Iron Prayer Beads (collection)

“Miniatures” by Valentin Pikul is a series of historical stories-essays by the Soviet writer. Each miniature tells about a person, often forgotten, lost across the expanses of Russian history. The heroes of the miniatures are both well-known figures and people whose names aren’t widely heard—but each of them contributed to history, and not only Russian. Many of the miniatures are imbued with a patriotic feeling.

Most often, a miniature was born in a single night, but its writing could be preceded by years of painstaking work gathering information about the person who would become its main hero. Unlike novels, the miniatures gave V. S. Pikul an opportunity to express his thoughts and attitude to certain things not through the voices of characters, but directly to the reader.Age restriction: 12+ .