Separated At Stavropol: A Russian Family's Memoir Of Wartime Flight
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The Russian Revolution marked a series of events in imperial Russia that culminated in 1917 with the abolition of the czarist monarchy and the establishment of the Soviet communist state under Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. While Lenin and his followers purportedly advocated the rise of the Russian peasantry, opposition to the Bolshevik Party erupted into a bloody civil war and was met with Lenin's ravaging "Red Terror" campaign. The revolution effected a severe change in all economic, political and social relationships in Russian society-a change that would endure until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This historical memoir imparts distinctive social and cultural insights into the realities of the Russian Revolution and the later effect of World War II on the people who suffered under the Soviet Union. Narrated in sequential first person by a mother, Nadia Stakhanova, and her two daughters, Natasha and Vera Stakhanova, the book gives the factual account of a family whose privileged way of life was shattered by Communism and war. Ranging in setting from czarist Russia to present-day Melbourne and the campus of Vassar in New York, the story follows the family through a period of perpetual poverty and crisis, beginning with the sentencing of father Vladimir to death for loyalty to the White Russian faction. It continues with the family's subsequent evasion of the Russian secret police, the German occupation of their home city during World War II, their forced abandonment of five-year-old daughter Natasha, and their flight to the West through Russia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Austria. The reunification of the family in Australia marks the story's climax.
About the Author
Natasha Stakhanova was born in Stavropol in the Caucasus, but separated from her family when she was five and exiled with her grandparents to Tadzhikistan. In 1969, she received her Ph.D. in Entomology. She became a lecturer at the University of Tadzhikistan and is the author of many scientific papers. In time, the efforts of her family enabled a reunion with them in Australia where she married and was widowed. She lives near Melbourne, Australia. Vera Stakhanova was 12 when she and her family were forced to flee Russia. After postwar years as a displaced person in Austria, she emigrated with her family to Chile. She married there and raised three children. Later, the repressive Allende government caused her and her husband to move on to Australia. She translated from Russian all of Nadia's contributions to the book. Vera resides in suburban Melbourne. Charles Cherry is the author of articles, short stories and novels. Residing in Florida, he guides companies in strategic planning. After a mutual friend in Melbourne introduced him to Natasha, he was invited to collaborate on the present book.
Separated At Stavropol: A Russian Family's Memoir Of Wartime Flight,Nadia Stakhanova,Natasha Stakhanova,Vera Stakhanova,Charles Cherry,McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers,0786420898,Biography,Biography / Autobiography,Biography/Autobiography,General,History,Military,Military - General,Military - World War II,Personal narratives, Russian,Refugees,Russia - History - 1917 To 1991,Soviet Union,World - General,World War II - Europe,World War, 1939-1945
Books Report:
Recommended Books