We invite you to read the summary of "Tomorrow there was a war" - a work written by Boris Vasiliev in 1984. The director in 1987 shot a film of the same name based on this book, which will also help you learn about the events and problems of this work.
Prologue (summary)
"And tomorrow there was a war" begins as follows. The author of the work recalls the class in which he once studied - 9 "B". He only had an old photograph blurred around the edges as a memory of his classmates. It was then that Iskra Polyakova prompted everyone to do it.
Out of the entire class, only 19 people survived to old age. In addition to Iskra and the author, the company also included Valka Alexandrov (an inventor nicknamed Edison), Pasha Ostapchuk (an athlete), Zinochka Kovalenko (a frivolous girl) and the timid Lenochka Bokova. They gathered most often at Zinochka's. Iskra loved to tell something, read aloud to them, and the inventor Valka was always constructing various devices that usually did not work.
The company treated Zinochka's father, a quiet man, rather dismissively, until one day the guys saw his back in the bathhouse, streaked with scars - an autograph of the past civil war. Iskra's mother, Polyakova, who walked around in a leather jacket and boots, was afraid of everyone and could not understand that she had the same scars on her soul as those that they saw on the back of Zinochka's father.
First chapter
Let's describe the events of the first chapter. Here is a summary of it.
"Tomorrow was a war" begins as follows. That autumn, Zinochka Kovalenko discovered for the first time that she was a woman. During the absence of her parents, she looked sadly in the mirror at her mature, precocious breasts, thin hips and thin ankles, when a spark rang at her door. The girl was a little afraid of this "class conscience", her strict friend, although she was a year older than her.
Polyakova's idol was her mother, with whom the girl took an example. It was only recently that she realized that this woman was lonely and deeply unhappy. One night, Iskra saw that her mother was crying, and was flogged for it with a soldier's belt. So unusually called her father, whom the girl no longer remembered. This commissar turned out to be in fact a weak man, and Iskra's mother mercilessly burned his photographs in the stove.
Iskra came to her friend with the message that their friend Sasha Stameskin would no longer go to school. Classes now had to be paid for, but Sasha's mother had no money, since she raised her son without a father. Stameskin was a conquest and a personal achievement of Iskra. More recently, just a year ago, he led the life of a loser and a bully. But then this girl showed up. Having joined the Komsomol, she decided that her first feat would be young men.
In Stameskin's house, Iskra found beautiful drawings of airplanes and declared that they would not fly. Sasha was hurt by this and became interested in physics and mathematics. But Iskra foresaw that he would soon get tired of it, so she took the hero to an aviation circle. Now this young man who had become a good student had to leave the school.
Zinochka found a way out. She offered to arrange Sasha at an aircraft factory, which had an evening school. Vika Lyuberetskaya could help in this matter, since she was the daughter of the chief engineer of this plant and sat at the same desk with Zinochka. Lyuberetskaya had already turned into a woman, a little haughty and beautiful, and she was aware of this. For Iskra, this richly dressed girl was like from another world. Zina decided to get down to business. Soon Vika announced that Sasha would be hired by the factory.
Second chapter
Only one oddity prevented Artem Shefer from becoming an honors student - he spoke poorly and could not successfully answer verbally. It started in the 5th grade, when the boy accidentally broke the microscope, and Zina took the blame on herself. Since that time, the boy was speechless - he fell in love. Only Zhorka Landys, his best friend, knew the secret of his comrade.
Artyom, having worked as a worker all summer, decided to spend his earnings on celebrating his sixteenth birthday. A company headed by Iskra gathered in his house. That evening, the guys decided to read Yesenin, and even Iskra liked these poems.
Third chapter
The school where the children studied was recently built. The director was Nikolai Grigorievich Romakhin, a former military man. The whole school adored him and did not like Valendra (Valentina Andronovna), the former headmistress, who was angered by Romakhin's innovations. The woman began to fight with him, scribbling "where to go" letters for any reason.
We continue to describe the summary. "Tomorrow there was a war", chapter three is offered to your attention. Further events are as follows. Zinochka let slip to Valendra that they were reading Yesenin. Upon learning that Vika was doing this, the woman retreated, as her father was very respected in the city.
Her mother died long ago, and Lyubertsy raised his daughter alone. He constantly worried about her and greatly patronized and spoiled her. Vika, despite the gifts, expensive clothes, was a decent and smart girl. She lived very closed because of the special position of her father. When the girls visited her, the man was delighted that his daughter had friends.
Zinochka and Iskra ended up in a rich, beautiful house. It turned out that Vika's father knew Polyakova's mother - they fought in the same division in the civil war. Iskra thought long and hard about the conversation with Lyuberetsky. She was struck by the idea that the truth should be constantly tested, and not be a dogma.
Fourth chapter
We have reached the fourth chapter of the work "Tomorrow there was a war" in a summary. Zinochka every year decided who to fall in love with. She wrote three letters with a promise of friendship, exactly the same, to three boys, after which she began to think about which of them to send the letter to. The girl lost two of them, but one accidentally hit Valentina Andronovna. She took it to the director, but he just laughed.
Once Iskra and Sasha Stameskin kissed, and this gave impetus to the forces that had already set in motion. The spark was drawn to Vika, who had already crossed this difficult line of growing up. She again visited the Lyuberetskys. After that, the girl wrote an article reflecting on guilt and innocence, but her mother burned it, saying that one should not reason, but believe.
Fifth chapter
Yura invited Zinochka to the cinema for the last session. After him, he offered to sit somewhere, and the girl took him to the Lyuberetskys' house, near which there was a secluded bench. Sitting here, the guys noticed that a car had arrived, and three men entered the house. Vika's father came out of the entrance, accompanied by them, and after them, crying and shouting loudly, Vika. Lyuberetsky shouted from the back, and the car drove away.
Zinochka ran to Iskra to say that he had been arrested. Polyakova's mother wrote a letter to the central committee in which she stood up for Vika's father.
sixth chapter
We continue to describe the story "Tomorrow there was a war." A summary of the events of the sixth chapter is as follows. At school, Iskra discovered that everyone already knew about the arrest - Yurka blabbed this news and thus betrayed Zina. For this, the boys punished him by beating him in the boiler room. Among them was Artyom, who had personal motives for this.
Iskra met with Sashka, and he said that Lyubertsy was indeed an "enemy of the people." Rumors circulated that he sold the plans for the plane to the Nazis. Iskra believed in this, but believed that Vika had nothing to do with it.
Valentina Andronovna, having learned about the fight, decided to turn it into a political affair, and made Artyom the ringleader. She also said that Iskra should hold a meeting at which Vika would be expelled from the Komsomol. The girl refused to do so and fainted.
Then Zinochka said that Artem was involved in the fight because of her.
seventh chapter
We continue the description of the events of the work written by Vasilyev B. L. "Tomorrow there was a war" continues as follows. The girl wrote a report, and because of this, Artem stayed at school. On Saturday, Vika invited the class to go to Sosnovka, where her dacha was. The house was now sealed.
On Monday, the girl did not come to school. During the meeting, Zina, sent for her, returned and said that Vika was dead.
Chapter Eight
You are reading the description of the story "Tomorrow there was a war." A summary of what happened next is as follows. Vika, as it turned out, was poisoned by sleeping pills. On the day of her funeral, Romakhin closed the school, and the schoolchildren carried the coffin through the city, because the car could not be obtained. At the cemetery, Iskra began to read Yesenin's poems.
Soon the girl's mother returned home. She was furious to learn of her daughter's poetry reading.
Ninth chapter
Vasiliev Boris Lvovich ends his work "Tomorrow there was a war" as follows. Iskra received a package from Vika. It contained a letter and two books. One is a collection of Yesenin's poems, and the other is Green's book. In a letter, she said that she decided to take this step because it was easier for her to die than to renounce her own father.
Romakhin was fired. Valendra triumphed.
Iskra went for a walk with Stameskin. She was convinced that he was a coward and did not want to have anything to do with Vika and those who stood up for her. The girl was upset and cried on the way home.
You are reading a brief description of the work "Tomorrow there was a war" (Boris Vasiliev). Its content does not cover all events. For a complete picture of the problems and the fate of the heroes, we recommend that you refer to the original source.
Romakhin soon returned to the post of director, but became gloomy and quiet. After a while, the guys found out that he had been expelled from the party.
Gradually everything returned to its place. Romakhin nevertheless returned to the party. In November, Lyuberetsky was released. The whole class went to Vika's father and told about her last days. Zinochka expressed the hope that next year should be better, since this one is a leap year. The next was 1941.
Epilogue
Our article describing the summary is coming to an end. "Tomorrow was a war" ends as follows. The author returns after 40 years to the city for a reunion of graduates. Of the company, only Valka "Edisson", Pashka Ostapchuk and Zina survived.
The story of B. L. Vasiliev "Tomorrow there was a war" raises serious, by no means childish problems that make you think about a lot.
How blind faith in communism was brought up (based on the novel by Boris Vasiliev "Tomorrow there was a war")
B. Vasiliev was born in 1924. Soviet and Russian writer. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1975). Such well-known films as "Officers" (1971), "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" (1972, 2005), "Don't Shoot the White Swans" (1980), "Aty-bats, there were soldiers" (1976) were shot based on his works, "Who are you, old man?" (1988), and others.
The story of Boris Vasiliev "Tomorrow was the war" was first published in the journal "Youth", 1984, No. 6. In the story, the author writes about his peers. He himself graduated from the 9th grade on the eve of the war, so he knew well both life and the problems of his time, which he reflected in the book.
It was with children and adolescents that the formation of the so-called "Soviet person" began - such a person who must blindly believe in communism and not feel sorry for himself, let alone others, for the sake of this faith. The picture of the life of a Soviet person is so unsightly that without blind faith it is impossible to believe in its correctness and justice.
In many Soviet films, one can trace a certain spiritual "anguish". This state was characteristic of many Soviet people. For example, the Soviet series "Eternal Call", based on the work of Anatoly Ivanov, is filled with endless suffering of the main characters. Or another series "Shadows disappear at noon", in which the heroes from childhood to old age fight against class enemies. The whole life of a Soviet person is a permanent struggle: with obvious enemies, with hidden enemies, with circumstances, with devastation, with hunger, etc. Even if enlightenment comes in some minutes, and it seems to be getting a little better, this is a temporary phenomenon, because the next moment you will have to fight again, denying yourself everything, not for life, but for death, for the sake of some kind of "bright future", which is not known who will wait and when. Who brought the country to ruin? Father king? Priests and monks? Bourgeois? No, it was the Bolsheviks who destroyed the "old world", and therefore, it was they who were the culprits of the devastation and everything that the Soviet people struggled with in these works without sparing their lives.
The "old world", which the Bolsheviks so painstakingly destroyed, did not at all deserve to be destroyed. All in all, the struggle that led up to 1917 was a struggle for power. A handful of people who, despite the numerical minority, began to proudly call themselves "Bolsheviks", would never have won if the general decline in morals in Russia had not prepared the ground for their victory. And then they had to keep their victory. And in order to gain a foothold, it was necessary to plant faith in communism in people - much more blind than faith in God. It is easier to instill such a faith in the younger generation, from childhood. And here are examples of this blind faith can be found in Vasiliev's work "Tomorrow there was a war."
Iskra asks her mother if there are absolute truths. The mother demands that the question be more specific, because in such a context it is difficult to answer it.
“So, a person lives in the name of truth?
We are yes. We, the Soviet people, have discovered the immutable truth that the Party teaches us. So much blood has been shed for her and so much torment has been accepted that to argue with her, and even more so to doubt, means to betray those who died and ... and will die again. This truth is our strength and our pride. Spark. Did I understand your question correctly?"
It is noteworthy that Iskra's mother asked her to specify the question. But she herself did not give a specific answer, but, on the contrary, an absolutely abstract one. And just such an abstract answer implies the need for precisely blind faith - in communist ideals. There is a certain truth that "comrade Polyakova" herself cannot determine. And evidence of this certain truth, which is never called specifically, should not be sought, according to Polyakova Sr.
"- It is necessary to teach the truth itself, and not the methods of proving it. This is casuistry. A person devoted to our truth will, if necessary, defend it with weapons in his hands. That's what you need to teach."
It turns out blind faith in a certain "truth" that the Bolsheviks discovered. All the absurdity of such a statement is illustrated by Zinochka, who has a simple and unpretentious mind:
"- Who declares that the truth is the truth? Well, who? Who?
Seniors, - said Zinochka. - And for the elders - their bosses ... "
Zinochka, despite some frivolity, is precisely the real product of the ideology that the Bolsheviks so diligently instill in the brains of their citizens. For Zina, everything is clear. And for many like her, most likely, too. This belief that the Bolsheviks know some "truth" that simply exists and does not require proof is instilled in children. And no one answers the direct question, what kind of "truth" is this. Such a position is logical because if something concrete is put in place of the abstract "truth", in which one must unconditionally believe, then a thinking person may have a desire to think: is the "truth" that is offered to him really the truth? Luberetsky, Vika's father, thinks - and it ends with his arrest and the destruction of his family.
Perhaps this truth is that the Communist Party is always right. This is a vivid example of the fact that communism should be accepted blindly, on faith, any evidence is prohibited, and therefore it is declared that they are not required. Either you accept communist truths without evidence, or you are a class enemy, regardless of whether you are a woman or a man. By the way, the phrase "class enemy" does not have a feminine gender.
When Spark talks about the presumption of innocence, that no one is guilty until proven guilty, Spark's mother vehemently objects to this and says in essence that evidence is forbidden and that only blind and unconditional faith is required of everyone. That is why the concept of the "presumption of innocence" is something that the orthodox communist rebels against. After all, the "presumption of innocence" suggests that it is necessary to prove guilt. And the communists need them to say: "This is the enemy!" - and they took their word for it, without requiring any proof.
This belief is instilled in school because children are more malleable.
Here is the speech of a true, staunch communist, school principal, who talks about a boy who hit a girl:
“I don’t know who is standing in front of you. Maybe it’s a future criminal, or maybe a father of a family and an exemplary person. But I know one thing: it’s not a man standing in front of you now. Guys and girls, remember this and be careful with him. you can’t be friends because he will betray, you can’t love him because he’s a scoundrel, you can’t trust him because he will cheat. And so it will be until he proves to us that he understood what an abomination he committed, until he becomes a real man.
That's well said! I want to believe in this, moreover, it is very useful for the younger generation. But what happens next? And then the director begins to explain what a real man is:
"And so that he understands what a real man is, I will remind him. A real man is one who loves only two women. Yes, two, what a laugh! His mother and the mother of his children. A real man is one who loves that country, in which he was born. A real man is one who gives a friend the last ration of bread, even if he himself is destined to die of hunger. A real man is one who loves and respects all people and hates the enemies of these people. And one must learn to love and learn to hate, and These are the most important things in life!
These words are made up of beautiful slogans, and an ideology built on lies, with the help of which blind faith is being planted. The most unpleasant combination: "truth seasoned with lies."
The principal of the school says the words: "A real man should love only two women: his mother and the mother of his children." Is it possible to agree with this? If the director had said: "He must love only one woman: his wife," everything would be clear - we are talking about carnal love. This would mean that a man should be faithful to his wife, in other words, it would be about intimate relationships, marriage. But he also talks about the mother, therefore, the concept of "love" contains a wider meaning. But then why should a man love only two women? Purely humanly, he must love all women. What about daughters, sisters, aunts, relatives, just acquaintances? Should he hate them or be indifferent to them?
The Bible says: "Love thy neighbor..." But in the director's words, we see a too narrow, specific meaning. A man must love two women, and with the rest he can do whatever the party and government order him to do, because he is not obliged to love others, which means that he must hate, torture, and shoot (as class enemies) by order. In this example, we see the upbringing of a Soviet schoolchild of the Stalin era, who is once again emphasized that in no case should he "love his neighbor." What if the neighbor turns out to be a class enemy, or an unreliable person from the point of view of the Communist Party? And there are no exceptions for women either. And if you can make an exception, then only for two - no more. You can even explain why we are talking about mother and wife.
Making a man hate his mother is very difficult. Just like a wife - a woman to whom he has not only a spiritual, but also a carnal attraction, which he needs as a man. Therefore, love for these two categories of women is allowed. Moreover, no one will argue with the statement that you need to love your mother, or wife. "Only two women," emphasizes the director. "Only"! And if a man also loves his sister or daughter, then he is no longer a "real man"? According to the director's speech, it turns out that it is. True, another question arises: why then is it considered that the boy acted badly by hitting the girl? She is not his mother or wife, and he is not obliged to love her. Who knows, maybe he "saw" in her the future "enemy of the people." But students are unlikely to be able to ask such questions. It is easier for them to take the director's word for it, because he is an authority.
But that's not all. What about the following phrase: "A real man is one who loves and respects all people and hates the enemies of these people"? The first statement contradicts the second. All people - means, no longer "only" two women. "Hates enemies" - and who are these enemies, if you need to love everyone? Or does the concept of "all people" include only mother, wife and other men? But then all other women fall into the category of "enemies of these people": sisters, acquaintances, relatives, colleagues, etc.
If you look for an answer to the question of whom a man is obliged to love "everyone", you can come to the conclusion that probably, by "people" they mean only those who are faithful to the Soviet ideology. The rest, probably, make up those very "enemies of these people", whom the director of the school does not want to recognize as people.
The illogicality of the director's phrases implies that the children should simply believe him. It is uncritical to believe, because his words do not stand up to criticism.
Belief in communism implies that a person must follow the precepts of the Communist Party in everything, if necessary - to crush and strangle class enemies, no matter who they are: relatives, friends, acquaintances, strangers. And if you love someone, then this is your native party and the ideas of communism. Belief in communism implies that in order to defeat class enemies, one can bear false witness. Otherwise, how can one explain the multitude of those who were repressed on the basis of someone's denunciation, which often does not correspond to the truth? Other people's property-for the Communists do not exist. The surplus workers went to dispossess the kulak and took away everything that was, leaving not a gram or a crumb. And at the same time, no one was tormented by the conscience that he was taking away the good of his neighbor.
Always and at all times there were people who killed, robbed, gave false witness, etc. But this was not the norm, it was not right. When killing, a person understood that he was committing a sin, a crime. The thief, taking away someone else's, understood that he was a thief. Both murder and theft were condemned at all times. And if someone needed to justify murder and theft, they put themselves in some kind of "exceptional" position, using faith as the most convenient means. For example, the Catholic Inquisition in the Middle Ages came up with a "witch hunt", which God Himself allegedly "commanded" to them, and the communists came up with a hunt for "enemies of the people", which supposedly must be carried out for a "bright future". Both the Inquisition and the Communists are united by the fact that they made murder and theft the norm, moreover, they made it a duty for their fellow citizens. If you see someone who deviates from the tenets of the communists, then he is an enemy! And you are obliged to inform on him, by order to kill him, to take away his property. Perhaps the communists should not have been so critical of the medieval inquisition. They (the communists) acted on the basis of the same principles as the "fathers-inquisitors", only on a larger scale.
Communism is faith. Blind faith that does not tolerate criticism. And in the work of B. Vasilyev it is well indicated how this faith was implanted in the generation of Soviet people, and how those who made attempts to argue with blind faith and seek evidence suffered, being arrested and losing their loved ones. Vasiliev in his story draws the same emotional anguish as other works. An anguish in which the Soviet people lived. He was forced not only to constantly overcome everyday difficulties, but also to live in constant fear that a black car would arrive at night and take away someone from your loved ones, and you would have to believe that they were "enemies of the people" and denounce them publicly. Even if your own eyes, your feelings tell you that all this is a lie.
Quotes by: Vasiliev B. Tomorrow there was a war
In this article we will consider one of the best creations of Boris Vasiliev - the story "Tomorrow there was a war." The summary of the work will be of interest to us in the first place. We will also talk about the topic and the idea.
What is this story about
The book was written in 1972, but was not published because it was banned by censorship. For the first time, the story could only be read during perestroika. “Tomorrow there was a war” (we will present a summary below) is a work based on real events, as it describes the fate of the writer’s classmates.
The story tells about the formation of a personality, about the growing up of a child, about how he is gradually formed and transformed. The prologue and epilogue are separated from the main events by dozens of years; these are no longer the author's memories of the past, but a voice from the present. In them, Vasiliev makes it clear that youth is the best time in human life. Parents should not interfere in the growing up of their offspring. Their destiny is to raise children, but as soon as they grow up, they no longer have the right to change anything. Parents are left with one thing - to love them.
"Tomorrow there was a war": a summary of the chapters. Prologue
The work begins with memories of the 9th "B" class, in which the author studied. In memory of the old days, he had only an old photograph. It was Iskra Polyakova, a tireless activist, who urged everyone to do it. Of the entire class, only 19 people survived, except for the author. Other comrades appear before the writer's inner eye - the athlete Pashka Ostapchuk, the inventor Valka Alexandrov, the timid Lena Bokova, the frivolous Zina Kovalenko.
He recalls Zina's quiet father, whose entire back was slashed with scars - a memory of the Civil War, and Iskra's mother, who walked in a leather jacket and high boots. The children were afraid of this woman, but they did not know that she had a soul in the same scars.
Chapter first. The fate of Sasha Stameskin
The story “Tomorrow was the war” by Vasiliev begins with a description of autumn (a summary of the chapters is presented in the article). Zina Kovalenko, while her parents are not at home, looks at her body in the mirror and realizes that she has become a woman. At that moment, the doorbell rang - Iskra Polyakova, the “class conscience”, whom Zina was a little afraid of, came. Iskra's ideal was her mother, comrade Polyakova, who served as a commissar. Recently, the girl found out that her mother is a very unhappy woman, when she found her crying that night, for which she was flogged with a soldier's belt.
Spark came to Zinochka to tell that Sasha Stameskin was dropping out of school. Classes from this year will be paid, and Sasha's mother is raising her son alone, and they have no extra money. Iskra considered Stameskin a personal achievement, since a year ago he was a loser and a bully, and only her influence helped to reason with him.
Zinochka found a way out: Stameskin could get a job at an aircraft factory, where an evening school was opened. Soon the matter was settled, and Sasha was hired.
Chapter two. Artem Shefer
The work begins with an acquaintance with a group of teenage classmates (this is also confirmed by the summary). “Tomorrow there was a war”, contrary to the title, tells about the lives and destinies of children, and not about military operations.
The hero of this chapter was Artem Shefer, who was fond of athletics and books. Only one drawback did not allow him to become an excellent student - the boy "spoke badly", could not answer verbally in the lessons. And it was all because of Zinochka, with whom Artem was in love. Under the girl's gaze, his tongue stiffened. This secret was known only by Zhorka Landys, his best friend.
All summer Schaefer worked as a laborer, and he was going to spend all his earnings on the celebration of his sixteenth birthday. On the appointed day, a large company gathered at Artyom, headed by Iskra. The guests played forfeits, danced and recited poetry. Vika Lyuberetskaya chose something from the "decadent" Yesenin. Iskra liked it so much that she asked a classmate for a shabby volume for a while.
Chapter three. Valendra
An important value of the story is that it beautifully depicts the Soviet era. Even a brief summary will help to get an idea of the life of the pre-war country. “Tomorrow there was a war” describes precisely peacetime.
The guys studied in a multi-storey school, which was built recently. First, Valentina Andronovna was appointed director, whom the children called Valendra. She put the barracks in order at the school. But six months later, Nikolai Romakhin was appointed in her place, who returned everything as it was and ordered to hang mirrors in the women's restrooms. Valendra was very angry.
Zinochka accidentally tells Valentina Andronovna about Yesenin's poems. The girl fears the consequences and goes to the Lyubertsy to warn them.
Chapter Four. Whom to choose?
In each school year, Zina chooses a new lover for herself. At the same time, her goal was not to please the object of sighing, but to dream of reciprocity and suffer from jealousy. However, this year she failed to fall in love. The fact was that she could not choose among the three applicants, one of which was Yura, the first handsome man in school. In throwing, Zinochka wrote 3 identical letters to different recipients. But I did not dare to send any at once. For several days of reflection, she lost two messages, and Valendra accidentally found one of them. The teacher took the find to the principal, but he simply burned the letter.
At the same time, friendly relations between Iskra and Sasha grew into something more. Once, walking in the park, they kissed.
Chapter five. Arrest
You can see the organized and well-established life of many people by reading a summary ("Tomorrow there was a war"). Nothing foreshadows the coming tragedy. Children grow up, fall in love, enjoy life.
Handsome Yura invites Zina to the cinema for an evening session. Parents would not let the girl go, but that day they were at work. After watching the film, Yura offered to sit somewhere. Zina remembered a secluded bench in the bushes near the Lyuberetskys' house.
While the young people were sitting there, a black car drove up to the house, from which three men got out. They entered the entrance where Vika lived. After some time, they took Luberetskaya's father out and put him in the car. Zina ran to Iskra and told her everything. Girl limit what happened to mom. Polyakova sends a letter to the Central Committee in which she defends the prisoner.
Chapter six. Enemy of the people
Approaches its culmination of the story, and hence our summary. “Tomorrow there was a war” is a work that cannot be called socialist realist, since it also exposes the unattractive sides of Soviet power. That is why the book was banned for so long.
Iskra and Zina agreed not to tell anyone about the arrest. But Yura blabbed to everyone about what had happened. The guys decided that this was wrong, and decided to take revenge on him. Calling the first handsome man to the boiler room, Artyom starts a fight with him. When the "duel" was over, the guys went to Vika to support her.
Valendra writes denunciations to the director, because of which he receives a reprimand. The teacher also blames Artyom, hinting that the fight was political. But Zina stands up for a friend, saying that it was she who caused the quarrel. Valendra tries to force Iskra to expel Vika from the Komsomol at a general meeting. The girl refuses. Later, Sashka says that Lyubertsy was declared an enemy of the people because he sold the development of a new aircraft to the Germans.
Chapter seven. unexpected death
There are also very tragic moments in the story “Tomorrow there was a war” (a summary of the chapters). Vasiliev does not idealize his past, despite the fact that he reads this time as the best in life.
A rumor spreads around the school about Romakhin's imminent dismissal. It also becomes known that Vika will be expelled at the next school council. The day before the meeting, the girl invites her friends to her dacha. But the house was sealed, and the guys kindled a fire nearby and sat talking. On the bank of the river, Vika allowed Zhorka, who had long been in love with her, to kiss her.
The next morning a meeting was held, but Lyuberetskaya was not at it. Zina is sent for her friend, the girl returns and says that she has died.
Chapter eight. The funeral
Our summary continues (“Tomorrow there was a war” by Boris Vasiliev). Vika's death was investigated for days. The girl left a note saying that she had poisoned herself with sleeping pills. Artem's mother took care of the funeral. But the car was not available. Then the director closed the school on the day of the funeral and, along with other high school students, carried the coffin through the whole city. Iskra's mother forbade "arranging a memorial service", but she could not stand it and read Yesenin's poems loudly in the cemetery. The boys planted a wild rose bush on the grave. Only Sasha did not come to the funeral.
At home, the mother was going to flog Iskra for disobedience, but the girl threatened to leave. Polyakova loved her daughter very much, so she did not punish her.
Chapter nine. denouement
As you can see, there is no line about the Great Patriotic War in the work “Tomorrow there was a war” (the content of the book proves this).
Iskra receives a package from Vicki. It contained two books (by Green and Yesenin) and a letter. In the message, she told why she decided to take such a step - it was easier for her to die than to abandon her father. Sashka, walking with Iskra, is embarrassed by her, since the girl talked with the "daughter of an enemy of the people." The girl runs home in tears.
The directors are fired and are even going to be expelled from the party. But the power of Valendra does not last long. Zina's mother helps Romakhin return to his original place.
Soon Lyubertsy is justified. Sasha runs to class with this news. The guys decide with the whole class to go to him to tell about the last days of their daughter. Lyuberetsky at first does not understand what 45 children are doing under his window. But gradually a conversation begins, Zina suggests that the leap year is to blame for all the troubles. The next one should be much better. However, the girl was mistaken - the next year was 1941.
Epilogue
Since then, 40 years have passed. The author goes to a meeting of graduates in his hometown. Of their large company, only Zina, Pashka Ostapchuk and Valka are alive. Schaefer died blowing up the bridge, Zhora was a pilot and did not return from the war. Romakhin led the underground, whose liaison was Iskra. Both Polyakovs were hanged by the Germans.
Zina had two sons - Zhora and Artem. Stameskin made his way into the people, became the director of an aircraft factory. And Pashka, who had the nickname Edison, is now a watchmaker, although in childhood he was predicted the fate of a great inventor.
Thus ends the story "Tomorrow there was a war" by Vasiliev. The summary, of course, cannot convey the emotions and strength of the original, but gives an idea of the plot and characters.
Boris Lvovich Vasiliev
"Tomorrow there was a war"
Prologue
The author recalls the 9th "B" class in which he once studied. As a memento of his classmates, he only had an old photograph, blurry at the edges, that the activist Iskra Polyakova incited everyone to take. Of the entire class, only nineteen people survived to old age. In addition to the author and Iskra, the company included the athlete Pasha Ostapchuk, the eternal inventor Valka Alexandrov, nicknamed Edison, the frivolous Zinochka Kovalenko and the timid Lenochka Bokova. Most often, the company gathered at Zinochka's. Iskra always told something, read aloud, and Valka invented devices that, as a rule, did not work.
The guys were dismissive of the quiet Zinochkin's father, until one day in the bath they saw his back streaked with scars - "a blue-purple autograph of the civil war." And the mother of Iskra, comrade Polyakova, who walked in boots and a leather jacket, everyone was afraid and did not understand that she had the same scars on her soul as on the back of Zinochkin's father. In the story, the author returns to those naive dreamers.
Chapter first
This fall, Zinochka Kovalenko became aware of herself as a woman for the first time. Taking advantage of the absence of her parents, she sadly looked in the mirror at her precocious breasts, too thin hips and legs with disproportionately thin ankles, when Iskra Polyakova rang at the door. Zinochka was a little afraid of her strict friend, the "conscience of the class", although she was a year older. Iskra's idol was her mother, the inflexible commissar Comrade Polyakova, with whom the girl always took an example. Only recently did she realize that her mother was deeply unhappy and lonely. One night, Iskra saw her mother crying, for which she was flogged with a wide soldier's belt. The girl was given an unusual name by her father, whom she did not remember. As a commissar, he turned out to be a “weak man”, and his mother “with habitual ruthlessness” burned his photographs in the stove.
Spark came to Zinochka with the message that Sasha Stameskin would no longer go to school. Now school classes had to be paid for, but Sasha's mother, who raised her son without a father, did not have the money for this. Stameskin was a personal achievement and the conquest of Iskra. A year ago, he led a free life of a bully and a loser. Having exhausted the patience of the teachers' council, he hoped to gain complete freedom when a spark appeared on his horizon. She just joined the Komsomol and decided that her first Komsomol feat would be the re-education of Stameskin.
Arriving at his home for the first time, Iskra saw beautiful drawings of airplanes. The girl said that such planes would not fly, Stameskin was hurt by this, and he became interested in mathematics and physics. But Iskra was a sober-minded girl. She foresaw that Sasha would soon get tired of all this, so she took him to the aviation circle of the Palace of Pioneers. Now Sasha had something to lose, he took up his studies and abandoned his former friends. And now Stameskin, who became a good student, was forced to leave school.
Zinochka found a way out. She offered to arrange Stameskin at an aircraft factory, where there was an evening school. Vika Lyuberetskaya, the daughter of the chief engineer of the aircraft factory, who sat with Zinochka at the same desk, could help with this. Vika was very beautiful and a bit arrogant. She had already become a woman, and she knew it. Iskra shunned her classmate. For her, this smartly dressed girl, who came to school in a company car, was a creature from another world, for whom one should feel ironic regret. Zina undertook to settle this matter. On September 1, Vika approached Iskra and said that Stameskin would be hired at the factory.
Chapter Two
Artyom Shefer read a lot and went in for athletics. Only one oddity prevented him from becoming a straight A student - he "spoke badly" and could not answer oral subjects. It started in the fifth grade, when Artyom accidentally broke the microscope, and Zinochka took the blame. Since then, under the gaze of Zina, the boy's tongue has stiffened - it was love. Artyom's terrible secret was known only by his best friend Zhorka Landys, who was unrequitedly in love with Vika Lyubertskaya.
After working all summer as a laborer, Artyom decided to spend his first earnings on celebrating his sixteenth birthday. On the second Sunday of September, a noisy company gathered at Artyom's, headed by Iskra. The guys danced, played forfeits, and then began to read poetry. And then Vika read several poems by the almost forgotten "decadent" poet Sergei Yesenin. Even Iskra liked the poems, and Vika gave her a tattered volume to read.
Chapter Three
The multi-storey school where the children studied was recently built. At first, the duties of the director were performed by class 7 "B" Valentina Andronovna, nicknamed Valendra. She arranged the classes in ascending order, and the school became like a layer cake - "each floor lived the life of its age", no one ran up the stairs and did not ride on the railing. Six months later, Valendra was replaced by Nikolai Grigorievich Romakhin, a former commander of the cavalry corps. The first thing he did was mix up the classrooms and hang mirrors in the women's restrooms. The school rang with children's voices and laughter, and the girls got bows and trendy bangs. The whole school adored the director and could not stand Valendra. Her innovations Romakhin angered - they went against the ideas of Valentina Andronovna about raising children. She began to fight with the director, for any reason scribbling letters "to the right place."
About the fact that Yesenin was read at the birthday party, Zinochka let slip to Valendra - the class caught her in front of the mirror and scared her. Having learned from Iskra that Vika had read poetry, Valentina Andronovna retreated: in the city of Lyubertsy, they were very respected. Iskra decided to tell Vika about this, and after school the friends went to the Lyubertskys.
Vika's mother died a long time ago, and Leonid Sergeevich Luberetsky raised his daughter alone. He was always worried about Vika, and therefore he took care of her and spoiled her greatly. Vika was very proud of her father. Despite numerous gifts, imported clothes and a company car, Vika was a smart and decent girl. She lived very closed - the position of the father created a wall between her and her classmates. On that day, the girls from the class visited her for the first time, and Leonid Sergeevich was delighted that his daughter still had friends.
Iskra and Zinochka found themselves in such a beautiful house for the first time. They were given tea and treated to delicious cakes. It turned out that Lyuberetsky was familiar with comrade Polyakova - they fought in the civilian water division. Iskra thought about the conversation with Leonid Sergeevich for several days. She was especially struck by the thought that “truth should not turn into dogma, it must be tested for strength and expediency all the time,” because Iskra’s mother believed in the immutable truth embodied in the Soviet idea, and was ready to defend it until her last breath.
Chapter Four
At the beginning of each school year, Zinochka determined who she would fall in love with. She needed not to like her “object”, but to suffer from jealousy herself and dream of reciprocity. Falling in love didn't work out this year. For some time, Zinochka was in disarray, but soon realized that she herself had become an “object”. She quickly calmed down, but then two tenth graders appeared on the horizon, one of whom, Yura, was considered the most handsome boy in the school. Zinochka did not know how to make decisions - Iskra always decided for her, but asking a friend who to fall in love with was unthinkable. At home, they couldn’t help either: the sisters were much older than Zinochka, and her parents were always busy. And Zinochka found a way out herself. She wrote three identical letters with a vague promise of friendship, differing only in addresses, and began to think about which of the three admirers to send a letter to.
After three days of reflection, Zinochka lost two letters, but one of them fell into the hands of Valentina Andronovna. Triumphantly, she took the letter to the director, hoping that he would scold Zinochka at the general meeting, but Nikolai Grigorievich laughed and burned the "evidence". Enraged, Valendra decided to openly defend what she sincerely considered Soviet methods of education.
The spark let her friend out of control - she was busy with herself. While working at an aircraft factory, Sasha Stameskin matured noticeably, he had his own judgments and a special attitude towards Iskra. Once, while walking in the park, they kissed, and this kiss became "a mighty impetus to the forces already in motion." The spark began to grow up, and she was drawn not to the frivolous Zinochka, but to the self-confident Vika, who had already crossed this difficult line. Soon she again visited the Lyuberetskys, talked with Vika about women's happiness, and with Leonid Sergeyevich about the presumption of innocence. Vika told the girl that she could not love her, because she was a maximalist. These words upset the spark very much. Arriving home, she wrote an article for the school newspaper with arguments about guilt and innocence, but her mother, who came home from work, burned the article, saying that a Soviet person should not reason, but believe.
Chapter Five
On October 1, the handsome Yura invited Zinochka to the cinema for the last session. The Kovalenki brought up their youngest daughter in strictness, but that day the mother, a surgical nurse, was on duty, the father, a foreman at the factory and an activist, was also busy, and Zinochka agreed. After the session, Yura offered to sit somewhere, and Zinochka led him to the Lyuberetskys' house, where a secluded bench was hidden in the bushes. Sitting on it, the guys saw a black car drive up to the entrance, and three men entered the house. After some time, Luberetsky came out of the entrance, accompanied by these people, Vika jumped out after them, shouting and crying loudly. Already from the body, Leonid Sergeevich shouted that he was not guilty of anything, and the car drove away.
Zinochka rushed to Iskra to tell him that Lyuberetsky had been arrested. Comrade Polyakova left Zina to spend the night at her place, and she herself went to her parents. Kovalenko doubted that Lyuberetsky, “a hero of the civil war, an order bearer,” could turn out to be an enemy of the people. He decided to invite Vika to live with him. Arriving home, Polyakova wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU (b), in which she stood up for Lyubertsy.
Chapter six
In the morning the parents of Kovalenko and Polyakova met in the director's office. Romakhin was also sure that Lyubertsy had been arrested by mistake. He suggested that everyone write a letter together to the relevant authorities, but Iskra's mother asked them to wait. She had known Leonid Sergeevich for a long time and believed that at this stage of the case her guarantee was enough.
The girlfriends decided not to tell anyone about the arrest, but when she arrived at the school, Iskra discovered that everyone already knew about it. Zinochka had to admit that she was not alone at the Lyubertsy house. Yurka, who broke the news, should have been punished. Artyom Shefer, Zhorka Landys and Pasha Ostapchuk undertook this. While the girls were distracting the school stoker, the boys called Yurka into the boiler room. Artyom fought, who also had personal motives.
After the duel, the guys went to support Vika. After the search, the Lyuberetskys' apartment was turned upside down. Friends helped Vika clean up, and Zinochka fed her "special scrambled eggs."
At her house, Iskra met Sasha. He said that Lyuberetsky was in fact an "enemy of the people." Rumors circulated around the plant that the chief engineer had sold the aircraft blueprints to the Nazis. Iskra believed, but was convinced that Vika had nothing to do with it.
The next day, Iskra strictly ordered the guys to behave with Vika as usual. In the afternoon, Polyakova and Schaefer were summoned to the director - Valendra became aware of a fight in the boiler room. Valentina Andronovna interrogated the guys. The director was silent, looking at the table. The classroom decided to turn the fight into a political affair, making Artyom the main ringleader. Romakhin could not intercede - Valendra's numerous statements bore fruit, and the director was reprimanded. Finally, the classroom decided that Iskra would hold an emergency Komsomol meeting, at which Vika, as the daughter of an enemy of the people, would be expelled from the Komsomol. Iskra flatly refused to hold the meeting, after which she fainted.
When Iskra came to, Romakhin said that the meeting would take place in a week and that he could change nothing. Schaefer will also have to leave the school because of the "political" fight. And then Zinochka said that Artyom fought because of her. The director was very happy about the opportunity to save at least Schaefer, and ordered Zinochka to write a memorandum.
Chapter Seven
Zinochka's report helped - having received a thrashing from the director, Artyom remained at school. The week passed as usual, only Valendra never called Vika to the board, although in other lessons she answered "five". On Saturday, after school, Vika suggested that the whole class go to the holiday village of Sosnovka to say goodbye to autumn.
The guys spent the whole Sunday in Sosnovka. Vika showed her dacha, a neat house painted in cheerful blue paint. The house was sealed, the girl was not even allowed to take her personal belongings. Then Vika took Zhorka Landys to the river, to her favorite place under a spreading rosehip bush, and allowed herself to be kissed. Then the guys lit a fire, had fun, but everyone remembered that tomorrow there was a Komsomol meeting, at which Vika would be expelled from the Komsomol if she did not publicly condemn her father.
Vika didn't come to school the next day. The chairman of the district committee, however, appeared, and the meeting had to begin. The guys learned from Valendra that Romakhin was almost fired. At that moment, Zina returned, sent for Vika, and announced that Lyuberetskaya was dead.
Chapter Eight
The investigation into Vika's death lasted a day. From the note left by the girl, it was clear that she had poisoned herself with sleeping pills. Now Iskra realized that on Sunday Vika was saying goodbye to her friends. In the days remaining before the funeral, the children did not appear at school.
Artyom's mother helped arrange the funeral. Couldn't get a car. On the day of the funeral, Romakhin closed the school, and a crowd of schoolchildren, led by the director, carried the coffin through the whole city. The boys succeeded each other, only Zhora Landys went all the way, never changing. Mother forbade Iskra to "arrange a memorial service", but the girl could not stand it at the cemetery and began to read Yesenin's poems aloud. Then Artyom and Zhorka planted a wild rose bush at the head of the grave. Only Sashka Stameskin was absent from the funeral.
At home, Iskra was waiting for a notice on a registered post, written in a vaguely familiar handwriting. Soon the furious comrade Polyakova returned home. She found out about the poems that her daughter read at the cemetery, and wanted to flog Iskra. She threatened that she would leave the house, and the woman was frightened - despite the severity, she loved her daughter very much.
Chapter Nine
The parcel was from Vicki. The neat package contained two books and a letter. One book turned out to be a collection of Yesenin's poems, the author of the second was the writer Green, unknown to Iskra, about whom Vika had once told her. In the letter, the girl explained why she decided to take such a step. It was easier for her to die than to renounce her father, whom the girl infinitely respected and loved. For her, there was "no worse betrayal than the betrayal of her father." Vika admitted that she always wanted to be friends with Iskra, but did not dare to get close to her. Now she said goodbye to her only friend and left her favorite books as a keepsake.
Nikolai Grigorievich Romakhin was indeed fired. He walked around the school and said goodbye to each class. Valendra was triumphant - she expected to take the director's office again. At the last lesson, she tried to force Zinochka to sit in Vika's place, but then the whole class gave her a unanimous rebuff. She became a stranger "so much so that they even stopped NOT loving her," and lost her former confidence. Even a solid teaching experience did not help Valentina Andronovna. She was frightened and for some time was with 9 "B" officially cold and very polite.
Spark, who was not at school that day, was taken away for a walk by Stameskin. This time, the girl was finally convinced that Sasha was a coward, and did not want to have anything to do with either the daughter of an enemy of the people, or with those who stood up for her. From disappointment, Iskra cried all the way home.
Valentina Andronovna did not triumph for long - Romakhin soon returned to his post, but became unusually quiet and gloomy. No one guessed that Kovalenko had returned the director, knocking on the thresholds of offices for a whole week and threatening to reach the Moscow Central Committee. No one was sitting at Vika's desk. Sashka Stameskin silently brought a fence for the grave, welded at the factory, and Zhorka painted it "in the most cheerful blue paint."
The director was not present at the demonstration in honor of the seventh of November. The guys went to his house and found out that Romakhin had been expelled from the party. The neighbor explained that this was done by the primary organization, and Comrade Polyakova from the city committee promised to sort it out, but the director was depressed, and then Iskra sang a song about the Red Cavalrymen. For the rest of the day they sang revolutionary songs, and then Romakhin treated the guys to tea.
Gradually, everything fell into place. Romakhin was not expelled from the party, but he stopped smiling. Valentina Andronovna at first fawned over the class, but gradually it became a formality. At the end of November, handsome Yurka burst into the classroom and said that Lyuberetsky had been released. Somehow reassuring Landys, the guys went to Vika's house. Lyuberetsky did not understand why these children came to him until he saw the whole class under the windows, 45 people. They told him about Vicky's last days. Zinochka said that this year is a leap year, and the next one will probably be better. The next was 1941.
Epilogue
After 40 years, the author went to his hometown for a reunion of graduates and remembered. Of their company, Valka "Edisson", Zina and Pashka Ostapchuk survived. Artyom Shefer died blowing up the bridge. Zhora Landys was a fighter pilot. Iskra was the liaison of the underground, led by Romakhin. The Polyakovs were hanged by the Germans - first the mother, then the daughter. Zinochka Kovalenko gave birth to two sons - Artyom and Zhora. Sasha Stameskin became a big man, the director of a large aircraft factory. And Edison became not a great inventor, but a watchmaker, and "the most accurate time in the city was with the former students of the once woefully famous 9" B "".
The story of the 9 "B" class, the memory of which is kept by an old photograph, yellowed from time to time, taken thanks to the mischievous Iskra Polyakova. By old age, only nineteen people will survive. This friendly company included Pasha Ostapchuk, who loved sports; inventor Edison, and in life Valentin Alexandrov, windy Zina Kovalenko and modest Lena Bokova.
It was autumn outside. Spark came to Zinochka with news. She told her friend that Sasha Stameskin was no longer in school. His mother cannot pay for his education. He, a loser and a hooligan, a year ago, Iskra took him to an aviation circle so that he could learn his favorite business. Zinochka helped to resolve the problem, she agreed with Vika Lyuberetskaya, whose father worked as an engineer at an aircraft factory, and Stameskin went to work at the factory.
At the birthday party of Artem Shefer, Vika read poems by Sergei Yesenin.
The new high-rise school was headed by Valentina Andronovna, nicknamed Valendra. She placed all classes separately. This arrangement of affairs was boring and uninteresting. She was replaced by Nikolai Romakhin, who served as a cavalry commander. With his arrival, the classes were mixed up, and mirrors appeared in the women's toilets. And the school came to life. The new director was adored, and Valendra quietly hated Romakhin for his charters, and wrote complaints to various authorities. She accidentally found out that Vika was reading Yesenin's poems.
Zinochka liked to find every year a new object for her dreams and suffering. But it turned out differently. Fell in love with her, three at once. Tenth grader Yura was the most beautiful of them. She decides to write three identical letters. But one got to Valendra, who happily took it to Romakhin, expecting the general disgrace of Zina. But the director laughingly burned the letter, which angered his colleague. Iskra began a relationship with the matured Sasha.
Luberetskaya's father was arrested as an enemy of the people. Vika was taken in by the Kovalenko family.
At school, everyone quickly became aware of the arrest of Lyubertsy. The source of the news, Yurka, Artem, Pasha and Zhorka decided to punish. The duel was fought between Artyom and the culprit. Sashka told Iskra that Lyuberetsky had allegedly sold the plans for the plane to the Nazis. The next day, Valendra sneezed the fighters in the director's office, He could not stand up for the guys, he himself had a reprimand.
Zinochka wrote a memorandum that saved Artyom from expulsion. The guys spent Sunday in Sosnovka, where Zhorka kissed Vika for the first time. On Monday, a meeting was to be held at which the daughter was to condemn her father in public. Vika did not appear, and Zina, who was sent for her, reported her death, she poisoned herself with sleeping pills. All the friends were present at the funeral, except for Sasha Stameskin. Iskra, Vika handed over a parcel with books by Yesenin and Green, and a letter of explanation. The director was fired, Valendra was restored to her original position. Iskra was disappointed in the cowardly Stameskin, who was afraid of "enemies of the people." With the help of Kovalenko, Romakhin was restored. Lyubertsy was released, at home he was met by the whole class, who told about the last days of his daughter's life. Zina said that next year would be happier. The next was 1941.
Compositions
Reflections on Boris Vasiliev's book "Tomorrow there was a war" The theme of the Great Patriotic War in modern Russian prose (based on the work of one of the writers)Abstract
“I, Vasiliev Boris Lvovich, was born on May 21, 1924, in the family of a commander of the Red Army in the city of Smolensk ...” - these are the opening lines of his autobiography.
“Boris Vasiliev, like millions of his peers, before becoming someone else, became a soldier ...” - this is from critical prefaces / afterwords commenting on the prose of an author popular in Russia and abroad. Both of those are true. Truth - this, perhaps, is the main thing in what B. Vasiliev serves in literature.
Boris Vasiliev
Chapter first
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Boris Vasiliev
Tomorrow was the war...
Prologue
From our class, I have memories and one photograph. Group portrait with the class teacher in the center, girls around and boys at the edges. The photo faded, and since the photographer was diligently pointing at the teacher, the edges that had been smeared during the shooting were now completely blurred; sometimes it seems to me that they have blurred because the boys of our class have long since passed into oblivion, never having had time to grow up, and their features have been dissolved by time.
In the photo we were 7 "B". After the exams, Iskra Polyakova dragged us to a photo studio on Revolutsii Avenue: in general, she liked to organize all sorts of events.
We will take a picture after the seventh, and then after the tenth,” she orated. - Imagine how interesting it will be to look at photos when we become old grandparents!
We crowded into a cramped "dressing room"; three young couples, an old woman with her grandchildren, and a branch of forelocks were hurrying to perpetuate themselves in front of us. They sat in a row, leaning on checkers in the same picturesque way, and looked at our girls point-blank with shameless Cossack eyes. Iskra didn't like it; she immediately agreed that we would be called when the queue came up, and took the whole class to a nearby square. And there, so that we would not run away, would not fight, or, God forbid, would not trample the lawns, she declared herself a Pythia. Lena blindfolded her, and Iskra began to broadcast. She was a generous prophetess: a bunch of children and a carriage of happiness awaited everyone.
You will give people a new medicine.
Your third son will be a brilliant poet.
You will build the most beautiful Pioneer Palace in the world.
Yes, those were great predictions. It’s a pity that we didn’t have to visit the photo studio a second time, only two became grandfathers, and there were much fewer grandmothers than girls in photo 7 "B". When we once came to the traditional gathering of the school, our entire class fit in one row. Of the forty-five people who once completed 7 "B", nineteen survived to gray hair. Having found this out, we no longer appeared at traditional training camps, where the music rattled so noisily and those who were younger than us met so cheerfully. They spoke loudly, sang, laughed, but we wanted to be silent. And if you say...
Well, how is your piece? Still climbing?
Fly, damn it. Parts.
So she raised two by herself?
Women, as it turned out, are two-core creatures.
Heart, brothers, something of that.
Get fat, that's it.
Would you lubricate the prosthesis, or something. Creaks, no rescue.
But we are the smallest generation on earth.
That's noticeable. Especially for us single mothers.
A generation that has not known youth will not know old age. Curious detail?
Most importantly, optimistic.
Can we shut up? It hurts to listen to you...
Joyful words came from neighboring rows: “Do you remember? Do you remember?” but we couldn’t remember aloud. We reminisced about ourselves, and therefore so often a concordant silence hung over our row.
For some reason, even now I don’t want to remember how we ran away from lessons, smoked in the boiler room and arranged a hustle in the locker room in order to even for a moment touch the one that we loved so secretly that we didn’t admit it to ourselves. I spend hours looking at the faded photograph, at the already blurred faces of those who are not on this earth: I want to understand. After all, no one wanted to die, right?
And we did not know that death was on duty outside the threshold of our class. We were young, and the ignorance of youth is filled with faith in our own immortality. But of all the boys that look at me from the photo, four survived.
How young we were.
Our company was small then: three girls and three guys - me, Pashka Ostapchuk and Valka Alexandrov. We always gathered at Zinochka Kovalenko's, because Zinochka had a separate room, her parents disappeared at work in the morning, and we felt at ease. Zinochka was very fond of Iskra Polyakova, she was friends with Lenochka Bokova; Pashka and I were intensely involved in sports, were considered the "hope of the school", and Aleksandrov, the bumpkin, was a recognized inventor. Pashka was considered in love with Lenochka, I sighed hopelessly for Zina Kovalenko, and Valka was carried away only by his own ideas, as well as Iskra by his own activities. We went to the cinema, read aloud those books that Iskra declared worthy, did our homework together and chatted. About books and films, about friends and foes, about the drift of the Sedov, about international brigades, about Finland, about the war in Western Europe and just like that, about nothing.
Sometimes two more appeared in our company. One we met cordially, and the second frankly did not like.
Each class has its own quiet straight-A student, whom everyone makes fun of, but who is revered as a landmark and resolutely protected from the attacks of strangers. In our country, that quiet man was called Vovik Khramov: almost in the first grade, he announced that his name was not Vladimir or even Vova, but Vovik, and so Vovik remained. He had no friends, let alone friends, and he liked to "lean" against us. He will come, sit in a corner and sit all evening without opening his mouth - only his ears stick out above his head. He cut his hair under the typewriter and therefore had especially expressive ears. Vovik read a lot of books and knew how to solve the most intricate problems; we respected him for these qualities and for the fact that his presence did not interfere with anyone.
But Sasha Stameskin, who was sometimes dragged by Iskra, was not favored. He was from an inveterate company, swore like a dray. But Iskra took it into his head to re-educate him, and Sashka began to appear not only in doorways. And Pashka and I fought with him and his friends so often that we could no longer forget it: For example, a tooth knocked out by him personally began to whine when I found Sasha on the horizon. There is no time for friendly smiles, but Iskra said that it would be so, and we endured.
Zinochka's parents encouraged our gatherings. Their family was girlish. Zinochka was born last, her sisters had already married and left their father's shelter. Mom was the main one in the family: having found out the numerical superiority, dad quickly lost ground. We rarely saw him, since he usually returned at night, but if he happened to arrive earlier, he would certainly look into Zinochka's room and always be pleasantly surprised:
What about youth? Hello Hello. Well, what's new?
As for the newcomer, Iskra was the specialist. She had an amazing ability to carry on a conversation.
How do you view the conclusion of the Non-Aggression Pact with Nazi Germany?
Zinya's dad did not consider this at all. He shrugged uncertainly and smiled guiltily. Pashka and I thought that he was forever intimidated by the beautiful half of humanity. True, Iskra most often asked questions, the answers to which she knew by heart.
I see this as a great victory for Soviet diplomacy. We tied the hands of the most aggressive state in the world.
That's right, - said Zinin's dad. - You guessed right. But we had a case today: blanks were submitted with the wrong grade of steel ...
The life of the workshop was close and understandable to him, and he spoke about it in a completely different way than about politics. He waved his arms, laughed and got angry, got up and ran around the room, stepping on our feet. But we did not like to listen to his shop news: we were much more interested in sports, aviation and cinema. And Zinya's dad sharpened some iron ingots all his life; we listened with cruel youthful indifference. Dad sooner or later caught him and was embarrassed.
Well, it's a trifle, of course. I need to take a closer look, I understand.
He’s kind of unrequited with me, ”Zina lamented. “I can’t re-educate him, it’s just a disaster.
Iskra knew how to explain, and Zinochka knew how to listen. She listened to everyone differently, but with her whole being, as if she not only heard, but also saw, touched and smelled at the same time. She was very curious and too sociable, which is why not everyone and not always let her in on their secrets, but they liked to be in their family with a girlish bias.
Perhaps that is why it was especially cozy here, in a special friendly way and in a special quiet way. Dad and mom spoke quietly, because there was no one to shout at. Here, something was always washed and starched, cleaned and shaken out, fried and steamed, and certainly baked pies. They were made from cheap dark flour; I still remember their taste and am still convinced that I have never eaten anything tastier than these potato pies. We drank tea with cheap caramels, ate pies and chatted. And Valka wandered around the apartment and looked for something to invent.
And if I attach a primus burner to the water tap?
To tea was with kerosene?
No, to keep warm. You strike a match, the pipe warms up, and the water becomes hot.
Well, dog, agreed Zina.
