Incident on Lake Geneva by Stefan Zweig. Short summary

5 seconds

A fisherman discovers a Russian soldier on Lake Geneva trying to get to Russia. After learning that he cannot return to his homeland, the soldier commits suicide.

1 minute

On Lake Geneva, a fisherman saw a naked man on a boat. He rescued him and covered the man’s nakedness with nets. The naked man was speaking in an unfamiliar language.

A crowd gathered on the lake shore. The innkeeper knew many languages. From the conversation of the rescued man he understood that he was a Russian soldier, Boris.

Boris was a serf and had fought in France. The man was wounded, escaped from the infirmary, and wanted to return to Russia, to his family.

The hotel owner tries to explain that Boris cannot get into Russia — there is a war going on and the borders are closed. But the Russian cannot understand why he cannot go back to Russia.

With difficulty, the hotel owner manages to explain to Boris that he will be able to go home only when the war is over.

Realizing that he will not be able to return home, the Russian languishes all day. In the morning his body is found in a lake — the man has drowned himself with grief.