The Tkachyov brothers completed ‘On the Partisan Side’ in 1975. It is thought that the artists picked out its subject from the recollections of former partisans and members of underground organizations in Bryansk. This is one of the later versions of the painting.

The artists first depicted a partisan against a background of autumnal trees in the middle of the 1960’s. This early version of the painting is called “In a difficult Year of the War”. The painting depicts a woman milking a cow, with a gun thrown over her shoulder. Next to her, wounded soldiers lie on a cart. The artists decided to recreate the strained atmosphere of the partisans’ everyday life in the painting. In every following version of the painting, they tried to amplify the imagery, and therefore they brought new details to life on the canvas.

The second version was completed in 1967. It was entitled ‘The Difficult Years’. In this painting, the artists place the partisan far closer to the viewer, and the cart of wounded soldiers is moved to the middle ground.

The woman still has a weapon on her shoulder, but now the barrel is pointed down. This version highlights the main subject - her jacket is illuminated against the dark backdrop of the cow. Furthermore, in this version, the artists devoted more attention to the landscape.

The third version of the painting was completed in 1975. The artists named it “On the Partisan Side” They worked on it for the 30th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. In this version, the Tkachyov brothers have included another subject - a young boy, wrapped up in a soldier’s greatcoat. He is sitting to the left of the birch tree. The 1975 version no longer has the same fragmentation in its composition. The artists have amplified the partisan’s figure even more: her dress is brighter and her jacket and weapon lie on the ground. The woman is turning around towards the viewer, and so it now possible to see her face.