Otar IOSELIANI - poet in the city of actors
IN The premiere of Otar Ioseliani’s new film “Monday Morning”, which was awarded the “Silver Bear” of the “Berlinale 2003” and the “FIPRESCI” prize, took place at the Rolland cinema. “Try not to read the subtitles,” the author asked before the show. - Subtitles are for people who think that they can say something like that... that cannot be translated into an image...”
N Hateful Monday morning. It comes with vile regularity. To catch him, not to screw him up, you set four (!) alarm clocks. You look at the routine monotonous landscape outside the window. You get into a tattered jalopy and go to the factory. Dozens of “Monday’s children” just like you fall out of the bus. They ritualistically take out cigarettes, smoke in chorus and, as if on command, throw the cigarette butts into the trash can. Exactly under the categorical inscription on the factory gates: “Smoking is prohibited!”
The smoke from cigarettes turns into the pinkish haze of factory chimneys. At the factory, everything is made of iron: they cook, solder, carry iron. Even a lady is given an iron rose.
At home it’s about the same: my wife demands to fix a broken iron gutter. The sons are maniacally fixing something, constructing something, literally pushing you out of your own room. Only alone with the seascape can you experience some semblance of peace. And draw a tiny scarlet sail with a brush in the center of the endless blue of the sea.
But then one day you stop in front of the factory gates and... don’t put out your cigarette. Just a step to the side - and the ring of life set by the alarm clock is broken.
You can smoke, sit at an endless feast with friends, sing Russian, Italian, Georgian songs; drink endless wine - “the noblest drug”, visit your sick father and have an inspired glass with him. Feeling like Odysseus, you can visit not only the bored pyramids, but also the cherished dream of all travelers - the closed city of Venice.
A new friend will give you Venice. He will take you on a motorboat along the canals, have a picnic with songs on the seaside right outside the cemetery wall. Then you will sit on golden tiles warmed by the sun and see the city “floating” beneath you. Only a true friend can give such a royal gift.
But Monday will come, and, walking a friend to his work, you will see exactly the same factory, and workers throwing away their cigarettes right under the categorical sign “No smoking!”, and the monstrous outlines of pipes. Thus the long “weekend” will end, the “prodigal father” will return to his “deck”, to his native dusty jalopy.
We knew that the earth is round and people are similar to each other even without Ioseliani. But the fact that we are so painfully, caricaturedly similar, only he can tell. One hundred percent Georgian, so beloved in Russia, encouraged by the French, always welcome in both Tbilisi and Berlin. A true poet who graduated from the University of Mechanics and Mathematics. With inimitable ease, he translates ourselves from one language to another. That is why his films themselves do not need translation. That’s why the factory at the beginning of the new film is so reminiscent of the Georgian winery of old, memorable Soviet films. According to Ioseliani, a person takes on the “color” of his country. He can, of course, change it. But it's so sad.
Ioseliani’s new “pastoral,” as befits the pastoral “genre,” is a chain of barely connected, lightly painted paintings filled with sad humor.
At the press conference, the director said that all real comedies are sad. But it’s still better to try to forget what awaits us all and look at the world ironically. “The main thing is to find time to live, and where to live does not matter.”
The film is shot in the rhythm of a leisurely feast, when the musical phrase of one is picked up by everyone, the toaster drinks to the bottom, and the film, in which there are no extras - only soloists, is “sung” to the end.
By the way, about the soloists. Otar said that he does not look for professional actors, but finds his performers in a notebook. The best of the “non-professionals” is the director himself. He performs a brilliant acting sketch.
Residents of Venice, the scenery city, feel like genuine actors. Their spectators are crowds of tourists. The Marquis, played by Ioseliani, is a miser of Pushkin's style, but composed by the author with Rabelaisian generosity and Swiftian causticity. The miser is ready to “pose” and act out his performance in front of every visitor. In the city of “actors” he has no equal in acting.
Otar Ioseliani managed to carry his style through at least three cinematic eras, social catastrophes, across latitudes and meridians, without spilling a single drop of the divine “noble drug.” He taught us to appreciate the taste of “truth in cinema.” And since his first film, “April,” we have learned to look at the world “with one eye laughing and the other with sadness.”
Once the enemy discovers an escape, he usually sends an experienced team that specializes in tracking down people to chase the escapee. The escaped soldier uses movement that can help him avoid capture, and also takes measures to prevent him from being tracked down.
First of all, the soldier must determine the purpose of his movement, that is, a certain direction and place that will lead to salvation. He must then plan his route which will provide the greatest safety. This means that he should avoid meeting with military or civilians; places against which his silhouette will be visible; any kind of environment; command areas of terrain used by the enemy; roads, rivers, bridges and buildings (especially farms, as they usually have guard dogs). Instead, the soldier must use cover and camouflage techniques. He must avoid open spaces and move from one concealed position to another. Areas with undergrowth and low-growing plants are excellent places to hide, especially if mixed into a forested landscape.
For greater safety, a soldier should try to move mainly at night, finding or equipping shelters at the first rays of light and remaining in them throughout the day. The shelter must be well camouflaged. Although rescue shelters should be built in polar or desert environments, in temperate climates the shelter should remain as natural as possible, dense undergrowth being the ideal case. While in a shelter, a soldier must reduce his activities to a minimum. Staying still and breathing shallowly while lying face down reduces the level of odor emanating from a secluded shelter and reduces the likelihood of detection by sniffer dogs of the enemy.
The search team uses all available technology and capabilities to locate the escaped soldier. During SAS training on how to escape from captivity, a local infantry unit with night vision and heat direction finders, helicopters, sniffer dogs and all-terrain vehicles acts as a search team. Search participants are promised an extraordinary week's leave if they find SAS fighters. In order to hide from such forces, the latter use special counter-detection methods.
Movement using counter-detection technology involves leaving traces that would confuse the enemy and would be contrary to his technology of pursuit and interpretation. The primary goal of such a movement is to leave a mark as abnormal as possible. There are several methods for this:
Regularly, the soldier must make twisting movements around as many obstacles as possible, looping around trees several times, crossing walls and water streams, walking backwards for several hundred meters. Even if these measures do not throw the enemy off the trail, they will, at a minimum, greatly slow down his movement, forcing him to spend time deciphering the tracks.
Before crossing a road or water stream, a soldier must approach it at a right angle, and before reaching 100 m, change the direction of movement, approaching the road or stream at an angle of 45 degrees. When the stream is reached, the soldier must leave clear traces of his presence on the bank of the stream or at the edge of the road (for example, footprints). Then he must walk downstream 20-30 m and return to the point of entry into the stream and cross it at this point, leaving no trace of his presence on the other side.
When moving towards an open space, a soldier should approach it from the side of a large tree, walk past the tree, then walk across the open space for 2-3 m. Then he should stop, return along the path taken and go around the tree at an angle of 90 degrees and move in the other direction from an open area. The result is that the search party's attention (including dogs) is drawn to the open area, which is then more difficult to search.
The soldier should make maximum use of the rocky surfaces encountered to reduce the likelihood of leaving clear tracks that can be detected by pursuers.
By following these steps and avoiding leaving any other suspicious traces (such as lighting a fire), the soldier will be able to evade the best pursuers and will be safe.
M. Devyataev (pictured left) and I. Krivonogov. Krivonogov hatched a plan to escape from captivity by boat, but Devyatayev persuaded him to the option of hijacking a German plane Photo from the site militera.lib.ru
Prisoners of the camps, trying to break free, showed soldierly ingenuity and perseverance in achieving their goal. They escaped, covering many hundreds of kilometers on foot, breaking free in captured enemy vehicles and even in a tank. But the most incredible escapes were made by Soviet pilots. On February 8, 1945, fighter pilot Mikhail Devyatayev, who was captured on July 13, 1944, captured the Heinkel 111 heavy bomber along with nine fellow prisoners. After incredible adventures, he miraculously lifted the plane into the air and flew across the front line. And he ended up with his comrades in the NKVD filtration camp...
Meanwhile, Mikhail Devyatayev was not the first pilot to escape from captivity on a German plane. History has preserved the names of at least a dozen pilots who made aerial escapes. However, most of them were convicted of treason. Why did Senior Lieutenant Devyatayev pass through this bitter cup?
Before answering this question, let us turn to the history of several Soviet pilots who succeeded in a daring attempt - to capture and lift into the air an unfamiliar enemy aircraft and get to their own.
Guards pilot Nikolai Loshakov agreed to cooperate with the Germans with the idea of escaping
Junior Lieutenant Nikolai Loshakov, pilot of the 14th Guards Fighter Regiment, was shot down on May 27, 1943. The wounded pilot managed to jump out of the burning plane by parachute. In a prisoner of war camp, Loshakov began to put together a group to escape. However, someone betrayed them, and their accomplices were scattered across different camps. In the new place, Loshakov began to be intensively processed, inclining him to cooperate. The pilot agreed, planning to escape at the first opportunity...
How many Soviet soldiers were captured during the war?
According to surviving German documents from the war, as of May 1, 1944, there were 1 million 53 thousand Soviet prisoners in the camps. Another 1 million 981 thousand prisoners had died by that time, and 473 thousand had been executed. 768 thousand people died in transit camps... Ultimately, it turned out that from June 22, 1941 to May 1, 1944, more than 5 million Soviet troops were captured.
Domestic historians consider this number to be overestimated, since the German command, as a rule, included all male civilians of military age in reports on prisoners of war. Nevertheless, the figures clarified by our researchers are shocking - 4 million 559 thousand people were in German captivity during the entire period of the war.
How many prisoners of war went over to the enemy’s side?
Conscious betrayal or a way of survival?
You can’t erase the words from the song: many Red Army soldiers and commanders in captivity voluntarily cooperated with the enemy. How widespread was this phenomenon, was the concept of “betrayal of the Motherland” always behind it? There are no exact figures. According to some estimates, the total number of armed combat formations of the Wehrmacht and SS, as well as police forces in the occupied territory, consisting of citizens of the USSR, amounted to approximately 250-300 thousand people. Moreover, according to German sources, there were about 60 percent of prisoners of war in such units. The rest are local residents, emigrants from Tsarist Russia.
Comparing these data with the total number of captured Soviet generals, officers and soldiers, you are convinced that millions of our compatriots remained faithful to the military oath behind the barbed wire. But even among those who agreed to cooperate with the enemy, not all were staunch opponents of Soviet power. Many were driven by the desire to survive, at all costs, and then try to escape...
Concerned about the escape of prisoners, the Germans even organized special training for the camp guards
The German documents of 1944 mentioned above record the number of prisoners of war who had fled directly from the camps by that time - about 70 thousand. How many unsuccessful escapes were there? We will never know about this.
It is interesting to note that in 1943, a “official exhibition” was organized in Germany about various methods of escaping from captivity. Prisoners of the camps, trying to break free, actually showed soldierly ingenuity and perseverance in achieving their goal. They fled, covering many hundreds of kilometers on foot, breaking free in captured vehicles and even in a tank.
It is not known whether Nikolai Loshakov’s escape was included in the “exhibition”? After all, he was the first prisoner of war who literally flew away from under the nose of the airfield guards...
“For the courage shown in escaping from captivity on an enemy plane,” the pilot was awarded... a hunting rifle
After Loshakov agreed to cooperate, he was sent to an alternate German airfield in the Pskov region. Here he met a military transport aviation tanker, captured Sergeant Ivan Denisyuk, who also hatched plans to escape. Having access to airplanes, Denisyuk memorized the location of instruments in the cockpit and in the evening drew diagrams for Loshakov.
One day, luck smiled upon them: a fueled light-engine two-seater Storch reconnaissance aircraft stood on the runway. Seizing the moment, Loshakov and Denisyuk climbed into the cockpit and successfully took off. Fighters rushed in pursuit of the fugitives. Loshakov was wounded, but managed to escape pursuit, and after a 400-kilometer flight, he landed in the Novgorod region. This happened in the summer of 1943.
The pilot and his comrade were arrested by military counterintelligence. During interrogations, Denisyuk, unable to withstand the torture, gave “confessional” testimony of committing treason. Loshakov could not be broken. On December 4, 1943, a Special Meeting of the NKVD of the USSR sentenced I.A. Denisyuk by the age of 20, and N.K. Loshakova - to three years in prison. On August 12, 1945, Loshakov was released a year ahead of schedule with his criminal record expunged. Denisyuk was released from the camp in 1951.
Loshakov remained in Vorkuta, worked in the air squad of the Vorkutaugol plant, then at a mine. He became a full holder of the Order of Miner's Glory. In the early 60s, he was unexpectedly invited to Moscow by the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Force K.A. Vershinin. He thanked the former fighter pilot “for the steadfastness and courage shown while in captivity and escaping from captivity on an enemy plane” and handed him... a hunting rifle.
Why did Moskalets, Chkuaseli and Karapetyan enlist in the 1st Eastern Squadron?
An even more amazing story is the escape of senior lieutenant Vladimir Moskalets, lieutenant Panteleimon Chkuaseli and junior lieutenant Aram Karapetyan. She resembles an action-packed detective story. It began with the fact that the captured pilots became friends in the concentration camp, agreed to stick together and break free at the first opportunity. To this end, in January 1944, they were recruited into the 1st Eastern Squadron...
What kind of unit was this, who did it consist of, and what tasks did it perform?
The “hidden desertion of individual pilots” continued until the end of the war
On August 19, 1941, an order was issued by the USSR NGO “Measures to combat hidden desertion among individual pilots.” The reason for the order was the facts of the voluntary surrender of “Stalin’s falcons”. Already on the first day of the war, the bomber navigator jumped out with a parachute over the territory occupied by German troops. In the summer of the same year, the crew of the SU-2 bomber separated from the group of their aircraft returning to the airfield and headed west.
According to German sources, in 1943 and early 1944 alone, more than 80 aircraft flew to the Germans. Amazingly, the last case of “hidden desertion” was recorded just days before the end of the war. In April 1945, the Pe-2 (commander senior lieutenant Batsunov and navigator Kod) from the 161st Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment left formation in the air and, not responding to commands, disappeared into the clouds on the opposite course.
The idea of creating a combat flying unit from yesterday's opponents, who were deliberately inclined to cooperate with the German military command, belonged to Oberleutnant Holters from the Luftwaffe Vostok headquarters. The German officer placed his bet on the former aviation colonel Maltsev. In the early 30s, he was the head of the Air Force of the Siberian Military District, and in 1937 he was appointed head of the Civil Air Fleet in Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Colonel Maltsev was nominated for the Order of Lenin, but did not have time to receive it - in March 1938 he was “blown away” by another purge. A year and a half spent in NKVD prisons made him an implacable enemy of Soviet power.
Maltsev energetically set about organizing aviation units, which, under his command, then became part of the so-called Russian Liberation Army (ROA) of the traitor general Vlasov. Moskalets, Chkuaseli and Karapetyan ended up in one of them, located in the Belarusian city of Lida...
The pilots first became partisans of the NKVD brigade, and then - prisoners of this People's Commissariat
The Germans put them on outdated Arado Ar-66C and Gotha Go-145A two-seat trainers used for night bombing. Given their low speed and limited flight range, the pilots decided to seek contact with local partisans in order to land at their base. Luck was with them, and on July 3, 1944, three planes took off straight from the parking lot - across the runway.
After landing at the designated location, the pilots were included in the NKVD special-purpose partisan brigade and fought with the Germans until its disbandment. Then they were sent to Moscow, and from there to a testing and filtration camp near Podolsk. On December 29, 1944, all three were arrested.
During interrogations, they stated to the investigator that “they entered the service of the Germans in order to quickly switch to the side of the Soviet troops and that during bombing flights they dropped bombs “unexploded” and into the swamp” (supervisory proceedings of the military board No. 12143/45 in case B .S. Moskalets et al., pp. 20-21). But, despite this, on March 17, 1945, the military tribunal of the Moscow Military District condemned them for treason to the Motherland to imprisonment in forced labor camps for a period of 10 years, with the loss of rights for 5 years each.
Justice triumphed only in 1959. After an additional investigation was carried out by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office, the question of canceling the illegal sentence was raised. On March 23, 1959, the Military Collegium of the USSR Armed Forces issued a ruling to terminate this case due to newly discovered circumstances. These circumstances resulted in the testimony of former partisans that the pilots in 1944 were telling the truth. It took about 15 years to interview witnesses.
Mikhail Devyatayev was known in the concentration camp as Grigory Nikitenko
Fighter pilot Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Devyatayev was captured on July 13, 1944. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, he ended up in the Sachsenhausen death camp. Here the underground fighters replaced his suicide bomber’s badge with the badge of the teacher Grigory Nikitenko, who died in the camp. Under this name, in October 1944, he and a group of prisoners ended up in a concentration camp on the island of Usedom in the Baltic Sea.
Here Devyatayev became close to prisoners I. Krivonogov and V. Sokolov, who were planning to escape with their comrades by boat across the strait. The pilot convinced them that success could only be guaranteed by hijacking the plane. There was a dump of wrecked planes near the airfield, and Devyatayev began to study the cockpit equipment and instrument panels of German bombers.
“Now we’ll fly to our homeland...”
The escape on a heavy twin-engine bomber was facilitated not only by a happy confluence of many circumstances, but also by the amazing composure of the pilot and his comrades.
On the morning of February 8, 1945, while working, Devyatayev and his group (10 people) carefully observed movements at the airfield. When the mechanics left for lunch, Krivonogov killed the guard, and he and Devyatayev secretly approached the Heinkel-111. The pilot knocked down the lock and climbed into the cockpit, and Krivonogov uncovered the engines. However, there were no batteries on the plane to start the engines. Within a few minutes they managed to find a cart with batteries and drive it to the bomber. The group members climbed into the fuselage and Devyatayev loudly announced: “Now we’ll fly to our homeland...”
“They weren’t particularly enthusiastic about me and my crew friends...”
At home, as Mikhail Petrovich Devyatayev recalled many years later, “they didn’t particularly admire me and my crew friends. Quite the opposite. We were subjected to a rather brutal test...” Nevertheless, after a check in the NKVD filtration camp, seven out of ten former prisoners of war at the end of March In 1945, they returned to the front, and three officers - Devyatayev, Krivonogov and Yemets - were restored to officer ranks. But the war had already ended by that time.
According to some reports, 1,836,562 people who returned from captivity at the end of the war underwent such testing. About a million of them were sent for further service, 600 thousand - to work in industry as part of work battalions. 339 thousand, including 233.4 thousand former military personnel, were recognized as having compromised themselves in captivity and were convicted. There is no need to talk about the blanket condemnation of all former prisoners of war, as some unscrupulous researchers like to claim...
As for reserve senior lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Devyatayev, in August 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The former pilot was awarded this highest award thanks to the petition of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
But what does this have to do with the man known today to millions of people as the general designer of Soviet space technology?
Mysterious island - almost like Jules Verne
The fact is that Devyatayev and his fellow prisoners ended up on one of the most secret islands in the entire history of mankind. Usedom was equipped with launch positions for German V-2 ballistic missiles and launch control bunkers. The prisoners who ended up here faced only one outcome - death. Devyatayev not only survived, but, without knowing it, captured a specially equipped aircraft that was part of the launch system. And after returning from captivity, he spoke in detail about everything he saw on Usedom.
Immediately after the occupation of the island by Soviet troops, specialists working on rocket science problems urgently arrived here. Unexpectedly for himself, Mikhail Petrovich Devyatayev also visited the “mysterious” island. He was brought here at the request of a certain Colonel Sergeev...
Colonel Sergeev, aka Sergei Pavlovich Korolev
Today, it is probably no longer possible to establish how information about the pilot who escaped from Usedom reached Korolev. According to Devyatayev’s recollections, the colonel, introducing himself as Sergeev, asked him to show the locations of launch sites, bunkers, and underground workshops. During the inspection, entire missile assemblies were found. And already in 1948, the first Soviet ballistic missile was tested.
It is interesting to note that Sergei Pavlovich Korolev came out with a petition to award Devyatayev a Hero of the Soviet Union on the eve of the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite into space.
On February 8, 1945, a group of Soviet prisoners of war under the leadership of Mikhail Devyatayev escaped. The group escaped on a captured German Heinkel He 111 bomber from the German concentration camp Peenemünde, where V-1 missiles were being tested. Prisoners of the camps, trying to break free, showed soldierly ingenuity and perseverance in achieving their goal. We will tell you about the seven most daring escapes from German captivity.
MIKHAIL PETROVICH DEVYATAEV
Guard senior lieutenant fighter pilot Devyatayev and his comrades escaped from a German concentration camp in a hijacked bomber. On February 8, 1945, a group of 10 Soviet prisoners of war captured a German Heinkel He 111 H-22 bomber and used it to escape from a concentration camp on the island of Usedom (Germany). It was piloted by Devyatayev. The plane was discovered by air ace Colonel Walter Dahl, returning from a mission, but he could not carry out the order of the German command to “shoot down the lone Heinkel” due to lack of ammunition.
In the area of the front line, the plane was fired upon by Soviet anti-aircraft guns and had to make an emergency landing. The Heinkel landed on its belly south of the village of Gollin at the location of the artillery unit of the 61st Army. Having flown just over 300 km, Devyatayev delivered strategically important information to the command about the secret center on Usedom, where Nazi Reich missiles were produced and tested. He reported the coordinates of the Vau launch sites, which were located along the seashore. The information provided by Devyatayev turned out to be absolutely accurate and ensured the success of the air attack on the Usedom training ground.
NIKOLAY KUZMICH LOSHAKOV
The Soviet fighter pilot was shot down in an air battle and, having been captured, like Devyatayev, managed to escape on a German plane. Loshakov was shot down in an air battle on May 27, 1943 on a Yak-1B plane, he jumped out with a parachute and was captured. After numerous interrogations in captivity, Nikolai Loshakov agrees to serve in the German aviation. On August 11, 1943, together with another Soviet prisoner of war, armored forces sergeant Ivan Aleksandrovich Denisyuk, he escaped from German captivity on a Storch plane. On December 4, 1943, Loshakov was convicted by the NKVD OSO for treason while in captivity for three years - from August 12, 1943 to August 12, 1946. In January 1944 he was placed in Vorkutlag and on August 12, 1945 he was released from the camp with his criminal record cleared.
VLADIMIR DMITRIEVICH LAVRINENKOV
Soviet fighter ace, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General of Aviation. By February 1943, Lavrinenkov had flown 322 combat missions, participated in 78 air battles, and shot down 16 enemy aircraft personally and 11 in a group. In August 1943, he rammed a German Focke-Wulf Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft, after which he was captured.
Lavrinenkov, who was then already a Hero of the Soviet Union, was taken to Berlin. Perhaps they wanted to take him to high authorities, who would try to persuade the outstanding pilot to side with the Nazis.
Lavrinenkov decided that there was no time to delay the escape. Together with their friend Viktor Karyukin, they jumped out of the train that was taking them to Germany.
Our pilots flew out of the carriage, crashed into a pile of sand, and, tumbling, rolled down the slope. Having escaped the pursuit, the heroes reached the Dnieper in a few days. With the help of a peasant, we crossed to the left bank of the river and met with partisans in the forest near the village of Komarovka.
ALEXANDER ARONOVICH PECHERSKY
Red Army officer, leader of the only successful uprising in a death camp during World War II. On September 18, 1943, as part of a group of Jewish prisoners, Pechersky was sent to the Sobibor extermination camp, where he arrived on September 23. There he became the organizer and leader of a prisoner uprising. On October 14, 1943, prisoners of the death camp rebelled. According to Pechersky's plan, the prisoners were supposed to secretly eliminate the camp staff one by one, and then, having taken possession of the weapons located in the camp warehouse, kill the guards.
The plan was only partially successful - the rebels were able to kill 12 SS men from the camp staff and 38 collaborator guards, but failed to take possession of the weapons depot. The guards opened fire on the prisoners, and they were forced to break out of the camp through minefields. They managed to overwhelm the guards and escape into the forest.
SERGEY ALEXANDROVSKY
Militia soldier. In October 1941, the militia division in which Sergei Alexandrovsky fought fought surrounded and retreated to the Semlev area of the Smolensk region. In October, hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers and officers were captured by Germans near Vyazma, Semlev and Dorogobuzh. Among the prisoners was Sergei Alexandrovsky.
Aleksandrovsky was sent to concentration camp No. 6, located in the city of Borisov, Minsk region. The barracks, surrounded by three rows of barbed wire, seemed like reliable protection against escapes.
One day in January 1943, the prisoners of war were herded to the Appelplatz, where the head of the camp and a man in an unusual uniform climbed onto a truck used instead of a podium. The last one was a certain captain Lozhkin, who arrived on behalf of the ROA (Russian Liberation Army, which fought on the side of the Nazis). He spoke in detail about the activities of the ROA, adding that he arrived on behalf of his commander, General Vlasov. In the camp, Lozhkin intended to select “deceived Russian people” for the ROA.
After this, the command was given to those who were ready to serve in the ROA to leave the ranks. At first no one came out of the crowd. Then a stocky, very thin man with a long gray beard (presumably Aleksandrovsky) jumped out from the center of the crowd. He threw an object at the truck. There was an explosion. The truck exploded, and everyone who was there died. A crowd of prisoners, taking advantage of the panic, rushed to the guard barracks. The prisoners grabbed weapons and escaped.
SERGEY IVANOVICH VANDYSHEV
Sergei Ivanovich Vandyshev - Soviet attack pilot, guard major. In 1942, he graduated with honors from the school, on the basis of which the 808th (later renamed the 93rd Guards) assault aviation regiment of the 5th Guards Assault Air Division of the 17th Air Army was created, sent to Stalingrad.
In July 1944, during attempts at a German counteroffensive on the Sandomierz bridgehead, a squadron of attack aircraft under the command of Guard Major Vandyshev was ordered to destroy a large enemy ammunition depot. While returning home after successfully completing the mission, Vandyshev's plane was shot down. The pilot was forced to land on enemy territory. Being seriously wounded, he was captured.
He was sent to a camp for Russian prisoners of war pilots in Königsberg. A great desire to break free led to the idea of organizing an escape. Together with fellow prisoners, Sergei Ivanovich took part in a mine that was disrupted due to betrayal.
On April 22, 1945, he escaped from captivity from the island of Rügen along with other Soviet prisoners, organizing an uprising. According to other sources, he was released from a prisoner of war camp in the city of Luckenwalde, near Berlin, by the 29th motorized rifle brigade of the Soviet army.
After captivity, Vandyshev returned to his unit, was again appointed squadron commander, and participated in the capture of Berlin. During the fighting, he made 158 combat missions, destroyed 23 tanks, 59 guns, and took part in 52 air battles. He shot down three enemy aircraft personally and two in the group.
VLADIMIR IVANOVICH MURATOV
Pilot Vladimir Ivanovich Muratov was born on December 9, 1923 in the Tambov region. From November 1943 to May 1944, Sergeant Muratov served with the 183rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which later became the 150th Guards IAP. In May 1944, Muratov received an order to conduct reconnaissance. On the way back, a fascist anti-aircraft shell hit his plane. During the explosion, the pilot was thrown out of the cockpit and woke up in captivity.
The prisoners were sent for one day to build caponiers at the airfield. Muratov witnessed how a German officer hit a Romanian mechanic with the rank of corporal in the face. The Romanian began to cry. Seizing the moment, Muratov spoke to him and offered to run away together.
Romanian corporal Petr Bodăuc quietly obtained parachutes and prepared the plane for takeoff. The Russian and the Romanian rushed into the cockpit together. “The course is Soviet!” - shouted Muratov. At the last moment, Ivan Klevtsov, who later became a Hero of the Soviet Union, joined the fugitives. Muratov miraculously managed to land the car at his own airfield.
A. E. Zarin
Escape from captivity
(Officer's story)
“They kept the oath of allegiance”: 1812 in Russian literature M., “Moscow Worker”, 1987. I was captured immediately after Borodin. We retreated to Mozhaisk. On August 29th I was sent on reconnaissance. I set out with a detachment of 16 people and was almost immediately surrounded by the enemy. I started to fight back, they killed the horse under me, I fell and they took me away. I found myself a prisoner in Victor's corps. They signed me up and took me aside, where I saw a crowd of my fellow sufferers. In a huge space, behind the trucks and charging boxes, in a chain of Italian rangers, prisoners stood, sat and lay. There were both officers and soldiers, young and old, healthy and wounded. Two officers immediately approached me. “You’re welcome,” said one, greeting me, and we became acquainted. One was an artillery captain named Fedoseev, and the other was lieutenant of the Volyn infantry regiment Nefedov. One was fat, bald, with gray hair, and the other was young and very cheerful. Both of them were taken in the Battle of Borodino. “That means our regiment has arrived,” said Nefedov. “Still, Bonaparte has nothing to boast about,” said Fedoseev. “Look!” these are all prisoners almost from Smolensk! - and he pointed with his hand to the entire space surrounded by sentries. There were up to five hundred people on the lawn. Clearly, this is not much. “But there are the same number in each building,” said Nefedov. -- Let be! there will be 3, 4 thousand. That's all! nothing to brag about. What! - Fedoseev spoke passionately. - I must tell you, I was captured at the Shevardin redoubt (The battle at Shevardin took place on August 24. The French took this redoubt. (Note by A. Zarin.)). The banner of my fireworks was knocked out by a fragment of a cannonball, and the banner hit me on the head. I lost consciousness, and then they took me. When I woke up, our redoubt had been taken, the French were standing in it and Napoleon himself was between them. I hear him say: “Are there many prisoners?” “There are no prisoners,” they answer him (in truth, they took about 20 wounded people). "Like pet, why not?" - "Russians prefer to die rather than surrender." Napoleon even darkened. “We’ll kill them,” he said and walked away (Historically correct. This conversation was recorded by Segur. (Note by A. Zarin.) ). No, he has nothing to boast about! - Fedoseev graduated. - Why are we standing? “Let’s go get acquainted and you need something to eat,” said Nefedov, and we walked around the camp. A group of soldiers in tattered uniforms and white canvas trousers, on which blood stains were visible, were sitting by the fire. There were almost no healthy people among them: some had a bandaged head, some had a hand, and two were lying on the ground, covered with overcoats. “Here,” said Fedoseev, “these are dying.” Once they bandaged them and left them. Next was a group of soldiers and ordinary men, among them there was an official and a priest. Then, also around the fire, the officers sat. When we approached them, one stood up and shouted to me: “Captain Skorov!” how did you get there? come to us! It turned out to be my colleague, Major Kruchknin. We kissed. In the Battle of Borodino, he led two squadrons into an attack and did not return. The sergeant saw him fall from his horse. Everyone thought he was killed. “But I’m alive,” the major explained, “a horse hit me in the chest, and I lost consciousness.” I woke up in captivity. We sat by the fire. I met everyone and was treated to tea. “This is all ours,” said one officer, “from the canteen.” As long as there is money. - Don’t you get any satisfaction? - I asked. Kruchinin waved his hand: “We are entitled to rice, biscuits, coffee, a portion of meat, rum and half a bottle of red wine, but they themselves have nothing to eat, and they give us only biscuits.” “They are counting on Moscow,” Nefedov laughed. - Tell me, will they give up Moscow? will they give another fight? have we suffered much? - questions rained down on me. I couldn't answer. I only knew that Kutuzov decided to give battle on August 27, but he was informed that barely half of the second army remained, and he ordered a retreat. He knew that General Tuchkov had been killed and his common favorite Bagration was mortally wounded. He told everything he knew, and everyone became sad. Everyone thought about it. It seemed that Napoleon was indeed marching like a winner and could easily occupy Moscow. At this time the horns began to play. “This means sleep,” said Kruchinin, “you are with me!” let's go. He got up and led me to his room. He had a tent. A short, stocky soldier was scurrying around in it. “Gavryukov,” said the major, “there will be another one with us.” “I obey,” answered the soldier and looked around. He had a wide, open face, all pockmarked with smallpox. He smiled and said: “So there’s enough room for everyone.” But there was little space in the tiny tent. We lay down on armfuls of hay, covered with blankets, with our heads facing each other, and Gavryukov lay down at the very entrance to the tent. Night has fallen. Everything in the camp was quiet, only from time to time the shouts of the sentries and the neighing of horses could be heard. I was tired and soon fell asleep. Thus ended the day of August 27th, my first day in captivity. The next day, as soon as we woke up, Gavryukoz told us: “They are performing now.” The order was to gather. Indeed, everything in the camp was in motion. We drank some tea and had to go now. We were all gathered into one crowd, surrounded by the same huntsmen, the officer took a roll call for us and then commanded: “Forward!” We moved. Behind us, the seriously wounded were being transported in an awkward wagon. We had no adventures. They treated us well, and the officer in command of the convoy was truly a kind fellow. He often sat down by our fire during stops and talked very nicely with us. He was Piedmonese. Small in stature, lively as mercury, with a dark, moving face, with burning eyes, when he spoke, he waved his arms, made grimaces and sparkled with teeth white as paper. - Why don’t you give us food? all biscuits and biscuits? - we asked him. - Where will I get it from? - and he spread his hands, - we ourselves have nothing. It's good if we catch a chicken. The soldiers eat horse meat. -Where are we going? right, there will be a battle soon? - Battle! Kutuzov will be waiting for us near Moscow. Napoleon will defeat him, and we will enter Moscow and make peace,” while the officer laughed cheerfully. His name was Caruso, Antonio Caruso. We were all indignant at the idea that Napoleon could conquer Moscow. We were sure that our army would block the holy city with a wall and it would be possible to enter it only by corpses. “It will be worse than Borodin,” said Nefedov. “Napoleon, I’m sure, will not dare to accept battle,” said Fedoseev. I and everyone else thought the same thing, but it didn’t turn out our way. On August 30, we celebrated the name day of our sovereign in our captive family, and the glorious Caruso did not even stop us from shouting “Hurray!” We pooled together to buy rum, sugar, lemons and made an excellent roast, to which we invited him too. He drank with us. We began to drink to the victory of our weapons. Then he grinned and said: “It’s difficult!” -- Why? - Because Napoleon is invincible. That's one thing. And another thing is that we really want to occupy Moscow. We have no food at all, we are tired, we are tired of walking, and we will be so eager to get to Moscow that no one will stop us. We parted amicably. The next day we set off again and on September 1st we were already not far from Moscow. Our hearts sank and beat. Every minute we expected that the battle was about to begin, but we could not hear not only cannon fire, but not even a rifle shot. And suddenly in the evening, when Caruso finished the roll call, he came up to us and, flashing his white teeth, said: “Well, tomorrow we’ll be with you in Moscow!” Kutuzov was afraid to fight and withdrew his army. It will pass through Moscow today, and we will enter tomorrow! -- It can not be! - Nefedov exclaimed. Caruso shrugged and walked away. It was like tetanus attacking us. If it were Barclay de Tolly, we would be surprised, but Kutuzov is the chosen one of the people!.. The simple-minded Gavryukov gave me back the lost peace. When Kruchinin told him about the terrible news before going to bed, Gavryukov calmly replied: “Our grandfather knows what he’s doing.” It must be that the French are finished here! -- You are an idiot! - Kruchinin shouted at him; but later Gavryukov turned out to be right. The next day in the evening we entered Moscow. In the morning, Murat's troops entered it. We walked and were struck by the desertion of the streets. There are French soldiers everywhere - and not a single Russian anywhere. - The noble French must have dispersed everyone. “They’re going to be robbers now,” said Fedoseev. -Have you forgotten Smolensk? - exclaimed Nefedov, - the inhabitants left the city there. Here too! My heart began to flutter. What would I do? I would burn the house and leave it. Every Russian did the same. Caruso approached and confirmed Nefedov’s guess. “You are an amazing people,” he said. “It’s difficult to fight with you.” /The tunics abandoned the city, no one met the emperor, all the houses were locked, and those released from prison were running around the streets. We smiled involuntarily. - Look, what is this? - one of our people suddenly shouted. We looked back. In the direction of Kitai-Gorod, plumes of smoke rose to the sky and crimson flames sparkled. - Fire! “We are the ones who are burning our city,” Nefedov said in a solemn voice. - You are savages! - Caruso shouted and raised his hands up. We were initially placed in someone’s house on Petrovka, but soon the entire block was engulfed in flames and we had to flee. Caruso took us to the small stone church of St. Mironia. “We won’t burn here,” he said and ordered us to get settled. The soul was indignant, the heart was burning. This Caruso placed himself with his lieutenant and two sergeants in the altar. They turned the throne into a table, poured wine into sacred vessels and drank. The soldiers did not lag behind them. They hung their uniforms on the corners of the images, leaned their guns against the holy faces, and placed their backpacks on the shroud. The captured soldiers crossed themselves and said: “God will punish them!” Indignation seethed in everyone's soul. Actually, I wanted to talk about my escape, and not about captivity. Everyone knows what the French did during their month-long stay in Moscow. How Moscow burned, how the city was plundered, how, amid abundance and wealth, the French needed bread, how a beautiful army turned into gangs of robbers without obedience, without respect for their leaders. Everyone knows this. Our church soon turned into some kind of huge warehouse for all kinds of things. What the soldiers and even Caruso himself did not bring with them. Watches, candelabra, fur coats, shawls, dresses, ostrich feathers, dishes, paintings, violins - everything that could be found in a rich house; and right there - loaves of sugar, jars of jam, bottles of wine, gingerbread, coffee, raisins, marshmallows, mustard, sardines, leather, tea - in a word, everything that could be found in pantries and shops. Everything except bread and meat. There was sausage, ham, smoked fish, and only for the first two weeks. Then they ate gingerbread and gingerbread cookies. Whoever found a bag of flour and potatoes was considered lucky. At night in our church there were scenes that could not be imagined. Candles were lit in the chandeliers. Caruso himself, the officers and sergeants who came to him, started drinking. Having gotten drunk, they dressed up in fur coats, shawls, rich dresses and danced to the sounds of the clarinet. They didn't pay any attention to us. They were just guarding. We were constantly hungry. Caruso, when he was not drunk and not going off to rob, talked to us, but his gaiety disappeared. “You are completely wild people,” he said, “and you don’t know how to fight.” Now you need to make peace, and it’s like you’ve died. What should we do? Damn it! I didn’t come here to starve or freeze! - and he glared angrily with his black eyes. Kruchinin said: “But our Gavryukov is right. Grandfather knew what he was doing!” On October 7th, officers and some general came to us. Caruso took out a list with our names and began to read; the general made notes and gave orders. Then he left. It turned out that for some reason we were divided into four parts and each, one after the other, was taken from the church, and then from Moscow. We said goodbye to Caruso. In the game I ended up in, Kruchinin, Gavryukov and Nefedov stayed with me. We did not know where the French had now decided to go, but apparently they were retreating. There was a kind of feverish haste in all movements. - Go, go! - they shouted at us and beat those who were lagging behind with rifle butts, and then - we found out - they simply killed anyone who could not keep up. And there were many of them. We were all emaciated from hunger. The soldiers pulled off the boots of almost all of us, and my legs were covered with scratches and abrasions. Kruchinin pricked his leg with a splinter and was limping. There were almost no healthy people. Almost at a run, the French reached Fominsky. Kruchinin could no longer walk, and Gavryukov and I dragged him. Suddenly everyone stopped. There was noticeable confusion in the army. Shots rang out and Gavryukov somehow immediately caught fire. “Your Highness, battle,” he said, “we are running to ours.” It was as if he guessed my thoughts. Already in Moscow I was planning an escape. “How can we run,” I answered, “the major can’t walk at all.” - And I’ll carry him. Be without hesitation. - But how can we escape? “And I, your honor, will seize the moment.” - Catch! - I agreed and approached Kruchiniv. He was lying down. His leg was swollen and was wrapped in rags. I sat down next to him and conveyed the words of our soldier. “I agreed, because it’s hard to be in captivity, and here it’s disgusting.” All the same, we will be exhausted and the las will be killed somewhere at a rest stop,” I finished. The major just groaned. -- With God blessing! -- he said. - As with God! we won't leave you. At this time, the cannonade intensified, despite the fact that it was already getting dark. No one in the camp thought about sleep. Trumpets sounded, drums thundered, commands were heard. From time to time regiments and detachments left. Nothing was visible anymore. Night has fallen. I sat next to the major and waited for the faithful Gavryukov. He appeared silently. - Just right, your honor. Let's go! - he said. I jumped to my feet. - Major, get up, let's go! -- I said. Kruchinin waved his hand. - I'll just tie you up. Go alone! -- Are you crazy! get up and go! we will help! I lifted him up and took him by the arm. - Drive! - I said to Gavryukov. “Here, your honor, you need to slowly, and then crawl, and then run,” he said. - Well, lead the way! we'll see. And off we went. Gavryukov, whom I could barely make out in the darkness, moved ahead, followed by me and Kruchinin. A fire was burning near the edge of our camp, intensifying the darkness of the night, and our sentries were sitting around it, animatedly talking about something. We walked past them. The most difficult thing lay ahead: it was necessary to pass through two chains of sentries. We sneaked like cats. Kruchinin could walk slowly and therefore did not make it difficult for us. Gavryukov walked confidently and boldly. I didn’t know where we were going, but I saw that the enemy’s fires were gradually moving to the left. Suddenly voices and footsteps were heard. - Get down! - whispered Gavryukov, and we immediately stretched out on the ground. I fell into a cold puddle. Several soldiers passed almost touching us. One said: “Tomorrow it will be hot!” the emperor decided to break through. Another replied: “They say ours have already taken it.” You just need to hold it. They were talking about the first battle at Maloyaroslavets. With these words they disappeared, and we lay like corpses for another two minutes. Gavryukov pushed me. “Now crawl and if something happens, land,” he whispered. We crawled. He probably managed to know the road well, because he boldly crawled forward, led us into some kind of ravine, forced us to make our way through the bushes, and finally said: “Here we are!” I couldn’t even believe it. Are we really free? I jumped to my feet and helped the major to his feet. He stood up with a slight groan. “Now we have to run,” said Gavryukov, “we left the French camp, and only here they are sneaking around.” For now we have to leave before light. I picked up Kruchinin and we went, but soon he groaned and sank to the ground. -- I can not. Run alone. - Nonsense! we'll drag you down! - Please, your honor! - said Gavryukov, bending down and exposing his back. - Help them grab a hold! - he told me. I helped. Kruchinin wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Gavryukov stood up. To this day I am amazed where this little soldier got such strength! We went again. We walked through some clearing, then through a grove. Gavryukov became exhausted and stopped. - Let's rest! We all sat down on the grass. It was cold. Dawn was coming, and the morning frost struck. Everything around was covered with white frost. We literally clicked our teeth, but we couldn’t even think about starting a fire. I must have dozed off because I suddenly saw a bright autumn morning without noticing the gradual dawn. The cavalry rushed across the clearing at full speed, and behind them the guns roared. Shots were heard in the distance. The sound of a bugle was heard from the French camp. “Let’s go through the grove,” suggested Gavryukov. Kruchinin got up himself, and we trudged along. Gavryukov found a branch along the way and gave it to the major instead of a crutch. A battle was breaking out ahead of us. We heard the crackle of rifle shots and the roar of cannons. Suddenly a Cossack detachment appeared right in front of us. I think at that moment we experienced the feeling that castaways experience when they see a ship at sea. Gavryukov ran, waving his arms, and shouted in a voice that was not his own. One of the Cossacks noticed us, and the detachment galloped towards us. The captivity is over. I know that I spoke awkwardly, because I am a soldier and it is easier for me to wield a saber than a pen, and to control a horse than with speech. Let everyone add their imagination to what I experienced in captivity and on the night of our flight.
NOTES
Escape from Captivity (Officer's Story). First published in the book: Zarin A.E. An unforgettable year. St. Petersburg, 1912. P. 306. ...after Borodin.-- The Battle of Borodino took place on August 26 (September 7), 1812. P. 307. Bannik-- an artillery accessory, a cylindrical brush on a long shaft for cleaning (bathing) and lubricating the bore of a gun, and at the same time for loading. P. 308. Sellers- traders in food supplies and military items who accompanied troops to camps, on maneuvers, on campaigns and during wars. P. 308. ...General Tuchkov was killed.-- We are talking, apparently, about Tuchkov 4th Alexander Alekseevich. P. 309. ...he was Piedmonese- a native of Piedmont - the northwestern region of Italy. P. 311. China town-- a historical district of Moscow, which included Red Square and neighborhoods adjacent to the Kremlin. P. 312. Chandelier- in an Orthodox church there is a chandelier made of many candles and lamps hanging from the ceiling.
