The Time Of Women

Before the decree came out, you weren’t even allowed to think about an abortion. If you get knocked up, you have the baby. But no one could keep the girls from doing it. At the first alarm, they’d get rid of it in secret. One, they say, really took to it. The guys joked that she tired out a whole team of workers, bitch. Well, she wasn’t bothered – she lies in bed for a little while, gives it a rest and she’s at it again. Two girls died, though, they say. From blood poisoning, it seems. Now the decree came out, you can do it every year if you must. It’s still scary, of course: they make it hurt as much as possible. But there wasn’t much to be done. So I made up my mind.

Families could apply (get in the queue) for additional space when existing space was less than 4.5 meters per person. For example, if a room in a communal apartment consisted of 30 meters and a family of 6 was registered and living in it, this counted as 5 meters per person, and they were not eligible to apply for additional space. Two meters per person were allotted for graves.

26During the Soviet era, it was a common move among communal apartment dwellers to turn on the tap when they wanted the sound of running water to mask their words.

27According to the Communist Manifesto written by Marx and Engels, the establishment of a dictatorship by the proletariat would eventually lead to true communism. Therefore, in spite of being considered a communist country, by its own internal logic the Soviet Union spoke of itself as moving toward communism.

28Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (1875-1946) was a Soviet government and party statesman, named “All-Russian Elder” by Trotsky in 1919. After 1935 he was called “All-Union Elder.” In Soviet mythology he was considered the kindest and most responsive member of the upper echelons of power. People would write letters to him with various requests and complaints, certain that he would inter-cede and help.

29A sazhen is an old Russian unit of length equal to approximately 7 feet.

rooms dedicated to various clubs, such as crafts or sports.

17“Pryazhka madhouse” refers to a psychiatric hospital on the banks of the Pryazhka River in St. Petersburg/Leningrad that housed many political prisoners during the Soviet days.

18“Suzon” is a nickname for Suzanna.

19“Tsarevich” refers to the son of a Tsar and may be thought of as something akin to “Prince”.

20The Russian witch, Baba Yaga, lives in a doorless, windowless hut that stands on chicken legs and can turn about.

21The First of May, or International Workers’ Day, is celebrated today in over 80 countries. It was celebrated in the USSR, and continues to be celebrated in the Russian Federation. The US Labor Day holiday was set in September at least in part to remove it from associations with International Workers’ Day.

22The surname “Rucheinikov” is based on the word “ruchei,” or “brook.”

23Kulaks were prosperous peasants in Tsarist Russia, later characterized as exploiters by the Communists when they took power.

24Narodny Kommisariat Vnutrennykh Del (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs).

“Seventh of November holiday” refers to the anniversary of the Great October Revolution of 1917, that brought to power the Bolshevik Party. Following the revolution the Gregorian calendar was adopted in conformity with the rest of the western world, and dates shifted, putting the October Revolution anniversary into November. The Russian Orthodox Church still operates on the old Julian calendar.

13In the USSR, as well as in Russia before and after the Soviet period, the grading system is based on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the top grade.

14Young Pioneers was a mass youth organization for children ages 10-15 in the Soviet Union from 1922-1991. Suzanna imagines that the young people in the folk tale must belong to that group. The Snow Maiden is a girl made of snow who comes to life and lives with the childless old couple who created her until spring, when she joins the other young people in a ritual game of jumping over a fire pit, and disappears.

15Antonina is quoting an ancient folk proverb, thought to have originated as something spoken by village healers over the sick.

16Pioneer Palaces were community centers for children, with

1Government-subsidized mass housing for workers.

2During the Soviet period, particularly under the pressure of industrialization and urbanization in the early years, housing was in short supply. Housing did not become a priority for the Soviet government until the 1950s. Most people lived in communal apartments, which were distributed according to an established number of square metres per person. Bathroom and kitchen facilities were shared by all the tenants of the apartment. For most workers, being assigned an apartment was a step up from living in the dormitory.

3The factory, as part of a political system that features centralized social and economic control, especially of the means of production, functions as a collective in that system – it is set up on the principle of ownership by the workers involved, under the supervision of the government.

4The portrait is a famous photograph of Ernest Hemingway wearing a knitted sweater. During this period it hung in the homes of many of the Soviet intellectual class as a symbol of Western freedom.

5Christmas (January 7 by the Russian Orthodox calendar) was not officially celebrated in the Soviet Union. The major holiday featuring Grandfather Frost (the Russian version of Santa Claus) was New Year.

6Saint Nicholas.

7Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love) were Christian martyrs who lived in 2nd-century Rome with their mother, Sofia. In Russian, their corresponding names are Vera, Nadezhda, and Lubov. All four saints are commemorated in the Russian Orthodox Church calendar on September 30.

8The Decembrists were members of a failed conspiracy to overthrow Tsar Nicholas I in December of 1825.

9“Canal” refers to the Belomorsk-Baltic Canal (Belomorcanal or BBK), connecting the White and Baltic Seas and built in 1931-1933 by prisoners of the GULAG system under Josef Stalin. Construction of this canal was noted for its deliberate refusal to use technology; the canal’s 227 kilometer length was achieved through forced manual labor.

10Buratino, written in the 1950s by A. Tolstoy, is a still-popular children’s story, loosely based on Pinnochio.

11Gostini Dvor was a huge department store that existed prior to the Revolution and for many years into the Soviet period.

Yevdokia crosses herself by the window.

“A miracle, you say?… Yes-s, you’re smart… You didn’t study at grammar school for nothing. I wouldn’t have thought of that…”

“And really,” – Glikeria whispers – “we are witnessing a miracle…. The Lord has rescued us before death.”

Ariadna sinks down her head sadly.

“We’ll have to deceive them… We are taking sin on our souls.”

“But we don’t have any choice,” – Yevdokia replies. “We must be thankful for whatever miracle we are given. Have some respect, a straw is being offered. It’s up to us to grab it. Let it at least work out for us. If only to save this girl…. And the sin can lie upon me. My soul is already ruined. By my children.”

“I dream of living under communism27, Glikeria Yegorovna. Just to have a glimpse of it… The people who will live to see it are happy.” “Oh!” – she waves her hand. – “When will that happen? They promised it before the war…” – “Before the war they were just guessing… But now they know for certain: in 20 years. They say that everything will be different. Machines will do the laundry…” – “What do you mean!” – She’s stunned. – “Will that be outside? Like snow plows?… The laundry will get all mixed up. They’ll never be able to sort it out afterwards.”

“No, why do they have to be outside? People will install them in their homes.” – “Good gracious! How will they put them in their homes? Where will they go?” – “Well,” – she looks at the little apartment– “maybe in the kitchen.” – “Where will people cook then? Or,” she smiles, “Will there be a magic table-cloth? Like in the fairytale.” – “Why will they need that?” – she’s serious, and doesn’t smile. – “They’ll boil potatoes, maybe soup… And they’ll have chocolates. They’ll have everything – and they won’t need to cook.”

“For everyone?” – she is surprised. “Yes,” she nods, “for everyone.”

“What sort of pensions will they have, if they can afford chocolate every day?” – “There won’t be any pensions.” – “Not at all, you mean?” – she’s scared. – “Like in the old days, on the collective farms? Oh!” – she crosses herself. “Have they planned that again? I hope God does not let me live that long…”

“There won’t be any money at all. It will be completely abolished.” – “How is that possible? What about groceries? Will they be issued by cards? What about dry goods?” – “They promised that everything would be given freely. As much as people want… For them,” she looks towards the corner, “everything is planned differently. I think,” she whispers, “that they show it beforehand on television. They have money, but the people are completely different. I look at them, and can’t stop admiring them: they’re not like us. They’re kind and cheerful. They go to work, and everything is fine there. And things are decent at home…”

“Is everyone kind?” – Glikeria turns towards the television. “What about the bad people?” – “There won’t be any bad people at all.” – “That only happens in paradise, I’m afraid…” – “That’s right,” she nods. – “I think that’s what paradise is like. Just the way it is on television. I didn’t use to believe that. But now I think that this is what it is like. I dream of going there…” “Well,” – Glikeria rubs her eyes. “You will… Believe me… Who else, if not you. It will be just like it is on television. They probably don’t just show

Zoika, the bitch, is bothering me: go visit, go visit.

“And stop those tricks of yours!” – she threatens me.

I wonder if I should tell her where to go… But then I realize: Zoya is friends with the bosses. I need to be easy with her. “OK,” – I say politely. – “I’ll go.” – “If you’re going,” – she sticks to me like glue – “don’t go empty-handed. Buy some present.”

I returned to the shop floor, and I felt sick. As soon as I remember her, how she crawled at my feet, I feel as if I’m in a noose. What did I do to her, I think, what did I bring her to? Perhaps she didn’t go running to the management. Those women are shrewd themselves, they found out. And that present for her… What shall I take with me? If it was for a man, I’d take a bottle, but what do I get for a woman? Something sweet, some sort of pastries, then…

I decided to see Vasily. He’s a guy who’s been around, he’s experienced – he’s got three kids.

“Are you going to see Antonina?” – he winks. “You’re taking a long time… It’s the fourth week now.”

God, I think, even he counts the weeks…

“You’re a son of a bitch, Kolya,” he says. “The woman went under the knife for you, and you’re worried about a present…” – “What do mean, for me?” – I say, angry. “I’ve got nothing to do with it.” – “Damn it,” – he spits on the floor. – “My daughters are growing up. When I think about you studs – I’d strangle all of you.”

The men stand around eavesdropping.

“You can’t strangle everyone,” – they laugh. “Leave someone – for the tribe… You’re angry,” – they say – “because you produced daughters. If you’d had sons, you’d be singing a different song. You’d teach them to go to whores yourself…”

What about the operation?” – “We won’t show them the certificate,” Glikeria says. “What about the money? They don’t give you a kopeck without a certificate” – “Oh well,” -Ariadna straightens her back. – “we’ll just have to go without the money somehow…”

“How did they intimidate Nikolai? If he didn’t get married, he would never receive a room. They think that she got rid of the baby. But they don’t know about her illness…”

“So?” – Glikeria stands there and blinks.

“So he doesn’t have any other choice if he wants to receive a room. The only option is to marry Antonina. And as soon as he marries her…”

“Right,” – I clenches my fist. – “I understand the rest. You should think of something else. What if he refuses? If he says he doesn’t know where the child is from…”

“But we are witnesses,” says Glikeria. “He came here, and stayed here for a whole night.”

I thought and thought.

“No,” – I say. – “That won’t work for us. As soon as he looks at her, he’ll realize. The way that she looks now… Better-looking people have been buried.”

“Let him realize then,” Glikeria gets excited and looks at Ariadna. “It will be better for him.”

“That’s right,” – Ariadna nods. – “Especially as it’s advantageous for him. She’ll die, and he’ll get the whole room to himself.” – “What do you mean,” – I say, surprised. “What about Sofia? She’s registered there, thanks heavens.” – “Well, what difference does it make? She’s going to live with us. Not with him.”

“Oh, I can’t decide – what if they get to the bottom of it?