A non-conventional approach is offered: this model Social Realism work can be seen as a heroic ballad of some war with existential topics that are related to the literature of the "Lost Generation". Lev Tolstoy's psychologism techniques widely used by Fadeyev are studied. Levinson's character is identified as contradictory; the clash between the Red and the White is seen as paradoxical. The ending's variability is pointed out. The initial version of the novel had a more open, problematic ending. Cultural context: Lev Tolstoy, Mikhail Bulgakov, Nikolai Gumilyov, Nikolai Tikhonov.