N. Kolbasov’s action-packed story “Penal Men” reveals the difficult and high destinies of people who, due to the prevailing circumstances, found themselves in a penal company, but did not break and showed true heroism in the name of the Motherland. I. Tolstoy’s story “People in cuirass." Written in 1961–1964, it was not published at that time: the publication of books related to the cult of Stalin’s personality ceased for well-known reasons. For a wide range of readers.