Dance of the Wasp. Notes of an Artilleryman

In the “library” of the Great Patriotic War, made up of hundreds and thousands of incredibly sincere, talented, and honest autobiographical books, “Notes of an Artilleryman” occupies a special place. Perhaps because it is—more than just a piece of fiction—an actual, report-like life story written over three years of war. A report where pain, blood, fear, and swearing are far more prominent than pathos and bravado: on war, as in war.

These are notes from the battlefield—written from the dugout, from the operating room—in a simple, clear language of a participant in those terrible events…

…The notes of artilleryman Leonid Beloglasov lay in a desk for several decades. The author made sketches throughout the war, and then—in the postwar years—partly rewrote them to preserve memories for future generations: pages that had survived the war, following the heroes of battle, turned yellow, cracked, and crumbled.

In 2014, on the eve of the Jubilee of the Great Victory, the manuscripts ended up with Ural historian and writer Oleg Rief. Recalling his first impressions of these unexpectedly received memoirs, Oleg describes them as a unique discovery. Because it was a completely different story of the Great Patriotic War—written by a direct participant who looked from the trench into the face of death. A story told plainly about something profoundly difficult—about life and death, always walking side by side…

Less than a year later, in a limited print run, the book titled “The Dance of the Wasp. Notes of an Artilleryman” was released. A truthful story of a truthful war—in memory of the dead and as an eternal lesson for the living.