"Two Captains" by Veniamin Kaverin, summary Automatic translate

A grim novel of coming-of-age and Arctic exploration, written between 1936 and 1944. The narrative centers on a true historical mystery — a lost polar expedition that embodied elements of the heroic voyages of Brusilov, Sedov, and Toll. The book was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946. The work was adapted for film twice, in 1955 and 1976. The events depicted inspired the creators of the renowned musical "Nord-Ost."

Dumbness and old letters

Sanya Grigoriev spends his childhood in the provincial town of Ensk. He suffers from muteness. One spring, a drowned postman’s bag is found in the yard. A neighbor, Aunt Dasha, reads the soggy letters aloud. Sanya memorizes one of them — a report from navigator Klimov on the ice-bound schooner "Svyataya Maria."

One night, a guard is murdered on a pontoon bridge. Sanya loses his old utility knife there. Sanya’s father is arrested on suspicion of murder. The boy knows the truth, he saw the real criminals, but he can’t utter a word. His father dies in prison.

During the winter, Sanya hides a fugitive exile, Doctor Ivan Ivanovich, in the village. The doctor examines the boy’s ears, diagnoses muteness without deafness, and teaches him to speak. Sanya regains his voice, but it’s too late to save his father.

His mother marries a cruel and stupid speculator, Gaer Kuliy. Life at home quickly becomes unbearable. His stepfather beats his sister and tyrannizes Sanya. His mother falls ill and quietly dies. Sanya and his friend Petka Skovorodnikov decide to flee to sunny Tashkent. The boys swear a bloody oath: to fight and seek, to find, and never give up.

School and the Captain’s Secret

The road leads the hungry fugitives to Moscow. During a raid on speculators, the friends become separated. Sanya ends up in a communal school run by the despotic Nikolai Antonovich Tatarinov. Geography teacher Korablyov opens a drama club at the school. The students stage a trial of Eugene Onegin and debate literature.

Sanya meets Nikolai Antonovich’s niece, Katya Tatarinova. Her father, Captain Ivan Tatarinov, went missing in the Arctic. Sanya recalls a letter she learned as a child. It turns out that Tatarinov’s schooner is the very same "Saint Mary."

Sanya reads the captain’s other letters, preserved by Nina Kapitonovna. The terrible truth emerges. Nikolai Antonovich had equipped the expedition. Rotten clothing, poor dogs, and inadequate provisions led to the crew’s death. Sanya tells this to the captain’s widow, Marya Vasilyevna. Marya had long since become Nikolai Antonovich’s wife.

Having learned the bitter truth, she commits suicide. Nikolai Antonovich accuses Sanya of lying. The old man claims the captain wrote about the greedy businessman Vyshimirsky. Sanya is expelled from the Tatarinov household in disgrace.

Sky and North

The young man decides to become a polar pilot, find traces of the expedition, and prove his case. Sanya leaves for Leningrad and enrolls in the Osoaviakhim flight school. During the day, he works as a mechanic at a factory, and in the evenings, he studies aviation theory, engine components, and aerodynamics. Long flights begin. The stern instructor demands perfect turns and scolds him for mistakes.

Sanya meets a grown-up Petka and his sister Sasha. Petka has become a graphic designer. His sister marries Petka. Soon, Sasha dies after giving birth, leaving her husband with a young son, Pyotr.

Sanya is assigned to the Arctic. He flies over the tundra, transporting doctors, geologists, and furs. By chance, he meets Dr. Ivan Ivanovich. The doctor has preserved the rough diaries of navigator Klimov. During the long polar nights, Sanya deciphers the tiny, smudged text with a magnifying glass. He finds confirmation of his suspicions: the captain has discovered Severnaya Zemlya.

During a forced landing, Sanya talks to an old Nenets man named Vylka. The centenarian hunter tells him about a boat he found many years ago containing a dead man. Sanya finds an old brass boat hook engraved with the words "Saint Mary" in the camp.

Romashov’s betrayal

Sanya arrives in Moscow. He meets Katya. The young people openly declare their love for each other. Sanya finds old Vyshimirsky, who confirms Nikolai Antonovich’s fraud with the bank bills. Sanya’s former classmate, the cowardly and calculating Romashov, had cunningly stolen the documents from the old man.

Romashov secretly blackmails Nikolai Antonovich and wants to marry Katya. Sanya forces Romashov to confess to his dishonesty. Sanya prepares an expedition to search for the "Saint Mary." Nikolai Antonovich, through his connections at Glavsevmorput, deliberately stalls the project. Katya leaves her uncle, lives independently on Sivtsev Vrazhek, and communicates with biologist Valya Zhukov and his wife, Kira.

The Great Patriotic War begins. Sanya goes to the front. He serves in long-range aviation. He bombs crossings, railway bridges, and pockets of resistance. Sanya’s plane is attacked by German fighters. The aircraft burns brightly. The crew bails out. Sanya miraculously lands the riddled plane. The pilot suffers serious wounds to the leg and face.

Sanya accidentally encounters Romashov on a medical train. German tanks are shelling the train. The wounded scatter in panic. Sanya can’t walk. Romashov drags him into an aspen grove. Wanting to rid himself of his rival, Romashov takes Sanya’s pistol, water canteen, and documents. He cold-bloodedly abandons his wounded comrade in the forest.

Remote parking lots

Sanya survives thanks to the help of two twin boys and their father, a switchman. He undergoes lengthy treatment in rear-line hospitals on the banks of the Kama River. His limp threatens him with decommissioning. The pilot persistently seeks to be sent north.

Meanwhile, Romashov finds Katya in besieged Leningrad. He basely lies to her about her husband’s death. Katya refuses to believe him. She works as a nurse in a maxillofacial hospital, enduring the terrible hunger of the siege, and losing loved ones. Her friend Varya Trofimova rescues Katya and sends her on a transport plane to Yaroslavl.

Sanya fights valiantly in the Northern Fleet. Grigoriev’s torpedo bomber sinks German transports. During the tense search for the enemy raider, an anti-aircraft shell hits the cockpit. The crew makes an emergency landing on the deserted coast of Taimyr.

The pilot and navigator methodically explore the rocky shore. They find the remains of the "St. Mary" camp. Captain Tatarinov’s body lies under the snow and eternal ice. Sanya takes the bag containing farewell letters and scientific reports. In the letters, the captain directly names Nikolai Antonovich as the main culprit in the ship’s demise.

Sanya arrives in Polyarny. There he finds Katya. The couple read the captain’s letters together. Sanya’s rightness is fully proven.

In Moscow, the Geographical Society organizes a lecture by Captain Grigoriev. Sanya confidently displays documents, old maps, and discovered items. He loudly reads farewell letters. Nikolai Antonovich attempts to protest. The audience greets the old man with stunned disdain. The schemer leaves the auditorium in disgrace.

Sanya and Katya return to their native Ensk. They visit the old judge, Skovorodnikov, and Aunt Dasha. That evening, Sanya raises a glass to their loyalty to their childhood dream. Life, both military and civilian, continues.

A white stone tomb rises on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Icebreakers pass by in a steady wake, loudly saluting the brave explorer. Eternally carved into the stone is the motto: fight and seek, find, and never give up.