The novel "Bayazet": who is the author, content, reviews about the book

It is not easy to write about the history: if you depict everything as it was in reality, the reader may find this boring, and if you embellish everything, the writer will be accused of distorting the facts. Despite these difficulties, historical novels have always been a fairly popular genre of literature.

There is a huge number of Russian writers who specialize in works of this kind, but not all of them write really worthwhile books. Valentin Pikul, fortunately, is an exception - his works are really interesting to read. The novel "Bayazet" became the first composition of this author, written on the basis of real historical events.

Valentin Savvich Pikul

Already more than a quarter of a century of this outstanding novelist is not alive, but his books are read every year by thousands of people. As at the time of Alexandre Dumas, Valentin Pikul was often criticized for his rather free treatment of historical facts. However, even the most ardent critics of his work noted the unsurpassed writer's style of this author, thanks to which it is impossible to tear himself away from reading his works.

In total for his literary career Pikul wrote more than 30 works, most of which - historical novels. The author's most famous books are "Bayazet", "Pen and Sword", "Evil Force", "Favorite", "I have Honor" and "Janissaries". Also, Valentin Savvich planned to write about the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Vrubel and Princess Sophia (elder sister of Tsar Peter Alekseevich), but the sudden death from a heart attack prevented this.

The novel by V. S. Pikul "Bayazet"

The first novel, which came from the pen of the writer, was "Ocean patrol." Despite the popularity, which the masterpiece enjoyed from Soviet readers, the author himself was dissatisfied with this work. His next major work was the historical novel "Bayazet." This book was written for 2 years (1959-1960), but it was published only in 1961.

"Bayazet" was the first and very successful attempt of Valentin Pikul to write a novel based on historical events. And although in the work itself there are certain shortcomings and roughness, it is rightfully considered one of the best among the written by Pikul.

Historical Background

As a historical basis for his novel, Pikul took a very tragic and simultaneously incredibly heroic moment from the Russian-Turkish war in 1877-1878. - the so-called bayazet seat. It is about the defense of the Turkish fortress Bayazet by the troops of the Russian Empire. This building was in a strategically important place - at the crossroads of the Ottoman Empire and Armenia.

If the Russian troops did not keep the fortress, the Turks would open a direct road to the lands of peace-loving Armenians, and then - the Georgians. However, understanding that with the fall of Bayazet, the inhabitants of these countries will become victims of the Turkish genocide, the valiant military men held the city for almost a month (22 days), languishing with thirst and hunger. Only on the 23rd day did the Erivan detachment of the Russian army Lieutenant-General Tergukasov approach the fortress, whose forces were liberated by Bayazet.

Pikul's novel contains both characters who existed in reality and manifested themselves as true heroes in the defense of the city, as well as those invented by the author.

The structure of the novel

The author divided his work into two parts, each of which, in turn, is divided into 4 chapters.

The first part describes the events before the siege of Bayazet. And in the second - directly the "bajazet seat" and the fate of the surviving heroes after the siege.

main characters

The main character in the work is lieutenant Andrei Karabanov, it is from his arrival in the fortress that the novel "Bayazet" begins. He is a man of rare courage and daring, which is perfectly combined with extreme brutality and persistence. He feels a sense of duty and nobility, but due to the fact that much is given to the guarantor with ease, he does not really appreciate much.

If Karabanov is a character invented by Pikul, then his beloved, if it can be called Aglaya Khvoshchinskaya, in reality existed. Only her name was Alexandra Efremovna Kovalevskaya. As in the book, she was the wife of a demoted commander of the city. This woman bravely survived the whole siege, sharing with the wounded the latest products from her own stock. After the release of Bayazet, Kovalevskaya became so weak that the soldiers carried her out of town.

Aglaya is a rather complicated character. On the one hand, she is an incredibly noble woman who does not hesitate to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. On the other hand, she is an overly passionate person who is not always able to own her heart.

In addition to Karabanov and Colonel Khvoshchinsky (Aglaya's wife, who died heroically during the siege), another person in love with a brave woman is civil engineer Baron von Klugenau. Unlike the brave lieutenant, he is not so brilliant, and Khvoshchinskaya's heart does not melt at his appearance. However, throughout the book he shows himself as a truly worthy and brave person. He not only shoots commander Bayazet, who intended to surrender the fortress to the Turks, but also gives his portion of water to his beloved woman, risking himself to die of thirst.

Colonel Khvoshchinsky (in reality, he was called Kovalevsky) - one of the best images in the book. He is not only a visionary commander, whom soldiers love, like his father's, but also a wise man. Being an honest soldier and not knowing how to curry favor with his superiors, he is dismissed from his position in favor of the short-sighted and narcissistic Colonel Adam Patsevich.

Hardly having received under the command of the city, this hero instantly deserved the hatred and contempt of his subordinates. It is because of his fault that Bayazet did not have sufficient water reserves, and many worthy soldiers died. In addition, it was he who had the initiative to surrender the city to the Turks. Only the diligence of his subordinates, who disobeyed the criminal order, the city stood. It is interesting that Patsevich is quite sincere in his callousness: he will consider the siege of Bayazet at the threshold of death an unfortunate misunderstanding that prevented him from making a brilliant political career. It is worth noting that this character had a real prototype with a similar name, true in the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Also in the novel there are other characters actually participating in the defense of the city: Ismail Khan of Nakhichevan, Efrem Shtokvits, Vasily Odes-de-Zion, and so on.

Plot

The novel "Bayazet" begins with the arrival of Lieutenant Karabanov in the fortress. The impudent and brave man pretty soon settles here and makes friends with other officers. Acquaintance with the wife of the commander of Khvoshchinsky fortress is a pleasant surprise for him, because it turns out that the lieutenant had an affair with this woman before she became the wife of the colonel. Despite the fact that Andrei understands that he does not act very nobly, he tries to play on Aglaya's past feelings.

Meanwhile, Khvoshchinsky removed from office, put in his place careerist Patsevich. Once in power, the new chief changes the defense system of Bayazet, developed by his predecessor, thus worsening the situation of the garrison. And after the unsuccessful military campaign organized by Patsevich, the fortress is under siege.

First of all, the Turks cover the water, and since there are practically no supplies of water and food in the city, the famine begins in the garrison. In addition, not being able to wash, Bayazet's defenders are tortured with lice and various infectious diseases.

At the time of the general storming of the city by soldiers of the Turkish commander Faik-Pasha Adam Patsevich orders to lay down his arms. However, Andrei Karabanov, Aglaya Khvoshchinskaya and most other defenders of the city do not obey him. When Patsevich climbs the fortress wall to declare the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire to surrender the fortress, Baron von Klugenau shoots him in the back. But due to the fact that simultaneously a Turkish bullet enters the colonel, the true culprit of the death of the commander is unknown to the majority.

Despite the plight of Bayazet's defenders, the Russian military decided to stand up to the end. Suddenly the sky itself sends help to them - it's raining, and thirsty people get enough water. And soon, General Turgukasov comes to the besieged with the army and liberates the city.

After the victory, the heroes of Bayazet receive rewards and scatter throughout the vast expanses of the Russian Empire. Andrei Karabanov several times gets a chance to make a great career, but due to his willful character and drunkenness he dies in a duel at the hands of the cowardly prince Wittgenstein. Freethink Staff Captain Yuri Nekrasov falls under arrest for his revolutionary activities. Friends try to rescue him, but because of Nekrasov's stupid obstinacy they can not do it.

Fedor von Klugenau gives a huge sum of money to the family of the deceased comrade Major Potresov. After that he worked for many years as an engineer in St. Petersburg. Having met Aglaya again, he connects his fate with her.

The problems of the novel

In the work "Bayazet" the author of the novel not only describes the courage and mutual assistance of Russian officers in the face of death, but also raises a lot of rather difficult problems.

First of all, the book quite frankly depicts the shortcomings of the Russian army, which it suffers to this day. This is the presence of unskilled career commanders in high-ranking troops, due to the incompetence of which the best soldiers often die.

Also in "Bayazet" criticized corruption, which existed at that time: combat officers under enemy fire, unable to get their own salaries due to various bureaucratic delays. Only through the efforts of the impudent impudent Karabanov, who knows how to give bribes, the soldiers get their blood money earned.

The novel "Bayazet" reveals the topic of drunkenness among the officers quite unattractively. It's the habit of getting drunk in the trash that leads to the death of the main character. After all, all the most stupid acts that led to his premature and rather stupid death, Lieutenant Karabanov committed in a state of intoxication. This behavior of the hero also has a second side of the medal - drinking, he drowned out the spiritual emptiness, the sufferings of conscience and the inability to find application for his rather uncommon abilities. But in this situation, there is a share of the guilt and leadership of the hero: closing his eyes to such officer's antics, they thereby instilled in him a sense of permissiveness, which was quite costly to him.

As for the love story, in the book it is rather sad, although realistic. Despite the presence of several noble men who love and appreciate her, Aglaya gives her heart to Karabanova, thus confirming the generally accepted view that women love scoundrels.

In this case, all Pikul in his novel shows that, despite numerous problems and disagreements, in the face of common misfortune all the heroes quit their conflicts and, united, rebuff the enemy. In the face of possible death, the defenders of Bayazet show real heroism and nobility, which, it seemed, were not capable at another time. It is noteworthy that even after the overthrow of the commander-traitor among the soldiers and officers, anarchy and lawlessness does not begin, but on the contrary, they unite and continue to function as a single military organism.

The novel "Bayazet": feedback from readers

In 1961, when Bayazet was first published, its success was largely due to the lack of serious competition among Western books that were rarely printed in the USSR.

However, today, thanks to the Internet, readers have the opportunity to read almost any work on the planet, the popularity of the novel testifies to its high artistic value.

Most of those who read "Bayazet" in the two thousandth, praise him for the excellent description of the courage and friendship of the defenders of the fortress. The book also attracts its scale, but at the same time, the absence of pathos typical for historical works.

Among the shortcomings of the book, readers indicate excessive oversaturation of the novel by the protagonists, which are sometimes difficult to remember. Some in their reviews criticize the complexity of the structure of the work, and also point to the difficult impression left after reading due to a realistic description of the numerous deaths. Others, on the contrary, consider this a virtue of the book, because it makes it an interesting historical work.

The screen version of the novel

Thanks to the popularity of the book in 2003, it was based on the eponymous television series for 12 episodes. In it, Andrei Karabanov was played by Alexei Serebryakov, his beloved (in the picture her name is not Aglaya, but Olga) - Olga Budina, and sheep von Klugenau - Ignaty Arakatchkov.

In 2017 will be 140 years since the "Bayazet seat" happened. It's nice that this important event has not been forgotten by descendants, which was promoted by Valentin Pikul's book "Bayazet". Who wrote the novel in 1961, probably did not even suspect that his work would perpetuate the feat of Russian officers. I want to believe that the nobility and boldness of the military, described in the book, are still inherent in many today.