In mid-April 1942, 75 years ago, during the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, which pinned down superior enemy forces on the approaches to Moscow, being surrounded, the commander of the 33rd Army, Lieutenant General Mikhail Efremov, shot himself. He preferred death to captivity.
Here, I think, it is appropriate to recall two other generals who found themselves in the same situation.
Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov, commander of the 2nd shock army, whose headquarters and units ended up in a “cauldron” in the Myasnoy Bor area in the same 1942, not only betrayed the Motherland, but also began forming the so-called Soviet prisoners of war. “Russian Liberation Army” - fighting forces intended for military operations against the Red Army. Saving his skin, Vlasov turned from a military general into a traitor and adventurer and suffered a well-deserved punishment after the war (he was hanged by court decision).
Infantry General Alexander Samsonov, commander of the 2nd Army of the North Western Front, who fought bravely in August 1914 in East Prussia, was surrounded during an unsuccessful battle for Russian troops in the Masurian Lakes region. And, like Efremov, he put a bullet in his temple to avoid German captivity...
By saving himself, General Vlasov disgraced his name forever, but generals Samsonov and Efremov, having sacrificed their lives, did not tarnish their names. Because honor for a warrior is always more valuable than life…
What was the path of Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov to the heights of military valor?
He was born on February 27 (March 11), 1897 in Tarusa, Kaluga province (now Kaluga region) in a family of poor burghers. Labor activity began early: from childhood he helped his father with housework at the mill, and then the capable teenager was noticed by the Moscow industrialist Ryabov. Mikhail first worked as an apprentice at Ryabov’s factory in Moscow, then became an apprentice to master engravers, and then attended the six-year Prechistensky working courses.
On military service was mobilized in September 1915. At first he served as a private in the 55th reserve regiment, but soon he was sent to study at the ensign school in the Georgian city of Telavi. At the end of it in the spring of 1916, he was sent to the Active Army, to the Southwestern Front.
The commander of an artillery unit took part in the Brusilov breakthrough. Mikhail Grigorievich, intelligent, decisive, of heroic build, quickly gained authority among the soldiers, who soon began to respectfully call him “our ensign.”
After February Revolution In 1917, warrant officer Efremov found himself at a crossroads, between the officers and the mass of soldiers, and with bitterness observed the terrible elements of anarchy and desertion that overwhelmed the Russian army after the publication of provocative directives of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government on the so-called. "democratization".
Nevertheless, warrant officer Efremov became one of the first military personnel mobilized by the revolution. Worker-peasant origin, sympathy for the ideas of the Bolsheviks, ambitious character - what else was needed for a commanding career in the era of building a new world?
Then, in the fall of 1917, he, like many front-line soldiers, like thousands of workers, completely connected tomorrow with the program of the RCP (b). And he signed up for the Red Guards even before the decree on the creation of the Red Army (issued on January 15, 1918). But he was one of those Moscow factory workers who not only knew how to hold a rifle in his hands, but also had commanding skills, knew the own experience What does military discipline mean?
As you know, in Moscow it turned out to be more difficult for the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries to seize power than in Petrograd. Efremov these days was an instructor of the 1st Zamoskvoretsky Red Guard detachment, shooting at resisting cadets on the streets of Belokamennaya...
In the stormy eighteenth, he was entrusted with first a Red Army company on the Caucasian and Southern fronts, then a battalion, regiment, brigade, and rifle division. He beat the White Cossacks Krasnov and Mamontov, was wounded, and ended up in a Voronezh hospital.
We emphasize that his military fate in hard times Civil War was not out of the ordinary. In 1918 – 1919 Thousands of officers of the imperial army were mobilized into the Red Army or voluntarily entered service. In the Red Army, as is known, they were called military specialists or, in short, military experts. According to the Mobilization Directorate of the All-Russian General Staff, in the period from July 29, when the first (partial) conscription was announced by decree of the Council of People's Commissars former generals and officers, by November 15, 1918, in only six military districts of the European part of the RSFSR, 20,488 former generals and officers were accepted into the Red Army, and by the end of 1918 - 22,295 military experts.
Of course, there are cases when individual military experts committed treason, crossed over to the white camp, and started a military rebellion, such as former Lieutenant Colonel Muravyov. But the vast majority of military specialists honestly performed their duty and served not out of fear, but out of conscience Soviet republic. Such was Mikhail Efremov.
During the defense of Astrakhan in 1919, a strategic center that covered the entrance from the Caspian Sea to the Volga, along which the central regions of Russia were supplied with grain and raw materials, Efremov put forward a number of original ideas on re-equipping railway cars and platforms into mobile artillery batteries and machine gun nests, and used them with talent.
In the battles for Astrakhan and Tsaritsyn he was wounded three times. In the midst of the fighting, on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Provisional Military Revolutionary Committee S.M. Kirov joined the CPSU(b). And in the Baku operation of 1920, commanding a railway regiment of four armored trains, he entered his name into the complex Civil War.
At that time, power in Baku belonged to the bourgeois Musavatist government, and the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks were underground. The predecessor of the Council of People's Commissars, Ulyanov (Lenin), was opposed to the “mechanical” annexation of Azerbaijan to the RSFSR: the colonialist policy, in his opinion, did not ensure lasting peace. Vladimir Ilyich sought to create a new, union Azerbaijan - closely connected with Soviet Russia both politically and economically. After all, Baku oil was needed like air.
And so, after the successful completion of the fighting in the North Caucasus, the 11th Army of the Red Army reached the Azerbaijani border. What was to be done next? On March 17, 1920, Lenin telegraphed the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian Front: “It is extremely, extremely necessary for us to take Baku. Direct all your efforts towards this, and be sure to be purely diplomatic in your statements and make sure as much as possible of preparing a firm local Soviet government.” The time has come for Efremov...
Commanding a group of four armored trains, Mikhail Grigorievich made a bold breakthrough of his railway regiment to the capital of Azerbaijan, quickly covering a distance of 300 km. The leaders of the Azerbaijani revolution, Baba Aliyev, Anastas Mikoyan and Gazanfar Musabekov, rode the lead armored train “III International”. Efremov’s artillerymen cleared the way for him, scattering Musavatist units with shrapnel. An unprecedented raid by armored trains ensured an almost bloodless coup in Baku.
That spring, the young military leader learned that in war, not only the right tactical decisions are important, not only the training of soldiers and the experience of commanders, but also the psychological climate, an atmosphere of trust that connects the army with society.
Otherwise, there will be disintegration and impotence, as happened with the Musavatists...
In those days, probably, even the leaders of the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks Baba Aliyev and Anastas Mikoyan did not understand exactly what kind of state they would have to build after the victory. And for Efremov, revolutionary ideas remained more like slogans - it is unlikely that he seriously understood Marxism, not having the time to read into scientific works. It’s just that in combat conditions, doubts are unacceptable for the commander. He swore allegiance to October, shed blood for the happiness of the working people and charged others with his faith, unquestioningly, accurately and on time fulfilling military orders...
After the Baku operation, the brave corps commander was generously and exquisitely awarded by the new Soviet government of Azerbaijan: he received a saber with a gold hilt, a crystal vase with precious stones... He also became a holder of the Order of the Red Banner of the RSFSR and a similar order of the Azerbaijan SSR, number 1.
After the victorious end of the Civil War, Efremov quickly became commander of the troops - alternately the Volga, Transbaikal, Oryol, North Caucasus and Transcaucasian military districts.
But in the fateful 1937, trouble loomed over him, like many commanders... Hero of October, 2nd Rank Army Commander Pavel Dybenko, arrested in the case of Marshal Tukhachevsky, testified during interrogations against Efremov. Adding to the negative flair that surrounded Mikhail Grigorievich was his officer past in the Russian Army - at that time the NKVD deliberately considered many military experts to be unreliable.
The district commander was “taken for granted.” Summoned to the capital, he was lodged for two and a half months under constant supervision at the Moscow Hotel. In fact, it was house arrest. Every step, every word was meticulously checked. Then the interrogations began, during which the names of Tukhachevsky and Yakir were heard... Other generals and officers in similar situations turned sour and began to “confess” under pressure. But Efremov turned out to be different. His self-control and awareness of his rightness did not let him down. And when it became clear that it was impossible to get out of this web without outside help, he sent a letter to the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov. I also sent a letter to Anastas Mikoyan, an old Baku comrade who became one of Stalin’s influential comrades.
It should be noted that many such desperate letters then remained unanswered. And then the incredible happened. Either the intercession of the People's Commissar, a Baku comrade in arms, had an effect, or some lines in the leader's plans converged... In a word, Efremov, fortunately, did not end up in the Lubyanka, with Yezhov's bonebreakers. But they gave him one last test, which was like a performance.
It was either an interrogation, or a friendly conversation with the participation of Voroshilov and Mikoyan, in the presence of the leader. Stalin silently listened to Efremov’s explanations and this time believed the hero of the Civil. The case against him was closed.
...The first months of the Great Patriotic War, as we know, were the most tragic. Commanding the 21st Army, Efremov fought fiercely in the Mogilev direction and delayed the Nazis’ advance to the Dnieper. In desperately difficult August, he temporarily became commander of the troops of the Central Front. There were huge losses, hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers who surrendered, endless retreats, panic... It seemed that the plans of the conquerors were coming true, and the Soviet “empire” was about to crumble, unable to withstand the most powerful blow in world history.
But Soviet soldiers did not want to put up with this seemingly indisputable logic. Spiritual help came, among other things, from the heroic past. The officers recalled from the school course about the distant Scythian war (a tactic tested in the vastness of Eurasia: to lure the enemy deep and then destroy), told the soldiers in short moments of calm about Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Peter the Great, read the chronicle of the battles of the Seven Years' War, when the Russians the Prussians were beaten... They also remembered the Civil War, when revolutionary Petrograd and red Moscow were threatened by Yudenich and Denikin, but the Red Army fighters survived. Found new meaning In the events of 1812, it is no coincidence that the demand for Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” in libraries increased tenfold...
General Efremov also read a lot, finding time even on days of extreme overload. At that fateful time, the general wanted to feel like a link in a long chain passing through the entire history of the country. By the way, Efremov had the opportunity to fight on those lines where Russian soldiers more than once defended Moscow from invasions from the west.
In the Moscow direction, in October 1941, he took command of the 33rd Army, which he quickly turned into one of the most combat-ready. But it initially consisted almost entirely of those who had signed up for militia, volunteers who did not smell gunpowder...
In December, Field Marshal von Bock's Army Group Center made a new decisive attempt to break through to Moscow, which was to culminate in the already scheduled parade of Nazi troops on Red Square. On December 1, after powerful artillery bombardment, two Wehrmacht divisions, five times superior in strength to the defenders, broke through the barrier of the 222nd Infantry Division of the 33rd Army north-west of Naro-Fominsk. Commander of the Western Front G.K. Zhukov ordered Efremov to respond with a counter blow. The operation, developed by the headquarters of the 33rd Army, involved 120 tanks, a rifle brigade, an NKVD regiment and two ski battalions. It turned out to be successful: the 76th Infantry Regiment of the NKVD and the 136th Separate Tank Battalion drove the Nazis out of the village of Petrovskoye on December 2. With this operation, General Efremov stopped the last attempt of the Germans to break through to the capital.
And during the victorious counteroffensive that began on December 5, Efremov’s army liberated Naro-Fominsk on December 26, Borovsk on January 4, and Vereya on January 19.
After continuous two-month battles, Efremov’s troops needed reinforcement and rest. But the order of the commander of the Western Front read: continue the attack on Vyazma at all costs!
Georgy Zhukov, the future Marshal of Victory, let’s face it, rarely admitted his own mistakes, and for some reason he treated Efremov, his Kaluga fellow countryman, too harshly, not at all paying tribute to his leadership abilities. All the more valuable is the marshal’s honest confession made after the war, when he, assessing the events of 1942 from the heights of past years, directly said that the command of the Western Front and the Supreme High Command Headquarters “at that time made a mistake in assessing the situation in the Vyazma region.” .
These miscalculations are explained, first of all, by the euphoria after the first victories near Moscow, when the Soviet command, headed by the Supreme Commander, considered that the time had already come for a radical turning point in the war, and the Red Army was able to drive the enemy to the very border, and perhaps further. But Hitler’s generals, urged on by the Fuhrer, had no intention of giving up the initiative, and the Wehrmacht group near Moscow was hastily reinforced with reserves transferred from Western Europe. Therefore, the enemy managed to increase pressure again in the Moscow direction.
As a result, from February 1942, Efremov had to act surrounded by the enemy, actually in the German rear. But the exhausted, hungry soldiers of the 33rd Army (the backbone of which were native Muscovite militiamen) considered themselves “the iron shield of Moscow” and stubbornly did not fold. People became weak from hunger, even eating boiled leather waist belts. There was no ammunition left either. In addition, the snow had melted, and the Red Army soldiers were wearing felt boots. As luck would have it, the Ugra also overflowed early. We held on only with fighting spirit...
Throughout March, on the orders of Zhukov, units of the 43rd and 50th armies tried to “break through the corridor” towards the encirclement. But for a long time Efremov was forbidden to make a breakthrough to join them: Stalin stubbornly believed that the offensive capabilities of the Western Front were by no means exhausted.
The Germans, having encircled the 33rd Army, squeezed it tighter every day.
On April 9, the Supreme Command Headquarters sent a plane for Efremov: Stalin ordered the courageous general to be taken out of encirclement. But Efremov refused to leave his soldiers in such a desperate situation and, in essence, violated the Supreme Commander’s order to come to Moscow.
Only the banners of the 33rd Army units were loaded onto the plane so that they would not fall to the enemy...
Later, Efremov was offered to leave the encirclement by roundabout paths with a small guard, but it was impossible to save the army with such a maneuver. Therefore, the general was actively preparing a breakthrough for all the encircled forces of the 33rd Army.
The Nazis, meanwhile, issued an ultimatum to Efremov with honorable terms of surrender, guaranteeing the lives of all Red Army soldiers and commanders. Efremov’s reaction to him was an immediate coded message to the headquarters of the Western Front: “I ask you to carry out a bomb attack on the area with the enemy: Kr. Tatar... Besovo."
Front Commander Zhukov immediately aimed combat aircraft at the specified area. The enemy received a worthy response in the form of bombing and assault raids, making sure the hard way that the adamant general, even in complete encirclement, continued to act, that there was still a connection between him and the front command. Efremov’s army - seemingly almost completely destroyed - remained a fighting force...
On the night of April 13-14, 1942, about six thousand soldiers and officers, led by the army commander, managed to reach the river. Ugra in the Viselovo - Novaya Mikhailovka area. However, to Efremov’s surprise, there was no “counter strike by units of the 43rd Army of the Western Front,” the organization of which G.K. later spoke about. Zhukov and which would have allowed many to escape, in fact, it never followed...
Unfortunately, Efremov was seriously wounded in the leg and had difficulty moving. In the thicket of the forest near the village of Gornevo, he finally realized that he had no chance of getting out of the encirclement. Moreover, the enemy was pressing, and there were already enough cartridges.
The general resolutely rejected the very possibility of captivity, and could not make a breakthrough on his own, having received three wounds. He said goodbye to his comrades, whom he did not want to be a burden, and shot himself (according to the most common version, on April 19).
The surviving Efremovites stubbornly made their way to their own, some joined the partisans. Most died that spring, like the army commander, preferring death to captivity.
But there were also those who managed to stay alive. One of those who broke out of the “cauldron,” signalman Vladimir Good, recalled with warmth the military leader who remained forever in the memory of his fellow soldiers: “General Efremov is a soldier’s father. He didn’t leave the fighters..." Many commanders of the Western Front who knew Efremov were sure that if he had escaped, Stalin would have promoted him above the corps commander...
Thus, the Red Army lost a valiant warrior and a talented military leader, who valued officer’s honor above life. But General Efremov gave his life, of course, not in vain: the steadfastness of the doomed army commander also became one of the turning points - after a few months the war went in the opposite direction... By the way, neither the testimonies of survivors nor German captured documents reveal a single fact of collective surrender any of the soldiers and commanders of the 33rd Army. They didn't give up until the last...
The Germans soon discovered the body of the courageous general and identified him. By order of the enemy command, Efremov was buried with military honors: the Fuhrer’s soldiers showed due respect for their worthy enemy.
There is a well-known legend about a German general who was in Slobodka that day and told his soldiers: “You must fight for Germany as bravely and courageously as this general did for his Motherland!” There is an assumption that it was none other than Walter Model himself, the future Field Marshal General, an ambitious and proud military leader. In April 1945, when Nazi soldiers were already surrendering in droves to the Allies, he, in defiance of his comrades-in-arms and like Efremov, chose suicide over captivity.
After the war, for several decades, the feat of Efremov and the soldiers of his 33rd Army was almost forgotten. There was a negative attitude towards the army commander on the part of some military leaders, who placed the blame almost entirely on Efremov for the Rzhev-Vyazemsky “cauldron”... Only in our days was the feat of Mikhail Georgievich appreciated: on December 31, 1996, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia, for which he fought with unwavering courage and fortitude.
Option 1:
We often hear from everywhere that there is nothing more expensive human life. I completely agree with this. Life is a gift that every person should accept with gratitude. But, often plunging into life with all its advantages and disadvantages, we forget that it is important not just to live life, but to do it with dignity.
Unfortunately, in modern world, concepts such as honor, nobility, justice and dignity have lost their meaning. People often behave in ways that make us ashamed of our entire human race. We have learned to fly like birds, swim like fish, now we just have to learn to live like real people, for whom honor is more valuable own life.
Numerous dictionaries give different definitions of the word “honor,” but they all boil down to a description of the best moral qualities that are highly valued in a normal society. For a person who values self-esteem and his reputation, it is worse to lose honor than to die.
Many writers, including Mikhail Sholokhov, addressed the issue of honor. I remember his story "The Fate of Man" and main character Andrey Sokolov, who is for me one of the best examples of a man of honor and dignity. Having survived the war, terrible losses, captivity, he remained a real person for whom justice, honor, loyalty to the Motherland, kindness and humanity became the main principles in life.
With trembling in my heart, I remember the moment when, in captivity, he refused to drink to the German victory, but drank to his death. With such a gesture, he even earned the respect of his enemies, who released him, giving him a loaf of bread and butter, which Andrei divided equally among his comrades in the barracks. For him, honor was more valuable than life.
I would like to believe that most people value honor more than life. After all, this attitude towards the key concepts of morality is what makes us human.
Option 2:
How often do we hear words such as “honor”, “honesty”, and think about the meaning of these words? By the word “honesty,” we most often mean actions that are fair to ourselves or other people. Missed a lesson due to illness, but didn't get a bad grade? It's fair. But “honor” is different. Employees often say “I have honor,” parents insist that honor must be cultivated in oneself, and literature says “take care of honor from a young age.” What is this “honor”? And what do we need to protect so much?
In order to answer the questions posed, it is worth looking into the literature and finding a lot of examples there. For example, A.S. Pushkin and the novel “The Captain's Daughter”. Alexey Shvabrin, the main character of the novel, easily goes over to Pugachev’s side and becomes a traitor. In contrast to him, Pushkin brings Grinev, who, on pain of death, does not step into the role of “dishonor.” And let’s remember the life of Alexander Sergeevich himself! His wife's honor turned out to be more important to him than his own life.
In the story “The Fate of a Man” by M. A. Sholokhov there is a real Russian warrior who will never betray his homeland - this is Andrei Sokolov. To his share, as to the share of everything Soviet people, he faced many trials, but he did not give up, did not slip into betrayal, but steadfastly endured all the hardships and hardships, without sullying his honor. Sokolov's spirit is so strong that even Müller notices it, offering the Russian soldier to drink German weapons to the victory.
For me, the word “honor” is not an empty phrase. Of course, life is an amazing gift, but we need to use it in such a way that subsequent generations remember us with respect.
Option 3:
Today, people are increasingly noticing that the concept of honor is being devalued. This is especially true younger generation, because it grew up in conditions of decreasing importance of conscience, honor, and hard work. In return, people have become more vain, selfish, and those who have retained high moral principles in themselves and their children are considered by the majority as strange, “unenterprising.” The material gradually moved to the fore. Is the expression “take care of your honor from a young age” outdated?
As you know, it is impossible to create a reputation for yourself as an honest and correct person in one day. This is a long process in which the inner core is formed in small actions. honest man. And when this core is the basis of a person’s existence, then the loss of honor is worse than death.
A striking example of how people give their lives for their honor, for the honor of their family, country and people, is the dark time of the Great Patriotic War. Millions of young people gave their lives for what they believed in. They did not go over to the enemy’s side, did not give up, did not hide, no matter what. And today, after so many years, we remember and are proud that our ancestors defended their beliefs and honor.
The theme of honor is also raised in the work of A.S. Pushkin " Captain's daughter" Petrusha’s father wants to instill in his son a sense of officer’s honor and gives him to serve not “through connections,” but on an equal basis with everyone else. The same message is preserved in his father’s parting words to Peter before leaving for service.
Later, when Grinev must, on pain of death, go over to Pugachev’s side, he will not do this. It is this act that will amaze Pugachev and show the high moral principles of the young man.
But honor can be shown not only in war. This is what is a person’s life companion every day. For example, Pugachev helps Grinev save Masha from captivity, thereby showing universal honor. He did this not for selfish reasons, but because he firmly believed that even his ally could not offend a girl, much less an orphan.
Honor has no age, gender, status, or financial status. Honor is something that is inherent only to a reasonable person, an individual. And it’s really worth taking care of it, because restoring a tarnished name is much more difficult than living honestly and decently every day.
Essay on the topic “Honor is more valuable than life” (Var 1)
Can a person have anything? more valuable than honor? It seems that the answer is obvious and it is negative. But if you look at this issue from a special, more elevated angle. And what value does a life have that is overshadowed throughout its entire duration by dirty, base deeds? After all, it darkens not only the existence of those around him, but also the figure himself, who acts outside the boundaries of nobility, is turned into a “comrade” who does not shake hands, is lonely and rejected by society.
Honor is more valuable than life or what it means to live with dignity
Make mistakes life situations- this is not only an inherent property human nature, but also an inevitable part of any, at least somewhat rich, life of an active person. But errors can have varying degrees of severity. Some of them cause irreparable harm to the course of fate.
In any situation, the most important thing is to behave with dignity. Do not allow the manifestation of emotions and impulsiveness to aggravate the mistakes made and cast a shadow on your reputation. Much will be forgiven if a person has not sunk to complete dishonor.
You can lose everything, but at the same time not lose the respect of others while remaining within the generally accepted framework of nobility. This will always be appreciated by others.
Altered form of perception
Modern concepts of honor are radically different from those that were generally accepted 100-150 years ago. Nowadays, not every girl will even blink an eye when accused of dirty deeds. In the old days, even a hint of this could lead to suicide. A whole host of similar examples and comparisons can be given. U modern men there are even more reasons to worry about your honor if you reconcile them with the principles of the past. Perhaps quite a large part of the Earth's population should not exist.
But there are more and more of us. Because generally accepted principles are changing, and such lofty concepts as honor and nobility are simply devalued. not everyone even understands how to interpret them correctly.
So can a person have anything more valuable than life?
IN modern interpretation Most likely there are no concepts. but it’s still very important to go through this life path, for which there would be no shame and pain after the passage of time. Eliminate betrayal, disrespect for loved ones and other serious social offenses.
Honor is more valuable than life (Var 2)
Modern society resorts less and less to the concepts of honor. This is typical for the younger generation, which is brought up in different conditions. Now the world is ruled by self-interest and vanity. Those who manage to live by high moral principles are considered strange. People only think about how to get more money faster.
What is honor
A good reputation takes a long time to build. It cannot be achieved in one day. Will take a long time to demonstrate good qualities. In the process, a person develops, a cumulative characteristic is formed in him. Then there is a loss of honor for him worse death. It is better to give your life than to betray your views on life.
Crisis situations test people's strength. This is how many demonstrated their courage during the Great Patriotic War. Millions gave their lives because they were strong in their views and beliefs. People did not renounce their Motherland, even in captivity of the enemy. No one has forgotten the exploits of these heroes. Contemporaries can be proud.
Literary examples
Writers and poets often described the main characters in their works as people of honor. As an example we can take “ The captain's daughter" You can watch how a father sends his son to serve without resorting to his own connections. He wants Petrusha to experience officer’s valor himself. The father spoke the right words to his son, which confirmed his good intentions.
The young man will have to prove his morality. When faced with the choice to go over to the side of the enemy at the risk of his life, the young guy did not do it. This is the act of a truly highly moral person who surprised Pugachev.
It is not only war that shows people of honor. Every action reveals a person’s character and outlook on life. So even Pugachev helps save Masha, thereby demonstrating his positive qualities. The motive for his action was not self-interest. He simply could not allow the orphan girl to be harmed.
Honor does not depend on a person’s age, gender or amount of money in the account. This concept should be familiar to any highly moral person. You need to protect your honor. Clearing your reputation is very difficult.
Essays on other topics
“Honor is more valuable than life” (F. Schiller)
“Honor is conscience, but conscience is painfully sensitive. This is respect for oneself and for the dignity of one’s own life, brought to the extreme degree of purity and to the greatest passion.”
Alfred Victor de Vigny
Dictionary V.I. Dahl, defines honor and how “the inner moral dignity of a person, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and clear conscience.”Like dignity, the concept of honor reveals a person’s attitude towards himself and the attitude towards him from society. However, in contrast to the concept of dignity, the moral value of an individual in the concept of honor is associated with a person’s specific social position, the type of his activity and the moral merits recognized for him.
But is honor a fundamental and vital property of a person, or is it something inherently inherent? There is the concept of “dishonest”, which defines a person without principles, that is, not responsible for his actions and following contrary general rules. But each person has his own moral norms and rules, which means honor is inherent in all people without exception. As Anton Pavlovich Chekhov said: "We all know what it is dishonest act, but what honor is, we don’t know.”You can talk about honor, dignity and conscience based on your own worldviews and experiences, but the concept of honor remains unchanged. “Honor is the same for women and men, girls, married women, old men and women: “don’t deceive”, “don’t steal”, “don’t get drunk”; Only from such rules, which apply to all people, is a code of “honor” formed in the true sense of the word” -Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky spoke. And if honor is inextricably linked with life, moreover, it is a component of existence, then can it be more valuable than life? Is it possible to lose internal qualities only because of some “unworthy” act that will make life itself impossible? I think so. Honor and life are two interconnected and inseparable concepts that complement each other. After all, the place of “habitat” of these properties is the individual. What do the words of Michel Montaigne confirm? : “The worth and dignity of a man lies in his heart and in his will; it is here that the basis of his true honor lies.”Honor is not more expensive than life, but not cheaper either. It outlines the boundaries of what you can allow yourself and what kind of attitude you can tolerate from others. A synonym for this quality is conscience - the internal judge of the spiritual essence, its guide and beacon. And only everything together makes up a personality; everything depends on all-round development, because “...the principle of honor, although there is something that distinguishes man from animals, but in itself it does not contain anything that could put man above animals”- Arthur Schopenhauer. Another understanding of honor relates to the current definition of reputation. This is how a person shows himself to other people in communication and business. IN in this case It is important not to “lose your dignity” in the eyes of other people, because few people will want to communicate with a rude person, do business with an unreliable person, or help a heartless miser in need. In general, the concepts of honor and conscience are very conditional, very subjective. They depend on the value system adopted in any country, in any circle. IN different countries, y different people conscience and honor have completely different interpretations and meanings. It is worth listening to the opinion of the famous British novelist George Bernard Shaw: “It’s better to try to be clean and bright: you are the window through which you look at the world.”conscience is dignity reputation
Honor and conscience are one of the most important characteristics of the human soul. Compliance with the rules of honor gives a person peace of mind and live in accordance with your conscience. But no matter what, nothing should be more expensive than life, because life is the most precious thing a person has. And to take a life just because of any prejudices or principles is terrible and irreparable. Educating yourself will help you avoid making an irreversible mistake. moral principles. We must try to live in harmony with nature, society and ourselves.