Courageous people who. Russians are becoming less and less courageous people

Parables of the peoples of the world

What do you need most in a fight?(Indian parable)

Once Akbar asked Birbal:
What do you need most in a fight?
Birbal replied:
"Master of the Universe!" All you need is courage!
What about strength and weapons? Or have you forgotten about them? Akbar said.
- Sovereign! If there is no courage in the heart of a warrior, neither his strength nor his weapons will help him, - Birbal answered.

Sergei Polovnikov

Courage

Courage is usually understood as the quality of a person to endure difficulties steadfastly, to complete the work begun, not succumbing to circumstances, even overcoming, perhaps, physical suffering.

Courage in a more private sense is a set of qualities inherent in a man. In a broader sense, courage is the ability of a person to remain a Human in any trials and shocks, even if they threaten his health and life itself. From this point of view, it is believed that even a woman can be courageous. “Be courageous”, “take courage” - they say to her in difficult moments of life, giving strength to survive the shock.

So, courage is such behavior when a person acts without succumbing to fear, despair and other non-humanoid states. Does this mean that a courageous person knows no fear? Of course not. After all, fear is a person's reaction to certain signals. On the one hand, the signals of the instinct of self-preservation recorded in the physical body. This fear is also inherent in animals.

On the other hand, these are signals of a person who, assessing the situation, makes an unfavorable prognosis for himself, assuming that events will develop in a way that threatens her. The average person is subject to fear. People with certain mental disabilities may not experience fear. The ego of such a person, which has completely captured the physical body, sometimes with the help of alcohol or drugs blocks the danger signals coming from the body, does not allow them to break through to awareness. If at the same time the ego has aggressive, manic features, then it pushes a person to reckless actions, senseless risk. There is no courage here.

In a courageous person, fear becomes a signal warning of danger, an indicator that helps to choose an adequate course of action.

A similar situation occurs when other non-humanoid qualities try to subjugate a person. For example, despair - when vital supports, established stereotypes collapse. A person needs courage to abandon the old internal props and move on to a new worldview. Greed - it takes a lot of courage for someone to refuse, if necessary, $10 (or maybe even $10 million). Self-affirmation - a courageous athlete refuses a dishonest victory. The same is true for other qualities.

Courage is a person's ability to remain a Human in any situation, a constant conscious choice in favor of decency, honesty, sincerity. This is a choice that is made not only in serious trials or turning points, but also in small things, everyday. It is in the so-called trifles that the stock of courage and strength grows drop by drop.

Getting up early, escaping from the sweet embrace of sleep, doing a warm-up, overcoming the sucking inertia, pouring a bowl of cold water on yourself - this is everyday, “everyday” courage. It also manifests itself in the impeccable performance of everyday affairs, the duties assumed, in bringing to completion what has been started and the implementation of the plans built. Who is not familiar with this situation: at first, a new interesting business attracts, beckons with opportunities. Then difficulties begin, previously invisible circumstances arise, promises are not kept by someone, someone slightly deceived or let down. The case begins to wither and becomes as if no one needs it. Of course, one needs courage to invest one's strength, heart energy and "push" the matter. And after all, what a shame - at the same time, no one sees how much you work and what sacrifices you make, and no one will know about your "heroism"!

Courage requires any manifestation of sincerity, especially when it comes to the need to realize or admit one's shortcomings, the presence of destructive character traits.

Courage finds its manifestation in the appearance of a person, his manner of behavior. Such people do not fuss, because they do not need to seem like anyone and impress someone. They are modest, laconic, calm and balanced. They are quite open and sensitive and therefore capable of affection and tenderness. These are people you can rely on and trust. Their inner core gives them strength. The outward manifestation of courage can be called masculinity.

A courageous person will not betray. Beside him is calm and safe. He is responsible for his decisions, for his choices. You will not meet a courageous person who complains about circumstances and obstacles, or reproaches someone for "wrong" behavior towards him.

About one more aspect of courage: courage collective or single. When a group of people does one thing, then everyone performs his task, which is part of the general one. Collective courage is made up of the courage of each of the participants. Moreover, each of them, on the one hand, is heavier than if he was alone, and on the other hand, it is easier. It is more difficult because there is responsibility for the success of the common cause and for the life of all others, for the cowardice of one can nullify the efforts of all and even destroy them. And it's easier because your comrades will always help with their presence. Your inner core, merged with the common core of friends, becomes more stable and durable if you really sincerely work for a common cause.

What helps a person to be courageous? Love in all its manifestations. Love for a woman, love for the Motherland, love as the Idea of ​​Life and its driving force, love as a way for a person to be a Human.

HEROIC army of a courageous people. So called one of the chapters of her book "The Peoples of the Soviet Union", published in 1945 in New York, the American writer and journalist Anna-Louise Strong. In this part of her work, there was a place for Kalmyk soldiers, who, together with other Red Army soldiers, were the first to take the blow of the Nazis ...

On June 22, 1941, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the Great Patriotic War began with the invasion of the German army into the USSR - the most grandiose and cruel battle in the history of our state. Strong wrote: “The first comments in the Berlin press were devoted to the “insane heroism” of the Russians. These "crazy" waged a "war against the rules." The Russian tankers crashed their vehicles directly into the German tanks, knocking them over in a head-on collision. Russian pilots chopped off the tails of enemy aircraft with propellers. When defending the fortresses, the Russians continued to fight for each bastion, and then they blew themselves up along with the enemies. Russian infantry attacked tanks with bottles of combustible mixture. By a strange irony of fate, the first Red Army men mentioned in the Berlin press for "crazy heroism" were not Russians, but Kalmyks, representatives of the people from the Volga delta ... The Nazi "superior race" had to admit that, for some incomprehensible reason, from of this “lower race” came out the heroes of the war ...” (Translation and publication of the weekly journal of the Union of Journalists of the USSR of the newspaper “Za rubezhom”, No. 9 of February 22-28, 1985, p. 6).

Before the war, conscripts from the North Caucasus, including Kalmyks, were assigned to the western districts and for the most part served in units located in the border areas. They were destined by fate in the first days and even hours of the fascist invasion to experience the full power of the Nazi military machine.

Already at dawn on June 22, fighter pilot Vasily Darmaev, paired with a flight commander, entered into battle with fourteen German bombers and, having damaged one of them, forced the rest to turn back. And pilots Ani Menkenov and Ochir Buluktaev from the first days bombed concentrations of enemy troops on Romanian territory, in the sky over which their planes were shot down. Unlike the deceased Menkenov, Buluktaev, with the crew and the army scouts who met along the way, still managed to get out to his own. Sergei Vaskin, an ordinary anti-aircraft artillery battalion of the 7th Dono-Kubano-Tersky Corps, destroyed by the Germans in Western Belarus, twice left the encirclement. Not surrendering to the enemy at the beginning of the war, he ended his military career in 1945 in Manchuria with the rank of lieutenant.

In the battles on the western borders, the border guard Karu Shalburov, tankers Igor Sharmanzhinov, Sanji Garyaev, Deni Badmaev, commander of the motorized infantry battalion Matsak Bimbaev, cavalryman Vasily Khakhlinov, artilleryman Chucha Dordzhiev, deputy. political instructor Ayur Mantsynov and many, many other fellow countrymen.

Forever included in the list of heroes-defenders of the Brest fortress, the infantryman Venitian Mayorov and the gunner Tseren Pasuginov. His remains, found under the ruins of one of the bastions after the war, were reburied with honors in the heroic citadel in 1992.

Sergeant's artillery gun number 12671, found in the same place, is on display at the Military Museum of St. Petersburg...

Ilishkin L. Heroes of War: The first Red Army men mentioned in the Berlin press for crazy heroism were Kalmyks // Steppe Mosaic. - 2004. - June 19 (No. 11).

EDUCATION

(name of educational institution, specialty, year of graduation)

The soul of a person and a people contains male and female natures. The masculine principle is the bearer of activity, activity in itself. Eternal femininity is the potency of being, matter, a passive, protective principle. A truly creative act harmoniously combines both principles: matter and limitless possibilities. eternal femininity are identified and formalized by active action eternally courageous. A soul that has one principle is not viable, with overdominance of one of them, the soul is defective. An extremely feminine being is doomed to passivity, non-manifestation, unformedness. A hypertrophied masculine being gravitates toward destruction, up to and including self-destruction. Severity masculine and feminine, as well as their balance And harmony of relations with each other largely determine the nature and character of man and people. In rich souls, both principles are strongly expressed, in the most integral ones - one of them prevails without suppressing the other. The creative soul is ambivalent, with a certain predominance of the masculine, because the feminine reveals the depths of being, and the masculine is called upon to embrace and shape matter in a creative act. A strong manifestation of both poles is fraught with internal contradictions and instability of the general state, their dominance can change - which is why the soul is prone to permanent duality.

One can define the soul of, for example, the Greek people as clearly ambivalent, in which the male and female natures are maximally expressed and developed, while the dominance of one of them changes. Therefore, the Greek creative genius manifested itself in many areas of culture, philosophy, literature, as well as in social and state building. The excessive femininity of the Greek soul was reflected in the cult of male love, on the one hand, and the institution of hetaerae, on the other. Greek femininity did not allow the creation of a strong statehood capable of protecting the independence of the people. It took a reaction to the feminine relaxation of the Greek soul of the masculine Macedonian component in order for Greek culture not only to be preserved, but also to be voluntarily extended by Alexander the Great to almost the entire ecumene.

In comparison with the ambivalent Greeks, the character of the Romans was monistic, a masculine component prevailed in it. This allowed them to conquer vast territories, create the greatest empire. But the hypertrophy of the masculine principle blocked the possibilities for cultural creativity, which is why the Romans remained the epigones of the Greeks in everything except law, which expressed the desire of the masculine principle to formalize the achievements of Roman civilization.

The feminine element is strongly expressed in the German people, which contributed to the creation of a great and multifaceted German culture. But the masculine principle prevailed in the German spirit, which contributed, on the one hand, to many conquests, on the other hand, endowed the German character and way of life with rationalism. , orderliness and stability German order), which allowed the people to survive despite internal contradictions and external threats. Often, the masculine principle dominated the German soul excessively, and the German will to restore order turned to the outside.

“There is a categorical imperative before the German mind that everything be put in order. The world disorder must be stopped by the German himself, and to the German everything and everything is a disorder. World chaos must be ordered by the German, everything in life must be disciplined by him from within. From here, exorbitant claims are born, which are experienced by the German as a duty, as a formal, categorical imperative ”(N.A. Berdyaev). It was written during the First World War, two decades before the height of German racism.

Of course, the courageous German spirit saw in the vast expanses of Russia only "forever a woman in the Russian soul", which was the reason for the wars and difficult relations between Germany and the Russian East. “The Germans have long built a theory that the Russian people are feminine and sincere, as opposed to the courageous and spiritual German people. The courageous spirit of the German people must take possession of the feminine soul of the Russian people. The whole theory is built to justify German imperialism and the German will to power. In reality, the Russian people have always been capable of displaying great masculinity, and they will prove it and have already proved it to the German people. It had a heroic beginning. Russian quests are not spiritual, but spiritual. Every nation must be courageous, it must have a combination of two principles ”(N.A. Berdyaev).

For the same reasons, German and Russian religiosity differ greatly, and the Russian religious worldview is much closer to Christian than the German one. “This is a purely Aryan, anti-Semitic religion, a religion of smooth and insipid monism, without insane antinomy, without an apocalypse. In this Germanic religion there is no repentance and no sacrifice. The German is the least capable of repentance. And he can be virtuous, moral, perfect, honest, but he can hardly be holy. Repentance is replaced by pessimism. Germanic religion refers the source of evil to an unconscious deity, to primordial chaos, but never to man, not to the German himself. The German religion is the purest monophysitism, the recognition of only one and only nature - Divine, and not two natures - Divine and human, as in the Christian religion ... this world in bad infinity. The Germans leave the apocalypse entirely to Russian chaos, which they despise so much. We despise this eternal German order” (N.A. Berdyaev).

The drama of the Russian people lies in the fact that they are clearly endowed with a creative soul with all the complexities and contradictions ambivalent. The masculine principle for the most part prevailed in the Russian soul, because without it it would have been impossible to protect itself from endless invasions, to master the boundless expanses, to create a huge state and a great culture. But domination was not excessive, so the Russian people did not seek conquest and did not oppress the annexed peoples. The rise of the male principle was unstable, sometimes the female element overwhelmed, and Russian life plunged into a state of lack of will, dispersal, disorder, which ended in disintegration and Russian revolt. An overstressed fate demanded from the people the tension of a masculine character, but it oppressed the masculine component and provoked an overflow of the feminine element. If the soul does not have enough strength to courageously resist adversity, it tends to defend itself against them in feminine demobilization, relaxation, weak character, in the hysterical displacement of reality into fantasies.

The feminine dominant is expressed in how the Russian man called his Motherland - mother Rus', or its main river - Mother Volga. Ivan Ilyin noted that the feminine element in the Russian people was intensified by the influence of boundless and diverse spaces, setting up a feeling of boundless diversity, honing spiritual sensitivity. At the same time, the struggle for existence in a harsh, rapidly changing climate cultivated courageous activity and hardiness. “The Boundless ... strives to your soul from everywhere, forcing it to taste, to become involved in this infinity, formlessness, incalculable wealth. The nervous system in this case is tense and, as it were, charged, becomes extremely sensitive and is forced, it is forced, to search for and find balance. Life becomes intense and tenacious, yet flowing in epic calm. A person has to constantly mature, delving into everything that is happening around. As a result, he becomes intuitively richer, fitter, more inventive, more assertive. To this must also be added Slavic temperament, especially prone to intensification” (I.A. Ilyin). In addition, the “Slavic, discreetly harmonious, benevolent soul” went through the formidable school of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which contributes to the desire for Christian purification and self-deepening. As a result, the fate of the people contributed to the fact that the Russian soul “absorbed in excess and completely absorbed the rays of the eternally feminine, being exposed to the rays of the eternally masculine to a much smaller, more limited extent” (I.A. Ilyin).

N.A. also wrote about the excessive femininity of the Russian soul. Berdyaev: “The great misfortune of the Russian soul is in ... feminine passivity, turning into “woman”, in a lack of masculinity, in a tendency to marry a strange and alien husband. The Russian people live too much in national-spontaneous collectivism, and the consciousness of the individual, his dignity and his rights has not yet been strengthened in him. This explains the fact that Russian statehood was so saturated with Germanism and often indulged in foreign dominions. This characterization is true in relation to the weakened and painful states of the national soul. Severe conditions did not allow feminine effeminacy, weak-willed non-personality. As for being soaked in German, the feminine openness of the Russian soul, in harmonious combination with masculinity, made it possible to accept influences and infusions, while maintaining self-identification. Of the foreign dominions that would have been ready to be accepted by the people, there was only one - Polish in the Time of Troubles of the 17th century, due to the pathology of the male and the painful hypertrophy of the female. In other cases, dominions ended in a strong-willed and courageous cessation.

The feminine nature in the national soul was revealed and refined in history. “The inner life act became in its structure more and more sensitive and contemplative, more receptive and dreamy, more melodic and poetic, more deeply believing and praying, more and more extensive and passive; in all aspects of life - contemplatively calm, not prone to observing strict rules of everyday life, capable of long-suffering, clearly showing their will in matters of service and performance, feeling happy only in a frank, open, outpouring of their heart to another, as well as seeking, from the deepest inner motives, beauty around you - in the word, line, structure, paint, melody ”(I.A. Ilyin). At the same time, the character of the people does not become stagnant, but “it turns out to be extremely flexible, malleable forging, diverse. The eternally feminine, in fact, makes it flexible, versatile and malleable - the hammer of fate has in its face a grateful, rather persistent material of the spirit ”(I.A. Ilyin).

Dialectics of male-female builds a lot in Russian life: “The Russian soul is permeated and impregnated with a ray of the eternally feminine, but everywhere, in all spheres of life, it seeks the norm of the eternally masculine... The eternally feminine is given to it, and the eternally masculine is given” (I.A. . Ilyin). In this dimension, the Russian soul differs from the European one, “which is gradually threatened by the decadence of the eternally courageous: formalism, overorganization, excessive sobriety, harsh intensity, rationalist prose, empiricist relativism, unbelief, revolutionary and warlike spirit” (I.A. Ilyin). The female element in a Russian man and the masculine element in a Russian woman are especially pronounced: “The Russian peasant bears in himself the makings of the eternally feminine in a masculine and masculine way. Yes, he is inclined to respect the status quo, to a passive and calm perception of things as they are, to saving cunning; he is unusually dynamic, fast, offensive; think before saying anything; he measures seven times before cutting off once... Good-natured, passive slumber is his weakness even when he is extraordinarily active... Only very often his masculine intensity slumbers in him in an extensive form; the centripetal in it appreciates its own harmonic peace and does not always take on a centrifugal swing, but if this happens, hold on! (I.A. Ilyin).

A harmonious combination of male and female is more characteristic of a Russian person, which gives the character an extraordinary integrity: “A Russian, in order to want, must love; to believe, one must contemplate; to fight, one must love and contemplate. But it’s better not to fight him” (I.A. Ilyin). Despite the richness of female nature, “the Russian peasant is not feminine, he is courageous and lives according to all the norms of masculine nature ... But all vital-male manifestations stem from the depths of heart contemplation, warmed by the rays of the eternally feminine, moderated by them, softened, ennobled; the eternally feminine vital contents blossom and shine; the eternally sought-after masculine form was found, received its fulfillment, reached its destination” (I.A. Ilyin).

The Russian woman is endowed with a rich and reverent female nature. “Since time immemorial, Russian women have been portrayed as being sensitive, compassionate, cordial, chaste, timid, with deep religious convictions, stubborn patience and, to a certain extent, subordinate to a man. She loves, she serves, she suffers, she yields” (I.A. Ilyin). Cruel fate demanded manifestations and masculine nature from the Russian woman. “Destiny from a tender, like a flower, female creature requires a new way to adapt to life, to transform, requires a male form, will, firmness of character, intensity. In the future, all these qualities of character are inherited, gradually improved, consolidated - and manifested. Literally in all spheres” (I.A. Ilyin). Russian life and Russian literature are overflowing with images of strong-willed, resolute, active women, "who have absorbed the eternally courageous in order to radiate it in a more active and creative form." At the same time, “a Russian woman knows how to present and realize her character that has become masculine in the form of an eternally feminine one. She remains a flower, she remains centripetal, sensitive and tender, sometimes so touchingly tender that one wonders where such spiritual and spiritual power comes from in such a fragile body. She is modest, natural, friendly, honest, easily excitable, sometimes quick-tempered like gunpowder, but never falls into a state of passion ”(I.A. Ilyin).

External tragedies and internal dramas could not help but distort the mental image of a Russian person, including in the field of the ratio of male and female. Riots and social unrest occurred in Russia due to the collapse of the organic correlation of these principles in the national soul. During such periods, the national "I" - the center of self-identification of the people - was deprived constructive crystallization and limply fell either into totally masculine states - unbridledly destroying, then into hopelessly feminine - passively surrendering to aggressive encroachments from outside. These beginnings rebelled against each other and in blind self-destruction pushed the various layers, classes and groups of the people together. The civil war begins in the national soul and then spills over the expanses of the country.

The element of manic tyranny of Ivan the Terrible is a painful manifestation of the boundless pride of male nature, which destroys not only its wives, but also rapes the feminine nature of the people. The guardsmen were protected in the "order-monastery" from the beneficial effects of femininity. The split of the androgynous nature of the national soul led, on the one hand, to the unbridling of the presumptuous male element in the oprichnina, on the other hand, to the feminine lack of will of the ruling Shuisky clan. The fatal swing of the destructive pendulum in the national soul did not stop the wise rule of Boris Godunov. In the Time of Troubles of the 17th century, one can see the unbridled male element of the Cossacks, robbers and robbers in their own country, and feminine lack of will in confronting foreigners. The male nature of the people degraded in that era, was not capable of self-defense, and the female nature fell, in order to gain some kind of order, it was ready to surrender to the dominion of foreign masculinity in the person of self-styled "princes". Only the Nizhny Novgorod militia showed the reconciliation of feminine sacrifice and masculine wisdom, will, with which the improvement of the national body - the state - begins.

The tyranny of Peter I expressed the ugly hypertrophy of the masculine principle, which violates the feminine nature of the nation and jealously destroys the manifestations of a healthy masculine nature next to it. An example of this is the murder by Peter I of his son, Tsarevich Alexei.

In the subsequent era, the pendulum swung to the other extreme: the 18th century turned out to be the “Indian century”, when women on the throne played the first roles in good and bad, in creation and destruction. Men were assigned the role of favorites or servants of crowned ladies.

In the revolutions of 1917, the Februaryists showed an amorphousness, giving way to the hysterical impulsiveness of a femininity of character, whose irresponsible convulsions plunged the country into chaos. In response, the ugly hypertrophied male character of Bolshevism appeared, with an unprecedented iron, ruthless, totally manic will.

The way out of the new turmoil is possible through crystallization and harmonious reunification of male and female nature in the national soul. It can be stated that “the problem of the Russian character remained unresolved: it lacked form, activity, and discipline. The eternally feminine endowed us with its gifts; the eternally courageous had to make up for it: the character remained weak, the organization weak, the state weak. And the revolution began by turning decadence into chaos, in order to then hand over the reins of government to the super-masculine willful tangle of non-religious totalitarianism. It has always been my firm conviction that there is only one sure way to sanitize the existing - from within, through the eternally feminine, through love, fidelity, patience, prayer and purity of thoughts ... The revolution in Russia with all its monstrosity, unbridledness and baseness will be overcome and sanitized by the Russian woman. After all, the revolution in Russia took place because the supra-masculine doctrine curled up in super-masculine Europe into a violent volitional ball and chose Russia - confused with a will paralyzed due to the war - as a testing ground for its experiments ”(I.A. Ilyin). Feminine relaxation in the national character was strengthened before the war by the creative elite - in the cult of decadence that corrupted masculinity.

Genuine and complete national revival is possible through the restoration of fragile androgynous harmony in the soul of the people. On the way to this, we are sentenced by previous history to new convulsions. The recurrence of pathological manifestations of the masculine principle was the phenomenon of Yeltsin, who played the role of a bulldozer-destroyer of the former regime - together with the country. On the other hand, hysterical femininity, incapable of reflection and self-control, was shown by the creative intelligentsia, enthusiastically surrendering to strong-willed pressure. uncontested president.

This side of life in the people's soul is full of drama and contradictions, which is inevitable in the relationship of pronounced opposite principles.

Courageous people - the most definition of the heroes of our today's selection. They lived and almost died in circumstances that we are afraid to even think about. They fought wars, danced with death, performed acts of miraculous heroism, and survived to tell the tale.

Hugh Glass (Hugh Glass)

In 1823, while hunting game along the banks of the Grand River with his trapper friends, Glass came face to face with a grizzly bear and her cubs. Finding himself without his rifle at hand, he could not prevent the she-bear from almost tearing him to pieces. She left deep lacerations on his face, chest, arms and back. Surprisingly, Glass was able to scare her off with just a hunting knife. Unfortunately, they were in hostile Indian territory and Glass was so wounded that his fellow hunters had no choice but to cover his dying body and leave him behind. But Glass is not dead. He regained consciousness, straightened his broken leg, wrapped himself in a bear skin and crawled along the river bank. Glass had his hitches. At one point, he had to collect maggots from a rotting log to eat his dead flesh on his leg to avoid gangrene. He had to kill and eat snakes in order to support himself. However, after six weeks (six weeks!) he reached civilization, alive and in good health.

Simo Hayha

He was nicknamed "The White Death" (The White Death). Simo was a Finnish sniper who basically made life hell for Soviet soldiers during World War II. During the Finnish-Soviet War of 1939-40s, Simo helped fight off the Soviet invaders the only way he knew how, by firing at them from a distance. In just 100 days, Simo committed 505 murders, all of which were confirmed. The Russians, confused, sent snipers to counterattack and fired artillery at Simo, but they were unable to stop him. In the end, a Russian soldier shot Simo in the face. When they found him, Simo was in a coma and half of his cheek was missing, but he refused to die. He came to his senses and began to live a full life, breeding dogs and hunting moose. When asked how he learned to shoot so well, Simo said what is the most underrated thing in human history: "practice."

Samuel Whittemore

Whittemore was a true patriot and, like many others, he happily fought for his freedom against the British during the American Revolutionary War. The only difference between the rest of the men and Samuel was that Whittemore was 78 at the time. Prior to this, Whittemore had served as a private in the King George's War and assisted in the capture of Fort Louisburg in 1745. Some believe he also fought in the French and Indian War when he was 64. He also single-handedly killed three British soldiers in his fields with a rifle and his dueling pistol. For his efforts, he was shot in the face, stabbed with a bayonet, and left for dead. He refused to die and, in fact, made a full recovery and lived to the ripe old age of 98 when apparently God decided he didn't want to see a 150 year old man fight in the Civil War.

“Mad Jack” Churchill (“Mad Jack” Churchill)

John Churchill had a motto and that in itself is pretty cool because who has their own motto these days? In any case, Churchill said: "Any officer who starts a battle without his sword is not properly dressed." And "Mad Jack" supported his words with deeds. While the less brave used weapons, "Mad Jack" used a bow and arrow and a sword to kill the Nazis. That's right, he believed that firearms were made for cowards. "Mad Jack" is the only soldier in World War II who killed enemies with a bow and arrow. What is the fact that this guy took his bagpipes into battle, and once led a squad to an enemy position, playing on it, moreover, he was the only one who survived this battle! He also infiltrated Sicily and captured 42 soldiers and a mortar team. While most wanted the war to end, Churchill didn't, saying, "If it wasn't for those damned Yankees, we could have been at war for another ten years."

Bhanbhagta Gurung

The British awarded Bhanbhagta the Victoria Cross for his efforts in World War II. What did he do that was so special? Well, to start with, he saved his entire brigade from an enemy sniper by calmly standing up and shooting at him while his unit was under siege. He didn't stop there, rushing into an enemy trench to blow up the enemy with a grenade (without orders, and alone), then he jumped into the next trench (where we assume two Japanese soldiers were completely at a loss) and stabbed them to death with a bayonet. of death. Elated by his success, he cleared two more trenches, killing enemies with grenades and bayonets. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that this was all happening under machine gun fire that came down on him and his comrades from a machine gun bunker. Bhanbhagta solved this problem too, he went from the trench to the bunker, jumping on the roof and throwing a grenade into the bunker. He then flew into the bunker and captured the last Japanese soldier.

Augustine of Aragon (Agustina of Aragon)

Augustine was on her way to the fort to deliver apples to Spanish soldiers during the Spanish War of Independence when she found them retreating amid a French attack. She ran forward and began to load the cannons, shaming the soldiers so much that they must have felt compelled to return to the fight. With her help, they fought off the French. She was eventually captured, but escaped and became the leader of a guerrilla unit. She even served as a battery commander in the Battle of Vitoria. People called her the Spanish Joan of Arc, and it was a well-deserved honor.

John Fairfax

When he was 9 years old, John Fairfax settled the dispute with a gun. He was expelled from the Boy Scouts for shooting another group with a firearm. At 13, he ran away from home to live as Tarzan in the Amazon jungle. When he was 20 years old, he decided to commit suicide - by being eaten by a jaguar! He took a pistol with him in case he changed his mind, which he did, and he subsequently shot and skinned the animal. He spent three years as a pirate after attempting to travel by bicycle and hitchhiking throughout South America. Then, eventually, he single-handedly rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and then the Pacific Ocean in tandem with a friend.

Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto was a sword-wielding saint, a Kensai warrior in Japan in the late 16th and early 17th century. He had his first fight when he was 13 years old. Apparently, he enjoyed fighting because he spent his life wandering the countryside and fighting people. At the end of his life, he took part and won more than 60 fights. He trained at Yoshioka-ryu (Yoshioka ryu), and then came back and destroyed it, apparently because he could do it. He once fought in a rather famous duel against Sasaki Kojiro, a famous sword master who used a two-handed sword. This did not seem to intimidate Miyamoto, as he defeated Sasaki with a small wooden staff he had carved on his way to the duel. Eventually, Miyamoto fell ill and retired to a cave where he died. He was found kneeling with a sword in his hands.

Dr. Leonid Rogozov

Dr. Leonid Rogozov was serving in the Antarctic in 1961 when he developed peritonitis. The nearest surgeon who could remove the appendix was over a thousand miles away, and a huge snowstorm was about to begin. If the appendix had not been removed soon, he would have died. With no other choice, he decided that the best thing to do would be to remove it himself. Rogozov used a mirror, some novocaine, a scalpel, and two untrained assistants to cut himself. It took him two hours and an iron will, but the appendectomy was successful. Rogozov was eventually awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor by the Soviet Union, because you owe something to the guy who cut himself open and took out the organ.

Adrian Carton de Wiart

You may think that you are a tough nut to crack, but compared to Adrian Carton di Wiart, any person will seem like a puddle of sticky human flesh. Adrian fought in three wars, including the Boer War, World War I, and of course World War II. He survived two plane crashes and received gunshot wounds to his head, face, abdomen, ankles, thighs, legs and ear. He was taken prisoner during World War II and managed to make five attempts to escape from a POW camp. He eventually succeeded when he dug a tunnel out of the prison and evaded capture for eight days by posing as an Italian peasant. Did we already say that he was 61 years old at that time, he did not speak Italian, he did not have one arm, and he wore an eye patch? Oh yeah, there's also the story of the doctors who refused to amputate Adrian's fingers, so he did the most logical thing and bit them off. After World War I, di Wiart wrote, "Frankly, I enjoyed the war." Can't be.

The Dargins are one of the largest nationalities of the Republic of Dagestan and belong to the Caucasian type of the Caucasian race. Self-name of the people dargan. The first mentions of the ethnonym "Dargins" date back to the 15th century. In the 16th century, the Dargins were divided into 3 types, which differed by place of residence and occupation:

1. alpine
2. mid-mountain
3. lower foothill

In 1921, the Dargins with other peoples of the North Caucasus became part of the Dagestan ASSR. Part of the people then moved to the plain. Dargins embody virtue, courage, diligence, piety and honesty. They instill these qualities in their children from an early age.

Where live

The bulk of the Dargins live on the territory of the Russian Federation and make up 16.5% of the total population of Dagestan. The largest community of this nationality is located in the Stavropol Territory. There are large diasporas in Kalmykia, Moscow, Rostov and Astrakhan regions.

A small percentage of Dargins live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. They appeared in these areas in the 1930s. Representatives of this people also live in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Name

The ethnonym "Dargins" is derived from the word "darg", which translates as "group, people". The ethnonyms "Dargan" and "Dargins" are of later origin, according to the philologist R. Argeeva. In the pre-revolutionary period, this nationality was known as Khyurkilintsy and Akushins.

Language

The Dargins speak the Dargin language, which belongs to the Nakh-Dagestan branch of the North Caucasian family of languages. Dargin consists of many dialects, some of them are:

• urahinsky
• Akushinsky
• Kaitag
• tsudahara
• Kubachi
• megebian
• Sirgian
• Chirag

The Dargin literary language is used on the basis of the Akush dialect. The Russian language is also widespread among the people. During the 20th century, the writing of the language changed twice. First, the Arabic alphabet, traditional for the Dargins, was replaced in 1928 with the Latin alphabet, then in 1938 with the Russian script. In the 1960s, the letter Pl pI was added to the Dargin alphabet. Today there are 46 letters in the alphabet.

In schools, education is conducted in the Dargin language according to the all-Russian program. All textbooks, except books on literature, the Russian language, foreign languages, have been translated into Dargin. There are Russian-speaking Dargin kindergartens.

Religion

The Dargins are Sunni Muslims, they adopted this religion in the 14th century. Prior to this, the Dargins were pagans, worshiped the mythical characters of the pantheon of gods, who personified the forces and phenomena of nature. Many of them have survived in the life of the people to this day:

• Kune, a mythical character who is a kind spirit invisible to man. He is the patron of the family hearth and family, brings prosperity to the house. People imagine him as a tall woman with a large bust and long red hair. The spirit comes to the house on Fridays, dwells in the central pillar of the dwelling. To appease him, the housewives on this day of the week grease the hot stove with oil or a piece of fatty meat. If Kuhne leaves and does not return, it is unfortunate.
• Moiu, these are the spirits that are in charge of the birth of children and are the patronesses of women in childbirth. Common among the Dargins-Akushinians. People represent them as old women dressed in black and white clothes. They can send sickness and death to children;
• Berhi, a deity personifying the Sun, in the form of a beautiful young man who radiates a dazzling and bright light. Berhi lives in the sea, enters it and leaves it. It is swallowed by the sea monster Kurtma. The god Zal saves and returns to earth;
• Budz, a deity who personifies the moon. Presented as a beautiful girl. There is a legend about spots on the moon: Bazd and Berhey loved each other, but Budz began to boast that she was more beautiful than Berhee and looked at her more than at him. Then the Sun threw lumps of dirt on the Moon, which is not washed off, from which stains formed on it. The moon was offended and ran away from the Sun, who later admitted his guilt and is now always trying to catch up with Budz;
• Abdal, or Avdal, the patron of deer, tours, wild goats and the god of hunting. He takes care of wild animals, milks and grazes them, limits their shooting. For good luck, people brought him a sacrifice in the form of a liver or heart of a dead animal. The bones were not thrown away or burned so that Abdal would revive the beast on them.

The whole life of the representatives of this people from birth to death is accompanied by religious rites. The Dargins believe that morality and religion are two inseparable things.

In the life of the Dargins, a special place is occupied by the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Adha. Each family traditionally celebrates Mawlid al-Nabi - the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Dhikr is an important part of the ritual.

Food

In the cuisine of the Dargins living on the plain, plant foods predominated. In the highlands, they mainly preferred food from milk and meat. The most common flour products are khinkal and about 50 variants of chudu pies with various fillings. Flour was used rye, millet, corn, barley and wheat. Sausages are produced from beef and mutton meat, the meat is dried and smoked. Several types of cheese are made from milk. Soups are very popular among the people, they are prepared with beans, vegetables, ground wheat. Barbecue, pilaf, sauces and kurze (similar to dumplings and dumplings) are very popular. Dargins often make apple caramels from sweets - whole apples boiled in caramel. Supplement in the diet are greens, vegetables, fruits, berries.

All-Caucasian dishes are common in the Dargin cuisine. Representatives of this nationality have long learned to preserve fruits and vegetables. Food is served to the table on a common large dish, from which everyone eats. Previously, the Dargins had hand mills at home, in which they themselves ground flour from cereals. The houses had a special hearth room where food was cooked. There were entire neighborhood bakeries where pies and churek bread were baked. The favorite drink of the Dargins is kvass buza.

Life

Since ancient times, the Dargins have been engaged in cattle breeding, farming, processing wood, stone, leather and wool, embroidering with gold threads and silk. In the village of Sulevkent they are engaged in pottery. The Dargins process metals; pottery, copper-chasing, bronze casting and blacksmithing are common among them. Produce jewelry and weapons. Everyone in Kubachi, young and old, owns a jewelry business. This is passed down from generation to generation. They publish ceremonial dishes, candlesticks, stunning jewelry for women, work with bone, copper, enamel and silver. Ceremonial weapons, dagger handles and scabbards were decorated with silver and gilding, and patterned bone plates. This art is still widespread today. Kubachi jewelers are known all over the world.

Kubachi craftsmen are also famous for making helmets, chain mail, pistols and guns. Men's leather belts are always richly decorated with hanging plaques, silver and metal links.

The role of women in the economy was significant. Her duties included caring for cattle, harvesting, cooking, preparing food, making household items and clothing. The man plowed, sowed, was engaged in sheep breeding.

Girls began to be taught how to sew national costumes, make headdresses, weave pectoral ornaments, various necklaces, which consisted of coins and beads. Dargin women skillfully weave carpets, felt and knit.

Modern Dargins are engaged in viticulture and horticulture. Canning factories have been built in many places, where berries, vegetables and fruits are processed. Large fruit canning factories and industrial plants are located in the villages of Majalis, Serkzhala, Khoja-Makhi and Tsudakhar. Factories for processing livestock products and enterprises for the production of cheese and butter have been built.

dwelling

Traditionally, the Dargins lived in rural communities called jamaat. The communities were united into unions of rural societies, some of them were part of the Akushim confederation. Today, small families are common among the people, which in the past were large and undivided. Distributed on the territory of Dagestan and tukhums - groups of families that originated from one ancestor. After the October Revolution, schools, hospitals, clubs, village councils and reading rooms were opened in the villages.

Villages in the mountains are terraced, crowded. The main types of housing in the foothills and mountains are multi-storey buildings with a flat roof. In Soviet times, more modern villages were built from multi-storey buildings.

Modern Dargin houses are built of stone, sandstone, limestone and shale. In some villages, adobe is used. Houses stand on foundations or rocky foundations. Stone laying is carried out mainly on a solution of clay. Older buildings have dry masonry. The floors in the dwellings are slate, adobe or wood. The ceiling is made from boards, slate slabs, brushwood or poles. In the villages located in the foothill zones, more often began to use gable tiled or iron roofs. Facades in dwellings usually have an open gallery or veranda.

If the house consists of several floors, the lower one is reserved for a barn, a stable, a hayloft, a place for storing firewood and pantries. Living rooms on the upper floors. In villages located in higher mountainous areas, dwellings are often of irregular configuration and are adjusted in construction to the slope on which they stand. Because of this, the rooms have irregular shapes, sometimes with five corners or rounded corners. All houses of the Dargins are well-maintained, kept clean and adequately equipped with amenities.

Appearance

The national clothes of the Dargin men consisted of a tunic-shaped shirt "kheva" and trousers "sharbar" of a simple cut. These things were used not only as underwear, but also as part of outerwear. It was sewn from thick cotton or woolen fabric of dark color: blue, black or gray. The men in Nizhny Kaitag wore a white shirt and white trousers.

Over the shirt they put on a beshmet (captal) on a lining, sewn from a dark dense material. For sewing an elegant beshmet, they bought silk or woolen fabric in black, dark green or blue. Shili kaptal in the waist, according to the figure. Front, top to bottom was a straight cut. The length of the clothes was just below or above the knees, at the request of the man. Below the waist, mainly at the back and sides, several wedges were sewn in, narrow and expanding towards the bottom, they formed coattails. There were up to 10 such wedges.

The beshmet had a standing low collar, on the sides, below the waist, there were inner pockets. The chest pockets were sewn on. The beshmet was fastened in front with small buttons and loops, from the collar to the waist. The loops were made from homemade thin braid. The collar, sleeves, cutouts on the side pockets and the top of the chest pockets were trimmed with the same braid. Winter beshmet was sewn on cotton wool. In a kaptal, a man walked in the field, could go out into the street in it and walk at home. When it was cool, they put on a Circassian coat over it.

An important part of the outerwear was a sheepskin coat, which was worn in winter over a beshmet and a Circassian coat. One fur coat took from 6 to 9 sheepskins of a young lamb. In inclement weather they put on a cloak. A mandatory attribute of a Dargin man is a long and wide dagger.

They wore papakhas and felt hats on their heads. The wealthy sewed their hats from the Central Asian astrakhan fur. The shoes of the Dargins were quite diverse. Many Dargins, especially residents of the villages of the Tsudakhar region, were excellent masters of leather and shoe making. At home, woolen socks were worn, which every woman knew how to knit. For strength, morocco, canvas or cloth were sewn to them. Saffiano soft boots were worn over the socks. They wore galoshes, boots and shoes.

Women's clothing consisted of an undershirt, wide or tight pants, an upper tunic or one-piece dress. Mostly scarves were worn on the head, a black or white “kaz” coverlet, which wrapped around the head, hung low on the neck, shoulders and chest. In many places, such bedspreads were decorated with borders and embroidery. Knitted stockings and dudes were put on their feet. An obligatory element of a women's costume is a white sash or to match the pants. The length of the sash is from 2 to 5 meters, it was wrapped around the waist and hips. It could be replaced with a metal or leather belt.

Be sure to wear an apron. They believed that he protected the woman from the evil eye. Amulets were sewn on it: jewelry, coins and pendants made of metal, they made embroidery in the form of a trident or a hand with fingers spread out and pointing down. Shoes were made of felt or leather.

Today, the Dargins wear mainly urban-type clothes and shoes. To this day, there is a rule that only young girls can wear bright colors. Married women wear calm tones and fabrics of the same color. Older women wear brown, blue and black.

culture

Until the 20th century, Dargin literature was based only on oral literature. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first collections of poems were published. After the October Revolution, Dargin literature began to develop. At first, it was possible to collect and translate into written form the monuments of oral creativity, starting from May 1925, the first newspaper “Dargan” began to appear, which was published in the Dargin language. In 1961, the first drama Dargin theater was opened.

Folklore

In the folklore of the nationality, the main directions are:

• fairy tales
• heroic songs
• legends
• legends
• sayings
• proverbs

Agach-Kumuz is the main musical instrument of the Dargin people. The musicians tuned the strings of the instrument in different ways and as a result received various harmonies and melodies. The people also have other instruments for music:

• chungur
• kemancha
• harmonic
• mandolin
• tambourine
• zurna

Traditions

Previously, men and women in the family ate separately. Today, all family members sit at the table together. In most of the Dargin society, even today there is a custom of women's meetings, which are a ban for men. In the village of Kubachi there were even special rooms, which were called the house of women or the house of girls. The entire female population gathered there. The people also have holidays only for women. But, despite this, the situation of Dargin women used to be very difficult. They did not have the right to take part in the public affairs of the village, go to public village holidays, talk with men and communicate with strangers with their husbands. The man was the head of the house, and without his consent, the wife could not sell, buy or give anything. Everything that belonged to her in her husband's house is only her dowry.

A woman had no right to take food before her husband, go to bed until he came home. It was not customary for a man to raise children, only his wife did it. Senior family members also attended. In public, the father had no right to show feelings for his child, caress him and calm him down if he cried. But when the children grew up and the question arose of some important decision related to them, only the father took part. Mother didn't have a word. The role of women in the economy was very significant.

Marriages among the Dargins were concluded within the tokhum - a certain social group or category. Questions about marriage were decided only by fathers, without children. The preferences and interests of the children were not taken into account. The social status and dowry of the bride were important. Due to the fact that a large dowry was required, often girls could not marry. Young men also had similar problems, from whom expensive gifts were required for the bride and her relatives. It was not uncommon for wealthy men to have multiple wives, which made life even more difficult for women. The second and third wives did not have the right to independence, since the first wife was the mistress.

A woman entered her husband's house with a covered head, the man's family performed a ritual that protected the young from misfortunes. A ram was sacrificed, it was believed that its blood drives away evil spirits.

The Dargins are very hospitable, for them the guest is the most important person in the house. Everything is served to him the best: food, a place at the table and a bed. Hospitality for this people is a great virtue. It is considered a great duty to receive guests and be hospitable, which any Dargin will do with pleasure.

The Dargins respect elders very much, for them it is the basis of ethics. Parents and other elders in the family always take pride of place at the table, the first to start a speech. Young people should stand in their presence, always give way if necessary.

Children are usually given the names of prophets or deceased relatives. All Dargins honor family ties, it is important for them not to disgrace the family, not to be dishonored. Boys are taught from childhood to stand up for themselves and their loved ones. They should study well, respect elders, be an example for others. Girls are brought up as future guardians of the hearth and family values.