Sergei Rozhentsev

Tenth-grader Nikolai Olkhovnikov from the provincial town of Olkhovka wrote a heartfelt protest to the newspaper, accusing the "town fathers" of unjust actions. The boy became an outcast in town, but no matter how much his few friends and old teacher tried to warn him, he did not retract his words. And some time later, a letter arrived in the same newspaper with a report of Nikolai's death during a fight with rowdy boys who decided to teach the young truth-seeker a lesson.

Hussein Erkenov's courageous and stinging indictment of communism. Five young Red Army recruits struggle for survival against the merciless violence that surrounds them on a daily basis. Their only means of saving their dignity is by preserving the humanity and compassion they share for each other.