Breaking Stalin's Nose

Sasha is the story’s protagonist: He is a dedicated young communist-in-training, who respects his father, a member of the secret police. Above all, Sasha reveres Joseph Stalin. The novel is written in English for a Western audience, and as such, the many hardships endured by the characters, their lack of freedom, and omnipresent fear create a sense of disconnect with the thoughts and actions of the protagonist, who fails to see that the regime is to blame for widespread suffering. Sasha’s denial highlights the depth and reach of the brainwashing that occurred during Stalin’s 1936-38 purges. When he is hauled away, Zaichik, Sasha’s father whispers, “It’s more important to join the Pioneers than to have a father” (27). Zaichik is trying to protect his son from a brutal system by not criticizing the regime and continuing to encourage Sasha to support it even in the face of his arrest. Despite being an unquestioning follower of Stalin, Sasha still believes his father’s arrest is a mistake.

Sasha recognizes the many hardships they endure because of the communist ambitions of the Party, but he believes “communism is just over the horizon” (10). While he munches on a carrot, Sasha thinks, “When hunger gnaws inside my belly, I tell myself that a future Pioneer has to repress cravings for such unimportant matters as food” (10). The carrot is a motif that represents the role of food as hope throughout the novel. Twice, Sasha receives food from people who have little to give, and both times, he expresses hope. The first time, with the carrot, the hope is rooted in the promises of Stalinism.

Sasha’s hunger and cramped apartment full of 48 people are examples of hyperbole designed to emphasize the political satire of the narrative. Sasha dislikes his neighbors but doesn’t question the system that forces their cramped conditions. They are perpetually cold and have so few possessions that the pathos of their circumstances is comically sad. Despite the stark imagery that Sasha describes in his internal monologue, he is a devout communist who declares firm allegiance to the Stalinist vision, even though he lives with abundant evidence that Stalin’s promise is empty and exploitative.

The opening chapters contain symbolism. The red scarf of the Young Pioneer represents the conversion of young children into future soldiers of Stalinism. It is the highest honor for a child in Stalin’s Moscow, one that is only awarded to citizens in good standing. Sasha’s desire for the red scarf is also connected to The Obsession With Status, which begins at a young age. However, even at this early stage in the novel, there are hints that status is not enough to save someone once the regime’s machine has turned against them. Zaichik’s crisp uniform reflects his initial status as a respected figure, but he still falls victim to the purge.

Another character who exemplifies The Obsession With Status is Comrade Stukachov, the neighbor who reports Zaichik so that he can take over the largest room in the communal apartment. Comrade Stukachov represents the moral corruption of humanity under authoritarian regimes. Stukachov shows no remorse or guilt for orphaning Sasha and getting his neighbor arrested and possibly executed. In an immoral system, the citizens become immoral, the novel suggests. Stukachov takes advantage of the system to better his circumstances, getting ahead only by destroying others. In this way, Stukachov represents the darkness in human reactions to a regime that dehumanizes its citizenry. In contrast, neighbor Marfa Ivanova, who sleeps in a cubbyhole beside the one shared bathroom, gives Sasha a carrot with which she can ill-afford to part. Her character represents the antithesis of Stukachov, the possible survival of humanism and kindness despite a harsh, cruel regime, which is the crux of the theme of The Human Ability to Survive Tyrants and Preserve Humanity. Where Stukachov gets ahead through treachery, Ivanova remains stifled by the regime, unable to find a better life, but she maintains her willingness to lighten the loads of those around her. These two characters, who are foils for one another, represent two opposing reactions to life in Moscow during Stalin’s purges.

At 10 years old, Sasha is not able to question the political and cultural system that surrounds him but instead rationalizes his father’s arrest within the framework of an unquestionable regime. It is a mere accident that the Great Leader himself will correct because, as Sasha believes, he is great. Sasha’s sense of justice that he somehow develops within this system is the antithesis of the actual “justice” of the system.

By the end of these chapters, Sasha’s character arc begins a transformation trajectory from his ardent beliefs of a Party loyalist to the disillusionment of a Party outsider. His emotional fan letter to Stalin represents the highest point in his political fervor with its confidence in the system’s hollow promises of a bright future. When he leaves his apartment for the last time, he takes only the red scarf. This motif at this point foreshadows not the glorious belonging Sasha hopes for but sacrifice. He will sacrifice comfort, status, and safety in coming chapters. He will also be a sacrifice, an expendable child, first sacrificed by his neighbors for a home in these chapters.

Meanwhile, with no evidence, Sasha imagines that his life and the lives of all Soviets far exceed the quality of the lives of citizens of capitalist countries. “I wonder what it’s like in capitalist countries. I wouldn’t be surprised if children there had never even tasted a carrot,” (10). He understands his hardships and struggles, but without a global context, he is unable to compare his experiences to people living in different countries. He also believes, despite abundant evidence to the contrary, that the stark existence of people under Stalin’s authoritarianism is justified by the Party’s distortion of reality and delusional propaganda. The nexus of these two beliefs is the basis for his cognitive dissonance that leads to the existential crisis he enters by the end of these chapters.