'Fighter' is a novel about Soviet pilots, 'Stalin's falcons'. They crossed the North Pole, tormented the air paths to America. Their life is a metaphor for overcoming in the name of a higher goal, the trust of the people and the leader. Dmitry Bykov tried to look beyond ideology, to understand what kind of power ruled Soviet history. The word 'exterminator' in the novel is ambiguous. In the thirties in the USSR, each representative of the 'new nation' could simultaneously be both a fighter and an exterminated one, depending on the circumstances. Many plot twists of the novel, telling about exploits in the sky and undercover battles in the authorities, well illustrate this chapter of our history. 'This novel is my last appeal to Soviet history.