War is the heaviest and most terrible word of all known to mankind. How good it is when a child does not know what an airstrike is, how a machine gun sounds, why people hide in bomb shelters. However, Soviet people have come across this terrible concept and know about it firsthand. And it is not surprising that many books, songs, poems and stories have been written about it. In this article we want to talk about what works the whole world is still reading.

"And the dawns here are quiet"

The author of this book is Boris Vasiliev. The main characters are anti-aircraft gunners. Five young girls themselves decided to go to the front. At first they did not even know how to shoot, but in the end they accomplished a real feat. It is such works about the Great Patriotic War that remind us that there is no age, gender or status at the front. All this does not matter, because every person moves forward only because he is aware of his duty to the Motherland. Each of the girls understood that the enemy must be stopped at any cost.

In the book, the main narrator is Vaskov, the commandant of the patrol. This man saw with his own eyes all the horrors that happen during the war. The worst thing about this work is its truthfulness, its honesty.

"17 moments of Spring"

There are different books about the Great Patriotic War, but the work of Yulian Semenov is one of the most popular. The protagonist is the Soviet intelligence officer Isaev, who works under the fictitious surname Stirlitz. It is he who exposes the attempted collusion of the American military-industrial complex with the leaders

This is a very ambiguous and complex work. It intertwines documentary data and human relationships. The characters are based on real people. Based on the novel by Semenov, a series was filmed, which for a long time was at the peak of popularity. However, in the film, the characters are easy to understand, unambiguous and simple. In the book, everything is much more confusing and interesting.

"Vasily Terkin"

This poem was written by Alexander Tvardovsky. A person who is looking for beautiful poems about the Great Patriotic War should first of all turn their attention to this particular work. It is a real encyclopedia that tells about how a simple Soviet soldier lived at the front. There is no pathos here, the main character is not embellished - he is a simple man, a Russian man. Vasily sincerely loves his Fatherland, treats troubles and difficulties with humor, and can find a way out of the most difficult situation.

Many critics believe that it was these poems about the Great Patriotic War written by Tvardovsky that helped to maintain the morale of ordinary soldiers in 1941-1945. Indeed, in Terkin, everyone saw something of their own, dear. It is easy to recognize in him the person with whom he worked together, the neighbor with whom he went out to smoke on the landing, the comrade-in-arms who lay with you in the trench.

Tvardovsky showed the war for what it is, without embellishing reality. His work is considered by many to be a kind of military chronicle.

"Hot Snow"

The book at first glance describes local events. There are such works about the Great Patriotic War that describe a single, specific event. So it is here - it tells only about one day that Drozdovsky's battery survived. It was her fighters who knocked out the tanks of the Nazis, who were approaching Stalingrad.

This novel tells about how yesterday's schoolchildren, young boys can love their Motherland. After all, it is young people who unshakably believe in the orders of their superiors. Perhaps that is why the legendary battery was able to withstand enemy fire.

In the book, the theme of war is intertwined with life stories, fear and death are combined with goodbyes and frank confessions. At the end of the work, the battery, which is practically frozen under the snow, is found. The wounded are sent to the rear, the heroes are solemnly awarded. But, despite the happy ending, we are reminded that the boys continue to fight there, and there are thousands of them.

"Not listed"

Every schoolchild read books about the Great Patriotic War, but not everyone knows this work by Boris Vasilyev about a simple 19-year-old guy Nikolai Pluzhnikov. The protagonist after the military school receives an appointment and becomes a platoon commander. He will serve in the Special Western District. At the beginning of 1941, many were sure that the war would begin, but Nikolai did not believe that Germany would dare to attack the USSR. The guy ends up in the Brest Fortress, and the next day it is attacked by the Nazis. From that day the Great Patriotic War began.

It is here that the young lieutenant receives the most valuable life lessons. Nikolai now knows what a small mistake can cost, how to correctly assess the situation and what actions to take, how to distinguish sincerity from betrayal.

"A Tale of a Real Man"

There are various works dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, but only the book of Boris Polevoy has such an amazing fate. In the Soviet Union and in Russia, it was reprinted more than a hundred times. This book has been translated into more than one hundred and fifty languages. Its relevance is not lost even in peacetime. The book teaches us to be courageous, to help any person who finds himself in a difficult situation.

After the story was published, the author began to receive letters that were sent to him from all the cities of the then huge state. People thanked him for the work, which spoke of courage and great love for life. In the main character, pilot Alexei Maresyev, many who lost their relatives in the war recognized their loved ones: sons, husbands, brothers. Until now, this work is rightfully considered legendary.

"Destiny of Man"

You can recall different stories about the Great Patriotic War, but the work of Mikhail Sholokhov is familiar to almost everyone. It is based on a real story that the author heard in 1946. It was told to him by a man and a boy, whom he accidentally met at the crossing.

The main character of this story was named Andrey Sokolov. He, having gone to the front, left his wife and three children, and an excellent job, and his home. Once on the front line, the man behaved very dignified, always carried out the most difficult assignments and helped his comrades. However, the war does not spare anyone, even the most courageous. Andrei's house burns down, and all his relatives die. The only thing that kept him in this world was little Vanya, whom the main character decides to adopt.

"Blockade Book"

The authors of this book were (now an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg) and Ales Adamovich (a writer from Belarus). This work can be called a collection of stories about the Great Patriotic War. It contains not only entries from the diaries of people who survived the blockade in Leningrad, but also unique, rare photographs. Today, this work has acquired a real cult status.

The book was reprinted many times and even promised that it would be available in all libraries in St. Petersburg. Granin noted that this work is not a story of human fears, it is a story of real feats.

"Young guard"

There are works about the Great Patriotic War that are simply impossible not to read. The novel describes real events, but this is not the main thing. The title of the work is the name of an underground youth organization whose heroism is simply impossible to appreciate. During the war years, it operated on the territory of the city of Krasnodon.

You can talk a lot about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, but when you read about boys and girls who, in the most difficult times, were not afraid to arrange sabotage and prepared for an armed uprising, tears stand in their eyes. The youngest member of the organization was only 14 years old, and almost all of them died at the hands of the Nazis.

Hate never made people happy. War is not just words on the pages, not just beautiful slogans. War is pain, hunger, soul-rending fear and… death. Books about war are inoculations against evil, sobering us, keeping us from reckless actions. Let us learn from the mistakes of the past by reading wise and truthful writings to avoid repeating the terrible history so that we and future generations can build a beautiful society. Where there are no enemies and any disputes can be settled by conversation. Where you don’t bury your relatives, howling from anguish. Where all life is priceless...

Not only the present, but also the distant future depends on each of us. You just need to fill your heart with kindness and see in those around you not potential enemies, but people just like us - with families dear to our hearts, with a dream of happiness. Remembering the great sacrifices and deeds of our ancestors, we must carefully preserve their generous gift - life without war. So let the sky above our heads always be peaceful!

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

Valentin Pikul. Ocean Patrol. Book one. Askold's people. Volume 1

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

Vladimir Karpov. Take it alive!

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

Valentin Kataev. son of the regiment

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

Svetlana Alexievich. Last Witnesses. Solo for children's voice

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

Viktor Kurochkin. In war as in war

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

Valentin Rasputin. Live and remember. Novels and stories

The prose of this writer touches upon issues of morality. The novels and stories of Rasputin fight for the preservation of Russian customs and traditions and are part of the golden fund of Russian literature. The language with which he created was very lively, and with bright colors betrayed to the reader the inexplicable beauty and passion of the world. Farther

Viktor Astafiev. Cursed and killed

Several teenage recruits arrived at the front. There they are waiting for the harsh attitude of the commander, wild cold and merciless hunger. Over time, the crowd of boys becomes a real brotherhood of soldiers and acts together. Their subsequent fate will leave a mark on the soul of every reader. Farther

Vasil Bykov. Live until dawn

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

Nadezhda Nadezhdina. Partisan Lara

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

The author of this story himself visited the front. It was the events of his history that became the basis for the plots of the books. His story tells about a man who was tortured by the icy water of impenetrable swamps, the mud of trenches and the wilderness of the forest. But the main torture is the uncertainty of the outcome of hostilities. Farther

This book tells about the fate of a little girl. This talented actress in the future became famous as a sensitive and wise person who loves her homeland and people. The life of such an outstanding person as Gulya (as she was called) is worthy of the reader's attention. Farther

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

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

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

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

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

This novel is the last in the Living and the Dead trilogy. The writer leads the main characters on the victorious paths of the last summer of the Great Patriotic War. All the power of the Soviet army began to gain momentum and, to the glorious music, goes to the long-awaited victory. Farther

Boris Vasiliev. Tomorrow Was War (compilation)

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

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

Yulian Semyonov. Seventeen Moments of Spring (compilation)

This novel about the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Stirlitz won the sympathy of the masses of readers. The main character has become a real people's favorite. In our time, jokes are often made about him and argue about his prototypes. Colonel Maxim Isaev is a famous Soviet intelligence officer who is used to risking his life. Farther

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

15 war books everyone should read

The further the Great Patriotic War is from us, the more memory games we have than memory itself. And now, for many, the old-fashioned “Never Again!” and there are arguments about war as a way to solve political or economic problems. We have selected 15 books that, for good, each of us should read. At least in order to feel how it all really was.

“Tomorrow there was a war”, Boris Vasilyev

The war, it seems, has nothing to do with it, it is only in the name: a promise, and nothing more. Ordinary life, ordinary anxieties, small and large, of boys and girls in 1940. The stronger the horror of the impending, inevitable disaster that will fall on the main characters, doubt their fate, crush, take away all the joys. A trouble against which all others, so important now, will fade.

"Life and Fate", Vasily Grossman

This is epic. It must be read long and slow, digesting each line. The book is about the war in all its horror: death at the front and behind the front, inhuman humiliations and inhuman fortitude. About the fact that there is meanness of one's own and that from this the enemies do not cease to be enemies. Everything here is the voice of a witness: Vasily Grossman was a war correspondent, and knew the war both from the front and from the rear, and his mother ended up in the Jewish ghetto and was shot. On the night before her death, the woman managed to write a letter to her son and managed to pass it on. In this letter was the whole history of humiliation, all the horror of people waiting for murder. Grossman's epic was written more than with the blood of the people: with the blood of the mother. It is more terrible not to invent ink.

"War has no woman's face" Svetlana Aleksievich

Again the voices of witnesses, only direct speech. Belarusian journalist Svetlana Aleksievich carefully collected the memories of women who fought. Moreover, she collected that face of the war, which is almost not customary to remember - as if wars only affect men. This book is also impossible to read excitedly, living pain oozes from its pages.

"Mother of Man", Vitaly Zakrutkin

The main character of the book did not go to the front, but still could not avoid the war. Alas, when hostilities are going on, there are no civilians anymore, if only simply because there is no peace. The woman found herself in the face of trouble without a weapon in her hands, and she had to fight for her life and for the life of her children solely with her will and her hard work.

The General and His Army, Georgy Vladimov

It describes the war from the angle in which it is seen by those who took responsibility for thousands of other people's lives. When the scale becomes such that the soldiers seem like toy soldiers, and the cities and villages look like dots on the map, some are tempted to start the game and drag the rest into it.

Sotnikov Vasil Bykov

The book is about how war reveals a person: features that are invisible in peacetime, in an extreme situation come out and determine the main motives and actions of the heroes. One goes to the end, risking his life, the other is a coward and retreats. And yet, reading Sotnikov, one can feel very well how difficult it is to be like the first, and how hard it is to condemn the second when death breathes in the face.

"Time to live and time to die" Erich Maria Remarque

Written from the point of view of a German soldier, this novel tells the story of how there are at least two sides to every war and how it feels to be a miserable pawn on the other side. Even more: “A Time to Live and a Time to Die” is a book about how war is never good and war is never good. If you're even a little human, of course.

"I see the sun" Nodar Dumbadze

Very light, warm and bright book. The main characters are teenagers from a Georgian village, an orphan boy raised by his aunt, and a blind girl who dreams of seeing the sun. Somewhere far away there is a war. Here, in Georgia, they don't kill, they don't drop bombs, they don't shoot by tens and hundreds. But even this heavenly place is devastated by war, no matter how far the front goes. And they reach, reach for the light, despite all the hardships, the future people of the world, those who will one day heal the wounds of their country and live for those who did not return.

"Slaughterhouse Five or The Children's Crusade" by Kurt Vonnegut

A semi-fantastic, or rather surrealistic book about the author's experience of the war on the front lines, German captivity and the bombing of Dresden - by those in Dresden. The book is about ordinary people, physically and mentally tired, whose only dream is to simply return home.

Blockade book Ales Adamovich, Daniil Granin

A documentary and therefore a very heavy book, after which one somehow unbearably wants to live, breathe, enjoy the air, rain, snow. Call friends, relatives, just to hear them and know that they are with you. This book is not a glorification of the military feat of Leningraders, but a chronicle of suffering for which a person cannot be destined. The authors recorded the stories of dozens of witnesses to the blockade. After each terrible memory, it seems that it cannot be worse. But the next one is even worse.

"Blockade ethics" Sergei Yarov

Another incredibly heavy book about the blockade. About how inhuman suffering in some people shifts the ideas of black and white, while in others it makes them clearer, sharper, more contrasting. Without a doubt, one of the most terrible works about the war.

"Memories of the War" Nikolai Nikulin

These are the memoirs of a famous St. Petersburg art critic about his war years. The author wrote them in the mid-seventies, as he put it, in order to remove from the soul an incredible burden that had been pulling all these years. The manuscript was published only in 2007, two years before Nikulin's death. The book describes a view of the war from the point of view of the private. About how and how a soldier lives, when every next minute brings someone's death.

“War is the biggest scum that the human race has ever invented, ... war has always been mean, and the army, an instrument of murder, has always been a tool of evil. No, and there were no just wars, all of them, no matter how they are justified, are anti-human.

"It's us, Lord!" Konstantin Vorobyov

Another face of war. A book about the other side of courage. About what captivity is, especially Nazi captivity. About torture, about the humiliation of the spirit through the humiliation of the body, about horror and suffering. And, of course, about death nearby. There is no war without this gloomy companion.

"In the trenches of Stalingrad", Viktor Nekrasov

The title of the book fully reveals its plot. This is one of the most brutal and important battles of the Great Patriotic War. The author shows the war from the trenches - from where the strength of the hand and confidence in comrades are more important than decisions made from above. When life and death go side by side, separated by centimeters and moments, people are revealed as they are. With fear, despair, love and hate.

Cursed and Killed, Viktor Astafiev

Another book from the perspective of a soldier that could teach you how to count human lives. 20,000 when taking a height at school is just a voiced figure. And after this book, 20,000 turn back into people. Dead painfully, ugly, left to lie on the ground, sour with blood. Because war is about people, not numbers.

Text: Vladimir Erkovich

The theme of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) became one of the main topics in Soviet literature. Many Soviet writers were directly involved in the fighting on the front lines, someone served as a war correspondent, someone fought in a partisan detachment ... Such iconic authors of the 20th century as Sholokhov, Simonov, Grossman, Ehrenburg, Astafiev and many others left us amazing testimonies. Each of them had their own war and their own vision of what happened. Someone wrote about pilots, someone about partisans, someone about child heroes, someone about documentaries, and someone about fiction books. They left terrible memories of those fatal events for the country.

These testimonies are especially important for today's teenagers and children, who must read these books without fail. Memory cannot be bought, it can either not be lost, or lost, or restored. And it's better not to lose. Never! And don't forget to win.

We decided to compile a list of the TOP-25 most notable novels and short stories by Soviet writers.

• Ales Adamovich: "The Punishers"
• Victor Astafiev: "Cursed and killed"
• Boris Vasiliev:
• Boris Vasiliev: “I wasn’t on the lists”
• Vladimir Bogomolov: "In August forty-four"
• Yuri Bondarev: "Hot Snow"
• Yuri Bondarev: "The battalions are asking for fire"
• Konstantin Vorobyov: "Killed near Moscow"
• Vasil Bykov: Sotnikov
• Vasil Bykov: "Survive until dawn"
• Oles Gonchar: "Banners"
• Daniil Granin: "My lieutenant"
• Vasily Grossman:
• Vasily Grossman:
• Emmanuil Kazakevich: "Star"
• Emmanuil Kazakevich: "Spring on the Oder"
• Valentin Kataev:
• Viktor Nekrasov: "In the trenches of Stalingrad"
• Vera Panova: "Satellites"
• Fedor Panferov: "In the country of the defeated"
• Valentin Pikul: "Requiem for the PQ-17 Caravan"
• Anatoly Rybakov:
• Konstantin Simonov:
• Mikhail Sholokhov: "They fought for their Motherland"
• Ilya Ehrenburg: "The Tempest"

The Great Patriotic War was the bloodiest event in world history, which claimed the lives of millions of people. Almost every Russian family has veterans, front-line soldiers, blockade survivors, people who survived the occupation or evacuation to the rear, this leaves an indelible mark on the entire nation.

The Second World War was the final part of World War II, which swept like a heavy roller throughout the European part of the Soviet Union. June 22, 1941 was the starting point for it - on this day, German and allied troops began the bombardment of our territories, launching the implementation of the "Plan Barbarossa". Until November 18, 1942, the entire Baltic, Ukraine and Belarus were occupied, Leningrad was blocked for 872 days, and the troops continued to rush inland to capture its capital. The Soviet commanders and the military were able to stop the offensive at the cost of heavy casualties both in the army and among the local population. From the occupied territories, the Germans massively drove the population into slavery, distributed Jews to concentration camps, where, in addition to unbearable living and working conditions, various kinds of research on people were practiced, which led to many deaths.

In 1942-1943, Soviet factories evacuated deep to the rear were able to increase production, which allowed the army to launch a counteroffensive and push the front line to the western border of the country. The key event in this period is the Battle of Stalingrad, in which the victory of the Soviet Union became a turning point that changed the existing alignment of military forces.

In 1943-1945, the Soviet army went on the offensive, recapturing the occupied territories of the right-bank Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states. In the same period, a partisan movement flared up in the territories that had not yet been liberated, in which many local residents, including women and children, took part. The ultimate goal of the offensive was Berlin and the final defeat of the enemy armies, this happened late in the evening of May 8, 1945, when the act of surrender was signed.

Among the front-line soldiers and defenders of the Motherland were many key Soviet writers - Sholokhov, Grossman, Ehrenburg, Simonov and others. Later they would write books and novels, leaving to posterity their vision of that war in the form of heroes - children and adults, soldiers and partisans. All this today allows our contemporaries to remember the terrible price of a peaceful sky overhead, which was paid by our people.