@inthehands
"Then came 1938.
Of course, those were horrible times. But not for everyone. The majority danced to the lively music of Daunyevsky. Besides which, the prices went down every year. Caviar cost nineteen rubles a kilo and was sold on every street corner.
Of course, innocent people were being shot. Yet the execution of one was good for many others. The execution of some marshal guaranteed promotions for ten of his colleagues. A general was promoted to the marshal's spot. A colonel moved into the general-ship. The colonel was replaced by a major. Captains and lieutenants moved up, too. The execution of one minister created a dozen changes in the ranks. And all the changes were only upward. Teems of lower bureaucrats were moving up the ladder of success."
From A Foreign Woman by Sergei Dovlatov, Translated by Antonina W. Bouis
Paul Cantrell
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