Writing about history is not easy: if you depict everything as it was in reality, it may seem boring to the reader, and if you embellish everything, the writers will certainly be accused of distorting the facts. Despite these difficulties, historical novels have always been a fairly popular genre of literature.
There are a huge number of Russian writers specializing in works of this kind, but not all of them write really worthwhile books. Fortunately, Valentin Pikul is an exception - his works are really interesting to read. The novel "Bayazet" was the first work of this author, written on the basis of real historical events.
Valentine Savich Pikul
For more than a quarter of a century this outstanding novelist has not survived, but his books are read annually by thousands of people.
Both
Alexander Dumas and Valentin Pikul were often criticized for his rather free treatment of historical facts. However, even the most ardent critics of his work noted the unsurpassed writing style of this author, thanks to which it is impossible to break away from reading his works.
In total, during his literary career, Pikul wrote more than 30 works, most of which are historical novels. The most famous books of the author: “Bayazet”, “Feather and Sword”, “Unclean Force”, “Favorite”, “Honor I have” and “Janissaries”. Valentin Savvich also planned to write about the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Vrubel and Tsarevna Sofya (the elder sister of Tsar Peter Alekseevich), but sudden death from a heart attack prevented this.
Roman V. S. Pikul “Bayazet”
The first novel that came out of the pen of the writer was Ocean Patrol.
Despite the popularity that the masterpiece enjoyed among Soviet readers, the author himself was dissatisfied with this work. His next major creation was the historical novel Bayazet.
This book was written over 2 years (1959-1960), but it was possible to publish it only in 1961.
Bayazet was the first and very successful attempt by Valentin Pikul to write a novel based on historical events. And although there are certain flaws and roughnesses in the work itself, it is rightfully considered one of the best among those written by Pikul.
Historical basis
As a historical basis for his novel, Pikul took a very tragic and at the same time incredibly heroic moment from the Russian-Turkish war in 1877-1878. - the so-called Bayazet seat. We are talking about the defense of the Turkish fortress of Bayazet by the troops of the Russian Empire. This building was located in a strategically important place - at the crossroads of the Ottoman Empire and Armenia.
If the Russian troops did not hold the fortress, the Turks would have opened a direct road to the lands of peace-loving Armenians, and after that - Georgians. However, realizing that during the fall of Bayazet, the inhabitants of these countries will become victims of Turkish genocide, the valiant military kept the city for almost a month (22 days), exhausted from thirst and hunger. Only on the 23rd day the Erivan detachment of the Russian army came up to the fortress, Lieutenant General Tergukasov, whose forces liberated Bayazet.
Roman Pikul contains both characters who existed in reality and proved to be true heroes during the defense of the city, as well as invented by the author.
Novel structure
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 - the “Bayazetan seat” itself and the fate of the heroes who survived it after the siege ended.
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. This is a man of rare courage and daring, which combines perfectly with extreme brazenness and perseverance. A sense of duty and nobility is not alien to him, but due to the fact that much is given to the lieutenant with ease, he really does not really appreciate much.
If Karabanov is a character invented by Pikul, then his beloved, if you can call it Aglaya Khvoshchinskaya, really existed. Only her name was Alexandra Efremovna Kovalevskaya. As in the book, she was the wife of the demoted commander of the city. This woman courageously survived the entire siege, sharing with the wounded last products from her own stock. After the release of Bayazet, Kovalevskaya was so weakened that the soldiers carried her out of town in her arms.
Aglaia is a rather complex character. On the one hand, she is an incredibly noble woman who does not hesitate to sacrifice herself for the good of others. On the other hand, she is an overly passionate person, not always able to control her heart.
In addition to Karabanov and Colonel Khvoshchinsky (Aglaya’s wife, who died heroically during the siege), another character is in love with a courageous woman - civil engineer Baron von Klugenau. Unlike the brave lieutenant, he is not so brilliant, and the heart of Khvoshchinsky does not die when he appears. However, throughout the book he shows himself as a truly worthy and courageous person. He not only shoots the Bayazet commander, who intended to surrender the fortress to the Turks, but also gives his portion of water to his beloved woman, risking himself to die from thirst.
Colonel Khvoshchinsky (in reality he was called Kovalevsky) is one of the best images in the book. He is not only a far-sighted commander whom the soldiers love, like a father, but also a wise man. Being an honest warrior and not knowing how to curry favor with his superiors, he was removed from his post in favor of the short-sighted and narcissistic Colonel Adam Patsevich.
Having barely received the city under his command, this hero instantly earned the hatred and contempt of his subordinates. It was his fault in Bayazet that not enough water was made, and many worthy soldiers were killed. In addition, it was he who owned the initiative to surrender the city to the Turks. Only through the efforts of his subordinates, disobeying a criminal order, the city survived. It is interesting that Patsevich is quite sincere in his soullessness: even on the verge of death, he considers the siege of Bayezat to be an annoying 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, though with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Also in the novel there are other characters who actually participated in the defense of the city: Ismail Khan Nakhichevan, Efrem Shtokvits, Vasily Ode de Sion, etc.
Plot
The novel “Bayazet” begins with the arrival of Lieutenant Karabanov in the fortress. The impudent and courageous man quickly gets used to it here and makes friends with other officers. Acquaintance with the wife of the commander of the fortress Khvoshchinsky is a pleasant surprise for him, as 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 is not quite noble, he is trying to play on Aglaya's former feelings.
Meanwhile, Khvoshchinsky is removed from his post, put in his place the careerist Patsevich. Having become in power, the new boss changes the Bayazet defense system developed by his predecessor, thereby worsening the position of the garrison. And after an unsuccessful military campaign organized by Patsevich, the fortress is under siege.
First of all, the Turks shut off the water, and since the city has practically no supplies of water and food, famine begins in the garrison. In addition, unable to wash themselves, Bayazet defenders were tortured with lice and various infectious diseases.
At the time of the general assault on the city by the soldiers of the Turkish military leader Faik Pasha, Adam Patsevich orders to lay down his arms. However, Andrei Karabanov, Aglaya Khvoshchinskaya and most of the other defenders of the city are not subordinate to him. When Patsevich rises to the fortress wall to announce the delivery of the fortress to the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, Baron von Klugenau shoots him in the back. But due to the fact that the Turkish bullet also hits 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 decides to stand to the end. Suddenly, the sky itself sends them help - it rains, and those who are thirsty receive enough water. And soon General Tergukasov came to the besieged with the army and freed the city.
After the victory, the heroes of Bayezet receive awards and scatter across all the vast expanses of the Russian Empire. Andrei Karabanov several times gets a chance to make an excellent career, but due to his willful character and drunkenness, he dies in a duel at the hands of the cowardly Prince Wittgenstein. Freethinker staff captain Yuri Nekrasov is arrested for his revolutionary activities. Friends are trying to rescue him, but because of the stupid stubbornness of Nekrasov, they do not succeed.
Fedor Petrovich von Klugenau gives a huge amount of money to the family of the deceased comrade - Major Potresov. After that, he worked for many years as an engineer in St. Petersburg. Meeting Aglaya again, he connects his fate with her.
The problems of the novel
In 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 complicated 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 in the high-ranking troops of unskilled career commanders, because of the incompetence of which the best soldiers often die.
Also, Bayazet criticizes the corruption that existed already at that time: combat officers under enemy fire are not able to receive their own salaries due to various bureaucratic delays. Only through the efforts of the shameless insolent Karabanov, who knows how to give bribes, do soldiers receive their money with blood.
Quite unsightly reveals the theme of drunkenness among officers novel "Bayazet". It is the habit of getting drunk in the trash that leads to the death of the protagonist. After all, all of his most stupid things that led to his premature and rather stupid death, Lieutenant Karabanov committed while intoxicated. This behavior of the hero has a second side to the coin - with a drink he drowned out the spiritual emptiness, tormented conscience and inability to find application for his rather extraordinary abilities. But at the same time, in this situation, there is a share of guilt and leadership of the hero: by turning a blind eye to the officer’s similar tricks, they thereby instilled in him a sense of permissiveness, which cost him quite a lot.
As for the love story, in the book it is rather sad, although realistic. Despite the presence of several noble men who love and value her, Aglaya gives her heart to Karabanov, thereby confirming the generally accepted opinion that women love bastards.
At the same time, in his novel Pikul shows everyone that, despite numerous problems and disagreements, in the face of a common misfortune, all the heroes leave their feuds and, united, give a rebuff to the enemy. In the face of a possible death, the Bayazet defenders show real heroism and nobility, which, it seemed, were not capable at another time. It is noteworthy that even after the overthrow of the traitorous commander among soldiers and officers, anarchy and lawlessness do not begin, but rather, they unite and continue to function as a single military organism.
The novel "Bayazet": reader reviews
In 1961, when Bayazet was first published, its success was largely due to the lack of serious competition among Western books, which were rarely published in the USSR.
However, today, when thanks to the Internet, readers have the opportunity to read almost any work on the planet, the popularity of the novel indicates its high artistic value.
Most of those who read Bayazet in the 2000s praise him for his excellent description of the courage and friendship of the defenders of the fortress. The book also attracts with its scale, but at the same time with the absence of pathos characteristic of historical works.
Among the shortcomings of the work, readers indicate the excessive oversaturation of the novel with the main characters, which are sometimes difficult to remember. Some in their reviews criticize the complexity of the structure of the work, and also point out the heavy impression left after reading due to a realistic description of the numerous deaths. Others, on the contrary, consider this a virtue of the book, as this makes it an interesting historical work.
The film adaptation of the novel
Due to the popularity of the book in 2003, on its basis a television series of the same name was shot for 12 episodes.
In it, the role of Andrei Karabanov was played by Alexei Serebryakov, his lover (in the picture her name is not Aglaya, but Olga) is Olga Budina, and the ram von Klugenau is Ignatius Akrachkov.
In 2017, 140 years will have passed since the “Bayazetan seat” took place. It is pleasant that this important event was not forgotten by the descendants, which was facilitated by the book of Bayazet by Valentin Pikul. Who wrote the novel in 1961 probably did not even suspect that his work would perpetuate the feat of Russian officers. I would like to believe that the nobility and courage of the military, described in the book, are inherent in many today.