Smoker's Date

Kalinin, March 1937

With a happy face, a tall blonde in her dark green coat has approaching a man she has waiting for an hour. The train which brought that man from Moscow had just arrived on time. Elena Ostrucheskaya, that tall blonde, can quickly noticed the bald man in yellow shirt and dark blue overcoat... that a bit too big for him. 

"Heya, doctor! Nice to meet you again!" that man aka Vasily Nandev greeted with a wink.

Elena rolled her eyes, "I am surprised you actually can be this cheerful."

"Well, because I am fully healthy and fresh like a daisy now. So I can fulfil our promise without excuses!" Vasily's smug widened, which Elena finds it... interesting.

"Guess so... it means whatever you said in ER was a bullshit," the conclusion from Elena flustered Vasily.

"I-I was just had fever, can't think straight! I didn't mean to reject your offer to keep in touch!"

"First time I see someone can't think straight, till rejecting my offer to exchange letter's address..."

"But you asked while shoved the thermometer! Is that what a modern doctor do?" Vasily's face turned carmine, as he climbed the tram that just arrived nearby Moskovsky Vokzal. Elena follows from behind and sit with her face trying not to laugh.

"Ah, maybe I was too hassle in asking you out. At the end, you send the letter first to me, hm? I was almost giving up and just thinking my teasing is one-time experience," Elena smirked, leading Vasily turned his face away to calm himself down.

Confession 7

As you know, some of the stories in this blog are either:

1. Completely copy-pasted from 2013 archive I had in computer and only translated into English through translation machine. Example: Introducing The Weapons , The Rift , Vitaly's first meeting with Dmitry, Vadim and Vasily , Silent Witness , Fugue , Farewell of Roads and so on.
   
   
2. Newly written in this 2026, already written in English. Example: Losing Fear , Water Turns Into Blood , Fyodor's Mercy , Useless Search , Parlous Tango , and so on.
   
   
3. Copy-pasted from 2013 archive and slightly edited to fix the plot hole. Example: Vadim's First Meeting With Vasily , First Hangout , Conversations at Toilet , Sacrifice and so on.
   
   
4. Reworked and heavily edited from 2013 archive because the plot hole was too severe, so it means I only took the basic concept/ideas and then reworked. Example: Condolence , Wrong-Placed Pity , White Terror , How Did They Know The Scandal? , Gloves , The Night of Anna's Death and so on.

Vadim's First Meeting With Tatiana

March 1935

The artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble were thrilled. They heard people from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy were coming to CSKA to watch their concert. Initially, no one knew exactly who would be attending. Alexandrov had kept it a secret, instructing the group only to rehearse a few military songs and several opera pieces. However, realising that the chosen opera songs were typically used for ballet performances, some members speculated that the audience would include ballerinas... or maybe also ballerinos. Sure enough, on the day of the performance, Alexandrov were accompanied by a middle-aged man and woman; he introduced the man as the director of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and the woman as one of the ballet instructors. The director introduced himself as Viktor Semyonov and expressed a keen interest in watching the ensemble.

Some Plans May Not Permitted

(Taken from my 2013 Archive and translated with translation machine. May or may not be accurate from real history, and I'm too lazy to rewrite)

March 1935

Meanwhile, in Alexandrov’s third-floor office, he and Semyonov (the director of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy) were deep in a private conversation.

"...If circumstances allow, some of the graduating female ballerinas could serve as additional dancers here too. I’ve been toying with the idea of ​​introducing a traditional dance that requires a large number of female dancers," Alexandrov explained. Semyonov nodded, agreeing with Alexandrov’s proposal.

"That is certainly possible. I would be happy to facilitate the advancement of the graduating ballerinas. In that case, I should also speak with Gusev, who is set to take over as the next director of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Just in case to avoid any misunderstandings. After all, I’ll be handing over leadership in a year," Semyonov said thoughtfully.

"However, I do have a concern: would Vozhd permit it? I’ve tried repeatedly to get Danilovich’s approval to add a boys' choir, but he rejected the idea because children aren't allowed to be part of the military. And yet, I was so strongly desire for both children and women to participate in military music..." Alexandrov said hesitantly. 

Semyonov stroked his chin, contemplating the potential outcomes should Alexandrov request permission to include ballerinas. "It is certainly a difficult time. Especially since I heard news from a distant friend in France that the situation in Germany is escalating... Well, you know what I mean. I know the Soviet Union is invincible, but we must still consider the worst-case scenario. So, what Danilovich said might be right; perhaps it is best not to bring in more women and children..." Semyonov said, then continued, "It is better to assess the situation first. You can ask me for updates from outside the Soviet Union every month, as I can check with my friend. But... you will still accept the ballerinas later on, once the country has stabilised, won't you?"

"Certainly, Comrade Semyonov. I would be delighted when you are ready to send ballerina graduates here for me to select," Alexandrov said with a friendly smile.

Ekh Dorogi

Still remember this video?

And now... I want to tell a bit of story behind the MV.

October Cult

[1935]

"Then I told that Militsia, 'As you are not blind like me, it means you can see clearly this buffoon is the double agent who stole both noble and partisan archives all of this time'," quipped Vasily as he inhaled his cigarette's smoke proudly.

Alexei clapped happily, "Whoa, how brave of you to tell them like that! And so, did they finally arrest that guy?"

"Yeah. And finally the building where I build with other workers in the past won't be meddled by some Militsia walking around," shrugged Vasily. Meanwhile, Dmitry and Vadim were just silent to hear the music from the radio. They have heard the same story from Vasily since years ago, and Vasily re-told this story to Alexei who just joined their peers.

Beginning of Stavropol

Stalingrad, November 1952

The familiar communal door is in front of Dmitry, Darya, and their twin children. Once it's the home where Dmitry fostered by Khurashuk family, a Tatar descendant family who also sheltered Dmitry and his late mother decades ago. The building's shape may have different, due to destroyed so much during the battle years ago and later rebuilt. But at least the family somehow finding the same door shape and patterns for the front door.

So... maybe it could be temporary home once again, before he knew what he should do more in the future...

Front Cover

Wrong-Placed Pity

[December 1938]

"Alright. We’re taking the winter break. But don't forget to come back here in 4th February next year," said Alexandrov.

"Understood, Maestro," the artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble replied in unison.

"That concludes our final concert this December. See you later... and happy incoming new year!" Alexandrov quipped before leaving the hall. The artists quickly dispersed and boarded onto the tram. That including Alexei, Dmitry, Vadim and Vasily.

Fulfilled Pact

 [1947]

"I found you. Turn out you and your host were buried at the border. Need three days to travel and walked here. Because I want to hear you..."

The man with the short red hair bent down over a large mound, which seems a mass burial area. The grim surroundings and beneath the soil, strangely did not repulse him. He merely smiled, then knelt to examine the specific spot more closely. Semyon chuckled to himself, as if he understood the situation perfectly.

Where Does My Motherland Begin?

[1965]

At first, it seemed dark.

Cold.

Alone.

I couldn't walk.

I wanted to scream "help."

My tongue was frozen.

A candle appeared in the distance.

Suddenly, I could walk.

I approached the candle.

It illuminated something.

I blinked once more.

And everything changed.

I was back in the house where I lived as a child.

My form had shifted into a teenager.

.

.

.

Could this be a dream?

Or was I experiencing déjà vu in this house of mine?

Vitaly and Vitaly

[21 November 1921]

Knock, knock, knock!

That soft knocking, the priest thought. There is no one who knocked like that except one child. He quickly opened the door and ushered the person inside.

"Lyokha, are you alright?" the priest asked. But then he was shocked to see the boy's clothes stained with blood. "Are you hurt? Who hurt you?"

"No, grandpi..." the boy said, sounding a bit nervous. The old man noticed a drastic change in his grandson's face; the innocence was gone from his eyes. He closed and locked the door from the inside before asking, "You don't seem to be the Lyokha I know. Will you admit the truth to me?"

Cat Burial

[1949]

It's been a long day for Fyodor, despite it's a summer holiday and no concert held for the rest of 3 weeks. He spend much time to renovate his communal, making sure his 7 cats are safe enough with surroundings and not messing with neighbor's communal. He always successfully trained all of his cats to poop at toilet, so he only need to flush and not worrying about smelly and dirty surroundings. Pretty much a divine skill, as Fyodor thought to himself.