Аутентичность дневников генерала А. И. Еременко и их связь с его мемуарами

Уральский исторический вестник. 2024. № 3(84). С. 134–141.

Latyshev A.

The article analyzes the frontline diaries of the Soviet general during the Second World War A. I. Yeryomenko. It aims at providing a critical review of this text as a historical source. A comparison is made of the complete 2013 edition of the diary with the partial 1994 edition, and a conclusion is drawn about a serious difference between these texts, which is only partially explained by the publishers’ different approaches. The features of a non-diariness in the form and style of the 2013 text are shown: the presence of several versions of the same entry, direct appeals to the reader, the use of the past tense, errors in dates, obvious anachronism in mentioning the battle of Kursk. The evidence is summarized that the text of the entire diary or part of it is based on authentic frontline records. The connections between Yeryomenko’s diaries and memoirs are analyzed. Using the example of I. V. Stalin’s visit to the front, it is shown that the diary is only one of seven editions of the story created by Yeryomenko in different years, which is neither the most accurate nor the most complete of them. Based on the diary’s assessments of other people, it is concluded that its text was created over a fairly long period of time, from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. Possible purposes of the author’s creation of the diary text in the context of the Thaw era are given.

Keywords: Вторая мировая война, World War II, memoirs, дневники, diary, Khrushchev's thaw, Хрущевская Оттепель, военные мемуары, A.I. Yeryomenko, А.И, Еременко