"Tomorrow Was the War..." by Boris Vasiliev, summary Automatic translate

The story, written in 1984, describes the tragic coming-of-age of Soviet schoolchildren on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. Literature of the time often romanticized the pre-war era, but this text exposes moral conflicts within society through the lens of adolescent perception. Young people face brutal ideological pressure.

The work gained widespread recognition thanks to the successful 1987 film adaptation. Directed by Yuri Kara, the film won the Alexander Dovzhenko Gold Medal and several awards at prestigious film festivals. Productions based on the book are regularly performed in theaters.

Memories of the Seventh "B"

The story opens with the narrator’s recollections of his school years. He examines a faded photograph of the seventh-grade "B" class. That day, Iskra Polyakova persuaded the classmates to take a photo, dreaming of looking at it in old age. She jokingly predicted a long life for her classmates. Of the forty-five students, only nineteen lived to turn gray. The surviving men suffered severe injuries, and the women were widowed early.

A group of high school students gathers at Zinochka Kovalenko’s house. The girl’s parents work long hours, and the apartment is empty, creating a relaxed atmosphere. The group consists of Iskra, Zina, Lena Bokova, Artem Shefer, Zhorika Landys, Valka Alexandrov, and Pashka Ostapchuk. Sometimes, the quiet, straight-A student Vovik Khramov joins them.

Iskra often brings along the former hooligan Sasha Stameskin. She took him under her wing through her Komsomol affiliation. She got Sasha into studying and made him attend an aircraft modeling club. The boy fell in love with aviation and reciprocated Iskra’s devoted affection.

The children are raised in the spirit of revolutionary duty. Iskra’s mother wears an army leather jacket and severely punishes her daughter with a soldier’s belt for the slightest infraction. Zina’s father’s body is covered with terrible scars from the saber blows of the Civil War. The schoolchildren dream of military professions, yearn for heroic deeds, and wear army tunics.

Conflicts and growing up

Sashka Stameskin is forced to leave school due to financial difficulties. Zina advises him to seek help from Vika Lyuberetskaya. Vika is aloof, wears imported clothes, and comes to school in a company car. Her father is the chief engineer at an aircraft factory. Zina promises to help, and Leonid Sergeyevich gets Sashka a job at the company.

Ninth-graders are experiencing the turbulent process of growing up. Zinochka spends hours twirling in front of the mirror, trying on adult clothes. Artyom Shefer secretly pines for Zina, but is too shy to express his feelings. The young man gets a summer job digging trenches, earns money, and buys gifts for his family. Artyom’s older sister runs away from home for her boyfriend. The girl lives in a workers’ dormitory.

Zina writes a frivolous letter declaring her love. The paper accidentally falls into Artyom’s hands. He takes the message seriously and is ready to protect Zina from the dangers she imagines. Zina goes on a secret date with high school student Yura. Along the way, she encounters a tearful Lena Bokova. Animal control officers have taken Lena’s dog.

The friends go to the police. A sullen officer chases them away. The schoolgirls find a dog shelter. The guard demands three rubles for the poodle’s release. Zina rushes to Artyom for the money. Artyom’s father personally goes to rescue the animal, saving the girls from the extortionist.

In September, Artem celebrates his sixteenth birthday. Zhorika Landys helps put together the guest list. All his friends and Vika Lyuberetskaya attend the party. Vika recites Sergei Yesenin’s poetry. Iskra calls the poetry "decadent," but Vika gives her a collection. Iskra is fascinated by the poems and secretly copies them into a notebook.

The school’s leadership is changing. The new principal, Nikolai Grigorievich Romakhin, is abolishing bureaucratic rules. He organizes joint chants in the gym and hangs mirrors for the girls. The students love him for his forthrightness. The homeroom teacher, Valentina Andronovna, hates Romakhin. The teacher summons Iskra and interrogates Artyom about the party. She accuses the teenagers of reading banned literature.

Arrest of engineer Lyuberetsky

Zinochka is strolling through the city at night with her high school student, Yura. Near the Lyuberetskys’ house, the young couple witnesses a tragedy. A black car takes the engineer away. Vika runs out into the street in her dressing gown. Lyuberetsky shouts to his daughter, "I’m not guilty of anything, my dear!"

Zina runs to Iskra in a panic. Iskra’s mother calmly declares the justice of the authorities’ actions. She claims there is compelling evidence to justify an arrest. Iskra tries to argue with her mother about the presumption of innocence. The girl recalls philosophical conversations with Lyuberetsky. Comrade Polyakova abruptly interrupts his daughter, demanding unconditional faith in the system.

The next day, news spreads throughout the school. Yura blurts out the arrest. Artem challenges the boy to a duel in the school boiler room and brutally beats him for his talkativeness. Valentina Andronovna learns of the fight. She connects the incident to Lyuberetsky’s arrest and accuses Artem of political provocation.

The boys arrive at the engineer’s apartment after a destructive search. The schoolchildren tidy up and put away the scattered books. Vika remains steadfast. She believes her father’s innocence and refuses to move in with Kovalenko. Sashka Stameskin cowardly turns away from Iskra. He fears losing his job at the plant and believes rumors of the engineer’s betrayal.

Vika’s tragic choice

Valentina Andronovna demands an immediate Komsomol meeting. She orders Iskra to raise the issue of Lyuberetskaya’s expulsion. The teacher insists on Vika publicly disowning her father. Iskra refuses to comply. Vika suffers a nervous breakdown right there in the office. Principal Romakhin postpones the meeting for a week.

Vika stops attending school. She sends Iskra a registered parcel of books. Inside is a farewell letter. Vika writes about the unacceptability of betrayal. She calls his rejection of her father a rupture of the bond between generations. She takes a lethal dose of sleeping pills. A relative returns and finds her dead.

The investigator summons Iskra for questioning. He casually closes the case due to lack of evidence. Iskra, Lena, and Zina arrive at Vika’s empty apartment. The girl’s relative lies unconscious, holding a photograph of her niece. The girls call an ambulance. The schoolgirls decide to organize their friend’s funeral themselves.

Artem and Zina’s parents take charge of the paperwork. Miron Abramovich, Artem’s father, asks for time off from the factory. The adults agree on a cemetery plot. Iskra’s mother learns of the schoolchildren’s plans. She categorically forbids her daughter from holding a memorial service, threatening physical punishment. Iskra remains adamant.

Farewell and consequences

In the morning, the seniors gather in the schoolyard. Nikolai Grigorievich cancels classes. A huge procession heads to the city morgue. The students carry the coffin on their shoulders through the entire city. Zhorika Landys doesn’t leave his friend’s side for a moment. He brings a rosehip bush with red berries.

At the cemetery, Director Romakhin delivers a speech of indictment. He cites indifference, cowardice, and bureaucratic red tape as the main culprits in the child’s death. The director loudly shouts, "A bad word and a bad deed kill!" Iskra recited Yesenin’s lines over the open grave.

Returning home brings a new challenge for Iskra. Her mother greets her with an army belt in hand. The girl declares her readiness to leave home forever after the first blow. The mother retreats, amazed by her daughter’s resolve.

Class Nine "B" declares a total boycott of Valentina Andronovna. The students rise at her appearance but refuse to respond to her provocations. A cold, denial-driven discipline reigns in the classroom. The teacher realizes her complete moral defeat. Vika’s desk is pushed to the wall, left empty in eternal memory.

Nikolai Grigorievich is expelled from the party for speaking at a funeral. The boys visit the director on November 7th. They sing revolutionary songs accompanied by an old accordion. Zina’s father’s efforts help reinstate Romakhin.

Soon, engineer Lyuberetsky is released from custody. The boys arrive at a familiar house. They open the heavy curtains, letting in the light. Lyuberetsky cries as he looks at the schoolchildren frozen in the wet snow.

Forty years later

The epilogue shifts the action to 1984. The narrator is riding on a train with Valka Alexandrov and Pashka Ostapchuk. The elderly men are returning from their traditional alumni reunion. The war has dealt a cruel blow to the 9B. Valka burned in a tank, lost his voice, and now repairs watches. Pashka lost his leg while crossing the Dnieper.

Nikolai Grigorievich Romakhin died in the early 1950s. At the unveiling of the memorial plaque, he read the names of his fallen students. Artyom Shefer blew himself up along with a bridge while on a combat mission. Zhora Landys became a Hero of the Soviet Union and died burning in a fighter jet. Vovik Khramov died near an anti-tank gun in Kuban.

Iskra Polyakova and her mother were hanged by the Gestapo for their active participation in the city’s underground. The director read out the list of the fallen and whispered, "Like two peas in a pod…"

Of all the boys in his class, only Sasha Stameskin remained in his hometown. The formerly timid boy became the director of a major aircraft factory. Survivor Zina Kovalenko named her sons Artem and Zhorika. She brought them to meet the former director, keeping alive the memory of her fallen comrades.