THE TRAGEDY OF WORLD WAR I IN THE WORKS OF IVAN SHMELYOV

Abstract

The article explores the representation of the theme of the First World War in the works of Ivan Sergeyevich Shmelyov. Interest in this topic is caused by the original manner, a special artistic approach of the writer to the description of the events of that time, revealing the fate and role of the Russian soldier in these events, then the significance of the war-generated suffering of peaceful people – as a key to understanding the meaning of human life and destiny. Such originality, persuasiveness and truthfulness in the artistic style of I.S. Shmelyov attracts the attention of Chinese readers. The writer’s views on the inhumanity of war are, in fact, an appeal to life and to the future, so his work, like all real literature, remains in demand today by readers and researchers alike. The author concludes that since the destructive experience of war in human terms has no national and temporal characteristics, the work of the Russian writer Shmelyov remains relevant today, attracting readers’ and researchers’ attention in any country.