The pistol
In 1949, for the first time after the end of the war, my uncle Peter Ilyich M., a fighter of the Second World War, came to Popovku with his family from Leningrad – for him the war began in 1939 in Finland and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. I don't remember anything about it myself - it was still too small, however, one episode has been preserved in the collective memory of the family.
One day, Peter Ilyich together with his wife Anna Borisovna went on business to Boguchar. We went on foot because there was no bus service. The road is not close, five kilometers on the highway, paved with a rock. In Boguchar, the couple was delayed, returning home was dark.
On the deserted section of the highway, almost in total darkness, two figures with clearly unfriendly intentions appeared to meet them. In short – ordinary robbers, who after the war could be met in any corner of the country.
Peter Ilyich was in officer uniform, next to his wife, the meeting with the bandits promised nothing good.
Seeing that the danger was not to pass by, Anna Borisovna asked Peter Ilyich loudly:
– Petya, do you have a gun with you?
– Of course – he answered.
Unknown people, hearing this short dialogue, walked away from the road without touching a couple. They knew that after the war, officers were allowed to carry personal weapons for some time, and the bandits did not want to check their presence on them.
Peter Ilyich, by the way, did not have a gun, but the ingenuity of Anna Borisovna worked.