July 15 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Boris Gorbatov, a writer, journalist and war correspondent. This anniversary passed somehow imperceptibly, although his works sound in a special way, taking into account the current situation in his homeland - Donbass. I would especially like to quote some lines right now, when one part of Donbass is subjected to brutal shelling, and another is under the occupation of neo-Nazis.
Boris Leontievich Gorbatov was born on July 15, 1908 in the then Yekaterinoslav province, at the Petromarievsky mine. Today at this place is the city of Pervomaisk, which is under the control of the Lugansk People's Republic and stands on the front line.
From the age of 15, Boris worked as a planer at the Kramatorsk plant. Writing talent awoke in him, and he became a working correspondent. These were the years when the young Soviet state began to be built vigorously. Boris wrote about the life of the workers, and not only newspaper articles. In 1922 he created the novella "Sated and Hungry", which was published by the newspaper "All-Union Stoker". This was his debut as a writer.
Gorbatov became one of those who created the association of proletarian writers of Donbass, which was named "Slaughter". From this association, he entered the All-Russian Association of Proletarian Writers. Soon he moved to Moscow.
Komsomol members become heroes of his works. After the story "Cell" was published in 1928, Gorbatov's talent was noticed by the newspaper "Pravda". Boris Leontyevich is invited to work there. He travels as a correspondent to the most severe region - the Arctic. Participates in the expedition of the pilot, the future Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Molokov. Sends materials to Pravda about the people exploring the North and their courageous work (later they will form the basis of the film The Ordinary Arctic). In 1933, another novel by the writer, "My Generation", was published, dedicated to the workers of the first five-year plan.
When the Great Patriotic War began, Boris Gorbatov became a war correspondent. The path he traveled together with the soldiers is evidenced by his awards: "For the capture of Berlin", "For the defense of Odessa", "For the liberation of Warsaw" … In addition to numerous essays, he creates such works as "Alexei Kulikov, a soldier", "Letters to a comrade" (the famous writer and poet Konstantin Simonov considered this work to be the pinnacle of military journalism), "Soldier's Soul" … And, of course, the novel "The Unconquered".
This novel, written in incredibly rich and poignant language, is dedicated to the struggle of the inhabitants of Donbass against the fascist occupation. Its main character is the head of a large family, an already middle-aged man, Taras Yatsenko. Enemy troops enter his city, and at first he simply refuses to accept the reality of what is happening, closing all windows and doors. But the enemy has come to his house: they need his hands of an experienced master. He is forced to appear at the labor exchange, but firmly decides for himself: not to submit. Refuses to recognize himself as a master, claims that he is only a laborer. Together with other masters whom the Nazis are trying to force to repair the Nazi tanks destroyed at Stalingrad, he refuses to do so. Risking their lives, people claim that they are not able to repair this equipment, although if they agreed they would receive a hearty ration. The Yatsenko family tries to hide a six-year-old Jewish girl, but the Gestapo find her.
Taras has three sons, but he knows nothing about their fate - everyone went to the front. The youngest son Andrei is captured, he manages to escape and return home. The father greeted his son coldly, considering him a coward. Then Taras is forced to go to look for food for the family, collecting simple belongings, leaving his home and looking for the edge where things could be exchanged for food. On this campaign, he unexpectedly meets his eldest son Stepan, who is the organizer of the underground. Unexpectedly for himself, Taras learns that his daughter Nastya is also associated with the underground. His first reaction: "I'll be back, I'll flog!" Then he thinks that, although he will scold his daughter, he will try to reach the underground through her and take part in the struggle himself. But the father was not destined to see his daughter - upon his return he saw only her body, which was swinging on the gallows … And the novel ends with the fact that the city was liberated.
For this poignant and terrible novel, Gorbatov was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946. And the novel itself was filmed.
After the war, Boris Leontyevich began to create screenplays, entered the artistic council of the Ministry of Cinematography. He became one of the authors of the script for the film It Was in Donbass, which is dedicated to the struggle of young people against the Nazi invaders. For the screenplay for the film "Donetsk Miners" he received another Stalin Prize.
The writer and journalist died in 1954 at the age of 45 - his heart could not stand it. In his last years, he worked hard on the multivolume novel Donbass, which, unfortunately, was not completed.
A few words should be mentioned about the writer's personal life. His first wife was actress Tatyana Okunevskaya, the second was Nina Arkhipova, from whose marriage son Mikhail and daughter Elena were born.
And now I would like to turn to some lines of the writer, which were written during the Great Patriotic War, but are read in a special way at the present time.
For example, about Odessa ("Spring in the South"):
“I don't know what it was - a dream, faith, confidence, knowledge. But even in the most bitter days of the retreat, we never doubted for a moment that we would return. We will return to you, Odessa. We will see your estuaries, Nikolaev. We will still drink water from South Buta”.
From the essay "Mariupol":
“This city was once considered the most fun in Donbass. Primorsky, green, forever laughing, forever singing Mariupol. Plants and vineyards. Home, cozy Azov sea. Port guys, fast black-eyed girls, cheerful Azovstal Komsomol. Yes, it was a good, fun city. Last time I was here two years ago. Here they still sang, a little anxious and sad - but they sang. The city did not yet know its fate …"
And finally, about Donbass:
“We will return to Donbass! Let's return to pay the enemies for the shootings in Mariupol, for the atrocities in Artemovsk, for the robberies in Gorlovka. As during the Civil War, with a furious cry "Give Donbass!" our dashing horsemen and infantrymen will burst into the mining villages."
In honor of the 110th anniversary of Boris Gorbatov in the Lugansk People's Republic, "Post of Donbass" has issued a postage stamp. This is just a small tribute to the memory …
