Few people, of their own free will, can decide on an act that will lead to a settlement of accounts with life, because, as you know, we do not decide when to put an end to it. But if you put the question point-blank, what should you choose - live your life with the knowledge that you acted dishonorably or act according to your conscience, retaining honor, but die? The answer is to be found in fiction, which has a lot of examples of similar life situations.

When it comes to honor, I immediately remember the hero of the poem A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" - Vladimir Lensky. The issue of honor was raised by the author when Onegin came to the name day, where a friend called him, but the hero begins to annoy everything: the crowd of people (Pustyakovs, Skotinins, Buyanovs and others), Tatyana's behavior, and so on. He blames the one who invited him to the celebration for all this. In retaliation, Yevgeny invites Lensky's fiancée Olga to a dance at an afternoon ball and flirts with her. Vladimir is unable to endure such an insult and challenges Yevgeny to a duel, which will end in the death of one of them. Vladimir Lensky dies in a duel, he was only eighteen years old. He died early, but he defended his and Olga's honor, not allowing anyone to doubt the purity and sincerity of his feelings towards the daughter of the Larin family. While Onegin will have to live life with a heavy burden - to be the killer of a friend.

In the poem "Mtsyri" M.Yu. Lermontov main character also puts honor above life, but in a different perspective. Starting to read the poem, we learn that in childhood he was left in the monastery by those who captivated him. The young man got used to captivity and seemed to have forgotten about the call of his father's land. On the day of the solemn event, he disappeared, a three-day search did not lead to anything, and only after some time, strangers accidentally found the exhausted Mtsyri. On persuasion to eat and accept repentance, he refuses, because he does not repent, but rather is proud that he lived in the wild, like his ancestors, that he entered into a duel with a leopard and won. Only one thing weighs on his soul - the violation of a promise given to himself - to be free and find his native lands. Physically, he was free, but the prison remained in his heart, and he could not fulfill his vow. He decides to die, realizing that he cannot be a slave. Thus, Mtsyri chooses honor, not life. For him, the honor is to be a worthy mountaineer, and not a slave, to become part of nature, which accepted him, but which he could not accept.

Each of us himself is responsible for the chosen path, just as he himself gives the answer to the question posed above. For myself, I decided that I always need to act in such a way that later I would not be ashamed to live with the awareness of my decisions. But it is not worth creating situations in which the question of the value of life in relation to honor can be raised, because life is priceless and you need to fill it with harmony and kindness with all your might, part of which is an honest attitude towards others.

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The value of human life is undeniable. Most of us agree that life is an amazing gift, because everything that is dear and close to us, we learned once we were born into this world ... Reflecting on this, you involuntarily wonder if there is at least something dearer than life?

To answer this question, you need to look into your heart. There, many of us will find something for which we can die without hesitation. Someone will give their life to save their loved one. Someone is ready to die heroically, fighting for their country. And someone, faced with a choice: life without honor or die with honor, will choose the latter.

Yes, I think that honor can be dearer than life. Despite the fact that there are a lot of definitions of the word "honor", they all agree on one thing. A man of honor has the best moral qualities that are always highly valued in society: self-esteem, honesty, kindness, truthfulness, decency. For a man who values ​​his reputation and good name, the loss of honor is worse than death.

This point of view was close to A.S. Pushkin. In his novel The Captain's Daughter, the writer shows that the ability to maintain one's honor is the main moral measure of a person. Aleksey Shvabrin, to whom life is more precious than noble and officer honor, easily becomes a traitor, going over to the side of the rebel Pugachev. And Pyotr Grinev is ready to go to his death with honor, but not to refuse the oath to the Empress. For Pushkin himself, protecting the honor of his wife also turned out to be more important than life. Having been mortally wounded in a duel with Dantes, Alexander Sergeevich washed away dishonest slander from his family with blood.

A century later, M.A. Sholokhov in his story “The Fate of a Man” will create the image of a real Russian warrior - Andrei Sokolov. This simple Soviet driver will face many trials at the front, but the hero always remains true to himself and his code of honor. The steel character of Sokolov is especially clearly manifested in the scene with Muller. When Andrei refuses to drink to the victory of German weapons, he understands that he will be shot. But the loss of honor of a Russian soldier frightens a man more than death. The strength of Sokolov's spirit is respected even by the enemy, so Muller abandons the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bkilling the fearless prisoner.

Why are people for whom the concept of "honor" is not an empty phrase, ready to die for it? Perhaps they understand that human life- this is not only an amazing gift, but also a gift that is given to us for a short time. Therefore, it is so important to manage your life in such a way that future generations will remember us with respect and gratitude.

What is more important: thinking or feeling? [An example of the final essay 2017 in the direction "Mind and Feeling"]

There are questions that mankind cannot answer for many centuries. Philosophical disputes about what should be in priority: thought or feeling - do not subside even today.

At first glance, the answer is simple. If the presence of consciousness and the ability to think is the main difference between man and animals, then the rational principle should be a priority. But even plants are endowed with the ability to feel.

On the other hand, opponents of this opinion rightly point out that human feelings much more difficult than the feelings of other living beings. It is impossible to imagine an animal experiencing pangs of conscience or burning envy. No one but a person can feel the thrill of contemplating the beauty of nature or a work of art.

So maybe there is no priority? Perhaps both thought and feeling are equally important? To try to answer this question, let's turn to Russian literature, especially since this topic was repeatedly raised by the classics.

Getting acquainted with the first pages of the comedy "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov, the reader immediately draws attention to the blindness of Sophia's mind, who completely surrendered to her feelings for the unprincipled careerist Molchalin. "Blinded" by falling in love with the scoundrel Anatole Kuragin and Natasha Rostov from the epic L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". Both heroines could not see unworthy young people, because they temporarily lost the ability to think clearly.

And in Pushkin's novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", the ardent Lensky, stung by the fact that Onegin has been dancing with Olga all evening, recklessly challenges his yesterday's friend to a duel and dies as a result.

But relying only on reason also leads to tragic consequences. We see an example of a total denial of feelings in the main character of the novel “Fathers and Sons” I.S. Turgenev. Bazarov believes that love does not exist, so he finds himself trapped in his own nihilistic ideas when he falls passionately in love with Olga Odintsova. The writer shows that such a contradiction is insoluble, so Eugene dies. You can not give up feelings, because it is tantamount to death.

In Masha Mironova from "The Captain's Daughter" by A.S. Pushkin, on the contrary, we see an example of a happy combination of reason and feeling. The girl loves Grinev, but refuses to become his wife without the blessing of Peter's parents. Masha understands that their marriage will not be happy against the will of the groom's father and mother. As we remember from the further development of events in the novel, the girl's decision turned out to be correct.

In my opinion, thought and feeling should be harmoniously combined in a person. The more accurate the balance between the rational and the sensual in a person, the happier and fuller his life. It is to the harmony of mind and heart that each of us should strive.

(372 words)

Friends shouldn't tell.

“Of the enemies, the most dangerous is the enemy who pretended to be a friend” (Sh. Rustaveli) [Example of the final essay 2017 in the direction “Friendship and enmity”]

September 29th, 2016

Probably, each of us thought about what a true friend should be. And whatever the outcome of our reflections, we all agree that true friendship one can name only relationships full of sincerity, trust, intimacy, readiness to help in difficult times ... Anyone who has found such a faithful comrade in the person of another person and himself corresponds to the high title of a friend can safely call himself lucky.

But, unfortunately, the one or the one that was called our friends is not always them. Opening our innermost thoughts or extending a helping hand to another person, we always take risks, since "an alien soul is darkness." And the enemy, skillfully hiding under a friendly guise, is, of course, the most dangerous, because he knows a lot about you.

Russian writers have repeatedly turned to plots where yesterday's friend turned out to be a terrible enemy, causing suffering to the hero. Let's remember " captain's daughter» A.S. Pushkin. The insidious Shvabrin, who at first seemed to be a friend of Pyotr Grinev, more than once commits meanness towards the young nobleman. Aleksey Ivanovich, having slandered Masha Mironova, forces Grinev to defend the honor of the girl in a duel. But even in a duel, Shvabrin behaves far from noble. Taking advantage of the fact that Peter was distracted for a second by Savelich, who was hurrying towards them, inflicts a severe wound on Grinev. Throughout the work, we see how Shvabrin, who recently pretended to be a friend not only of Peter, but also of the Mironov family, easily renounces them, from noble honor, from the empress ...

In M.Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" we get acquainted with another character who only pretends to be friendly. Pechorin is unable to be a friend, but to play human destinies, pretends to be an attentive comrade of Grushnitsky, and also passionately in love with Princess Mary. Convincing the naive young man in the fact that the girl is in love with him, Grigory Alexandrovich weaves a network of intrigues, into which the inexperienced Mary, who fell in love with Pechorin, falls, as well as the narcissistic Grushnitsky, stung by the princess’s cooling towards him because of Grigory Alexandrovich. To dispel boredom, Pechorin becomes the director of a bloody performance, the denouement of which will be the broken heart of a young girl and the death of the unfortunate Grushnitsky, who really loved Mary ... Lermontov understood well what the meanness of an imaginary friend was and left to posterity an arrangement of the wise lines of Abdurrahman Jami:

What do you want to hide from your enemies?
Friends shouldn't tell.

Yes, the enemy is a very dangerous person, but the enemy, wearing the mask of a friend, is a hundred times worse. Faced with such a life-destroying hypocrite, a person can stop trusting people and remain lonely for many years and decades. But still, no matter how great the risk of being betrayed, the happiness of having sincere friends is much greater.

An example of a final essay 2017: “Why are difficult decisions recommended to be made with a “cold” head?” [Mind and Feeling]

Every person in their life can fall into extreme situation, which he is only able to cope with if he makes pre-considered decisions. But why are difficult decisions recommended to be made “with a cool head”?

It is obvious that making an important decision under the influence of feelings can be dangerous for a person, since in the heat of the moment he risks drawing hasty conclusions and taking actions that can turn into disappointment and even tragedy for him.

A vivid example of a deplorable outcome due to a rash act is the story of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin " Poor Lisa». main character of this story - the peasant woman Liza fell madly in love with the nobleman Erast. Young people swore to each other eternal love and wanted to be together all their lives, but after intimacy with Lisa, Erast's feelings began to gradually fade away. The hero soon announced that he had to go to war. The girl felt the bitterness of longing, but she was looking forward to her lover and dreamed of a meeting soon. And suddenly, having arrived in Moscow on business, Liza meets Erast, who suddenly confesses to her that he is engaged to another. It turns out that the young man lost at cards, and in order to improve his affairs, he decided to marry a rich widow who was in love with him.

What were the actions of Lisa? Captivated by a feeling of despair, she threw herself into the pond, near which the girl often saw her lover, and drowned. Did she think about how much pain she would cause her mother and how, without the help of her daughter, the sick elderly peasant woman would provide for herself? Did she think about what Erast would experience, who still had some feelings for the young beauty? Oh, if only Lisa thought about the consequences of her spontaneous act. But no…. Feelings turned the head of the unfortunate girl and drove her crazy. As a result, not only Liza suffered: the girl's mother, having learned about the death of her daughter, could not stand the loss and died, and Erast, having heard about the death of Liza, began to grieve and blame himself for everything. This is how a rash decision can ruin several lives at once ...

Sometimes people, driven by strong feelings, do things that they later regret very much. To avoid serious mistakes, we must be able to control ourselves in difficult situations and make decisions “with a cool head”, because only in this case we can avoid trouble.

The life and death of General Mikhail Efremov

In mid-April 1942, 75 years ago, during the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, which pinned down superior enemy forces on the outskirts of Moscow, being surrounded, the commander of the 33rd Army, Lieutenant General Mikhail Efremov, shot himself. He preferred death to captivity.

Here, I think, it is appropriate to recall two other generals who found themselves in the same situation.

Lieutenant-General Andrey Vlasov, commander of the 2nd shock army, whose headquarters and units in the same 1942 ended up in a “cauldron” in the Myasny Bor area, not only betrayed his homeland, but also engaged in the formation of the so-called Soviet prisoners of war. "Russian Liberation Army" - combat forces intended for military operations against the Red Army. Saving his skin, Vlasov turned from a military general into a traitor and adventurer and suffered a well-deserved punishment after the war (he was hanged by court order).

Infantry General Alexander Samsonov, commander of the 2nd Army of the Northwestern Front, which bravely fought in East Prussia in August 1914, was surrounded during an unsuccessful battle for the Russian troops in the Masurian Lakes region. And also, like Efremov, he put a bullet in his temple in order to avoid German captivity ...

Saving himself, General Vlasov forever disgraced his name, and Generals Samsonov and Efremov, sacrificing their lives, did not tarnish their names. Because honor for a warrior is always more precious than life ...

What was the path of Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov to the heights of military prowess?

He was born on February 27 (March 11), 1897 in Tarusa, Kaluga province (now the Kaluga region) in a family of poor bourgeois. Labor activity began early: since childhood, he helped his father with housework at the mill, and then the Moscow industrialist Ryabov noticed a capable teenager. Mikhail first worked as an apprentice at the Ryabov factory in Moscow, then he became an apprentice to master engravers, and then to the six-year Prechistensky working courses.

On military service was mobilized in September 1915. At first he served as a private in the 55th reserve regiment, but soon he was sent to study at the ensign school in the Georgian city of Telavi. At the end of it in the spring of 1916, he was sent to the active army, to the Southwestern Front.

The commander of an artillery unit participated in the Brusilov breakthrough. Mikhail Grigorievich, smart, resolute, of a heroic build, quickly gained authority among the soldiers, who soon began to respectfully call him “our ensign”.

After the February Revolution of 1917, Ensign Efremov found himself at a crossroads, between officers and soldiers, and bitterly observed the terrible element of anarchy and desertion that swept the Russian army after the provocative directives of the Petrosoviet and the Provisional Government on the so-called. "democratization".

Nevertheless, ensign Efremov became one of the first military personnel mobilized by the revolution. A worker-peasant origin, sympathy for the ideas of the Bolsheviks, an ambitious character - what else was needed for a commanding career in the era of building a new world?

Then, in the autumn of 1917, like many front-line soldiers, like thousands of workers, he connected tomorrow entirely with the program of the RCP(b). And he signed up for the Red Guards even before the decree on the creation of the Red Army (issued on January 15, 1918) appeared. But he was one of those Moscow factory workers who not only knew how to hold a rifle in his hands, but also possessed commanding skills, knew from his own experience what military discipline meant.

As is known, it was more difficult for the Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries to seize power in Moscow than in Petrograd. Efremov these days was an instructor of the 1st Zamoskvoretsky Red Guard detachment, shot at the resisting cadets on the streets of Belokamennaya ...

In the stormy eighteenth, he was entrusted on the Caucasian and Southern fronts, first with a Red Army company, then with a battalion, regiment, brigade, rifle division. He beat the White Cossacks Krasnov and Mamontov, was wounded, ended up in a Voronezh hospital.

We emphasize that his military fate in the hard times of the Civil War was not out of the ordinary. In 1918 - 1919. thousands of officers of the imperial army were mobilized or voluntarily entered the service of the Red Army. They were called in the Red Army, as you know, military specialists or, in short, military experts. According to the information of the Mobilization Directorate of the All-Russian General Staff, in the period from July 29, when the first (partial) conscription of former generals and officers was announced by decree of the Council of People's Commissars, to November 15, 1918, only in six military districts of the European part of the RSFSR, 20,488 former generals and officers, and by the end of 1918 - 22,295 military experts.

Of course, there are cases when individual military experts committed treason, transferred to the camp of the whites, raised a military mutiny, such as, for example, the former lieutenant colonel Muravyov. But the absolute majority of military specialists honestly performed their duty and served the Soviet Republic not out of fear, but out of conscience. Such was Mikhail Efremov.

During the defense in 1919 of Astrakhan - a strategic center that covered the entrance from the Caspian Sea to the Volga, along which the central regions of Russia were supplied with bread and raw materials - Efremov put forward a number of original ideas on the re-equipment of railway cars and platforms into mobile artillery batteries and machine-gun nests, and skillfully applied them.

In the battles for Astrakhan and Tsaritsyn, he was wounded three times with paint. In the midst of the fighting, on the recommendation of the chairman of the Provisional Military Revolutionary Committee, S.M. Kirov joined the CPSU (b). And in the Baku operation of 1920, commanding a railway regiment of four armored trains, he entered his name in the complex history of the Civil War.

At that time, power in Baku belonged to the bourgeois Musavatist government, and the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks were underground. Presovnarkom Ulyanov (Lenin) was opposed to the "mechanical" accession of Azerbaijan to the RSFSR: the colonial policy, in his opinion, did not provide a lasting peace. Vladimir Ilyich strove to create a new, allied Azerbaijan - closely connected with Soviet Russia both politically and economically. After all, Baku oil was needed like air.

And now, after the successful completion of the fighting in the North Caucasus, the 11th Army of the Red Army reached the Azerbaijani border. What was to be done next? On March 17, 1920, Lenin telegraphed the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian Front: “It is extremely, extremely necessary for us to take Baku. Direct all your efforts to this, and be sure to be purely diplomatic in your statements and make sure as much as possible that the preparation of a firm local Soviet government. It's time for Efremov...

Commanding a group of four armored trains, Mikhail Grigorievich made a bold breakthrough of his railway regiment to the capital of Azerbaijan, quickly covering a distance of 300 km. The leaders of the Azerbaijani revolution Baba Aliyev, Anastas Mikoyan and Gazanfar Musabekov followed on the lead armored train "III International". Efremov's gunners cleared the way for him, scattering Musavat units with shrapnel. An unprecedented raid of armored trains ensured an almost bloodless coup in Baku.

That spring, the young military leader learned that in war, not only the right tactical decisions are important, not only the training of fighters and the experience of commanders, but also the psychological climate, the atmosphere of trust that connects the army with society.

Otherwise, disintegration and impotence, as happened with the Musavatists...

In those days, probably, even the leaders of the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, Baba Aliyev and Anastas Mikoyan, could not imagine exactly what kind of state they would have to build after the victory. Yes, and for Efremov, revolutionary ideas remained more like slogans - it is unlikely that he seriously understood Marxism, without having time to read scientific works during the tense time of military suffering. It's just that in combat conditions doubts are unacceptable for the commander. He swore allegiance to October, shed blood for the happiness of the working people and charged others with his faith, unquestioningly, accurately and on time fulfilling military orders ....

After the Baku operation, the brave commander was generously, orientally exquisitely awarded by the new, Soviet, government of Azerbaijan: he received a saber with a golden hilt, a crystal vase with precious stones ... And he also became a knight of the Order of the Red Banner of the RSFSR and a similar order of the Azerbaijan SSR number 1.

After the victorious end of the Civil War, Efremov quickly stepped into the command of the troops - in turn the Volga, Transbaikal, Oryol, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian military districts.

But in the fatal 1937, trouble hung over him, like many commanders ... Hero of October, commander of the 2nd rank Pavel Dybenko, arrested in the case of Marshal Tukhachevsky, testified against Efremov during interrogations. To the negative veil that surrounded Mikhail Grigorievich, his officer past in the Russian army was also added - then the NKVD obviously considered many military experts unreliable.

The district commander was "taken on a pencil." Called to the capital, he was settled for two and a half months under vigilant supervision at the Moscow Hotel. In fact, it was house arrest. Every step, every word was meticulously checked. Then interrogations began, during which the names of Tukhachevsky, Yakir sounded ... Other generals and officers turned sour in such situations, under pressure they began to "confess." But Efremov turned out to be not like that. Endurance and the consciousness of his rightness did not let him down. And when it became clear that it was impossible to get out of this web without outside help, he sent a letter to the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov. He also addressed a letter to Anastas Mikoyan, an old Baku comrade who became one of Stalin's influential associates.

It should be noted that many such desperate letters then remained unanswered. And then the incredible happened. Either the intercession of the people's commissar, a Baku comrade-in-arms, worked, or some lines converged in the plans of the leader ... In a word, Efremov, fortunately, did not get to the Lubyanka, to Yezhov's bone-breakers. But he was given a last test, similar to a performance.

It was either an interrogation, or a friendly conversation with the participation of Voroshilov and Mikoyan, in the presence of the leader. More than 20 different providers are represented on the club's website. There is a convenient system for grouping devices into categories, which helps you find the right software at Rocks Casino. Stalin silently listened to Efremov's explanations and this time believed the hero of the Civil. The case against him was closed.

... The first months of the Great Patriotic War, as you know, were the most tragic. Commanding the 21st Army, Efremov fought fiercely in the Mogilev direction, delayed the advance of the Nazis to the Dnieper. In a desperately difficult August, he temporarily became the commander of the troops of the Central Front. There were huge losses, hundreds of thousands of surrendered Red Army soldiers, endless retreats, panic ... It seemed that the plans of the conquerors were coming true, and the Soviet "empire" was about to crumble, unable to withstand the most powerful blow in world history.

But the Soviet soldiers did not want to put up with this seemingly indisputable logic. Spiritual help came, including from the heroic past. The officers recalled from the school course about the distant Scythian war (a tactic proven in the expanses of Eurasia: to lure the enemy deeper and then destroy), told the soldiers in short moments of calm about Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Peter the Great, read into the chronicle of the battles of the Seven Years War, when the Russians the Prussians were beaten ... They also remembered the Civil, when Yudenich and Denikin threatened revolutionary Petrograd and red Moscow, but the soldiers of the Red Army survived. They found a new meaning in the events of 1812, it is no coincidence that the demand for Tolstoy's "War and Peace" increased tenfold in libraries...

General Efremov also read a lot, finding time even on days of prohibitive overloads. At that fateful time, the general wanted to feel like a link in a long chain that ran through the entire history of the country. By the way, Efremov had a chance to fight on those lines where Russian soldiers defended Moscow more than once from invasions from the west.

In the Moscow direction, in October 1941, he took command of the 33rd Army, which he quickly turned into one of the most combat-ready. But it initially consisted almost entirely of volunteers who signed up for the people's militia, who did not sniff gunpowder ...

In December, Field Marshal von Bock's Army Group Center made a new decisive attempt to break through to Moscow, which was to culminate in the already appointed parade of Nazi troops on Red Square. On December 1, after a powerful artillery preparation, two divisions of the Wehrmacht, five times superior in strength to the defenders, broke through the barrier of the 222nd Infantry Division of the 33rd Army northwest of Naro-Fominsk. Commander of the Western Front G.K. Zhukov ordered Efremov to respond with a counter blow. The operation, developed by the headquarters of the 33rd Army, involved 120 tanks, a rifle brigade, an NKVD regiment and two ski battalions. It turned out to be successful: the 76th rifle regiment of the NKVD and the 136th separate tank battalion drove the Nazis out of the village of Petrovskoye on December 2. With this operation, General Efremov stopped the last attempt of the Germans to break through to the capital.

And during the victorious counter-offensive that began on December 5, Efremov's army liberated Naro-Fominsk on December 26, Borovsk on January 4, and Vereya on January 19.

After continuous two months of fighting, Efremov's troops needed reinforcements and rest. But the order of the commander of the Western Front read: by all means continue the attack on Vyazma!

Georgy Zhukov, the future Marshal of Victory, frankly, rarely admitted his own miscalculations, and for some reason he treated Efremov, his Kaluga countryman, too harshly, by no means paying tribute to his military leadership abilities. The more expensive is the honest confession of the marshal, made after the war, when, from the height of past years, assessing the events of 1942, he directly said that the command of the Western Front and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command "at that time made a mistake in assessing the situation in the Vyazma region" .

These miscalculations are explained, first of all, by the euphoria after the first victories near Moscow, when the Soviet command, headed by the Supreme Commander, considered that the time had already come for a radical turning point in the war, and the Red Army was able to drive the enemy to the very border, and maybe even further. But the Nazi generals, urged on by the Fuhrer, were not at all going to give up the initiative, and the Wehrmacht grouping near Moscow was hastily reinforced with reserves transferred from Western Europe. Therefore, the enemy managed to again increase pressure on the Moscow direction.

As a result, from February 1942, Efremov had to act surrounded by the enemy, in fact, in the German rear. But the exhausted, hungry fighters of the 33rd Army (the backbone of which was the native Muscovite militia) considered themselves the "iron shield of Moscow" and stubbornly did not lay down their arms. From hunger, people were exhausted, having even eaten boiled leather waist belts. There was also no ammunition left. In addition, the snow had melted, and the Red Army soldiers were wearing felt boots. As luck would have it, Ugra also overflowed early. They only kept fighting spirit ...

Throughout March, on Zhukov's orders, units of the 43rd and 50th armies tried to "break through the corridor" towards the encircled. But Efremov himself was forbidden for a long time to make a breakthrough in order to connect with them: Stalin stubbornly believed that the offensive capabilities of the Western Front were by no means exhausted.

The Germans, having taken the 33rd army into the ring, squeezed it tighter every day.

On April 9, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command sent a plane for Efremov: Stalin ordered the courageous general to be taken out of the encirclement. But Yefremov refused to leave his soldiers in such a desperate situation and, in essence, violated the order of the Supreme Commander to come to Moscow.

Only the banners of units of the 33rd Army were loaded onto the plane so that they would not get to the enemy ...

Later, Efremov was offered to get out of the encirclement by roundabout paths with little protection, but it was impossible to save the army with such a maneuver. Therefore, the general was actively preparing a breakthrough for all the encircled forces of the 33rd Army.

Meanwhile, the Nazis put forward an ultimatum to Efremov with honorable terms of surrender, guaranteeing the life of all Red Army soldiers and commanders. Efremov’s reaction to him was an immediate cipher message to the headquarters of the Western Front: “I ask you to bomb the area with the enemy: Kr. Tatar… Besovo.”

Commander Zhukov immediately aimed combat aircraft at the indicated area. The enemy received a worthy response in the form of bombing and assault raids, making sure in his own skin that the adamant general continues to act in complete encirclement, that there is still communication between him and the front command. Efremov's army - seemingly almost completely destroyed - remained a fighting force ...

On the night of April 13-14, 1942, about six thousand soldiers and officers, led by the commander, managed to reach the river. Ugra in the area Viselovo - New Mikhailovka. However, to the surprise of Efremov, there was no “counter strike by units of the 43rd Army of the Western Front”, the organization of which G.K. later spoke about. Zhukov and who would have allowed many to escape, in fact, did not follow ...

Unfortunately, Efremov was seriously wounded in the leg, and could hardly move. In the thicket of the forest near the village of Gornevo, he finally realized that he had no chance of getting out of the encirclement. Moreover, the enemy was pressing, and the cartridges were already out of hand.

The general resolutely rejected the very possibility of captivity, and he could not go on a breakthrough on his own, having received three wounds. He said goodbye to his comrades, whom he did not wish to be a burden, and shot himself (according to the most common version, on April 19).

The surviving Efremovites stubbornly made their way to their own, some joined the partisans. Most died that spring, like the commander, preferring death to captivity.

But there were those who managed to stay alive. One of those who broke through the "boiler" - signalman Vladimir Gud - warmly recalled the commander, who forever remained in the memory of fellow soldiers: "General Efremov is a soldier's father. Did not leave the fighters ... ". Many commanders of the Western Front, who knew Efremov, were sure that if he had escaped, Stalin would have moved him higher than the commander ...

So the Red Army lost a valiant warrior and a talented military leader who valued officer honor above life. But General Efremov gave his life, of course, not in vain: the resilience of the doomed commander was also one of the turning points - a few months later the war rolled into reverse side... By the way, neither the testimonies of the survivors, nor the German captured documents reveal a single fact of the collective surrender of any of the fighters and commanders of the 33rd Army. They didn't give up until the end...

The Germans soon discovered the body of the courageous general and identified him. By order of the enemy command, Efremov was buried with military honors: the Fuhrer's soldiers showed due respect for a worthy enemy.

There is a legend about a German general who was in Slobodka that day and told his soldiers: “You must fight for Germany as bravely and courageously as this general for his homeland!” There is an assumption that it was none other than Walter Model himself, the future Field Marshal, an ambitious and proud military leader. In April 1945, when Nazi soldiers were already surrendering in droves to the Allies, he, in defiance of his comrades-in-arms and like Efremov, preferred suicide to captivity.

After the war, for several decades, the feat of Efremov and the fighters of his 33rd army was almost forgotten. There was a negative attitude towards the commander on the part of some military leaders, who laid the blame almost entirely on Efremov for the Rzhev-Vyazemsky "cauldron" ... Only in our days, the feat of Mikhail Georgievich was appreciated: on December 31, 1996, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia, for which he fought with unwavering courage and fortitude.

Especially for "Century"

The article was published as part of the socially significant project “Russia and the Revolution. 1917 - 2017" with the use of state support funds allocated as a grant in accordance with the order of the President Russian Federation dated 08.12.2016 No. 96/68-3 and on the basis of a competition held by the All-Russian public organization "Russian Union of Rectors".

Two sad anniversaries, inextricably linked, were celebrated in February by Russia. On February 8, 1837, a duel took place between Alexander Pushkin and Georges Dantes. Two days later, on February 10, the poet, mortally wounded in a duel, died. It was 175 years ago.

In itself, the history of the Russian duel of the 19th century is a history of human tragedies, painful deaths, high impulses and moral falls. Thus, then they “sorted things out”, defending their honor and dignity.

Today? Does the concept of "honor" exist in our society? If we are talking about individuals, then among us there are both people of honor and dishonorable people. If we are talking about society, it is difficult to say whether it is possible to truly preserve dignity in our time, or whether today's way of life has left this in the distant past. Is the concept of "honor" relevant in the modern world?

This is our conversation with the head of the sector of museum pedagogy of the All-Russian Museum of A. S. Pushkin E. B. Dobrovolskaya.

- Ekaterina Borisovna, you are studying the life and work of A. S. Pushkin, in particular, the history of the duel and the death of the poet, tell the students about it. Why do you think people used to be willing to die for their honor?

— This topic is very serious, and it is difficult to give a short answer to this question. Honor is a generic concept of a Russian nobleman who perceived his life not as something accidental and isolated, but as a link in a historical chain. He valued his surname, the memory of his ancestors and the opinion of himself not only of those who live nearby, but also of those who will live later. He had to pass on to his children his name unsullied, he dreamed of glorifying his family, his name. This is how I was brought up from childhood. "The road of honor and glory is open before you!" - said, addressing the young lyceum students, on the opening day of the Lyceum, teacher Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn. And they, very young, dreamed of living their lives not in vain, leaving their name in history.

“Honor is higher than the oath,” one of the participants in the Decembrist movement answered the emperor’s question why he had not informed about the existence of a secret society. A sense of honor turned out to be the core of character, something that did not allow one to commit meanness or to chicken out.

“It is not death that is terrible, but dishonor is terrible,” director Yegor Antonovich Engelgardt admonished the graduates of the Lyceum. I am sure that we, today, internally agree with this statement, but we were brought up differently, and therefore it is difficult for most of us to conform to this pattern of behavior. And yet I think that even today a life without a sense of self-respect leads to the destruction of the individual.

What do you think is more important: to defend honor in a duel or, avoiding it, to save your life? Is it worth defending honor at the cost of life?

- I repeat: the duel is a historical concept. This is a way of protecting honor, which was common among the nobles, and especially young officers, at the beginning of the 19th century. But at that time everyone gave his own answer to this question. Pushkin, who participated in several fights, said that he considered the duel "a bitter necessity." The source of this is a heightened understanding of one's own honor. There is a lot of interesting information about duels in the books of Yu. M. Lotman "Conversations about Russian Culture", Ya. A. Gordin "Duels and Duelists".

If we talk about modernity, is it worth keeping your dignity at the cost of life? I believe that there is nothing more precious than life. But I can hardly imagine a happy life with dishonored honor. So, we must not bring to such a situation, and if a conflict has already happened, we must find a way to prove our case, to achieve justice. It is not necessary to strive for this immediately, here a good adviser is time and good friends.

- What is the reason for the loss of honor among today's youth, in your opinion?

- The question is too generalized and categorical in its formulation. Who will define what "modern youth" is? Young people from 15 to 25 years old, they are so different! But there are so many talented people among them! They know languages, are computer savvy, and travel a lot. They do not take “for faith” what they are told about, they know how to analyze, they are able to defend their opinion. All these are wonderful qualities; people of my generation in their youth were, in my opinion, more helpless, naive and suggestible. Yes, there are some young people that I don't understand at all, for example, groups of "fans" or drug addicts. For me, this is a manifestation of the “herd” instinct or inner weakness. Respect is worthy of the individual. A person is inconceivable without self-respect. In my opinion, this is how the sense of honor is manifested at the present time. I don't think it's lost.

— You communicate a lot with young people during classes and lectures. In your opinion, how can you explain to schoolchildren the importance of self-esteem?

“I think it’s too late to explain this to schoolchildren!” This feeling is absorbed with "mother's milk", brought up in the family. IN school age either a person has it or they don't. And, most of them have. And those who allow themselves to be humiliated, to trample on their personality are deeply unhappy people. But it is human nature to want to be happy! So, in my opinion, there is a direct connection: if you want to be happy, respect yourself.

- If there was a chance to change the views on the life of today's youth, what would you try to change?

- I consider it impossible and unnecessary either for myself or for someone to "change someone's outlook on life." I can't imagine how the views of "modern youth" can be changed. I really can't think in those terms. For me, the usual number of interlocutors is 30 (that's how many students were once in the Lyceum), and even better - even less! So, at every lesson at the Lyceum Museum where I work, I try to tell the guys just about how people lived “before us” in the hope that this, albeit alien, but important spiritual experience can be useful to them. Our knowledge, our historical memory, our conscience is what will hold in a moment of weakness and help in trouble. And I am sure that self-esteem at all times remains the inner core of a person. To develop such a core in oneself - that's what I would wish everyone, everyone!

And I also think very important way formation of a worldview, one's own life position reading. It is reading, not turning to the TV screen or computer. They give a picture modern life, often embellished, and sometimes terrifying. The viewer-listener is at the mercy of the director, editor. When a person reads a book, he himself creates the "world" about which he reads, he acts as a creator, not a consumer. I would advise reading historical books, reading memoirs - after all, life did not begin with each of us. By studying history, you live hundreds of lives and gain the most important spiritual experience. And finally, I suggest young people to direct their creative energy to creation, and not to denial (it is always easier to deny!) and to good deeds for those who are close to you - then you will definitely feel that your life is needed.

Interviewed by Nastya Shmakova, Grade 8

Photo by A. Bobyr and photos from personal archive E. Dobrovolskaya

“Honor is dearer than life” (F. Schiller)

“Honor is conscience, but conscience is painfully sensitive. It is self respect and dignity. own life brought to the extreme degree of purity and to the greatest passion.

Alfred Victor de Vigny

Dictionary V.I. Dahl, defines honor and how "the inner moral dignity of a person, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and a clear conscience."Like dignity, the concept of honor reveals a person's attitude to himself and the attitude of society towards him. However, unlike the concept of dignity, the moral value of a person in the concept of honor is associated with a specific social position of a person, the type of his activity and the moral merits recognized for him.

But is honor a fundamental and vital property of a person, or is it something originally invested quality? There is the concept of "dishonest", which defines a person without principles, that is, not responsible for his actions and following contrary to the general rules. But, each person has his own moral norms and rules, which means that honor is inherent in all people without exception. As Anton Pavlovich Chekhov said: "We all know what a dishonorable act is, but we do not know what honor is."You can talk about honor, dignity and conscience based on your own worldviews and experiences, but the concept of honor remains unchanged. “Honor is the same for women and men, girls, married women, old men and women: “do not deceive”, “do not steal”, “do not drink”; only from such rules, which apply to all people, is a code of "honor" in the true sense of the word "-said Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. And if honor is inextricably linked with life, moreover, it is a component of existence, then can it be more precious than life? Is it possible to lose inner qualities only because of some “unworthy” act that will make life itself impossible? I think yes. Honor and life are two interrelated and inseparable concepts that complement each other. After all, the place of "habitation" of these properties is the individual. What confirm the words of Michel Montaigne : “The value and dignity of a man lie in his heart and in his will; it is here that the basis of his true honor lies.Honor is not dearer than life, but not cheaper either. It outlines the limits of what you can afford yourself, and what kind of attitude you can tolerate from others. A synonym for this quality is conscience - the inner judge of the spiritual essence, its guide and beacon. And only everything together makes up a personality, everything depends on the comprehensive development, because “... the principle of honor, although there is something that distinguishes a person from animals, but in itself it does not contain anything that could put a person above animals”- Arthur Schopenhauer. Another understanding of honor correlates with the current definition of reputation. This is how a person shows himself to other people in communication and deeds. In this case, it is important “not to drop dignity” precisely in the eyes of other people, because few people want to communicate with a rude person, do business with an unreliable person, or help a heartless miser in need. In general, the concepts of honor and conscience are very conditional, very subjective. They depend on the value system adopted in any country, in any circle. IN different countries, y different people conscience and honor have completely different interpretations and meanings. It is worth listening to the opinion of the famous British novelist George Bernard Shaw: “It is better to try to be clean and bright: you are the window through which you look at the world.”conscience is dignity reputation

Honor and conscience is one of the most important characteristics human soul. Compliance with the rules of honor gives a person peace of mind and live in harmony with his conscience. But no matter what, then, nothing should be more precious than life, because life is the most precious thing a person has. And to take a life just because of some prejudices or principles is terrible and irreparable. And not to make an irreversible mistake will help to cultivate moral principles in oneself. We must try to live in harmony with nature, society and ourselves.