The legendary novel of Alexander Fadeev "Young Guard" is dedicated to the heroic struggle of the youth of the Ukrainian city of Krasnodon with the Nazis. Having created an underground organization called Young Guard, boys and girls carried out subversive work. As a result of the betrayal, they were all captured by the Germans and executed after terrible tortures. After many years, the researchers found that Fadeev’s novel was distorted, costing freedom, life and honor to several members of the organization.
Alexander Fadeev
He grew up in a family of revolutionaries. He was engaged in revolutionary activities. He was a prominent party leader. But first of all, Fadeev is known as a talented writer. His first work - "Spill" - was the successful debut of the writer. The novel "The rout" brought him widespread success and recognition from readers. After its publication, Fadeev was already engaged not only in writing, but also in social activities, occupying a prominent place in the literary associations of Soviet writers.
During the war, Fadeev was a war correspondent. He was not afraid to visit the most dangerous sections of the front in order to collect interesting and necessary material for readers.
The most famous and resonant work of Fadeev - "The Young Guard". Brightly and talented, the author spoke about the history of an underground youth organization operating in the occupied by the Nazis Krasnodon in 1942 - early 1943.
The first version of the book was published in 1946 and became incredibly popular in the USSR and beyond. However, the party leadership did not approve of the novel. In his opinion, the role of the party in the activities of the Young Guard was not sufficiently shown in the novel. There is a version that Stalin personally pointed out to Fadeev ideological miscalculations.
Fadeev edited the novel, and its new version was published in 1951. He himself did not accept the changes. And his novel was introduced into the school curriculum, several generations of Soviet children studied at it.
“The young guard further strengthened the authority of Fadeev as a party and literary leader. He became the leader of the Union of Writers of the USSR, and in this post he enforced the party’s decisions regarding many writers and literary figures of the Soviet Union. With his direct participation, Akhmatov’s ability to publish and Zoshchenko, the workers of Leningrad State University were criticized in the press by Eichenbaum, which put an end to their literary activity in the USSR.
At the same time, he tried as best he could to help the disgraced writers Gumilyov, Pasternak, Platonov. Tried about retirement for him and the destroyed Zoshchenko.
During the Khrushchev thaw, Fadeev’s position was shaken. Many openly accused him of repressive actions against writers.
However, harder than any criticism, Fadeev was experiencing the inability to act in accordance with his convictions, the need to commit vile deeds in relation to his colleagues. He began to abuse alcohol, became depressed. "Conscience is tormenting. It's hard to live, Yura, with bloodied hands, " he told his close friend Yuri Libedinsky.
May 13, 1956, Alexander Fadeev committed suicide by shooting himself from a revolver. His dying letter, in which he expressed all his disappointment with the party’s activities in relation to Soviet literature, was published only in 1990.
Young Guard: Summary
1942 year. July. The small town of Krasnodon, Voroshilovgrad region.
Soviet troops retreated. Together with them, residents were trying to leave the city, which was about to be in the hands of the Germans. Few have succeeded. People did not have time to cross the Donets River - the crossing was already captured by the Germans - and were forced to return to the occupied city. Among them were Komsomol members Oleg Koshevoi, Ulyana Gromova, Zhora Arutyunyants, Ivan Zemnukhov. At the same time, Komsomolets Seryozha Tyulenin, who had already taken part in the battles, ended up in Krasnodon, he had two killed Germans. He was not going to stop. For various reasons, many Komsomol members, high school students, young workers, and students could not leave the city. All of them were united by hatred of the enemy and the desire to fight for the liberation of their hometown.
As in most occupied cities, party members were left in Krasnodon to organize underground work - Philipp Lyutikov and Matvey Shulga. They waited for instructions from Voroshilovgrad and studied the situation in the city.
Lyutikov got a job working for the Germans - so he was aware of the events. Through Volodya Osmukhin, whose family Philip had known for a long time and whom he invited to work in workshops, the party went out to Osmukhin's friends, and underground work began. A youth organization was formed, which was called the "Young Guard".
The guys took an oath of allegiance to the organization, promised to fight the enemy, not sparing life. The organization was subject to strict discipline. Oleg Kosheva was chosen as the secretary.
A little later, Yevgeny Stakhovich, who had previously fought in the partisan detachment, Lyubov Shevtsova, who was sent to Krasnodon from Voroshilovgrad and many other young Krasnodonets, joined the "young guard".
Many party members who remained in Krasnodon were immediately arrested and executed - they were issued by policemen and enemies of the Soviet regime. Among them were the director of the mine, Valko and Matvey Shulga.
The Young Guard began to operate. Through Lyubov Shevtsova, the Young Guards contacted the underground headquarters in Voroshilovgrad and received assignments from there. The guys learned information about the Germans and their plans from various sources. Beauty and laughter, bright, artistic Lyuba easily met the Germans and heard and saw a lot. The Germans lodged in the Koshevs' house and Oleg, who knew German, eavesdropped on their conversations and passed them on to his associates. The children conducted propaganda and informational work - pasted leaflets and retyped reports, distributing them in crowded places. The policeman who gave the Germans Shulga and other communists was executed. They stole weapons from the Germans and collected them on the battlefield, then used them for their own purposes. They undermined the work of the Nazis on the recruitment of young people to work in Germany, and more specifically on the theft of young men and women in concentration camps. They attacked cars, killed Germans, took away goods. The Young Guards staged an explosion at the mine and the Germans could not mine coal and send it to Germany. The organization was effective, but it did not last long.
Before the New Year holidays, the guys robbed a truck with New Year's gifts and began to sell them on the market. There, the Nazis caught a boy with a pack of cigarettes from stolen gifts. The boy was not related to the Young Guard, he was simply instructed to sell cigarettes. He immediately admitted that he received this product from Stakhovich. On the same day, the first three Young Guards were arrested - Stakhovich, Moshkov and Zemnukhov.
As soon as this became known, all the Young Guards were ordered to leave the city and reliably take refuge. However, this did not work out for everyone. Many returned to the city when they could not find shelter, and some, due to their youth, excitement and carelessness, did not leave at all.
Meanwhile, under torture, Stakhovich began to testify and named the names of all members of the organization known to him. Mass arrests began. Almost all the Young Guards and their leaders found themselves in the dungeons of the Gestapo. This was facilitated by the testimonies of two girls who were not members of the organization and accidentally entered the Gestapo - Lyadskaya and Vyrikova, who were scared and told everything they knew and did not know.
Boys and girls were subjected to terrible torture. For several weeks, the Nazis tried to knock out from them information about the leaders of the underground, their plans, locations, but to no avail. In early February, all the underground were executed - they were thrown into the mine pit. Many are still alive. By this moment, they were already a little like people - they were so disfigured by torture. Before death, they sang.
Two weeks later, the Red Army entered Krasnodon. The bodies of the Young Guard took out of the mine. Parents of children and residents of the city fainted, seeing what they had done to their children, the harsh warriors who went through the most brutal battles and battles could not hold back their tears. The few surviving members of the organization and all the surviving residents of Krasnodon took part in the funeral of the Young Guard.
Five Young Guardsmen: Lyubov Shevtsova, Oleg Koshev, Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergey Tyulenin, Ulyana Gromova were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The remaining members of the organization were awarded orders and medals.
History of creation
After the war, Alexander Fadeev decided to write a novel about the exploit of young men and women in the small Ukrainian city of Krasnodon, who created an underground organization called Young Guard. All members of the organization were executed by the Nazis. Fadeev decided to perpetuate their struggle in his novel.
Even during the war, the writer traveled to Krasnodon, talked with residents, collected information, and a little later his article was published in Pravda, entitled Immortality, and was dedicated to the Young Guards.
The novel was published in 1946. In 1951, the second version of the novel was published.
Both readers and critics agree that Fadeev incredibly talented and vividly portrayed the Krasnodar underground, whose courage is admired and respected. But the novel brought not only fame to the heroes. As a result, some of the Young Guards and their families ended up in camps, their names were dishonored, and others received undeserved laurels.
