The naval dagger

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The naval dagger ( Russian Кортик / Kortik ) is a Russian youth novel by Anatoli Rybakow from 1953. It was first published in German in 1953 by the Neues Leben publishing house in Berlin in the series " Excitingly told ".

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The Moscow boy Mikhail Polyatov spent the summer of 1921 with his grandparents in the country. Together with his best friend Genka Petrow, he roams the area around the village of Ryevsk and dreams of heroic adventures in the fight for the still very young Soviet power and against the White Guards. The focus of her interest is the marine Sergei Ivanovich, who is quartered with Misha's grandparents. He once served on the armored cruiser " Kaiserin Maria ", which was blown up on October 16, 1916 in the Sevastopol roadstead .

The book begins with Mischa watching the marines hiding something in the old dog house. Of course, the boy looks and finds an old marine dagger. A little later, bandits attack the village. They are looking for the marine, because the White Guard Nikitski wants the dagger. A detachment of railroad workers surrounds the village and the bandits flee. Nikitsky cannot take the dagger.

At the end of the summer Misha has to go back to Moscow. His friend Genka accompanies him because he wants to live with his aunt. Also on the train is the marine who has to go back to the front to fight the white troops. If the boys stay longer at a train station, they go to collect mushrooms. As they seek shelter, they overhear a conversation. With the information obtained there, they can warn the soldiers on the train of another attack by Nikitski. In gratitude, Sergei Ivanovich hands them the dagger and tells them its story.

When he served on the warship , Nikitsky was a second lieutenant on board. Shortly before the ship exploded, he had seen Nikitsky murdering officer Vladimir. Even then, Nikitsky tried to get the dagger. During the fight between the two of them, the bandit was only able to get hold of the scabbard, while the dagger remained with Sergei Ivanovich. He wants the boys to protect the dagger. He also warns her about a friend of Nikitski's, a man named Filin, who is said to come from the village of his grandparents.

In Moscow, the boys and their friend Slawa take care of the school, the theater company, joining the Young Pioneers and their dreams of becoming a member of the Komsomol . But the secret of the dagger doesn't leave them alone, especially since the marine showed them the secret writing on the tang of the dagger.

One of Misha's neighbors in Moscow is called Filin. Since this is a slide and speculator , the boys suspect him to be the mysterious companion. Together with their school friend Slawa, they find out that Filin is doing business with an old stamp seller. And by listening to Filin's son Borka, they quickly find out that Filin is actually from Rjewsk.

While secretly observing the stamp dealer, one day they discover that he has the dagger sheath. This can also be opened and reveals a secret code. By outsmarting Borka with the help of her new friend Korowin, they can steal the vagina. You quickly find out who the designer of the dagger and scabbard was, a regimental weapon master named Terentjew, and that his descendant was the officer Vladimir who was killed on the "Empress Maria".

Unfortunately they don't get any further. Only when they take their director into their confidence can the inscription be translated. It shows the way to documents, which is hidden in another construction of the armorer Terentjew, a special watch.

They find out that Terentiev's mother still lives in Moscow. When they watch their friends Ellen and Igor's house from the attic , they discover Nikitsky, who has billeted there under the name Nikolski. It turns out that he was Terentyev's brother-in-law. He can be arrested by the police. In the clock there is a pile of documents containing the location of sunken ships that transported gold and precious stones . These are to be handed over to the ship lifting department of the Soviet government.

The actions of the heroes are shaped by their commitment to the young Soviet power . Nevertheless, the novel is not bold propaganda, but always remains an exciting adventure.

Important persons

  • Mikhail Polyakov, called Misha - a Moscow boy
  • Gennady Petrov, called Genka - his best friend
  • Slava Eldarow - a classmate of the two
  • Korowin - an orphan boy who later goes to the reception camp
  • Nikolai Sevostyanov, called Kolja - a Komsomol functionary who supports the boys
  • Ellen and Igor Busch - acrobats
  • Boris Filin, called Borka the miser - the son of Filin the slayer
  • Sergei Ivanovich - the marine
  • Valery Nikitsky - a bandit and white guard
  • Filin - a shifter, chum to the bandit Nikitsky
  • Vladimir Terentyev - a murdered naval engineer
  • Polikarp Terentjew - armorer, designer and ship lift planner
  • Alexei Ivanich - the headmaster
  • Maria Gavrilovna - the mother of the marine engineer