Letters of a Siberian soldier - a source on the history of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

Savenko Elena Nal'evna ORCID: 0000-0001-9352-8522 PhD in History Leading Researcher, State Public Scientific and Technical Library, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 630102, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Novosibirsk, Voskhod str., 15, office 406 helensavv@yandex.ru Troyak Irina Sergeevna ORCID: 0000-0002-3325-4280 PhD in History Senior Researcher, State Public Scientific and Technical Library, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 630102, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Novosibirsk, Voskhod str., 15, office 405 Troyak@spsl.nsc.ru

Minakov Aleksandr Grigor'evich ORCID: 0000-0002-5271-5230 PhD in History Junior Researcher, State Public Scientific and Technical Library, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 630110, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Novosibirsk, Voskhod str., 15, office 406 minakov@spsl.nsc.ru

Introduction

Letters are one of the most common types of ego documents studied not only by historians, but also by other specialists in the social sciences and humanities - cultural scientists, linguists, literary critics, psychologists. At the same time, researchers pay the closest attention to the evidence of the epistolary genre, written at particularly difficult moments in the life of society. The value of such documents is obvious to contemporaries already at the time of creation, but over time their information potential does not lose its relevance. In this sense, the letters of the period of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 belong precisely to those unique documents, thanks to the identification and introduction into scientific circulation of which new facets of its history open up.

The letters of the combatants were regularly published during the Great Patriotic War in the central and local press, were issued in separate collections ^{[25, 26, 27, 28]}. The purpose of such publications was to raise morale and reduce the level of tension in society, therefore, letters were selected for the press, which contained calls for the mobilization of all forces, demonstrated readiness for self-sacrifice in the name of the liberation of the Motherland and confidence in victory. The paradigm of studying the epistolary heritage of the Great Patriotic War, primarily as a source confirming the heroism of Soviet soldiers, the unity of the front and rear, persisted throughout the Soviet period. The epistolary legacy of the Great Patriotic War was especially actively published on the anniversary dates from the Victory Day ^{[5, 10, 11, 24, 29, 35, 36,]}.

The change in the vector of social development in the 1990s expanded the range of studies of "man at war". The subject of the study were anthropological ^{[18, 38]}, moral ^{[13, 15, 22]}, psychological ^{[14, 21, 32, 33]} aspects of the military past. In the 2010s. in the everyday life of Russian historians, the concept of "ego-document" began to be used, focusing on the presence of the personal Self in texts ^{[12, p. 194-195; 39, p. 15]}. As the researchers note, such a shift in optics from fitting one's biography into general historical narratives to individual experiences is characteristic of ego documents dedicated to military events. In this case, "we are talking about the antagonism between two attitudes – state-patriotic ("Die for the motherland, hero!”) and universal (“In no case do not die – survive!”). The humanistic potential of ego-documents is manifested in the ability to see history through the eyes of a "simple" person" ^{[16, p. 9]}. New approaches to understanding the history of the Great Patriotic War have deepened the information potential of frontline epistolary complexes and made it possible to use this group of ego documents in the analysis of military everyday life as a whole ^{[1, 17, 19, 34, 41]} and its individual aspects: frontline and rear life ^{[4, 20]}, family relations during the war ^{[2, 37]}.

In this context, one of such unique sources of information is the letters of the Siberian soldier F. S. Merkuryev (1901-1945), discovered in the State Archive of the Novosibirsk region ^{[7, 8, 9]}. The epistolary complex consists of almost 300 letters written by him in 1941-1943 to his mother and wife. Previously, these documents were not introduced into scientific circulation. In the process of analysis, scientific description and evaluation of the informational and social significance of the source, valuable information was obtained revealing various aspects of life at the front and in the rear, as well as allowing to trace the combat path of the 49th Cavalry Division formed in Siberia.

Letters of F. S. Merkuryev – chronicle of military events

Fyodor Sergeyevich Merkuryev worked at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical Institute before the war – he taught a course on ancient history and the history of the Middle Ages, was the dean of the Faculty of History. On July 18, 1941, he was drafted into the Red Army. F. S. Merkuryev wrote letters to his relatives regularly from the first day of departure from Novosibirsk. Along with personal emotional information, they contain valuable information that sheds light on a number of wartime events.

The data contained in F. S. Merkuryev's messages allow us to reconstruct the details of the history of the 49th Cavalry Division in which he served. The letters show that the formation of this military unit took place in July – early September 1941. The division headquarters was located in Omsk, and its main staff was based in a military camp 18 km from the city in the village of Cheryomushki ^{[7, l. 36 ob]}. The correspondence of the summer of 1941 gives an idea of the complex of moral, psychological and military training of the division's personnel before being sent to the front. It included regular lectures on the essence of current events ("The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People", "Fascism is the enemy of humanity"), and a demonstration of patriotic films ("Minin and Pozharsky"), and combat training events ^{[7, L. 12, 29]}. The study of the epistolary heritage of F. S. Merkuryev allows us to trace in detail the path of the connection to the front. On September 15, 1941, the division was "unexpectedly" sent by rail to the west "where it is unknown" ^{[7, L. 52-53]}. The letter, written two days later, specifies the destination of the compound – the city of Kineshma. The division arrived in this ancient Volga city on September 24, 1941, leaving behind Kurgan, Sarapul, Kazan, Murom, Ivanovo ^{[7, l. 55, 57, 59, 61, 63-64]}. The division was in Kineshma until October 3, 1941. During this time, it was completed with people and weapons, and the personnel underwent additional military training. 

The combat path of the 49th Cavalry Division is also reflected in the letters of F. S. Merkuryev. It is clear from the correspondence that the unit arrived at the front on October 6, 1941. Donbass became the arena of its military operations. According to the names of the settlements mentioned in the letters, the movement of the division in eastern Ukraine can be traced: Krasny Liman, Slavyansk, Svatovo ^{[7, l. 83 vol., 85, 93]}. In addition, the texts of the messages give an idea of the nature of military operations. Judging by them, in the autumn of 1941, units of the 49th Cavalry Division conducted stubborn defensive battles. By the end of the year, the situation was turned around, as evidenced by the lines of a letter dated December 20, 1941: "Military affairs are going well with us. The Germans <...> are retreating, we are moving forward after them" ^{[7, l. 101 vol.]}.

The analysis of correspondence suggests that from January to March 1942, the division participated in the Borvenkovo-Lozovskaya offensive operation. "The Germans are systematically beaten out by our troops from one after another settlements and we are moving West, forward," F. S. Merkuryev informs his family on January 22, 1942 ^{[8, l. 16]}. "The Germans, stubbornly clinging to every locality, are beaten out by us and roll back to the west. We are moving forward," he writes on February 17, 1942 ^{[8, l. 23]}. Reports of successes at the front were received until mid-May 1942 (recall that on May 12, 1942, the offensive of Soviet troops, known as the Kharkov operation, began; the 49th Cavalry Division also took part in it). "We are driving the Krauts to the west as quickly as possible," F. S. Merkuryev shares his joy with his family in a letter dated May 15, 1942 ^{[8, l. 90]}.

After that, the correspondence ended. In the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense there is a message about the irretrievable losses of the 49th Cavalry Division, which states that the assistant chief of the 1st department of the staff, Senior Lieutenant Fyodor Sergeyevich Merkuryev "22.27.5-42 was surrounded by the enemy along with a part in the Kharkov direction, did not leave the encirclement, part was disbanded, information on him none were received" ^[40].

For almost 8 months, nothing was known about the fate of F. S. Merkuryev. He was listed as missing and was excluded from the Red Army lists. But in February 1943 , his family began to receive regular news again. These messages contain valuable information about the events that in the memoirs are called the "Raisin-Barvenkov meat grinder" ^{[6, pp. 28-40]}, and in historical studies – the "bloody Kharkov catastrophe" ^{[3, 23]}.

In one of the letters of F. S. Merkuryev, the circumstances of the last battle of the units of the 49th Cavalry Division are described. "On May 26, my service was defeated in heavy fighting. I was shell-shocked by an aerial bomb, covered with earth and rubble. <...> I woke up – the fight was boiling in full. The Germans cut off our escape route in Izyum-Barvenkovo completely and surrounded many, including us. Striving to break through to their own did not lead to anything. All means of struggle ran out and with the onset of night we decided to go to our own in groups and singly through the ring...", wrote F. S. Merkuryev ^{[9, l. 31]}.

Interesting information about the fate of the author of the letters after the tragic defeat of the Red Army near Kharkov. It is known from them that F. S. Merkuryev, like tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers who tried to escape from the infernal cauldron, was captured. For some time he, along with a group of surviving colleagues, was in a prisoner of war camp in Barvenkovo. The conditions of detention in it, judging by the letters, were monstrous, and Fyodor Sergeyevich firmly decided to escape. He managed to carry out his plans during the convoy of prisoners of war to the Lozovaya railway station for shipment to Germany. From that moment began the long return of F. S. Merkuryev to his own. Trying to catch up with the rapidly retreating Red Army troops, the Siberian warrior walked more than 1000 km. This difficult and dangerous path through the occupied territory is reflected in his letters. Due to the contusion suffered and being in captivity, the speed of F. S. Merkuryev's advance was small. He managed to cross the front only in January 1943 during the Red Army offensive on Voronezh.

The whole of 1943 he spent most of his time in hospitals, occasionally getting into reserve military units. The numbers of field posts and military units indicated on the envelopes allow to trace the movement of Fyodor Sergeevich. The departure address of the first postcard received after a long break is PPS 1855 v/h 209. According to the "Directory of field postal stations of the Red Army in 1941-1945" (https://www.soldat.ru/pps.htm ) this is the number of the military unit of the NKVD Troops of the rear Guard headquarters of the Voronezh Front. The specified address appears on mail poisonings until the end of April 1943 . It is noteworthy that in the texts of letters of a later time, F. S. Merkuryev informed the family that he had been "in hospitals since the beginning of 1943" ^{[9, l. 77]}. He also mentioned the location of these hospitals: the village of Kalach, the village of Gribanovka, Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region ^{[9, l. 32 vol.]}. It can be assumed that after entering the location of the Red Army, the officer passed a special check of counterintelligence agencies, but because of his extremely exhausted condition, which is evidenced by the lines "I could not eat anything for almost 2 months until April 17," he was in medical institutions of the People's Commissariat of Defense ^{[9, l. 8]}.

In May 1943, the return address of the correspondence changed to "Saratov, hospital 1680, second building". A significant part of the family correspondence of this time is devoted to the restoration of lost military documents. Since June 1943, the sender's address has been PPS 26110, which stands for 66 reserve rifle Regiment of the 9th reserve rifle Brigade. The location of this military unit was G. Pugachev. In one of the letters of this time, F. S. Merkuryev informs his family that he "received confirmation of the military rank from the People's Commissariat of Defense – senior lieutenant" and an order "to leave for the city of Kovrov, Ivanovo region, at the disposal of a cavalry unit" ^{[9, l. 21]}. In August, correspondence began to arrive from the reservists' camp near Kovrov. However, the officer's torn body could not stand the field conditions and soon F. S. Merkuryev got into the evacuation hospital No. 2991 of Kovrov (v / h 010). From there, he was sent for treatment to the evacuation hospital of Kislovodsk, whose address is "v/h 780 5th ward". F. S. Merkuryev spent two months in this medical institution. After the relative stabilization of his health in November 1943, the officer was transferred to a military unit with the postal address of PPS 89519. As it turned out, this abbreviation was designated the 26th separate regiment of the reserve of the command staff, which was stationed in the city of Maykop.

Health problems and frequent travel did not break the spirit of the Siberian warrior. In one of the hospital letters, he writes: "All this will be arranged and I will be able to get the opportunity to participate in battles" ^{[9, l. 41]}, but these hopes were not fulfilled. In December 1943, F. S. Merkuryev was declared unfit for military service and was soon dismissed from the Red Army due to disability. Returning to Novosibirsk, F. S. Merkuryev spent most of the time in medical institutions. He died on April 17, 1945, just three weeks before the long-awaited victory.

The everyday life of wartime in the letters of a Siberian warrior

The letters of F. S. Merkuryev are a multifaceted historical source. They contain not only unique information about military events, but also information about the everyday life and daily life of Red Army soldiers during the Great Patriotic War. In the correspondence of the Siberian soldier, there are descriptions of uniforms, food supplies and food ration, the amount of the monetary certificate is indicated. "The day before yesterday, we were given a small ration for money: ? kg of butter, 2 cans of canned meat, ? kg of sweets and 3 packs of cigarettes. <...> They promised to give more sugar," he writes on September 2, 1941. from a military camp near Omsk ^{[7, l. 26 vol.]}. 

F. S. Merkuryev's reports on security at the front are optimistic. However, the analysis of correspondence shows that the situation with the supply of various types of allowances was ambiguous. If the Siberian always spoke positively about nutrition during his stay at the front, then he had complaints about equipment for some time. "I would like to have a hat with ears – any – we have here, who wears what a lot, that's what they dress in. It would be nice to have leather mittens – any kind and a sheepskin coat, a sleeveless jacket under a greatcoat or with sleeves – an ordinary light one," he wrote on November 8, 1941. F. S. Merkuryev complained about the lack of winter uniforms in the future: "The only thing that is missing is warm clothes – hats, mittens and at least warm socks on his feet" (November 14, 1941) ^{[7, l. 93, 95 vol.]}. In 1942, judging by the letters, the situation changed: "... I have everything warm now – I'm not freezing at all" (January 7). It is significant that the recording was made when the weather conditions in this sector of the front were severe. F. S. Merkuryev wrote on January 18, 1942: "We have big frosts here, although less than Siberian ones. Today 30-35°" ^{[8, l. 15]}. Mentions of severe frosts at this time are also found in the memoirs of General D. I. Ryabyshev, commander of the 57th Army, who participated in the Barvenkovo–Lozovskaya offensive operation in January 1942 ^{[31, pp. 147, 149]}.

The improvement of clothing provision was also noted in later letters: "Clothes are also safe now, good uniforms: warm jacket, woolen sweatshirt, warm German stockings, German underwear, including silk, overcoat, felt boots, boots, warm hat – I have all this" (March 3, 1942)" ^{[8, L. 39]}. It is of interest that the German uniforms, according to the front-line soldier, were inferior to the domestic ones and were not suitable for Russian weather conditions. In one of the letters, a Siberian soldier writes: "I had Fritz's underwear. But it is worse than ours, and I replaced it with an ordinary military one, but ours" ^{[8, l. 49]}.

The details of the daily service of a staff officer of a cavalry division are interesting. From the letters it turns out that his work regime was very stressful. F. S. Merkuryev describes his schedule to his wife like this: "I work <...> a lot. Sometimes, and this is most often, both day and night, often without undressing and in a greatcoat for whole weeks" ^{[8, l. 38 vol.]}. It is noteworthy that his work was not limited to interrogating prisoners, translating and reviewing captured documents. The functions of F. S. Merkuryev included participation in obtaining information about the state at the front, which is confirmed by the texts of letters: "... I travel from one place to another continuously, more often at night than during the day. He merged with the horse into one whole" ^{[6, l. 90]}.

The help of the rear to the front is reflected in the correspondence. The officer wrote with gratitude about the food parcels coming from different parts of the country. In March 1942, for example, F. S. Merkuryev informed his family: "... I received a gift, they say they sent us all from the Caucasus: a bag of products: chicken, a little sausage, 1 kg of gingerbread, 3 pieces of soap, a little soy candy and something else - yes, tobacco and a pack of cigarettes. Thanks for that, someone does not forget and thinks about us" ^{[8, l. 38 vol.]}.

Valuable information about everyday life in the rear is also recorded in the letters of the Siberian warrior. Some messages contain menus and prices of dishes in the rear canteens. On the eve of being sent to the front, for example, F. S. Merkuryev writes from Kineshma: "Borscht with meat costs 2-50, 2-70; the second is millet porridge in butter – 90 kopecks; cutlets with rice 2 rubles.; goulash – 4 rubles, etc." ^{[7, l. 73]}.

The prices of products in the markets of various rear cities are mentioned in the correspondence. It is valuable that the letters contain data for different years of the war. Analysis of the information shows that even in the deep rear, due to a significant increase in the cost of food, the food situation worsened during the war period. If in July 1941 at the Omsk bazaar oil cost 45-50 rubles, and "meat – 18 and above" ^{[7, l. 12]}, then in November 1944 at the Berdsk bazaar the price of these products was as follows: "... meat – 100 rubles, egg – 100 rubles, oil ? klgr – 120 rubles." ^{[9, L. 82]}.

With the sharp deterioration of economic living conditions during the Great Patriotic War, a significant part of the population had a problem of survival. For many citizens, the way out of the situation was individual gardening, in particular planting potatoes. References to this form of improving the financial condition of the family are present in the letters of F. S. Merkuryev.

The correspondence of the officer with his family also gives an idea of such a wartime everyday problem as "compaction" – the forced relocation of evacuated Siberians to apartments. Judging by the letters, the relationship between the natives and visitors was not easy. So, on July 22, 1941, F. S. Merkuryev wrote to his wife: "Survive, somehow, the apartment turmoil ... If there is still an opportunity, buy a tile" ^{[7, L. 7]}. On August 2 of the same year, he writes more openly: "Regarding the apartment. My standard of living space is preserved completely, so that there are not two people living there, but three – I am, so to speak, invisibly present among you. Here in Omsk, the living space was brought up to 4 sq. m. per capita. But they are not allowed to move in if the room is impassable, i.e. if it has a larger area than the norm. No one will ever be brought to you again" ^{[7, l. 20-20 vol.]}. Apparently, this is also caused by phrases from letters already in 1942. So, on March 8, Merkuryev writes: "You write me the name of your flatmate and the name of the manager – is he still or not?" ^{[8, L. 76]}, and on April 5, 1942: "You write me the name and affairs of your roommate" ^{[8, L. 62]}.

The letters highlight the hospital life and leisure of the soldiers who are being treated. "I am having fun listening to the radio and reading. <...> There is a cinema in the hospital," writes F. S. Merkuryev from Kislovodsk ^{[9, l. 48]}. The correspondence gives an idea of the repertoire of the films shown: "Masquerade", "Return", "I am a Chernomorets", "Great Citizen", "Alexander Parkhomenko" ^{[9, l. 48, 81, 82 vol.]}.

Conclusion

The frontline letters of F. S. Merkuryev have a huge information potential. They shed light on previously unknown episodes of military history, allow us to recreate the combat path of the 49th Cavalry Division formed in Siberia, to reveal the fate of its soldiers. The correspondence gives an idea of the specifics of military-field living conditions and other details of front-line daily life: food provision, uniforms, the amount of monetary allowance, connections with the rear. The information contained in the letters and personal assessments of events significantly complement the picture of everyday life in the rear. It can be confidently stated that the epistolary complex of the Siberian warrior is a valuable source for studying various aspects of the history of the Great Patriotic War.