USE Russian language. Bank of arguments. Problems (Civil, Great Patriotic War). The Problem of Mercy - Arguments and Essay

Is there a place for mercy in war? And is it possible to show mercy to the enemy in war? The text of V. N. Lyalin makes us think about these questions. Here the author raises the problem of showing mercy to the enemy.

In the text, the author tells about Mikhail Ivanovich Bogdanov, who in 1943 was sent to the war to serve as an orderly. In one of the fiercest battles, Mikhail Ivanovich managed to protect the wounded from SS submachine gunners. For the courage shown during the counterattack with the SS division, he was presented to the Order of Glory by the commissar of the battalion. The next day after the battle, noticing the corpse of a German soldier lying in a ditch, Mikhail Ivanovich showed mercy by deciding to bury the German. The author shows us that despite the war, Mikhail Ivanovich was able to retain his humanity, not remaining indifferent to the enemy. Having learned about this case, the battalion commissar decided to cancel the order of Glory presentation of the orderly. However, for Mikhail Ivanovich it was important to act according to his conscience, and not to receive an award.

in itself humanity and show mercy in order to the enemy.

I agree with the position of the author and am convinced that mercy has a place in war. After all, it does not matter whether the enemy is dead or unarmed, he no longer poses any danger. I believe that Mikhail Ivanovich Bogdanov did a worthy deed by burying the body of a German soldier killed in a shootout. It is very important in the conditions of a cruel war to be able to preserve humanity in oneself and not let one's heart cool down.

The problem of showing mercy to the enemy is raised in the works of V. L. Kondratiev, Sashka,. The main character Sashka captured a German during a German attack. At first, the German seemed to him an enemy, but, looking closely, Sashka saw in him an ordinary person, the same as himself. He no longer saw him as an enemy. Sashka promised the German his life, he said that the Russians are not animals, they will not kill the unarmed. He showed the German a leaflet, which said that the prisoners were guaranteed life and return to their homeland. However, when Sasha brought the German to the battalion commander, the German did not tell anything, and therefore the battalion commander gave Sasha the order to shoot the German. Sasha's hand did not rise to the unarmed soldier who looked so much like him. Despite everything, Sasha retained his humanity. He did not harden and this allowed him to remain a man. As a result, the battalion commander, having analyzed Sasha's words, decided to cancel his order.

The problem of showing mercy to the enemy is touched upon in the work of L. N. Tolstoy, War and Peace. One of the heroes of the novel, the Russian commander Kutuzov, shows mercy to the French fleeing Russia. He pities them, because he understands that they acted on the orders of Napoleon and in no case dared to disobey him. Speaking to the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Kutuzov says: We see that all soldiers are united not only by a feeling of hatred, but also by pity for the defeated enemy.

Thus, we can conclude that in war it is necessary to show mercy even to the enemy, no matter whether he is defeated or killed. A soldier is first of all a man and must preserve in himself such qualities as mercy and humanity. It is they who allow him to remain human.

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Red Cross in the Russian Empire

From the middle of the 17th century, organized assistance to the wounded began to be engaged in Russia. In the 18th century, German princesses brought European traditions of charity here.

From a letter from Florence Nightingale to Lord Raglan, commander of the British troops in the Crimea: “The recovery of patients does not even depend so much on a qualified surgeon as on a careful orderly, and their constant shifts all the time neutralize the orders of the previous ones by the next ...”.

The signing of the international Geneva Convention of 1864 ed.), falls on fertile soil: in 1867, the Society for the Care of Sick and Wounded Soldiers was created under the auspices of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (13 years later it was renamed the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK)).

In 1901, Jean Henri Dunant became the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. His personal fate was closely intertwined with the activities of the ROKK. While ruined, forgotten by everyone, he was going through the most difficult years of his life, the Russian Red Cross came to his aid: he was elected an honorary member of the society and appointed a lifelong pension.

Unlike other countries, the RRCS in Russia also helped people in peacetime in the event of "national disasters" - epidemics, earthquakes, fires, crop failures, took care of the disabled.

The documents presented at the exhibition give an idea of how the relationship between the state, public organizations and private initiative in the affairs of mercy was built 100 years ago.

The Martha-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy, founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna in 1907, becomes a new form of spiritual achievement and Christian help to one's neighbor. During the First World War, the sisterhood's assistance to the front, to the wounded and maimed soldiers, as well as to their families, was the most diverse.

Merciful Sisters

One of the halls of the exhibition is completely devoted to the history of the communities of sisters of mercy, the Red Cross movement in the rear and on the fronts of the Crimean, Russian-Turkish, Russian-Japanese and First World Wars. It was a time when Russian women of different classes went to the feat of caring for the wounded.

Maria Vladimirovna Goryainova asks to be enrolled as a sister of mercy in the flying detachment (a group of medical personnel that was assigned on a ship during the Great Patriotic War to provide medical care to the wounded directly at combat posts - ed.) of the active army. Behind her shoulders - the Russo-Japanese war and the war in the Balkans.

In parallel, the formation of women's vocational education in Russia was going on.

Community support

Charity evenings, concerts, balls, auctions were part of everyday life during the war.

Regimental priests played a special role.

An interesting incident occurred during the First World War: a small detachment of Russian soldiers, with whom the regimental priest Father Parfeniy was, met with an equally small detachment of Austrians. Taking in his hands the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, the priest addressed the Austrian soldiers with an appeal not to arrange bloodshed, but to surrender, so that "both we and you would remain alive." The soldiers, most of whom were Rusyns, did just that.

Princess Shakhovskaya

The exhibition presents a rare portrait of Princess Natalya Borisovna Shakhovskaya in the form of a sister of mercy. Natalya Shakhovskaya, born Svyatopolk-Chetvertiyskaya, was a deeply religious Russian woman (her confessor was Archpriest Valentin Amfiteatrov). Fyodor Petrovich Gaaz, who was the family doctor of the Svyatopolk-Chetvertiyskys, inspired the princess to devote herself to helping her neighbors by his example. So the princess joined the Nikolsky community of sisters of mercy.

The educational project dedicated to the history of mercy will be continued in 2014-2017. It is planned to hold three exhibitions dedicated to the most important events in Russian history related to the Great War and the collapse of the empire, as well as related conferences and round tables.

Photo: Ivan Jabir

On the ability of Russians to forgive enemies

Mercy and the ability to forgive enemies have always distinguished Russian people. The property of being merciful not only to relatives and friends, but also to strangers - this requires labor and effort from a person.

But the problem of this text lies not only in forgiveness; she is even in more difficult situations that may arise in life. A person may be faced with a choice: should or should he not forgive the enemies of the pain for his torn land, for the crippled destinies of his compatriots and the desecration of everything sacred to him.

Commenting on this problem, it should be said that not all Russian people, both at the front and in the territories liberated from the invaders, were able to forgive uninvited guests for the harm done. And to be irreconcilable for our people in these conditions - this became their right through suffering.

However, the opinion of the author in the text is seen very clearly. The people of Russia, both those who fought and the civilian population, for the most part were not hostile towards the captured Germans. Everyone understood that captivity was a consequence of the same war that ground the lives and destinies of millions of innocent people. At the same time, no matter who they were, no matter the army of any armies was in the power of the winners, the vanquished themselves were not able to change anything in their fate. However, the approaches to the captured Russians and captured Nazis, which were carried out by the “other” side, were sharply opposite in nature. The Nazis deliberately destroyed the captured soldiers of the Red Army, and our command saved the lives of German prisoners of war.

I agree with the position of the author and confirm it with the following first example. The attitude of the Russians towards the prisoners was also filled with high humanism in the war of 1812. In the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" there is a scene: the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Kutuzov, inspects his regiments after the victorious battle of Krasnensky and thanks them for their feats of arms. But at the sight of thousands of sick and exhausted French prisoners, his gaze becomes sympathetic, and he speaks of the need to "regret" the defeated enemy. After all, real warriors fight with the enemy in an open battle. And when he is defeated, it becomes the duty of the victors to save him from certain death.

The second example, in order to prove the correctness of the author's position, I cite from life, based on real facts. A column of German prisoners of war under escort was led down the street of a small town. The Russian woman brought out three boiled potatoes and two pieces of bread - everything that was in the house from food that day, and gave it to the sickly-looking prisoner, who could barely move his legs.

In conclusion, we can say that the high humanism of the Russian people was manifested in a generous attitude towards the defeated enemy and in the ability to distinguish genuine enemies from those who found themselves in the thick of bloody events against their will.

S. Aleksievich "Uwar is not a woman's face..."

All the heroines of the book had to not only survive the war, but participate in hostilities. Some were military, others were civilians, partisans.

The narrators feel that having to combine male and female roles is a problem. They solve it as best they can. For example, they dream that their femininity and beauty will be preserved even in death. The warrior-commander of a sapper platoon tries to embroider in the dugout in the evening. They are happy if they manage to use the services of a hairdresser almost on the front line (story 6). The transition to a peaceful life, which was perceived as a return to the female role, is also not easy. For example, a participant in the war, even when the war is over, when meeting with the highest rank, one wants to take it under the hood.

The unheroic falls to the woman's lot. Women's testimonies allow us to see how enormous was the role of "non-heroic" types of activity during the war years, which we all so easily refer to as "women's business." It is not only about what happened in the rear, where the whole burden of maintaining the life of the country fell on a woman.

Women nurse the wounded. They bake bread, cook food, wash soldiers' clothes, fight against insects, delivering letters to the front line (story 5). They feed the wounded heroes and defenders of the Fatherland, themselves suffering severely from hunger. In military hospitals, the expression "blood relationship" has become literal. Falling from fatigue and hunger, women gave their blood to the wounded heroes, not considering themselves heroes (story 4). They are wounded and killed. As a result of the path traveled, women change not only internally, but also externally, they cannot be the same (it’s not for nothing that one of them will not be recognized by her own mother). The return to the female role is extremely difficult and proceeds like a disease.

The story of Boris Vasiliev "The Dawns Here Are Quiet..."

They all wanted to live, but they died so that people could say: “The dawns here are quiet…” Quiet dawns cannot be in tune with war, with death. They died, but they won, they did not let a single fascist through. They won because they loved their Motherland selflessly.

Zhenya Komelkova is one of the brightest, strongest and most courageous representatives of the girls - fighters shown in the story. Both the most comical and the most dramatic scenes are connected with Zhenya in the story. Her benevolence, optimism, cheerfulness, self-confidence, implacable hatred of enemies involuntarily draw attention to her and cause admiration. In order to deceive the German saboteurs and force them to take a long road around the river, a small detachment of female fighters made a noise in the forest, pretending to be lumberjacks. Zhenya Komelkova played a stunning scene of carefree swimming in icy water in full view of the Germans, ten meters from enemy machine guns. In the last minutes of her life, Zhenya called fire on herself, just to ward off the threat from the seriously wounded Rita and Fedot Vaskov. She believed in herself, and, leading the Germans away from Osyanina, she did not doubt for a moment that everything would end well.

And even when the first bullet hit her side, she was simply surprised. After all, it was so stupid, absurd and implausible to die at nineteen...

Courage, composure, humanity, a high sense of duty to the Motherland distinguish the squad leader, junior sergeant Rita Osyanina. The author, considering the images of Rita and Fedot Vaskov to be central, already in the first chapters talks about the past life of Osyanina. School evening, acquaintance with lieutenant - border guard Osyanin, lively correspondence, registry office. Then - the border outpost. Rita learned to bandage the wounded and shoot, ride a horse, throw grenades and defend against gases, the birth of a son, and then ... war. And in the first days of the war, she was not at a loss - she saved other people's children, and soon found out that her husband died at the outpost on the second day of the war in a counterattack.

They wanted to send her to the rear more than once, but each time she reappeared at the headquarters of the fortified area, finally, they took her as a nurse, and six months later she was sent to study at a tank anti-aircraft school.

Zhenya learned to hate enemies quietly and mercilessly. In position, she shot down a German balloon and an ejected spotter.

When Vaskov and the girls counted the fascists who came out of the bushes - sixteen instead of the expected two, the foreman said to everyone at home: "It's bad, girls, it's business."

It was clear to him that they would not last long against heavily armed enemies, but then Rita’s firm remark: “Well, watch how they pass by?” - obviously, much strengthened Vaskova in the decision. Twice Osyanina rescued Vaskov by taking fire on herself, and now, having received a mortal wound and knowing the position of the wounded Vaskov, she does not want to be a burden to him, she understands how important it is to bring their common cause to an end, to detain fascist saboteurs.

“Rita knew that the wound was mortal, that she would die long and hard”

Sonya Gurvich - "translator", one of the girls of the Vaskov group, "city" pigalitsa; thin as a spring rook.

The author, talking about Sonya's past life, emphasizes her talent, love for poetry, theater. Boris Vasiliev remembers. The percentage of intelligent girls and students was very high at the front. Mostly freshmen. For them, the war was the most terrible ... Somewhere among them, my Sonya Gurvich also fought.

And now, wanting to do something nice, like an older, experienced and caring comrade, a foreman, Sonya rushes after a pouch, forgotten by him on a stump in the forest, and dies from a blow of an enemy knife in the chest.

Galina Chetvertak is an orphan, a pupil of an orphanage, a dreamer, endowed by nature with a vivid imaginative fantasy. The skinny, little "fuzzy" Jackdaw did not fit the army standards either in height or age.

When, after the death of her friend Galka, the foreman ordered to put on her boots, “she physically, to the point of faintness, felt a knife penetrating into the tissues, heard the crunch of torn flesh, felt the heavy smell of blood. And this gave rise to a dull, cast-iron horror ... ”And enemies lurked nearby, mortal danger loomed.

“The reality that women faced in the war,” says the writer, “was much more difficult than anything they could think of in the most desperate time of their fantasies. The tragedy of Gali Chetvertak is about this.

The automatic hit briefly. From Ten Steps he struck a thin back, tense in running, and Galya thrust her face into the ground without removing her hands, twisted in horror, from her head.

Everything froze in the meadow.

Lisa Brichkina died while on a mission. Hurrying to get to the junction, to report on the changed situation, Lisa drowned in the swamp:

The heart of the hardened fighter, hero-patriot F. Vaskov is filled with pain, hatred and brightness, and this strengthens his strength, gives him the opportunity to survive. A single feat - the defense of the Motherland - equalizes foreman Vaskov and five girls who "hold their front, their Russia" on the Sinyukhin ridge.

Thus, another motive of the story arises: each on his own sector of the front must do what is possible and impossible for victory, so that the dawns are quiet.

In this selection, we have formulated the most common problems from the thematic block "Mercy", which are found everywhere in texts for essays on the Unified State Examination in the Russian language. Each of them is dedicated to a separate heading, under which there are literary arguments illustrating this problem. You can also download the table with these examples at the end of the article.

Each person needs support, care and attention, especially in difficult circumstances it is so important to know that you can count on someone. In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, the protagonist needed help, because, having committed a murder, he could not recover for so long. Rodion fell ill, had terrible dreams and lived with the thought that sooner or later his crime would be revealed. But in relation to him, Sonya Marmeladova showed sensitivity and mercy, learning about his terrible condition. The girl helped the hero not to go crazy, convinced him to confess and repent. Thanks to Sonya's support, Raskolnikov's conscience ceased to torment him.
In Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace, Natasha Rostova showed mercy to the wounded soldiers. The sympathetic heroine gave the carts to the wounded, which were set aside for the removal of the property of the count's family. The girl also took care of the dying Andrei Bolkonsky. Natasha's kind heart helped the heroes in difficult times. In difficult circumstances, you understand how mercy is needed. Indeed, sometimes it is sensitivity and compassion that can truly help us out.
Real mercy can help out not only those around you, but also the person who is sensitive. In Mikhail Sholokhov's story "The Fate of a Man", the protagonist Andrei Sokolov, having learned that his relatives were killed, remains completely alone. At the end of the story, he meets the lonely boy Vanya. The protagonist decides to introduce himself to an orphaned child as his father, thereby saving him and himself from longing and loneliness. The mercy of Andrei Sokolov gave Vanya and himself hope for happiness in the future.

Indifference and mercy

Unfortunately, so often, instead of mercy, we are faced with the indifference of others. In Ivan Bunin's story "The Gentleman from San Francisco", not even the name of the protagonist is mentioned. For the people sailing with him on the same ship, he still remains a master - a person who only gives orders and receives the results of their implementation for his money. But the reader notices how attention and fun are instantly replaced by indifference, by the way they relate to the lifeless body of the hero. In moments when his wife and daughter need mercy and support, people ignore their grief, not attaching importance to it.
We meet indifference in one of the most controversial characters in Russian literature - Grigory Pechorin. The protagonist of Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" is either interested in others or remains indifferent to their own suffering. For example, he loses interest in Bela kidnapped by him, sees her confusion, but does not try to correct his own mistake. Most often, it is precisely at those moments when the characters need his mercy and support that Pechorin turns away from them. He seems to analyze his behavior, realizing that he is only making things worse, but he forgets to pay attention to others. The fate of many of his acquaintances is sad because of this, but if Gregory showed mercy more often, many of them could become happier.
Mercy can indeed save many, and the literature confirms this idea. In Alexander Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", Kabanikh's mother-in-law treats Katerina badly, and the husband of the main character does not stand up for his wife. Out of loneliness and despair, the young woman secretly goes on dates with Boris, but then she decides to confess this to her husband in the presence of his mother. Failing to meet understanding and mercy, the girl realizes that she has nowhere to go, so she decides to jump into the water. If the heroes had shown mercy to her, she would have remained alive.

The ability to empathize as a positive trait

Such a trait as mercy often speaks of a person as a whole. If the character can feel compassion and support others, then you are most likely a positive character. In Denis Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth", the characters are strictly divided into negative (Prostakovs, Mitrofan, Skotinin) and positive (Pravdin, Sofya, Starodum and Milon). And indeed, during the action of the play, none of the uneducated and rude feudal landowners shows compassion and mercy, which cannot be said about honest and intelligent intellectual nobles. For example, in the final scene, Mitrofan rudely pushes away his own mother, who did everything for his well-being. But Sophia receives unexpected help from Starodum, who sympathizes with her.
Remembering the story of Nikolai Karamzin "Poor Liza", the reader will be negatively disposed towards Erast, because of which the main character drowned herself. For Lisa, feelings are the most important thing, so she can’t stand the news that a loved one is engaged to a rich widow. The girl takes everything to heart, she is capable of mercy, because her whole life was devoted to a sick mother in need of care. But her rich inner world was not truly appreciated by Erast. The heroine becomes sorry, we understand how pure the soul of Lisa in love was.

Mercy as self-sacrifice

Many literary heroes show mercy not only with words, but also perform any actions. This is exactly what the main character of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita does when she spends her well-deserved desire from Woland not on returning her beloved, but on helping Frida, whom she met at Satan's ball. Margot was imbued with the girl's grief and proves that her compassion is not limited to experiences. Therefore, Margarita wishes that Frida will never again be reminded of her strangled child. From now on, a woman will not be given a scarf, but all because the hostess of the Spring Ball heroically showed sensitivity and mercy.
Mercy means a willingness to help people with words, actions, and sometimes even sacrifices. In Maxim Gorky's story "Old Woman Izergil", the image of Danko immediately stands out, showing concern for the people. Just so that people would not surrender to the enemy and be able to get out of the dark forest, Danko tore his chest, took out his heart from there and lit the way for fellow villagers, not paying attention to reproaches. The love for humanity and the mercy of the hero helped the tribe overcome all obstacles on the way, and Danko himself died, but in the last minutes he was truly happy.
Mercy can be expressed in different ways: both in words and in deeds. In Pushkin's novel The Captain's Daughter, Pyotr Grinev gives a sheepskin coat to an unknown Cossack, and then the reader realizes that the hero's kindness subsequently saved him from the gallows. In fact, the Cossack is Pugachev, who did not forget the help of the protagonist, therefore, he also goes to mercy in response: he gives life to both Peter and his bride. Obviously, this quality not only saves people, but also makes them better, because it is transmitted from one to another.

The Need for Empathy

Mercy will always be appreciated, especially if it is shown in difficult circumstances. Recall the story of Alexander Solzhenitsyn "Matryona Dvor". Before us is a heroine with a difficult fate, but a bright soul. Her husband did not return from the war, the children died young, and she was ill and lived alone. Nevertheless, Matrena always showed mercy to others even in the harsh conditions of totalitarianism. During her life, she was not understood, but after her death, the person who, being a storyteller, lived at her house and described her way of life and character, realized the most important social role of this woman. “A village does not stand without a righteous man,” he wrote, defining the significance of a sympathetic old woman for the entire settlement. He immortalized her image in his story.
Even in Lermontov's love lyrics, one can observe the motive of mercy, or rather, its absence in a cruel world. In the poem "The Beggar", the author, of course, writes about feelings that remain "deceived forever." However, Lermontov compares this state with the situation of a beggar asking only for a piece of bread. In relation to the poor man, not a drop of mercy was shown, but only a stone was placed "in his outstretched hand." Like the lyrical hero, the beggar needed help and compassion, but both of them met only with the cruelty of others.