The genre of historical novels about the Great Patriotic War in the Mari literature in the first post-war years

Belyaeva Tatyana Nikolaevna PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Language Speech Communication 424039, Russia, Republic of Mari El, Yoshkar-Ola, Druzhby str., 77, sq. 113 beljaeva1978@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

During the Great Patriotic War, almost all members of the Union of writers of the Mari ASSR joined the ranks of the defenders of the Motherland. Having exchanged a pen for a bayonet, they did not leave creative activity. Poems (M. Kazakov "Andrey Vershinin", G. Matyukovsky "Suicide Bomber and I", V. Rozhkin "Dear Fellow Countrymen", etc.), essays and documentary stories (A. Berezin "For the Motherland") quickly began to appear on the pages of Mari newspapers ("Mari Commune", "Mari Pravda") and in the almanac "For the Motherland".Alexey Gromov", S. Nikolaev "To the last cartridge", N. Lekain "Letter", etc.), short stories-sketches (N. Ilyakov "Lieutenant Reut", "Dogfight", "Under the Tank", etc.), journalistic essays (M. Bolshakov "Sergey Suvorov", P. Shorsky"Daughter of the Mari people", G. Ersky "Feat of the Guardsman", etc.), novels ("K. Belyaev "Patriots", K. Vasin "Akcheri", etc.), dramaturgical works (p. Nikolaev "The girl in the greatcoat", "On the shore of the Ileti", etc.) about the heroism and courage of brave soldiers bravely defending the homeland from fascist invaders at the front of the camp; about the invincible spirit of the defenders of the rear.

The appearance of a major genre (novels about the Great Patriotic War) in Mari literature dates back to the post-war years. Although it appeared in Soviet literature much earlier. As many literary critics (Y. Bondarev, M. Kuznetsov, A. Bocharov, etc.) note, the first stage occurred during the war years and the next few years ("Spring on the Oder" by E. Kazakevich, "Young Guard" by A. Fadeev, "Volokolamsk Highway" by A. Beck, etc.), when prose writers admired heroism, praised feats. At the second stage (the turn of the 1950s and 1960s), former front-line soldiers "started talking", summarizing the whole trench severity of the war ("In July 1941" by Yu. Bondarev). And in the 1960s, a pure genre of historical novel appeared, close to chronicle narration, based on real events or documentary basis, with a closer interest in the humanistic problems of "man and war", "man against war" ^{[1, p. 43]}, as an opposition of war and peace ("The Living and the Dead" K. Simonov, "Hot Snow" by Y. Bondarev, "In August of the forty-fourth" by V. Bogomolov, etc.). But according to the fair statement of M. M. Kuznetsov, this division is conditional, "because a number of phenomena do not fit into these rigid frameworks (for example, the work of such a large and interesting prose writer as Vasil Bykov, boldly continues and develops in modern prose those features that were characteristic of the best books of the "second birth of military prose")" ^{[6, p. 106]}.

It should be noted that in the national literatures of the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals, the process of forming a novel form from small and medium-sized genres of fiction about the war ended around the second half of the 1950s, when front-line writers returned to literary creativity. As for the concept of a novel about war (or a military novel), we agree with the opinion of researcher Dukhan Ya. S., who claims that this term is "largely conditional; it is primarily a kind of historical novel; it is a work in the center of which are a person, his fate, his character, which are revealed on the material of military events" ^{[2, p. 3]}.

N. Lekain's novel "Kugu saryn tulyshtyzho" ("In the Fire of the Great War") is the first major historical work of the post–war period.

In the novel "Kugu saryn tulyshtyzho" ("In the Fire of the Great War"), N. Lekain managed to show how the character of the younger generation (who graduated from the institute, university yesterday; outlined big plans for the peaceful construction of a communist society), brought up on the ideals of humanism, patriotism and multinational friendship of peoples, is changing in conditions of deadly struggle. "Saryshte aydemyn mogai ulmyzho rash lectesh. – he writes in the author's digression: Tudyn pe?gydylykshe ale lushkydylyksho, cholgalykshe ala a?yralykshe – chylazhat shincha onchylno liesh. Aydeme shizhdym, shumdymo ogyl. It seems e?, ketch tudo cholga lije ale u?ysho, saryshte ludesh, but ikte is a shagalrak, and weight is a chotrak. Tidige ilyshym yoratym gych lektyn shoga. Aideme ik gana vele shochesh da ik kurym gina ila. Shochde kodyn ogyl gyn, kolymo dech ok code, but kok gana ok kolo. Ilysh nimo dechat sherge, and frontyshto ulmo godym tudo sherge dechat sherge da sylne dechat sylne. Tyshan ilyshyn synge aydemylan nigunamse dech rash shizhaltesh, vet tyshte putynek ilysh verch credalmash kaya. Elyn patriotsho shke rodinage verch ilyshyzhym nigunam ok chamane, and coward lach shke ilyshyzhe nergen gyn shona, tudlan shke kovashtyzhe gyn sherge" ^{[8, pp. 20-21]} ("In war, man manifests more fully. Everything is in plain sight here: firmness or weakness, bravery or stupidity. After all, a person is not heartless. Any person, whether he is brave or meek, is afraid in war, but one is less, the other is more. It depends on how much you love life. A person lives and is born only once. Once born, then he will die – they don't die twice. Life is the most precious thing, and at the front it is invaluable. Here everyone, more than ever and nowhere, learns the price of life, because it is here that the struggle for life is going on. A patriot will not regret his life for the motherland, but a coward only thinks about it, he only cares about his own skin"). (Here and further the translation from Mari is our –TB).

The work itself was really created on the fronts of the war: the author wrote it in dugouts and trenches, and then, in the form of separate chapters, sent it for review to the writers' organization of the republic, which was chaired by S. N. Nikolaev. In one of the letters to him, he said that he had sent 21 chapters ("Anya") of the novel in eight packages and shared his plans – the whole novel would consist of 38 chapters: "He was born under fire. In winter, when I was working on a novel, while in the car, a heavy shell fell fifty meters away from me, where the tent of the wounded was located. The tent was thrown into the air, and a pile of shapeless bodies remained in place of sixty wounded. The car in which I was sitting was struck in five places" [Nikolaev S. N. Tulan pagytym sharnalten = Remembering the fiery years // Mari Commune. 1979. April 19]. The novel was first published as a separate book in 1948. It included two parts of the work, the third, the final part, was published later. The novel became the second book (although according to the plot narrative – the third) included in the trilogy.

The former participant of this great battle (N. Lekain) moved the scene of action far beyond the borders of the republic, to the front. This was new for the newly "rising to its feet" Mari literary literature. Such an unusual situation interested the writer himself "with the freshness of the problem statement and gave him the opportunity to create an original work of national literature, to get away from the literary template" ^{[9, p. 227]}. The plot of the novel takes place in 1941-1942, when partisan detachments operated in the conditions of forced retreat of Soviet army units in the territory occupied by enemies. The main goal of the writer is to depict the determination of the people to fight the enemy to the end: "The writer reveals the essence of the character of our people with terse laconic phrases: inner composure, a firm intention to avenge the atrocities of the enemy. The author's remark "men clenched their fists" reinforces the idea of the people's firm determination to fight the enemy to the victorious end" ^{[10, p. 242]}. The multinational image of the Soviet people is highlighted through the individual actions of people of different generations. The universal national patriotic spirit and heroism come to the fore of the writer's interest. There is no specific protagonist in the work, uniting all the storylines, whose fate would contribute to the disclosure of the problematic and ideological world of the novel. Perhaps that's why the book was left unfinished.

The tendency to betray the national movement against fascism is also observed in the Mordovian (I. Antonov "In the United family"), Udmurt (T. Arkhipov "By the Ludzinka River"), Chuvash (K. Turkhan "Village in vetlakh") literatures. Comparing the anti-humanistic and barbaric nature of the German invaders with the patriotism and heroism of Soviet soldiers allows us to reveal the spiritual and moral superiority of the defenders of the fatherland.

The ideological and thematic originality of V. Ivanov's novel "Tutan" ("Storm").

Since the 1960s, writers have taken a new approach to writing works about the war. The fate of a specific, individualized personality is brought to the fore, the proof of which in Mari literature was V. Ivanov's novel "Tutan" ("Storm"). In 1965, after the publication of the novel, some critics (S. Ya. Chernykh "Romanyshte – tutan sar" = "In the novel – a destructive war" // Mari Commune. 1970. July 2; A. Michurin-Azmekey ""Tutan" nergen shonymash" = Reflections on the "Storm"" // Mari Commune. 1965. December 28; V. N. Lyubimov "Saresh shuaraltyn" = "Hardened in war" // Mari Commune. 1965. December 28) reproached the prose writer for not reflecting the military actions in enough depth on the pages of the narrative. Nevertheless, the slightly superficial depiction of some battle scenes observed in the work allowed the writer to create a difficult military situation, reveal the fortitude of the heroes, convey the depth of their experiences. In V. Ivanov's novel, the actions and deeds of each hero are explained by deep inner motivation, personal representation of patriotism, humanism, duty, honor and conscience. For example, the image of the main character Eric Murashov, built on the writer's own memories of his combat youth (he graduated from a military school during the war, the front-line life of the novelist passed through all of Russia and Romania), is closest to the writer. Although the young man goes to the front with formed views (calm, confident in his abilities and rightness), but his character undergoes significant changes throughout the narrative. A holistic representation of the military and post-war reality, the identification of moral values in the character of the main characters, the description of their further destinies was planned by the novelist in the second part of the work, but it turned out to be unrealized due to his premature death.

At the same time, it should be noted that the master of lyrical and psychological prose, V. Ivanov, subtly revealing the individual in the character of the characters, at the same time finds out the features of the public in them: emphasizes courage, fearlessness in the fight against the enemy and boundless humanity towards relatives and friends (the image of Sergei Kozhlaev), humanism (Eric Murashov), patriotism (Elena Tanygina), trustfulness to people (Svetlana Aidarova), etc. However, the characters of some of their antipodes (Albert Orlov, Marina Varaksina) are static, the motives of their actions are not always convincing, justified. They are often guided only by misconceptions and concepts of morality, honor, and conscience that they have learned earlier.

The events and actions in the novel take place both at the front and in the rear, but the image of life in the Mari village is presented more convincingly, as is its impact on the formation of the characters' characters. In this regard, the image of Kolyusha, the son of the chairman of the collective farm Vasily Petrovich, is interesting. The young man, pampered by his mother since childhood, grew up, became naive, selfish. The writer consistently proves how improper upbringing affected his moral character – being afraid of the upcoming difficulties, he ran away from the recruiting station, became a deserter. "Sergey tygai ogyl yle, – Vasily Petrovich kok ergyzhym shincha onchylnyzho uzhesh. – Mutym kolyshtsho kushko. Vashtares nigunamat, ik shomakymat oy kalase. Yes, vursenzhat washed. Ala-kuze shke semynzhak ushym pogysh, shotan liye. Tudo nigunamat shylshe ok lii da shochmo achazhym ok chumal yle. Ik eshyshtak kok turlo e? kushkesh. Molan tyge? Kushto yo?ylysh liyynam? Vaslicham kidysh nalin kertyn washed – tide ikte; Kolyush avazhym gina palen, and my ordyzh e? liyynam – tide kokymsho. And kumshyzho – ynde chyla vera mylam mutym kuchyman" ^{[4, p. 289]} ("Sergei was not like that, – Vasily Petrovich introduced two sons. – I grew up obedient. Never contradicted. And I didn't scold him. Somehow he grew up, became serious. He would never have become a deserter, and he would not have let his own father down. Two different sons grow up in the same family. What's wrong? Where was I wrong? Did not rein in Vasilisa – this, first of all. Kolyush only obeyed his mother, and I was a stranger – this, secondly. And, thirdly, it's all my fault, I have to answer"). To make amends somehow, the chairman sells a barn, a closet; buys grain for the collective farm with part of the proceeds, donates the rest to the defense fund, goes to work in the labor front himself.

If Kolyush's moral "fall" is explained by his own internal and external passive attitude towards society, which has had a difficult ordeal, then Albert Orlov's "decomposition" is psychologically justified by other factors: careerism, selfishness, the desire for profit and fame.

In general, it must be admitted that the Mari prose writer managed to individualize even minor characters with negative character traits. The author's attention was focused not so much on describing the events of the war, as on depicting the motives of moral and immoral acts, the origins of heroic behavior and betrayal. Such a narrative is characteristic of the literary literature of the peoples of the Ural-Volga region, continuing the traditions of Soviet prose. For example, in the novel by the Mordovian writer K. Abramov "Smoke above the Ground" (1966), the narrative is also divided into two plans: a description of the life of the Mordovian village during the war and tracing the fates of the heroes at the front. The versatility of this work "affected the organic interweaving of pictures of the front and rear, different storylines associated with the fate of a whole circle of heroes" ^{[3, pp. 42-43]}. The Mordovian novelist, like V. Ivanov, pays great attention to the depiction of various types of characters, psychological factors of behavior. Revealing the relationship of the characters, he also strives to endow each with individual qualities, convincingly draws the life principles of each, without bypassing their shadow sides. "When creating individual images, he achieved genuine psychologism" ^{[7, p. 104]}.

Conclusions

Thus, the schematism in the depiction of the life and fate of the characters of the work, characteristic of the first novels about the Great Patriotic War for both the Mari and the national literatures of the peoples of Russia, is explained by the insufficient creative experience of the writers. Sometimes, in the abundance of real facts of the exploits of Soviet soldiers, the in-depth description of the most heroic personality was lost, although the author's attention to the inner world of the characters already began to prevail over the chronicle plot description. It was only in the post-war period that many prose writers of the major novel genre managed to find those life conflicts that made it possible to psychologically accurately depict the dialectic of the human soul in war, to comprehend the origins of the national patriotic upsurge, to show the deep processes of contemporary reality. The movement of the inner world of the heroes of the works, the motives of their behavior, of course, are due to historical time. The prose of N. Lekain and V. Ivanov is characterized by a synthesis of realistic narrative with high heroic pathos, with a romantic author's digression about the Motherland and native land. In addition, it, like any military prose, has "a huge educational potential" ^{[11, p. 113]}, "prepares the reader for trials not only by extreme situations, but also by the harsh everyday life of everyday life" ^{[5, p. 420]}. Currently, books about the war do not lose their relevance, they are in demand, both for the formation of a highly moral personality, and for the knowledge of complex events of modern reality, the origins of which go back to the past.