Morozka
The commander of the partisan detachment, Levinson, gives Morozka, his orderly, a package with an order to take him to Shaldyba, the commander of another partisan detachment. This is how the work “Destruction” begins. We will briefly describe the chapters by chapter in this article.
Morozka, however, does not want to go; he argues with Levinson and makes excuses. The commander, in the end, gets tired of the eternal punctuation of this partisan. He takes the letter from him, advising Morozka to get away, since he does not need troublemakers. The disobedient partisan instantly changes his mind, takes the letter, rather to himself than to the commander, explaining that he cannot go without a detachment, after which he sets off on the road with the package.
The hero Morozka is a second generation miner. He was born in a miners' barracks, and already at the age of 12 he began to “roll trolleys” himself. His life followed a well-worn path, like everyone else’s. This guy was once in jail, and also served in the cavalry, was shell-shocked, and therefore was dismissed from the army before the revolution. Returning home, he got married. As Fadeev writes, Morozka did everything thoughtlessly, because life seemed to him simple, simple, like a “Murom cucumber.” This was the hero of the work “Destruction” (Fadeev). A chapter-by-chapter summary will also introduce you to this character more closely. In 1918, he went with his wife to defend the Soviets. It was not possible to defend power, so our hero joined the partisans.
Morozka, hearing the shots, crawled to the top of the hill and saw from there that the Shaldyba fighters were being attacked by the “whites” and they were running. The enraged commander whips his stick in all directions, but cannot restrain his men. Some of them could be seen tearing off red bows furtively.
Morozka is outraged, watching all this. He saw one limping boy among the retreating people. The fighter fell, but his comrades ran on. I couldn't see this Frost. He called his horse, jumped on it and went to the fallen fighter. Bullets whistled around. Morozka made his horse lie down, laid the wounded man across the croup and rode with him to his squad.
Alexander Fadeev - Defeat
Alexander Fadeev
Destruction
I. Morozka
Crumbling up the steps with a battered Japanese saber, Levinson went out into the yard. Buckwheat honey wafted from the fields. The July sun floated overhead in hot white and pink foam.
Orderly Morozka, driving away the frenzied guinea fowl with a whip, was drying oats on a tarpaulin.
“You’ll take Shaldyba to the detachment,” Levinson said, holding out the package. - Convey it in words... however, there’s no need - it’s all written there.
Morozka turned his head away with displeasure and played with his whip - he didn’t want to go. Tired of boring government trips, useless packages, and most of all, Levinson’s alien eyes; deep and large, like lakes, they absorbed Morozka along with his boots and saw many things in him that, perhaps, even Morozka himself did not know.
“Cheater,” thought the orderly, flapping his eyelids resentfully.
- Why are you standing there? - Levinson got angry.
- Well, comrade commander, where to go, come to Morozka. It’s as if there’s no one else in the squad...
Morozka deliberately said “comrade commander” to make it sound official: he usually called him simply by his last name.
- Maybe I should go myself, huh? - Levin-son asked caustically.
- Why do it yourself? As many people as you like... Levinson put the package in his pocket with the decisive air of a man who has exhausted all peaceful possibilities.
“Go and hand over your weapons to the guard,” he said with deadly calm, “and you can get out of here.” I don’t need troublemakers...
A gentle wind from the river ruffled Morozka’s unruly curls. In the frozen wormwood near the barn, tireless grasshoppers forged the hot air.
“Wait,” Morozka said gloomily. - Give me a letter. When he hid it in his bosom, he explained to himself not so much to Levinson:
“It’s impossible for me to leave the detachment, and even more so to give up my rifle.” “He pushed his dusty cap onto the back of his head and finished in a rich, suddenly cheerful voice: “That’s why it’s not because of your wonderful eyes, my friend Levinson, that we made this mess!.. I’ll tell you in a simple way, like a miner!”
“That’s exactly it,” the commander laughed, “but at first he babbled... stupid!”
Morozka pulled Levinson by the button and said in a mysterious whisper:
“Brother, I’m already ready to go to the infirmary with Varyukha, and you’re here with your package.” It turns out that you are the biggest idiot...
He blinked his green-brown eye slyly and snorted, and in his laughter - even now, when he was talking about his wife - there were obscene notes that had become ingrained over the years, like mold.
- Timosha! - Levinson shouted to the dazed boy on the porch. - Go keep oats: Morozka is leaving.
At the stables, straddling an overturned trough, demolition worker Goncharenko was repairing leather packs. He had a bare, sun-scorched head and a dark, reddish beard, tightly rolled up like felt. Bending his flint face towards the packs, he swung the needle, like a pitchfork. Mighty blades moved under the canvas like millstones.
-Are you going away again? - asked the demolition man.
“That’s right, your subversive dignity!” Morozka stood up straight and saluted, placing his palm in an inappropriate place.
“At ease,” said Goncharenko condescendingly, “he was such a fool himself.” What business are they sending for?
- And so, it doesn’t matter; The commander ordered me to warm up. Otherwise, he says, you’re giving birth to more children here.
“Fool...” the demolition man muttered, biting off the dredge, “suchan chatter.”
Morozka led the horse out of the puny. The maned stallion twitched his ears warily. He was strong, shaggy, trotting, and looked like his owner: the same clear, green-brown eyes, just as squat and bow-legged, just as rustically cunning and lascivious.
“Mishka... uh... Satan...,” Morozka grumbled lovingly, tightening the girth. - Bear... uh... God's little beast...
“If you figure out which of you is smarter,” the demolition man said seriously, “it’s not for you to ride Mishka, but for Mishka to ride you, by God.”
Morozka trotted out beyond the cattle.
An overgrown country road hugged the river. Filled with the sun, buckwheat and wheat fields lay across the river. The blue caps of the Sikhote-Alin ridge swayed in a warm shroud.
Morozka was a second generation miner. His grandfather - the Suchansky grandfather, offended by his god and people - was still plowing the land; father traded black soil for coal.
Morozka was born in a dark barracks, near mine No. 2, when a hoarse whistle called the morning shift to work.
“A son?..” the father asked when the mine doctor came out of his closet and told him that it was the son who was born, and not anyone else.
“So, the fourth one...” the father summed up obediently. - Happy life…
Then he pulled on a coal-stained canvas jacket and went to work.
At the age of twelve, Morozka learned to get up when the whistle sounded, to roll trolleys, to say unnecessary, mostly swear words, and to drink vodka. There were no fewer taverns at the Suchansky mine than piledrivers.
A hundred fathoms from the mine the valley ended and the hills began. From there, moss-covered fir trees looked sternly at the village. On gray, foggy mornings, taiga red deer tried to shout over the horns. In the blue spans of the ridges, through steep passes, on endless rails, day after day, deco-villes loaded with coal crawled to the Kangauz station. On the ridges, drums black with fuel oil, trembling from tireless tension, wound slippery cables. At the foot of the passes, where stone buildings were uninvited among the fragrant pine needles, people were working for unknown reasons, “cuckoos” were whistling in discordant voices, and electric lifts were humming.
Life really was fun.
In this life, Morozka did not look for new roads, but followed old, already proven paths. When the time came, I bought a satin shirt, chrome bottles, boots and began to go to the village in the valley on holidays. There he played the harmonica with other guys, fought with guys, sang shameful songs and “spoilt” village girls.
On the way back, the “miners” stole watermelons and round Murom cucumbers from the chestnuts and swam in a fast mountain stream. Their loud, cheerful voices excited the taiga, the flawed moon looked with envy from behind the cliff, and the warm dampness of the night floated over the river.
When the time came, Morozka was put in a musty police station that smelled of onuchas and bedbugs. This happened at the height of the April strike, when underground water, muddy, like the tears of blinded mining horses, trickled down the mine shafts day and night and no one pumped it out.
He was imprisoned not for any outstanding feats, but simply for talkativeness: they hoped to incriminate him and find out about the instigators. Sitting in a stinking cell with the Maikha alcohol drinkers, Morozka told them a countless number of obscene jokes, but did not reveal the instigators.
When the time came, he went to the front and joined the cavalry. There he learned, like all cavalrymen, to look contemptuously at the “foot filly”; he was wounded six times, shell-shocked twice, and was discharged with a clean bill of health even before the revolution.
And when he returned home, he got drunk for two weeks and married a good-natured and barren hauler from mine No. 1. He did everything thoughtlessly: life seemed to him simple, unsophisticated, like a round Murom cucumber from the Suchan towers.
Maybe that’s why, taking his wife with him, he left in 1918 to defend the Soviets.
Be that as it may, from then on he was denied entry to the mine: the Soviets could not be defended, and the new government did not really respect such guys.
The bear clicked its forged hooves angrily; orange webs buzzed annoyingly over the ear, got tangled in the shaggy fur, biting until they bled.
Morozka went to the Sviyagino combat area. Krylovka lurks invisibly behind the bright green walnut hill; Shaldyba's detachment was stationed there.
“V-z-z... v-z-z...” the restless spiders sang hotly. A strange, bursting sound fucked and rolled over the hill. Behind him - another, a third... It was as if an animal that had broken free from its chain was breaking a thorny bush in its wake.
“Wait,” Morozka said barely audibly, pulling on the reins. The bear obediently froze, leaning forward with its muscular body.
“Do you hear?.. They’re shooting!..,” the orderly muttered excitedly, straightening up. - They're shooting!.. Yes?..
“Ta-ta-ta...” the machine gun burst out behind the hill, stitching together with fiery threads the deafening hoot of the Berdans and the rounded clear cry of Japanese carbines.
“To the quarry!” Morozka shouted in a tight, excited voice.
Socks habitually dug into the stirrups, trembling fingers unfastened the holster, and Mishka was already rushing to the top through the flapping bushes.
Without reaching the ridge, Morozka reined in his horse.
“Wait here,” he said, jumping to the ground and throwing the reins over the bow of the saddle: Mishka, a faithful slave, did not need a leash.
Morozka crawled to the top. To the right, having passed Krylovka, small identical figures with yellow-green bands on their caps ran in regular chains, as if in a parade. On the left, in a panic, people rushed in frustrated groups through the golden-haired barley, firing back from Berdan guns as they ran. The enraged Shaldyba (Morozka recognized him by his black horse and pointed badger hat) lashed with his whip in all directions and could not restrain the people. Some were seen stealthily tearing off red bows.
Mechik
Let us describe the events of the second chapter and its brief content. “Destruction” Fadeev continues as follows.
Morozka immediately did not like the rescued one. The author writes that this hero did not favor “clean people,” because in his experience they were worthless, fickle, and should not be trusted. Levinson ordered to take this young man to the infirmary. There were documents in his pocket, from which it became known that his name was Pavel Mechik. You will get to know this hero better if you read the text of the work “Destruction”. The chapter summaries presented by us will also describe this character in more detail in the future. At that time he himself was already unconscious.
Mechik woke up only when he was being taken to the infirmary, and then slept until the morning. When he woke up, he saw the doctor Stashinsky and Varya, a sister with gray eyes and fluffy golden-brown braids. Mechik was in pain during the dressing, but he did not scream because he felt the presence of this girl.
Just three weeks ago, this hero walked joyfully through the taiga to join a partisan detachment with a ticket in his boot. But suddenly people jumped out of the bushes and were suspicious of this character. Due to their illiteracy, they, without understanding his documents, beat him first, and then accepted him into their detachment. These were tough, dirty, rude people who fought and cursed over the slightest trifle and mocked Pavel. However, they were “living people”, not book ones. Mechik, lying in the hospital, recalled the events he had experienced; he felt sorry for the sincere and good feeling with which he was sent to the detachment. This hero took care of himself with special gratitude. There were few wounded. Of the heavy ones - only two: Mechik and Frolov. Old man Pika often talked with Pavel. The “pretty sister” also came occasionally and did the washing and upholstery of the entire hospital. However, this girl treated Mechik especially carefully and tenderly. Pika said about her that she is “fornicating”, since her husband, Morozka, is in the detachment, and meanwhile she is fornicating. Mechik asked why this sister is like this? Pika replied to this that he simply could not refuse anyone.
Chapter VIII. First move
The road ran towards him like an endless elastic ribbon, the branches painfully whipped Morozka in the face, and he kept driving and driving the crazy stallion, full of frantic anger, resentment, and revenge. Individual moments of the absurd conversation with Mechik - one more scathing than the other - were born again and again in his heated brain, and yet it seemed to Morozka that he had not expressed his contempt for such people strongly enough. He could, for example, remind Mechik how he clung to him with greedy hands in the barley field, how the fear for his little life beat in his distraught eyes. He could cruelly ridicule Mechik’s love for a curly-haired young lady, whose portrait, perhaps, is still kept in his jacket pocket, near his heart, and give this beautiful, clean young lady the most vile names... Then he remembered that Mechik was “confused” with his wife and is unlikely to be offended now for the clean young lady, and instead of malicious triumph over the humiliation of his enemy, Morozka again felt his irreparable offense. ... The bear, completely offended by the owner’s injustice, ran until the bit weakened in his overworked lips; then he slowed down and, not hearing any new urgings, walked at an ostentatiously fast pace, just like a man who has been offended, but does not lose his dignity. He didn’t even pay attention to the jays - they screamed too much that evening, but, as always, in vain, and they seemed to him more fussy and stupid than usual. The taiga parted with the evening birch fringe, and the sun beat through its red gaps, right in the face. It was cozy, transparent, cheerful here - so different from the human bustle here. Morozka's anger cooled. The offensive words that he said or wanted to say to Mechik had long ago lost their vindictively bright plumage and appeared in all their plucked ugliness: they were needlessly loud and frivolous. He already regretted that he got involved with Mechik - he did not “stick to the mark” to the end. He now felt that Varya was not at all as indifferent to him as it had seemed before, and at the same time he firmly knew that he would never return to her. And because Varya was the closest person who connected him with his former life at the mine, when he lived “like everyone else,” when everything seemed simple and clear to him - now, having parted with her, he experienced such a feeling as if this a large and integral period of his life has ended, and a new one has not yet begun. The sun looked under Morozka's visor - it still stood above the ridge with an impassive, unblinking eye, but the fields around were alarmingly deserted.
Sixth Sense
The third chapter of the work is called “The Sixth Sense.” Let us describe its brief content. "Devastation" tells us the following. Morozka thought almost angrily about Mechik: why do such people go “to the extreme” to join the partisans. Although this was unfair, because the “way of the cross” was coming. Morozka, riding past the bashtan tree, got off his horse and collected melons into a sack until his owner saw him. Ryabets Khoma Egorovich threatened to find justice for him. He could not believe that Morozka, whom he dressed and fed, was robbing him.
Levinson talked with the returning scout, who reported that the Japanese troops had badly beaten Shaldyba’s detachment. At this time, Baklanov, who was Levinson’s deputy, arrived, bringing with him Ryabets, who spoke at length about Morozka’s act. The partisan, who was then called, did not deny anything. He only refused to surrender his weapons, considering this a very severe punishment.
III. Sixth Sense
Morozka ponders: why do such people “come before us, to get ready...”. And life becomes more cunning, old paths become overgrown, and you have to choose your own path. On the way, he passes a bashtan tree and picks melons into a bag, but is immediately caught by the chairman, Khoma Ryabets.
Levinson interrogates the intelligence officer and learns the following: the Japanese headquarters is in Yakovlevka, Shaldyba’s detachment was defeated and retreated to Korean farms, and half of the guys fled. The squad leader compares new data and senses something is wrong. He comes to the sad conclusion that the detachment can be defeated by more organized Japanese, it is necessary to prepare for a possible attack. Ryabets comes, complains about Morozka and shows his bag as proof of theft. To condemn the fighter, Levinson convenes a village meeting together with the detachment. In private, the commander asks the chairman to collect bread and dry crackers around the village, and gives the order to feed the horses well. They may come in handy soon.
Men and the “coal tribe”
Levinson went to the meeting, wanting to check the fears, hoping to hear rumors and conversations between men. He sensed alarming notes and understood that he should hide and go into the taiga. The miners have arrived. Levinson greeted the tall slaughterer Dubov.
Ryabets already considered this story troublesome and worthless. Everyone was perplexed why they had to steal - after all, anyone would have given melons to Morozka if he had asked. The partisan was brought forward and asked why he did this. Morozka replied that it was out of habit, thoughtlessly, and gave his word that something like this would never happen again. Levinson invited him to help the owners in his free time. The peasants were satisfied with this proposal.
II. Mechik
Morozka didn't like the guy he saved. He considers such people fickle and worthless. The wounded man does not show courage even during dressing. From his documents it turns out that this is Pavel Mechik. The soldier lies unconscious, and the commander decides to send him to the hospital.
Mechik woke up on a bed in the silence of the taiga. He has three holes in his body and a scratch on his head. Three weeks ago the guy wanted to fight and move, and the people in the hills seemed like heroes. He also remembered a city girl with blonde curls. But everything turned out differently - the people were not bookish, but real, living. They swore, stole bullets from each other, and mocked the city guy.
The “merciful sister” sewed and washed the entire infirmary. It was Varka, Morozka's wife. Affectionate with everyone, she could not refuse to talk to anyone. Mechik also asks to sit with him, shows a photo of a city girl. But then Morozka appears and calls the girl with the photo a “bitch.” The couple goes into the taiga, and Mechik tears up the photo.
Enemies
The commander sent a letter to Stashinsky, in which he wrote that the infirmary should be gradually unloaded.
From that time on, people began to disperse to the villages. Only Pika, Mechik and Frolov remained among the wounded. Pika wasn’t sick with anything, he just took root at the hospital. Mechik wanted to become an efficient and confident fighter, so that upon returning to the city no one would recognize him as before.
VII. Enemies
Stashinsky was ordered to unload the infirmary. People disperse to the villages, leaving Frolov and Mechik seriously wounded. Things are getting better for Pavel, a turning point in his illness has come, and his wounds are healing quickly.
Morozka arrives with a new letter. He wants to be alone with his wife, but Varya greets him very coldly. Her husband is jealous of Mechik and swings a whip at his wife, but she is not afraid. Morozka lets Varya go and wishes her to become a lady. Mechik understands that “nothing worked out” for the couple, and he is the reason for this. Morozka looks at her opponent with a heavy gaze, clouded with hatred. Pavel feels guilty, because Morozka saved his life. The orderly reproaches Mechik for “forgetting how I pulled him out of the fire” and quickly leaves.
The beginning of the defeat
Levinson, in a remote place, almost completely lost contact with other units. He decided to make a foray. Dubov's detachment attacked the freight train and distributed crackers, checkers, cartridges, and overcoats to the partisans. Baklanov and Mechik soon went on reconnaissance. In the village they met four Japanese soldiers. They killed all of them except one, who ran away. Leaving the village, they saw that the main forces of the Japanese were leaving there.
The detachment was attacked the next morning. We will only mention this while describing the summary. The partisans were defeated and retreated. It was only in the taiga that Mechik came to his senses from fright.
X. The beginning of the defeat
Morozka, having met Mechik, no longer felt the same anger and hatred. From idleness he feels sad and fights with himself so as not to drink. Levinson contacted the railroad and decided to make a sortie. He needs to provide the squad with warm clothing and ammunition. Dubov's platoon successfully returns with the loot. The soldiers are given overcoats, cartridges, checkers, and crackers.
Japanese spies are searching in all directions. The commander sends Baklanov on reconnaissance. Levinson offers to take Mechik with him to test the guy in a serious matter. On the way, Baklanov scolds the fighter because the mare is “scary” and the saddle is put on incorrectly. Soon Mechik believed that the commander was a brave and strong man, much better and smarter than him. Baklanov learns that Mechik graduated from high school and tells Pavel that, unfortunately, he himself did not have time to graduate from a vocational school.
In the village, scouts stumble upon Japanese soldiers and kill them. Baklanov climbs a tree from which he sees the enemy’s cavalry and infantry. The soldiers return to the detachment in the dead of night.
Levinson is placing increased security. Mechik feels completely empty; in a dream, Varya asks him not to be afraid. At dawn, the detachment was alerted - the Japanese were going on the offensive. The enemies line up in chains, the fighters shoot back and begin to retreat. Bullets whistle thickly and angrily. The detachment goes into the taiga, where it is dark and quiet.
Strada
Levinson made a suggestion for Mechik’s horse. The detachment experienced a shortage of fodder and food. Levinson had to order cows to be stolen and peasants' gardens and fields to be robbed. Styrin said that a fee of 500 rubles had been set for his capture. Levinson grinned - “cheap.” The Koreans had only one pig left for the winter. The commander ordered her to be killed to feed the partisans. Mechik condemned Levinson, but still ate the pig because he was hungry. The detachment finally fought its way to the hospital, where food was stored. Mechik accidentally overheard a conversation between Stashinsky and Levinson, from which he realized that they intended to kill Frolov. He ran to the barracks, trying to stop this, but Stashinsky drove him away.
Cargo
The sword stands on guard. He is thinking about how he can leave Levinson’s squad. The boring and monotonous life in the city seems ideal to him now. Pavel suddenly expresses everything he thinks to Levinson, saying that the partisans do not care who they serve, the main thing is to “fill their belly.” Levinson objects, convincing Pavel that he has nowhere to go and will be killed. With regret, he thinks about people like Mechik - weak, weak-willed, lazy. Character problems are revealed in the work “Destruction”. The summary, unfortunately, cannot convey all the features of the characters’ inner world.
XIII. Cargo
Mechik on patrol is thinking about how he can leave Levinson’s detachment. He already understood for sure that field life was not to his liking. Of course, life in the city is boring and monotonous, but it is much better and safer. Mechik is not strong in spirit, he is ready to admit this to himself.
Pavel decides to tell Levinson what has been brewing for a long time. He believes that partisans can serve anyone. If only they were well fed. The commander, naturally, objects. He tries to convince Pavel that it is very dangerous for him to leave the detachment. If Mechik does this, there is a high probability that he will be killed. Levinson thinks with irritation and regret about people like Pavel. They are weak, weak-willed, lazy, and can betray at any moment. But still, the commander does not lose hope that Pavel can change.
Exploration of Metelitsa
The commander sent Metelitsa on reconnaissance, telling him to return at night. But the village turned out to be further than expected. At night, Metelitsa saw a shepherd's fire. He told him that there were many Cossacks in the village who killed his brother and parents and burned the house. Metelitsa went there. He knew from the boy’s words that the chief was stationed in the priest’s house. He wanted to eavesdrop, but he failed - Metelitsa was captured and beaten.
Three deaths
The following events are described in the fifteenth chapter of the work “Destruction” by Fadeev. We will briefly describe them in one paragraph.
The partisan tried to escape, but failed. During interrogation, he did not answer the questions asked. Then the residents began to ask if anyone knew him. The shepherd replied that he saw it for the first time. One man said that he brought a horse (which this partisan gave to the boy). The boy was captured, but the officer was attacked by Snowstorm. He was shot. Levinson saw the Cossacks. The detachment dealt with them. The partisans in the village were fed.
XV. Three deaths
Metelitsa tried to escape from captivity, but he failed. The fighter was interrogated, he did not answer a single question. Then the Cossacks began to ask the local residents: does anyone know this man? They also brought a shepherd who did not give Metelitsa away. But one man said that this guy brought a horse to the village in the morning, which the prisoner gave him as a gift. The squadron commander ordered the shepherd boy to be seized, and Metelitsa rushed to defend him. He grabbed the squadron commander by the throat and tried to strangle him. The enemy desperately resisted, but his forces were already running out. At that moment, several Cossacks arrived to help their boss and shot at Metelitsa.
Soon Levinson's detachment discovered the Cossacks and dealt with them in battle.
Nineteen
The Cossacks set up an ambush on the bridge. Mechik rode calmly through the forest, but suddenly came across Cossacks. Then he ran to the ravine, and they chased him. Morozka thought only about rest. He realized that Mechik had escaped. Paul was tormented by his betrayal. He took out a gun, but realized that he would not kill himself, because he loved himself more than anything in the world. He decided to go to the city.
This is how the work “Destruction” ends. The summary, of course, does not cover all events. Moreover, the work is quite voluminous. “Destruction,” a summary of which you just read, is a reflection of Fadeev’s own experience. He participated in battles until 1921 in the Far East. This experience served as the impetus for writing the novel "Devastation."
The brief summary describes the events in less detail and does not divide them into chapters. That’s why we decided to write this article to introduce the reader better to this work. However, our description does not exhaust the work created by Alexander Fadeev (“Destruction”). The summary is just basic information. As you know, you can only retell the plot, but not the plot. Leo Tolstoy said that if he were asked to retell War and Peace, he would read his entire work. So is Fadeev’s novel “Destruction”. The summary does not convey the atmosphere, the author's style, or form an impression of the novel. In order to have a complete understanding of it, it is worth reading the entire work.
