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Stalin's Children: Three Generations of Love, War and Survival
On a mid-summer day in 1937, a car pulled up to the house of the Bibikov family in Chernigov in the heart of the Ukraine. Boris, the father, kissed his two daughters and wife goodbye and disappeared inside the car. His family never saw him again. His wife would later vanish, leaving the young Lyudmila and Lenina alone to drift across the vast Russian landscape as the Wehrmacht advanced in WWII. In the early 1960s Owen Matthews' father, Mervyn, moved to Moscow to work for the British embassy after a childhood in Wales dreaming of Russia. He fell in with the KGB, and in love with Lyudmila, and before he could disentangle himself from the former he was ordered to leave the country. For the next six years, Mervyn tried desperately to get Lyudmila out of Russia, and when he finally succeeded they married. Decades on from these events, their son, now Newsweek's bureau chief in Moscow, pieces together the tangled threads of his family's past and present-the extraordinary files that record the life and death of his grandfather at the hands of Stalin's secret police; his mother's and aunt's perilous journey to adulthood; his parents' Cold War love affair and the magnet that has drawn him back to the Russia-to present an indelible portrait of the country over the past seven decades and an unforgettable memoir about how we struggle to define ourselves in opposition to our ancestry only to find ourselves aligning with it.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
45 people are currently reading
925 people want to read
About the author
Owen Matthews
15 books156 followersOwen Matthews is a British writer, historian and journalist. His first book, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Books Award, the Orwell Prize for political writing, and France's Prix Medicis Etranger. His books have been translated into 28 languages. He is a former Moscow and Istanbul Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine. Matthews has lectured on Russian history and politics at Columbia University's Harriman Centre, St Antony's College Oxford, and the Journalism Faculty of Moscow State University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
August 1, 2018
What an interesting and compelling read this is , an account of a love and loss in 20th century Soviet Union seen through the eyes of the authors parents and Grandparents.
Drawing on KGB files and his parent's correspondence through years of separation, Matthews pieces together his grandfather Boris Bibikow's arrest and disappearance at the hands of Stalin's secret police and the details of his wife (the authors grandmother) time in the Gulag, her crime being being an " enemy of the People" leaving two children to be raised by the state.
This is a well written and researched book and I just loved the family story here, its a story of love and heartbreak and a grandson's quest to find the truth about his family history from the Stalin era through to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I love family history stories and this was interesting and informative and the book contains numerous photos of the authors family throughout the years.
I came accosts a hard copy of this book in while browsing in a used bookstore and am happy to add this one to my book shelf.
Drawing on KGB files and his parent's correspondence through years of separation, Matthews pieces together his grandfather Boris Bibikow's arrest and disappearance at the hands of Stalin's secret police and the details of his wife (the authors grandmother) time in the Gulag, her crime being being an " enemy of the People" leaving two children to be raised by the state.
This is a well written and researched book and I just loved the family story here, its a story of love and heartbreak and a grandson's quest to find the truth about his family history from the Stalin era through to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I love family history stories and this was interesting and informative and the book contains numerous photos of the authors family throughout the years.
I came accosts a hard copy of this book in while browsing in a used bookstore and am happy to add this one to my book shelf.
June 8, 2010
This was a very interesting book about three generations of the author's family and life in the former Soviet Union under Stalin, through the Cold War and Perestroyka. This is a book about how some people were destroyed and yet others entered the dark tunnel and came out the other side still being able to smile. People are so different in how they react to what life throws at them. This book made me stop and think about how you look at people in your family and summarize their traits - for example, she was kind, he never liked children, he always joked. .... It makes you stop and think both about yourself and others. The place and time period covered was fascinating, and the author brought it to life by intimately explaing how it affected his own family. His parents had to fight for six years to finally be able to get married. His mother then had to leave all her friends, family and homeland with the belief that she could never return. This struggle ultimately consumed their love! The book lacked a map, but it did provide interesting photos.
October 21, 2009
I really wanted to like this book. The family's story was compelling. However, the author's style was difficult to handle. Memoirs/histories are best told in straight chronological order. It takes a special kind of author and tale to be able to handle a story that moves back and forth between time periods. This book would have been better served had the author told his family's story first and then, in the end, shifted to his experiences in Russia. Every time I really started to get into the story of one of his family members, every time I started to be moved by their struggles, he would shift to his experiences in more contemporary Russia. It made for a choppy story.
June 28, 2020
I was finding this an interesting, if stylistically a bit paint-by-the-numbers, story of a Russian family and the struggles of the author's Welsh father and Russian mother to be together.
But then Matthews started talking about his own time in Eltsin Russia and I read something that angered me so much that I spent the rest of the book (which, by the way, becomes increasingly boring as we go from the story of Matthews' grandfather and mother, to that of his father) waiting for it to be over. Specifically, he mentions a girlfriend he had at the time, a Russian woman named Yana who, after he lost contact with her, was raped and murdered. While reminiscing about this woman and the tumultuous times Russia was experiencing, Matthews muses: "it seemed right, somehow, that Russia swallowed her in the end" and "if she'd been character in my novel I would have killed her off, too". Wow. The nineties were super violent in Russia, and a young woman was murdered, but at least he gets to write about it in his book?
And this is part of a bigger problem I have with the book, and especially the parts where Matthews writes about himself: the tone-deafness of it all. He is very much a foreigner in Russia (and freely admits to it), but that's no excuse in my mind for the way he speaks of some things: even the second war in Chechnya, which he covered as a journalist, is just a catalyst for his own personal epiphanies; and while I understand that this is not a book about politics, or about Chechnya, it still comes off as superficial and leaves a bad taste.
But then Matthews started talking about his own time in Eltsin Russia and I read something that angered me so much that I spent the rest of the book (which, by the way, becomes increasingly boring as we go from the story of Matthews' grandfather and mother, to that of his father) waiting for it to be over. Specifically, he mentions a girlfriend he had at the time, a Russian woman named Yana who, after he lost contact with her, was raped and murdered. While reminiscing about this woman and the tumultuous times Russia was experiencing, Matthews muses: "it seemed right, somehow, that Russia swallowed her in the end" and "if she'd been character in my novel I would have killed her off, too". Wow. The nineties were super violent in Russia, and a young woman was murdered, but at least he gets to write about it in his book?
And this is part of a bigger problem I have with the book, and especially the parts where Matthews writes about himself: the tone-deafness of it all. He is very much a foreigner in Russia (and freely admits to it), but that's no excuse in my mind for the way he speaks of some things: even the second war in Chechnya, which he covered as a journalist, is just a catalyst for his own personal epiphanies; and while I understand that this is not a book about politics, or about Chechnya, it still comes off as superficial and leaves a bad taste.
June 20, 2017
The personal family story of the three generations is intertwined with the historical facts in the Soviet Union under Stalin, and up to modern Russia after the fall of communism. In the foreground is a love story (between Englishman and Russian woman) of the second generation, described in a very detailed way, which the author extremely roughly interrupts with his experience with modern Russia. The problems of today's state are touched briefly, only as an antipode to the communist Soviet Union. The story is enough informative that it is not the easiest book to read, and is, at the same time, enough easy that you can read it almost as a novel about love in the difficult times.
May 13, 2009
Beautifully written book. I found it all interesting, but was drawn most into Mila and Mervyn's courtship during the Cold War era. My memory of that time evolves around an image of Kruschev pounding a shoe on a table, fallout shelter plans, and school air raid drills. Those memories appear rather juvenile compared to the dark and disturbing events that drew Mila and Mervyn together and also kept them apart. It's incredibly romantic and filled with passion, not only between a man and a woman, but between three family generations and an entire country.
September 26, 2015
Η ιστορία της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης από τον Στάλιν έως την Περετσρόικα αλλά και της σημερινής Ρωσίας μέσα από τις αληθινές περιπέτειες μιας οικογένειας. Τρεις γενιές Ρώσων: ο παππούς πέφτει θύμα των μεγάλων εκκαθαρίσεων του Στάλιν, οι κόρες του μεγαλώνουν σε οργανοτροφεία την εποχή του Δευτέρου Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, η μια από τις δυο κάνει το σφάλμα να ερωτευτεί Άγγλο, ο αγώνας του ζευγαριού να παντρευτεί την δύσκολη δεκαετία του ψυχρού πολέμου. Ο εγγονός ζει την πόλεμο της Τσετσενίας ως δημοσιογράφος. Άκρως ενδιαφέρον και ωραία γραφή από τον συγγραφέα ( τον εγγονό!)
December 28, 2024
3+. Amusant en interessant boek over burgers die problemen en avonturen beleven in de sovjetperiode. Zo krijg je een kijkje in die wereld. Modern geschreven. Jammer dat het zo dikdoenerig weer moest. Bv. blijven herhalen dat iemand een postdoc doet en vergezochte verwijzingen naar cliché russische schrijvers: "dat deed me denken aan toen Boelgakov in zijn Meester en Margarita schreef dat blabla"
Leest wel mooi weg verder
Leest wel mooi weg verder
April 5, 2014
Owen Matthews ist der Sohn einer Russin und eines Engländers und erzählt in "Winterkinder" seine eigene Familiengeschichte - und mit ihr auch die wechselvolle Geschichte des größten Landes der Erde. Das Buch ist ein Blick in die russische Seele (nicht umsonst hat der Autor selbst wieder eine Russin geheiratet) und beleuchtet zugleich spannend ein Stück Zeitgeschichte, von dem wir in Westeuropa vielleicht noch gar nicht so viel wissen - fühlt es sich doch für meine Generation so an, als läge der Kalte Krieg schon ewig zurück.
Drei Generationen zuvor lebt Matthews Großvater Boris Bibikow in den 30er Jahren mit seiner Frau Marta und seinen zwei Töchtern in einer Stadt in der heutigen Ukraine. Bibikow ist linientreu - er hat sich von ganz unten an die Parteispitze emporgearbeitet. Eines Tages küsst er Ludmila, genannt Mila, und Lenina, deren Namen zu Ehren des großen Anführers der Kommunisten, gewählt wurde, umarmt seine Frau und nimmt sein Proviantpaket um an das Schwarze Meer in ein Sanatorium zu fahren. Doch er kehrt nie wieder zurück.
Nachdem die Marta in der Verbannung lebt und ihre beiden Töchter getrennt wurden, überlebt Mila die schlimmen Jahre in Waisenhäusern, den Großen Vaterländischen Krieg, die Entbehrungen und die Säuberungen Stalins. Sie hat sich trotz einer körperlichen Beeinträchtigung nach oben gekämpft, studiert und arbeitet später als Wissenschaftlerin am Marxistisch-Leninistischen Institut in Moskau. Mitten in den Wirren des Kalten Krieges verliebt sich Mila dann in Mervyn, einen jungen englischen Wissenschaftler, der aus armen Verhältnissen stammt und zeitweise in Moskau lebt. Doch kurz vor ihrer Hochzeit wird Mervyn des Landes verwiesen und es beginnt wieder eine harte Zeit für Mila - doch ihr Leben hat sie einiges gelehrt und so kämpft sie schließlich sechs Jahre für ihre große Liebe. Dann erst gelingt es ihm, sie nach Großbritannien zu holen…
Zu guter Letzt schlägt der Autor aber auch noch eine Brücke zum modernen Russland und lässt seine eigenen Erfahrungen aus den 80er und 90ern mit diesem Land einfließen.
Ja, was ist das eigentlich für ein Buch? Ein Roman? Eine Autobiographie, in der die eigenen Wurzeln beleuchtet werden? Ein Sachbuch? Es fällt mir schwer, "Winterkinder" einzuordnen, ohne es womöglich gleich in eine Schublade zu stecken, die diesem Buch dann überhaupt nicht gerecht wird. Wahrscheinlich ist es aber auch eine Mischung aus allem. Matthews hat eine sehr unprätentiöse Art, die Liebesgeschichte seiner Eltern zu erzählen - aber er ist nie unemotional dabei. Man merkt nicht nur zwischen den Zeilen, welche Verbindung er zu diesem Land hat, denn er kann es mit einem messerscharfen und intelligenten Blick unter die Lupe nehmen und ist doch voller Verbundenheit für dieses Land. Er nutzt die Quellen die er hat - vor allem die Briefe, die sich seine Eltern während ihrer langen Trennung geschrieben haben - um von den historischen Ereignissen der letzten 70, 80 Jahre zu erzählen und ermöglicht so seinen Lesern einen sehr realistischen Blick auf die anfängliche Euphorie der Kommunisten, den Krieg, der so viele Leben zerstörte, die Säuberungen Stalins, denen auch sein Großvater zum Opfer gefallen ist, die schlimmen Zustände in den Waisenhäusern, die allgegenwärtige Überwachung des NKWD bzw. des KGB und die zahllosen Schikanen, denen Menschen wie Mila und Mervyn ausgesetzt waren. Mir kam es so vor, als nähme mich Owen Matthews an die Hand und führte mich durch die Geschichte dieses riesigen Reiches, diese traurigen Epochen, die noch heute ihre Schatten werfen und mit deren Wissen wir vielleicht so manches besser verstehen können - sogar was aktuelle Tagespolitik angeht.
Dem Autor Owen Matthews ist in meinen Augen etwas wirklich Besonderes geglückt: er hat ein Buch geschrieben, das einerseits historische Fakten darlegt und mit Leben füllt und andererseits eine unglaublich berührende Familiengeschichte erzählt, die sehr persönlich ist und die seine Emotionalität für seine russischen Wurzeln anschaulich beschreibt. Im Grunde ist dieses Buch für jeden, der sich für neuere Geschichte interessiert, bestens zur Lektüre geeignet. Aber auch für Leser, die gerne besondere Familiengeschichten lesen, kann ich diesen Roman nur wärmstens ans Herz legen!
Drei Generationen zuvor lebt Matthews Großvater Boris Bibikow in den 30er Jahren mit seiner Frau Marta und seinen zwei Töchtern in einer Stadt in der heutigen Ukraine. Bibikow ist linientreu - er hat sich von ganz unten an die Parteispitze emporgearbeitet. Eines Tages küsst er Ludmila, genannt Mila, und Lenina, deren Namen zu Ehren des großen Anführers der Kommunisten, gewählt wurde, umarmt seine Frau und nimmt sein Proviantpaket um an das Schwarze Meer in ein Sanatorium zu fahren. Doch er kehrt nie wieder zurück.
Nachdem die Marta in der Verbannung lebt und ihre beiden Töchter getrennt wurden, überlebt Mila die schlimmen Jahre in Waisenhäusern, den Großen Vaterländischen Krieg, die Entbehrungen und die Säuberungen Stalins. Sie hat sich trotz einer körperlichen Beeinträchtigung nach oben gekämpft, studiert und arbeitet später als Wissenschaftlerin am Marxistisch-Leninistischen Institut in Moskau. Mitten in den Wirren des Kalten Krieges verliebt sich Mila dann in Mervyn, einen jungen englischen Wissenschaftler, der aus armen Verhältnissen stammt und zeitweise in Moskau lebt. Doch kurz vor ihrer Hochzeit wird Mervyn des Landes verwiesen und es beginnt wieder eine harte Zeit für Mila - doch ihr Leben hat sie einiges gelehrt und so kämpft sie schließlich sechs Jahre für ihre große Liebe. Dann erst gelingt es ihm, sie nach Großbritannien zu holen…
Zu guter Letzt schlägt der Autor aber auch noch eine Brücke zum modernen Russland und lässt seine eigenen Erfahrungen aus den 80er und 90ern mit diesem Land einfließen.
Ja, was ist das eigentlich für ein Buch? Ein Roman? Eine Autobiographie, in der die eigenen Wurzeln beleuchtet werden? Ein Sachbuch? Es fällt mir schwer, "Winterkinder" einzuordnen, ohne es womöglich gleich in eine Schublade zu stecken, die diesem Buch dann überhaupt nicht gerecht wird. Wahrscheinlich ist es aber auch eine Mischung aus allem. Matthews hat eine sehr unprätentiöse Art, die Liebesgeschichte seiner Eltern zu erzählen - aber er ist nie unemotional dabei. Man merkt nicht nur zwischen den Zeilen, welche Verbindung er zu diesem Land hat, denn er kann es mit einem messerscharfen und intelligenten Blick unter die Lupe nehmen und ist doch voller Verbundenheit für dieses Land. Er nutzt die Quellen die er hat - vor allem die Briefe, die sich seine Eltern während ihrer langen Trennung geschrieben haben - um von den historischen Ereignissen der letzten 70, 80 Jahre zu erzählen und ermöglicht so seinen Lesern einen sehr realistischen Blick auf die anfängliche Euphorie der Kommunisten, den Krieg, der so viele Leben zerstörte, die Säuberungen Stalins, denen auch sein Großvater zum Opfer gefallen ist, die schlimmen Zustände in den Waisenhäusern, die allgegenwärtige Überwachung des NKWD bzw. des KGB und die zahllosen Schikanen, denen Menschen wie Mila und Mervyn ausgesetzt waren. Mir kam es so vor, als nähme mich Owen Matthews an die Hand und führte mich durch die Geschichte dieses riesigen Reiches, diese traurigen Epochen, die noch heute ihre Schatten werfen und mit deren Wissen wir vielleicht so manches besser verstehen können - sogar was aktuelle Tagespolitik angeht.
Dem Autor Owen Matthews ist in meinen Augen etwas wirklich Besonderes geglückt: er hat ein Buch geschrieben, das einerseits historische Fakten darlegt und mit Leben füllt und andererseits eine unglaublich berührende Familiengeschichte erzählt, die sehr persönlich ist und die seine Emotionalität für seine russischen Wurzeln anschaulich beschreibt. Im Grunde ist dieses Buch für jeden, der sich für neuere Geschichte interessiert, bestens zur Lektüre geeignet. Aber auch für Leser, die gerne besondere Familiengeschichten lesen, kann ich diesen Roman nur wärmstens ans Herz legen!
February 19, 2016
Owen's family story is unbelievable. From the Ukraine, Russia, and beyond, three generations of his family have experienced countless hardships as a result of war. I greatly enjoyed this tale every step of the way. If you are interested in Eastern Europe and it's people in a personal level, you will love this book.
June 3, 2025
This could easily be my book of the year for 2025. It stirred up so many emotions and memories, some of which I discuss in my video review.
Matthews' writing is evocative and the editing is tight. He interweaves different generational stories in a really interesting way. His mother's tale is utterly harrowing, and yet we know while reading that she gets out to the west or else we wouldn't have an author telling us this story. Knowing that helps when reading the dark scenes of the orphanage and hunger and war.
It's got me wondering what else I could read about Moscow in the 90s that focuses more on the streets and ordinary lives. Matthews has given us a great summary of how it was for him as a young expat, but I want more! If you know of any books like that, please let me know!
Matthews' writing is evocative and the editing is tight. He interweaves different generational stories in a really interesting way. His mother's tale is utterly harrowing, and yet we know while reading that she gets out to the west or else we wouldn't have an author telling us this story. Knowing that helps when reading the dark scenes of the orphanage and hunger and war.
It's got me wondering what else I could read about Moscow in the 90s that focuses more on the streets and ordinary lives. Matthews has given us a great summary of how it was for him as a young expat, but I want more! If you know of any books like that, please let me know!
February 19, 2023
Absolutely loved this - always a sucker for a soviet memoir. The mix of generational stories and the juxtaposition of Cold War Russia and post soviet collapse was really well done. Great story and great writing.
January 16, 2009
Stalin's Children is the story of one family's unique experiences amid the changing social and political sphere of Russia. Encompassing Russia's history from the 1920s onwards, Matthews acquaints us with three generations of his family who experienced extreme persecution and overwhelming odds, each bearing witness to pre- and post-Stalinist Russia. The memoir begins with the story of Boris Bibikov, a prominent Russian party member in the 1920s. Bibikov and his small family lived in relative comfort and plenty, taking full advantage that his status afforded him, until, like so many others, he was accused of anti-Party sentiments. After his arrest and imprisonment, his wife and two young daughters were left to fend for themselves. Eventually the girls were taken to a state-run orphanage after their mother was also imprisoned. It is here that the girls, Lyudmilla and Lenina, became separated. Lenina eventually moved in with relatives, and Lyudmilla remained a ward of the state until her adulthood, in essence becoming one of Stalin's many children. After many heartrending circumstances, including the orphans' harrowing escape from the Germans invasion of the city in the early days of WWII, near starvation, and serious disease, the sisters were once again reunited by miracle and chance. Although their years of separation and abandonment left indelible marks upon them for all time, they remained optimistic.
The second section of the book tells of the love affair between Lyudmilla and Mervin, the author's parents. Mervyn, a British russophile, begins a scholarly career in Moscow, living his dream of immersing himself in Russia. When Lyudmilla and Mervyn meet, it is clear to both that they should be together. But after Mervyn rejects the courting of KGB officials in their attempts to recruit him into their organization, he becomes persona non grata to the Russian government and is deported. He must leave Lyudmilla behind in Russia with promises that he will return soon to marry her. What follows is the couple's anguished battle to attain Lyudmilla's right to marry a foreigner and leave the country. Peppered throughout this tale is the author's own story of returning to a Russia in the 1990s that has changed in so many ways, yet in some ways remains the same.
This book was very impressive. From the distinct and eloquent nature of the author's ability to express his family's story, to the staunch and ardent persistence of the players involved, I found myself completely captivated by this memoir. Not only were the stories of his family very moving, the author has a very encompassing and instructive way of conveying the politics of Russia from the early 1900s until today. The book was informative and dealt with a vast amount of history, but it was not sluggish or boring. Each era of political change in the country was illustrated not only in terms of what was going on in the government, but also in how these changes affected the people living amongst the tumult of their oppression. In addition, the shifts in the narrative melding the past and present were deftly handled, blending the stories of each of these generations into a panoramic view of life in Soviet Russia. Although at times the author's sentiments appear somewhat dark and maudlin, I would argue that his attitude fits perfectly with the story he tells. Although there are small triumphs and large victories, there is also a sense of grim strife throughout the story. In particular, I found the hardships that Lyudmilla endured as a ward of the state to be very tragic and distressing, but I truly marveled at her optimism and perseverance. She had a quintessentially hardy spirit that I found remarkable. In addition, the struggles that Lyudmilla and Mervin face in their efforts to be married were by turns bitter and poignant. I admired the strength and conviction of these two lovers, fighting with indomitable resoluteness for their relationship. I read with mixed emotions the joys and disappointments of the couple, and felt that the inclusion of pieces of actual love letters between the two was a a brilliant touch that gave Lyudmilla and Mervyn a real sense of humanity. I liked this book for so many reasons. From the soulfulness of the characters, to the conversational style of the history, I found much here to be impressed with. This is not only a story of history and politics, but a story of people. People with hopes and fears and dreams that were expertly captured by the author.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a curiosity about Russia. It is easily the best and most concise history of the times and people that I have ever read. The bonus of reading this for the history is that you will also get the very wonderfully rendered story of the people inside this country, and the sacrifices and joys that shaped their lives. Filled with unforgettable characters and relateable history, this book was a great read. Highly recommended.
The second section of the book tells of the love affair between Lyudmilla and Mervin, the author's parents. Mervyn, a British russophile, begins a scholarly career in Moscow, living his dream of immersing himself in Russia. When Lyudmilla and Mervyn meet, it is clear to both that they should be together. But after Mervyn rejects the courting of KGB officials in their attempts to recruit him into their organization, he becomes persona non grata to the Russian government and is deported. He must leave Lyudmilla behind in Russia with promises that he will return soon to marry her. What follows is the couple's anguished battle to attain Lyudmilla's right to marry a foreigner and leave the country. Peppered throughout this tale is the author's own story of returning to a Russia in the 1990s that has changed in so many ways, yet in some ways remains the same.
This book was very impressive. From the distinct and eloquent nature of the author's ability to express his family's story, to the staunch and ardent persistence of the players involved, I found myself completely captivated by this memoir. Not only were the stories of his family very moving, the author has a very encompassing and instructive way of conveying the politics of Russia from the early 1900s until today. The book was informative and dealt with a vast amount of history, but it was not sluggish or boring. Each era of political change in the country was illustrated not only in terms of what was going on in the government, but also in how these changes affected the people living amongst the tumult of their oppression. In addition, the shifts in the narrative melding the past and present were deftly handled, blending the stories of each of these generations into a panoramic view of life in Soviet Russia. Although at times the author's sentiments appear somewhat dark and maudlin, I would argue that his attitude fits perfectly with the story he tells. Although there are small triumphs and large victories, there is also a sense of grim strife throughout the story. In particular, I found the hardships that Lyudmilla endured as a ward of the state to be very tragic and distressing, but I truly marveled at her optimism and perseverance. She had a quintessentially hardy spirit that I found remarkable. In addition, the struggles that Lyudmilla and Mervin face in their efforts to be married were by turns bitter and poignant. I admired the strength and conviction of these two lovers, fighting with indomitable resoluteness for their relationship. I read with mixed emotions the joys and disappointments of the couple, and felt that the inclusion of pieces of actual love letters between the two was a a brilliant touch that gave Lyudmilla and Mervyn a real sense of humanity. I liked this book for so many reasons. From the soulfulness of the characters, to the conversational style of the history, I found much here to be impressed with. This is not only a story of history and politics, but a story of people. People with hopes and fears and dreams that were expertly captured by the author.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a curiosity about Russia. It is easily the best and most concise history of the times and people that I have ever read. The bonus of reading this for the history is that you will also get the very wonderfully rendered story of the people inside this country, and the sacrifices and joys that shaped their lives. Filled with unforgettable characters and relateable history, this book was a great read. Highly recommended.
September 4, 2019
Τρομερή Ιστορία Η οποία έχει να κάνει με την ΕΣΣΔ.Η Ιστορία των γονιών του συγγραφέα. Πόνος αγώνες και πολύ μιζέρια σε έναν κόσμο που δεν ξερεις ποτέ είχε πόλεμο και πότε ειρήνη.
November 28, 2009
A tragic story of the author's own family through the decades of Stalinist and cold-war Russia. Any family's personal struggles and sufferings during the age of Stalinism is poignant and sad, and a survivor's tale always makes for good reading. Matthew's skills as an author, and personal investment in the story, help to make this memoir readable and even edifying. The enduring struggle for the author's parents to reconnect and finally marry is, though romantic, a bit tedious, as well, and a bit sad to discover the typical hero syndrome played out, that the struggle does not equal the reward. The author's father is a complex character, and I feel that I may have missed a part of his character not thoroughly examined, due, perhaps, to the author's inability to ever fully understand the motivations of his own father -- the relationship is just too close, and forever biased.
I feel that Matthews is not finished writing memoir, and he has a need to further explore his own experiences in Chechnya as well as his perspective as a half-foreigner/half-native in an adopted homeland. If he were to do so, I'm sure I'd take a look, as I think this author is skilled, and holds a unique perspective on the concepts of nationality and home.
I feel that Matthews is not finished writing memoir, and he has a need to further explore his own experiences in Chechnya as well as his perspective as a half-foreigner/half-native in an adopted homeland. If he were to do so, I'm sure I'd take a look, as I think this author is skilled, and holds a unique perspective on the concepts of nationality and home.
February 16, 2009
Heather gives such a complete synopsis of the book that I'd almost think she was the author.
Two other people mention 2 generations, actually it's quite clear there are 3,
so I wonder how closely they read the book.
The first part was interesting, the grandfather was a party man,
and has the task of building a tractor factory with almost no tools.
He and his wife were later victims of Stalin's purge.
Stalin's actions in that decade, the starvation of millions of people to show
"who is master", and the purge, are such unbelievable stories,
that I take every chance to read about them.
Every book has something new.
The stories of life after WW2, are not very interesting and the author has the annoying habit of writing 2 paragraphs about one generation and then skipping to tell a story about one of the other generations.
The last 120 pages or so I was only reading about 1 or 2 sentences a page.
Hoping for something interesting, but not finding it.
Two other people mention 2 generations, actually it's quite clear there are 3,
so I wonder how closely they read the book.
The first part was interesting, the grandfather was a party man,
and has the task of building a tractor factory with almost no tools.
He and his wife were later victims of Stalin's purge.
Stalin's actions in that decade, the starvation of millions of people to show
"who is master", and the purge, are such unbelievable stories,
that I take every chance to read about them.
Every book has something new.
The stories of life after WW2, are not very interesting and the author has the annoying habit of writing 2 paragraphs about one generation and then skipping to tell a story about one of the other generations.
The last 120 pages or so I was only reading about 1 or 2 sentences a page.
Hoping for something interesting, but not finding it.
February 19, 2010
Owen Matthews is a wonderful storyteller. Really magnificent prose. He does a good job of painting the various shades of Russia, depending on which decade/social class/ethnicity you happen to belong to. I think this effort deserves praise since Russia in the 1930s was vastly different from Russia in the 1990s, not to mention the years between them. Matthews captures this change, and shows the heart of Russia with insight and intelligence, all while portraying the resilience and instinct for survival that Russians have garnered through their experiences.
His family certainly has impressive stories, but I couldn't shake the feeling of sadness I felt while reading, even when reading of undying faith, fortitude, and determination. This novel seemed to be just as much about loneliness and loss as it was about courage- which is not a bad thing. I just thought the tone was a little heavy. Matthews tells an extraordinary story, and then seems to wonder if it was worth it. I finished the novel glad that I had read it, and equally glad that it was over.
His family certainly has impressive stories, but I couldn't shake the feeling of sadness I felt while reading, even when reading of undying faith, fortitude, and determination. This novel seemed to be just as much about loneliness and loss as it was about courage- which is not a bad thing. I just thought the tone was a little heavy. Matthews tells an extraordinary story, and then seems to wonder if it was worth it. I finished the novel glad that I had read it, and equally glad that it was over.
October 17, 2015
Its a personal recounting, where the author tells his family's both brutal and beautiful story - through it come out the difficult pre-stalin / stalin / fall of the soviet union and the failing of democracy in the 20th century Russia
All these eras, though difficult, violent and disappointing, recount the magical spirit of Russia, and its people, who still dreamt of the unfulfilled promises of Communism - of a better Motherland, which is fair and fruitful to all of its children
All these eras, though difficult, violent and disappointing, recount the magical spirit of Russia, and its people, who still dreamt of the unfulfilled promises of Communism - of a better Motherland, which is fair and fruitful to all of its children
October 7, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. It really gives perspective and insight into the life of Russia. How is was, how it is, and a little bit of why. It is sad and at the same time uplifting to see the stregth of people when harsh circumstances and tragedy surround you. It may be partially my desire to learn more about that part of the world but I found this to be a great book.
November 20, 2009
Very informational, but I liked that he wasn't overly descriptive of the most horrible moments. I know they happened, but that doesn't mean I want to re-live it. He is detailed without making me miserable, which allowed me to learn more than I would have otherwise. Overall, a good look at what happened in Soviet Russia.
June 23, 2015
Really interesting memoir, I felt like it was a good introduction to soviet Russia. Not too much info and not too heavy, but enough to make you want to know more. The story is amazing and writing also very good. I liked his approach to the story, where he is not judgmental but presents the story for what it is.
March 4, 2009
What we learned from "Animal Farm" really was true. "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." Greed eventually destroys any political system.
Owen Matthews is a great writer.
Owen Matthews is a great writer.
July 2, 2012
An authentic, melancholic but inspiring true story and written with rich language
July 16, 2017
I hated the writing style. Matthews' jumping from era to era and back again is tiring. Plus, he tries to squeeze misery out of every little thing. Utterly frustrating.
June 12, 2022
2,5 vzhledem k tomu že jsem si oblíbila tak jednu postavu, mě osudy těch ostatních bohužel vůbec nezajímaly
January 24, 2019
This is an absolutely fabulous book. But who are Stalin's Children? For Owen Matthews, two of them were his mother Lyudmilla, and his aunt Lenina. Why was this paternal-sounding name given to countless children whose parents had been caught up in the very same Stalin's executions, or sent to one of the numerous gulags scattered all over the Soviet Union? Boris Bibikov, Lyudmilla's and Lenina's father, and Matthews' grand-father, a staunch Communist Party man, was a victim in one of Stalin's purges. He either expressed an opinion, or did not disavow the remarks of others that questioned the wisdom of Stalin's collectivization policy. The Seventeenth All-Union Party Congress was held in Moscow in January 1934. There was no open discussion at the Congress, but there was muted talk of replacing Josif Stalin with Sergei Kirov, viewed by some as more moderate. The rank-and-file members like Bibikov, who was a manager at the giant Kharkov Tractor Factory in the Ukraine, traditionally Russia's bread-basket, could see with their own eyes that collectivization was failing. This was due to a variety of factors, trying to grow crops on unsuitable soil, the almost total rejection by the peasants whose family plots were subsumed into the giant collective farms, depriving them of the right to grow even subsistence crops on what had been their own land. Famine was common in many areas of the Soviet Union. Not to express it too bluntly, even Party members realized that to continue Stalin's policies was to commit "collective" suicide.
Stalin had his spies everywhere. Sergei Kirov was shot to death in Leningrad later in December 1934. Stalin bided his time, reviewing his lists of those who had voted against him. Of the 1966 attendees at the Congress, 1108 were dead as soon as Stalin could get rid of them. The "show trials" with enforced confessions began in Moscow. These decimated the ranks of the intelligentsia, the army and the Communist Party itself. Eventually the witch-hunt arrived in the Ukraine. Boris Bibikov was arrested by the NKVD in July 1937. He held out for 19 days before signing his first "confession." His trial took place on October 13th. He was executed on October 14th. Owen Matthews' grand-mother, Marta Bibikova, did not know the whereabouts of her husband. Enquiries at the local State security offices yielded no information, nor did other Party wives in the same apartment building know of Boris Bibikov's whereabouts, indeed, many of their husbands were also missing.
In late December 1937, the dreaded pounding on the door came one night at Marta's sister's house, where Marta was staying with her 12 year old daughter Lenina, and 3 year old Lyudmilla, who was running a fever, ill with measles. The NKVD officers were rough and loud. Marta became hysterical, telling the men that her baby was very ill. They grabbed Marta, hustled her out of the house and into a car, clad only in her night-gown. The children were bundled into another car, crying and terrified. The cars parted company at the corner of the street, Marta's going to an unknown destination, the children taken to Simferopol's Prison for Underage Offenders, the prevailing belief being that all family members of a suspected or convicted "enemy of the state" must be infected with the same virus. The children did not see their mother for 11 years. Simferopol's Prison burned down one night three weeks after the girl's arrival. All the detainees stood in the courtyard, frozen and shivering, a condition not ameliorated by long drives throughout the following day to other orphanages, the little girls ending up at an "allocation center" for parentless children at Dnepropetovsk. Only Lenina's tearful wails and pleadings prevented her from being separated from her younger sister. They ended up at a home that housed 1,600 children at Verkhne-Dneprovsk, run by a kindly man, Yakov Abramovich Michnik. Lenina eventually had word from her aunt that her mother Marta had been sent to a gulag in Kazakhstan called Karlag. Marta enquired about little Lyudmilla and promised her girls she would be home soon. This was not to happen until after the end of WW11, called The Great Patriotic War in Russia. Though Lyudmilla's measles eventually led to tubercolosis of the bones, and a crippled leg, and though, as a Young Pioneer, Lenina dug trenches, the girls still held firmly to the ideals of the Soviet Union, believing what their teachers had told them that the war in Europe "signaled the death throes of the decadent capitalist world." Until Germany massed its army on the Soviet-Polish border.
On June 22d, 1941 Hitler launched his "Operation Barbarossa" blitzkrieg. On September 26th, Kiev fell, the sounds of guns could be heard at Verkhne-Dneprovsk. Lenina, then 16 years old, was dragooned with other Young Pioneers to dig trenches. The teenagers dug by day and walked at night, trying to stay ahead of the advancing Germans. Lenina never returned to the children's home. As the front-line approached Verkhne-Dneprovsk, Director Michnik and the staff loaded the 40 younger children onto the only transportation available, two river barges, that they pushed out onto the Dnieper river. Peasants on the eastern bank took them in, and so began the passing from hand to hand for the next several months. While the Germans stalled in the ruins of Stalingrad, the Russians began rounding up abandoned children. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, most of them battle-scarred like herself, Lyudmilla ended up in the foothills of the Urals, at a camp for several thousand orphans at a place called Solikamsk.
Lenina, meanwhile, moved east, in 1942, ending up in the Stavropol region where she did housework for an Armenian woman who had been evacuated from Moscow. Lenina told her she had family there, and, in the first of several serendipitous coincidences, the woman offered to pay Lenina's train-fare if she would accompany her daughter to take farm produce to sell in Moscow. Once she delivered the Armenian girl to her Moscow family, she walked six miles to her grand-mother's apartment. Neighbors told her of the family's whereabouts, found the telephone number and called Uncle Yakov, who swiftly arrived to pick up Lenina in his Lieutenant General's car. Lenina stayed with Yakov's family for two years, during which time he found her a job as a radio operator at the Khodinskoye airfield where test pilots tried out the new Yak fighters. In what is perhaps the best coincidence of this whole wonderful book, Yakov asked Lenina to undertake a mission on behalf of a fellow-General who was anxious to find his small son who had been displaced by the war. One week later Lenina was on her first-ever airplane on her way to Molotov, near Perm. There, Yakov's friend had arranged for a two-seater Polikarpov plane to take her to the displaced children's home. The home's name was Solikamsk. Imagine Lenina's immense surprise and joy to see a little lame girl hobbling towards her, shouting "Tak tse Moya sestra Lina, That's my sister Lina!"
There is the story of how Lyudmilla got together with handsome Welshman and former junior Oxford Don, Mervyn Matthews, and how the two eventually married to become the parents of Owen Matthews. This was the happiest part of the book, though it required six years of patience on Mervyn's part to get Lyudmilla out of Russia, with her holding on to the glimmer of hope that this would indeed happen. As children, neither she nor Lenina had agency over their own lives. The same may be said about their mother Martha, who was sent to Karlag, in Kazakhstan, a giant network of slave labor camps whose size was twice that of Belgium. Coincidentally, Alexandr Solshenitzyn was also in Karlag, his experiences memorialized in One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich. Martha spent eleven years there, enduring unspeakable horrors and deprivation that left her severely traumatized for the rest of her life. When she finally arrived in Moscow in 1948, she would have been no more than 45 or 46, but she looked like a stooped old woman. She was never able to be a mother again to her two daughters who had also endured awful trials during their separation. There is now a museum in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to commemorate the female inmates in the gulags, banished to the icy, barren wastes because they were the wives, daughters, mothers or sisters of men whom Stalin had designated "enemies of the Soviet Union." The prisoners slaved up to 18 hours a day, and were helpless against the rapes of the guards, bearing children, many of whom died due to the freezing temperatures and insufficient food and medicines. This is a tale of horror, uncertainty and redemption, a testament to two plucky little girls who survived in spite of being called "Stalin's Children, to Mervyn's love for one of them. Even that was no match for the intense love Lenina and Lyudmilla had for each other. Ultimately, this is a tour de force by Owen Matthews, even if it meandered back and forth in its retelling of events in the distant and near past, I was with him every step of the way, enthralled to the very end.
Stalin had his spies everywhere. Sergei Kirov was shot to death in Leningrad later in December 1934. Stalin bided his time, reviewing his lists of those who had voted against him. Of the 1966 attendees at the Congress, 1108 were dead as soon as Stalin could get rid of them. The "show trials" with enforced confessions began in Moscow. These decimated the ranks of the intelligentsia, the army and the Communist Party itself. Eventually the witch-hunt arrived in the Ukraine. Boris Bibikov was arrested by the NKVD in July 1937. He held out for 19 days before signing his first "confession." His trial took place on October 13th. He was executed on October 14th. Owen Matthews' grand-mother, Marta Bibikova, did not know the whereabouts of her husband. Enquiries at the local State security offices yielded no information, nor did other Party wives in the same apartment building know of Boris Bibikov's whereabouts, indeed, many of their husbands were also missing.
In late December 1937, the dreaded pounding on the door came one night at Marta's sister's house, where Marta was staying with her 12 year old daughter Lenina, and 3 year old Lyudmilla, who was running a fever, ill with measles. The NKVD officers were rough and loud. Marta became hysterical, telling the men that her baby was very ill. They grabbed Marta, hustled her out of the house and into a car, clad only in her night-gown. The children were bundled into another car, crying and terrified. The cars parted company at the corner of the street, Marta's going to an unknown destination, the children taken to Simferopol's Prison for Underage Offenders, the prevailing belief being that all family members of a suspected or convicted "enemy of the state" must be infected with the same virus. The children did not see their mother for 11 years. Simferopol's Prison burned down one night three weeks after the girl's arrival. All the detainees stood in the courtyard, frozen and shivering, a condition not ameliorated by long drives throughout the following day to other orphanages, the little girls ending up at an "allocation center" for parentless children at Dnepropetovsk. Only Lenina's tearful wails and pleadings prevented her from being separated from her younger sister. They ended up at a home that housed 1,600 children at Verkhne-Dneprovsk, run by a kindly man, Yakov Abramovich Michnik. Lenina eventually had word from her aunt that her mother Marta had been sent to a gulag in Kazakhstan called Karlag. Marta enquired about little Lyudmilla and promised her girls she would be home soon. This was not to happen until after the end of WW11, called The Great Patriotic War in Russia. Though Lyudmilla's measles eventually led to tubercolosis of the bones, and a crippled leg, and though, as a Young Pioneer, Lenina dug trenches, the girls still held firmly to the ideals of the Soviet Union, believing what their teachers had told them that the war in Europe "signaled the death throes of the decadent capitalist world." Until Germany massed its army on the Soviet-Polish border.
On June 22d, 1941 Hitler launched his "Operation Barbarossa" blitzkrieg. On September 26th, Kiev fell, the sounds of guns could be heard at Verkhne-Dneprovsk. Lenina, then 16 years old, was dragooned with other Young Pioneers to dig trenches. The teenagers dug by day and walked at night, trying to stay ahead of the advancing Germans. Lenina never returned to the children's home. As the front-line approached Verkhne-Dneprovsk, Director Michnik and the staff loaded the 40 younger children onto the only transportation available, two river barges, that they pushed out onto the Dnieper river. Peasants on the eastern bank took them in, and so began the passing from hand to hand for the next several months. While the Germans stalled in the ruins of Stalingrad, the Russians began rounding up abandoned children. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, most of them battle-scarred like herself, Lyudmilla ended up in the foothills of the Urals, at a camp for several thousand orphans at a place called Solikamsk.
Lenina, meanwhile, moved east, in 1942, ending up in the Stavropol region where she did housework for an Armenian woman who had been evacuated from Moscow. Lenina told her she had family there, and, in the first of several serendipitous coincidences, the woman offered to pay Lenina's train-fare if she would accompany her daughter to take farm produce to sell in Moscow. Once she delivered the Armenian girl to her Moscow family, she walked six miles to her grand-mother's apartment. Neighbors told her of the family's whereabouts, found the telephone number and called Uncle Yakov, who swiftly arrived to pick up Lenina in his Lieutenant General's car. Lenina stayed with Yakov's family for two years, during which time he found her a job as a radio operator at the Khodinskoye airfield where test pilots tried out the new Yak fighters. In what is perhaps the best coincidence of this whole wonderful book, Yakov asked Lenina to undertake a mission on behalf of a fellow-General who was anxious to find his small son who had been displaced by the war. One week later Lenina was on her first-ever airplane on her way to Molotov, near Perm. There, Yakov's friend had arranged for a two-seater Polikarpov plane to take her to the displaced children's home. The home's name was Solikamsk. Imagine Lenina's immense surprise and joy to see a little lame girl hobbling towards her, shouting "Tak tse Moya sestra Lina, That's my sister Lina!"
There is the story of how Lyudmilla got together with handsome Welshman and former junior Oxford Don, Mervyn Matthews, and how the two eventually married to become the parents of Owen Matthews. This was the happiest part of the book, though it required six years of patience on Mervyn's part to get Lyudmilla out of Russia, with her holding on to the glimmer of hope that this would indeed happen. As children, neither she nor Lenina had agency over their own lives. The same may be said about their mother Martha, who was sent to Karlag, in Kazakhstan, a giant network of slave labor camps whose size was twice that of Belgium. Coincidentally, Alexandr Solshenitzyn was also in Karlag, his experiences memorialized in One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich. Martha spent eleven years there, enduring unspeakable horrors and deprivation that left her severely traumatized for the rest of her life. When she finally arrived in Moscow in 1948, she would have been no more than 45 or 46, but she looked like a stooped old woman. She was never able to be a mother again to her two daughters who had also endured awful trials during their separation. There is now a museum in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to commemorate the female inmates in the gulags, banished to the icy, barren wastes because they were the wives, daughters, mothers or sisters of men whom Stalin had designated "enemies of the Soviet Union." The prisoners slaved up to 18 hours a day, and were helpless against the rapes of the guards, bearing children, many of whom died due to the freezing temperatures and insufficient food and medicines. This is a tale of horror, uncertainty and redemption, a testament to two plucky little girls who survived in spite of being called "Stalin's Children, to Mervyn's love for one of them. Even that was no match for the intense love Lenina and Lyudmilla had for each other. Ultimately, this is a tour de force by Owen Matthews, even if it meandered back and forth in its retelling of events in the distant and near past, I was with him every step of the way, enthralled to the very end.
July 25, 2019
I picked up this book at a library book sale. I chose it because I saw the surname of the author, Matthews, and mistaking his for the author of the spy thrillers “ Red Sparrow” and the excellent sequels, snapped it up. What a good mistake!
“Stalin’s Children” is a family history, a family drama really, than spans the years just after the Bolshevik revolution that made Russia into the USSR, until the fall of Communism that gave us the current Russia. In the midst of this dangerous world we read of the author’s mother her family. Her father was a Soviet Party apparatchik on the way up the Party ladder, until a incautious word critiquing Stalin led him being grabbed up by the NKVD. His family never learned his fate for thirty years. For the family, his wife and two daughters, the disgrace meant going from a life of east to one of hardship and poverty. After the mother was arrested and sent to the gulag, the children, Lenina, the eldest about 12, and Lyudmilla, the author’s mother, about 3 , were sent off to orphanages. State orphanages are hardly pleasant places anywhere, but in the wartime USSR, they were horrible.
The author tells their story, one of survival, and of the love story that brought his father, a British scholar of Russia whom met the adult Lyudmilla when he was an exchange student in the USSR, is touchingly told. It is a tale of spies, of forbidden love, of long separation and eventual reunion. Mr. Matthews weaves it all together with his own experiences in Cold War Russia as a correspondent. He relates the changes going on during the collapse of Communism, the effects on his parents and the common people that gives one pause at their fatalism, pessimism and courage.
The book is never tendentious or trite and the writing is fluid almost novelistic. I recommend “StalinsChildren” to anyone who enjoys a family drama, an personal look at historical events.
“Stalin’s Children” is a family history, a family drama really, than spans the years just after the Bolshevik revolution that made Russia into the USSR, until the fall of Communism that gave us the current Russia. In the midst of this dangerous world we read of the author’s mother her family. Her father was a Soviet Party apparatchik on the way up the Party ladder, until a incautious word critiquing Stalin led him being grabbed up by the NKVD. His family never learned his fate for thirty years. For the family, his wife and two daughters, the disgrace meant going from a life of east to one of hardship and poverty. After the mother was arrested and sent to the gulag, the children, Lenina, the eldest about 12, and Lyudmilla, the author’s mother, about 3 , were sent off to orphanages. State orphanages are hardly pleasant places anywhere, but in the wartime USSR, they were horrible.
The author tells their story, one of survival, and of the love story that brought his father, a British scholar of Russia whom met the adult Lyudmilla when he was an exchange student in the USSR, is touchingly told. It is a tale of spies, of forbidden love, of long separation and eventual reunion. Mr. Matthews weaves it all together with his own experiences in Cold War Russia as a correspondent. He relates the changes going on during the collapse of Communism, the effects on his parents and the common people that gives one pause at their fatalism, pessimism and courage.
The book is never tendentious or trite and the writing is fluid almost novelistic. I recommend “StalinsChildren” to anyone who enjoys a family drama, an personal look at historical events.
November 27, 2017
A lot to take in in this book.
I struggled at times with the sudden change from historic past to recent past, given this is clearly a family biography of how they survived (or didn't) the Russian revolution and communist regime.
If this was fiction, I don't know if I would have kept going through Mervyn and Mila's separation, as its the kind of situation that's stranger than fiction could get away with.
Some terrifying insights into early Soviet Communism, the purges, the starvation, and just why communualism did not work. Despite being framed as a way of creating equality, it actually just made the divide between well-off and poor even worse. Former Serfs were now even more constrained in their movements, and starving to death. Sure, the bourgoise were gone, but in their place were the senior party officials who were clearly favoured and had many advantages.
" The convulsions of collectivisation two years previously could be explained away as a war against the Revolution's class enemies, the kulaks. But now those enemies had been liquidated and the collective farms of the future established. Yet even those blinded by ideology could scarcely fail to see that the Workers' and Peasants' State was, painfully obviously, failing to feed its own people. Moreover, for all the glorious achievements of industrialisation, it was equally clear that the whole dream of Socialism was being held together increasingly by coercion.... In December 1932 internal passports were introduced in an effort to stem the exodus of the starving into the cities."
An absolutely compelling and excellent read.
I struggled at times with the sudden change from historic past to recent past, given this is clearly a family biography of how they survived (or didn't) the Russian revolution and communist regime.
If this was fiction, I don't know if I would have kept going through Mervyn and Mila's separation, as its the kind of situation that's stranger than fiction could get away with.
Some terrifying insights into early Soviet Communism, the purges, the starvation, and just why communualism did not work. Despite being framed as a way of creating equality, it actually just made the divide between well-off and poor even worse. Former Serfs were now even more constrained in their movements, and starving to death. Sure, the bourgoise were gone, but in their place were the senior party officials who were clearly favoured and had many advantages.
" The convulsions of collectivisation two years previously could be explained away as a war against the Revolution's class enemies, the kulaks. But now those enemies had been liquidated and the collective farms of the future established. Yet even those blinded by ideology could scarcely fail to see that the Workers' and Peasants' State was, painfully obviously, failing to feed its own people. Moreover, for all the glorious achievements of industrialisation, it was equally clear that the whole dream of Socialism was being held together increasingly by coercion.... In December 1932 internal passports were introduced in an effort to stem the exodus of the starving into the cities."
An absolutely compelling and excellent read.
September 25, 2020
The first approximate third of the book, which tells the author’s Russian mother and her family’s story, under Stalin and WW2, is great. Really painful and fantastic at the same time. I also liked the parts of his own time as a young man i Moscow, the hedonistic 90ies. (A small fun part was that I myself visited Moscow with my university and we went a couple of Nights to a bar which is mentioned among the dubious joints the author frequented around the same time. That was really funny to me.)
His parents’ long struggle to be allowed to marry and live together is impressive, but it is also too detailed and gets a little... dare I say boring? I’m so glad they made it and it really was an awesome fight against all odds, but all the time I wanted to hear more about life in the Soviet union and I got too much of the parents’ love letters.
Still though. It’s a good book, amazing life stories, and the first third of the book just tore my heart out.
His parents’ long struggle to be allowed to marry and live together is impressive, but it is also too detailed and gets a little... dare I say boring? I’m so glad they made it and it really was an awesome fight against all odds, but all the time I wanted to hear more about life in the Soviet union and I got too much of the parents’ love letters.
Still though. It’s a good book, amazing life stories, and the first third of the book just tore my heart out.
March 20, 2022
Þetta er að mörgu leyti áhugaverð bók sem gefur sannverðuga mynd af Sovétríkjunum sálugu bæði á tímum Stalíns og síðar. Eins er gefin ákveðin mynd af ástandinu eftir fall Sovétríkjanna 1991. Höfundurinn fjallar hér um líf og baráttu foreldra sinna, móðirin rússnesk, faðirinn velskur. Sá hluti bókarinnar er upplýsandi. Aftur á móti fannst mér kaflarnir þar sem höfundur fjallar um sitt eigið líf, sem var á köflum hálfgert bóhemlíf með tilheyrandi partístandi og fleiru, bæði of langir og ekki spennandi. Höfundur notar mikið það form að hlaupa fram og aftur í tíma sem getur verið áhugavert en einhvern veginn fannst mér það hálf ruglingslegt á köflum. Bókin er skrifuð á löngum tíma og ber þess nokkur merki, er ekki nógu læsileg. Mér fannst hvort tveggja, lýsingar á hans skemmtanalífi og ekki nógu læsilegur stíll, draga bókina svolítið niður. Gef henni 3 stjörnur, en get alveg mælt með henni samt.
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