The Man from Talalaivka: A Tale of Love, Life and Loss from Ukraine

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Occasionally throughout this work of historical fiction, I have taken the liberty to present key words and phrases in a personalised version of Ukrainian, as there were regional dialectical differences during the era. I have tried, as authentically as possible, to capture the language my parents used while at the same time acknowledging that my translations may not be entirely accurate and hope the reader will forgive me any errors.

December 1929

A massive poster caught Peter’s eye as he entered. He paused, surprised. Lenin’s simple but inspiring portrait was gone. In its place, Stalin’s pseudo-benevolent face stared back at him, raised arm pointing the way forward to this, his first Five Year Plan. Peter looked about him and shook his head; sensed that though it seemed but a small change, it was significant.

Talalaivka’s central office was bristling with electrifying tension. Comrade Stalin’s protégé, Kaganovich, had just made his personal appearance, leaving extraordinary orders from the Secretary General. They would need extra forces from their military police and army units in order for this final radicalisation of agriculture to succeed at this breakneck speed. The consequences, the soviet officials knew, would be horrific. Already hardened since Stalin’s rise to power, and tense with anticipation, they braced themselves for the onslaught of human misery that the implementation of these extreme orders would cause.

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