Purgatory (Soldiers' bath for the last time before a hopeless battle.)
BY
Ivan Tikhonov
2024, oil on canvas, 110 × 130 cm

When thinking about war, we rarely consider everyday issues. Everyone follows the advancement of troops and the movement of the front line, counting losses. But beyond battles, there are natural human needs. A soldier is a living person, not just a statistic in reports. A soldier needs to eat, drink, and sleep. War is a dirty business in both the literal and metaphorical senses. Washing the grime off one's body is important, but can one wash away their conscience? In any war, on either side of the front, it happens that a soldier goes to a field bathhouse knowing it may be their last time. Not because they'll be going home tomorrow, but because in a few hours they'll head to the front, to a battle from which there's practically no chance of returning. And so the soldier, naked and unprotected, goes to wash away the dirt, only to die a few hours later lying in a pool of blood. Here, there are no military uniforms, no insignia, and no medals. Here is purgatory.

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