‘ I felt with my whole heart, unlike ever before, what true comradeship, a good song or painting truly is. I therefore wanted to paint my service friend, Mikhail Ivanovich Atamanov. Mikhail Ivanovich originally heralds from the Ryazan village of Shanchurovo. He was a talented accordionist, songwriter and incredibly funny. The man was always in good spirits, well-cut and gifted. He came to our division from the Rubtsovsk military school and served in the cadre. He was older than most of us, and an officer by rank, but this gap didn’t damage our friendship. Our company chant leader greatly brightened our lives. Often when seeing me in a gloomy mood, he would unexpectedly say, ‘Stay close to me, Seryozha, you’ll be fine, I’m lucky.’ His sincere words gave me strength. Most importantly, they meant I never felt alone. We developed our frontline brotherhood over a year. He often helped me out of different situations where my youth and lack of experience had let me down. He was an Ataman in the truest sense of the word. His surname was appropriate ‘