Art of War I.

This is coolbert:

See this web site. Very good stuff. Endless source of material not obtainable anywhere else?

Cathartic writings of Russian participants from the Afghan and Chechen wars. Non-fiction, poetry, history, prose. Translated in some measure from the Russian to English. An Internet site promoted and sponsored by the Soviet era defector, Suvorov?

"ca·thar·sis [cathartic]
1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music . . .
3. Psychiatry. a. psychotherapy that encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially unacceptable affects.
b. discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition."

"Annotation: The Art of War project is dedicated to the soldiers of the recent wars. To the survivors and perished."

There is a long history of Russian military men who have become writers of significance. Tolstoy [Crimean War] for one. Lesser known is Novikov [Russo-Japanese War, 1905]. From Suvorov:

"Lev Tolstoy, then a very young officer, wrote Sevastopol Stories, in which in contrast to the government's propaganda, he described the war as he saw it himself . . . Tolstoy was not an exception. Look at the newspapers from the time and you will be surprised to see how Russian officers, even generals, wrote in almost every issue [differing medias?] criticising their own government for lethargy and clumsiness and for their inability to rule the country or direct the army. Lev Tolstoy stood out from all the critics of the regime only because he was more talented than the rest . . . Novikov [an uneducated sailor], gathered a mass of material about the blunders of the Russian Naval Staff and of the Admirals who had taken part in the war [Russo-Japanese War, 1905] and . . . began to publish it"

The Russian tradition continues. Bully for them!!

coolbert.