After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a wave of mass child homelessness swept through Russia, displacing up to four million children.
“Forget it all. Erase.”
—
The year is 1993. In a deteriorating industrial town, an out-of-job Soviet Navy veteran takes up work as a warden in a juvenile prison colony. In the face of acute hardships, he strives to make a positive change in the lives of his young wards. But his will is tempted by the corruption around him that is fuelled by inexplicable hatred and the negligence of his fellow staff. As conditions in the arctic town worsen, Vasily Mikhailovich begins to see the opportunities afforded to those who sacrifice their morals to pursue a life of ruthless individualism, and feels the imperative to save his family at a terrible cost.
Author bio
I used to draw comic strips on the back of used wallpaper. Now I write grandiloquent passages in my notebook while eking out a living as a sub-editor in London (some of which, fortunately, make the print). I’ve been featured in The Irish Times, The Taborian, Mulberry Literary, Blue Earth Review and State of Matter magazine.