Skepticism
The official story of the group, including Fadeyev's book, has been questioned almost from the day that Krasnodon was liberated. Several researchers (both officially-sanctioned and independent) revealed ambiguities and anomalies in the versions of the story promoted by Fadeyev, the groups survivors, and the Communist Party. Some survivors and witnesses declared they were pressed to follow the official version of events until the end of Soviet era.
Several alternative versions emerged in late 1990s, the most exotic among them being the story of a Young Guard as Ukrainian nationalist (not Komsomol) organization.
The full true story of the Young Guard remains a mystery. For example, as of 2004 it is not known for certain who betrayed the Young Guard. The leadership of the organization, as mentioned above, has also been called into question.
A stamp was issued in 1944 honoring the leadership of the Young Guard, and featuring Ulyana Gromova, Ivan Zemnukhov, Oleg Koshevoy, Sergei Tyulenin, and Lyubov Shevtsova, all of whom were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. The Pravda article referenced below, written in 2003, names the leadership as Koshevoy, Shevtsov, Ostapenko, Ogurtsov, and Subbotin. Only two of these names (Koshevoy and Shevstov, presumably Shevstova) correspond with the people named on the stamp.
Read more about this topic: Young Guard (Soviet Resistance)
Famous quotes containing the word skepticism:
“A major problem for Black women, and all people of color, when we are challenged to oppose anti-Semitism, is our profound skepticism that white people can actually be oppressed.”
—Barbara Smith (b. 1946)
“No actual skeptic, so far as I know, has claimed to disbelieve in an objective world. Skepticism is not a denial of belief, but rather a denial of rational grounds for belief.”
—William Pepperell Montague (1842–1910)