Didn't appear on the lists, Boris Lvovich Vasilyev. B

Vasily Vladimirovich Bykov

“Not on the lists”

Part one

Nikolai Petrovich Pluzhnikov was awarded a military rank, given a lieutenant's uniform and a heavy TT. The most beautiful evening of all began. He didn’t have a girlfriend, so he invited Zoya, the librarian. Then all the guys went on vacation, and Kolya was asked to help at the school. He had to count out meters of linen and sets of uniforms while his fellow students were enjoying their summer vacation. Then, as an excellent student in all disciplines, he was offered to stay at the school and enter the academy. But Nicholas refused - he wanted to serve in the army. And he was sent as a platoon commander to the Special Western District. Nikolai was happy, although he regretted that his vacation home to Moscow was going to be very short. Arriving home, he barely recognized his sister Vera in the girl. But the mother has not changed. She burst into tears: how the son looks like his father.

My father died in Central Asia at the hands of the Basmachi back in 1926. The beautiful Valya, her sister’s friend, came to the family dinner. Kolya understood why at 19 he had not yet kissed - there was her, Valya, in the world. But he could only stay until the later night train. Saying goodbye to the accompanying girls, Nikolai is worried that the metro stations will not be closed. The young officer left for Brest. The war has begun.

Part two

Pluzhnikov found himself in the very center of an unfamiliar and already blazing fortress. The shelling continued, but the Germans transferred the fire to the outer contours. Everything around was on fire, people were burning alive. Nikolai ran to the checkpoint - where he should appear, where he should be. Fleeing from the shell, he jumped into the crater. A fighter who also jumped into this crater reported that the Germans were in the club. He and the fighter searched, but did not find the warehouse, and Pluzhnikov was left with only one pistol. Once among his own people, he received an order to fill the shot belts with cartridges. But there were no more cartridges in the basement - they had run out. They were expecting help from the city. The political officer asked Nikolai what regiment he was from. Nikolai said that he is not yet on the list. He was given ten men to attack the windows of the building where the Germans were holed up. Pluzhnikov distributed the windows between the fighters and rushed to the attack.

The young officer saw bared mouths and heard an animal roar, rushing into the general battle. The Germans ran. Apart from nausea and fatigue, he experienced nothing. He was tasked with holding the church - this is the key to the citadel, they promised an easel machine gun. They gave out helmets. Then there was a bombing. There were three women in the building - they saw the Germans in the basement. There were three moves there. The lieutenant divided the fighters into groups and, without betraying his own horror at the darkness of the basement, checked - they did not find anyone and decided that the women had imagined it out of fright.

New attack. The sergeant fired a machine gun, Pluzhnikov held the windows, shooting at the gray-green figures of the Germans. After the attack there was a bombing, and after that there was an attack. And so on all day. I wanted to lie down and close my eyes, but I couldn’t. There are no more cartridges. There were five alive and two wounded. People and the machine gun need water. With the collected flasks, the fighter ran to Bug. The border guard and Pluzhnikov decided to “feel out” the Germans: not to take machine guns, only cartridges and grenades. Having collected ammunition, they came across a German - wounded, he shot at them. Nikolai did not allow finishing off, but the border guard got angry - how many of our people had already died! And yet he finished it off.

There was an order to collect weapons and establish communications. Move women and children to basements. And continue to hold the church.

The answer to the question about help sounded in such a way that Pluzhnikov understood that there was no need to wait for it. An hour later reinforcements arrived - ten fighters. Nikolai wanted to instruct them, but tears flowed from his burnt eyes and he had no strength at all. The lieutenant lay down and collapsed. The first day of the war is over. None of the fighters knows how many of them are ahead.

“Not on the lists
page 3
PART THREE
1
The warehouse in which foreman Stepan Matveevich, senior sergeant Fedorchuk, Red Army soldier Vasya Volkov and three women were drinking tea at dawn on June 22, 1941, was covered by a heavy shell in the first minutes of artillery preparation. The ceilings held up, but the stairs collapsed. Pluzhnikov remembered this shell. The blast wave threw him into a crater, where Salnikov later fell into. The walled up thought that they were cut off from the world forever. They had food, the men dug a well, and up to two pots of water accumulated there in a day. They began to open passages and one day made their way into a tangled labyrinth to an armory, the entrance to which was also blocked; We found a gap to the top and took turns climbing up to breathe and look around. The fortress was still alive: they were shooting somewhere, but everything was quiet around. After Pluzhnikov appeared, Anna Petrovna left to look for her children. The foreman said that reconnaissance was needed, but Fedorchuk dissuaded him - it was pointless, there were Germans all around. Anna Petrovna was shot on the bridge by a random burst. Her children were long dead, but neither she, nor those remaining in the basement, nor
Pluzhnikov. Having come to his senses, the lieutenant demanded cartridges, and he was taken to the warehouse where Salnikov fled in the first hours of the war. Pluzhnikov forced everyone to clean their weapons, remove grease, and prepare for battle. By evening, we prepared machine guns, spare discs, and ammunition with ammunition. Everyone was moved to a dead end under the gap, where during the day he lay gasping for breath, not believing in his salvation. The men left, carrying weapons and flasks of water from Stepan Matveevich’s well. The women stayed. Pluzhnikov promised to return. A little later, Nikolai and the young fighter Vasya examined all the nearby craters in search of Salnikov and did not find him. The lieutenant understood that the Germans took Salnikov prisoner, “they don’t bury the dead.” There is still a chance, lucky Salnikov will survive, get out, and maybe escape - during the days of the war he “grew into a desperate, smart, cunning, resourceful fighter.” Pluzhnikov warned the women that if the men did not return, from 2-4 p.m., during the period of calm, they should come out with white rags and surrender. But Mirra and Khristya refused, they were not a burden to anyone, and decided to sit out in their hole. Volkov, who was sent to reconnaissance, did not report on the passing German machine gunners. Before we could reach the ruins, there was an explosion. Pluzhnikov understood that the Germans had blown up the wall. He rushed to the aid of his comrades, but the foreman knocked him down, pinned him to the ground, and it was too late to do anything. “Nikolai realized that he did not have time, did not fulfill the last order.” Fedorchuk warned that the Germans could cut off the path to the shelter, and silently went down into the dungeon. Nikolai did not know how long he lay there, remembering everyone who covered him, rushed forward without hesitation, without thinking... The lieutenant did not try to understand them, he simply let them pass before his eyes again. “He only survived because someone died for him. He made this discovery without realizing that this is the law of war...” Fedorchuk, believing that Pluzhnikov had lost his mind, decided to act: he blocked the hole with a brick. He wanted to live, not fight. Stepan Matveyevich realized that the lieutenant was weak not in body, but broken in spirit, and he didn’t know what to do.

1. Nikolay Pluzhnikov- the main character to whom the entire novel is dedicated. At the beginning of the book, he is a graduate of a military school who himself is called up to an active combat unit in order to justify the rank of “lieutenant” he has just received.
2. Myrrh- a Jewish woman who was only 16 years old at the start of the war. This is a quiet and modest girl, all her life suffering from being crippled and limping, wearing a prosthesis. At the Brest Fortress she worked part-time, helping to cook.
3. Salnikov- Nikolai’s comrade in arms, whom he meets after the first battle. Together they go through many trials, and subsequently Salnikov saves his life, and he himself ends up in a German camp hospital.
4. Fedorchuk- a soldier hiding in the basement. He wants to save himself at any cost and soon surrenders. But Nikolai kills him, preventing him from committing the crime.
5. Volkov- one of the fighters in the dungeons, who gradually goes crazy from the horrors of war. He is afraid of Nikolai.
6. Semishny- the last comrade of the lieutenant in the ruins of the fortress, who ordered him to keep the banner of the regiment.

Just before June 22

A successful graduate of a military school, who has been haunted by only pleasant surprises for the last 3 weeks, is delayed on his vacation for a couple of days to help with the distribution of the institution’s property. There he is offered to become a platoon commander, but Kolya believes that it is impossible to become a real military man if he has not “sniffed gunpowder.” The general who offered him this position appreciated the young man’s action and immediately offered to return after a year of military service and continue his studies. Nikolai was undoubtedly pleased with this. But now, immediately after completing all his business here, he goes to the Brest Fortress.

On the way there, he stops in Moscow to see his mother and younger sister Vera. Here he sees his sister’s friend Valya, who makes it clear that she has feelings for him. The last evening at home ends with a feast and inept dancing, as well as the awakening of interest in Valya and her promise to wait.

Kolya's next stop is Brest. Everything here is not as rosy as it seemed. There is tension with anticipation of war, but many do not believe that it will begin. In a restaurant he meets the violinist Svitsky, who sends him and his niece Mirra to the fortress. At the checkpoint he was detained a little. It turns out that he has not yet been included in the lists, but since it is late, all paperwork is left for the morning.

On the night of June 22, 1941, the main character meets in the basement of one of the warehouses, next to him there are several other people with whom they drink tea. But soon they hear roars and explosions. Thus began the last battle for them, which will not end soon. One of the military men says that the Germans are attacking. Nikolai rushes outside to his regiment, where he has not yet been included in the lists.

War

Running out of the basement, Pluzhnikov plunges headlong into the chaos of war and shelling - people are dying everywhere before his eyes. Finding himself in the very center of the Brest Fortress, he hurries to the command post. On the way, they tell him that yes, these are the Germans who went on the offensive without declaring war. Many people talk about capturing the fortress. Teaming up with other military men, the main character helps recapture the local club, after which he receives an assignment to hold the occupied point. Here, after the first attack, he meets one of the fighters, Salnikov. The shelling and raids of the Germans did not stop all day. The fighters steadfastly repel attacks - in order to cool their weapons, they spend all their water.

Going down to the basement, Nikolai discovers three women hiding there, who allegedly saw the Germans here. Traversing the dungeons yielded no results. All that occupies the soldier now is where to get ammunition and water, and when will help come? But after a short period of time, it was from the basement that the Germans broke through. The fighters have no choice but to leave this point. Having moved to another basement, where soldiers are already hiding, Kolya becomes guilty of the loss of the club building entrusted to him; according to wartime law, he must be shot. The only saving grace is the lack of ammunition.

He understands this himself, so he does everything possible and regains control of the building. He tries to atone for his guilt by not leaving the machine gun all day. After a long time, help arrives and they are sent to the basements. But they can’t rest, because at every step they run into Germans. One of the soldiers talks about escaping from the fortress, but Pluzhnikov rejects this idea, because there was no such order. At this time, the invaders changed their tactics. If earlier they offered to lay down their arms under the threat of execution, now, seeing that the defenders were not giving up, they promised a good life over the loudspeakers and played familiar Soviet songs. The answer to the Germans was a chorus sounding from the ruins: “This is our last and decisive battle...”

But soon the lieutenant again has to flee to the vast basements. The survivors are saving themselves with all their might. At night they break through to the Germans and steal ammunition, and during the day they fight off attacks with the same weapons. They no longer know how many days and nights this hell continues. There is a catastrophic shortage of water, and they decide to take the women and children who are hiding in the same dungeons into captivity, since there is nothing to water and feed them.

In addition to them, Nikolai brings out the wounded border guard Denishchik, who tells him that the city has been ordered to surrender and everyone who can can escape. But they both understand that in order to get out of the fortress they need weapons that they do not have. So they get the idea to get to the warehouse where the ammunition is stored. Together with Salnikov, they go on a search, but on the way they stumble upon the Nazis, and Pluzhnikov’s comrade in arms ends up in their hands, saving Kolya.

He himself barely hides in another dungeon, which in fact turns out to be an entire bunker, filled up in the first minutes of the German attack. Mirra, whom he had previously known, and a couple of other servicemen named Fedorchuk and Volkov were already hidden in it. They somehow dug themselves out and sometimes got out. There is water and food supplies here that help the hero get back on his feet. Through a network of underground tunnels one could reach the weapons depot.

According to the laws of war

The fighters are not ready to give up. Realizing that the entire fortress is permeated by a network of basements, Pluzhnikov does not want to sit out and decides to make his way to the surviving soldiers of his unit. He sets off, but is late. At this time, the German army blows up the fortress, and all the soldiers die. He has no choice but to return to the bunker. Here he does not understand what to do next, and Fedorchuk does not want to fight, but only wants to save his life. There are almost no people left in the fortress - there is silence almost all day, and only occasionally shots are heard. Then Pluzhnikov decides to commit suicide, but Mirra saves him from this. This episode gave him back the confidence to continue living and fighting.

Periodically, they rise to the surface and organize forays, in one of which Fedorchuk surrenders. But Nikolai cannot allow this and shoots him in the back. All this happens in front of Volkov, who begins to fear his comrade. From prisoners working nearby, Pluzhnikov learns that Salnikov is alive and in a German hospital. At this time, Vasily Volkov disappears after a sortie, and the main character captures the “tongue” and learns all the news. The unarmed prisoner should have been killed, but Kolya could not do this and let him go.

He knew in advance that this was a mistake, and the Germans soon discovered their hole, but the defenders managed to escape. The lieutenant, who was with them in the basement, discovered that he had blood poisoning and blew himself up with a bunch of grenades in a crowd of German soldiers. Kolya and the girl are left alone in the basements.

First love

Soon Nikolai decides to give Mirra into German captivity so that she does not die. But Mirra is a Jew, and if the Germans find out about this, they will immediately shoot her. That's why she stays. Warm feelings flare up between the girl and Pluzhnikov, and they confess their love to each other. The girl no longer thought that she could ever be loved because of her lameness, but wartime gave her such an opportunity. This is how they fall in love for the first time and become husband and wife in these dungeons.

The previously known Volkov goes crazy and, one day accidentally meeting Nikolai in the ruins, runs away. Because of this, he ends up with the Germans and is shot.

Autumn is coming. Mirra realizes that she is pregnant. Food supplies are running low and together they decide that they can’t delay any longer. She goes to join other captive women who are working in the rubble, hoping that she will get lost among them. But this plan was not destined to come true. The Germans identify the girl, beat her and cover her with bricks while she is still alive. The only thing she hoped for at that moment was that Kolya didn’t see any of this.

Long winter

The young man really finds himself outside of this tragedy and is happy to think that Mirra has been saved. All this time he continues to live alone in the dungeons of the ruins remaining from the Brest Fortress. Meanwhile, winter is coming. All this time, the Germans are looking for the secret hideout of the last fighter who is causing them inconvenience. They find a bunker and blow it up. Then Pluzhnikov has to look for another shelter.

Fleeing from the chase organized after him, in one of the basements he discovers the weak and paralyzed foreman Semishny. Despite his injuries, he inspires the main character with faith and confidence that he must continue to resist the invaders. The foreman himself cannot walk, so he sends Kolya to fight to show the Germans that “the fortress is alive.”

Due to constant life in the dungeon and lack of food and water, the main character gradually begins to go blind. It is January 1, 1942, when the last living person next to him dies. Before his death, Semishny revealed a secret to the lieutenant - under his quilted jacket was the banner of the regiment, which now passes to Pluzhnikov. After all, as long as at least one fighter resists, the fortress will not be surrendered.

The Last Soldier

Soon the last soldier is discovered by the Germans, and in order to organize a transfer, a captured violinist is invited. By chance, he turns out to be the uncle of the deceased Mirra, who tells him the latest news from the front. The Red Army launched a counteroffensive after defeating the fascist troops near Moscow itself. Having asked the Jew what date it is today, Nikolai learns that he is already 20 years old.

Now Nikolai feels that his duty to his Motherland has been fulfilled and he himself comes out of hiding. He turns out to be barely alive and practically blind, a gray-haired old man, but as he walks towards the German ambulance, the German general salutes him. When asked about his name, he replies: “I am a Russian soldier.” Women working nearby, seeing the last defender of the fortress, fell to their knees and cried. But the lieutenant did not see any of this - he looked at the sun with his blind eyes. Not reaching the car a couple of steps, he fell dead.

Epilogue

Years have passed since the Great Patriotic War. But in the museum of the fortress of the city of Brest they talk about the great feat of the last soldier, who fought alone against the fascist invaders for many months. Of all the banners, only one was found.

Every year on June 22, an old woman arrives at the Brest station and brings flowers to a sign on which is written about the exploits of Soviet soldiers, including the unknown lieutenant Nikolai.

Conclusion

Thanks to works like “Not on the Lists,” the country and modern people learn about the torment experienced by the Soviet people and the feat they accomplished.

Test on the story Didn't appear on the lists

PART ONE
1
In his entire life, Kolya Pluzhnikov has never encountered as many pleasant surprises as he has experienced in the last three weeks. I had been waiting for the order to confer a military rank on him, Nikolai Petrovich Pluzhnikov, for a long time, but unexpected surprises followed in abundance. Kolya woke up at night from his own laughter. After the order, they issued a lieutenant's uniform, in the evening the head of the school congratulated everyone on graduation, presenting the “Identity Card of the Red Army Commander” and a weighty TT. And then the evening began, “the most beautiful of all evenings.” Pluzhnikov did not have a girlfriend, and he invited “the librarian Zoya.”
The next day the guys began to go on vacation, exchanging addresses. Pluzhnikov was not given travel documents, and two days later he was summoned to the school commissar. Instead of taking a vacation, he asked Nikolai to help sort out the school’s property, which was expanding due to the complicated situation in Europe. “Kolya Pluzhnikov remained at the school in a strange position “wherever they send you.” The whole course had long since left, had affairs for a long time, sunbathed, swam, danced, and Kolya diligently counted bedding sets, linear meters of foot wraps and pairs of cowhide boots and wrote all sorts of reports.” Two weeks passed like this. One evening Zoya stopped him and began calling him to her place; her husband was away. Pluzhnikov was about to agree, but he saw the commissar and was embarrassed, so he followed him. The commissioner summoned Pluzhnikov the next day to the head of the school to talk about further service. In the general’s reception room, Nikolai met his former platoon commander Gorobtsov, who invited Pluzhnikov to serve together: “Ask to me, okay? Like, we’ve been serving together for a long time, we’ve worked together...” Platoon commander Velichko, who left the general after Gorobtsov left, also called Pluzhnikov to come to him. Then the lieutenant was invited to the general. Pluzhnikov was embarrassed, there were rumors that the general was in fighting Spain, and they had special respect for him.
After looking at Nikolai’s documents, the general noted his excellent grades, excellent shooting and offered to remain at the school as a training platoon commander, and inquired about Pluzhnikov’s age. “I was born on April 12, 1922,” Kolya rattled off, while he feverishly wondered what to answer. I wanted to “serve in the troops” to become a real commander. The general continued: in three years Kolya will be able to enter the academy, and, apparently, “you should study further.” The general and the commissar began to discuss to whom, Gorobtsov or Velichko, Pluzhnikov should be sent. Blushing and embarrassed, Nikolai refused: “This is a great honor... I believe that every commander should first serve in the troops... that’s what we were told at school... Send me to any unit and to any position.” “But he’s a young fellow, commissar,” the general unexpectedly replied. Nikolai was sent to the Special Western District as a platoon commander, something he never even dreamed of. True, with the condition that in a year he will return to school after military practice. The only disappointment is that they didn’t give me leave: I have to arrive at my unit by Sunday. In the evening he “departed via Moscow, having three days left: until Sunday.”
2
The train arrived in Moscow early in the morning. Kolya got to Kropotkinskaya by metro, “the most beautiful metro in the world.” I approached the house and felt awe - everything here was painfully familiar. Two girls came out of the gate to meet him, one of whom he did not immediately recognize as Sister Vera. The girls ran to school - they couldn’t miss the last Komsomol meeting, so they agreed to meet at lunch. Mother had not changed at all, even her robe was the same. She suddenly burst into tears: “God, how much you look like your father!..” My father died in Central Asia in 1926 in a battle with the Basmachi. From a conversation with his mother, Kolya found out: Valya, her sister’s friend, was once in love with him. Now she has grown into a wonderful beauty. All this is extremely pleasant to listen to. At the Belorussky station, where Kolya arrived to get a ticket, it turned out that his train leaves at seven o’clock in the evening, but this is impossible. Having told the duty officer that his mother was sick, Pluzhnikov took a ticket with a transfer in Minsk at three minutes past twelve and, thanking the duty officer, went to the store. I bought champagne, cherry liqueur, Madeira. The mother was frightened by the abundance of alcohol, Nikolai carelessly waved his hand: “Go for a walk like that.”
Arriving home and setting the table, my sister constantly asked about his studies at the school, about his upcoming service, and promised to visit him at his new duty station with a friend. Finally Valya appeared and asked Nikolai to stay, but he could not: “it’s restless at the border.” They talked about the inevitability of war. According to Nikolai, this will be a quick war: we will be supported by the world proletariat, the German proletariat and, most importantly, the Red Army, its combat capability. Then Valya offered to look at the records she had brought, they were wonderful, “Francesca Gaal herself sang.” They started talking about Verochka, who was planning to become an artist. Valya believes that in addition to desire, talent is also necessary.
In nineteen years, Kolya had never kissed anyone. At school, he regularly went on leave, visited theaters, ate ice cream, did not go to dances - he danced poorly. I didn’t meet anyone except Zoya. Now “he knew that he had not met only because Valya existed in the world. It was worth suffering for such a girl, and this suffering gave him the right to proudly and directly meet her cautious gaze. And Kolya was very pleased with himself.”
Then they danced, Kolya was embarrassed by his ineptitude. While dancing with Valya, he invited her to visit, promised to order a pass, and only asked her to inform her about her arrival in advance. Kolya realized that he had fallen in love, Valya promised to wait for him. Leaving for the station, he said goodbye to his mother somehow frivolously, because the girls had already dragged his suitcase downstairs, and promised: “As soon as I arrive, I’ll write right away.” At the station, Nikolai is worried that the girls will be late for the metro, and is afraid if they leave before the train departs.
It was the first time Nikolai had traveled so far by train, so he didn’t leave the window the whole way. We stood in Baranovichi for a long time, and finally an endless freight train thundered past. The elderly captain noted dissatisfiedly: “We are sending bread and bread to the Germans day and night. How do you mean to understand this?” Kolya did not know what to answer, since the USSR had an agreement with Germany.
Arriving in Brest, he looked for a canteen for a long time, but never found it. Having met the namesake lieutenant, I went to lunch at the Belarus restaurant. There tanker Andrei joined the Nikolai. The wonderful violinist Reuben Svitsky “with golden fingers, golden ears and a golden heart...” played in the restaurant. The tanker reported that the pilots' vacations were canceled, and every night beyond the Bug the border guards hear the roaring engines of tanks and tractors. Pluzhnikov asked about the provocation. Andrei “heard: the defectors reported: “The Germans are preparing for war.” After dinner, Nikolai and Andrei left, but Pluzhnikov remained - Svitsky was going to play for him. “Kolya was a little dizzy, and everything around seemed wonderful.” The violinist offers to take the lieutenant to fortress, his niece is going there. On the way, Svitsky says: with the arrival of Soviet troops, “we lost the habit of darkness and unemployment too.” A music school opened - soon there will be many musicians. Then they hired a cab and went to the fortress. In the dark, Nikolai almost did not see the girl whom Reuben called “Mirrochka". Later Reuben left, and the young people drove on. They examined the stone on the border of the fortress and drove up to the checkpoint. Nikolai expected to see something like the Kremlin, but something shapeless was black ahead. They went out, Pluzhnikov gave five, but the cab driver noted that a ruble would be enough. Mirra pointed to the checkpoint where it was necessary to present documents. Nikolai was surprised that there was a fortress in front of him. The girl explained: “We’ll cross the bypass canal, and there will be the Northern Gate.”
At the checkpoint, Nikolai was detained and the duty officer had to be called. After reading the documents, the duty officer asked: “Mirrochka, you are our man. Lead straight to the barracks of the 333rd regiment: there are rooms for business travelers there.” Nikolai objected, he needs to join his regiment. “You’ll figure it out in the morning,” the sergeant answered. Walking through the fortress, the lieutenant inquired about housing. Mirra promised to help him find the cat. She asked what was heard in Moscow about the war? Nikolai did not answer. He does not intend to conduct provocative conversations, so he started talking about the treaty with Germany and the power of Soviet technology. Pluzhnikov “really did not like the awareness of this lame person. She was observant, not stupid, sharp-tongued: he was ready to come to terms with this, but her awareness of the presence of armored forces in the fortress, of the relocation of parts of the camp, even of matches and salt could not be accidental...” Nikolai was inclined to consider even his night trip around the city with Mirra to be no accident. The lieutenant became suspicious when they were stopped at the next checkpoint, he reached for his holster, the alarm went off. Nikolai fell to the ground. The misunderstanding soon became clear. Pluzhnikov cheated: he did not reach into the holster, but “scratch it.”
Suddenly Mirra burst out laughing, followed by the others: Pluzhnikov was covered in dust. Mirra warned him not to shake off the dust, but to use a brush, otherwise he would get dirt into his clothes. The girl promised to get a brush. Having passed the Mukhavets river and the three-arched gate, we entered the inner fortress to the ring barracks. Then Mirra remembered that the lieutenant needed to be cleaned out, and took him to the warehouse. “He entered a vast, poorly lit room, pressed down by a heavy vaulted ceiling... In this warehouse it was cool, but dry: the floor was covered in some places with river sand...” Having got used to the lighting, Nikolai saw two women and a mustachioed foreman sitting near the iron stove. Mirra found a brush and called Nikolai: “Let’s go clean, woe... someone,” Nikolai objected, but Mirra energetically cleaned him. The lieutenant was angrily silent, giving in to the girl’s commands. Returning to the warehouse, Pluzhnikov saw two more: senior sergeant Fedorchuk and Red Army soldier Vasya Volkov. They had to wipe down the cartridges and fill discs and machine gun belts with them. Khristina Yanovna treated everyone to tea. Nikolai got ready to join the regiment, but Anna Petrovna stopped him: “The service will not run away from you,” she offered him tea and began to ask where he was from. Soon everyone gathered around the table to drink tea and baked goods, which, according to Aunt Christia, were especially successful today.

The novel “Not on the Lists” by Vasiliev, written in 1974, is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. Through the prism of the development of the main character, the writer managed to accurately and succinctly describe all the horrors of the hard times of war.

For better preparation for the literature lesson and for the reading diary, we recommend reading online a summary of “Not on the lists” chapter by chapter.

Main characters

Kolya Pluzhnikov- a nineteen-year-old junior lieutenant, a courageous and determined guy, a patriot of his homeland.

Myrrh- a Jewish girl, disabled, forced to move with the help of a prosthesis, Kolya’s first and only love.

Other characters

Faith- Kolya’s sixteen-year-old sister.

Valya- Vera’s friend, who has been in love with Kolya since childhood.

Salnikov- a brave, cunning, intelligent fighter, Kolya’s loyal friend.

Vasya Volkov- a young Red Army soldier who lost his mind after the horrors he experienced.

Fedorchuk- a sergeant, an adult man who, in order to save his life, prefers to surrender to the Germans.

Stepan Matveevich- a sergeant major who, after being wounded in the leg and the wound becoming infected, blows himself up along with the Germans.

Semishny- paralyzed foreman, Kolya’s last surviving comrade-in-arms.

Part one

Chapter I

Nineteen-year-old Kolya Pluzhnikov graduates from military school with the rank of junior lieutenant. The general calls him to him and notes “excellent characteristics on the part of the Komsomol and on the part of his comrades.” He offers the young man to stay at the school as a training platoon commander with the prospect of continuing his studies at the Military Academy. However, Kolya refuses the flattering offer and asks to be transferred to “any unit and any position.”

Chapter II

Kolya is sent to a new duty station through Moscow, where his mother and sixteen-year-old sister Vera live. The young man finds a few hours to see his family.

At home he meets his sister's friend, who has been in love with him for a long time. In a conversation with Kolya, the girl shares her fears “that the situation is very serious” and war cannot be avoided, but he reassures her.

Dancing with Valya, Kolya acutely feels that this is love, “which he has read so much about and which he has still not met.” Valya promises to visit the young man at his new duty station.

Chapter III

In Brest, Kolya, together with his fellow travelers, goes to a restaurant, where he sees a German gendarme - a man “from that world, from Germany enslaved by Hitler.”

Brest is restless: every night you can hear the noise of tractors, tanks, and the roar of cars in the distance. After a hearty dinner, Kolya parts with his fellow travelers. He stays in the restaurant, where he meets the lame niece of the violinist, Mirra. The girl undertakes to accompany the lieutenant to the Brest Fortress.

Chapter IV

At the checkpoint, Kolya is directed to the barracks for business travelers. Mirra, who works in the fortress, accompanies Kolya to the barracks.

The “provocative conversations” that his new acquaintance starts, as well as the amazing “awareness of this lame woman,” seem suspicious to him.

Mirra brings Kolya to the warehouse, where he drinks tea. Meanwhile, dawn breaks on June 22, 1941. The roar of exploding shells is heard. Realizing that the war has begun, Pluzhnikov rushes to the exit, since he is still not on the lists.

Part two

Chapter I

Once on the street, the lieutenant sees that everything is on fire: “cars in the parking lots, booths and temporary buildings, shops, warehouses, vegetable stores.” From an unfamiliar soldier, Kolya learns that the Germans have broken into the fortress and war has been declared with Germany.

Having found his own, Kolya takes command of the deputy political instructor, but in terrible panic he does not accept his travel allowances. He orders poorly armed soldiers to recapture the church occupied by the Germans, threatening that “whoever remains is a deserter.”

Soviet soldiers count every cartridge, and they save water to cool their machine guns. Each of them hopes “that the army units will break through to their rescue in the morning,” and they need to somehow hold out until this moment.

Chapter II

The next day, “the earth groaned again, the walls of the church shook, plaster and broken bricks fell down.” The Germans break into the church, and Kolya, together with Salnikov, runs to another place, where he finds a small detachment led by a senior lieutenant. Pluzhnikov realizes that “succumbing to panic, he abandoned the fighters and cowardly fled from the position.”

Endless attacks, bombings and shelling follow each other in a continuous sequence. Kolya, Salnikov and the border guard, breaking through under fire, try to hide in the basement compartment. They soon find out that this is a dead end from which there is no way out.

Chapter III

Kolya “clearly remembered only the first three days of defense,” then the days and nights merged for him into an incessant series of bombings and shelling. The consciousness becomes clouded from extreme thirst, and even in sleep all thoughts are only about water.

From continuous machine gun fire, Salnikov and Pluzhnikov take refuge in a crater, where they are discovered by a “young, well-fed, clean-shaven” German. Salnikov knocks the German down and orders Kolya to run. The lieutenant notices a narrow hole under the brick wall and crawls into it “as fast as he could.”

In the dungeon, Pluzhnikov discovers Mirra and her comrades. In hysterical convulsions, he begins to accuse them of cowardice and betrayal. But soon, tired, he calms down.

Part three

Chapter I

Kolya finds out that the warehouse in which he drank tea on the eve of the war was covered by “a heavy shell in the first minutes of artillery preparation.” Senior Sergeant Fedorchuk, Sergeant Major Stepan Matveevich, Red Army soldier Vasya Volkov and three women were buried alive under the rubble. The whole war for them was going on at the top, and they “were cut off from their own people and from the whole world.” They had a decent supply of food, and they got water from a dug well.

The men hammered at the walls at random, trying to find a loophole to the top. Through a “tangled labyrinth of underground corridors, dead ends and blind casemates,” they made their way to the armory, which had the only exit - a narrow hole through which Pluzhnikov escaped from certain death. Seeing the untouched ammunition depot, he “could hardly hold back his tears” and ordered everyone to prepare their weapons for battle.

Kolya tries to get to the remnants of the garrison, but at this moment the Germans undermine the wall and destroy the last soldiers remaining alive. Now only miraculously surviving loners remain in the ruins of the fortress.

Pluzhnikov returns to the dungeon and, completely devastated, lies “without words, thoughts or movement.” He remembers all those who covered him with their bodies during the battles, thanks to which he remained alive.

Fedorchuk, thinking that the “lieutenant has moved,” bricks a hole that connects them with the world above. He just wants to “live while there is food and this remote dungeon, unknown to the Germans.”

Pluzhnikov tries to commit suicide, but Mirra stops him at the last moment.

Chapter II

Kolya again takes command and orders the passage to the top to be dismantled. In search of his own, he regularly makes forays, and during one of them he starts a shootout with the Germans.

Suddenly Fedorchuk disappears, and Kolya, together with Vasya Volkov, goes in search of the “senior sergeant who disappeared to God knows where.” They notice Fedorchuk, who is about to surrender to the Germans. Without a shadow of a doubt, the lieutenant shoots him in the back and kills the traitor. He “felt no remorse in shooting a man with whom he had sat at a common table more than once.”

Fleeing from persecution, Pluzhnikov and Vasya stumble upon prisoners and notice their “strange passivity and strange obedience.” Noticing a Red Army soldier he knows, Kolya learns from him that Salnikov is in the infirmary. He orders the pistol to be handed over to him, but the captured Red Army soldier, fearing for his own life, reveals Pluzhnikov’s location to the Germans.

Fleeing from persecution, Kolya loses sight of Volkov. He understands that the fortress is occupied not by “assault Germans” - determined and self-confident, but by much less warlike soldiers..

Chapter III

During the next foray, Kolya stumbles upon two Germans: he kills one, and takes the second prisoner and brings him to the dungeon. Having learned that his captive is a recently mobilized worker, he is no longer able to kill him and sets him free.

Stepan Matveevich, suffering from a rotting wound on his leg, realizes that he will not last long. He decides to sell his own life at a higher price and blows himself up along with a large group of Germans.

Part four

Chapter I

Only Kolya and Mirra remain alive in the dungeon. The lieutenant understands that he needs to “slip through, break out of the fortress, get to the first people and leave the girl with them.” Mirra doesn’t even think about surrendering to the Germans - she, a cripple and a Jew, will be killed immediately.

While exploring the basement labyrinths, Pluzhnikov unexpectedly stumbles upon two Soviet soldiers. They share their plan with the lieutenant - “to rush to Belovezhskaya Pushcha” and invite him with them. But they don’t intend to take the lame Mirra.

Hearing how Kolya stands up for her, Mirra, out of an excess of feelings, confesses her love to the young man and he reciprocates her feelings.

Chapter II

Young people, inspired by a new feeling, begin to dream about what they will do in Moscow after the end of the war.

During the next patrol of the dungeon, Pluzhnikov discovers Vasya Volkov, who has gone crazy, unable to withstand all the horrors of the war. Seeing Kolya, he runs away in fear, stumbles upon the Germans and dies.

Kolya witnesses the ceremonial parade that the Germans organize on the occasion of the arrival of important guests. Pluzhnikov “sees in front of him the Fuhrer of Germany Adolf Hitler and the Duce of the Italian fascists Benito Mussolini,” but does not even realize it.

Chapter III

With the onset of autumn, “collective farmers driven from neighboring villages” appear in the fortress to clear the territory of rubble and decomposed corpses.

In search of a warehouse with provisions, Pluzhnikov digs tunnels every day, “gasping, breaking his nails, breaking his fingers into blood.” He stumbles upon a bag of army biscuits and cries with happiness.

Mirra tells Kolya that she is expecting a child, and to save him she must get out of the dungeon. The lieutenant takes Mirra to a group of women who are clearing away the rubble, hoping that no one will notice the new girl in the crowd. However, the Germans quickly find out that Mirra is superfluous.

The girl is brutally beaten and then stabbed twice with a bayonet. In her last moments, Mirra acutely feels “that she will never have a baby, a husband, or life itself.” Kolya does not see how the girl is killed, and is fully confident that Mirra managed to escape into the city.

Part five

Chapter I

Kolya gets sick and is half asleep all the time. Feeling relieved, he climbs out and sees that the ruins of the fortress are covered with snow.

The Germans understand that Kolya is the only survivor in the ruins. They begin to methodically catch him, but Pluzhnikov manages to break through the cordon. All he has left is “a fierce desire to survive, a dead fortress and hatred.”

Chapter II

Kolya goes to the basements, which he has not been to yet. He meets there the only surviving soldier - Sergeant Major Semishny, wounded in the spine and therefore unable to move. However, the sergeant major “did not want to give up, fighting to give up every millimeter of his body to death.”

He no longer has any strength, but he forces Pluzhnikov to go upstairs every day and shoot the invaders, “so that his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be ordered to meddle in Russia.” Before his death, Semishny hands over the regimental banner, which he always wore under his clothes.

Chapter III

In April 1942, the Germans brought a Jewish violinist to the fortress as a translator. They force him to go down into the dungeon and persuade the fighter to voluntarily surrender.

By that time, Kolya was already practically blind, and was driven by the Germans into a trap from which there was no way out. From the violinist he learns that the Nazis were defeated near Moscow. Pluzhnikov asks him to spread the news that “the fortress did not fall: it simply bled to death.”

Leaning on the violinist, the lieutenant barely emerges from his hiding place. An incredibly emaciated blind man without age with swollen frostbitten feet is greeted by all those present with deathly silence. Amazed by what he saw, the German general orders the soldiers to salute the hero. With his arms outstretched, Pluzhnikov falls to the ground and dies.

Epilogue

In the far west of Belarus stands the Brest Fortress, which took the first blow on the morning of June 22, 1941. Tourists come here from different parts of the world to honor the memory of fallen soldiers. The guides will certainly tell them the legend of an unknown warrior who managed to fight the invaders alone for ten months.

Among the numerous exhibits of the museum is a miraculously preserved regimental banner, and “a small wooden prosthesis with the remnant of a woman’s shoe.”

Conclusion

In his book, Boris Vasiliev with amazing simplicity demonstrated the full power of the heroic feat of a young fighter who managed to prove to everyone that he alone is a warrior in the field.

After reading the brief retelling of “Not on the Lists,” we recommend reading the novel in its full version.

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