikul

The role of Russian women during the war. They fought equally with men; it is not for nothing that their heroism is described in the best books about the war.

The best books about the exploits of women

• “And the dawns here are quiet” - Boris Vasiliev
• “War does not have a woman’s face” - Svetlana Alekseevich
• “Madonna with Ration Bread” - Maria Glushko
• “The Fourth Height” - Elena Ilyina
• "To go and not to return" - Vasily Bykova
• “The Tale of Zoya and Shura” - Lyubov Kosmodemyanskaya
• “Mother of Man” - Vitaly Zakrutin
• “Partisan Lara” - Nadezhda Nadezhdina
• “Girl Team” - P. Zavodchikov, F. Samoilov

War through the eyes of children and teenagers. How early they had to grow up.

The best books about the exploits of children and youth

• “Young Guard” - Alexander Fadeev
• "The last witnesses. Solo for children's voice" - Svetlana Alekseevich
• “Street of the Youngest Son” - Lev Kassil, Max Polyanovsky
• “Son of the Regiment” - Valentin Kataev
• “Boys with bows” - Valentin Pikul

Peaceful life before the war years. Romance, love and hopes - all this was cut short by the war.

The best books about life before the war

• “Tomorrow there was war” - Boris Vasiliev
• "Goodbye boys" - Boris Balter

You might want to add to our list of the best books about war. Leave your comments

about the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
I know it's not my fault

That others

didn't come back from the war

The fact that they are the ones who are older,

who is younger -

We stayed there, and it’s not about the same thing,

That I could have them

but failed to save, -

That's not what we're talking about, but still,

still, still...

Alexander Tvardovsky
The theme of the Great Patriotic War, having appeared from the very beginning of the war in our literature, still worries both writers and readers. Unfortunately, authors who knew about the war first-hand are gradually passing away, but they left for us in their talented works their insightful vision of events, managing to convey the atmosphere of bitter, terrible and at the same time solemn and heroic years.

Books about war must be read from childhood so as not to lose the thread of memory of the valor of our compatriots who gave us life. We offer you an annotated recommendation list of the best works about the Great Patriotic War. The list is compiled in alphabetical order by authors. All presented literary masterpieces have a full-text analogue on the Internet.

For primary classes

		Voronkova L.F. Girl from the city The story “The Girl from the City,” written in the harsh year of 1943, still touches the hearts of children and adults. All the best in a person is most clearly manifested in years of difficult trials. This is confirmed by the story of the little refugee Valentinka, who found herself among strangers in an unfamiliar village.
		Gaidar A.P. The Tale of the Military Secret, of Malchish-Kibalchish and his firm word A heroic tale by a wonderful children's writer. Malchish-Kibalchish embodies all the best features of our boys who dream of accomplishing a real feat in the name of the Motherland. The Great Victory would not have been won if there had not been such big and small heroes. Didn’t the fate of the pioneer heroes repeat the fate of Malchish-Kibalchish?
		Kassil L. Street of the youngest son The story of the life and death of the young partisan Volodya Dubinin, a hero of the Great Patriotic War.
		Kataev V. Son of the regiment The orphan boy Vanya Solntsev, by the will of fate, ended up in a military unit with intelligence officers. His stubborn character, pure soul and boyish courage were able to overcome the resistance of harsh military people and helped him stay at the front, becoming the son of the regiment.
		Mikhalkov S. True story for children Despite the well-known ideological orientation, “True for Children” is a good work about the war, capable of conveying to modern children what our country endured during that terrible time. The poem covers the events of 1941 - 1945. This resource is scanned pages of a book (Children's Literature, Moscow, 1969) with drawings by N. Kochergin.
		Oseeva V.A. Vasek Trubachev and his comrades The heroes of the trilogy “Vasyok Trubachev and his comrades” lived, studied, played pranks, made friends and quarreled several decades ago, but it’s even more interesting to take a trip in a “time machine” and look into their world. But the cloudless time of childhood for Trubachev and his friends turned out to be too short: it was cut short by the Great Patriotic War.
		Paustovsky K. G. The adventures of the rhinoceros beetle The soldier carried with him in his traveling bag a rhinoceros beetle, which his son gave him as a souvenir before leaving for the front. This beetle became a good comrade for the soldier in military life. They went through a lot together, they both have a lot to remember.
		Platonov A. Nikita The story is named after the main character - the little boy Nikita. The writer Andrei Platonov was one of those who forever remembered what kind of person he was as a child - and not everyone remembers this. Probably, Platonov was never told as a child: you are not mature enough yet, this is not for you. That’s why he tells us about little people, but respects them as big ones. And they also respect themselves in his stories, they even see that they, perhaps, are the most important on earth...
		Platonov A. Flower on Earth The world is wide, it contains a lot of interesting things. The little man makes discoveries every day. The hero of the story “Flower on the Earth” suddenly looked at an ordinary flower with completely different eyes. The grandfather helped his grandson to see the holy worker in the flower.
		Simonov K. Son of an artilleryman K. Simonov's ballad is based on real events. The poetic story about Major Deev and Lyonka is remembered from the first reading, it is written so simply, clearly and impressively.
		Yakovlev Yu. Girls from Vasilyevsky Island Yuri Yakovlev in his stories reveals to children the whole truth of life as it is, without hiding from solving problems behind the external fascination of the plot. The book “Girls from Vasilyevsky Island” is a story about little Tanya Savicheva, who died of hunger, written on the basis of her surviving notes.
For grades 5-7
		Bogomolov V.O. Ivan A tragic and true story about a brave boy scout who sacrifices himself every day, consciously carrying out adult service, which not every adult fighter is capable of.
		Kozlov V. Vitka from Chapaevskaya Street The book tells about teenagers who went on a campaign just before the start of the war. They fully experienced the difficulties and dangers of war, like the entire Russian people. This is how they grew up. The story “Vitka from Chapaevskaya Street” by V. Kozlov has been read by more than one generation of boys and girls.
		Korolkov Yu. Pioneers-Heroes. Lenya Golikov During the Great Patriotic War, when the Nazis invaded the Novgorod land, Lenya Golikov joined the ranks of the people's avengers. The story is based on real events. The text is accompanied by drawings by V. Yudin.
		Platonov A. Tree of the Motherland This is not so much a story as a parable that talks about the unnaturalness of war, about the powerlessness of death in the face of the Soldier’s persistent desire to stand in the name of life, to protect his mother, land, Motherland - everything that is dear and sacred to him.
		Platonov A. Sampo “Sampo” is a fabulous self-grinding mill that can feed everyone for free. The parable of Andrei Platonov tells about a small collective farm called “Good Life”, where hardworking people lived who did not dream of a wonderful mill. Everything they had was obtained through labor. But this was not enough to protect the “Good Life” from the evil enemy
		Ochkin A.Ya. Ivan - I, Fedorovs - we This story contains true events and almost all true names. The author describes the military affairs of his friend, “brother” Vanya Fedorov, who died a hero’s death in Stalingrad. Alexey Yakovlevich Ochkin himself started the war on the Don, participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov at the Kursk Bulge, was seriously wounded more than once, but reached the end along the roads of the war: he participated in the storming of Berlin and the liberation of Prague.
		Rudny V. Children of Captain Granin The Gangut Peninsula, located at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, became the most important strategic point from the first days of the Great Patriotic War. Its defenders not only did not allow a single large enemy ship into the Gulf of Finland that could pose a serious threat to Leningrad, but also drew significant enemy forces onto themselves at the most decisive moment.
		Tolstoy A.N. Russian character During the Battle of Kursk, Lieutenant Yegor Dremov barely managed to escape from a burning tank. He survived and even retained his sight, but his burnt face after several operations changed beyond recognition. This is how he arrived at his home. We learn about this return from the story “Russian Character”.
For 8-9 grades
		Adamovich A., Granin D. Blockade book Daniil Granin called the nine hundred days of the siege of Leningrad “an epic of human suffering.” The documentary chronicle is based on the memoirs and diaries of hundreds of Leningrad residents who survived the siege.
		Adamovich A. Khatyn story In Belarus, the Nazis committed atrocities like nowhere else: more than 9,200 villages were destroyed, in more than 600 of them almost all the inhabitants were killed or burned, only a few were saved. “The Khatyn Tale” is written on documentary material. It is dedicated to the struggle of Belarusian partisans. One of them, Flera, recalls the events of the past war.
		Aitmatov Ch.T. Early cranes The harsh years of the Great Patriotic War. A distant Kyrgyz village. Men are at the front. The heroes of the story are schoolchildren. The best, the strongest of them must raise abandoned fields, give bread to the front, to families. And children understand this deeply. The war became a severe test for teenagers, but it did not kill their ability to enjoy life, see beauty, and share joy with others
		Baklanov G. Forever - nineteen years old This book is about those who did not return from the war, about love, about life, about youth, about immortality. In the book, parallel to the story, there is a photo story. “The people in these photographs,” the author writes, “I did not meet at the front and did not know. They were captured by press photographers and maybe this is all that remains of them.”
		Vasiliev B.L. And the dawns here are quiet... This work is one of the most piercing works about the war in its lyricism and tragedy. The bright images of the girls - the main characters of the story, their dreams and memories of their loved ones, create a striking contrast with the inhuman face of the war, which spares no one.
		Kazakevich E. Zvezda This work was created on the basis of the author’s experiences in the heat of battle at the front, seeing the suffering and death of people. The tragically sad and bright story about a group of divisional intelligence officers sounds like a revelation and penetrates the souls of people.
		Kosmodemyanskaya L.T. The Tale of Zoya and Shura Children of L.T. Kosmodemyanskaya died in the fight against fascism, defending the freedom and independence of their people. She talks about them in the story. Using the book, you can follow the lives of Zoya and Shura Kosmodemyansky day by day, find out their interests, thoughts, dreams.
		Polevoy B. The Tale of a Real Man “The Tale of a Real Man” is a 1946 story by B. N. Polevoy about the Soviet pilot Meresyev, who was shot down in a battle during the Great Patriotic War. After being seriously wounded, doctors amputated both of his legs. But he decided that he would fly.
		Tvardovsky A.T. Vasily Terkin In the deeply truthful, humorous, classically clear poem “Vasily Terkin”, A. T. Tvardovsky created an immortal image of a Soviet soldier. This work became a vivid embodiment of the Russian character and national feelings of the era of the Great Patriotic War.
		Sholokhov A. Man's destiny A story within a story by M.A. Sholokhov’s “The Fate of a Man” is a story about a common man in a big war, who, at the cost of losing loved ones and comrades, with his courage and heroism gave the right to life and freedom to his Motherland. The image of Andrei Sokolov concentrates the features of the Russian national character.
For high school
	Adamovich A. Punishers “The Punishers” is a bloody chronicle of the destruction of seven peaceful villages in the territory of temporarily occupied Belarus by the battalion of Hitler’s punisher Dirlewanger. The chapters bear appropriate titles: “Village One”, “Village Two”, “Between the Third and Fourth Village”, etc. Each chapter contains excerpts from documents on the activities of punitive detachments and their participants.
	Bogomolov V. Moment of truth The plot develops on the basis of a tense confrontation between SMERSH officers and a group of German saboteurs. “The Moment of Truth” is the most famous novel in the history of Russian literature about the work of counterintelligence during the Great Patriotic War, translated into more than 30 languages.
	Bykov V. Sotnikov All of V. Bykov’s work is characterized by the problem of the moral choice of a hero in war. In the story "Sotnikov" it is not representatives of two different worlds who collide, but people of the same country. The heroes of the work - Sotnikov and Rybak - under normal conditions might not have shown their true nature. The reader will have to think together with the author about eternal philosophical questions: the price of life and death, cowardice and heroism, loyalty to duty and betrayal. An in-depth psychological analysis of every action and gesture of the characters, fleeting thought or remark is one of the strongest aspects of the story. The Pope presented the writer V. Bykov with a special prize from the Catholic Church for the story “Sotnikov”.
	Vorobiev K. Killed near Moscow The story “Killed near Moscow” became the first work by K. Vorobyov from the category of those that were called “lieutenant’s prose” by critics. Vorobiev spoke about the “incredible reality of war,” which he himself witnessed during the battles near Moscow in the winter of 1941. War, bursting into human life, affects it like nothing else, radically changes it.
	Kondratyev V. Sashka The events in the story “Sashka” take place in 1942. The author himself is a front-line soldier and fought near Rzhev, just like his hero. The story shows people in war and in life. The writer considered it his duty to convey the bitter military truth to his readers. He reproduces military life in every detail, which gives his narrative a special realism and makes the reader a participant in the events. For the people fighting here, even the most insignificant detail is forever etched in their memory.
	Nekrasov V. In the trenches of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad, which decided the outcome of the Great Patriotic War, is depicted in many works of art. Viktor Nekrasov’s story “In the Trenches of Stalingrad” still shocks us with its depth and truthfulness. The great and simple heroes of Stalingrad appear before us with their own eyes.
	Platonov A. Recovery of the dead Andrei Platonov was a war correspondent during the war. He wrote about what he saw himself. The story “Recovery of the Dead” became the pinnacle of A. Platonov’s military prose. Dedicated to the heroic crossing of the Dnieper. And at the same time, he talks about the holiness of a mother going to the grave of her children, a holiness born of suffering.
	Tendryakov V. F. People or non-humans V. Tendryakov volunteered for the front after graduating from school at the age of 17. He was a signalman. Some facts of his military biography are reflected in the essay “People or Inhumans.” This is the writer’s reflection on how quickly the transformation of people into non-humans occurs. Without sparing either his compatriots or the fascists, the author shows the tragic relativity of humanity and inhumanity in a person, depending on circumstances.
	Fadeev A.A. Young guard A novel about the Krasnodon underground organization “Young Guard”, which operated in fascist-occupied territory, many of whose members died heroically in fascist dungeons. Most of the main characters of the novel: Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergei Tyulenin and others are real people.
	Sholokhov M.A. They fought for their homeland The pages of the novel “They Fought for the Motherland” recreate one of the most tragic moments of the war - the retreat of our troops to the Don in the summer of 1942. The uniqueness of this work lies in Sholokhov’s special ability to combine the large-scale and epic nature of the image (a tradition coming from L. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”) with a detailed narrative, with a keen sense of the uniqueness of human character. The novel reveals in many ways the fate of three modest ordinary people - miner Pyotr Lopakhin, combine operator Ivan Zvyagintsev, agronomist Nikolai Streltsov. Very different in character, they are connected at the front by male friendship and boundless devotion to the Fatherland.

In this selection we have collected the best books about the war of 1941 - 1945. A list of the most interesting works about the Great Patriotic War, about children heroes, pioneers and, on a larger scale, about the Second World War.

Valentin Pikul. Ocean Patrol. Book one. Askoldovtsy. Volume 1

The reader is presented with the Great Patriotic War near the sea. Heroes fight not only against enemies, but also against elemental whims. Fighting two enemies at once is much more difficult and dangerous. Each character in the fleet is important to their loved ones who await them on land. Further

Vladimir Karpov. Take him alive!

This work was written by former front-line soldier Vladimir Karpov and is a kind of collection of various stories about the difficult days of a simple intelligence officer Vasily. Many of the events described look difficult to imagine, but the author convinces of their authenticity. Further

Valentin Kataev. Son of the regiment

This story tells about the fate of an ordinary peasant boy, Ivan Solntsev, who became an orphan during the Great Patriotic War, which made many children orphans. Vanya was also orphaned and when he grew up, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps in order to honor his memory with his action - he entered a military school. Further

Svetlana Alexievich. The last witnesses. Solo for children's voice

This work became the second in the documentary cycle “Voice of Utopia”. Here the reader is presented with memories of the Great Patriotic War by its youngest witnesses - children. Everything that the children's eyes could convey turned out to be a terrible and merciless sight. Further

Victor Kurochkin. In war as in war

The author is known to the reader as one of the extraordinary writers of the war. This story conveys to the reader everyday affairs during military times, as well as how great the real heroism of ordinary people was. A famous feature film was made based on the book. Further

Valentin Rasputin. Live and remember. Novels and stories

This writer's prose touches on moral issues. Rasputin's novels and stories fight for the preservation of Russian customs and traditions and are part of the golden fund of Russian literature. The language with which he created was very lively, and with bright colors conveyed to the reader the inexplicable beauty and passion of the world. Further

Victor Astafiev. Cursed and killed

Several teenage recruits arrived at the front. There they will find a harsh attitude from the commander, wild cold and merciless hunger. Over time, the crowd of boys becomes a real soldier's brotherhood and acts together. Their subsequent fate will leave a mark on the soul of every reader. Further

Vasil Bykov. Until dawn

Soldier Ivanovsky was lying on the road, holding a grenade under him. A cart was approaching him, and he was ready to be noticed by the Germans. He struggled to remain still and even stopped breathing. The Germans shouted something in his direction, but he did not respond. What will happen to him next? Further

Nadezhda Nadezhdina. Partisan Lara

This story shows us the young partisan Lara during the Great Patriotic War. For many, she became a symbol of the courage of the partisans. The girl wanted a peaceful life and did not want to fight at all, but the enemy reached her village, blocking access to it. She had to help her loved ones. Further

The author of this story himself visited the front. It was the events of their history that became the basis for the plots of the books. His story tells about a man who was tortured by the icy water of impassable swamps, the mud of trenches and the wilderness of the forest. But the most important torture is the unknown outcome of military operations. Further

This book tells the story of the fate of a little girl. This future talented actress became famous as a sensitive and wise person who loves her homeland and people. The life of such an extraordinary person as Gulya (as she was nicknamed) is worthy of the reader’s attention. Further

This is the first book about the war in the “Voices of Utopia” series. This is the last edition in which the writer finalized the book, adding new episodes and adding women's confessions with some of the pages of her diary. This book is a guide to the spiritual world of a woman surviving in war. Further

The author went to the front at the age of 17 and decided to write about those with whom he fought in the same trench. The main character Nikolai, like the author, is a young boy who grows up at the front. Losing friends, he waters his native land with enemy blood. Thanks to the author, the main character became practically immortal. Further

The book tells the story of Soviet military counterintelligence. This group was able to neutralize the German agents. While the soldiers of our army were involved in the liberation of the Baltic states, Russian counterintelligence officers were able to detect the German Neman group. Further

This book is an autobiographical story. In it we can learn about the life of the inhabitants of the Solovetsky Islands. The author was presented in the role of the main character Savka Ogurtsov, who lived at the Jung School. Further

In this novel, the writer, who himself fought in Russia and Poland, narrates the events in Stalingrad, namely one of the decisive events of the Great Patriotic War. Every death is perceived as a violation of justice. Further

This novel is the last in the Living and the Dead trilogy. The writer takes the main characters through the victorious paths of the last summer of the Great Patriotic War. The entire might of the Soviet army began to gain momentum and, to the accompaniment of glorious music, is marching towards the long-awaited victory. Further

Boris Vasiliev. Tomorrow there was a war (collection)

The author, who himself visited the battlefields, talks about the war in a very realistic way. He shows the problems of love and fidelity, as well as morality, which are opposed to cynicism and officialdom. All these problems are described on the one hand in times of war, and on the other in peacetime. Further

A very famous story about the pilot Alexei Maresyev, who was a hero of the Soviet Union. The basis of the story is his boundless dedication to his work. The main character was able to carry out a lot of brilliant military operations in the air, and even after the amputation of both legs, he continued to fight! Further

Yulian Semenov. Seventeen Moments of Spring (collection)

This novel about the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Stirlitz won the sympathy of masses of readers. The main character became a real people's favorite. Nowadays, jokes are often made about him and his prototypes are debated. Colonel Maxim Isaev is a famous Soviet intelligence officer who is used to risking his life. Further

These were the best books about the war of 1941 - 1945. Be sure to bookmark the list. And if you know more novels about the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in general, write to us in the comments.

Many years separate us from the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). But time does not reduce interest in this topic, drawing the attention of today’s generation to the distant years at the front, to the origins of the feat and courage of the Soviet soldier - a hero, liberator, humanist. Yes, it is difficult to overestimate the writer’s word on war and about war; A well-aimed, striking, uplifting word, poem, song, ditty, a bright heroic image of a fighter or commander - they inspired warriors to exploits and led to victory. These words are still full of patriotic resonance today; they poeticize service to the Motherland and affirm the beauty and greatness of our moral values. That is why we return again and again to the works that made up the golden fund of literature about the Great Patriotic War.

Just as there was nothing equal to this war in the history of mankind, so in the history of world art there was not such a number of different kinds of works as about this tragic time. The theme of war was especially strong in Soviet literature. From the very first days of the grandiose battle, our writers stood in line with all the fighting people. More than a thousand writers took part in the fighting on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, defending their native land “with pen and machine gun.” Of the more than 1,000 writers who went to the front, more than 400 did not return from the war, 21 became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Famous masters of our literature (M. Sholokhov, L. Leonov, A. Tolstoy, A. Fadeev, Vs. Ivanov, I. Erenburg, B. Gorbatov, D. Bedny, V. Vishnevsky, V. Vasilevskaya, K. Simonov, A Surkov, B. Lavrenev, L. Sobolev and many others) became correspondents for front-line and central newspapers.

“There is no greater honor for a Soviet writer,” A. Fadeev wrote in those years, “and there is no higher task for Soviet art than the daily and tireless service of the weapon of artistic expression to his people in the terrible hours of battle.”

When the guns thundered, the muses were not silent. Throughout the war - both in the difficult times of failures and retreats, and in the days of victories - our literature sought to reveal as fully as possible the moral qualities of the Soviet person. While instilling love for the Motherland, Soviet literature also instilled hatred of the enemy. Love and hate, life and death - these contrasting concepts were inseparable at that time. And it was precisely this contrast, this contradiction that carried within itself the highest justice and the highest humanism. The strength of wartime literature, the secret of its remarkable creative successes, lies in its inextricable connection with the people heroically fighting the German invaders. Russian literature, which has long been famous for its closeness to the people, has perhaps never been so closely connected with life and has not been as purposeful as in 1941-1945. In essence, it became literature of one theme - the theme of war, the theme of the Motherland.

The writers breathed the same breath with the struggling people and felt like “trench poets,” and all literature as a whole, in the apt expression of A. Tvardovsky, was “the voice of the heroic soul of the people” (History of Russian Soviet Literature / Edited by P. Vykhodtsev.-M ., 1970.-P.390).

Soviet wartime literature was multi-issue and multi-genre. Poems, essays, journalistic articles, stories, plays, poems, and novels were created by writers during the war years. Moreover, if in 1941 small - “operative” genres predominated, then over time works of larger literary genres begin to play a significant role (Kuzmichev I. Genres of Russian literature of the war years - Gorky, 1962).

The role of prose works in the literature of the war years was significant. Relying on the heroic traditions of Russian and Soviet literature, the prose of the Great Patriotic War reached great creative heights. The golden fund of Soviet literature includes such works created during the war years as “Russian Character” by A. Tolstoy, “The Science of Hate” and “They Fought for the Motherland” by M. Sholokhov, “The Capture of Velikoshumsk” by L. Leonov, “The Young Guard” A. Fadeeva, “The Unconquered” by B. Gorbatov, “Rainbow” by V. Vasilevskaya and others, which became an example for writers of post-war generations.

The literary traditions of the Great Patriotic War are the foundation of the creative search for modern Soviet prose. Without these traditions, which have become classical, which are based on a clear understanding of the decisive role of the masses in the war, their heroism and selfless devotion to the Motherland, the remarkable successes achieved by Soviet “military” prose today would not have been possible.

Prose about the Great Patriotic War received its further development in the first post-war years. “The Bonfire” was written by K. Fedin. M. Sholokhov continued to work on the novel “They Fought for the Motherland.” In the first post-war decade, a number of works appeared that were considered to be called “panoramic” novels for their pronounced desire for a comprehensive depiction of the events of the war (the term itself appeared later, when the general typological features of these novels were defined). These are “White Birch” by M. Bubyonnov, “Flag Bearers” by O. Gonchar, “Battle of Berlin” by Vs. Ivanov, “Spring on the Oder” by E. Kazakevich, “Storm” by I. Ehrenburg, “Storm” by O. Latsis, “The Rubanyuk Family” by E. Popovkin, “Unforgettable Days” by Lynkov, “For the Power of the Soviets” by V. Kataev, etc.

Despite the fact that many of the “panoramic” novels had significant shortcomings, such as some “varnishing” of the events depicted, weak psychologism, illustrativeness, straightforward opposition of positive and negative heroes, a certain “romanticization” of the war, these works played their role in development of military prose.

A great contribution to the development of Soviet military prose was made by writers of the so-called “second wave,” front-line writers who entered the mainstream literature in the late 1950s and early 1960s. So, Yuri Bondarev burned Manstein’s tanks near Stalingrad. E. Nosov, G. Baklanov were also artillerymen; poet Alexander Yashin fought in the Marine Corps near Leningrad; poet Sergei Orlov and writer A. Ananyev - tank crews, burned in the tank. The writer Nikolai Gribachev was a platoon commander and then commander of a sapper battalion. Oles Gonchar fought in a mortar crew; the infantrymen were V. Bykov, I. Akulov, V. Kondratyev; mortarman - M. Alekseev; a cadet and then a partisan - K. Vorobyov; signalmen - V. Astafiev and Y. Goncharov; self-propelled gun - V. Kurochkin; paratrooper and scout - V. Bogomolov; partisans - D. Gusarov and A. Adamovich...

What is characteristic of the work of these artists, who came to literature in greatcoats smelling of gunpowder with sergeant's and lieutenant's shoulder straps? First of all, the continuation of the classical traditions of Russian Soviet literature. Traditions of M. Sholokhov, A. Tolstoy, A. Fadeev, L. Leonov. For it is impossible to create something new without relying on the best that was achieved by predecessors. Exploring the classical traditions of Soviet literature, front-line writers not only mechanically assimilated them, but also creatively developed them. And this is natural, because the basis of the literary process is always a complex mutual influence of tradition and innovation.

Front-line experience varies from writer to writer. The older generation of prose writers entered 1941, as a rule, already established artists of words and went to war to write about the war. Naturally, they could see the events of those years more broadly and comprehend them more deeply than the writers of the middle generation, who fought directly on the front line and hardly thought at that time that they would ever take up a pen. The circle of vision of the latter was quite narrow and was often limited to the boundaries of a platoon, company, or battalion. This “narrow strip through the entire war,” in the words of front-line writer A. Ananyev, also runs through many, especially early, works of prose writers of the middle generation, such as “Battalions Ask for Fire” (1957) and “The Last Salvos” ( 1959) by Y. Bondarev, “Crane Cry” (1960), “The Third Rocket” (1961) and all subsequent works by V. Bykov, “South of the Main Strike” (1957) and “An Inch of Earth” (1959), “The Dead Shame Not imut" (1961) by G. Baklanov, "Scream" (1961) and "Killed near Moscow" (1963) by K. Vorobyov, "Shepherd and Shepherdess" (1971) by V. Astafieva and others.

But, inferior to the writers of the older generation in literary experience and “broad” knowledge of the war, the writers of the middle generation had their clear advantage. They spent all four years of the war on the front line and were not just eyewitnesses of battles and battles, but also their direct participants, who personally experienced all the hardships of trench life. “These were people who bore all the hardships of the war on their shoulders - from its beginning to its end. These were men of the trenches, soldiers and officers; They themselves went on the attack, fired at tanks to the point of frantic and furious excitement, silently buried their friends, took high-rise buildings that seemed impregnable, felt with their own hands the metallic trembling of a red-hot machine gun, inhaled the garlicky smell of German felt and heard how sharply and splashingly the fragments pierced the parapet from exploding mines" (Yu. Bondarev. A look at the biography: Collected works. - M., 1970. - T. 3. - P. 389-390.). While inferior in literary experience, they had certain advantages, since they knew war from the trenches (Literature of the great feat. - M., 1975. - Issue 2. - P. 253-254).

This advantage - direct knowledge of the war, the front line, the trench, allowed writers of the middle generation to give an extremely vivid picture of the war, highlighting the smallest details of front-line life, accurately and powerfully showing the most intense minutes - minutes of battle - everything that they saw with their own eyes and that themselves experienced four years of war. “It is precisely deep personal upheavals that can explain the appearance of the naked truth of war in the first books of front-line writers. These books became a revelation such as our literature about war had never known before” (Leonov B. Epic of Heroism. - M., 1975. - P. 139.).

But it was not the battles themselves that interested these artists. And they wrote the war not for the sake of the war itself. A characteristic tendency of literary development of the 1950-60s, clearly manifested in their work, is to increase attention to the fate of man in its connection with history, to the inner world of the individual in its indissolubility with the people. To show a person, his inner, spiritual world, most fully revealed at the decisive moment - this is the main thing for which these prose writers took up their pen, who, despite the uniqueness of their individual style, have one common feature - sensitivity to the truth.

Another interesting distinctive feature is characteristic of the work of front-line writers. In their works of the 50s and 60s, compared to the books of the previous decade, the tragic emphasis in the depiction of war increased. These books “carried a charge of cruel drama; they could often be defined as “optimistic tragedies”; their main characters were soldiers and officers of one platoon, company, battalion, regiment, regardless of whether dissatisfied critics liked it or didn’t like it, demanding large-scale paintings, global sound. These books were far from any kind of calm illustration; they lacked even the slightest didacticism, tenderness, rational precision, or substitution of internal truth for external ones. They contained the harsh and heroic soldier’s truth (Yu. Bondarev. Trend in the development of the military-historical novel. - Collected works. - M., 1974. - T. 3. - P. 436.).

War, as depicted by front-line prose writers, is not only, and not even so much, spectacular heroic deeds, outstanding deeds, but tedious everyday work, hard, bloody work, but vitally necessary, and from this, how everyone will perform it in their place, victory ultimately depended. And it was in this everyday military work that the writers of the “second wave” saw the heroism of the Soviet man. The personal military experience of the writers of the “second wave” determined to a large extent both the very depiction of war in their first works (the locality of the events described, extremely compressed in space and time, a very small number of heroes, etc.), and the genre forms that were most appropriate the contents of these books. Small genres (story, story) allowed these writers to most powerfully and accurately convey everything that they personally saw and experienced, with which their feelings and memory were filled to the brim.

It was in the mid-50s - early 60s that short stories and novellas took a leading place in the literature about the Great Patriotic War, significantly displacing the novel, which occupied a dominant position in the first post-war decade. Such a tangible overwhelming quantitative superiority of works written in the form of small genres has led some critics to hastily assert that the novel can no longer regain its former leading position in literature, that it is a genre of the past and that today it does not correspond to the pace of the times, the rhythm of life, etc. .d.

But time and life themselves have shown the groundlessness and excessive categoricalness of such statements. If in the late 1950s - early 60s the quantitative superiority of the story over the novel was overwhelming, then since the mid-60s the novel has gradually regained its lost positions. Moreover, the novel undergoes certain changes. More than before, he relies on facts, on documents, on actual historical events, boldly introducing real people into the narrative, trying to paint a picture of the war, on the one hand, as broadly and completely as possible, and on the other, historically as accurately as possible. Documents and fiction go hand in hand here, being the two main components.

It was on the combination of document and fiction that such works as “The Living and the Dead” by K. Simonov, “Origins” by G. Konovalov, “Baptism” by I. Akulov, “Blockade”, “Victory” by A. .Chakovsky, “War” by I. Stadnyuk, “Just One Life” by S. Barzunov, “Sea Captain” by A. Kron, “Commander” by V. Karpov, “July 41” by G. Baklanov, “Requiem for the PQ-17 Caravan” "V. Pikul and others. Their appearance was caused by growing demands in public opinion to objectively, fully present the degree of preparedness of our country for war, the reasons and nature of the summer retreat to Moscow, the role of Stalin in leading the preparation and course of military operations of 1941-1945 and some other socio-historical “knots” that attracted keen interest starting from the mid-1960s and especially during the perestroika period.

— The book is not a poster-glossy picture of the war. Front-line soldier Astafiev shows all the horror of the war, everything that our soldiers had to go through, endure both from the Germans and from their own leadership, which often did not value human life. This piercingly tragic, terrible work does not belittle, as some believe, but, on the contrary, even more exalts the feat of our soldiers who won in such inhuman conditions.

At the time, the work caused mixed reactions. This novel is an attempt to tell the whole truth about the war, to say that the war was so inhumane and cruel (on both sides) that it is impossible to write a novel about it. It is only possible to create powerful fragments that get closer to the very essence of the war.

Astafiev, in a sense, answered a question that is very often heard both in criticism and in reader reflections: Why don’t we have “War and Peace” about the Great Patriotic War? It was impossible to write such a novel about that war: this truth is too difficult. War cannot be varnished, covered with gloss, it is impossible to distract from its bloody essence. Astafiev, a man who went through the war, was against the approach in which it becomes the subject of ideological struggle.

Pasternak has a definition that a book is a piece of smoking conscience, and nothing more. Astafievsky's novel deserves this definition.

The novel caused and continues to cause controversy. This suggests that in literature about war the end can never be set, and the debate will continue.

"The squad has left." The story of Leonid Borodin

Borodin was a staunch opponent of Soviet power. But at the same time, he is a patriot, a nationalist in the good sense of the word. For him, the position of those people who did not accept either Hitler, Stalin, Soviet power, or fascist power is interesting. Hence the painful question: how can these people find the truth during the war? It seems to me that he very accurately described the Soviet people in his story - charming, incredibly likable for the reader - they are communists, believe in Stalin, but there is so much sincerity and honesty in them; and those who do not accept Stalin.

The action takes place in occupied territory, a partisan detachment must break out of encirclement, and only a man who began working as a German headman and who used to be the owner of the estate where the action takes place can help them. And in the end he helps Soviet soldiers, but for him this is not an easy choice...

These three works - by Astafiev, Vladimov and Borodin - are remarkable in that they show a very complex picture of the war that cannot be reduced to a single plane. And in all three, the main thing is love and the knowledge that our cause was right, but not at the level of primitive slogans, this rightness is hard-earned.

“Life and Fate” by Vasily Grossman.

— This novel gives a completely realistic description of the war and at the same time is not just “everyday sketches.” This is a cast of society and era.

Stories by Vasil Bykov

— Front-line soldier Bykov talks about the war without unnecessary emotions. The writer was also one of the first to show the invaders, the Germans, not as abstract monsters, but as ordinary people, in peacetime, possessing the same professions as Soviet soldiers, and this makes the situation even more tragic.

Works by Bulat Okudzhava

- Book by front-line soldier Okudzhava “Be healthy, schoolboy!” attracts with an unusual, intelligent look at the horrors of war.

— Bulat Okudzhava’s touching story “Be healthy, schoolboy!” It was written by a genuine patriot who forged his passport: he increased his age to go to the front, where he became a sapper, and was wounded... In Soviet times, the story stood out for its sincerity, frankness and poetry against the backdrop of many ideologized cliches. This is one of the best works of fiction about the war. And if we’re talking about Okudzhava, what heartfelt and heart-tugging songs he has about war. What is the value of “Oh, war, what have you done, you vile…”!

The military prose and poetry of Bulat Okudzhava is associated with film scripts. Topic: little man and war. A man moving forward, not sparing “no bullets or grenades” and ready to “not stand up for the price” - to give his life for victory, although he really wants to return...

Tale: “Be healthy, schoolboy!” "Music lessons". And, of course, poems that everyone knows. I will cite only four, perhaps not the most frequently performed.

Jazz players

S. Rassadin

Jazz players went into the militia,
civilian without taking off his vestments.
Trombones and tap dancers kings
They became untrained soldiers.

Clarinet princes, like princes of blood,
masters of saxophones walked,
and, besides, the sorcerers walked drumsticks
the creaking stage of war.

To replace all the worries left behind
the only one ripening ahead,
and the violinists lay down to the machine guns,
and machine guns beat on the chest.

But what can you do, what can you do if
attacks were in vogue, not songs?
Who could then take into account their courage,
When did they have the honor of dying?

As soon as the first battles died down,
they were lying side by side. No movement.
In pre-war suits,
as if pretending and joking.

Their ranks thinned and fell.
They were killed, they were forgotten.
And yet to the music of the Earth
they were included in the bright remembrance,

when on a patch of earth
under the May march, so solemn,
kicked off heels, dancing, couple
for the repose of their souls. For your peace.

Don't trust the war, boy,
don't believe it: she's sad.
She's sad, boy
like boots, tight.

Your dashing horses
will not be able to do anything:
you are all in full view,
all the bullets into one.
* * *

A rider was riding on a horse.

The artillery was screaming.
The tank fired. The soul was burning.
Gallows on the threshing floor...
Illustration for war.

Of course I won't die:
you will bandage my wounds,
say a kind word.
Everything will drag on by morning...
Illustration for good.

The world is mixed with blood.
This is our last shore.
Maybe someone won't believe it -
don't break the thread...
Illustration for love.

Oh, I can’t believe that, brother, I fought.
Or maybe it was a schoolboy who drew me:
I swing my arms, I swing my legs,
and I hope to survive, and I want to win.

Oh, I can’t believe that I, brother, killed.
Or maybe I just went to the cinema in the evening?
And he didn’t grab the weapon, ruining someone else’s life,
and my hands are clean, and my soul is righteous.

Oh, I can’t believe that I didn’t fall in battle.
Or maybe I got shot, I’ve been living in paradise for a long time,
and bushes there, and groves there, and curls over the shoulders...
And this beautiful life is only a dream at night.

By the way, Bulat Shalvovich’s birthday is May 9. His legacy is a peaceful spring sky: war must never happen again:

“It’s spring again in this world -

Take your overcoat and let’s go home!”

P.S. Miraculously, Bulat Shalvovich was baptized just before the end of his earthly life. In baptism he is John. Kingdom of heaven!

"Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade" by Kurt Vonnegut

– If we talk about the Great Patriotic War as part of the Second World War. An autobiographical novel by an American writer about the meaninglessness and soullessness of war.

“I fought in a fighter. Those who took the first blow. 1941-1942" and "I fought with Luftwaffe aces. To replace the fallen. 1943-1945" by Artem Drabkin