Even those who acknowledge the utter corruption of their old way of life find little to latch onto in the new. What does it mean when otherwise intelligent-sounding people long for the return of one of the most brutal, repressive regimes in human history? Is it mass delusion or something more mundane? Almost everyone in these pages bemoans the absence of a greater purpose in post-Soviet times. They do so whether they believe the words coming out of their mouths or not such is the power propaganda in a totalitarian society. It is a testament to the all-encompassing scope of the Soviet project that years after its demise many of its subjects continue to live by its precepts and spout its slogans. It would be understandable if these were crocodile tears shed by higher ups in the Soviet establishment who lost their power and privilege after the regime changed, but the vast majority of interviewees are everyday people. They feel betrayed and lost in the country they thought was theirs but now feels like an entirely alien land. Many openly long for Stalin's resurrection. They boast of the great accomplishments of the USSR, break into spontaneous a cappella renditions of patriotic anthems, and rail against the shallow consumerism of the new Russia. Like faithful believers in the Confederacy after the Civil War, many of Alexievich's subjects refuse to believe the fighting is finished.
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