The military prose of Vyacheslav Kondratyev (1920–1993) is steeped in memories of what he lived through and recreates the world in which his heroes have to fight, live, and die.
The theme of the war story “Sashka” is preserving moral foundations in the brutal confrontation of war. The main hero is a young soldier—yesterday’s schoolboy—who has taken on the entire burden of responsibility for the fate of the Motherland.