Iurii Bondarev is a prominent war writer whose novels and stories about World War II made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet Russian literature from the 1960s to the 1980s. Although he has always written within the boundaries of official government dictates, he nevertheless tries to look objectively at the morality of his generation. His works generally portray the hazards of war and the complex relationships that develop among people during perilous times.

Iurii Vasil'evich Bondarev was born in Orsk, in the Orenburg region, on 15 March 1924. His father, Vasilii Vasil'evich Bondarev (1896-1988), worked as an investigator. His mother, Klavdiia Iosifovna Bondareva (1900-1978), introduced him to Russian classical literature. In 1931 Bondarev's family moved to Moscow. There, Bondarev graduated from School No. 516 in 1941, where he first started writing fiction. In 1942-1945, after graduating from Berdichev Infantry College, Bondarev served as an artillery officer. He participated in important battles...