PART 1. LIFE SEPARATE FROM GLORY
In the hallway of a tiny apartment on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, which is located next to the Belorussky railway station, a long, demanding call rang out. This can be called either by very irritated neighbors who have been flooded with water, or people from the “where to go” department. Remember from books and films "... I'll tell you where to go!"
- Who's there? the woman who came up to the door asked loudly.
- Writer Vladimir Bogomolov at home? - the bossy baritone immediately dispelled all assumptions that they were neighbors.
- Yes at home.
- Open! I am a colonel of the state security committee with an important assignment!
He clicked the lock on the unprepossessing door, let inside the hallway, which immediately turns into a five-meter kitchenette, a huge, fathom in the shoulders, senior officer. In his hand he held a book well known to the woman.
The KGB colonel looked around in bewilderment, then grunted, and, seeing a black-haired man standing in the doorway of the room, who was dressed in sports suit stepped towards him.
- Vladimir Osipovich! I come to you with a personal assignment from Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov!
- I'm listening to you ... - the man answered quietly.
- Sign him, please, your famous novel "In August forty-four"! Yuri Vladimirovich really likes this thing! Here!
And the colonel handed the writer his book.
But Vladimir Bogomolov did not move. Without changing his posture, he answered just as quietly:
- No…
The KGB colonel's mouth dropped open in surprise. The jaw fell off, as the classics say. At first he turned pale, then turned crimson, with a nervous movement he took off his cap, wiped his sweaty hair with his fingers, put on his cap, looked at the book, then at the writer, as if comparing the portrait with the original. During all these manipulations, the colonel silently moved his mouth like a fish thrown ashore.
- How? No? - Swinging forward, as if drunk, separately, with a pause of three seconds, the colonel uttered these words. “Do you realize who you are refusing an autograph to?”
- I realize. But I don’t want to write anything to him on my book ... - Bogomolov answered calmly, making it clear with all appearance that the conversation was over. The writer's wife stood nearby, her face was alarmed and excited. She looked at her husband with a pleading look, making it clear: “Don’t be a fool!”
- Why don't you want to sign your book! boomed the colonel in a baritone voice. How do I report this to management?
- I just don't want to. So report it! Bogomolov announced harshly, turned around and went to his room.
Then, when the colonel rattled his boots up the stairs of the old house, he answered his wife's reproachful look:
- These KGB men drank all the blood with my novel! And I still have to sign something for them! They went...
So the famous writer, the author of the famous "In August forty-four", managed not only with the desire of Yuri Andropov. He also refused his autograph to the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Grechko.
Frankly, I was very surprised by these facts when I became interested in the biography of the writer Vladimir Bogomolov. I remember how very long ago, at the end of the seventies of the last century, I read this wonderful thing: "The Moment of Truth or in August forty-four." Such a headline was in the edition that the postman brought to our house. Soft novel-newspaper, green cover. And a photograph of the author in military uniform.
I literally devoured the novel. Immediately, two or three days later, I don't remember now. Then he returned to it many times, re-read it again and again, savored the details, and in the end, almost by heart, he already knew the ending of the story; I especially liked the moment of detaining a group of German agents, when Senior Lieutenant Tamantsev “swinged the pendulum”, that is, he evaded poisoned bullets in the style of a boxer, any mistake, any scratch could be fatal for him. I thought then: were there really such miracle fighters in our counterintelligence, is it really possible to feel the moment of the enemy’s shot in this way in order to instantly get away from the bullet? And shoot "in Macedonian" in response, on the move, with two hands at the same time. I am sure that millions of readers also experienced such feelings when reading the ending of the famous book.
The novel "The Moment of Truth or in August 1944" literally raised Vladimir Bogomolov's literary popularity to a great height, I think that it was very unexpected for him. And this popularity played a fatal role in his life. After all, when he started with the story "Ivan" (1957), he hardly thought that he would later become so famous throughout the country (and what a country - the whole world! The novel was published in three dozen languages with a circulation of several million) as a classic of a war novel 20th century. And it is quite possible that many of the oddities that people noticed in the behavior of Vladimir Bogomolov had their own reasons. For example, he was dissatisfied with the episodes of the film being shot based on his "Moment of Truth" in 1975, the director's picture Žalakyavičius never made it to the screens. And then he demanded to remove his name from the credits of the director's film coming out in 2000 on Belarusfilm Birdie. Where did they play the main roles? Evgeny Mironov, Vladislav Galkin.
Bogomolov never joined the Writers' Union, although he was often and persistently invited there, refused to receive the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, did not come to the Kremlin for this, and when they wanted to bring the order to his house, he said that he would not open the door. Strange, isn't it? Why did he behave like this? It was as if he wanted to hide from everyone, take refuge in his own world, isolate himself, first of all, from the state, from these different officials - from the KGB, the Central Committee, fellow writers. It seems that the glory that fell into his life seemed to be dangerous for him, and he avoided it, bounced off to the side, as if afraid that she would crush him, flatten him, rub him into powder. The idea arises that there was something wrong in the life of the writer, there were some moments in the biography that no one was supposed to know about, so Bogomolov led a life of a recluse, as if separate from his fame, his fame.
But more on that later.
And first, briefly about the content of the novel. For those who haven't read it yet, but I hope they will.
The novel was first published in No. 10, 11, 12 of the magazine " New world"For 1974. Later, the novel was reprinted many times.
The novel was translated into three dozen languages, went through more than a hundred editions, and its circulation exceeded several million copies.
Characters
Captain Alekhin Pavel Vasilyevich - senior operational-search group of the Counterintelligence Directorate of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
senior lieutenant Evgeny Tamantsev - detective operative of the military counterintelligence in Alekhin's group.
Guard Lieutenant Andrey Stepanovich Blinov - a trainee sent to Alekhin's group after being wounded at the front.
Lieutenant Colonel Polyakov Nikolai Fedorovich - head of the investigative department of the Counterintelligence Directorate of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
Lieutenant General Yegorov Alexei Nikolaevich - Head of the Counterintelligence Department of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
Plot
The action of the novel takes place in August 1944 on the recently liberated territory of Belarus. In the front line of two Soviet fronts - the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian, a qualified group of German agents is operating, which, by external observation and residency, obtains valuable intelligence information for the German command. The search for these agents is carried out by one of the operational-search groups of the SMERSH Counterintelligence Directorate of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the leadership of Captain Alekhin. An almost two-week search did not give any tangible results.
The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK), in the mode of extreme secrecy, is planning a large-scale military operation in this theater of operations - it is planned to encircle a 700,000-strong German group (see Memel operation). However, the texts of the intercepted and deciphered radiograms of German agents leave no doubt - any movements of Soviet troops and equipment become known to the Abwehr. It becomes clear to the headquarters - having such a group of German agents in the rear of the two fronts, it is impossible to prepare an unexpected blow for the Germans.
Stalin personally proposes to the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence SMERSH, as well as the people's commissariats of internal affairs and state security, by any means necessary to stop the leakage of strategically important information. However, the specificity of counterintelligence investigative activities is such that full-scale military operations involving thousands of people often do not give the desired result. Counterintelligence officers insist that from day to day a group of agents will be taken and it is necessary to work with methods proven by counterintelligence. The People's Commissars of Internal Affairs and State Security insist that a military operation is needed to comb through a huge forest area. The counterintelligence officers are categorically against it, because such an operation can give nothing and frighten off the agents, while there is good reason to believe that the Soviet counterintelligence knows the area in which the radio is hidden and the estimated time when the German agents will seize the radio for the next radio session.
The search case "Neman" is taken over by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, in fact - personally by Stalin. The forces of the NKVD Troops to protect the rear of the front, border guards, sappers, and SMERSH operatives from other fronts are being drawn into the proposed area of \u200b\u200bthe location of the Neman group. A major military operation is being prepared. To find the agents or their radio cache, the troops will comb through the huge Shilovsky forest area. Alekhin's boss, Lieutenant Colonel Polyakov, understands that in the course of military operations, agents usually die, breaking the threads leading to the spy network, the information of which they use. However, to all the requests of the counterintelligence officers to give them a little more time, Moscow refuses. Moscow's categorical condition is to stop the leakage of information by any means within 24 hours. The only hope for Polyakov and Alekhin is to take the agents before the start of the military operation, and certainly alive, get information from them and neutralize the entire residency.
Around a huge forest area, where the cache with the wanted group's radio is supposedly located, the encirclement ring closes. After that, combing the area will begin. Inside this ring, in ambushes, there are nine groups of counterintelligence officers, who, in the event of a possible appearance of the wanted ones, must check them with an ambush with a safety net, and then detain and interrogate them, having achieved the “moment of truth”. Captain Alyokhin's group is located in the most promising place - after all, it is important for front-line counterintelligence that this particular group takes the wanted ones - then perhaps no one will be punished. Lieutenant Colonel Polyakov turns out to be right, three unknown persons in the form of Soviet officers are moving towards the ambush. However, Alekhin receives an order on the radio - to immediately leave the forest, a military operation begins. Alekhin decides to stay and check the unknown.
During the check, the people being checked attacked, wounded Captain Alekhin, and killed the seconded representative of the commandant's office. Alekhin's group still managed to detain the German agents, seize the radio and get the "moment of truth" from the group's radio operator.
Historical accuracy
The novel is based on real events reflected in the official documents of that time.
And, again, the film was made anyway. Shortly before the death of Bogomolov. 26 years after the publication of the novel. I personally liked this picture.
I will not deny myself the pleasure of bringing here three video clips, which capture the very end of the film, the most exciting moment. In my opinion, all the actors are great here. But I would especially like to mention Evgeny Mironov (Captain Alekhin), Vladislav Galkin (Tamantsev), Alexander Baluev (Mishchenko) and Alexander Efimov (radio operator Sergei from the group of agents).
And yet I want to note that Ptashuk's film does not reach the level of the novel.
Bogomolov said in his last interview that “... The thought process left the picture, the psychology of the characters left. The novel was turned into an action movie with physical actions characters. The scale of what is happening is gone. There was a lot of nonsense. And all this happened as a result of thoughtlessness and the admission of ill-conceived improvisations. At the same time, more than 90 percent of my comments were taken into account and implemented by the director. But very peculiar. Without reshoots, because Semago (the producer of the film, who set the task of making money on the project, would not allow it. Episodes were simply cut with scissors ...
I tell them about failed episodes. They answer me: “Vladimir Osipovich, your remarks are correct and precise. As you know, we implement them. As for reshoots, there is no money for them. The only thing we can do is re-edit and re-sound the failed episodes. I decided to remove the name and title of the novel. But still, they added "based on the novel of the same name."
But you also need to understand the authors of the film. There's too much in the movie book internal dialogues heroes. Especially Captain Alekhine. If they were voiced in full format, then the viewer would certainly get bored. Especially if we cite all summaries of official documents, which at one time in in large numbers copied by the author of the novel, who has the so-called "zero security clearance" when he served in counterintelligence.
In the main final episode Bogomolov is good as an author, displaying the enormous tension of all forces, all mental abilities Captain Alekhin, commander of the SMERSH group, during a document check. Many sentences end with ellipsis... Alekhine solves several difficult tasks in his head at once: painfully recalls orientations to the main wanted criminals who could be Abwehr agents, carefully checks the documents of suspects, plays the role of a simpleton from the commandant's office, estimates how events can unfold in the next minute, understands that he is risking his life...
But what is very good for a novel is not always suitable for cinema, where the audience appreciates the instantaneous change of situations, the fast flow of the plot, and not the long reflections of the characters.
But short videos in which Yevgeny Mironov talks about his work on the role of Captain Alekhine, mentions Vladimir Bogomolov.
Bogomolov said that before filming, this man came to him famous actor and brought as many as 76 questions that arose when he read the novel "In August 44th." They talked for several hours, and it was after that that Bogomolov gave his final consent to the film adaptation of his work.
According to Bogomolov, the impetus for writing "In August 1944" was the reading of a book on the history of intelligence, which was published by the Progress publishing house. It said that the British had the strongest intelligence during World War II, and the Russians had the strongest counterintelligence. Therefore, I became interested, began to collect materials, look for documents, read a lot.
As the KGB did not want the novel "In August 1944".
His later famous book Bogomolov graduated in 1973. It was a completely different time then - every work of any author was subject to mandatory censorship. And here is the content of the novel - about Soviet counterintelligence officers during the Second World War, about SMERSH (stands for death to spies). Therefore, the manuscript was sent to the KGB, to a special department. There, they first scratched it with red pencils (this is not the case! And here it needs to be corrected! But this, about the meeting of the generals in the barn, should be completely removed! Our generals could not confer in the barn, besides, there was allegedly not enough chair for one of them Lies and slander on Soviet reality!)
And so on and so forth.
It got to the point that one of the KGB generals took the precious manuscript to his dacha and locked it in a safe. Bogomolov flew into a rage, began to threaten a statement to the court, then through acquaintances he contacted one figure in the Central Committee of the CPSU named Kravchenko, on Staraya Square, who helped him. and handed over the manuscript.
“I won’t give up a single comma!” - the writer followed this motto all his life. From the first story "Ivan", which he gave to two magazines "Youth" and "Banner". Znamya was the first to respond, the editors there also wanted to shred the text, but Bogomolov did not yield not a single letter or comma. Otherwise, the story would have been immediately published by Yunost.
When they began to type his novel The Moment of Truth in the magazine, they also thought that they could persuade the author to remove the episode with the generals in the barn from the text. But no, again Bogomolov’s categorical refusal: “Either print as I wrote, or leave this matter altogether!”
I think that this is correct. There are people sitting in various editorial offices who did not even closely represent the realities of the war, but consider it their duty to correct the front-line writer.
Here is how Vladimir Bogomolov wrote about his going through torments and communicating with employees of the Andropov department:
“For fourteen and a half months I went to these terrible offices - Glavpur, the press bureau of the KGB, to military censorship, as if to work. Then, after a long time, he began to collect everything related to the passage of the novel and its film adaptation "through the authorities." Resolutions, conclusions... They weren't secret, they sent me photocopies from the FSB archive, not all of them, of course. But one day I received a curious document: a letter CEO Mosfilm Nikolai Trofimovich Sizov addressed to the chairman of the KGB Andropov with a request to provide highly qualified consulting for the film "In August forty-four". And now I read his resolution addressed to General Pirozhkov, under which the KGB press bureau went: "Comrade V.P. Pirozhkov. Does such a film need?" It is difficult to believe in all this, especially today, when more than a hundred editions of The Moment of Truth have been published in 37 languages. But it is so. Moreover, Kravchenko once called me, and, knowing that I was going to write memoirs, I was collecting resolutions for the manuscript of the novel, he literally quoted his conversation with Andropov. It sounded like this: “The author adores the detectives, and he cannot help but like them. They are professional, reliable and incomparably more attractive than the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and his entourage. As a result, junior officers are opposed to senior ones. The novel has received recognition. mass art - I'm not sure. I'm not saying "no" to you. I'm giving you my thoughts." What else confused him: “If everyone was so afraid of Stalin, as shown in the novel, then how could he lead the troops and win the war. The authorities are frightened, twitchy and incompetent. They are ready to do stupid things ... Moreover, different types intelligence is shown in rivalry. We had complete coordination of actions during the war years. "In short, with such an opinion of the KGB chief, Mosfilm, of course, did not receive consultants. And the picture is in the launch. We have to shoot. Then Sizov writes two more letters addressed to Andropov. It is a pity that All of this hassle has gone to waste."
Don't ask anyone for anything. They themselves will come and give everything themselves (Bulgakov)
Renunciation of glory. As Vladimir Bogomolov himself explains it
(according to the writer's wife Raisa Glushko)
In 1975, he sent a letter to Albert Belyaev, deputy head of the department of culture of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and to the Writers' Union: “In connection with the intention of the Young Guard publishing house and the Novy Mir magazine to nominate the novel (“In August forty-fourth ...”) for the State Prize, I ask for your assistance in exempting the novel from this nomination. The fact is that the only possible for me, the position is the role of an ordinary author. The role of a well-known writer, in which I involuntarily, with all my opposition, found myself in the last six months, is completely unacceptable to me. Its results are deplorable: during this time I have not written a single line. After a long and After considering this situation thoroughly, I came to the firm conclusion that the only possible solution for me to this problem is a return to the status quo in which I was before the publication of the novel. left alone by everyone. It is quite clear to me that if I do not return to my former state, the position of an ordinary author, then as a writer I will simply perish. Unlike most writers, I am quite satisfied with my position in literature and society and do not I wish no, even honorable, changes. I have repeatedly observed the life of three famous writers, laureates, and clearly realized: all this fuss, the publicity of the way of life and the need to act in front of someone almost every day, all this is organically contraindicated for me and completely unacceptable "...
But not always Vladimir Bogomolov followed these principles, life and way of life demanded their own. He succumbed to the persuasion of friends to write to the chairman of the executive committee of the Moscow Council Promyslov that he wanted to improve his living conditions. Friends knew that high official I like the book "In August 44th" very much. When he found out what apartment he lives in famous writer then exclaimed: “And he is such a novel in one-room apartment wrote?
The issue was instantly resolved - Bogomolov received a new, spacious apartment. But the strange behavior of the writer continued. He did not let anyone into his office, not even his wife Raisa. It was like an altar, a sacred place. More than once Bogomolov refused fees. Once from the magazine "Youth" he was transferred a large sum for the publication of the novel.
He sent her back! Because the author did not like the slight editing of his text by the editors. “No money! My any comma is dearer to me than any money!” - he was true to this motto.
Bogomolov called the Union of Writers of the USSR "a terrarium of associates." And he said: “Will they teach me to write there? No!" They answered him: “We have rest houses, sanatoriums, polyclinics there.” Bogomolov: “I don’t need all this, my wife is a doctor! I will enter, and then you will force me to sign various anonymous letters condemning Sinyavsky, Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov.
One day alone famous writer invited Bogomolov to his creative evening. The author of "In August '44" had another oddity - he never wore suits. So I went to the theater, in sweatpants, sneakers and a jacket. Sat and looked. Went home with my wife. Raisa tells him: “He will definitely call, find out your opinion about creative evening. Please be gentle with him." Just then the phone rang.
- Well, how? - the famous writer Bogomolov asked with excitement. - Did you enjoy the evening?
- I liked it! grumbled Vladimir Osipovich into the phone. - But why did you come on stage like a lackey to bow?
And further. Bogomolov for some reason did not like to be photographed. Whenever a camera was pointed at him, he turned away. Even when he was a witness at the wedding of his friend Yuri Poroykov. And so he came out in the photo: the wife of the witness looks into the lens, and Bogomolov turned his back.
One of his Belarusian friends turned out to have several photos, Bogomolov called and said: “Tear it!” At home, on the back of the photographs, he signed: "Not for printing."
The difficult nature of Vladimir Osipovich also affected relations with colleagues in the writing workshop. He quarreled with Vasil Bykov. He, after many years of resentment, nevertheless wrote him a conciliatory postcard. But Bogomolov did not answer her. One day he read an article in Literaturnaya Gazeta stating that all military authors "came out of Yuri Bondarev's Battalions." Bondarev was one of the leaders of the Union of Writers of the USSR, so Bogomolov took what was written for flattery and replied: “Who are we all? I did not leave these battalions!
Fight for the manuscript.
It was in literally fight for the pages of the manuscript carried in the diplomat by Vladimir Bogomolov. After his famous novel he also wrote other things, in particular big story"In the Krieger" (1986) But he did not receive much recognition from readers, rather he shocked them with the style of hyperrealism, obscene expressions that were not characteristic of the writer's work. The story told about the hard life of the military in Chukotka, whom our “wise government” transferred to the land of snowstorms and frosts in order to prevent a possible US invasion of the USSR through Alaska.
Let us return to the horrifying case of the attack on Bogomolov, which happened on February 11, 1993. The writer went into his entrance, a tall young guy approached him. Here is how Bogomolov himself describes further events:
…He asked in an altered voice what the house number was. I answered: "Sixth". Without thinking twice, he hit me with brass knuckles. A good imported brass knuckles - covered with leather to match the color of the hand. Before the impact, I managed to press the bell button and turn on the light. He hit me six times. The difference in age is still considerable - he is 25, and I am 67. Strong, strong ... Not a jock, but athletically complex. He hit me mostly in the head, in the face. Then, right from under his hand, the second one appeared. He had brass knuckles like "Cockerel" - with steel spikes, he also starts thrashing me. The first one is trying to snatch my briefcase. But I hold tenaciously - it's not money there, it's my work. I looked - our outer door was glazed - two more appeared there, but they did not enter the entrance, but stood and watched Protopopovsky Lane - if anyone was coming. The first grabbed the case with both hands, tearing at himself. I have my back against the second front door. He contrived and with force kicked him in the right thigh. He flew off so that the outer door opened slightly and I heard one of the two standing on the lookout briefly throw something to him - what exactly, I don’t remember, such a state that nothing was recorded anymore. The main thing is that both attackers instantly disappeared. Yes, there is such a detail. At the entrance we have such a supply room, there was a neighbor in it, a healthy man about 45 years old. With fear, he rushed off in an elevator to the very top. Both elevators were driven up. I called the cabin while she was walking, a puddle of blood formed under my feet, many blood vessels were broken ... I went upstairs, rang the doorbell and said: "Ray, just don't be scared ..." I took off my jacket, the mohair scarf was through soaked in blood, heavy, 800 grams. Blood spilled down my back, even the bottom of my shorts was covered in blood... My wife called the police, an ambulance... The doctor says I'll have to be patient, I don't have painkillers. He endured while he put on the staples. Seventeen stitches...
What happened next... One of the reporters found out about the attack and wrote to Moskovskaya Pravda. The case received publicity. Before that, no one was interested in anything. It wasn't even in the police report. The publication was called so "Some beaten, while others hid." Here I became the object of passionate attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even the Deputy Minister called. But all this was an imitation of the investigation. The major investigator came to me - laying out the photographs, just arrived - there was a call right there, he was on the phone, they say, so and so, there was a murder, we had to leave, there was nothing to lose. Then the second one came and acted in the same way. They took me for a fool. Of course, no one was ever found. I understand this - we have three stations nearby. A chantrap came on tour, they saw a man with a briefcase, they decided that there was money in him. But the worst thing is that there is no inevitability of punishment. When they give seven years probation for murder, that's what's scary. Where to go next? Where to go?
Here is such a case. In the writer's case there was a manuscript of a new thing, 17 pages. According to his wife Raisa, Bogomolov always wrote his works very slowly. Often - several lines a day. He worked a lot on the text, improved it, removed unnecessary commas, put in others, in short - polished, nurtured with big love, treated the lines like a newborn baby.
For example, this is how Bogomolov describes his work on a novel about the traitor Vlasov. He said that he always brings his heroes to MH.
- What is MX? – reasonably asked him.
- To the grave mound, - answered the writer. With the meticulousness of Captain Alekhine from SMERSH, the writer delved into the military archives, tracked the fate of the prototypes of his heroes, real people, until his death. He filed a copy of the archival certificate about the place of burial. And only then did he write about them, in detail, with the smallest details.
… “I work with archives and original documents. I even ordered new cabinets for folders with materials. The archivists know me and respond to my inquiries without unnecessary red tape. True, today is not the case. Executive discipline has fallen. I request an archive - who Vlasov was in China. Answer: "His position could not be considered high." Yes, you tell me her name, and I myself will determine whether she is tall or not! I myself found it somewhere - "Vlasov is a military adviser to the 2nd district" ... Oh, what were they doing there! And they knew in Moscow. Advisor Vlasov bought a Chinese wife for $150. For the time being, for official use ... "
Therefore, Bogomolov never gave the case with 17 pages of the manuscript to the young scumbags. He remained true to himself, his life principles.
At the end of 2003, the writer's health deteriorated sharply. On December 25, he reported that two fingers of one hand were paralyzed, they stopped moving. This incident, alas, was a harbinger of trouble. On the night of December 30, Vladimir Osipovich Bogomolov died in his sleep. From a stroke. It was in this position that his hero Ivan from the story of the same name slept: in a childish way, placing his hand on the pillow under his cheek.
The famous writer was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery. The funeral was organized by the FSB. All the same, he was their man - the author of the famous book about counterintelligence.
A few days later the writer's widow came to his grave. And she saw that the portrait of Bogomolov had disappeared from her. She wept bitterly, sitting down next to the grave mound, which was strewn with wreaths. A man approached, digger of graves, consoled Raisa:
- I would be happy if my portraits were stolen from my grave ...
(To be continued)
"To the few to whom too many owe." With such an epigraph, Vladimir Osipovich Bogomolov prefaced his opus magnum - the novel “The Moment of Truth”, on which he had been working for more than 20 years, since 1951, when he first had the idea of an adventure story for youth “In the Autumn of Forty-Four”. By these "few" he meant military counterintelligence officers, whose contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War was, in the author's opinion, underestimated in the then Soviet military literature.
The main reason that prompted the author to write such a book was the desire to “rehabilitate” military counterintelligence officers: “In the Soviet fiction, unfortunately, even among talented authors ... counterintelligence officers - images are exclusively negative, negative ... Meanwhile, all four years of the war, military counterintelligence officers selflessly performed dangerous, complex and extremely responsible work, on which the lives of thousands of people often depended, the fate of entire operations ... In their In the story, I strive to realistically show the difficult, selfless work of army counterintelligence officers at the front ... ".
Yes, it all started like this - the former military counterintelligence officer Vladimir Bogomolov decided to write a story, and as a result he wrote a big novel, the resounding success of which was greatly facilitated by Bogomolov's scrupulousness in the selection of facts, his meticulousness - according to Bogomolov himself, his approach to the preparatory work on the work was as follows: “No matter how well I know the material, I do not rely on memory: any information, any detail is necessarily cross-checked by me and only after that is reliable for me. Reference and auxiliary materials for the novel "In August 1944 ...", as it turned out during the disassembly of the archive, consisted of 24,679 extracts, copies, clippings of various kinds.
The action of the novel takes place in August 1944 in Belarus. Soviet troops they are preparing a major offensive operation, but a group of German agents are working in the front line, who supply important information to the German command. The SMERSH operational-search group of the 3rd Belorussian Front is faced with the task of finding and detaining a German reconnaissance group, and the case is taken under control by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Time is running out and stress is building up. In addition to solving the immediate problem, what is at stake is the ability of counterintelligence to perform its direct functions - to prevent the activity of enemy intelligence. And the reputation of the heroes of Bogomolov's novel - that's why they make every effort, all their skills.
The characters are carefully designed. In his workbooks, the writer in the most detailed way endowed each with his own vocabulary, his character, appearance, and therefore they look perfect real people, which the author achieved: "The most common drawback of modern adventure literature is the absence of a person, more precisely, a hero."
In general, Bogomolov paid to details, if not decisive, then great importance - in order to achieve realism in depicting the scene of the novel, Vladimir Bogomolov went to Belarus for two months and wrote down in detail - what the weather is like there in August, what trees grow, what characteristic signs of the area , and so on. He photographed a lot, because of which he got into a curious situation - he was mistaken by a local employee of the authorities for a foreign spy.
Such preparatory work and twenty years of work on the text gave the result - when in 1974, after three years of ordeal for various censorship departments, the novel was published in the "New World", it immediately received wide recognition, both among fellow writers and, of course, among readers - nothing like in Soviet literature the novel, with a gripping plot, with selections of "operational documents", with detailed methods and methods of investigative and search work to detain enemy spies, captured the reader from the very first pages and did not let go until the last phrase.
By the way, it was precisely this plausibility in the description of the work of counterintelligence officers, and especially high-quality imitations of operational documents, cipher telegrams marked “Top Secret”, “Air!”, that had not previously been seen in Soviet literature, became an obstacle to the publication of the novel - Bogomolov was accused of revealing professional secrets, in distorting the image of Stalin, in denigrating the Soviet generals (in the novel, the generals behave like ordinary people who may have, for example, health problems), in opposition to the army and the authorities and in different friend. Vladimir Bogomolov answered all this with a 40-page “explanatory material” written by him, which explained in detail, with links, what came from in the novel, and from which it was clear that all the data by the author were taken from open sources- including vultures of documents and specific professional terms. And the documents were written by the author. High-ranking reviewers could not believe this, which is why they wrote: “Who gave the author the right to publish secret documents?”, “Who authorized the making of copies of operational documents and reports?”, “Who authorized the publication of this document? You can't talk about this! Throw away!”, “Who gave the author the right to mention Headquarters at every step?” etc.
The press bureau of the KGB, the department of culture of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the military censorship of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense - the novel went through the authorities, the author was forced to significantly change the text of the work - nevertheless, the stubborn Bogomolov did not change a word in the novel, and in three years he pushed through all the necessary conclusions from everyone necessary (but nevertheless bypassed) authorities - and the publication took place in the author's edition. This, without exaggeration, can be considered a very rare, if not unique, case.
Of course, Vladimir Bogomolov was a little cunning when he argued that all the documents were “invented” by him, because if he had not had access to such authentic documents at one time, he would not have been able to come up with anything like that. In addition, while working, he consulted with his friends and former colleagues- head of the GRU NPO of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War I. I. Ilyichev and writer and scout V. V. Karpov, actively worked in the archives, having wide access to materials. Helped and personal experience author - service in military intelligence, and then in counterintelligence, in the GUK "SMERSH" NPO of the USSR.
The book immediately became extremely popular, almost immediately a book edition was published, then the novel was reprinted more than a hundred times with a total circulation of several million copies, translated into 30 languages, and in 2000 it was filmed by director M. Ptashuk (Bogomolov did not like the film adaptation, and his He removed his name from the credits.
It should be noted that although the "Moment of Truth" is the most famous work author, he also wrote other books that were immediately noticed by readers, colleagues, and critics: the stories "Ivan" (1957, filmed by A. Tarkovsky in 1962 under the title "Ivan's Childhood"), "Zosya" (1963, filmed in 1967 by M. Bogin), as well as military stories and two unfinished novels.
As for The Moment of Truth, this is an excellent work both in terms of plot and in terms of style: many years of work, “licking” of the text and material affected. The book outgrew the idea of “a story about counterintelligence officers”, because although the main characters there are counterintelligence officers, it can be explained by the words of K. M. Simonov: “This novel is not about military counterintelligence. This is a novel about the Soviet state and military machine of 1944 and typical people of that time.”
On such books Soviet times grateful readers wholeheartedly wrote "very good book". And in our times, the novel is included in the list of "100 books" that the Ministry of Education and Science recommends to schoolchildren for independent reading.
Bogomolov V. O. The moment of truth. - M.: Eksmo, 2014. - 576 p. - (Pocket Book). - ISBN 978-5-699-72511-3.
http://www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/27452592/
1. Alekhin, Tamantsev, Blinov
There were three of them, those who were officially, in the documents, called the "operational-search group" of the Front's counterintelligence department. At their disposal was a car, a battered, battered GAZ-AA lorry and a driver-sergeant Khizhnyak.
Exhausted by six days of intensive but unsuccessful searches, they returned to the Office after dark, confident that at least tomorrow they would be able to sleep and rest. However, as soon as the head of the group, Captain Alekhin, reported their arrival, they were ordered to immediately go to the Shilovichi region and continue the search. About two hours later, having filled the car with gasoline and having received an energetic briefing by a specially called officer-miner during dinner, they drove out.
By dawn, more than a hundred and fifty kilometers were left behind. The sun had not yet risen, but it was already dawning when Khizhnyak, stopping the lorry, stepped on the footboard and, leaning over the side, pushed Alekhine aside.
The captain - of average height, thin, with faded, whitish eyebrows on a tanned, inactive face - threw back his overcoat and, shivering, sat up in the back. The car was parked on the side of the highway. It was very quiet, fresh and dewy. Ahead, about one and a half kilometers away, the huts of some village could be seen in small dark pyramids.
“Shilovichi,” said Khizhnyak. Raising the side shield of the hood, he leaned toward the engine. - Move closer?
“No,” said Alekhine, looking around. - Good. To the left was a stream with sloping dry banks.
To the right of the highway, behind a wide strip of stubble and shrubbery, a forest stretched. The same forest from which some eleven hours ago there was a radio transmission. Alekhin examined him through binoculars for half a minute, then began to wake up the officers who were sleeping in the back.
One of them, Andrey Blinov, a fair-headed lieutenant of nineteen years of age, with ruddy cheeks from sleep, woke up immediately, sat down in the hay, rubbed his eyes, and stared at Alekhine without understanding anything.
It was not so easy to get another one - Senior Lieutenant Tamantsev. He slept with his head wrapped in a raincoat, and when they began to wake him up, he pulled it tight, half-asleep kicked the air twice with his foot and rolled over to the other side.
Finally he woke up completely and, realizing that he would not be allowed to sleep again, he threw away his raincoat, sat down and, looking around sullenly with dark gray eyes from under thick unibrows, asked, in fact, without addressing anyone:
- Where are we?..
“Let’s go,” Alekhin called him, going down to the stream, where Blinov and Khizhnyak were already washing. - Freshen up.
Tamantsev glanced at the stream, spat far to the side, and suddenly, almost without touching the edge of the side, rapidly tossing his body, jumped out of the car.
He was, like Blinov, tall, but wider at the shoulders, narrower at the hips, muscular and sinewy. Stretching and glancing around frowningly, he went down to the stream and, throwing off his tunic, began to wash.
The water was cold and clear, like a spring.
“It smells like a swamp,” said Tamantsev, however. - Note that in all rivers the water tastes like a swamp. Even in the Dnieper.
“Of course, you disagree less than at sea,” Alekhin grinned, wiping his face.
“Precisely!.. You won’t understand this,” Tamantsev sighed, looking regretfully at the captain, and quickly turning around in an authoritative bass voice, but cheerfully exclaimed: “Khizhnyak, I don’t see breakfast!”
- Do not be noisy. There will be no breakfast,” Alekhine said. - Take a dry ration.
- Cheerful life! .. No sleep, no food ...
- Let's get in the body! Alekhin interrupted him and, turning to Khizhnyak, suggested: “In the meantime, take a walk…”
The officers climbed into the body. Alekhine lit a cigarette, then, taking it out of his clipboard, laid out a brand new large-scale map on a plywood suitcase and, trying on, made a dot above the Shilovichi with a pencil.
– We are here.
– historical place! Tamantsev snorted.
- Shut up! Alekhin said sternly, and his face became official. - Listen to the order! .. See the forest? .. Here it is. - Alekhin showed on the map. “Yesterday at eighteen zero-five, a shortwave transmitter went on the air from here.
- Is it still the same? Blinov asked not quite confidently.
- What about the text? Tamantsev inquired at once.
- Presumably, the transmission was conducted from this square, - Alekhin continued, as if not hearing his question. - We will ...
“What does En Fe think?” Tamantsev promptly managed.
It was his usual question. He was almost always interested: “What did En Fe say?.. What does En Fe think?.. Did you pump it with En Fe?..”
“I don’t know, he didn’t exist,” Alekhine said. Let's take a look at the forest...
- What about the text? Tamantsev insisted.
With barely noticeable pencil lines, he divided the northern part of the forest into three sectors and, showing the officers and explaining in detail the landmarks, continued:
- We start from this square - look especially carefully here! – and move to the periphery. Searches to conduct until nineteen zero-zero. Staying in the forest later - forbid! Gathering at the Shilovichi. The car will be somewhere in that undergrowth. Alekhine held out his hand; Andrey and Tamantsev looked where he was pointing. - Remove shoulder straps and caps, leave documents, do not keep weapons in plain sight! When meeting with someone in the forest, act according to the circumstances.
* Part one. GROUP OF CAPTAIN ALEKHIN *
1. ALEKHIN, TAMANTSEV, BLINOV
There were three of them, those who were officially named in the documents
"operational-search group" of the Front's counterintelligence department. In their
at his disposal was a car, shabby, battered lorry "GAZ-AA" and
driver-sergeant Khizhnyak.
Exhausted by six days of intensive but unsuccessful searches, they
darkly returned to the Office, confident that even tomorrow they would be able to
sleep and rest. However, as soon as the senior of the group, Captain Alekhin,
reported their arrival, they were ordered to immediately go to the area
Shilovichi and continue the search. Two hours later, filling the car with gasoline and
having received during dinner an energetic briefing by a specially called
officer-miner, they left.
By dawn, more than a hundred and fifty kilometers were left behind. The sun is still
did not rise, but it was already dawn when Khizhnyak, stopping the lorry, stepped on
footboard and, leaning over the side, pushed Alekhine aside.
The captain is of medium height, thin, with faded, whitish
eyebrows on a tanned, inactive face, threw back his overcoat and, shivering,
raised in the body. The car was parked on the side of the highway. It was very quiet and cool
and dewy. Ahead, about one and a half kilometers, small dark
huts of some village could be seen like pyramids.
"Shilovichi," said Khizhnyak. Raising the hood side panel, he
leaned towards the engine. - Move closer?
"No," said Alekhine, looking around. -- Good. A stream flowed to the left
with sloping dry shores.
To the right of the highway behind a wide strip of stubble and shrubbery
the forest stretched. The same forest from which some eleven hours ago
was broadcast. Alekhin examined him through binoculars for half a minute, then
began to wake up the officers who were sleeping in the back.
One of them, Andrei Blinov, light-headed, nineteen years old lieutenant,
with ruddy cheeks from sleep, waking up immediately, sat down on the hay, rubbed his eyes, and,
Understanding nothing, he stared at Alekhine.
Waking up another - senior lieutenant Tamantsev - was not so
easily. He slept with his head wrapped in a cape, and when he was
wake her up, pulled her tight, half-asleep kicked the air twice with her foot and rolled over
on the other side.
At last he woke up completely and, realizing that he would no longer be allowed to sleep,
threw aside his cape, sat down, and, gloomily looking round the dark gray
fused eyebrows with his eyes, he asked, in fact, not addressing anyone:
-- Where are we?..
“Let’s go,” Alekhine called him, going down to the stream, where they were already washing
Blinov and Khizhnyak. - Freshen up.
Tamantsev glanced at the stream, spat far away, and suddenly, almost
touching the edge of the side, rapidly throwing up his body, jumped out of
cars.
Federal State Educational Institution
Higher Professional Education
"Siberian Academy of State Service"
Faculty of Law
Department of Humanitarian Foundations of Public Service
TEST
By discipline: "Culturology"
On the topic: Vladimir Bogomolov's novel
"Moment of Truth (August '44)"
Performed
checked
Novosibirsk 2009
Introduction
Creation
Edition of the novel. Plot
History of the creation of the novel
Editions of the novel
Text style
Plans, composition, main thoughts
The problems of the work and its ideological morality. Genre originality
Central characters (system of images)
Episode analysis and main storylines works
Characteristics of the artistic image-character
The place of the work in the work of the writer
Conclusion
Literature
Introduction
The novel brought Bogomolov immense popularity; It has been reprinted several times, causing constant reader interest. It is dedicated to the work of one of the divisions of the Russian counterintelligence during the Great Patriotic War. The tense plot makes it possible to compare it with the works of the adventure genre. However, along with the detective line in the novel, there is a deeper plan. While working on the novel, Bogomolov studied a huge amount of factual material. He strove to be extremely accurate in everything, starting with the depiction of "little things" in professional activity counterintelligence officers and ending with the disclosure of characters. Fascination in the novel is combined with realism (the key phrase: "the moment of truth" is a term taken from the dictionary of detectives, it is able to express both the essence of the novel and the main thing in the work of the writer himself: the desire for truth). The novel has an original composition. Along with the frequent change of ways of narration, when the story is told from the perspective of different heroes and events sometimes appear before the reader from opposite points of view, a huge role is played in it office notes, reports that repeat with the utmost accuracy the form of real documents from the time of the war. They are a special means of recreating "authentic" artistic reality.
The action of the novel by Vladimir Bogomolov takes place in August 44 on the territory of Southern Lithuania and Western Belarus at the time of preparation by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Memel offensive operation, which is under threat due to the actions of a small group of paratrooper agents. As a result, active actions of Soviet counterintelligence officers are unfolding to identify and eliminate such a dangerous enemy in their own rear.
"Counterintelligence is not mysterious beauties, restaurants, jazz and all-knowing fraera, as they show in films and novels. Military counterintelligence is hard work ... the fourth year, fifteen to eighteen hours every day - from the front line and throughout the operational rear ..." Senior Lieutenant Tamantsev, nicknamed "Skorokhvat" about the counterintelligence service It is very interesting to observe the work of counterintelligence in the middle of the last century today, when many of us know about the work of special services from films about Jason Bourne or "Enemy of the State", where by the key phrase in telephone conversation you can find a person anywhere in the world. At that time, there were no supercomputers, CCTV cameras, global databases of fingerprints and DNA. Instead of all this, there is the painstaking work of people who look for information bit by bit, compare it and, on the basis of this, draw certain conclusions. There are many interesting characters in the book, each with their own destiny, character, experience and behavior. There are no positive or negative characters here, there are people with their own emotions and experiences. The story comes from different angles, from different actors, and inserts with operational documents are the "glue" that connects everything in complete picture and add character to the story.
"Moscow won't joke... - said Tamantsev gloomily. - Everyone will be given an enema! Half a bucket of turpentine with gramophone needles," he clarified. Tamantsev about personal prospects in case of failure of the operation Vladimir Bogomolov himself is a person with an interesting and difficult fate, was brought up by his grandparents, went through the war from a private to a platoon commander, which left a deep mark.
“Two friends knocked me out to join the army, both were older than me, and they wised up to add two years to themselves, which was easy to do when signing up as a volunteer. Three months later, in the very first battle, when a company lying on a frozen field was covered with a salvo of German mortars, "I regretted this initiative. Stunned by the explosions, I raised my head and saw on the left and slightly in front of a soldier who had been pierced by a fragment of the peritoneum; lying on his side, he unsuccessfully tried to place the intestines that had fallen out on the ground into his stomach. I began to look for the commander with my eyes and found ahead - on the occipital part of his skull was blown off his boots - the platoon leader, who was lying face down. In total, 11 out of 30 people were killed in a platoon with one volley. " In the "Moment of Truth" there are also echoes of the war, there are bloated corpses, and heads gnawed by vultures, and Alekhine's gaze full of pain at a two-year-old boy who has lost his little hand. But since the actions take place in the rear, there are not many horrors of war, and you can be calm for the reader's psyche.
"The swing of the pendulum is not only a movement, it is interpreted more broadly ... It should be defined as" the most rational actions and behavior during fleeting fire contacts during forceful detention. "It includes both instantaneous drawing of weapons and skill from the very first seconds use the distraction factor, the nervousness factor, and if possible, the backlight, and the instant, unmistakable reaction to any actions of the enemy, and the proactive rapid movement under fire, and the incessant deceptive movements ("feint-game"), and the sniper's accuracy of hitting the limbs when shooting in Macedonian ("disabling limbs"), and continuous psychological pressure until the completion of forceful detention. "Swinging the pendulum" captures alive a strong, well-armed and actively resisting enemy "
Biography of Vladimir Osipovich Bogomolov
Vladimir Osipovich Bogomolov (07/03/1926 - 12/30/2003) - Russian Soviet writer. Was born in peasant family in the village of Kirillovka, Moscow region.
In 1941 he graduated from seven classes high school. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he volunteered for the front. He was a pupil of the regiment (his traits can be recognized in the hero of his first story "Ivan"). In 1941 he received his first officer rank. Was injured, awarded with orders and medals. He went from private to commander of an intelligence platoon - at the end of the war he served as a company commander, was an intelligence officer of the regiment. Bogomolov had to go through many front-line roads - the Moscow region, Ukraine, North Caucasus, Poland, Germany, Manchuria. He served in the army until 1952. Vladimir Bogomolov is an emphatically lonely writer. Basically did not join creative unions: no writers, no filmmakers. Rarely gave interviews. Refused any performances. He shot his name in the credits of films perfectly made according to his works, even because of small disagreements with filmmakers.
He hates empty fiction, and therefore is extremely accurate in psychological portraits heroes, and in the details of military life. Because, obviously, and writes very slowly. Based on the story, Ivan was staged by film director Andrei Tarkovsky famous movie Ivan's childhood (1962), awarded highest award Venice Film Festival Golden Lion. The novel The Moment of Truth (In August 1944. .) and the story Ivan went through more than a hundred editions and, according to bibliographers, are the leaders in the number of reprints among many thousands of other modern literary works published in the last 25 and 40 years, respectively. He died on December 30, 2003, and was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.
Creation
Literary biography Bogomolov began in 1958, when the first story "Ivan" was published, published in 1958 in the magazine "Znamya". She brought the author recognition and success. Andrei Tarkovsky filmed the story famous movie"Ivan's childhood". tragic and true story scout boy, who is dying at the hands of the Germans with full consciousness of professional debt, immediately became a classic Soviet prose about war. The second story of Bogomolov - "Zosya" appeared in 1963. The events in it also unfold against the backdrop of military reality. Her story is built on contrasts. Two sides of life collide in it - love and death, dream and harsh reality. Simultaneously with the story, a selection of short stories-miniatures was published: "Cemetery near Bialystok", "Second grade", "People all around", "Neighbor in the ward", "My heart is in pain". In them, to the greatest extent, the laconicism characteristic of Bogomolov's style, the ability to raise problems of the broadest sound in a small but capacious form, manifested itself to the greatest extent. They are characterized by symbolism, "parable", special treatment to literary detail.
The biggest and famous work Bogomolov - the novel "In August forty-fourth ..." (the second name is "The Moment of Truth"), completed in 1973. One of the classic Russian military novels. Perhaps the main stylistic devices of the action-packed novel "In August 1944" are repeated in the science fiction story "The Waves Extinguish the Wind" (1985-86) by the Strugatsky brothers. The action of the story In krieger"occurs in the autumn of 1945 on Far East Seen in the story A New Look to the post-war reality Then - many years of silence, traditional for Vladimir Bogomolov, and only in 1993 did the new story"In the Krieger" about the first post-war autumn in the Far East, about the complex and dramatic for people restructuring the army in a peaceful way.
