"Hot Snow" Yu.V. Bondarev

The author of “Hot Snow” raises the problem of man in war. Is it possible in the midst of death and
without becoming hardened by violence, without becoming cruel? How to maintain self-control and the ability to feel and empathize? How to overcome fear and remain human when you find yourself in unbearable conditions? What reasons determine people's behavior in war?
The lesson can be structured as follows:
1. Opening remarks teachers of history and literature.
2. Defense of the project “Battle of Stalingrad: events, facts, comments.”
Z. Defense of the project “The historical significance of the battle on the Myshkova River, its place during the Battle of Stalingrad.”
4. Defense of the project “Yu. Bondarev: front-line writer.”
5. Analysis of the novel by Yu. Bondarev “ Hot snow».
6. Defense of the projects “Restoration of the destroyed Stalin city” and “Volgograd today”.
7. Final word teachers.

Let's move on to the analysis of the novel "Hot Snow"

Bondarev's novel is unusual in that its events are limited to just a few days.

— Tell us about the time period and plot of the novel.
(The action of the novel takes place over two days, when Bondarev’s heroes selflessly defend a tiny patch of land from German tanks. In “Hot Snow,” time is compressed more tightly than in the story “Battalions Ask for Fire”: this is a short march of General Bessonov’s army disembarking from the echelons and the battle , who decided so much in the fate of the country;
frosty dawns, two days and two endless December nights. Without lyrical digressions It’s as if the author’s breath has been taken away from constant tension.

The plot of the novel “Hot Snow” is connected with the true events of the Great Patriotic War, with one of its decisive moments. The life and death of the novel’s heroes, their destinies are illuminated by the disturbing light of true history, as a result of which everything under the writer’s pen acquires weight and significance.

— During the battle on the Myshkova River, the situation in the Stalingrad direction was tense to the limit. This tension is felt on every page of the novel. Remember what General Bessonov says at the council about the situation in which his army found itself. (Episode at the icons.)
(“If I believed, I would pray, of course. On my knees I asked for advice and help. But I don’t believe in God and I don’t believe in miracles. 400 tanks - that’s the truth for you! And this truth is put on the scales - a dangerous weight on in the scales of good and evil, a lot depends on this now: four months.
the defense of Stalingrad, our counter-offensive, the encirclement of the German armies here. And this is true, as is the fact that the Germans launched a counter-offensive from outside, but the scales still need to be touched. Is it enough?
Do I have the strength for this? .. ")

In this episode, the author shows the moment of maximum tension of human strength, when the hero is faced with the eternal questions of existence: what is truth, love, goodness? How can we make sure that good outweighs the scales? Is it possible for one person to do this? It is no coincidence that in Bondarev this monologue takes place near the icons. Yes, Bessonov does not believe in God. But the icon here is a symbol historical memory about the wars and suffering of the Russian people, who won victories with extraordinary strength of spirit, supported by the Orthodox faith. And the Great Patriotic War was no exception.

(The writer assigns almost the main place to Drozdovsky’s battery. Kuznetsov, Ukhanov, Rubin and their comrades are part of the great army, they express the spiritual and moral traits of the people. In this wealth and diversity of characters, from privates to generals, Yuri Bondarev shows the image of the people, stood up to defend the Motherland, and does it brightly and convincingly, it seems, without much effort, as if it was dictated by life itself.)

— How does the author introduce the characters to us at the beginning of the story? (Analysis of the episodes “In the Carriage”, “Bombing the Train”.)
(We discuss how Kuznetsov, Drozdovsky, Chibisov, Ukhanov behave during these events.
Please note that one of the most important conflicts in the novel is the conflict between Kuznetsov and Drozdovsky. Let's compare the descriptions of the appearance of Drozdovsky and Kuznetsov. We note that Bondarev does not show Drozdovsky’s internal experiences, but reveals Kuznetsov’s worldview in great detail through internal monologues.)

— During the march, Sergunenkov’s horse breaks its legs. Analyze behavior
heroes in this episode.
(Rubin is cruel, he offers to beat the horse with a whip so that it gets up, although everything is already pointless: it is doomed. Shooting at the horse, he misses the temple, the animal suffers. He swears at Sergunenkov, who is unable to hold back his tears of pity. Sergunenkov is trying to feed the dying horse Ukhanov wants to support young Sergunenkov, to cheer him up.
holding back his rage because the battery is not in order. “Drozdovsky’s thin face seemed calmly frozen, only suppressed rage splashed in the pupils.” Drozdovsky screams
orders. Kuznetsov dislikes Rubin's evil determination. He suggests lowering the next gun without horses, on the shoulders.)

“Everyone experiences fear in war. How do the characters in the novel experience fear? How does Chibisov behave during shelling and in the case of a scout? Why?
(“Kuznetsov saw Chibisov’s face, gray as the earth, with frozen eyes, his wheezing mouth: “Not here, not here, Lord ...” - and visible down to individual hairs, as if the stubble on his cheeks had fallen away from the gray skin. Leaning down, he rested his hands on Kuznetsov’s chest and, pressing his shoulder and back into some narrow non-existent space, screamed
prayerfully: “Children! Children... I have no right to die. No! .. Children! .. "". Out of fear, Chibisov squeezed into the trench. Fear paralyzed the hero. He cannot move, mice are crawling on him, but Chibisov sees nothing and does not react to anything until Ukhanov shouts at him. In the case of the intelligence officer, Chibisov is already completely paralyzed by fear. They say about such people at the front: “The living dead.” “Tears rolled from Chibisov’s blinking eyes along the unkempt, dirty stubble of his cheeks and the balaclava pulled over his chin, and Kuznetsov was struck by the expression of some kind of dog-like melancholy, insecurity in his appearance, a lack of understanding of what had happened and was happening, what they wanted from him. At that moment, Kuznetsov did not realize that it was not physical, devastating powerlessness and not even the expectation of death, but animal despair after everything Chibisov had experienced... Probably the fact that in blind fear he shot at the scout, not believing that he was his own, Russian , was the last thing that finally broke him.” “What happened to Chibisov was familiar to him in other circumstances and with other people, from whom the anguish before endless suffering seemed to pull out everything holding him back, like some kind of core, and this, as a rule, was a premonition of his death. Such people were not considered alive in advance; they were looked at as dead.

— Tell us about the case with Kasyankin.
— How did General Bessonov behave during the shelling in the trench?
— How does Kuznetsov deal with fear?
(I don’t have the right to do this. I don’t! This is disgusting powerlessness... I need to take panoramas! I
afraid to die? Why am I afraid to die? A shrapnel to the head... Am I afraid of a shrapnel to the head? .. No,
I'll jump out of the trench now. Where is Drozdovsky? ..” “Kuznetsov wanted to shout: “Wrap up
wrap it now!” - and turn away so as not to see these knees of his, this, like a disease, his invincible fear, which suddenly pierced sharply and at the same time, like a wind, arose
somewhere the word “tanks”, and, trying not to give in and resisting this fear, he thought: “Don’t
May be")
— The role of a commander in war is extremely important. The course of events and the lives of his subordinates depend on his decisions. Compare the behavior of Kuznetsov and Drozdovsky during the battle. (Analysis of the episodes “Kuznetsov and Ukhanov remove their sights”, “Tanks are advancing on the battery”, “Kuznetsov at Davlatyan’s gun”).

— How does Kuznetsov decide to remove the sights? Is Kuznetsov following Drozdovsky’s order to open fire on the tanks? How does Kuznetsov behave near Davlatyan’s gun?
(During an artillery shelling, Kuznetsov struggles with fear. It is necessary to remove the sights from the guns, but getting out of the trench under continuous fire is certain death. With the power of the commander, Kuznetsov can send any soldier on this mission, but he understands that he has no moral right to do this. “ I
I have and I don’t have the right,” flashed through Kuznetsov’s head. “Then I’ll never forgive myself.” Kuznetsov cannot send a person to certain death, it is so easy to dispose of human life. As a result, they remove the sights together with Ukhanov. When the tanks approached the battery, it was necessary to get them to a minimum distance before opening fire. To discover yourself ahead of time means to come under direct enemy fire. (This happened with Davlatyan’s gun.) In this situation, Kuznetsov shows extraordinary restraint. Drozdovsky calls the command post and enragedly orders: “Fire!” Kuznetsov waits until the last minute, thereby saving the gun. Davlatyan's gun is silent. The tanks are trying to break through in this place and hit the battery from the rear. Kuznetsov runs alone to the gun, not yet knowing what he will do there. He takes on the battle almost alone. “I’m going crazy,” thought Kuznetsov... only realizing at the edge of his consciousness what he was doing. His eyes impatiently caught in the crosshairs the black streaks of smoke, oncoming bursts of fire, the yellow sides of tanks crawling in iron herds to the right and left in front of the beam. His trembling hands threw shells into the smoking throat of the breech, his fingers pressed the trigger with a nervous, hurried groping.)

— How does Drozdovsky behave during a fight? (Commented reading of the episodes “U
Davpatyan's guns", "Death of Sergunenkov").What does Drozdovsky accuse Kuznetsov of? Why?How do Rubin and Kuznetsov behave during Drozdovsky’s order?How do the heroes behave after the death of Sergunenkov?
(Having met Kuznetsov at Davlatyan’s gun, Drozdovsky accuses him of desertion. This
the accusation seems completely inappropriate and ridiculous at that moment. Instead of understanding the situation, he threatens Kuznetsov with a pistol. Just a little explanation from Kuznetsov
calms him down. Kuznetsov quickly navigates the battlefield, acts prudently and intelligently.
Drozdovsky sends Sergunenkov to certain death, does not value human life, does not think
about people, considering himself exemplary and infallible, he shows extreme selfishness. People for him are only subordinates, not close, strangers. Kuznetsov, on the contrary, tries to understand and get closer to those who are under his command, he feels his inextricable connection with them. Seeing the “tangibly naked, monstrously open” death of Sergunenkov near the self-propelled gun, Kuznetsov hated Drozdovsky and himself for not being able to interfere. After the death of Sergunenkov, Drozdovsky is trying to justify himself. “Did I want him dead? — Drozdovsky’s voice broke into a squeal, and tears began to sound in it. - Why did he get up? .. Did you see how he stood up? For what?")

— Tell us about General Bessonov. What caused his severity?
(The son has gone missing. As a leader, he has no right to weakness.)

— How do subordinates treat the general?
(They ingratiate themselves, care too much.)

- Does Bessonov like this servility?
Mamayev Kurgan. Be worthy of the memory of the fallen... (No, it irritates him. “Such petty
the vainglorious game for the purpose of winning sympathy always disgusted him, irritated him in others, repelled him, like empty frivolity or the weakness of an insecure person")

— How does Bessonov behave during the battle?
(During the battle, the general is at the forefront, he himself observes and controls the situation, he understands that many soldiers are yesterday’s boys, just like his son. He does not give himself the right to weakness, otherwise he will not be able to make tough decisions. Gives the order: “ Fight to the death! Not a step back." The success of the entire operation depends on this. He is harsh with his subordinates, including Vesnin)

— How does Vesnin soften the situation?
(Maximum sincerity and openness of relationships.)
— I’m sure that you all remember the heroine of the novel, Zoya Elagina. Using her example, Bondarev
shows the gravity of the situation of women in war.

Tell us about Zoya. What attracts you to her?
(Throughout the entire novel, Zoya reveals herself to us as a person, ready for self-sacrifice, capable of embracing with her heart the pain and suffering of many. She seems to go through many tests, from annoying interest to rude rejection, But her kindness, her patience, her compassion are enough to “The image of Zoya somehow imperceptibly filled the atmosphere of the book, its main events, its harsh, cruel reality with the feminine principle, affection and tenderness.”

Probably the most mysterious thing in the world of human relationships in the novel is the love that arises between Kuznetsov and Zoya. War, its cruelty and blood, its timing overturn the usual ideas about time. It was the war that contributed to such a rapid development of this love. After all, this feeling developed in those short periods of march and battle when there is no time to think and analyze one’s feelings. And it begins with Kuznetsov’s quiet, incomprehensible jealousy: he is jealous of Zoya for Drozdovsky.)

— Tell us how the relationship between Zoya and Kuznetsov developed.
(At first, Zoya is captivated by Drozdovsky (confirmation that Zoya was deceived in Drozdovsky was his behavior in the case of the intelligence officer), but imperceptibly, without noticing how, she singles out Kuznetsov. She sees that this naive boy, as she thought, turned out to be in a hopeless situation, one fights against enemy tanks. And when Zoya is threatened with death, he covers her with his body. This man thinks not about himself, but about his beloved. The feeling that appeared between them so quickly ended just as quickly.)

— Tell us about Zoya’s death, about how Kuznetsov experiences Zoya’s death.
(Kuznetsov bitterly mourns the death of Zoya, and it is from this episode that the title is taken
novel. When he wiped his face wet from tears, “the snow on the sleeve of his quilted jacket was hot from his
tears,” “He, as in a dream, mechanically grabbed the edge of his overcoat and walked, not daring to look down in front of him, where she lay, from where a quiet, cold, deadly emptiness wafted: no voice, no groan, no living breath... He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stand it now, that he would do something furiously crazy in a state of despair and his unthinkable guilt, as if his life had ended and nothing had happened now.” Kuznetsov cannot believe that she is gone, he tries to reconcile with Drozdovsky, but the latter’s attack of jealousy, so unthinkable now, stops him.)
— Throughout the entire narrative, the author emphasizes Drozdovsky’s exemplary bearing: a girl’s waist, tightened with a belt, straight shoulders, he is like a taut string.

How it changes appearance Drozdovsky after Zoya's death?
(Drozdovsky walked ahead, swooning and swaying loosely, his always straight shoulders were hunched, his arms were turned back, holding the edge of his overcoat; he stood out with an alien whiteness
bandage on his now short neck, the bandage was slipping onto his collar)

Long hours of battle, the senseless death of Sergunenkov, the mortal wound of Zoya,
which Drozdovsky is partly to blame for - all this creates a gulf between the two young
officers, their moral incompatibility. In the finale this abyss is further indicated
more sharply: the four surviving artillerymen “bless” the newly received orders in a soldier’s bowler hat; and the sip that each of them takes is, first of all, a funeral sip - it contains bitterness and grief of loss. Drozdovsky also received the order, because for Bessonov, who awarded him, he is a survivor, a wounded commander of a surviving battery, the general does not know about Drozdovsky’s grave guilt and most likely will never know. This is also the reality of war. But it’s not for nothing that the writer leaves Drozdovsky aside from those gathered at the soldier’s cauldron.

— Is it possible to talk about the similarity of the characters of Kuznetsov and Bessonov?

“The highest ethical philosophical thought novel, as well as its emotional
tension reaches in the finale, when an unexpected rapprochement between Bessonov and
Kuznetsova. Bessonov awarded his officer along with others and moved on. For him
Kuznetsov is just one of those who stood to the death at the turn of the Myshkova River. Their closeness
turns out to be more sublime: this is a kinship of thought, spirit, outlook on life.” For example,
Shocked by the death of Vesnin, Bessonov blames himself for the fact that his unsociability and suspicion prevented the development of warm and friendly relations with Vesnin. And Kuznetsov worries that he could not do anything to help Chubarikov’s crew, which was dying before his eyes, and is tormented by the piercing thought that all this happened “because he did not have time to get close to them, to understand each one, to love ....”

“Separated by the disproportion of responsibilities, Lieutenant Kuznetsov and the army commander, General Bessonov, are moving towards the same virgin land, not only military, but also spiritual. Suspecting nothing about each other's thoughts, they think about the same thing and seek the truth in the same direction. Both of them demandly ask themselves about the purpose of life and whether their actions and aspirations correspond to it. They are separated by age and related, like father and son, or even like brother and brother, love for the Motherland and belonging to the people and to humanity in the highest sense of these words.”

— The novel expresses the author’s understanding of death as a violation of the highest justice andharmony. Can you confirm this?
We remember how Kuznetsov looked at the murdered Kasymov: “Now a shell box lay under Kasymov’s head, and his youthful, mustacheless face, recently alive, dark, had become deathly white, thinned by the eerie beauty of death, looked in surprise with damp cherry
with half-open eyes at his chest, at his padded jacket torn to shreds, as if
and after his death he did not understand how it killed him and why he was never able to stand at gunpoint. Kuznetsov feels the loss of his driver Sergunenkov even more acutely. After all, the very mechanism of his death is revealed here. The heroes of “Hot Snow” die: battery medical instructor Zoya Elagina, member of the Military Council Vesnin and many others... And the war is to blame for all these deaths.

In the novel, the feat of the people who rose up to war appears before us in a completeness of expression previously unprecedented in Bondarev, in the richness and diversity of characters. This is a feat of young lieutenants - commanders of artillery platoons - and those who are traditionally considered to be people from the people, such as private Chibisov, the calm and experienced gunner Evstigneev or the straightforward and rough riding Rubin, a feat of senior officers, such as the division commander Colonel Deev or the army commander General Bessonov. But all of them in that war, first of all, were soldiers, and each in his own way fulfilled his duty to the Motherland, to his people. AND great Victory, which came in May 1945, became their Victory.

0 / 5. 0

The longest day of the year

This cloudless weather

He gave us a common misfortune

For all, for all 4 years:

K. Simonov

Therefore, the theme of the Great Patriotic War became one of the main subjects of literature for many years. The story of the war sounded especially deep and truthful in the works of front-line writers: K. Simonov, V. Bykov, B. Vasiliev and others. Yuri Bondarev, in whose work war occupies a central place, was also a participant in the war, an artilleryman who traveled a long way along the roads of war from Stalingrad to Czechoslovakia. The novel “Hot Snow” is especially dear to him, because this is Stalingrad, and the heroes of the novel are artillerymen.

The action of the novel begins precisely at Stalingrad, when one of our armies withstood the attack of the tank divisions of Field Marshal Manstein on the Volga steppe, who sought to break through a corridor to Paulus’s army and lead it out of encirclement. The outcome of the battle on the Volga largely depended on the success or failure of this operation. The duration of the novel is limited to just a few days, during which Yuri Bondarev’s heroes selflessly defend a tiny patch of land from German tanks.

“Hot Snow” is a story about the short march of General Bessonov’s army disembarking from the echelons and the battle. The novel is distinguished by its directness, direct connection of the plot with the true events of the Great Patriotic War, with one of its decisive moments. The life and death of the novel's heroes, their very destinies are illuminated by the alarming light of true history, as a result of which everything acquires special weight and significance.

In the novel, Drozdovsky's battery absorbs almost all the reader's attention; the action is concentrated primarily around a small number of characters. Kuznetsov, Ukhanov, Rubin and their comrades are part of the great army.

In “Hot Snow”, with all the tension of events, everything human in people, their characters are revealed not separately from the war, but interconnected with it, under its fire, when, it seems, they cannot even raise their heads. Usually the chronicle of battles can be retold separately from the individuality of its participants, and the battle in “Hot Snow” cannot be retold otherwise than through the fate and characters of the people.

The image of a simple Russian soldier who has gone to war appears before us in a completeness of expression never before seen in Yuri Bondarev, in the richness and diversity of characters, and at the same time in integrity. This image

Chibisov, the calm and experienced gunner Evstigneev, the straightforward and rough-riding Rubin, Kasymov.

The novel expresses an understanding of death - as a violation of the highest justice. Let us remember how Kuznetsov looks at the murdered Kasymov: “now a shell box lay under Kasymov’s head, and his youthful, mustacheless face, recently alive, dark, had become deathly white, thinned by the eerie beauty of death, in surprise He looked with wet cherry half-open eyes at his chest, torn to shreds, at his cut-up padded jacket, as if even after death he did not understand how it killed him and why he was never able to stand up to the gun.”

In this unseeing squint of Kasymov there was a quiet curiosity about his unlived life on this earth.

Kuznetsov feels even more acutely the irreversibility of the loss of his driver Sergunenkov. After all, the very mechanism of his death is revealed here. Kuznetsov turned out to be a powerless witness to how Drozdovsky sent Sergunenkov to certain death, and he, Kuznetsov, already knows that he will forever curse himself for what he saw, was present, but was unable to change anything.

The past of the characters in the novel is significant and significant. For some it is almost cloudless, for others it is so complex and dramatic that the former drama is not left behind, pushed aside by the war, but accompanies a person in the battle southwest of Stalingrad.

The past requires a separate space for itself, separate chapters - it merged with the present, revealed its depths and the living interconnectedness of one and the other.

Yuri Bondarev does exactly the same with portraits of characters: the appearance and characters of his heroes are shown in development, and only towards the end of the novel or after the death of the hero does the author create a complete portrait of him.

The whole person is in front of us, understandable, close, and yet we are not left with the feeling that we have only touched the edge of him spiritual world, - and with his death you feel that you have not yet fully understood his inner world. The monstrosity of war is most expressed - and the novel reveals this with cruel directness - in the death of a person. But the novel also shows the high price of life given for the Motherland.

Probably the most mysterious thing in the world of human relationships in the novel is the love that arises between Kuznetsov and Zoya. The war, its cruelty and blood, its timing, overturning the usual ideas about time - it was precisely this that contributed to such a rapid development of this love. After all, this feeling developed in the short period of march and battle, when there was no time for reflection and analysis of one’s feelings. And soon - so little time passes - Kuznetsov is already bitterly mourning the deceased Zoya, and it is from these lines that the title of the novel is taken, when Kuznetsov wiped his face wet from tears, “the snow on the sleeve of his quilted jacket was hot from his tears.”

It is extremely important that all of Kuznetsov’s connections with people, and, above all, with the people subordinate to him, are true, meaningful and have a remarkable ability to develop. They are extremely non-official - in contrast to the emphatically official relationships that Drozdovsky so strictly and stubbornly puts between himself and people . During the battle, Kuznetsov fights next to the soldiers, here he shows his composure, courage, and lively mind. But he also matures spiritually in this battle, becomes fairer, closer, kinder to those people with whom the war brought him together.

The relationship between Kuznetsov and Senior Sergeant Ukhanov, the gun commander, deserves a separate narrative. Like Kuznetsov, he had already been fired upon in difficult battles in 1941, and due to his military ingenuity and decisive character he could probably have been an excellent commander. But life decreed otherwise, and at first we find Ukhanov and Kuznetsov in conflict: this is a clash of a sweeping, harsh and autocratic nature with another - restrained, initially modest. At first glance, it may seem that Kuznetsov will have to fight the anarchic nature of Ukhanov. But in reality it turns out that, without yielding to each other in any fundamental position, remaining themselves, Kuznetsov and Ukhanov become close people. Not just people fighting together, but people who knew each other and are now forever close.

Separated by the disproportion of responsibilities, Lieutenant Kuznetsov and the army commander, General Bessonov, are moving towards one goal - not only military, but also spiritual. Suspecting nothing about each other's thoughts, they think about the same thing and seek the truth in the same direction. They are separated by age and related, like father and son, or even like brother to brother, love for the Motherland and belonging to the people and to humanity in the highest sense of these words.

The death of heroes on the eve of victory contains a high level of tragedy and provokes protest against the cruelty of the war and the forces that unleashed it. The heroes of “Hot Snow” die - battery medical instructor Zoya Elagina, shy rider Sergunenkov, member of the Military Council Vesnin, Kasymov and many others die... And the war is to blame for all these deaths.

In the novel, the feat of the people who rose to war appears before us in a completeness of expression, previously unprecedented in Yuri Bondarev, in the richness and diversity of characters. This is a feat of young lieutenants - commanders of artillery platoons, and those who are traditionally considered to be people from the people, such as the slightly cowardly Chibisov, the calm and experienced gunner Evstigneev, or the straightforward and rough riding Rubin - a feat of senior officers, such as the division commander Colonel Deev or the army commander General Bessonov.

But in this war, all of them were, first of all, Soldiers, and each in his own way fulfilled his duty to the Motherland, to his people.

The Great Victory, which came in May 1945, became their common cause.

References

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site www.coolsoch.ru/

During the Great Patriotic War, the writer served as an artilleryman and traveled a long way from Stalingrad to Czechoslovakia. Among Yuri Bondarev’s books about the war, “Hot Snow” occupies a special place, in it the author solves in a new way moral issues, staged in his first stories - “Battalions Ask for Fire” and “Last Salvos”. These three books about war are a holistic and evolving world, which in “Hot Snow” reached its greatest fullness and imaginative power.

The events of the novel unfold near Stalingrad, south of the 6th Army of General Paulus, blocked by Soviet troops, in the cold December 1942, when one of our armies held back in the Volga steppe the attack of the tank divisions of Field Marshal Manstein, who was trying to break through a corridor to Paulus's army and lead it out of encirclement. The outcome of the Battle of the Volga and, perhaps, even the timing of the end of the war itself largely depended on the success or failure of this operation. The duration of the action is limited to just a few days, during which the heroes of the novel selflessly defend a tiny patch of land from German tanks.

In “Hot Snow,” time is compressed even more tightly than in the story “Battalions Ask for Fire.” This is a short march of General Bessonov’s army disembarking from the echelons and a battle that decided so much in the fate of the country; these are cold frosty dawns, two days and two endless December nights. Knowing no respite or lyrical digressions, as if the author had lost his breath from constant tension, the novel is distinguished by its directness, direct connection of the plot with the true events of the Great Patriotic War, with one of its decisive moments. The life and death of the novel's heroes, their very destinies are illuminated by the disturbing light of true history, as a result of which everything acquires special weight and significance.

The events at Drozdovsky's battery absorb almost all the reader's attention; the action is concentrated primarily around a small number of characters. Kuznetsov, Ukhanov, Rubin and their comrades are part of the great army, they are the people. The heroes have his best spiritual and moral traits.

This image of a people who has risen to war appears before us in the richness and diversity of characters, and at the same time in their integrity. It is not limited to images of young lieutenants - commanders of artillery platoons, nor colorful figures of soldiers - such as the somewhat cowardly Chibisov, the calm and experienced gunner Evstigneev, or the straightforward and rude driver Rubin; nor by senior officers, such as the division commander, Colonel Deev, or the army commander, General Bessonov. Only all together, with all the difference in ranks and titles, they form the image of a fighting people. The strength and novelty of the novel lies in the fact that this unity is achieved as if by itself, captured without much effort by the author - with living, moving life.

The death of heroes on the eve of victory, the criminal inevitability of death contains a high tragedy and causes a protest against the cruelty of the war and the forces that unleashed it. The heroes of “Hot Snow” die - battery medical instructor Zoya Elagina, shy rider Sergunenkov, member of the Military Council Vesnin, Kasymov and many others die...

In the novel, death is a violation of the highest justice and harmony. Let us remember how Kuznetsov looks at the murdered Kasymov: “Now a shell box lay under Kasymov’s head, and his youthful, mustacheless face, recently alive, dark, had become deathly white, thinned by the eerie beauty of death, looked in surprise with its damp cherry half-opened with his eyes at his chest, at the torn into shreds, dissected padded jacket, as if even after death he did not understand how it killed him and why he was never able to stand up to the gun.”

Kuznetsov feels even more acutely the irreversibility of the loss of his driver Sergunenkov. After all, the cause of his death is fully revealed here. Kuznetsov turned out to be a powerless witness to how Drozdovsky sent Sergunenkov to certain death, and he already knows that he will forever curse himself for what he saw, was present, but was unable to change anything.

In “Hot Snow,” everything human in people, their characters are revealed precisely in war, in dependence on it, under its fire, when, it seems, they cannot even raise their heads. The chronicle of the battle will not tell about its participants - the battle in “Hot Snow?” cannot be separated from the destinies and characters of people.

The past of the characters in the novel is important. For some it is almost cloudless, for others it is so complex and dramatic that it does not remain behind, pushed aside by the war, but accompanies a person in the battle southwest of Stalingrad. The events of the past determined Ukhanov’s military fate: a gifted officer, full of energy, who should have commanded a battery, but he is only a sergeant. Ukhanov’s cool, rebellious character also defines him life path. Chibisov's past troubles, which almost broke him (he spent several months in German captivity), resonated with fear in him and determine a lot in his behavior. One way or another, the novel glimpses the past of Zoya Elagina, Kasymov, Sergunenkov, and the unsociable Rubin, whose courage and loyalty to soldier’s duty we will be able to appreciate only at the very end.

The past of General Bessonov is especially important in the novel. The thought of his son being captured by the Germans complicates his actions both at Headquarters and at the front. And when a fascist leaflet informing that Bessonov’s son was captured falls into the counterintelligence of the front, into the hands of Lieutenant Colonel Osin, it seems that a threat has arisen to the general’s official position.

Probably the most important human feeling in the novel is the love that arises between Kuznetsov and Zoya. War, its cruelty and blood, its timing, overturning the usual ideas about time - it was precisely this that contributed to such a rapid development of this love, when there is no time for reflection and analysis of one’s feelings. And it all begins with Kuznetsov’s quiet, incomprehensible jealousy of Drozdovsky. And soon - so little time passes - he is already bitterly mourning the deceased Zoya, and this is where the title of the novel is taken, as if emphasizing the most important thing for the author: when Kuznetsov wiped his face wet from tears, “the snow on the sleeve of his quilted jacket was hot from his tears.”

Having initially been deceived by Lieutenant Drozdovsky, the best cadet at that time, Zoya throughout the novel reveals herself to us as a moral, integral person, ready for self-sacrifice, capable of feeling with all her heart the pain and suffering of many. She goes through many trials. But her kindness, her patience and sympathy are enough for everyone; she is truly a sister to the soldiers. The image of Zoya somehow imperceptibly filled the atmosphere of the book, its main events, its harsh, cruel reality with feminine affection and tenderness.

One of the most important conflicts in the novel is the conflict between Kuznetsov and Drozdovsky. A lot of space is given to this, it is revealed very sharply and can be easily traced from beginning to end. At first there is tension, the roots of which are still in the background of the novel; inconsistency of characters, manners, temperaments, even style of speech: the gentle, thoughtful Kuznetsov seems to find it difficult to endure Drozdovsky’s abrupt, commanding, indisputable speech. Long hours of battle, the senseless death of Sergunenkov, the fatal wound of Zoya, for which Drozdovsky was partly to blame - all this forms a gap between the two young officers, their moral incompatibility.

In the finale, this abyss is indicated even more sharply: the four surviving artillerymen consecrate the newly received orders in a soldier’s bowler hat, and the sip that each of them takes is, first of all, a funeral sip - it contains bitterness and grief of loss. Drozdovsky also received the order, because for Bessonov, who awarded him, he is a survivor, a wounded commander of a surviving battery, the general does not know about his guilt and, most likely, will never know. This is also the reality of war. But it’s not for nothing that the writer leaves Drozdovsky aside from those gathered at the soldier’s bowler hat.

The ethical and philosophical thought of the novel, as well as its emotional intensity, reaches its greatest heights in the finale, when an unexpected rapprochement between Bessonov and Kuznetsov occurs. This is rapprochement without immediate proximity: Bessonov rewarded his officer on an equal basis with others and moved on. For him, Kuznetsov is just one of those who stood to the death at the turn of the Myshkova River. Their closeness turns out to be more important: it is the closeness of thought, spirit, and outlook on life. For example, shocked by the death of Vesnin, Bessonov blames himself for the fact that, due to his unsociability and suspicion, he prevented the friendship between them (“the way Vesnin wanted and the way they should be”). Or Kuznetsov, who could do nothing to help Chubarikov’s calculation, which was dying before his eyes, tormented by the piercing thought that all this “seemed to have happened because he did not have time to get close to them, to understand everyone, to love them. .."

Separated by the disproportion of responsibilities, Lieutenant Kuznetsov and army commander General Bessonov are moving towards one goal - not only military, but also spiritual. Suspecting nothing about each other’s thoughts, they think about the same thing, looking for the same truth. Both demandingly ask themselves about the purpose of life and the correspondence of their actions and aspirations to it. They are separated by age and related, like father and son, or even like brother and brother, love for the Motherland and belonging to the people and to humanity in the highest sense of these words.

Many years have passed since the victorious salvoes of the Great Patriotic War died down. Very soon (February 2, 2013) the country will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad. And today time reveals to us new details, unforgettable facts and events of those heroic days. The further we move from those heroic days, the more valuable the military chronicle becomes.

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KOGV(S)OKU V(S)OSH at

FKU IK-17 Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Kirov Region

Literature lesson at the All-Russian Internet Conference

"WHERE DOES THE RUSSIAN LAND COME FROM"

prepared

teacher of Russian language and literature

Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation

Vasenina Tamara Alexandrovna

Omutninsk - 2012

“Pages of the artistic chronicle of the Great Patriotic War using the example of Yu.V. Bondarev’s novel “Hot Snow”

(to the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad).

Goals:

1. Educational –understand the essence of the radical change that happened at the front during the Great Patriotic War; to arouse in students interest in literature on military topics, in the personality and work of Yu. Bondarev, in particular in the novel “Hot Snow”, to identify the position of the heroes of the novel in relation to the issue of heroism, creating a problematic situation, to encourage students to express their own point of view about life principles lieutenants Drozdovsky and Kuznetsov, etc. Show the spiritual quest of the main characters of the novel. Protest of a humanist writer against the violation of the natural human right to life.

2. Educational– show that the author’s attention is focused on human actions and states; help students realize the enormous relevance of works about war and the problems raised in them;to promote the formation of students’ own point of view in relation to such a concept as war; create situations in which students understand what disasters and destruction war brings, but when the fate of the Motherland is decided, then everyone takes up arms, then everyone stands up to defend it.

3. Developmental – developing skills in group work, public speaking, and the ability to defend one’s point of view.; continue to develop analysis skills work of art; continue to cultivate feelings of patriotism and pride for your country, your people.

Meta-subject educational- information skills:

Ability to extract information from different sources;

Ability to make a plan;

Ability to select material on a given topic;

Ability to compose written abstracts;

Ability to select quotes;

Ability to create tables.

Equipment: portrait of Yu.V. Bondarev, artistic texts. works, film fragments from G. Egiazarov’s film “Hot Snow”

Methodical techniques: Educational dialogue, elements of role-playing game, creation of a problem situation.

Epigraph on the board:

You need to know everything about the past war. We need to know what it was, and what immeasurable emotional burden the days of retreats and defeats were associated with for us, and what immeasurable happiness VICTORY was for us. We also need to know what sacrifices the war cost us, what destruction it brought, leaving wounds in the souls of people and on the body of the earth. There should not and cannot be oblivion in a matter such as this.

K. Simonov

Time: 90 minutes

Preparing for the lesson

Prepare messages:

1. The division’s path to Stalingrad (chapters 1 and 2);

2. Battle of the batteries (chapters 13 – 18);

3. Death of medical instructor Zoe (chapter 23);

4 Interrogation of German Major Erich Dietz (Chapter 25).

5. Two lieutenants.

6. General Bessonov.

7. Love in the novel “Hot Snow.”

PROGRESS OF THE LESSON

Teacher's opening speech

Many years have passed since the victorious salvoes of the Great Patriotic War died down. Very soon the country will celebrate the 70th anniversary of VICTORY in the Battle of STALINGRAD (February 2, 1943). But even today time reveals to us new details, unforgettable facts and events of those heroic days. And the further we move away from that war, from those harsh battles, the fewer heroes of that time remain alive, the more expensive and valuable the military chronicle that writers created and continue to create becomes. In their works they glorify the courage and heroism of our people, our valiant army, millions and millions of people who bore on their shoulders all the hardships of war and accomplished feats in the name of peace on Earth.

The Great Patriotic War required every person to exert all his mental and physical strength. Not only did it not cancel, but it made moral problems even more acute. After all, the clarity of goals and objectives in war should not serve as an excuse for any moral promiscuity. It did not free a person from the need to be fully responsible for his actions. Life in war is life with all its spiritual and moral problems and difficulties. The hardest thing at that time was for writers for whom the war was a real shock. They were filled with what they had seen and experienced, so they sought to truthfully show at what high price our victory over the enemy had come. Those writers who came to literature after the war, and during the testing years themselves fought on the front line, defended their right to the so-called “trench truth.” Their work was called “lieutenant prose.” The favorite genre of these writers is a lyrical story written in the first person, although not always strictly autobiographical, but thoroughly imbued with the author’s experiences and memories of his youth at the front. In their books, general plans, generalized pictures, panoramic reasoning, and heroic pathos were replaced by new experience. It consisted in the fact that the war was won not only by the headquarters and armies, in their collective meaning, but also by a simple soldier in a gray overcoat, a father, brother, husband, son. These works highlighted close-ups of a man at war, his soul, which lived with pain for the dear hearts left behind, his faith in himself and his comrades. Of course, each writer had his own war, but everyday front-line experience had almost no differences. They were able to convey it to the reader in such a way that artillery cannonade and machine gun fire do not drown out groans and whispers, and in the gunpowder smoke and dust from exploding shells and mines one can see determination and fear, anguish and rage in the eyes of people. And these writers have one more thing in common - this is “memory of the heart,” a passionate desire to tell the truth about that war.

In a different artistic manner, Y. Bondarev tells about the heroic qualities of the people in the novel “Hot Snow”. This work is about the limitless possibilities of people for whom defense of the Motherland and a sense of duty are an organic need. The novel tells how, despite increasing difficulties and tension, the will to win strengthens in people. And every time it seems: this is the limit of human capabilities. But soldiers, officers, generals, exhausted from battles, insomnia, and constant nervous tension, find the strength to fight tanks again, go on the attack, and save their comrades.. (Serafimova V.D. Russian literature of the second half of the twentieth century. Educational minimum for applicants. - M.: Higher School, 2008. - p. 169..)

The history of the creation of the novel “Hot Snow”

(Student message)

The novel “Hot Snow” was written by Bondarev in 1969. By this time, the writer was already a recognized master of Russian prose. He was inspired to create this work by his soldier’s memory (read what is written in italics expressively):

« I remembered a lot that over the years I began to forget: the winter of 1942, the cold, the steppe, icy trenches, tank attacks, bombings, the smell of burning and burnt armor...

Of course, if I had not taken part in the battle that the 2nd Guards Army fought in the Volga steppes in the fierce December of 1942 with Manstein’s tank divisions, then perhaps the novel would have been somewhat different. Personal experience and the time that lay between that battle and work on the novel allowed me to write exactly this way and not otherwise».

The novel tells the story of the epic Battle of Stalingrad, a battle that led to a radical turning point in the war. The idea of ​​Stalingrad becomes central in the novel. It tells the story of the grandiose battle of our troops with Manstein’s divisions trying to break through to the encircled group of Paulus. But the enemy encountered resistance that exceeded all human capabilities. Even now, those who were on the side of the Nazis in the last war remember the strength of spirit of Soviet soldiers with some kind of surprised respect. And it is not at all by chance that the already elderly retired Field Marshal Manstein refused to meet with the writer Yu. Bondarev, having learned that he was working on a book about the Battle of Stalingrad.

Bondarev's novel became a work about heroism and courage, about the inner beauty of our contemporary, who defeated fascism in a bloody war. Talking about the creation of the novel “Hot Snow,” Yu. Bondarev defined the concept of heroism in war as follows:

« It seems to me that heroism is the constant overcoming in one’s consciousness of doubts, uncertainty, and fear. Imagine: frost, icy wind, one cracker for two, frozen grease in the shutters of the machine guns; fingers in frosty mittens do not bend from the cold; anger at the cook who was late to the front line; disgusting sucking in the pit of the stomach at the sight of Junkers entering a dive; the death of comrades... And in a minute you have to go into battle, towards everything hostile that wants to kill you. The whole life of a soldier is compressed into these moments, these minutes - to be or not to be, this is the moment of overcoming oneself. This is “quiet” heroism, seemingly hidden from prying eyes. Heroism in yourself. But he determined victory in the last war, because millions fought.”

Let us turn to the title of the novel “Hot Snow”

In one interview, Yu. Bondarev noted that the title of a book is the most difficult link in creative search, because the first feeling is born in the reader’s soul from the title of the novel. The title of the novel is a short expression of its idea. The title “Hot Snow” is symbolic and multi-valued. The novel was originally titled Days of Mercy.

What episodes help you understand the title of the novel?

What is the meaning of the title “Hot Snow?”

At home, you had to pick up episodes that help reveal the writer’s ideological intent.

Prepared students give a message.

Let's revisit these episodes:

1. the division’s path to Stalingrad (chapters 1 and 2);

(Bessonov's formed army is urgently transferred to Stalingrad. The train rushed through fields covered with white clouds, “the low, rayless sun hung above them like a heavy crimson ball.” Outside the window there are waves of endless snowdrifts, morning peace, silence: “The roofs of the village sparkled under the sun, the low windows covered with lush snowdrifts flashed like mirrors.” A trio of Messerschmitts dived onto the train. Sparkling snow, which until recently amazed with its purity, becomes an enemy: on a white boundless field, soldiers in gray greatcoats and sheepskin coats are defenseless).

2. battle of the batteries (chapters 13 – 18);

(The burning snow emphasizes the scale and tragedy of the battle, which is just an episode of the great battle on the Volga, the infinity of human possibilities when the fate of the Motherland is being decided. Everything was distorted, scorched, motionless and dead. “... lightning seconds instantly erased from the earth everyone who was here, the people of his platoon, whom he had not yet managed to recognize as a human being... Snow pellets covered white islands, and “Kuznetsov was amazed at this indifferent disgusting whiteness of the snow.”

3. death of medical instructor Zoe (chapter 23);

(After the death of Zoya Elagina, Kuznetsov, instead of the joy of a person who survived, experiences a persistent feeling of guilt: snow pellets rustle, a snow-covered hillock with a sanitary bag turns white... It seemed to Kuznetsov that Zoya would now come out of the darkness, the blackness of her eyes would sparkle because of the fringe of frost on eyelashes, and she will say in a whisper: “Grasshopper, you and I dreamed that I died”... something hot and bitter moved in his throat... He cried so lonely, sincerely and desperately for the first time in his life, and when he wiped his face, the snow on the sleeve of the quilted jacket was hot from tears.” The snow becomes hot from the depth of human feeling.)

4 interrogation of German major Erich Dietz (chapter 25).

(Major Dietz arrived from France a week and a half before the Battle of Stalingrad. The endless Russian expanses seemed to him like dozens of Frances.” He was frightened by the empty winter steppes and the endless snow. “France is sun, south, joy...” says Major Dietz. “And the snow is burning in Russia”

Two Lieutenants (Analysis of the episode and film fragment)

CONCLUSION. One of the most important conflicts in the novel is the conflict between Kuznetsov and Drozdovsky. A lot of space is given to this conflict; it is exposed very sharply and can be easily traced from beginning to end. At first there is tension, going back into the background of the novel; inconsistency of characters, manners, temperaments, even style of speech: the soft, thoughtful Kuznetsov seems to find it difficult to endure Drozdovsky’s abrupt, commanding, indisputable speech. Long hours of battle, the senseless death of Sergunenkov, the mortal wound of Zoya, for which Drozdovsky was partly to blame - all this forms a gap between the two young officers, the moral incompatibility of their existences.

In the finale, this abyss is indicated even more sharply: the four surviving artillerymen consecrate the newly received orders in a soldier’s bowler hat, and the sip that each of them takes is, first of all, a funeral sip - it contains bitterness and grief of loss. Drozdovsky also received the order, because for Bessonov, who awarded him, he is a survivor, a wounded commander of a surviving battery, the general does not know about Drozdovsky’s grave guilt and most likely will never know. This is also the reality of war. But it’s not for nothing that the writer leaves Drozdovsky aside from those gathered at the soldier’s cauldron.

Two commanders (analysis of the episode and viewing of the film fragment)

THE THEME OF LOVE in the novel. (Student's message and analysis of the film fragment)

Probably the most mysterious thing in the world of human relationships in the novel is the love that arises between Kuznetsov and Zoya.

The war, its cruelty and blood, its timing, overturning the usual ideas about time - it was precisely this that contributed to such a rapid development of this love. After all, this feeling developed in those short hours of march and battle, when there is no time to think and analyze one’s feelings. And it all begins with Kuznetsov’s quiet, incomprehensible jealousy of the relationship between Zoya and Drozdovsky. And soon - so little time passes - Kuznetsov is already bitterly mourning the death of Zoya, andIt is from these lines that the title of the novel is taken, when Kuznetsov wiped his face wet from tears, “the snow on the sleeve of his quilted jacket was hot from his tears.”

Having initially been deceived by Lieutenant Drozdovsky, the best cadet at that time, Zoya throughout the novel reveals herself to us as a moral, integral person, ready for self-sacrifice, capable of embracing with her heart the pain and suffering of many. She seems to go through many tests, from annoying interest to rude rejection. But her kindness, her patience and compassion are enough for everyone, she is truly a sister to the soldiers. The image of Zoya somehow imperceptibly filled the atmosphere of reality with the feminine principle, affection and tenderness.

Hot Snow (poem dedicated to Yuri Bondarev) Viewing the last frames of the film by G. Egiazarov, where the song “Hot Snow” based on the words of M. Lvov is heard or read by a trained student.

A minute of silence. Reading the text (prepared student)

From a message from the Sovinformburo.

Today, February 2, the troops of the Don Front have completely completed the liquidation of the Nazi troops surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Our troops broke the resistance of the enemy, surrounded north of Stalingrad, and forced him to lay down his arms. The last center of enemy resistance in the Stalingrad area was crushed. On February 2, 1943, the historic battle of Stalingrad ended with the complete victory of our troops.

The divisions entered Stalingrad.

The city was covered in deep snow.

The desert smelled from the stone masses,

From ashes and stone ruins.

The dawn was like an arrow -

She broke through the clouds over the hillocks.

Explosions threw up rubble and ash,

And the echo answered them with thunder.

Forward, guardsmen!

Hello, Stalingrad!

(In Kondratenko’s “Morning of VICTORY”)

RESULT OF THE LESSON

Bondarev's novel became a work about heroism and courage, about the inner beauty of our contemporary, who defeated fascism in a bloody war. Yu. Bondarev defined the concept of heroism in war as follows:

“It seems to me that heroism is the constant overcoming in one’s consciousness of doubts, uncertainty, and fear. Imagine: frost, icy wind, one cracker for two, frozen grease in the shutters of the machine guns; fingers in frosty mittens do not bend from the cold; anger at the cook who was late to the front line; disgusting sucking in the pit of the stomach at the sight of Junkers entering a dive; the death of comrades... And in a minute you have to go into battle, towards everything hostile that wants to kill you. The whole life of a soldier is compressed into these moments, these minutes - to be or not to be, this is the moment of overcoming oneself. This is “quiet” heroism, seemingly hidden from prying eyes. Heroism in yourself. But he determined victory in the last war, because millions fought.”

In “Hot Snow” there are no scenes that directly talk about love for the Motherland, and there are no such arguments. The heroes express love and hatred through their exploits, actions, courage, and amazing determination. They do things they didn't even expect from themselves. This is probably what it is true love, and words mean little. The war described by Bondarev is acquiring a nationwide character. She doesn’t spare anyone: neither women, nor children, that’s why everyone came to the defense. Writers help us see how great things are accomplished from small things. Emphasize the importance of what happened

Years will pass and the world will become different. People's interests, passions, and ideals will change. And then the works of Yu. V. Bondarev will again be read in a new way. True literature never gets old.

Addition to the lesson.

COMPARE the novel by Yu.V. Bondarev and the film by G. Egiazarov “Hot Snow”

How is the text of the novel conveyed in the film: plot, composition, depiction of events, characters?

Does your idea of ​​Kuznetsov and Drozdovsky coincide with the play of B. Tokarev and N. Eremenko?

What is interesting about G. Zhzhenov in the role of Bessonov?

What were you more excited about - the book or the movie?

Write a mini-essay “My impressions of the film and book.”

(It was suggested to watch the film “Hot Snow” in its entirety 6.12 on Channel 5)

Composition “My family during the Great Patriotic War” (optional)

List of used literature

1. Bondarev Yu. Hot snow. - M.: “Military Publishing House”, 1984.

2. Bykov V.V., Vorobiev K.D., Nekrasov V.P. The Great Patriotic War in Russian literature. - M.: AST, Astrel, 2005.

3. Buznik V.V. About the early prose of Yuri Bondarev, “Literature at school”, No. 3, 1995 The Great Patriotic War in Russian literature. - M.: AST, Astrel, Harvest, 2009.

4. Wreath of glory. T. 4. Battle of Stalingrad, M. Sovremennik, 1987.

5. Kuzmichev I. “The pain of memory. The Great Patriotic War in Soviet Literature", Gorky, Volgo-Vyatka Book Publishing House, 1985

6. Kozlov I. Yuri Bondarev (Strokes of a creative portrait), magazine “Literature at School” No. 4, 1976 pp. 7-18

7. Literature of great feat. The Great Patriotic War in Soviet literature. Issue 4. - M.: Fiction. Moscow, 1985

8.. Serafimova V.D. Russian literature of the second half of the twentieth century. Educational minimum for applicants. - M.: Higher School, 2008.

9. Article by Panteleeva L.T. "Works about the Great Patriotic War in class extracurricular reading", magazine "Literature at school". Number unknown.

He belongs to the glorious galaxy of front-line soldiers who, having survived the war, reflected its essence in bright and complete novels. The authors took the images of their heroes from real life. And the events that we calmly perceive from the pages of books in peacetime happened for them with their own eyes. The summary of “Hot Snow,” for example, is the horror of bombing, the whistling of stray bullets, and frontal tank and infantry attacks. Even now, reading about this, an ordinary peaceful person is plunged into the abyss of the dark and menacing events of that time.

Front-line writer

Bondarev is one of the recognized masters of this genre. When you read the works of such authors, you are inevitably amazed at the realism of the lines that reflect various aspects of the difficult military life. After all, he himself went through a difficult front-line path, starting at Stalingrad and ending in Czechoslovakia. That's why novels make such a strong impression. They amaze with the brightness and truthfulness of the plot.

One of the bright, emotional works that Bondarev created, “Hot Snow,” just tells about such simple but immutable truths. The title of the story itself speaks volumes. There is no hot snow in nature; it melts under the sun's rays. However, in the work he is hot from the blood shed in heavy battles, from the number of bullets and shrapnel that fly into brave fighters, from the unbearable hatred of Soviet soldiers of any rank (from private to marshal) towards the German invaders. Bondarev created such a stunning image.

War is not only a battle

The story "Hot Snow" ( summary, of course, does not convey all the liveliness of the style and the tragedy of the plot) gives some answers to the begun moral and psychological literary lines in more early works author, such as “The Battalions Ask for Fire” and “The Last Salvos.”

Like no one else, when telling the cruel truth about that war, Bondarev does not forget about the manifestation of ordinary human feelings and emotions. “Hot Snow” (analysis of his images surprises with the lack of categoricalness) is just an example of such a combination of black and white. Despite the tragedy of the military events, Bondarev makes it clear to the reader that even in war there are completely peaceful feelings of love, friendship, elementary human hostility, stupidity and betrayal.

Fierce battles near Stalingrad

Retelling the summary of “Hot Snow” is quite difficult. The story takes place near Stalingrad, the city where the Red Army, in fierce battles, finally broke the back of the German Wehrmacht. A little south of the blocked 6th Army of Paulus, the Soviet command creates a powerful defensive line. The artillery barrier and the infantry attached to it must stop another “strategist”, Manstein, who is rushing to the rescue of Paulus.

As we know from history, it was Paulus who was the creator and inspirer of the infamous Barbarossa plan. And for obvious reasons, Hitler could not allow an entire army, and even one led by one of the best theoreticians of the German General Staff, to be surrounded. Therefore, the enemy spared no effort and resources in order to break through an operational passage for the 6th Army from the encirclement created by Soviet troops.

Bondarev wrote about these events. “Hot Snow” tells the story of battles on a tiny patch of land, which, according to Soviet intelligence, has become “tank dangerous.” A battle is about to take place here, which may decide the outcome of the Battle of the Volga.

Lieutenants Drozdovsky and Kuznetsov

The army under the command of Lieutenant General Bessonov receives the task of blocking enemy tank columns. It includes the artillery unit described in the story, commanded by Lieutenant Drozdovsky. Even a brief summary of “Hot Snow” cannot be left without describing the image of a young commander who has just received the rank of officer. It should be mentioned that even at school Drozdovsky was in good standing. Disciplines were easy, and his stature and natural military bearing pleased the eyes of any combat commander.

The school was located in Aktyubinsk, from where Drozdovsky went straight to the front. Together with him, another graduate of the Aktobe Artillery School, Lieutenant Kuznetsov, was assigned to the same unit. By coincidence, Kuznetsov received command of a platoon of the very same battery commanded by Lieutenant Drozdovsky. Surprised by the vicissitudes of military fate, Lieutenant Kuznetsov reasoned philosophically - his career was just beginning, and this was far from his last assignment. It would seem, what kind of career is there when there is war all around? But even such thoughts visited the people who became the prototypes of the heroes of the story “Hot Snow.”

The summary should be supplemented by the fact that Drozdovsky immediately dotted the i’s: he was not going to remember the cadet era, where both lieutenants were equal. Here he is the battery commander, and Kuznetsov is his subordinate. At first, calmly reacting to such life metamorphoses, Kuznetsov begins to quietly grumble. He doesn’t like some of Drozdovsky’s orders, but discussing orders in the army, as you know, is prohibited, and therefore the young officer has to come to terms with the current state of affairs. Part of this irritation was facilitated by the obvious attention to the commander of the medical instructor Zoya, who deep down in his soul Kuznetsov himself liked.

Motley crew

Focusing on the problems of his platoon, the young officer completely dissolves in them, studying the people he was to command. The people in Kuznetsov’s platoon were mixed. What images did Bondarev describe? “Hot Snow,” a brief summary of which will not convey all the subtleties, describes in detail the stories of the fighters.

For example, Sergeant Ukhanov also studied at the Aktobe Artillery School, but due to a stupid misunderstanding he did not receive an officer rank. Upon arrival at the unit, Drozdovsky began to look down on him, considering him unworthy of the title of Soviet commander. Lieutenant Kuznetsov, on the contrary, perceived Ukhanov as an equal, maybe because of petty revenge against Drozdovsky, or maybe because Ukhanov was really a good artilleryman.

Another subordinate of Kuznetsov, Private Chibisov, already had a rather sad combat experience. The unit where he served was surrounded, and the private himself was captured. And gunner Nechaev, a former sailor from Vladivostok, amused everyone with his uncontrollable optimism.

Tank strike

While the battery was moving towards the designated line, and its fighters were getting to know each other and getting used to each other, in strategic terms the situation at the front changed dramatically. This is how events develop in the story “Hot Snow”. A summary of Manstein’s operation to liberate the encircled 6th Army can be conveyed as follows: a concentrated tank strike end-to-end between two Soviet armies. The fascist command entrusted this task to the master of tank breakthroughs. The operation had a loud name - “Winter Thunderstorm”.

The blow was unexpected and therefore quite successful. The tanks entered the two armies end-to-end and penetrated 15 km into the Soviet defensive formations. General Bessonov receives a direct order to localize the breakthrough in order to prevent tanks from entering the operational space. To do this, Bessonov’s army is being reinforced with a tank corps, making it clear to the army commander that this is the last reserve of Headquarters.

The Last Frontier

The line to which Drozdovsky’s battery advanced was the last. It is here that the main events about which the work “Hot Snow” is written will take place. Arriving at the scene, the lieutenant receives orders to dig in and prepare to repel a possible tank attack.

The army commander understands that Drozdovsky’s reinforced battery is doomed. The more optimistic divisional commissar Vesnin disagrees with the general. He believes that thanks to the high fighting spirit soviet soldiers will survive. A dispute arises between the officers, as a result of which Vesnin goes to the front line to encourage the soldiers preparing for battle. The old general does not really trust Vesnin, deep down considering his presence at the command post to be unnecessary. But he has no time to conduct psychological analysis.

“Hot Snow” continues with the fact that the battle at the battery began with a massive bomber raid. The first time they come under bombs, most of the soldiers are afraid, including Lieutenant Kuznetsov. However, having pulled himself together, he realizes that this is only a prelude. Very soon he and Lieutenant Drozdovsky will have to put all the knowledge they were given at school into practice.

Heroic Efforts

Self-propelled guns soon appeared. Kuznetsov, together with his platoon, bravely takes the battle. He is afraid of death, but at the same time he feels disgust for it. Even a brief summary of “Hot Snow” allows you to understand the tragedy of the situation. The tank destroyers sent shell after shell at their enemies. However, the forces were not equal. After some time, all that was left of the entire battery was one serviceable gun and a handful of soldiers, including both officers and Ukhanov.

There were fewer and fewer shells, and the soldiers began to use bunches of anti-tank grenades. When attempting to blow up a German self-propelled gun, young Sergunenkov dies, following Drozdovsky’s order. Kuznetsov, throwing away his chain of command in the heat of battle, accuses him of the senseless death of a fighter. Drozdovsky takes the grenade himself, trying to prove that he is not a coward. However, Kuznetsov holds him back.

And even in battle there are conflicts

What does Bondarev write about next? “Hot snow,” a brief summary of which we present in the article, continues with the breakthrough of German tanks through Drozdovsky’s battery. Bessonov, seeing the desperate situation of Colonel Deev’s entire division, is in no hurry to bring his tank reserve into battle. He does not know whether the Germans used their reserves.

And the battle was still going on at the battery. Medical instructor Zoya dies senselessly. This makes a very strong impression on Lieutenant Kuznetsov, and he again accuses Drozdovsky of the stupidity of his orders. And the surviving fighters are trying to get hold of ammunition on the battlefield. The lieutenants, taking advantage of the relative calm, organize assistance to the wounded and prepare for new battles.

Tank reserve

Just at this moment, the long-awaited reconnaissance returns, which confirms that the Germans have brought all their reserves into battle. The soldier is sent to the observation post of General Bessonov. The army commander, having received this information, orders his last reserve, the tank corps, to enter the battle. To speed up his exit, he sends Deev towards the unit, but he, running into German infantry, dies with weapons in his hands.

It was a complete surprise for Hoth, as a result of which the breakthrough of German forces was localized. Moreover, Bessonov receives orders to develop his success. The strategic plan was a success. The Germans pulled all their reserves to the site of Operation Winter Storm and lost them.

Hero Awards

Watching the tank attack from his OP, Bessonov is surprised to notice a single gun, which is also firing at German tanks. The general is shocked. Not believing his eyes, he takes out all the awards from the safe and, together with his adjutant, goes to the position of Drozdovsky’s destroyed battery. “Hot Snow” is a novel about the unconditional masculinity and heroism of people. That, regardless of their regalia and ranks, a person must fulfill his duty without worrying about rewards, especially since they themselves find heroes.

Bessonov is amazed at the resilience of a handful of people. Their faces were smoked and burned. There are no insignia visible. The army commander silently took the Order of the Red Banner and distributed it to all the survivors. Kuznetsov, Drozdovsky, Chibisov, Ukhanov and an unknown infantryman received high awards.