Larry Johnson – The Russian Soul at War

by Scott Ritter [10-22-2025] Scott Ritter(bio).

There are numerous books derived from the personal stories told by men who have experienced the horrors of war. They have mainly been authored by Americans. This book is written by a Russian. Read it.

I have read numerous books that are derived from the personal stories told by men who have experienced the horrors of war up close and personal as only direct participants in conflict can relate.

Several of these books have followed me throughout my entire life, as the emotions of what I read were seared into my soul, the powerful mental and emotional impact the stories of the experiences of these men made subconsciously guiding me through my life.

Works like Michael Herr’s Dispatches.

James Webb’s Fields of Fire.

Nick Brokhausen’s Whispers in the Tall Grass.

I can now add a new volume to this list: Anton Karpov’s haunting I Remember That Day.

I Remember That Day is a collection of first-hand accounts from the men of the Akhmat Special Forces, a legendary Russian military formation which has been fighting as part of the Special Military Operation against Ukraine since the very beginning of the conflict.

More than a history of the war told by the men of a particular organization, Anton Karpov’s book provides the reader with a tour of the Russian soul which, despite being told under the most difficult of circumstances, leaves the reader with a deeper appreciation of the human qualities of Russia’s fighting men today.

In this regard, I Remember That Day does double duty, since it this very humanization of Russia and Russians which is most needed at a time when non-Russian audiences are being inundated with Russophobic tropes designed to denigrate the humanity of the Russian people.

I Remember That Day compels the reader to accept the men who’s stories they are experiencing as fellow human beings, something Anton Karpov’s brisk writing style makes possible. It is a difficult read, not because the stories don’t translate well into English, but just the opposite—they translate too well, and soon the reader is drawn in by the addictive narcotic of violence, troubled by what they have just read, but furtively turning the page because the stories Anton Karpov captures are like watching a train wreck—you want to turn away, but the horror of the moment makes you stare and take in the horror of the moment.

The saving grace of the book is Anton Karpov himself. More than just another war correspondent, Anton is a man whose very life is steeped in the traditions of Russian literature—he is the CEO of the Restaurant of the Central House of Writers, located in central Moscow. The Central House of Writers was built in the 1930’s on the orders of Joseph Stalin, and for decades served as the intellectual home for generations of Russian writers. One step into this magical structure, and you are transported to a time when Russian writers spent their days and nights in pursuit of the Russian Soul.

The spirit of these writers lives in the Central House of Writers and has imbued Anton Karpov’s life’s work.

And it is Anton’s ability to understand, to discern, and ultimately capture this spirit in writing which separates I Remember That Day from other books about the Special Military Operation.

War tears the very essence of humanity from those who experience it.

Only the strongest can emerge from war’s horrific crucible with their souls intact.

The men whose stories have been captured by Anton Karpov are living examples of such people.

Their souls may be bruised and battered by what they have seen and experienced.

But they live on.

And thanks to Anton Karpov, they will live on forever in the pages of this remarkable book.