B. Vyatkin and the dog Kroshka. September 1942.

In August 1942, Boris Vyatkin and his dog, Kroshka, were assigned to a frontline circus brigade. While at the front, Vyatkin kept a diary. It reveals that during their time at the front, their brigade gave over 1,500 concerts. They performed for pilots, tank crews, and scouts, on the front lines, in hospitals, on trucks converted into stages, in clearings, and in woods. They were repeatedly caught in shelling and bombing, giving three or four concerts in all weathers. After the war, they continued performing for military units, returning to Moscow only in August 1945.