“And the dawns here are quiet”: characteristics of the characters from the story by Boris Vasiliev. Characteristics of the main characters of the work And the dawns here are quiet, Vasiliev

War is no place for a woman. But in an effort to defend their country, their fatherland, even representatives of the fair half of humanity are ready to fight. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev in the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet...” was able to convey the difficult fate of five female anti-aircraft gunners and their commander during the second war.

The author himself claimed that a real event was chosen as the basis for the plot. Seven soldiers who served on one of the sections of the Kirov Railway were able to repel the Nazi invaders. They fought with the sabotage group and prevented the bombing of their site. Unfortunately, in the end only the squad leader remained alive. He will subsequently be given a medal “For Military Merit”.

The writer found this story interesting, and he decided to put it on paper. However, when Vasiliev began writing the book, he realized that in the post-war period many exploits were covered, and such an act was only a special case. Then the author decided to change the gender of his characters, and the story began to sparkle with new colors. After all, not everyone decided to cover women’s lot in the war.

Meaning of the name

The title of the story conveys the effect of surprise that befell the heroes. This junction, where the action took place, was a truly quiet and calm place. If in the distance the occupiers were bombing the Kirov Road, then “here” harmony reigned. Those men who were sent to guard him were drinking themselves to death, because there was nothing to do there: no battles, no Nazis, no missions. Like in the rear. That is why the girls were sent there, as if knowing that nothing would happen to them, the area was safe. However, the reader sees that the enemy was only letting his guard down while planning an attack. After the tragic events described by the author, all that remains is to bitterly complain about the failed justification for this terrible accident: “And the dawns here are quiet.” The silence in the title also conveys the emotion of mourning - a minute of silence. Nature itself mourns, seeing such an outrage against man.

In addition, the title illustrates the peace on earth that the girls sought by giving their young lives. They achieved their goal, but at what cost? Their efforts, their struggle, their cry with the help of the conjunction “a” is contrasted with this blood-washed silence.

Genre and direction

The genre of the book is a story. It is very small in volume and can be read in one sitting. The author deliberately removed from the military everyday life, which was well known to him, all those everyday details that slow down the dynamics of the text. He wanted to leave only emotionally charged fragments that evoke a genuine reaction from the reader to what he read.

Direction: realistic military prose. B. Vasiliev tells the story of the war, using real life material to create the plot.

The essence

The main character, Fedot Evgrafych Vaskov, is the foreman of the 171st railway district. It is calm here, and soldiers arriving in this area often start drinking from idleness. The hero writes reports on them, and eventually they send him anti-aircraft gunner girls.

At first, Vaskov does not understand how to deal with young girls, but when it comes to military operations, they all become a single team. One of them notices two Germans, the main character understands that these are saboteurs who are going to secretly pass through the forest to important strategic objects.

Fedot quickly assembles a group of five girls. They follow a local trail to get ahead of the Germans. However, it turns out that instead of two people there are sixteen fighters in the enemy squad. Vaskov knows that they cannot cope, and he sends one of the girls for help. Unfortunately, Lisa dies, drowning in a swamp and not having time to convey the message.

At this time, trying to deceive the Germans by cunning, the detachment tries to take them as far as possible. They pretend to be lumberjacks, shoot from behind boulders, and find a German resting place. But the forces are not equal, and during the unequal battle the rest of the girls die.

The hero still manages to capture the remaining soldiers. Many years later, he returns here to bring a marble slab to the grave. In the epilogue, the young people, seeing the old man, understand that it turns out there were battles here too. The story ends with a phrase from one of the young guys: “And the dawns here are quiet, quiet, I only saw them today.”

The main characters and their characteristics

Fedot Vaskov- the only survivor of the team. Subsequently he lost his arm due to injury. Brave, responsible and reliable person. He considers drunkenness in war unacceptable and zealously defends the need for discipline. Despite the difficult nature of the girls, he cares about them and is very worried when he realizes that he did not save the fighters. At the end of the work, the reader sees him with his adopted son. Which means that Fedot kept his promise to Rita - he took care of her son, who became an orphan.

Images of girls:

Elizaveta Brichkina- a hardworking girl. She was born into a simple family. Her mother is sick and her father works as a forester. Before the war, Lisa was going to move from the village to the city and study at a technical school. She dies while carrying out the order: she drowns in the swamp, trying to lead soldiers to help her team. Dying in a quagmire, she does not believe until the last that death will not allow her to realize her ambitious dreams.
Sofia Gurvich- ordinary soldier. Former student of Moscow University, excellent student. She studied German and could be a good translator; she was predicted to have a great future. Sonya grew up among a friendly Jewish family. He dies trying to return a forgotten pouch to the commander. She accidentally meets the Germans, who stab her to death with two blows to the chest. Although she did not succeed in everything during the war, she persistently and patiently fulfilled her duties and accepted death with dignity.
Galina Chetvertak- the youngest of the group. She is an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. He goes to war for the sake of “romance”, but quickly realizes that this is not a place for the weak. Vaskov takes her with him for educational purposes, but Galya cannot withstand the pressure. She panics and tries to run away from the Germans, but they kill the girl. Despite the heroine's cowardice, the foreman tells the others that she died in a shootout.
Evgenia Komelkova- a young beautiful girl, the daughter of an officer. The Germans capture her village, she manages to hide, but her entire family is shot before her eyes. During the war he shows courage and heroism, Zhenya overshadows his colleagues. First she is wounded, and then shot at point-blank range, because she led the detachment towards herself, wanting to save the rest.
Margarita Osyanina- junior sergeant and commander of a squad of anti-aircraft gunners. Serious and sensible, she was married and has a son. However, her husband dies in the first days of the war, after which Rita began to hate the Germans quietly and mercilessly. During the battle, she is mortally wounded and shoots herself in the temple. But before his death he asks Vaskov to take care of his son.

Themes

Heroism, sense of duty. Yesterday's schoolgirls, still very young girls, go to war. But they do this not out of necessity. Each comes of her own free will and, as history has shown, each invested all her strength to resist the Nazi invaders.
Woman at war. First of all, in the work of B. Vasiliev, the fact that the girls are not in the rear is important. They, along with men, fight for the honor of their homeland. Each of them is a person, each had plans for life, her own family. But cruel fate takes it all away. The protagonist says that war is terrible because, by taking the lives of women, it destroys the life of an entire people.
The little man's feat. None of the girls were professional fighters. These were ordinary Soviet people with different characters and destinies. But the war unites the heroines, and they are ready to fight together. The contribution of each of them to the struggle was not in vain.
Courage and boldness. Some heroines especially stood out from the rest, showing phenomenal courage. For example, Zhenya Komelkova saved her comrades at the cost of her life, turning the persecution of enemies on herself. She was not afraid to take risks, as she was confident of victory. Even after being wounded, the girl was only surprised that this happened to her.
Homeland. Vaskov blamed himself for what happened to his charges. He imagined that their sons would rise up and reproach the men who could not protect the women. He did not believe that some White Sea Canal was worth these sacrifices, because it was already guarded by hundreds of soldiers. But in a conversation with the foreman, Rita stopped his self-flagellation, saying that his patronymic name was not the canals and roads that they protected from saboteurs. This is all Russian land that required protection here and now. This is how the author represents his homeland.

Problems

The issues of the story cover typical problems from military prose: cruelty and humanity, courage and cowardice, historical memory and oblivion. She also conveys a specific innovative problem - the fate of women in war. Let's look at the most striking aspects using examples.

The problem of war. The struggle does not decide who to kill and who to leave alive; it is blind and indifferent, like a destructive element. Therefore, weak and innocent women die by chance, and the only man survives, also by chance. They are facing an unequal battle, and it is quite natural that no one had time to help them. These are the conditions of wartime: everywhere, even in the quietest place, it is dangerous, destinies are breaking everywhere.
Memory problem. In the finale, the foreman comes to the scene of a terrible massacre of the heroine’s son and meets young people who are surprised that fighting took place in this wilderness. Thus, the surviving man perpetuates the memory of the dead women by installing a memorial plaque. Now descendants will remember their feat.
The problem of cowardice. Galya Chetvertak was unable to cultivate the necessary courage, and with her unreasonable behavior she complicated the operation. The author does not blame her strictly: the girl was already brought up in difficult conditions, she had no one to learn how to behave with dignity. Her parents abandoned her, afraid of responsibility, and Galya herself was afraid at the decisive moment. Using her example, Vasiliev shows that war is not a place for romantics, because the struggle is always not beautiful, it is monstrous, and not everyone can withstand its oppression.

Meaning

The author wanted to show how Russian women, who have long been famous for their willpower, fought against the occupation. It is not for nothing that he talks about each biography separately, because they show what trials the fair sex faced in the rear and on the front line. There was no mercy for anyone, and in these conditions the girls took the enemy’s blow. Each of them made the sacrifice voluntarily. In this desperate tension of the will of all the people's forces lies the main idea of Boris Vasiliev. Future and present mothers sacrificed their natural duty - to give birth and raise future generations - in order to save the whole world from the tyranny of Nazism.

Of course, the main idea of the writer is a humanistic message: women have no place in war. Their lives are trampled by heavy soldiers' boots, as if they come across not people, but flowers on their way. But if the enemy has encroached on his native land, if he mercilessly destroys everything that is dear to his heart, then even a girl is able to challenge him and win in an unequal struggle.

Conclusion

Each reader, of course, draws the moral conclusions of the story independently. But many of those who have thoughtfully read the book will agree that it talks about the need to preserve historical memory. We need to remember the unimaginable sacrifices that our ancestors voluntarily and consciously made in the name of peace on Earth. They went into a bloody battle to exterminate not only the occupiers, but also the very idea of Nazism, a false and unjust theory that made possible many unprecedented crimes against human rights and freedoms. This memory is needed so that the Russian people and their equally brave neighbors understand their place in the world and its modern history.

All countries, all peoples, women and men, old people and children were able to unite for a common goal: the return of a peaceful sky above their heads. This means that today we “can repeat” this unification with the same great message of goodness and justice.

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Beloved Komelkova

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Galya Chetvertak is an orphan, a pupil of an orphanage. In the orphanage she received her nickname for her short stature. Dreamer. She lived in a world of her own fantasies, and went to the front with the conviction that war is romance. After the orphanage, Galya ended up in a library technical school. The war found her in her third year. On the first day of the war, their entire group was sent to the military commissar. Everyone was assigned, but Galya didn’t fit anywhere, either in age or height. During the battle with the Germans, Vaskov took Galya with him, but she, unable to withstand the nervous tension of waiting for the Germans, ran out of cover and was shot by the Nazis. Despite such a “ridiculous” death, the foreman told the girls that she died “in a shootout.”

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One of the main heroines of Boris Lvovich Vasiliev’s story “And the dawns here are quiet...”.

Zhenya is a very beautiful red-haired girl, the other heroines were amazed at her beauty. Tall, slender, with fair skin. My wife is 19 years old. Zhenya has her own account with the Germans: when the Germans captured Zhenya’s village, Zhenya herself managed to hide the Estonian woman. In front of the girl's eyes, the Nazis shot her mother, sister and brother. She goes to war to avenge the death of her loved ones. Despite the grief, “her character was cheerful and smiling.” In Vaskov's platoon, Zhenya showed artistry, but there was also enough room for heroism - it was she who, calling fire on herself, led the Germans away from Rita and Vaskov. She saves Vaskov when he fights the second German who killed Sonya Gurvich. The Germans first wounded Zhenya and then shot her point-blank.

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Senior sergeant, deputy platoon commander of female anti-aircraft gunners.

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One of the main heroines of Boris Lvovich Vasiliev’s story “And the dawns here are quiet...”.

Liza Brichkina is a simple village girl, originally from the Bryansk region. The forester's daughter. One day, their father brought a guest to their house. Lisa really liked him. Seeing the conditions in which the girl is growing up, the guest invites Lisa to come to the capital and enter a technical school with a dormitory, but Lisa did not have the chance to become a student - the war began. Lisa always believed that tomorrow would come and be better than today. Lisa died first. She drowned in a swamp while carrying out the task of Sergeant Major Vaskov.

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Postman

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Sergeant Major Vaskov's landlady

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One of the main heroines of Boris Lvovich Vasiliev’s story “And the dawns here are quiet...”.

Rita is strict, she never laughs, she just moves her lips a little, but her eyes still remain serious. “Rita was not one of the lively ones...” Rita Mushtakova, the first of her class, out of great love, married senior lieutenant Osyanin, with whom she gave birth to a son, Albert. And there was no happier girl in the world. At the outpost she was immediately elected to the women's council and enrolled in all the circles. Rita learned to bandage the wounded and shoot, ride a horse, throw grenades and protect against gases, and then... war. On the very first day of the war, she turned out to be one of the few who did not get confused and did not panic. She was generally calm and reasonable. Rita's husband died on the second day of the war during a counterattack on June 23, 1941. Having learned that her husband is no longer alive, she goes to war in her husband’s place in order to protect her little son, who is left with his mother. They wanted to send Rita to the rear, but she asked to go into battle. They drove her away, forced her into the heated vehicles, but the persistent wife of the deceased deputy head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Osyanin, appeared again at the fortified area headquarters every other day. In the end, she was hired as a nurse, and six months later she was sent to the regimental anti-aircraft school. The authorities valued the unsmiling widow of the hero-border guard: she noted it in orders, set it as an example, and therefore respected her personal request - to be sent, after completing her studies, to the area where the outpost stood, where her husband died in a fierce bayonet battle. Now Rita could consider herself satisfied: she had achieved what she wanted. Even the death of her husband faded into the farthest corner of her memory: Rita had a job, and she learned to hate quietly and mercilessly... In Vaskov’s platoon, Rita became friends with Zhenya Komelkova and Galya Chetvertak. She died last, putting a bullet in her temple and thereby saving Fedot Vaskov. Before her death, she asked him to take care of her son. The death of Rita Osyanina is psychologically the most difficult moment of the story. Boris Vasiliev very accurately conveys the state

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One of the main heroines of Boris Lvovich Vasiliev’s story “And the dawns here are quiet...”.

Sonya Gurvich is a girl who grew up in a large, friendly Jewish family. Sonya is originally from Minsk. Her father was a local doctor. She herself studied for a year at Moscow University and knew German well. A neighbor at lectures, Sonya’s first love, with whom they spent only one unforgettable evening in a cultural park, volunteered for the front. Knowing German, she could have been a good translator, but there were many translators, so she was assigned to an anti-aircraft gunner (of whom, in turn, there were few). Sonya is the second victim of the Germans in Vaskov's platoon. She runs away from the others to find and return Vaskov’s pouch, and stumbles upon patrol saboteurs who killed Sonya with two stabs in the chest.

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Major, Vaskov's commander

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The main character of Boris Lvovich Vasiliev's story "And the dawns here are quiet...".

Petty Officer Fedot Vaskov is the commandant of the 171st patrol in the Karelian wilderness. The crews of the anti-aircraft installations of the patrol, finding themselves in a quiet situation, begin to suffer from idleness and get drunk. In response to Vaskov’s requests to “send non-drinkers,” the command sends two squads of female anti-aircraft gunners there... Fedot completed four classes of the regimental school, and in ten years rose to the rank of senior officer. Vaskov experienced a personal drama: after the Finnish war, his wife left him. Vaskov demanded his son through the court and sent him to his mother in the village, but the Germans killed him there. The sergeant major always feels older than his years. The author emphasizes the peasant mind and peasant spirit in the “gloomy foreman” Fedot Vaskov. “Solid taciturnity”, “peasant slowness”, special “masculine thoroughness” since “he was the only man left in the family - the breadwinner, the water provider, and the breadwinner.” The female anti-aircraft gunners subordinate to him call thirty-two-year-old Vaskov behind his back as “an old man” and “a mossy stump who has twenty words in reserve, and even those from the regulations.” “All his life, Fedot Evgrafovich followed orders. He did it literally, quickly and with pleasure. He was the transmission gear of a huge, carefully adjusted mechanism.” Having encountered with his “search group” of five “girls with three-rulers in an embrace” sixteen armed fascist thugs from head to toe, rushing through the Sinyukhin ridge to the Kirov railway, to the “canal named after. Comrade Stalin,” Vaskov “hid his confusion. I thought and thought, turned my heavy brains, sucked at all the possibilities of the upcoming deadly meeting. From his military experience, he knew that “playing Hovanki with a German is almost like playing with death”, that the enemy “must be beaten. Beat until he crawls into the lair,” without pity, without mercy. Realizing how difficult it is for a woman, who always gives birth to life, to kill, he taught and explained: “These are not people. Not people, not people, not even animals - fascists. So look accordingly"

Film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet...”: How do the girls die? Five girls went on a mission and every single one of them died.

The story by Boris Vasiliev and the film based on it, “And the Dawns Here Are Quiet...” leave an indelible impression. The viewer almost feels like a participant in the events, empathizing with the heroines and living with them until their last moment.

"Five girls, just five"

There are five of them. Young, hastily trained and inexperienced. Only Rita Osyanina and Zhenya Komelkova had a chance to see the enemy in person - they were the ones who would hold out the longest.

Lisa Brichkina , a girl who had practically no childhood fell in love with a foreman.

Fedot Vaskov also singled her out from the rest.

But Lisa was not destined to know the happy life of a girl - she went for help, and, not having time to reach her people, drowned in the quagmire.

Sonya Gurvich - “little sparrow,” as the foreman called a girl he did not understand. Smart and dreamy, she loved poetry and recited Blok by heart. Sonya dies from a fascist’s knife when she runs for Vaskov’s pouch.

Galya Chetvertak – the youngest and most spontaneous. She is filled with childlike joy at being entrusted with a responsible task. However, she was unable to cope with her own fear, gave herself away and was shot point-blank by a fascist line. An orphanage girl, Galya, died screaming “Mom.”

Zhenya Komelkova - the most striking character. Lively, artistic and emotional, she always attracts attention. She even got into the women's detachment because of an affair with a married commander. Knowing that she will probably die, she leads the Nazis away from the wounded Rita and Sergeant Major Vaskov.

Husband Rita Osyanina died on the second day of the war. She should have raised her son, but she chose revenge for the death of her loved one. Decisive and courageous, Rita violated the order of Sergeant Major Vaskov and did not leave her position. Seriously wounded, she dies from her own bullet.

Yes, war does not have a woman's face. Woman is the personification of life. And it’s a pity that Rita’s son will grow up without a mother, and the children of the other girls are not destined to be born at all.

THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR IN THE STORY BY B. L. VASILIEV “AND THE DAWNINGS HERE ARE QUIET...”

1.Introduction.

Reflection of the events of the war years in literature.

2. Main part.

2.1 Depiction of war in the story.

2.2 Gallery of female images.

2.3 Sergeant Major Vaskov is the main character of the story.

2.4 The image of the enemy in the story.

3. Conclusion.

True patriotism.

I've only seen hand-to-hand combat once.

Once - in reality. And a thousand - in a dream.

Who says that war is not scary?

He knows nothing about the war.

Yu.V. Drunina

The Great Patriotic War is one of the defining events in the history of our country. There is practically no family that is not affected by this tragedy. The theme of the Great Patriotic War has become one of the main themes not only in literature, but also in cinematography and the fine arts of the twentieth century. In the very first days of the war, essays by war correspondents and works by writers and poets who found themselves on the battlefields appeared. A huge amount was written

number of stories, novellas and novels about the war. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev’s story “And the dawns here are quiet…” is one of the most lyrical works about the war. The events of the story take place in 1942 in the north of Russia, in a battalion where fate, after being wounded, threw the main character, Sergeant Major Vaskov. The Hero is appointed to command a “female” platoon of female anti-aircraft gunners. The author depicts different women, different from each other, but united by one goal - the fight against the enemy of the Motherland. As fate would have it, the heroines found themselves in a war where a woman had no place. Each of the girls has already faced death, the pain of loss. Hatred for their enemies is what motivates them, what gives them strength to fight.

Rita Osyanina - commander of the first squad of the platoon. Her husband, a border guard, died on the second day of the war “in a morning counterattack,” and her son lives with his parents. Rita hates her enemies “quietly and mercilessly.” She is stern, reserved, strict with herself and other fighters.

Zhenya Komelnova is a bright beauty, tall, red-haired. Zhenya, like Rita, also has a “personal score” with the Nazis. The whole family was shot before her eyes. After this tragedy, Zhenya found herself at the front. Despite this, the heroine retained her natural cheerfulness. She is sociable and mischievous, funny and flirtatious.

Lisa Brichkina is the daughter of a forester. She grew up early, cared for her sick mother for five years, ran a household, and managed to work on a collective farm. The war prevented the heroine from entering a technical school. Liza is thorough, like a peasant, knows and loves the forest, is not afraid of any work, and is always ready to help her friends.

Sonya Gurvich is a girl from a “very large and very friendly” family. Her father was a doctor in Minsk. The girl studied at the university for a year, but the war began, her lover went to the front, and Sonya also could not stay at home.

Sonya knows nothing about the fate of the family who found themselves in Nazi-occupied Minsk. She lives in hope that they managed to survive, although she understands that this hope is illusory. Sonya is smart and educated, “an excellent student at school and university,” speaks perfect German, and loves poetry.

Galya Chetvertak was brought up in an orphanage, she is a foundling. Maybe that’s why she lives in an imaginary world, invents a “health worker” for herself, and maybe lies. In fact, this is not a lie, says the author, but “desires presented as reality.” Dreamy by nature

the girl entered the library technical school. And when she was in her third year, the war began. Gala was rejected by the military registration and enlistment office because she did not fit in either height or age, but she showed remarkable perseverance and “I’m fine.”

exceptions” she was sent to the anti-aircraft unit.

The heroines are not alike. It is these girls that Sergeant Major Vaskov takes with him to follow the Germans. But it turns out there are not two enemies, but much more. As a result, all the girls die, leaving only

sergeant major Death overtakes the heroines in different situations: through negligence in a swamp, and in an unequal battle with enemies. Vasiliev admires their heroism. It cannot be said that girls are unfamiliar with the feeling of fear. The impressionable Galya Chetvertak is very frightened by the death of Sonya Gurvich. But the girl manages to overcome fear, and this is her strength and courage. At the moment of death, none of the girls complains about fate, does not blame anyone. They understand that their lives were sacrificed in the name of saving the Motherland. The author emphasizes the unnaturalness of what is happening when a woman, whose purpose is to love, give birth and raise children, is forced to kill. War is an abnormal state for a person.

The main character of the story is Sergeant Major Fedot Vaskov. He comes from a simple family, studied until the fourth grade and was forced to leave school because his father died. Nevertheless, he later graduated from the regimental school. Personal life

Vaskova was unsuccessful: his wife ran away with the regimental veterinarian, and his little son died. Vaskov has already fought in war, was wounded, and has awards. The girl fighters at first laughed at their simple-minded commander, but soon appreciated his courage, directness, and warmth. He tries in every possible way to help the girls who are coming face to face with the enemy for the first time. Rita Osyanina asks Vaskov to take care of her son. Many years later, an elderly foreman and Rita’s adult son will install a marble slab at the site of her death. The images of enemies are drawn by the author schematically and laconically. These are not specific people; their characters and feelings are not described by the author. These are fascists, invaders who have encroached on the freedom of another country. They are cruel and merciless. This

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The story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet,” a brief summary of which is given later in the article, tells about the events taking place during the Great Patriotic War.

The work is dedicated to the heroic feat of anti-aircraft gunners who unexpectedly found themselves surrounded by Germans.

About the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”

The story was first published in 1969, it was approved by the editor of the magazine “Youth”.

The reason for writing the work was a real wartime episode.

A small group of 7 soldiers recovering from wounds prevented the Germans from blowing up the Kirov Railway.

As a result of the operation, only one commander survived, who subsequently received the medal “For Military Merit” at the end of the war.

The episode is tragic, however, in the realities of wartime this event is lost among the horrors of a terrible war. Then the author remembered the 300 thousand women who bore the hardships of the front along with male soldiers.

And the plot of the story was built on the tragic fates of female anti-aircraft gunners who die during a reconnaissance operation.

Who is the author of the book “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”

The work was written by Boris Vasiliev in the narrative genre.

When the Great Patriotic War began, he had barely finished 9th grade.

Boris Lvovich fought near Smolensk, received a shell shock, and therefore knew first-hand about front-line life.

He became interested in literary work in the 50s, writing plays and scripts. The writer took up prose stories only 10 years later.

The main characters of the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”

Vaskov Fedot Evgrafych

The sergeant-major, whose command the anti-aircraft gunners were placed in, occupied the commandant’s position at the 171st railway siding.

He is 32 years old, but the girls gave him the nickname “old man” for his intractable character.

Before the war, he was an ordinary man from the village, had a 4th grade education, and at the age of 14 he was forced to become the sole breadwinner in the family.

Vaskov's son, whom he sued from his ex-wife after the divorce, died before the start of the war.

Gurvich Sonya

A simple, shy girl from a large family, born and raised in Minsk. Her father worked as a local doctor.

Before the war, she managed to study for a year at Moscow State University as a translator and spoke German fluently. Sonya's first love was a bespectacled student studying in the library at the next table, with whom they timidly communicated.

When the war began, due to the excess of translators at the front, Sonya ended up in a school for anti-aircraft gunners, and then in Fedot Vaskov’s detachment.

The girl loved poetry very much, her cherished dream was to see her many household members again. During a reconnaissance operation, Sonya was killed by a German with two knife blows to the chest.

Brichkina Elizaveta

Country girl, daughter of a forester. From the age of 14 she was forced to leave school and take care of her terminally ill mother.

I dreamed of entering a technical school, so after my mother’s death, following the advice of one of my father’s friends, I was going to move to the capital. But her plans were not destined to come true; they were adjusted by the war - Lisa went to the front.

The gloomy Sergeant Vaskov immediately aroused great sympathy in the girl. During a reconnaissance mission, Lisa was sent through the swamp for help, but was in too much of a hurry and drowned. After some time, Vaskov will find her skirt in the swamp, then he will understand that he is left without help.

Komelkova Evgenia

Cheerful and beautiful red-haired girl. The Germans shot all members of her family; the merciless reprisal took place right before Zhenya’s eyes.

Her neighbor saved the girl from death. Burning with the desire to avenge the death of her relatives, Zhenya became an anti-aircraft gunner.

The girl’s attractive appearance and perky character made her the object of Colonel Luzhin’s advances, so the authorities, in order to interrupt the romance, redirected Zhenya to the women’s detachment, so she came under the command of Vaskov.

In reconnaissance, Zhenya twice showed fearlessness and heroism. She saved her commander when he was fighting a German. And then, exposing herself to bullets, she led the Germans away from the place where the foreman and her wounded friend Rita hid.

Chetvertak Galina

A very young and sensitive girl, she was short in stature and had a habit of making up stories and fables.

She grew up in an orphanage and didn’t even have her own last name. Because of her small stature, the elderly caretaker, who treated Gala in a friendly manner, came up with her surname Chetvertak.

Before being called up, the girl almost managed to complete 3 years of library college. During a reconnaissance operation, Galya was unable to cope with fear and jumped out of cover, falling under German bullets.

Osyanina Margarita

The senior person in the platoon, Rita was distinguished by her seriousness, was very reserved and rarely smiled. As a girl, she bore the surname Mushtakov.

At the very beginning of the war, her husband, Lieutenant Osyanin, died. Wanting to avenge the death of her loved one, Rita went to the front.

She gave her only son, Albert, to be raised by her mother. Rita's death was the last of five girls in intelligence. She shot herself, realizing that she was mortally wounded and was an unbearable burden for her commander Vaskov.

Before her death, she asked the foreman to take care of Albert. And he kept his promise.

Other characters in “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”

Kiryanova

She was Rita's senior comrade in the industrial platoon. Before serving on the border, she took part in the Finnish War. Kiryanova, along with Rita, Zhenya Komelkova and Galya Chetvertak, were redirected to the 171st crossing.

Knowing about Rita’s secret attacks on her son and mother during her service with Vaskov, she did not betray her long-time colleague, interceding for her that morning when the girl met the Germans in the forest.

A brief retelling of the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”

The events of the story are greatly abbreviated. Dialogue and descriptive moments are omitted.

Chapter 1

The action took place in the rear. At the inactive railway siding at number 171, there are only a few surviving houses. There were no more bombings, but as a precaution, the command left anti-aircraft installations here.

Compared to other parts of the front, there was a resort at the junction, the soldiers abused alcohol and flirted with local residents.

Weekly reports from the commandant of the patrol, Sergeant Major Vaskov Fedot Evgrafych, on the anti-aircraft gunners led to regular changes in personnel, but the picture was repeated again and again. Finally, after analyzing the current situation, the command sent a team of female anti-aircraft gunners under the leadership of the foreman.

The new squad had no problems with drinking and revelry, but for Fedot Evgrafych it was unusual for Fedot Evgrafych to command a female, cocky and trained squad, since he himself had only 4 years of education.

Chapter 2

The death of her husband made Margarita Osyanina a stern and withdrawn person. From the moment of the loss of her beloved, the desire for revenge burned in her heart, so she remained to serve on the border near the places where Osyanin died.

To replace the deceased carrier, they sent Komelkova Evgenia, a mischievous red-haired beauty. She also suffered from the Nazis - she had to see with her own eyes the execution of all family members by the Germans. Two dissimilar girls became friends and Rita’s heart began to thaw from the grief she had experienced, thanks to Zhenya’s cheerful and open disposition.

Two girls accepted the shy Galya Chetvertak into their circle. When Rita finds out that she can transfer to the 171st crossing, she immediately agrees, since her son and mother live very close by.

All three anti-aircraft gunners come under the command of Vaskov and Rita, with the help of her friends, makes regular night trips to her relatives.

Chapter 3

Returning in the morning after one of her secret forays, Rita encountered two German soldiers in the forest. They were armed and carried something heavy in bags.

Rita immediately reported this to Vaskov, who guessed that these were saboteurs whose goal was to undermine a strategically important railway junction.

The sergeant major conveyed important information to the command over the phone and received orders to comb the forest. He decided to go to Lake Vop a short way across the Germans.

Fedot Evgrafych took five girls with him, led by Rita, on reconnaissance. These were Elizaveta Brichkina, Evgenia Komelkova, Galina Chetvertak and Sonya Gurvich as a translator.

Before sending, the soldiers had to be taught how to put on proper shoes so as not to wear out their feet, and also forced to clean their rifles. The conditioned danger signal was the quack of a drake.

Chapter 4

The shortest path to the forest lake was through a marshy swamp. For almost half a day the team had to walk waist-deep in cold swamp slush. Galya Chetvertak lost her boot and footcloth, and part of the way through the swamp she had to walk barefoot.

Having reached the shore, the whole team was able to rest, wash dirty clothes and have a snack. To continue the campaign, Vaskov made a birch bark chunya for Gali. We reached the desired point only in the evening; here it was necessary to set up an ambush.

Chapter 5

When planning a meeting with two fascist soldiers, Vaskov was not very worried and hoped that he would be able to capture them from the forward position, which he placed among the stones. However, in case of an unforeseen event, the foreman provided for the possibility of retreat.

The night passed peacefully, only the fighter Chetvertak became very ill, walking barefoot through the swamp. In the morning, the Germans reached the Sinyukhin ridge between the lakes; the enemy detachment consisted of sixteen people.

Chapter 6

Realizing that he had miscalculated and that he could not stop the large German detachment, Vaskov sent Elizaveta Brichkina for help. He chose Lisa because she grew up in nature and knew her way around the forest very well.

To detain the Nazis, the team decided to depict the noisy activity of lumberjacks. They lit fires, Vaskov cut down trees, the girls shouted and called to each other merrily. When the German detachment was 10 meters away from them, Zhenya ran straight to the river in order to distract the attention of enemy scouts by swimming.

Their plan worked, the Germans took a detour, and the team managed to gain a whole day of time.

Chapter 7

Lisa was in a hurry for help. Having not followed the foreman’s instructions about a pass on an island in the middle of the swamp, she, tired and cold, continued on her way.

Having almost reached the end of the swamp, Lisa became thoughtful and was very frightened by a large bubble that swelled right in front of her in the dead silence of the swamp.

Instinctively, the girl rushed to the side and lost support under her feet. The pole that Lisa was trying to lean on broke. The last thing she saw before her death was the rays of the rising sun.

Chapter 8

The foreman did not know exactly about the trajectory of the Germans, so he decided to go on reconnaissance with Rita. They found a halt, 12 fascists were resting near a fire and drying clothes. It was not possible to establish where the other four were.

Vaskov decides to change his location, and therefore sends Rita to fetch the girls and at the same time asks to bring his personalized pouch. But in the confusion, the pouch was forgotten in the old place, and Sonya Gurvich, without waiting for the commander’s permission, ran for the expensive item.

After a short time, the sergeant major heard a barely audible scream. As a seasoned fighter, he guessed what this cry meant. Together with Zhenya, they went in the direction of the sound and found the body of Sonya, killed by two stabs in the chest.

Chapter 9

Leaving Sonya, the foreman and Zhenya set off in pursuit of the fascists so that they would not have time to report the incident to their own. Rage helps the sergeant major clearly think through a plan of action.

Vaskov quickly killed one of the Germans; Zhenya helped him deal with the second, stunning the Fritz in the head with a rifle butt. This was the first hand-to-hand combat for the girl, which she endured very hard.

Vaskov found his pouch in the pocket of one of the Fritzes. The entire team of anti-aircraft gunners, led by the foreman, gathered near Sonya. The body of a colleague was buried with dignity.

Chapter 10

Making their way through the forest, Vaskov’s team unexpectedly ran into the Germans. In a split second, the sergeant-major threw a grenade forward, and machine-gun bursts began to crackle. Not knowing the enemy's strength, the Nazis decided to retreat.

During the short battle, Galya Chetvertak was unable to overcome her fear and did not participate in the shooting. For this behavior, the girls wanted to condemn her at a Komsomol meeting, however, the commander stood up for the confused anti-aircraft gunner.

Despite extreme fatigue, perplexed about the reasons for the delay in help, the foreman goes on reconnaissance, taking Galina with him for educational purposes.

Chapter 11

Galya was very frightened by the real events that were taking place. A dreamer and writer, she often immersed herself in a fictional world, and therefore the picture of a real war unsettled her.

Vaskov and Chetvertak soon discovered two bodies of German soldiers. By all indications, the soldiers wounded in the firefight were finished off by their own comrades. Not far from this place, the remaining 12 Fritz continued reconnaissance, two of whom had already come very close to Fedot and Gala.

The sergeant-major reliably hid Galina behind the bushes and hid himself in the rocks, but the girl could not cope with her feelings and jumped out of the shelter screaming right into the machine-gun fire of the Germans. Vaskov began to lead the Germans away from his remaining fighters and ran to the swamp, where he took refuge.

During the chase, he was wounded in the arm. When dawn broke, the sergeant-major saw Liza’s skirt in the distance, then he realized that now he could not count on help.

Chapter 12

Being under the yoke of heavy thoughts, the foreman went in search of the Germans. Trying to understand the enemy’s train of thought and examining traces, he came across the Legonta monastery. From a hiding place, he watched as a group of 12 fascists hid explosives in an old hut.

The saboteurs left two soldiers for security, one of whom was wounded. Vaskov managed to neutralize the healthy guard and take possession of his weapon.

The foreman with Rita and Zhenya met on the river bank, in the place where they pretended to be lumberjacks. Having gone through terrible trials, they began to treat each other like brothers. After a halt, they began to prepare for the last battle.

Chapter 13

Vaskov’s team held the defense of the shore as if the entire Motherland was behind them. But the forces were unequal, and the Germans still managed to cross to their shore. Rita was seriously wounded by a grenade explosion.

To save the foreman and her wounded friend, Zhenya, firing back, ran further into the forest, taking the saboteurs with her. The girl was wounded in the side by a blind shot from the enemy, but she didn’t even think about hiding and waiting out.

Already lying in the grass, Zhenya fired until the Germans shot her at point-blank range.

Chapter 14

Fedot Evgrafych, having bandaged Rita and covered her with spruce paws, wanted to go in search of Zhenya and her things. For peace of mind, he decided to leave her a revolver with two cartridges.

Rita understood that she was mortally wounded; she was only afraid that her son would remain an orphan. Therefore, she asked the foreman to take care of Albert, saying that it was from him and from her mother that she was returning that morning when she encountered German soldiers.

Vaskov made such a promise, but did not have time to move a few steps away from Rita when the girl shot herself in the temple.

The foreman buried Rita, and then found and buried Zhenya. The wounded arm ached greatly, the whole body burned from pain and tension, but Vaskov decided to go to the monastery to kill at least one more German. He managed to neutralize the sentry; five Fritz were sleeping in the monastery, one of whom he shot immediately.

Having forced them to tie each other up, barely alive, he led them into captivity. Only when Vaskov saw the Russian soldiers did he allow himself to lose consciousness.

Epilogue

Some time after the war, in a letter to his comrade, one tourist describes amazing quiet places in the area of two lakes. In the text, he also mentions an old man without an arm, who came here with his son Albert Fedotich, a rocket captain.

Subsequently, this tourist, together with his new comrades, installed a marble slab with the names on the grave of the female anti-aircraft gunners.

Conclusion

A poignant story about female heroism during the Great Patriotic War leaves an indelible mark on hearts. The author repeatedly emphasizes in his narrative the unnatural nature of women's participation in hostilities, and the blame for this lies with the one who started the war.

In 1972, director Stanislav Rostotsky made a film based on the story. He dedicated it to the nurse who carried him away from the battlefield, saving him from certain death.