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Abstract:

The features of lieutenant prose are revealed in the article in a broad field of traditions and interconnections, both literary and social. A comparative- historical approach allows us to show the inheritance of the discoveries of the military theme by lieutenant prose, which played a significant role in the formation of Russian literature at all stages of its development. During the war years and shortly after the victory, writers of the front-line generation created a number of outstanding works that explored the theme of heroism, showing the tragedy of war and its overcoming. By the end of the 1940s, the tendency of the “parade” depiction of the war prevailed, which was opposed by a new generation of writers. The works of authors who had experience of the war on the front line, in the “trench” (Yu. Bondarev, G. Baklanov, V. Bogomolov, V. Bykov, B. Vasilyev, V. Kondratyev, K. Vorobyov, V. Astafyev, and others), became a true artistic discovery. Their immediate predecessor was V. Nekrasov. Despite the diversity and uniqueness of their creative individualities, the works of these authors share common features, which has led to the characterization of lieutenant prose as a distinct stylistic movement. Its leading aesthetic principles include a focus on personal experiences, a “truth without embellishment”, a unique perspective on war (“trench truth”), attention to the details of frontline life, a non-ostentatious portrayal of heroism, and a moral and ethical code.

Keywords: lieutenant prose, “trench truth”, Yu. Bondarev, V. Astafyev, G. Baklanov, V. Bykov, B. Vasilyev, K. Vorobyev, V. Kondratyev, V. Bogomolov.