Craftsmen of Souls
9 hrs. 45 min.
Language
Russian
Author
Dmitry Raspopov
Author
Dmitry Raspopov
Narrator
Oleg Keynz
Narrator
Oleg Keynz
Yet another excellent novel by the wonderful writer and captain of the 1st rank, Pokrovsky Alexander Mikhailovich. Funny and sad—truly life.
At the center of the narrative is again an unbending and unsinkable Fleet, an unwelcoming Motherland, the mighty hero Andrey Antonych, the naive and patriotic political commissar Sergeich, the chemist Sania, the wives and children of naval officers—and, of course, the officers themselves: lieutenants, warrant officers, petty officers, and sailors. And there is the hard, harsh work of defending the Motherland— which all these people do. And they live.
Starpoм—senior assistant to the ship’s commander. The commander runs the ship in combat and on passage; the starpom does everything else. Knows everything, responsible for everything.
Зам or замполит—deputy commander of the ship for political affairs. Responsible for the political training and moral spirit of the crew—political classes, political briefings, discipline status reports, showing films. In everything else, usually useless. Maybe that’s why the deputy commanders don’t like them.
Начпо—head of the political department, the main over the deputy commanders of all ships of the unit.
Капраз—captain of the first rank, colonel on land. Accordingly capdva and captri are lieutenant colonel and major. Captain-lieutenant—on land, captain.
BC-1—combat command for navigation—navigators and helmsmen.
BC-2—missile-artillery combat unit.
BC-3—mine-torpedo combat unit.
BC-4—communications BC.
BC-5—electromechanical BC—power plants and life-support systems.
BC-6—aviation BC.
BC-7—control BC—radar stations and others.
Chemist or chief chem—head of the ship’s chemical service. On a submarine, in particular, responsible for air regeneration.
Flag officer—staff officer for a specific specialty (navigator, artilleryman, chemist, etc.). Supervises the work of the corresponding specialists on ships.
ZAS—Secret Communications Apparatus. On each ship there is a ZAS post for receiving and sending ZAS telegrams.
Dof—House of Officers, something like a Cultural Palace for officers with a concert or cinema hall, a restaurant, a library, a cloakroom, and amateur circles.
PKZ—floating barracks. I don’t know how on nuclear submarines, but on diesel ones—one bunk for two or three sailors; at sea they stand watch and sleep in turns. In port, the personnel lives in barracks on shore or in the PKZ.
SKR—guard ship. A small ship used to guard the border, ports, and larger ships from submarines, torpedo boats, and aircraft.
“Permission requested”—naval “pomp,” used instead of “Allow me” when addressing a senior by rank. Also says “I ask for good.”
“Chestnut”—a stationary intercom device.
Подволок—ceiling; similarly: deck—floor, bulkhead—wall, coaming—door sill.
Обрез—a bucket or tub for cleaning.
Голяк—a broom; to “голячить” means to sweep.
Лагун—a food tank, a tank for wastewater, and the like.
Leera—guardrails/rope stanchions: tightly stretched cables to prevent falling overboard, like handrails.
ГодОк—sailor of the last period of service, generally a long-serving sailor.
VVD—high-pressure air. On submarines it’s stored in VVD cylinders (200–400 atm.) and used to blow through tanks for surfacing/ballasting.
At the center of the narrative is again an unbending and unsinkable Fleet, an unwelcoming Motherland, the mighty hero Andrey Antonych, the naive and patriotic political commissar Sergeich, the chemist Sania, the wives and children of naval officers—and, of course, the officers themselves: lieutenants, warrant officers, petty officers, and sailors. And there is the hard, harsh work of defending the Motherland— which all these people do. And they live.
Notes, naval terms:
Starpoм—senior assistant to the ship’s commander. The commander runs the ship in combat and on passage; the starpom does everything else. Knows everything, responsible for everything.
Зам or замполит—deputy commander of the ship for political affairs. Responsible for the political training and moral spirit of the crew—political classes, political briefings, discipline status reports, showing films. In everything else, usually useless. Maybe that’s why the deputy commanders don’t like them.
Начпо—head of the political department, the main over the deputy commanders of all ships of the unit.
Капраз—captain of the first rank, colonel on land. Accordingly capdva and captri are lieutenant colonel and major. Captain-lieutenant—on land, captain.
BC-1—combat command for navigation—navigators and helmsmen.
BC-2—missile-artillery combat unit.
BC-3—mine-torpedo combat unit.
BC-4—communications BC.
BC-5—electromechanical BC—power plants and life-support systems.
BC-6—aviation BC.
BC-7—control BC—radar stations and others.
Chemist or chief chem—head of the ship’s chemical service. On a submarine, in particular, responsible for air regeneration.
Flag officer—staff officer for a specific specialty (navigator, artilleryman, chemist, etc.). Supervises the work of the corresponding specialists on ships.
ZAS—Secret Communications Apparatus. On each ship there is a ZAS post for receiving and sending ZAS telegrams.
Dof—House of Officers, something like a Cultural Palace for officers with a concert or cinema hall, a restaurant, a library, a cloakroom, and amateur circles.
PKZ—floating barracks. I don’t know how on nuclear submarines, but on diesel ones—one bunk for two or three sailors; at sea they stand watch and sleep in turns. In port, the personnel lives in barracks on shore or in the PKZ.
SKR—guard ship. A small ship used to guard the border, ports, and larger ships from submarines, torpedo boats, and aircraft.
“Permission requested”—naval “pomp,” used instead of “Allow me” when addressing a senior by rank. Also says “I ask for good.”
“Chestnut”—a stationary intercom device.
Подволок—ceiling; similarly: deck—floor, bulkhead—wall, coaming—door sill.
Обрез—a bucket or tub for cleaning.
Голяк—a broom; to “голячить” means to sweep.
Лагун—a food tank, a tank for wastewater, and the like.
Leera—guardrails/rope stanchions: tightly stretched cables to prevent falling overboard, like handrails.
ГодОк—sailor of the last period of service, generally a long-serving sailor.
VVD—high-pressure air. On submarines it’s stored in VVD cylinders (200–400 atm.) and used to blow through tanks for surfacing/ballasting.
