This post, covering Part 1, Chapter 10, is part of The Slavic Literature Pod’s chapter a day read along of Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate. Learn more about our project here.
(Editor's note: An eagle-eyed listener has pointed out that the Commissar Vavilov introduced here is not the same as the soldier Vavilov in Stalingrad.
From Part 1, Chapter 69 of that novel: "That evening, the mischievous Rezchikov made everyone laugh by standing to attention before Vavilov and rattling off the words 'Comrade Kolkhoz Activist, allow me to ask if you happen to be related to Regimental Commissar Vavilov, commissar of this Guards division?' 'No,' said Vavilov. 'Seems we just have the same surname.' "
For posterity's sake, we've left the text here untouched. Thanks for the note, Erik!)
Today Grossman reintroduces readers of Stalingrad to Vavilov, a personal favorite of ours from his previous novel. Vavilov represents the New Soviet Man, a sort of Soviet everyman. Here we see the former collective farm worker take a jab at Krymov, who has come to the unit to sort out a “A lecture’s just what we need,” (p. 44).
At this point in Soviet literature, the dispute between a strong commanding officer and his commissar has a well-established footing in one of the foundational Socialist Realist texts and films, Chapaev. Although in Chapaev, this tension is eventually resolved by something that most closely resembles elevating Chapaev with Marxist-Leninist ideology, Grossman seems to resolve the tension in the opposite manner.
