Иваново детство
When Bogomolov was still in school the Soviet Union was drawn into World War II. He joined the Army after completing only seven grades. He started the war as a private; when the war was over, he had a company under his command. He was wounded and was awarded several medals during his active duty. He continued his military service until 1950 in the army intelligence in East Germany. In 1950 — 1951, he spent 13 months in jail without being formally charged. He retired in 1952. One of his early short stories, "Ivan" (Иван, 1957), was adapted to screen as "Ivan's Childhood" (Иваново детство, 1962) by Andrei Tarkovsky.