# Chicks of the Politburo's Nest. (Yuri Krymov. "Tanker Derbent" and other works). A literary and biographical essay

de Overwood Henry

MMMDCCXLVI. Chicks of the Politburo's Nest. (Yuri Krymov. "Tanker Derbent" and other works). A literary and biographical essay. - January 9, 2026.

Chicks of the Politburo's Nest. (Yuri Krymov. "Tanker Derbent" and other works). A literary and biographical essay.


A couple of days ago, I wrote a literary blues "Tanker Derbent," translated it into English, and then decided to enjoy reading "Tanker Derbent," written in the 1930s by Yuri Krymov.


I must to confess, my patience quickly wore thin. I switched from reading to skimming the text.


Suddenly, something caught my attention. One of the book's characters tells another about his service in the pre-revolutionary navy and his acquaintance with a revolutionary organization.


It turns out that during the years of socialist construction, "formers [persons from the pre-revolutionary times]" - those who served under the tsar - they were infiltrating the ranks of honest socialist workers!


"...At that time, I graduated from the corps and served in Kronstadt on the forts. (...) I knew few people from the underground organization. (...) Although I fancied myself a conspirator and hid weapons [for revolutionaries], in my heart I was certain that nothing [anti-government] would happen, and that it would be better if it [illegal] didn't. (...) In fact, I was happy. The new position, the jacket with stripes, the naval dirk (dagger) - all of this hadn't yet become tiresome. On the wide street, coffee shops with music, a flower garden of chic women, gypsy girls from Strelna. Beautiful! Nighttime strolls on boats along the bay, a white night over Marquisovaya Luzha, a pearly sunrise... Carefree ease, dizziness from wine, the specter of a desperate [that is, revolutionary] cause ahead."


Dubious characters! It was very appropriate to remember these dubious people in 1937 (and to receive the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for a relevant literary work in 1938).


I read a little about the fears of a former tsarist naval officer with the naval dirk (dagger), who may or may not have joined the revolutionary movement (and who served communism in the 1930s).


Then I started skimming the text again and finally reached the finish. I still couldn't figure out: what was the purpose of all this (of words and sentences)? To warn about potential enemies of the people? To make a signal?


What works did Yuri Krymov write? I found a list. There were three (three) works on the list: "Tanker Derbent" (1937-1938), "Letter to Wife" (September 19, 1941), and "The Engineer" (1940-1941). (Later, in an online encyclopedia, I found a list of six works.)


I opened "The Engineer." Well, I can't find the desire in myself to read all this. Not that it is nonsense, but it's boring. I skimmed the text. Some mention of a certain People's Commissar intrigued me.


("Beware," said that look [of the People's Commissar]. "Beware if you're slandering or settling personal scores here. You're certainly not free from emotional urges, likes and dislikes; I understand that, and I don't expect cold impartiality from you. But tell the truth. Don't lie to me. Otherwise-beware!").


But I didn't understand what was interesting about this People's Commissar. Or did the People's Commissar just come, take a look and leave? Well, I'm not interested, that's all.


I moved on to "Letter to Wife."


This is a respected text. The author (Yuri Krymov) fought and died in encirclement on September 20, 1941.


Before his death, he wrote a letter to his wife.


What do officers do during combat actions? I vaguely remember from the regulations (my student period, 80s of the last century): reconnaissance, situational assessment... and so on...


(As amended by The Combat Regulations; Order No. 19 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces dated February 24, 2005:


"49. The organization of combat actions (of the execution of the assigned mission) of a platoon (squad, tank) begins with the receipt of a combat mission and includes: decision-making; conducting reconnaissance (if necessary); setting combat missions; organizing interaction, comprehensive support, and command and control.")


All of this probably took place. Especially during encirclement-when every second counts, when soldiers need to act quickly, outpacing the enemy.


"This afternoon I arrived at my unit. I'd been gone for two days. I was recovering a broken-down vehicle. On the way out of a village the Germans had entered, I picked up ammunition (after the confused rear guards). I picked up two seriously wounded men and transported them away from the front lines. All night long, I was driving around with boxes of grenades and two groaning, tortured men. (...)


So, I arrived in a fighting mood. Before I could report anything to the commissar, the party bureau had assembled. The agenda included my admission to the [Communist] party. And there I am-black with dirt, covered in stubble-sitting in a thicket of corn. Surrounding me are comrades-members of the party bureau and party activists. Each holds a machine gun or rifle. Guns boom [cannons make a noise] nearby. Sentries roam the corn. Such is the context of my admission to the party."


"The Southwestern Front was commanded by:

June 22, 1941 - September 20, 1941 - Colonel General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos (died)

September 30, 1941 - December 18, 1941 - Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (...)"


So, the commander of the Southwestern Front, Colonel General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos, died on the same day as Yuri Krymov - namely, September 20, 1941.


"...more than 500,000 soldiers and commanders were captured. Front Commander Colonel General Kirponos, Front Chief of Staff Major General Tupikov, and Front Military Council member Burmistenko died while attempting to break out of encirclement."


"... Zhukov wrote in his memoirs that before the battle began, he reported to Stalin about the reality of the "Kyiv cauldron" [encirclement] and proposed withdrawing troops from the Dnieper bend. However, at that moment, Zhukov was removed by Stalin from his position as Chief of the General Staff and replaced by Boris Shaposhnikov."


The retreat continued. When the enemy approached Moscow, and when Boris Shaposhnikov evacuated out of Moscow, and A.M. Vasilevsky (staff captain, 1916-1917) remained in Moscow, the strategic situation began to change. (From October 16 until the end of November 1941, when the General Staff was evacuated, A.M. Vasilevsky headed the operational group (the first echelon of the General Staff) in Moscow to serve Stavka (Headquarters).)


I moved on to the biography of Yuri Krymov.


I'm reading about Yuri Krymov: "At school, [Yuri Krymov] met Alexey Isaev, the future renowned rocket engine designer. Yuri [Krymov] spent every summer at Artek in Crimea with the Isaev children, which determined his future writer's pseudonym."


Did the Isaev children (and the boy Yuri Krymov with them) vacation in Artek in Crimea every summer?


I'm moving on to Alexey Isaev's biography.


"In October 1934, he was hired as a designer for the mechanism and chassis team at V.F. Bolkhovitinov's Design Bureau..."


This is interesting. While the esteemed V.F. Bolkhovitinov, even before the war, had the opportunity to sail a yacht on the Moscow reservoir on weekends, Alexei Isayev's children (and the boy Yuri Krymov) spent every summer at Artek in Crimea...


I won't go into the details of the biography of the successful V.F. Bolkhovitinov (I've written about him many times before - a very interesting and successful man).


"...Nikita Sergeyevich [Khrushchev], smiling broadly... spoke pleasantries, clinked glasses. Korolev introduced Isayev to him:

"And this," said Sergei Pavlovich [Korolev], "is the very person who is holding back [who is braking] our entire work..."

Khrushchev understood, laughed, and thanked him again."


Thanks for everything, for everything, for everything... Including for the literary creativity...


09 January 2026 15:37


Translation from Russian into English: January 11, 2026, 13:41

Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Птенцы гнезда политбюрова. (Юрий Крымов. 'Танкер Дербент' и др. произведения). Литературно-биографический очерк. '


{ 3775. Птенцы гнезда политбюрова. (Юрий Крымов. 'Танкер Дербент' и др. произведения). Литературно-биографический очерк. - 9 января 2026 г.

MMMDCCXLVI. Chicks of the Politburo's Nest. (Yuri Krymov. "Tanker Derbent" and other works). A literary and biographical essay. - January 9, 2026.


Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского}