Honor dearer than life
Did we really think about the meaning of the words "honestly", "honest" in childhood, adolescence? More likely no than yes. More often than not, we uttered the phrase “this is not fair” if one of our peers acted badly towards us. On this our relationship with meaning given word ended. But life more and more often reminds us that there are people who "have the honor", and there are those who are ready to sell their homeland, saving their own skin. Where is the line that turns a person into a slave of his flesh and destroys a person in him? Why doesn’t that bell ring, about which the expert on all black nooks and crannies wrote human soul Anton Pavlovich Chekhov? These and other questions I ask myself, among which one is still the main one: is honor really more valuable than life? To answer this question, I turn to literary works, because, according to Academician D.S. Likhachev, literature is the main textbook of life, it (literature) helps us understand the characters of people, reveals eras, and on its pages we will find a great many examples of ups and downs human life. There I can find the answer to my main question.
The fall and, even worse, betrayal, I associate with Rybak, the hero of V. Bykov's story "Sotnikov". Why strong man, producing initially only a positive impression, became a traitor? And Sotnikov ... I had a strange impression of this hero: for some reason he annoyed me, and the reason for this feeling was by no means his illness, but the fact that he constantly created problems during the performance of a responsible task. I frankly admired the fisherman: what a resourceful, resolute and courageous person! I don't think he was trying to impress. And who is Sotnikov for him to climb out of his skin for his sake ?! No. He was just a man and did human actions until his life was in danger. But as soon as he tasted fear, it was as if he was replaced: the instinct of self-preservation killed a man in him, and he sold his soul, and with it his honor. The betrayal of the motherland, the murder of Sotnikov, animal existence for him turned out to be dearer than honor.
Analyzing Rybak's act, I cannot help but ask myself the question: does it always happen that a person does not act honorably if his life is in danger? Can he make dishonorable act for the good of another? And again I turn to literary work, this time to E. Zamyatin's story "The Cave" about besieged Leningrad, where in a grotesque form the author talks about the survival of people in ice cave, driven gradually into its smallest corner, where the center of the universe is a rusty and red god, a cast-iron stove that consumed firewood first, then furniture, then ... books. In one such corner, the heart of one person is torn from grief: Masha is dying, already for a long time the beloved wife of Martin Martinych, who did not get out of bed. This will happenTomorrow , and today she really wants toTomorrow , on her birthday, it was hot, and then she might be able to get out of bed. Warmth, a piece of bread became a symbol of life for cavemen. But there is neither one nor the other. But the neighbors on the floor below, the Obertyshevs, have them. They have everything, having lost their conscience and turned into females, into wrappers.
…What would you do for your beloved wife?! The intelligent Martin Martinych goes to bow to the non-humans: therezhor Andheat but the soul does not live there. And Martin Martinych, having received (kindly, with sympathy) a refusal, decides on a desperate step: he steals firewood for Masha.Tomorrow and everything will be! God will dance, Masha will get up, letters will be read - something that was impossible to burn. And the poison will be drunk, because Martin Martinych will not be able to live with this sin. Why does it happen? The strong and courageous Rybak, who killed Sotnikov and betrayed his homeland, remained to live and serve the policemen, and the intelligent Martin Martinych, who, living in someone else's apartment, did not dare to touch someone else's furniture in order to survive, but was able to step over himself in order to save a person dear to him , dies.
Everything comes from a person and closes on a person, and the main thing in him is the soul, pure, honest and open to compassion and help. I cannot help but turn to one more example, because this hero of the story “Bread for the Dog” by V. Tendryakov is still a child. A ten-year-old boy, Tenkov, secretly from his parents fed "kurkuli" - enemies. Did the child risk his life? Yes, because he fed the enemies of the people. But his conscience did not allow him to eat calmly and in plenty of what his mother put on the table. This is where the soul of the boy suffers. A little later, the hero will understand with his childish heart that a person can help a person, but who, in a terrible time of hunger, when people are dying on the road, will give bread for a dog. "No one", - the logic tells. "I" - understands the child soul. From such as this hero come the Sotnikovs, Vaskovs, Iskras and other heroes for whom honor is dearer than life.
I gave only a few examples from the world of literature, proving that always, at all times, conscience has been and will be in honor. It is this quality that will not allow a person to commit an act, the price of which is the loss of honor. Such heroes, in whose hearts honesty, nobility lives, in works and in real life fortunately a lot.
Can a person have anything more precious than honor? It seems that the answer is obvious and it is negative. But if you look at this issue from a special angle, it is more sublime. And what is the value of life, which throughout its entire length is overshadowed by dirty low deeds. After all, it overshadows not only the existence of others, but also the very figure, acting beyond the boundaries of nobility, is turned into a “comrade” without shaking hands, lonely and denied by society.
Honor is dearer than life, or what does it mean to live with dignity
To make mistakes life situations- this is not only an integral property of human nature, but also an inevitable part of any, at least somehow rich life active person. But errors can be of varying severity. Some of them cause irreparable harm to the course of fate.
In any situation, the most important thing is to behave with dignity. Do not allow the manifestation of emotions, impulsiveness to aggravate the mistakes made and cast a shadow on the reputation. Much will be forgiven if a person does not stoop to complete dishonor.
You can lose everything, but at the same time not lose the respect of others while remaining within the generally accepted framework of nobility. This will always be appreciated by others.
Altered form of perception
Modern concepts of honor are fundamentally different from those that were generally recognized 100-150 years ago. Now, not every girl will even blink an eye when accused of dirty deeds. IN old days, even a hint of this could serve as a settlement of accounts with life. Similar examples and comparisons can be given a whole lot. At modern men even more reasons to worry about your honor if you reconcile them with the principles of the past. Perhaps a fairly large part of the world's population should not exist.
But there are more and more of us. Because generally accepted principles are changing, and such lofty concepts how honor and nobility are simply devalued. not everyone even understands how to interpret them correctly.
So can a person have anything more precious than life?
IN modern interpretation concepts probably do not exist. but it is still very important to pass such life path, for which it would not be a shame and pain after the expiration of time. Exclude betrayal, disrespect for a loved one and other serious social misconduct.
Honor is dearer than life (Var 2)
Modern society resorts less and less to the concepts of honor. This is typical for the younger generation, which is brought up in different conditions. Now the world is ruled by self-interest and vanity. Those who manage to live according to high moral principles are considered strange. People only think about how to get more money faster.
What is honor
A good reputation takes a long time to build. It cannot be obtained in one day. It will take a long time to demonstrate good qualities. In the process, a person develops, a cumulative characteristic is formed in him. That's when the loss of honor for him is worse than death. It is better to give your life than to betray your views on life.
Crisis situations become a test of strength for people. So during the Great Patriotic War many showed their courage. Millions gave their lives because they were firm in their views and beliefs. People did not renounce their homeland, even in captivity of the enemy. No one has forgotten the exploits of these heroes. Contemporaries can be proud.
Literary examples
Writers and poets often described the main characters in their works as people of honor. For example, one can take " captain's daughter". One can observe how a father sends his son to the service without resorting to his own connections. He wants Petrusha to know the officer's prowess himself. The father spoke to his son Right words which confirmed his good intentions.
The young man will have to prove his morality. When the choice was to go over to the side of the enemy at the threat of life, the young guy did not. This is an act of a real highly moral person who surprised Pugachev.
Not only war shows people of honor. In any act, the character and views on human life are manifested. So even Pugachev helps save Masha, which demonstrates his positive traits. His motive was not self-interest. He simply could not admit that an orphan girl would be offended.
Honor does not depend on the person's age, gender, or the amount of money in the account. This concept should be familiar to any highly moral person. We must protect our honor. Clearing a reputation is very difficult.
Essays on other topics
“Honor is dearer than life” (F. Schiller)
“Honor is conscience, but conscience is painfully sensitive. It is self respect and dignity. own life brought to the extreme degree of purity and to the greatest passion.
Alfred Victor de Vigny
Dictionary V.I. Dahl, defines honor and how "the inner moral dignity of a person, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and a clear conscience."Like dignity, the concept of honor reveals a person's attitude to himself and the attitude of society towards him. However, unlike the concept of dignity, the moral value of a person in the concept of honor is associated with a specific social position of a person, the type of his activity and the moral merits recognized for him.
But is honor a fundamental and vital property of a person, or is it something originally invested quality? There is the concept of "dishonest", which defines a person without principles, that is, not responsible for his actions and following contrary to general rules. But, each person has their own moral standards and rules, which means that honor is inherent in all people without exception. As Anton Pavlovich Chekhov said: "We all know what a dishonorable act is, but we do not know what honor is."You can talk about honor, dignity and conscience based on your own worldviews and experiences, but the concept of honor remains unchanged. “Honor is the same for women and men, girls, married women, old men and women: "do not deceive", "do not steal", "do not drink"; only from such rules, which apply to all people, is a code of "honor" in the true sense of the word "-said Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. And if honor is inextricably linked with life, moreover, it is a component of existence, then can it be more precious than life? Is it possible to lose inner qualities only because of some “unworthy” act that will make life itself impossible? I think yes. Honor and life are two interrelated and inseparable concepts that complement each other. After all, the place of "habitation" of these properties is the individual. What confirm the words of Michel Montaigne : “The value and dignity of a man lie in his heart and in his will; it is here that the basis of his true honor lies.Honor is not dearer than life, but not cheaper either. It outlines the limits of what you can afford yourself, and what kind of attitude you can tolerate from others. A synonym for this quality is conscience - the inner judge of the spiritual essence, its guide and beacon. And only everything together makes up a personality, everything depends on the comprehensive development, because “... the principle of honor, although there is something that distinguishes a person from animals, but in itself it does not contain anything that could put a person above animals”- Arthur Schopenhauer. Another understanding of honor correlates with the current definition of reputation. This is how a person shows himself to other people in communication and deeds. In this case, it is important “not to drop dignity” precisely in the eyes of other people, because few people want to communicate with a rude person, do business with an unreliable person, or help a heartless miser in need. In general, the concepts of honor and conscience are very conditional, very subjective. They depend on the value system adopted in any country, in any circle. IN different countries, y different people conscience and honor have completely different interpretations and meanings. It is worth listening to the opinion of the famous British novelist George Bernard Shaw: “It is better to try to be clean and bright: you are the window through which you look at the world.”conscience is dignity reputation
Honor and conscience is one of the most important characteristics human soul. Compliance with the rules of honor gives a person peace of mind and live in harmony with your conscience. But no matter what, then, nothing should be more precious than life, because life is the most precious thing that a person has. And to take a life just because of some prejudices or principles is terrible and irreparable. And not to make an irreversible mistake will help to cultivate moral principles in oneself. We must try to live in harmony with nature, society and ourselves.
The life and death of General Mikhail Efremov
In mid-April 1942, 75 years ago, during the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, which pinned down superior enemy forces on the outskirts of Moscow, being surrounded, the commander of the 33rd Army, Lieutenant General Mikhail Efremov, shot himself. He preferred death to captivity.
Here, I think, it is appropriate to recall two other generals who found themselves in the same situation.
Lieutenant-General Andrey Vlasov, commander of the 2nd shock army, whose headquarters and units in the same 1942 ended up in a “cauldron” in the Myasny Bor area, not only betrayed his homeland, but also engaged in the formation of the so-called Soviet prisoners of war. "Russian liberation army"- combat forces intended for military operations against the Red Army. Saving his skin, Vlasov turned from a military general into a traitor and adventurer and suffered a well-deserved punishment after the war (he was hanged by court order).
Infantry General Alexander Samsonov, commander of the 2nd Army of the North Western front, who fought bravely in August 1914 in East Prussia, was surrounded during an unsuccessful battle for the Russian troops in the Masurian Lakes region. And also, like Efremov, he put a bullet in his temple in order to avoid German captivity ...
Saving himself, General Vlasov forever disgraced his name, and Generals Samsonov and Efremov, sacrificing their lives, did not tarnish their names. Because honor for a warrior is always more precious than life ...
What was the path of Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov to the heights of military prowess?
He was born on February 27 (March 11), 1897 in Tarusa, Kaluga province (now Kaluga region) in a family of poor bourgeois. Labor activity It started early: since childhood, he helped his father with housework at the mill, and then the Moscow industrialist Ryabov noticed a capable teenager. Mikhail first worked as an apprentice at the Ryabov factory in Moscow, then he became an apprentice to master engravers, and then to the six-year Prechistensky working courses.
On military service was mobilized in September 1915. At first he served as a private in the 55th reserve regiment, but soon he was sent to study at the ensign school in the Georgian city of Telavi. At the end of it in the spring of 1916, he was sent to the active army, to the Southwestern Front.
The commander of an artillery unit participated in the Brusilov breakthrough. Mikhail Grigorievich, smart, resolute, of a heroic build, quickly gained authority among the soldiers, who soon began to respectfully call him “our ensign”.
After February Revolution In 1917, ensign Efremov found himself at a crossroads, between the officers and the mass of soldiers, and bitterly observed the terrible element of anarchy and desertion that swept the Russian army after the provocative directives of the Petrosoviet and the Provisional Government on the so-called. "democratization".
Nevertheless, ensign Efremov became one of the first military personnel mobilized by the revolution. A worker-peasant origin, sympathy for the ideas of the Bolsheviks, an ambitious character - what else was needed for a commanding career in the era of building a new world?
Then, in the autumn of 1917, like many front-line soldiers, like thousands of workers, he connected tomorrow entirely with the program of the RCP(b). And he signed up for the Red Guards even before the decree on the creation of the Red Army (issued on January 15, 1918) appeared. But he was one of those Moscow factory workers who not only knew how to hold a rifle in his hands, but also possessed commanding skills, knew own experience which means military discipline.
As is known, it was more difficult for the Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries to seize power in Moscow than in Petrograd. Efremov these days was an instructor of the 1st Zamoskvoretsky Red Guard detachment, shot at the resisting cadets on the streets of Belokamennaya ...
In the stormy eighteenth, he was entrusted on the Caucasian and Southern fronts, first with a Red Army company, then with a battalion, regiment, brigade, rifle division. He beat the White Cossacks Krasnov and Mamontov, was wounded, ended up in a Voronezh hospital.
We emphasize that it military destiny in a bad time civil war was not out of the ordinary. In 1918 - 1919. thousands of officers of the imperial army were mobilized or voluntarily entered the service of the Red Army. They were called in the Red Army, as you know, military specialists or, in short, military experts. According to the information of the Mobilization Directorate of the All-Russian General Staff, in the period from July 29, when the first (partial) conscription of former generals and officers was announced by decree of the Council of People's Commissars, to November 15, 1918, only in six military districts of the European part of the RSFSR, 20,488 former generals and officers, and by the end of 1918 - 22,295 military experts.
Of course, there are cases when individual military experts committed treason, transferred to the camp of the whites, raised a military mutiny, such as, for example, the former Lieutenant Colonel Muravyov. But the vast majority of military specialists honestly performed their duty and served not for fear, but for conscience. Soviet republic. Such was Mikhail Efremov.
During the defense in 1919 of Astrakhan - a strategic center that covered the entrance from the Caspian Sea to the Volga, along which the central regions of Russia were supplied with bread and raw materials - Efremov put forward a number of original ideas on the re-equipment of railway cars and platforms into mobile artillery batteries and machine-gun nests, and skillfully applied them.
In the battles for Astrakhan and Tsaritsyn, he was wounded three times with paint. In the midst of the fighting, on the recommendation of the chairman of the Provisional Military Revolutionary Committee, S.M. Kirov joined the CPSU (b). And in the Baku operation of 1920, commanding a railway regiment of four armored trains, he entered his name in complex history Civil War.
At that time, power in Baku belonged to the bourgeois Musavatist government, and the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks were underground. Presovnarkom Ulyanov (Lenin) was opposed to the "mechanical" accession of Azerbaijan to the RSFSR: the colonial policy, in his opinion, did not provide a lasting peace. Vladimir Ilyich strove to create a new, allied Azerbaijan - closely connected with Soviet Russia both politically and economically. After all, Baku oil was needed like air.
And now, after the successful completion of the fighting in the North Caucasus, the 11th Army of the Red Army reached the Azerbaijani border. What was to be done next? On March 17, 1920, Lenin telegraphed the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian Front: “It is extremely, extremely necessary for us to take Baku. Direct all your efforts towards this, and be sure to be purely diplomatic in your statements and make sure as much as possible that a solid local Soviet power". It's time for Efremov...
Commanding a group of four armored trains, Mikhail Grigorievich made a bold breakthrough of his railway regiment to the capital of Azerbaijan, quickly covering a distance of 300 km. The leaders of the Azerbaijani revolution Baba Aliyev, Anastas Mikoyan and Gazanfar Musabekov followed on the lead armored train "III International". Efremov's gunners cleared the way for him, scattering Musavat units with shrapnel. An unprecedented raid of armored trains ensured an almost bloodless coup in Baku.
That spring, the young military leader learned that in war, not only the right tactical decisions are important, not only the training of fighters and the experience of commanders, but also psychological climate, an atmosphere of trust that connects the army with society.
Otherwise, disintegration and impotence, as happened with the Musavatists...
In those days, probably, even the leaders of the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, Baba Aliyev and Anastas Mikoyan, could not imagine exactly what kind of state they would have to build after the victory. Yes, and for Efremov revolutionary ideas remained more like slogans - it is unlikely that he seriously understood Marxism, not having time to read through scientific works. It's just that in combat conditions doubts are unacceptable for the commander. He swore allegiance to October, shed blood for the happiness of the working people and charged others with his faith, unquestioningly, accurately and on time fulfilling military orders ....
After the Baku operation, the brave commander was generously, orientally exquisitely awarded by the new, Soviet, government of Azerbaijan: he received a saber with a golden hilt, a crystal vase with precious stones ... And he also became a knight of the Order of the Red Banner of the RSFSR and a similar order of the Azerbaijan SSR number 1.
After the victorious end of the Civil War, Efremov quickly stepped into the command of the troops - in turn the Volga, Transbaikal, Oryol, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian military districts.
But in the fatal 1937, trouble hung over him, like many commanders ... The Hero of October, commander of the 2nd rank Pavel Dybenko, arrested in the case of Marshal Tukhachevsky, testified against Efremov during interrogations. To the negative veil that surrounded Mikhail Grigorievich, his officer past in the Russian army was added - then many military experts of the NKVD were obviously considered unreliable.
The district commander was "taken on a pencil." Called to the capital, he was settled for two and a half months under vigilant supervision at the Moscow Hotel. In fact, it was house arrest. Every step, every word was meticulously checked. Then interrogations began, during which the names of Tukhachevsky, Yakir sounded ... Other generals and officers turned sour in such situations, under pressure they began to "confess." But Efremov turned out to be not like that. Endurance and the consciousness of his rightness did not let him down. And when it became clear that it was impossible to get out of this web without outside help, he sent a letter to the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov. He also addressed a letter to Anastas Mikoyan, an old Baku comrade who became one of Stalin's influential associates.
It should be noted that many such desperate letters then remained unanswered. And then the incredible happened. Either the intercession of the people's commissar, a Baku comrade-in-arms, had an effect, or some lines converged in the plans of the leader ... In a word, Efremov, fortunately, did not get to Lubyanka, to Yezhov's bone-breakers. But he was given a last test, similar to a performance.
It was either an interrogation, or a friendly conversation with the participation of Voroshilov and Mikoyan, in the presence of the leader. Stalin silently listened to Efremov's explanations and this time believed the hero of the Civil. The case against him was closed.
... The first months of the Great Patriotic War, as you know, were the most tragic. Commanding the 21st Army, Efremov fought fiercely in the Mogilev direction, delayed the advance of the Nazis to the Dnieper. In a desperately difficult August, he temporarily became the commander of the troops of the Central Front. There were huge losses, hundreds of thousands of surrendered Red Army soldiers, endless retreats, panic ... It seemed that the plans of the conquerors were coming true, and the Soviet "empire" was about to crumble, unable to withstand the most powerful blow in world history.
But the Soviet soldiers did not want to put up with this seemingly indisputable logic. Spiritual help came, including from the heroic past. The officers recalled from the school course about the distant Scythian war (a tactic proven in the expanses of Eurasia: to lure the enemy deep into, and then destroy), told the soldiers in short moments of calm about Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Peter the Great, read the chronicle of battles Seven Years' War when the Russians beat the Prussians ... They also remembered the Civil, when Yudenich and Denikin threatened revolutionary Petrograd and red Moscow, but the soldiers of the Red Army survived. Found new meaning In the events of 1812, it is no coincidence that the demand for Tolstoy's "War and Peace" increased tenfold in libraries...
General Efremov also read a lot, finding time even on days of prohibitive overloads. At that fateful time, the general wanted to feel like a link in a long chain that ran through the entire history of the country. By the way, Efremov had a chance to fight on those lines where Russian soldiers defended Moscow more than once from invasions from the west.
In the Moscow direction, in October 1941, he took command of the 33rd Army, which he quickly turned into one of the most combat-ready. But it initially consisted almost entirely of those who signed up for civil uprising volunteers who did not sniff gunpowder ...
In December, Field Marshal von Bock's Army Group Center made a new decisive attempt to break through to Moscow, which was to culminate in the already appointed parade of Nazi troops on Red Square. On December 1, after a powerful artillery preparation, two divisions of the Wehrmacht, five times superior in strength to the defenders, broke through the barrier of the 222nd Infantry Division of the 33rd Army northwest of Naro-Fominsk. Commander of the Western Front G.K. Zhukov ordered Efremov to respond with a counter blow. The operation, developed by the headquarters of the 33rd Army, involved 120 tanks, a rifle brigade, an NKVD regiment and two ski battalions. It turned out to be successful: the 76th rifle regiment of the NKVD and the 136th separate tank battalion drove the Nazis out of the village of Petrovskoe on December 2. With this operation, General Efremov stopped the last attempt of the Germans to break through to the capital.
And during the victorious counter-offensive that began on December 5, Efremov's army liberated Naro-Fominsk on December 26, Borovsk on January 4, and Vereya on January 19.
After continuous two months of fighting, Efremov's troops needed reinforcements and rest. But the order of the commander of the Western Front read: by all means continue the attack on Vyazma!
Georgy Zhukov, the future Marshal of Victory, frankly, rarely admitted his own miscalculations, and for some reason he treated Efremov, his Kaluga countryman, too harshly, by no means paying tribute to his military leadership abilities. The more expensive is the honest confession of the marshal, made after the war, when, from the height of past years, assessing the events of 1942, he directly said that the command of the Western Front and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command "at that time made a mistake in assessing the situation in the Vyazma region" .
These miscalculations are explained, first of all, by euphoria after the first victories near Moscow, when the Soviet command, headed by the Supreme Commander, considered that the time had already come for a radical turning point in the war, and the Red Army was able to drive the enemy to the very border, and maybe even further. But the Nazi generals, urged on by the Fuhrer, were not at all going to give up the initiative, and the Wehrmacht grouping near Moscow was hastily reinforced with reserves transferred from Western Europe. Therefore, the enemy managed to again increase pressure on the Moscow direction.
As a result, from February 1942, Efremov had to act surrounded by the enemy, in fact, in the German rear. But the exhausted, hungry fighters of the 33rd Army (the backbone of which was the native Muscovite militia) considered themselves the "iron shield of Moscow" and stubbornly did not lay down their arms. From hunger, people were exhausted, having even eaten boiled leather waist belts. There was also no ammunition left. In addition, the snow had melted, and the Red Army soldiers were wearing felt boots. As luck would have it, Ugra also overflowed early. They only kept fighting spirit ...
Throughout March, on Zhukov's orders, units of the 43rd and 50th armies tried to "break through the corridor" towards the encircled. But Efremov himself was forbidden for a long time to make a breakthrough in order to connect with them: Stalin stubbornly believed that the offensive capabilities of the Western Front were by no means exhausted.
The Germans, having taken the 33rd army into the ring, squeezed it tighter every day.
On April 9, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command sent a plane for Efremov: Stalin ordered the courageous general to be taken out of the encirclement. But Yefremov refused to leave his soldiers in such a desperate situation and, in essence, violated the order of the Supreme Commander to come to Moscow.
Only the banners of units of the 33rd Army were loaded onto the plane so that they would not get to the enemy ...
Later, Efremov was offered to get out of the encirclement by roundabout paths with little protection, but it was impossible to save the army with such a maneuver. Therefore, the general was actively preparing a breakthrough for all the encircled forces of the 33rd Army.
Meanwhile, the Nazis put forward an ultimatum to Efremov with honorable terms of surrender, guaranteeing the life of all Red Army soldiers and commanders. Efremov’s reaction to him was an immediate cipher message to the headquarters of the Western Front: “I ask you to bomb the area with the enemy: Kr. Tatar… Besovo.”
Commander Zhukov immediately aimed combat aircraft at the indicated area. The enemy received a worthy response in the form of bombing and assault raids, making sure in his own skin that the adamant general continues to act in complete encirclement, that there is still communication between him and the front command. Efremov's army - seemingly almost completely destroyed - remained a fighting force ...
On the night of April 13-14, 1942, about six thousand soldiers and officers, led by the commander, managed to reach the river. Ugra in the area Viselovo - New Mikhailovka. However, to the surprise of Efremov, there was no “counter strike by units of the 43rd Army of the Western Front”, the organization of which G.K. later spoke about. Zhukov and who would have allowed many to escape, in fact, did not follow ...
Unfortunately, Efremov was seriously wounded in the leg, and could hardly move. In the thicket of the forest near the village of Gornevo, he finally realized that he had no chance of getting out of the encirclement. Moreover, the enemy was pressing, and the cartridges were already out of hand.
The general resolutely rejected the very possibility of captivity, and he could not go on a breakthrough on his own, having received three wounds. He said goodbye to his comrades, whom he did not wish to be a burden, and shot himself (according to the most common version, on April 19).
The surviving Efremovites stubbornly made their way to their own, some joined the partisans. Most died that spring, like the commander, preferring death to captivity.
But there were those who managed to stay alive. One of those who broke through the "boiler" - signalman Vladimir Gud - warmly recalled the commander, who forever remained in the memory of fellow soldiers: "General Efremov is a soldier's father. Did not leave the fighters ... ". Many commanders of the Western Front, who knew Efremov, were sure that if he had escaped, Stalin would have moved him higher than the commander ...
So the Red Army lost a valiant warrior and a talented military leader who valued officer honor above life. But General Efremov gave his life, of course, not in vain: the resilience of the doomed commander was also one of the turning points - a few months later the war rolled into reverse side... By the way, neither the testimonies of the survivors, nor the German captured documents reveal a single fact of the collective surrender of any of the fighters and commanders of the 33rd Army. They didn't give up until the end...
The Germans soon discovered the body of the courageous general and identified him. By order of the enemy command, Efremov was buried with military honors: the Fuhrer's soldiers showed due respect for a worthy enemy.
There is a legend about a German general who was in Slobodka that day and told his soldiers: “You must fight for Germany as bravely and courageously as this general fights for his Motherland!” There is an assumption that it was none other than Walter Model himself, the future Field Marshal, an ambitious and proud military leader. In April 1945, when Nazi soldiers were already surrendering in droves to the Allies, he, in defiance of his comrades-in-arms and like Efremov, preferred suicide to captivity.
After the war, for several decades, the feat of Efremov and the fighters of his 33rd army was almost forgotten. There was a negative attitude towards the commander on the part of some military leaders, who laid the blame almost entirely on Efremov for the Rzhev-Vyazemsky "cauldron" ... Only in our days, the feat of Mikhail Georgievich was appreciated: on December 31, 1996, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia, for which he fought with unwavering courage and fortitude.
Especially for "Century"
The article was published within the social significant project Russia and Revolution. 1917 - 2017" using funds state support allocated as a grant in accordance with the order of the President Russian Federation dated 08.12.2016 No. 96/68-3 and on the basis of a competition held by the All-Russian public organization"Russian Union of Rectors".
What is honor? Can it be more precious than life? According to Dahl, honor is "the inner moral dignity of a person, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and a clear conscience." What if there is no dictionary? I think honor is life principles human, based on high moral character. For those who have it, who really care about it good name, loss of honor worse than death. I think that to live by honor is to live in harmony with conscience. Despite my still small life experience, I have repeatedly addressed this topic, because its relevance is undeniable.
Many see honor as more than mere behavior. It seems to me that for such people it is a duty to the Motherland, loyalty native land. Let's remember the work fiction where this topic is covered. Among them is the story of N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba". The author shows the life of the Cossacks in the Zaporozhian Sich, their struggle for independence. Particular attention is drawn to the images of Taras Bulba and his sons.
The old Cossack dreams that his children will be real warriors, loyal to their homeland. But only Ostap, the eldest son of Taras, adopts the life principles of his father. For him, as well as for Bulba, honor is above all. To die for the Motherland and faith is a duty and obligation for the heroes. A young Cossack, having been captured, courageously endures torture, does not ask for mercy from his tormentors. Taras Bulba also accepts a heroic death worthy of a Cossack. Thus, for father and son, faith, devotion to the Motherland is an honor that is dearer to them than life and which they defend to the very end.
Often people were faced with a choice - to live without honor or to die with honor. The story of M.A. Sholokhov “The Fate of a Man” convinces me of the correctness of this point of view.
Andrey Sokolov, main character works - a simple Russian soldier. He is a true patriot who, in the face of death, did not deviate from his principles. Andrei was captured by the Nazis, fled, but was caught and sent to work in a stone quarry. Once a prisoner inadvertently spoke about hard work. He was summoned to the camp authorities. There, one of the officers decided to mock the Russian soldier and offered him a drink to the victory of the Germans. Sokolov refused with dignity, although he knew that he could be killed for disobedience. But seeing with what determination the prisoner defended his honor, the Germans, as a sign of respect for a real soldier, gave him life. This act of the hero affirms the idea that even in the face of the threat of death, one must preserve honor and dignity.
Summing up and reflecting on this topic, I was convinced that you need to be responsible for your actions and actions, that in any situation you need to remain a man of honor, not to drop your dignity. And those life principles that a person professes will help him in difficult situation choose life or dishonor. Shakespeare's statement is consonant with my thoughts: "Honor is my life, they have grown together into one, and to lose honor is equal to the loss of life for me."
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Updated: 2017-05-20
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