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A gritty, powerful debut by author and journalist A.V. Pankov
The year is 1993. In a collapsing post-Soviet town, a former serviceman, Vasily Mikhailovich, accepts work as the director of a remote juvenile prison colony. Determined to bring order and empathy to a brutal system, he starts a programme of rehabilitation for the young boys. But he is soon thwarted by the corruption around him; as he watches the people nearby prosper through deceit and cruelty, he is forced to make a choice: to uphold his principles and risk everything, or surrender them to save his family.
Based on true accounts of children’s penal colonies that existed during the 1990s post-Soviet turmoil, Going to Zossen, or the Capitulation of Vasily Mikhailovich is a study into the bargains made by ordinary people under oppressive systems. A necessary reading for fans of Claire Keegan and Colson Whitehead.
A gritty, powerful debut by author and journalist A.V. Pankov
Based on true accounts of children’s penal colonies that existed during the 1990s post-Soviet turmoil, Going to Zossen, or the Capitulation of Vasily Mikhailovich is a study into the bargains made by ordinary people under oppressive systems. A necessary reading for fans of Claire Keegan and Colson Whitehead.
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The year is 1993. In a collapsing post-Soviet town, a former serviceman, Vasily Mikhailovich, accepts work as the director of a remote juvenile prison colony. Determined to bring order and empathy to a brutal system, he starts a programme of rehabilitation for the young boys. But he is soon thwarted by the corruption around him; as he watches the people nearby prosper through deceit and cruelty, he is forced to make a choice: to uphold his principles and risk everything, or surrender them to save his family.
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“The body craved the representation of these objects — control — and though he knew all he could determine with it at this time was the time and place of his own execution, he wanted it in all its tiny magnificence.”
A.V. Pankov is a Russian-Irish journalist and writer. Born after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he emigrated to Europe with his parents at the age of nine. He has written in Dublin and London for publications including The Irish Times, Irish Daily Mirror and The Irish Sun. His short stories have been featured in Reverie, Mulberry Literary, Blue Earth Review, and more. He is currently based in Wicklow, Ireland.
A.V. Pankov is a Russian-Irish journalist and writer. Born after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he emigrated to Europe with his parents at the age of nine. He has written in Dublin and London for publications including The Irish Times, Irish Daily Mirror and The Irish Sun. His short stories have been featured in Reverie, Mulberry Literary, Blue Earth Review, and more. He is currently based in Wicklow, Ireland.
