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Ничего кроме надежды
Четвертая книга тетралогии Ю. Г. Слепухина о Второй мировой войне. Действие происходит с октября 1943 до лета 1945. На фоне событий завершающих этапов войны судьбы главных героев тетралогии меняются неожиданным образом, их чувства подвергаются серьезным испытаниям. Через фронтовую жизнь Сергея Дежнева и генерал-майора Николаева показаны основные сражения этих лет, освобождение от нацизма Европы советскими войсками и атмосфера внутри армии, Берлинская операция. Показана и операция «Оверлорд» - высадка союзников в Нормандии, а также судьбы угнанных в Германию соотечественников, жизнь в трудовых лагерях, возвращение на родину. Для романа характерен историко-фил
684 pages, Kindle Edition
3 people want to read
About the author
Юрий Слепухин
14 books2 followersЮрий Григорьевич Слепухин (Кочетков) — русский писатель второй половины ХХ века. Член Союза писателей СССР с 1962 г., с 1992 г. — член Союза писателей Санкт-Петербурга.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 30, 2022
А эта самая правдивая, наверно.
April 5, 2020
Юрий Слепухин’s novel “Киммерийское лето” is a very special book for me (I’ll talk about it later, as I re-read it recently), so when I learned some time ago that he also wrote a whole series of books (a tetralogy, more exactly) about the earlier life of some of the characters from “Киммерийское лето,” I became interested. However, I had my doubts about the necessity of reading Soviet books about World War Two, even if they were written by a dear to me writer. I understood that he most probably wrote some cardboardish trash full of “patriotic” lies and without much real meaning. And therefore, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about reading it.
Then, quite recently, I read some information about Юрий Слепухин himself, and I was amazed and intrigued. He had a remarkable life, and I instantly became sure that such a person could not write trash. Especially considering that this tetralogy is about World War Two and based on his personal experience and rich knowledge about the war.
Just look at this (from wikipedia):
“После оккупации немецкими войсками Ворошиловска летом 1942 года в ноябре того же года вместе с семьёй был угнан на принудительные работы в Германию. В Германии находился в лагере для восточных рабочих «Шарнхорст» в городе Эссен. С мая 1944 года по март 1945 года батрачил в помещичьей усадьбе в деревне Аппельдорн (округ Клеве, Северный Рейн-Вестфалия). Освобожденный англо-американскими войсками, в начале марта 1945 года был вывезен англичанами в Бельгию для отправки в СССР. Поскольку близкие родственники (сестра и брат матери, муж сестры — чешский коммунист) были репрессированы и находились в заключении, семья Кочетковых, опасаясь репрессий, с помощью русских-эмигрантов первой «волны» сбежала из советского лагеря, в дальнейшем вынуждена была изменить фамилию «Кочетковы» на фамилию «Слепухины» (девичью фамилию бабушки по отцовской линии).
С 1945 по 1947 годы Ю. Г. Слепухин жил в Брюсселе, работая служащим в различных небольших конторах. В Бельгии Слепухин стал членом Национально-Трудового Союза (НТС).
В связи с угоном в Германию Юрий Слепухин не смог завершить среднее образование, в дальнейшем занимался самообразованием, в совершенстве овладел английским, испанским языками, свободно читал на латыни, немецком, французском, польском, украинском языках. Был энциклопедически образован.
В 1947 году уехал вместе с семьей в Аргентину в качестве «перемещённого лица». 10 лет прожил в Буэнос-Айресе, работая разнорабочим на стройке, автомехаником, монтажником, электриком, дизайнером ювелирных изделий. Активно занимался политической и общественной деятельностью, сотрудничал с эмигрантскими газетами и журналами. Входил в состав руководства Южно-Американского отдела НТС. В 1955 году вышел из состава НТС.
В 1956 году подал документы на возвращение на Родину в советское посольство в Буэнос-Айресе. В 1957 году репатриирован из Аргентины в СССР. Первое время жил в Воронеже. В 1958 году переехал в Ломоносов Ленинградской области, с 1964 года жил во Всеволожске Ленинградской области. Более 30 лет руководил Литературным объединением (группа прозаиков) Дома ученых в Санкт-Петербурге.”
Fascinating, huh?!
Of course, knowing this, I immediately started the tetralogy — now not because I wanted to read more about characters from “Киммерийское лето” but because I wanted to know what such a person could (and was able to) tell about World War Two, even considering all the understandable limitations of the Soviet literature.
I should say that I wasn’t disappointed, and this is really a very interesting series of books! It’s not only very well written (it’s interesting as a fiction, despite some cardboardishness here and there), but it also tells about the war much more than I expected. Юрий Слепухин started writing them when he was in emigration, because he wanted to tell about his (quite profound) experience related to the war and life abroad. And yes, this is exactly that part of war-related experience we know very little about — at least from Soviet and approved by the Soviets sources of information.
The tetralogy includes:
1. Перекресток (1962)
2. Тьма в полдень (1968)
3. Сладостно и почетно (1985)
4. Ничего кроме надежды (2000)
In reality, it’s a one long book, with a continuous narration, so there is no point in reading just one of them or reading them in a random order. You should read all of them in this order — or not read them at all.
It’s important to pay attention to the years of publication: as you can see, the first book was published at the very beginning of the “Ottepel” and soon after Юрий Слепухин returned to the USSR; the second one was among the last “non-orthodox” books about the war allowed to be published in the USSR at the time. After this, Юрий Слепухин was ready to publish the last, third book, but it was not allowed to be printed now (too much “blasphemy” of the real historical events and reflections for the more and more hardening Soviet myth about the war). And so the author was left with his last book until more liberal times came, but this was probably for the better, as he was able to improve and widen it (so he eventually divided it into two books), and made the narration much more bold and serious.
Therefore, the tetralogy “grows” in several senses: (1) its heroes are evolving (according to the internal logic of the book) from naive and primitive Soviet teenagers into quite experienced, independent, and strong characters; (2) the narration gradually becomes more mature and masterful with the author’s confidence; (3) the whole meaning of the book develops from quite simplistic pro-Soviet narrow-mindedness to very serious, often painful and important aspects of the history and people’s relationships (as the internal world of the book widens and breaks the borders between countries and nations, the reader is invited to think about the history from increasingly wider angles). If the first book by itself looks not especially worthy, I’d encourage you to keep reading, as everything becomes better and more interesting with every new book, and the last part of the tetralogy is the most powerful one — the kind you would never expect from a Soviet writer (and well, it’s no wonder that it could have been published only 10 years after the death of the USSR).
The internal chronology of the tetralogy is as follows: “Перекресток” is about the late 1930s, and it ends with the main characters graduating from school in June 1941 and the beginning of the war; “Тьма в полдень” is mostly about life in the occupied Ukraine under Germans; “Сладостно и почетно” is about life of a Soviet ostarbeiter in Germany, with a lot of points of view of non-Nazi Germans; and “Ничего кроме надежды” is connecting all the threads together and dedicated to the last days of the war and the first weeks of the post-war world. The last book, as I already said, is the most serious and powerful one, and it covers a lot of aspects, many of which are considered in Russia much more “taboo” now than they were in 2000 (such as the Vlasov’s army, the responsibility of the USSR at the Siege of Leningrad, the violent “repatriation” of millions of people to the USSR after the war, the whole inhumanity of the Stalin’s regime and its devastating impact on the results of the war, etc.).
I saved hundreds of quotes, mostly from the last, forth, book, but I should say that I was quite impressed by the quality and depth of the whole story. Although it’s a fictional story about fictional people, which also was a victim of the Soviet censorship and understandable self-censorship of the author, you can still learn a lot about many significant events of World War Two that were not very much “popular” in the Soviet historiography but are incredibly important and fascinating (like Hitler’s assasination attempt of 1944, or D-Day / Overlord operation, or bombing of Dresden, etc.), especially considering that Юрий Слепухин tells about them quite objectively and at the same time passionately, in the most humane details. I definitely can recommend these books if you are interested in the subject. They have their limitations, but I really liked both the meaning and the style of the author.
Then, quite recently, I read some information about Юрий Слепухин himself, and I was amazed and intrigued. He had a remarkable life, and I instantly became sure that such a person could not write trash. Especially considering that this tetralogy is about World War Two and based on his personal experience and rich knowledge about the war.
Just look at this (from wikipedia):
“После оккупации немецкими войсками Ворошиловска летом 1942 года в ноябре того же года вместе с семьёй был угнан на принудительные работы в Германию. В Германии находился в лагере для восточных рабочих «Шарнхорст» в городе Эссен. С мая 1944 года по март 1945 года батрачил в помещичьей усадьбе в деревне Аппельдорн (округ Клеве, Северный Рейн-Вестфалия). Освобожденный англо-американскими войсками, в начале марта 1945 года был вывезен англичанами в Бельгию для отправки в СССР. Поскольку близкие родственники (сестра и брат матери, муж сестры — чешский коммунист) были репрессированы и находились в заключении, семья Кочетковых, опасаясь репрессий, с помощью русских-эмигрантов первой «волны» сбежала из советского лагеря, в дальнейшем вынуждена была изменить фамилию «Кочетковы» на фамилию «Слепухины» (девичью фамилию бабушки по отцовской линии).
С 1945 по 1947 годы Ю. Г. Слепухин жил в Брюсселе, работая служащим в различных небольших конторах. В Бельгии Слепухин стал членом Национально-Трудового Союза (НТС).
В связи с угоном в Германию Юрий Слепухин не смог завершить среднее образование, в дальнейшем занимался самообразованием, в совершенстве овладел английским, испанским языками, свободно читал на латыни, немецком, французском, польском, украинском языках. Был энциклопедически образован.
В 1947 году уехал вместе с семьей в Аргентину в качестве «перемещённого лица». 10 лет прожил в Буэнос-Айресе, работая разнорабочим на стройке, автомехаником, монтажником, электриком, дизайнером ювелирных изделий. Активно занимался политической и общественной деятельностью, сотрудничал с эмигрантскими газетами и журналами. Входил в состав руководства Южно-Американского отдела НТС. В 1955 году вышел из состава НТС.
В 1956 году подал документы на возвращение на Родину в советское посольство в Буэнос-Айресе. В 1957 году репатриирован из Аргентины в СССР. Первое время жил в Воронеже. В 1958 году переехал в Ломоносов Ленинградской области, с 1964 года жил во Всеволожске Ленинградской области. Более 30 лет руководил Литературным объединением (группа прозаиков) Дома ученых в Санкт-Петербурге.”
Fascinating, huh?!
Of course, knowing this, I immediately started the tetralogy — now not because I wanted to read more about characters from “Киммерийское лето” but because I wanted to know what such a person could (and was able to) tell about World War Two, even considering all the understandable limitations of the Soviet literature.
I should say that I wasn’t disappointed, and this is really a very interesting series of books! It’s not only very well written (it’s interesting as a fiction, despite some cardboardishness here and there), but it also tells about the war much more than I expected. Юрий Слепухин started writing them when he was in emigration, because he wanted to tell about his (quite profound) experience related to the war and life abroad. And yes, this is exactly that part of war-related experience we know very little about — at least from Soviet and approved by the Soviets sources of information.
The tetralogy includes:
1. Перекресток (1962)
2. Тьма в полдень (1968)
3. Сладостно и почетно (1985)
4. Ничего кроме надежды (2000)
In reality, it’s a one long book, with a continuous narration, so there is no point in reading just one of them or reading them in a random order. You should read all of them in this order — or not read them at all.
It’s important to pay attention to the years of publication: as you can see, the first book was published at the very beginning of the “Ottepel” and soon after Юрий Слепухин returned to the USSR; the second one was among the last “non-orthodox” books about the war allowed to be published in the USSR at the time. After this, Юрий Слепухин was ready to publish the last, third book, but it was not allowed to be printed now (too much “blasphemy” of the real historical events and reflections for the more and more hardening Soviet myth about the war). And so the author was left with his last book until more liberal times came, but this was probably for the better, as he was able to improve and widen it (so he eventually divided it into two books), and made the narration much more bold and serious.
Therefore, the tetralogy “grows” in several senses: (1) its heroes are evolving (according to the internal logic of the book) from naive and primitive Soviet teenagers into quite experienced, independent, and strong characters; (2) the narration gradually becomes more mature and masterful with the author’s confidence; (3) the whole meaning of the book develops from quite simplistic pro-Soviet narrow-mindedness to very serious, often painful and important aspects of the history and people’s relationships (as the internal world of the book widens and breaks the borders between countries and nations, the reader is invited to think about the history from increasingly wider angles). If the first book by itself looks not especially worthy, I’d encourage you to keep reading, as everything becomes better and more interesting with every new book, and the last part of the tetralogy is the most powerful one — the kind you would never expect from a Soviet writer (and well, it’s no wonder that it could have been published only 10 years after the death of the USSR).
The internal chronology of the tetralogy is as follows: “Перекресток” is about the late 1930s, and it ends with the main characters graduating from school in June 1941 and the beginning of the war; “Тьма в полдень” is mostly about life in the occupied Ukraine under Germans; “Сладостно и почетно” is about life of a Soviet ostarbeiter in Germany, with a lot of points of view of non-Nazi Germans; and “Ничего кроме надежды” is connecting all the threads together and dedicated to the last days of the war and the first weeks of the post-war world. The last book, as I already said, is the most serious and powerful one, and it covers a lot of aspects, many of which are considered in Russia much more “taboo” now than they were in 2000 (such as the Vlasov’s army, the responsibility of the USSR at the Siege of Leningrad, the violent “repatriation” of millions of people to the USSR after the war, the whole inhumanity of the Stalin’s regime and its devastating impact on the results of the war, etc.).
I saved hundreds of quotes, mostly from the last, forth, book, but I should say that I was quite impressed by the quality and depth of the whole story. Although it’s a fictional story about fictional people, which also was a victim of the Soviet censorship and understandable self-censorship of the author, you can still learn a lot about many significant events of World War Two that were not very much “popular” in the Soviet historiography but are incredibly important and fascinating (like Hitler’s assasination attempt of 1944, or D-Day / Overlord operation, or bombing of Dresden, etc.), especially considering that Юрий Слепухин tells about them quite objectively and at the same time passionately, in the most humane details. I definitely can recommend these books if you are interested in the subject. They have their limitations, but I really liked both the meaning and the style of the author.
June 4, 2025
Заключительная книги тетралогии ...
к сожалению
Писал автор с 1966 по 1988 годы.
Прекрасное произведение. От книги к книге "качество" литературы возрастает, становится интереснее и интереснее, характеры героев прописаны глубже и глубже, уже и сроднился с героями, вошел в их мир.
Каждый раз жалею лишь об одном, что в юности не повстречался мне этот писатель, что не прочитал его раньше.
Замечательные книги )))))
к сожалению
Писал автор с 1966 по 1988 годы.
Прекрасное произведение. От книги к книге "качество" литературы возрастает, становится интереснее и интереснее, характеры героев прописаны глубже и глубже, уже и сроднился с героями, вошел в их мир.
Каждый раз жалею лишь об одном, что в юности не повстречался мне этот писатель, что не прочитал его раньше.
Замечательные книги )))))
August 6, 2023
Грандиозный цикл
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