comforts which could distract their attention from their targets.
Nikolaev’s foxhole was his home amid starvation and dehydration
until he could present a host of dead Nazis to his esteemed major.
Eventually Nikolaev is wounded. It should come as no surprise
that even this traumatic event is displaced by symptoms of
patriotism. Consider the description of how his Russian military
presentation watch, which he carries in his trouser pocket, is driven
into his stomach by shrapnel, although an explosive rifle bullet also
hits his left arm. Nikolaev goes on to save a lieutenant’s life before
seeking out the medical unit. The triumphant arc is complete
once the reader learns that a masterful surgeon is attending to
the injured, and that with the help of a skilled watchmaker, who
happens to be present, the two successfully remove all the parts of
watch and shrapnel from Nikolaev’s guts.
Nikolaev’s narrative trades in psychological effects, with an
incessant ardour that demands both the reader’s patience and their
critical resistance to its pull. It is a fascinating example of Russian
military literature precisely due to its devoted and adamantly
patriotic author.
