Red Army Sniper, Yevgeni Nikolaev
Red Army Sniper, Yevgeni Nikolaev
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Red Army Sniper
A Memoir of the Eastern Front in World War II

Author: Yevgeni Nikolaev, Albrecht Wacker

Narrator: John Pruden

Unabridged: 6 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/29/2018


Synopsis

Yevgeni Nikolaev was one of Russia's leading snipers in World War II, and his memoir provides an unparalleled account of front-line action in crucial theaters of war. Nikolaev is credited with a remarkable 324 kills, and his wartime service included time in the siege of Leningrad in 1941/1942.

His memoir is not a neutral, apolitical account—far from it. Nikolaev asserts, for example, that Finland attacked Russia. As a member of the NKVD, it is not surprising that his memoir is full of historical misinterpretation and justification of the agency's actions.

In vivid, arresting recollections he paints his actions in a saintly, heroic light. He describes the comfort of the German foxholes, wired with telephone connections, relative to the Russians who fasted without food or water, awaiting the moment for a perfect shot. He claims the Russian soldier was a moral warrior, killing only with head or heart shots.

In addition to describing details of his kills, Nikolaev explains how his life was saved when an explosive rifle bullet struck a watch that he kept in his jacket pocket. His life was saved by a surgeon who extracted all the watch parts.

About Yevgeni Nikolaev

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Reviews

I’m a fan of war memoirs, and decided (after recently studying Russia professionally) to give a Russian memoir a try. Lady Death had a long hold, but this book was available. History is told by the victors, and this book is no different in that regard, but the descriptions of war and the interaction......more

Goodreads review by Augusto

Remember that scene in Inglorious Basterds when they are playing this Nazi movie in the cinema and the lead character is killing endless fleeing soldiers. And the Nazis are all applauding the movie for every kill or catch phrase that the character says. This book to me unfortunately seems like that......more

Goodreads review by Mike

Putting aside temporarily the strong political message of this memoir, it's a fascinating read into life on the front line for a Russian sniper in WWII. Employing a ground level view of the action with occasional epistolary moments, it provides a humanistic touch to a stereotype that, for Western re......more