Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Yelchin
Sasha has waited with great anticipation for the day when he would receive his Young Pioneer scarf. To make the day even more special, his father will be on hand to place the scarf around his neck.
Then tragedy strikes the day before the sacred ceremony. A neighbor accuses Sasha’s father of being a spy, and he is taken away for questioning. That same neighbor moves into the apartment and forces Sasha to leave. He hopes his aunt will care for him, but she is too afraid of the police to take him. Sasha spends the night in the apartment building’s basement.
The next morning, he goes to school believing that his father will be found innocent and released in time for the ceremony. His father is not a traitor to the Soviet Union. He simply can’t be. Then, as ceremony day progresses, Sasha begins to lose hope. Small fingers of doubt and dread make him questions some of his closely held beliefs about his country and its government.
The boy begins to see the strict Communist regime for what it really is. Now, he just wants to be reunited with his father. He cares for little else.
(Additional Information: Around 1920, the Young Pioneer movement replaced the Scout Movement- created by Lord Baden Powell- after the Russian Civil War between the Red Army and the White Army.)
