Life And Fate

'You seem to be obsessed with the Ukrainian question,' said Novikov.

Getmanov reached out for a tin of food and said in a tone of mock threat:

'Very well, Pyotr Pavlovich. But remember this! I won't marry you and your Yevgenia Nikolaevna till we're on Ukrainian soil. The Lieutenant-Colonel's my witness.'

He held out his glass towards Novikov. 'Anyway, let's drink to his Russian heart!'

'That's a good toast,' said Darensky in all sincerity.

Remembering Darensky's dislike of commissars, Novikov said: 'Yes, comrade Lieutenant-Colonel, it's a long time since we last met.'

Getmanov glanced at the table. 'We've got nothing to offer our guest – only a few tins. The cook barely has time to light the stove before we move our command-post. We're on the go day and night. You should have come round before the offensive began. Now we only stop for one hour in every twenty-four. We'll soon be overtaking ourselves.'

'You might at least give us a fork,' said Novikov to his orderly.

'You told us not to unload all that,' he replied.

Getmanov began giving his impressions of the newly-liberated territory.

'The Russians and the Kalmyks are like day and night,' he began.

'The Kalmyks danced to the Germans' tune. They even got issued with green uniforms. They roamed over the steppes, rounding up our men. And just think of what they've been given by Soviet power! They were just a crowd of ragged, illiterate, syphilitic nomads. But it's no good -you can't change a leopard's spots. Even during the Civil War the vast majority were on the side of the Whites. And just think how much money we spent on all those weeks dedicated to the friendship of nations. We'd have done better to spend it on building another tank factory in Siberia. I met one young woman, a Don Cossack, who told me what she went through during these months. No, there's no doubt about it – the Kalmyks have betrayed the confidence of the Russians. That's what I'm going to say in my report to the Military Soviet.'

He turned to Novikov.

'Do you remember what I said about Basangov? My intuition as a Communist didn't let me down. But don't you be offended, Pyotr Pavlovich. That's not meant as a reproach. Do you think I've never made mistakes in my life? But you can't overestimate the importance of nationality. That's what we've been taught by the experience of the war. And you know the name of a Bolshevik's best teacher? Experience.'

'As for what you say about the Kalmyks,' said Darensky, 'I couldn't agree more. I've just been in the Kalmyk steppe myself. I can tell you – I've had enough of driving through all these Shebeners and Kicheners.'

What made him say that? He had spent a long time in the steppes and never once felt the least antipathy toward the Kalmyks. On the contrary, he had felt a genuine interest in their customs and way of life.

It was as if the commissar was endowed with some magnetic power. Darensky felt a need to agree with everything he said. Novikov looked at him with a mocking smile; he knew Getmanov's power only too well.

'I know you've suffered injustice in your time,' said Getmanov to Darensky unexpectedly. 'But don't you go nursing a grudge against us Bolsheviks. What we want is the good of the people.'

Darensky, who had always thought that military commissars did nothing but spread confusion, said: 'But of course. How could I fail to understand that?'

'Certainly there have been times when we've gone too far,' Getmanov continued. 'But the people will pardon us. They will! We're good fellows. And we mean well. Isn't that so?'

Novikov gave the two men a friendly look and said: 'Don't you think we've got a fine commissar?'

'You have indeed,' said Darensky.

'That's right,' said Getmanov. They all three began to laugh.

As though reading the thoughts of the two officers, Getmanov looked at his watch and said: 'Well, I'm going to go and lie down. I should be able to get a decent night's sleep for once. We're like gypsies – always on the road. It's ten days since I've taken off my boots. Where's the chief of staff? Is he asleep?'

'Asleep!' said Novikov. 'He's already taking a look at our new quarters. We'll be off again in the morning.'

Novikov and Darensky were left on their own.

'You know,' said Darensky, 'there's one thing I've never quite managed to understand… Not long ago I was in the sands near the Caspian. I felt very depressed. I felt it was the end of everything. And then what? I find we've achieved this. What power! What does anything else matter beside this?'

'As for me,' said Novikov, 'I'm really beginning to understand what we Russians can do. We're a fierce breed. We're real wolves.'

'What power!' repeated Darensky. 'And the important thing is this: under the leadership of the Bolsheviks we Russians are the vanguard of humanity. Everything else is just an insignificant detail.'

'I'll tell you what,' said Novikov. 'Would you like me to ask again to have you transferred here? You could be the deputy chief of staff. We'd be fighting shoulder to shoulder again. How about it?'

'Thank you,' said Darensky. 'Who would I be deputy to?'

'General Nyeudobnov. That's as it should be – a lieutenant-colonel as deputy to a general.'

'Nyeudobnov? The one who was abroad just before the war? In Italy?'

'That's right. He's no Suvorov, but it's possible to work with him.'

Darensky didn't say anything. Novikov looked at him. 'Well?'

Darensky put his hand up to his mouth and pulled up his upper lip.

'See these crowns?' he said. 'That's Nyeudobnov's work. He knocked out two teeth of mine when he was interrogating me in 1937.'

They looked at each other, didn't say anything, and looked at each other again.

'A very competent man,' said Darensky. 'Certainly.'

'Of course,' said Novikov with an ironic smile. 'After all, he's not one of those Kalmyks. He's a Russian!'

'And now let's have a real drink,' he bellowed. 'Let's drink like Russians!'

Darensky had never drunk so much in his life. Nevertheless, but for the two empty bottles on the table, no one would have guessed quite how much the two men had accounted for. They were now addressing each other as 'ty'.

As he refilled the glasses for the hundredth time, Novikov said: 'Come on! Don't hold back now!'

For once, Darensky didn't hold back.

They talked about the first days of the war and the retreat, about Blucher and Tukhachevsky, about Zhukov. Darensky spoke about his interrogation.

Novikov told Darensky how he'd delayed for a few minutes at the very beginning of the offensive. He didn't tell him how very mistaken he'd been concerning his brigade commanders. Their talk turned to the Germans. Novikov said how he'd thought the summer of 1941 would have hardened him for ever. But, as soon as he'd seen the first columns of prisoners, he'd given orders to improve their rations and to have anyone wounded or frostbitten taken to the rear by truck.

'Just now your commissar and I were abusing the Kalmyks,' said Darensky. 'And we were quite right. But it's a pity your Nyeudobnov isn't here. I'd like to have a few words with him. Yes, I certainly would.'

'And were there no collaborators among the Russians in Kursk and Orel?' asked Novikov. 'What about General Vlasov? He's hardly a Kalmyk. As for my Basangov – he's a fine soldier. And Nyeudobnov's a Chekist. He's not a soldier at all. My commissar told me that. But we Russians are going to conquer. Yes, I'll get to Berlin myself. The Germans will never be able to stop us now.'

'I know about Nyeudobnov and Yezhov and all that,' said Darensky. 'But there's only one Russia now – Soviet Russia. And even if they knock out every one of my teeth, that won't change my love for Russia. I'll love Russia till my dying day. But I won't be deputy to a prostitute like that. No, comrade, you must be joking!'

Novikov poured out some more vodka. 'Come on! Don't hold back!'

Then he said: 'But who knows what else will happen? One day I'll be in disgrace myself.'

Changing the subject again, he said: