Writer and soldier Arkady Gaidar: Sadist and punisher or victim of the civil war

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The author of kind, light, romantic works "Chuk and Geka", "Timur and his team" experienced pangs of conscience, tried to commit suicide, drank drunkenly and underwent treatment in psychiatric clinics. Mystery surrounds the early years of the children's writer. Who is he: a sadist and a punisher or a victim of the civil war?

- entry from the diary of Arkady Gaidar.

Arkady Gaidar (Golikov) is a writer whose personality raises a lot of questions. His biography has become a myth. Or rather, several myths. The mysterious Golikov has opponents and defenders. He has an army of fans and personal famous "killers".

It is absolutely known that Arkady Golikov's childhood was spent in Arzamas. There, a fourteen-year-old boy joined the party. There he got his first pistol (according to one version, he bought it, according to another, the boy's father gave the weapon). There he went to the night patrol and fired at the windows of the temple. Arkady's favorite book was the collected works of Gogol. These facts are known from the memoirs of the writer himself. And then he went to the Red Army. In his childhood years fell the First World War, revolution and civil. From the moment he left the house, the adult life of a teenager Arkady Golikov begins. Biographers still have not agreed on what she was.

The first version. Salty

In August 1918, Golikov submitted an application to the Committee of the Communist Party. He is cramped in a small town and in December he goes to the Red Army to fight "for the bright kingdom of communism." The boy commanded a company on the Petliura front, at the age of 17 he became the commander of a separate regiment to combat banditry. First, he bloodyly suppressed the uprising of the Tambov peasants, and then eighteen-year-old Golikov was sent to Khakassia. Much has been written about this. This period of life, or rather the atrocities of young Golikov, was described in particular by Vladimir Soloukhin in his book "Salt Lake". In Khakassia, according to Soloukhin, Golikov-Gaidar showed himself as a sadist. His task was to find and destroy the people's commander Solovyov, who settled in the taiga with peasant soldiers. In order to find out where Solovyov was hiding, Golikov frightened, tortured and killed the Khakass. Here is a quote from that essay:

Soloukhin's "Salt Lake" was published in 1994. The village writer hated the Soviet regime. He brought out the heroes of his book in contrasting colors. Peasant ataman Solovyov - white and in white. The people's defender, a noble, brave and proud man. But Soloukhin painted the figure of Golikov in bloody - the color of the revolution, endowing him with the worst qualities. Not a man, but a beast. Moral freak. Maniac. Sadist. The writer relied on the testimony of local residents. In the book, he gives the names of the storytellers. Quite a few journalists and writers agree with Soloukhin's opinion. In the 90s and 2000s, many articles were published on this topic. But there are also intercessors. Here's how critic Benedict Sarnoff reacted:

The documents

In the archives, no confirmation of these terrible accusations has been found. Although that at the beginning of his life Golikov saw death and killed himself, there is no doubt. From the reports of the soldiers to their commander, it is known that Arkady Golikov shot prisoners of war because there was nothing to feed them or there were no conditions for detention. He was also engaged in looting. The young commander took cattle and food supplies from the Khakass.

- Sergey Nebolsin, Doctor of Philology, shared his opinion in a TV interview.

It is truly known that several cases were opened against Golikov. The reason was overstepping of official duties. Not a single investigation was completed. Due to a serious injury, Arkady Golikov was fired from the Red Army and was treated for terrible migraines all his life. Severe pain was accompanied by seizures, he cut his veins with a safety razor and was pulled out of the noose several times.

Second version. Intercession

The main demythologizer of Gaidar's biography was Boris Kamov. Kamov became the most devoted biographer at the behest of his heart. The writer grew up on the books of Gaidar and considered it his duty to expose Soloukhin and prove that "Salt Lake" is a vile fiction. Boris Kamov studied archives and enthusiastically delved into Gaidar's biography for 20 years.

“Arkady Gaidar. Target for newspaper killers”- written in pretentious language. Kamov constructs it as a refutation. He uses quotes from articles and stories by Soloukhin, argues with the authors and gives his proofs. Kamov's book convinces that all the accusations against Gaidar are lies. "Gaidar was the victim of a grandiose fraud." True, the reasoning of Boris Kamov is not always based only on documentary facts. The writer often goes into lengthy discourses about a worldwide conspiracy. Kamov claims that the campaign against Gaidar is nothing more than a weapon of psychological defeat. The goal is to deprive the people of ideals. The sponsor, of course, is the West.

- from the book “Arkady Gaidar. Target for newspaper killers”.

Another opinion

Kamov himself could not avoid hysteria in his texts. But his research has documented many of the myths about Arkady Gaidar. Contemporary literary scholars refer to Kamov. Dmitry Bykov, for example, relies on the books of the biographer. The writer and journalist explains: Gaidar's breakdowns, attempts to cut his hands, terrible headaches and binges are a post-traumatic symptom. Perhaps it was precisely from the post-war syndrome that Gaidar tried to escape in his kind and light texts. Create an ideal world and a happy childhood that he did not have.

- Dmitry Bykov.

In 1941, Arkady Gaidar obtained permission to go to the front as a war correspondent. He did not return home. The writer died at the age of 37, fighting for the Motherland.