V.V. Efremov's military memoirs: retrospective view

The article deals with the first published military memoirs of Major V.V. Efremov. The author studies specific features of memoirs and research approaches in consideration of this syncretic genre that combines two narrative techniques (documental and artistic). The author places particular emphasis on the narrative structure of military memoirs, their subjective and personal interpretation of the event line. The author dwells upon peculiarities of aesthetic impact on the reader and the reader’s emotional reconsideration, shows constitutive features of memoir genre on the basis of V.V. Efremov’s military memoirs, and emphasizes memoirs ambivalent structure that must prevent the researcher from sticking to the only approach - the source study - when dealing with this phenomenon.