Fyodor Kryukov

“ Every day brings from the war territory some hint, some tiny bit of news, which speaks of the difficult life in the vast camp, hidden from the eyes of those who follow the great drama through the newspapers. ”

“ And when you hear their slow conversation and their timid discussion of what is going on "there", under the tempest of shot and fire, you feel that these simple, ignorant, wearied people, while not knowing what we learn from newspapers, know something which is infinitely more certain and true, something we cannot find in any book or article on the war. ”

“ At times a hard word, overflowing with wrath, a word full of desperation, would escape from some lips. But there is usually in it more unconscious grief, hopelessness, and despair, than appeal and readiness to protest. The protesting word would soon disappear in the general feeling of grief and dullness. Even the news of general, and not personal, sorrow was received weakly and silently, in that dull half-consciousness which a man no doubt experiences when suddenly struck on the head. In such a state, a man cannot tell whether what he feels is reality, or a nightmare ”

“ And, willingly or unwillingly, I am compelled to bear the burden of unearned fame, to hear sighs, complaints, and groans, to give advice and write petitions. It is not easy to close one's door to people who have no other place to go to in their need. ”

“ There is a considerable element of the fantastic in this news, but, generally speaking, it gives a fairly true idea of what is going on at the different points of the great drama whose aggregate forms the War.
... Sometimes I join a rather large circle of listeners. It is impossible to get close to the speaker, as the crowd is too dense around him. At times it is difficult to hear distinctly. ”