Valentin Pikul
Encyclopedia
Valentin Savvich Pikul (July 13, 1928 - July 16, 1990) was a popular and prolific Soviet
historical novelist of Ukrainian-Russian heritage. He lived and worked in Riga
.
Pikul's novels were grounded in extensive research, blending historical and fictional characters and often focusing on Russian nationalistic themes. Pikul's best-selling 1978 novel At the Last Frontier was a dramatized telling of Rasputin's influence over the Russian imperial court. Richard Stites says he was "a name hardly known to literary scholars but the most widely read author in the Soviet Union from the seventies to today [i.e., 1991]... Pikul's works were wildly popular in the book market (in the years 1967-1979 over a million copies were printed), but politically controversial because of his ardent patriotism
which was sometimes expressed in thinly veiled Russian nationalism
." According to Natalya Ivanova:
Little of Pikul's work has been translated into English. In May 2001 a seagoing minesweeper of the Black Sea Fleet
was named in his honor.
The book starts from the brief description of Hunt for Bismarck, which more or less corresponds to current English-language sources available.
Then, according to the book, the British sea lords were deadly afraid of the remaining Tirpitz
, which was, according to Pikul, unmatched by any British battleship.
So, when there was a threat of Tirpitz sortie against PQ-17, the British sea lords ordered the naval escort of the convoy to go away, thus condemning lots of sailors from the convoy's cargo ships to death (the ships were mostly sunk by German submarines and air force).
Nevertheless, according to the book, Captain Lunin on his K-21 submarine actually scored a torpedoe hit on Tirpitz, which caused the Germans to interrupt the sortie.
The book gave strong emphasizis on the distinction of brave Capt. Lunin, as compared to cowardly (according to the book) First Sea Lord Dudley Pound
. According to the book, the low-rank sailors on British and US ships were much surprised with Pound's order, since they expected USS Washington and HMS Duke of York to be capable of quickly destroyng Tirpitz.
This perfectly aligns with the following thesises of the Soviet propaganda:
Nevertheless, there are major doubts in the fact that K-21 actually hit Tirpitz. Most English-language sources say "K-21 missed", and the log of the battleship has no mention of such a hit.
According to Pikul, Lunin fired 4 torpedoes from the rear tubes, and then heard explosions, at least 2 of them were actually hits on Tirpitz. Nevertheless, the German commanders Admiral Schniwind and Captain Topp just plain concealed the hits from SS, Gestapo and the Nazi leadership, in order to avoid the possible unjust punishment for not keeping the battleship safe. According to the book, there was some tension between the German professional sailors (of which Topp was the one) and the Nazi party, SS and leadership, which was also enforced by the personal hostility between the 2 German admirals - Roeder and Doenitz.
In around 2003-2004, the movie was published in Russia based on the book, which also included the Soviet idea of K-21 actually hitting Tirpitz.
Original name of "At the Last Frontier" was "Nechistaja sila" ("Evil spirit")
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
historical novelist of Ukrainian-Russian heritage. He lived and worked in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
.
Pikul's novels were grounded in extensive research, blending historical and fictional characters and often focusing on Russian nationalistic themes. Pikul's best-selling 1978 novel At the Last Frontier was a dramatized telling of Rasputin's influence over the Russian imperial court. Richard Stites says he was "a name hardly known to literary scholars but the most widely read author in the Soviet Union from the seventies to today [i.e., 1991]... Pikul's works were wildly popular in the book market (in the years 1967-1979 over a million copies were printed), but politically controversial because of his ardent patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
which was sometimes expressed in thinly veiled Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
." According to Natalya Ivanova:
History in his interpretation acquired market value, and the circulation of his national-romantic “novels” left Bulat Okudzhava’s and Yury Davydov’s books far behind. Pikul owed his popularity not only to a method depending on adventure and simplification. His national-patriotic ideology, hostile to the official and liberal internationalism of the day, drew the readers indifferent to schematic representations of history by Soviet scholars like a magnet. Pikul developed and consistently used the propaganda mechanism successfully exploited by mass culture to captivate the minds of unprepared audiences.
Little of Pikul's work has been translated into English. In May 2001 a seagoing minesweeper of the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
was named in his honor.
The Requiem for Convoy PQ-17
This work by Pikul, published in 1970ies, describes the history of the polar convoys from the official Soviet point of view.The book starts from the brief description of Hunt for Bismarck, which more or less corresponds to current English-language sources available.
Then, according to the book, the British sea lords were deadly afraid of the remaining Tirpitz
Tirpitz
Tirpitz may refer to:* Alfred von Tirpitz, German admiral* German battleship Tirpitz, named for the admiral* Tirpitz , a pig rescued from the sinking of the SMS Dresden, and named after the admiral...
, which was, according to Pikul, unmatched by any British battleship.
So, when there was a threat of Tirpitz sortie against PQ-17, the British sea lords ordered the naval escort of the convoy to go away, thus condemning lots of sailors from the convoy's cargo ships to death (the ships were mostly sunk by German submarines and air force).
Nevertheless, according to the book, Captain Lunin on his K-21 submarine actually scored a torpedoe hit on Tirpitz, which caused the Germans to interrupt the sortie.
The book gave strong emphasizis on the distinction of brave Capt. Lunin, as compared to cowardly (according to the book) First Sea Lord Dudley Pound
Dudley Pound
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB OM GCVO RN was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.- Early life :...
. According to the book, the low-rank sailors on British and US ships were much surprised with Pound's order, since they expected USS Washington and HMS Duke of York to be capable of quickly destroyng Tirpitz.
This perfectly aligns with the following thesises of the Soviet propaganda:
- Soviet warriors are the most brave
- in other nations, the low-rank people are good while the upper-rank ones are evil
- the foreign policy of the UK and US during the war was to interrupt the convoys using the very first more-or-less well-looking goal, in order to prolong the Soviet-Nazi war to weaken both the USSR and the Third Reich to the maximum degree possible.
Nevertheless, there are major doubts in the fact that K-21 actually hit Tirpitz. Most English-language sources say "K-21 missed", and the log of the battleship has no mention of such a hit.
According to Pikul, Lunin fired 4 torpedoes from the rear tubes, and then heard explosions, at least 2 of them were actually hits on Tirpitz. Nevertheless, the German commanders Admiral Schniwind and Captain Topp just plain concealed the hits from SS, Gestapo and the Nazi leadership, in order to avoid the possible unjust punishment for not keeping the battleship safe. According to the book, there was some tension between the German professional sailors (of which Topp was the one) and the Nazi party, SS and leadership, which was also enforced by the personal hostility between the 2 German admirals - Roeder and Doenitz.
In around 2003-2004, the movie was published in Russia based on the book, which also included the Soviet idea of K-21 actually hitting Tirpitz.
Works
- Slovo and Delo, 1974
- Moonzund, 1975 (screen version - MoonzundMoonzund (film)Moonzund is a 1987 Soviet war film by Aleksandr Muratov based on a novel with the same name by Valentin Pikul. The film's name is derived from the old name of West Estonian archipelago where the Battle of Moon Sound took place during World War I.- Cast :...
, 1987) - Cruisers, 1978
- Riches, 1978
- At the Last Frontier (or At the Outer Limit), 1979
- The Three Ages of Okini-San, 1985
- Hard Labor, 1986
- The Demonic Forces, 1989
- Bitva zheleznykh kantslerov (The Battle of Iron Chancellors)
- By plume and sword
- The Favorite
- Psy Gospodni
- I have the honour
Footnotes
Another his work "Plan "Barbarossa"", not finishedOriginal name of "At the Last Frontier" was "Nechistaja sila" ("Evil spirit")