Silence Was Salvation: Child Survivors of Stalin’s Terror and World War II in the Soviet Union (Annals of Communism Series)

Roughly ten million children were victims of political repression in the Soviet Union during the Stalinist era. As the sons and daughters of Soviet citizens considered by the regime to be dangerous to the political order, these children lost parents, siblings, homes, educational and work opportunities, and, in many cases, their physical health. From 2005 to 2007, Cathy A. Frierson conducted in-depth interviews with grown victims who survived the Terror of the 1930s–1950s, and the suffering and stigmatization that was forced upon them during World War II. In these powerful and moving life histories, the now aged offspring of peasants, workers, scientists, physicians, and political leaders recall the childhood traumas brought about by the arrest of their parents. They speak openly about coping with starvation, disease, forced labor, and anti-Semitism, and about living in exile in remote Soviet villages as children of “enemies of the people.” Finally, they discuss how their opinion of the Soviet government was influenced by their experiences and how it has evolved over time. The result is a unique oral history, illustrated with photographs and maps of each child’s multiple displacements, that will profoundly deepen the reader’s understanding of life in the U.S.S.R. under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Roughly Ten Million Children Were Victims Of Political Repression In The Soviet Union During The Stalinist Era, The Sons And Daughters Of Peasants, Workers, Scientists, Physicians, And Political Leaders Considered By The Regime To Be Dangerous To The Political Order. Ten Grown Victims, Who As Children Suffered Banishment, Starvation, Disease, Anti-semitism, And Trauma Resulting From Their Parents{u2019} Condemnation And Arrest, Now Freely Share Their Stories. The Result Is A Powerful And Moving Oral History That Will Profoundly Deepen The Reader{u2019}s Understanding Of Life In The U.s.s.r. Under The Despotic Reign Of Joseph Stalin. --provided By Publisher. Introduction: I Survived. I Speak -- If You Are Interested In This Kind Of Detail, I Have Remembered For All These Years The Smell Of The Perfume She Was Wearing And The Color Of Her Blouse: Aleksandr Yudelevich Zakgeim -- And We Began To Live There In Twenty-six Square Meters; There Were Thirteen Of Us: Inna Aronovna Shikheeva-gaister -- I, You Understand, For My Generation,...we Have The Psychology Of Persons Devoted To Society. We Can't Separate Ourselves From Society: Andrei Ivanovich Vorobyov -- I Would Ride As Far As Karabas Station, But Then, I Don't Recall, I Had To Go About Fifty-sixty Kilometers On Foot: Valentin Tikhonovich Muravsky -- Silence Was Salvation. That's What I Knew: Irina Andreevna Dubrovina -- I Was So Overjoyed That I Had Found You: Vera Mikhailovna Kostina/vera Yulyanovna Skiba -- The Feeling Of Loneliness Has Stalked Me Always: Tamara Nikolaevna Morozova -- I Had A Completely Non-soviet Worldview: Aleksandr Nikolaevich Kozyrev -- I Have Dreamed My Entire Life, For Me This Would Be A Great Joy To Find My Relatives: Maya Rudolfovna Levitina -- Well, Probably, Essentially, They Destroyed My Life, Of Course: Vladimir Valerianovich Timofeev. Cathy A. Frierson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Contents 12 Acknowledgments 14 Author Note 16 INTRODUCTION: I survived. I speak 20 CHAPTER 1. “If you are interested in this kind of detail, I have remembered for all these years the smell of the perfume she was wearing and the color of her blouse” 43 CHAPTER 2. “And we began to live there in twenty-six square meters; there were thirteen of us” 56 CHAPTER 3. “I, you understand, for my generation, . . . we have the psychology of persons devoted to society. We can’t separate ourselves from society” 86 CHAPTER 4. “I would ride as far as Karabas Station, but then, I don’t recall, I had to go about fifty–sixty kilometers on foot” 104 CHAPTER 5. “Silence was salvation. That’s what I knew” 136 CHAPTER 6. “I was so overjoyed that I had found you” 163 CHAPTER 7. “The feeling of loneliness has stalked me always” 176 CHAPTER 8. “I had a completely non-Soviet worldview” 192 CHAPTER 9. “I have dreamed my entire life, for me this would be a great joy to find my relatives” 209 CHAPTER 10. “Well, probably, essentially, they destroyed my life, of course” 255 APPENDIX I: Amendments to Criminal Code (Decree of December 1, 1934) 270 APPENDIX II: Excerpt from NKVD Operational Order 00447 271 APPENDIX III: Operational Order No. 00486 272 Chronology 276 Selected Glossary of Names, Places, and Institutions 282 Index 284 A 284 B 284 C 284 D 284 E 284 F 284 G 284 H 284 I 284 J 284 K 284 L 285 M 285 N 285 O 285 P 285 R 285 S 285 T 285 U 286 V 286 W 286 Y 286 Z 286