The Polykhaevs by Nilin (w/ Dr. Ian Garner)

Show Notes:

This week, Matt and Cameron are joined by Dr. Ian Garner to cover “The Polykhaevs” by Pavel Nilin, a work that Dr. Garner had originally translated for his upcoming book, Stalingrad Lives. The Polykhaevs follows the story of an elderly couple who are seeing their grandson for the first time in the better part of a decade after he was evacuated from Stalingrad during World War 2 - although now grown, he is a stranger to them. As they get to know their grandson, memories of the war bubble to the surface…

Major themes: Rehabilitating Socialist Realism, Memories of Stalingrad, Brick-layers.

02:28 - The Polykhaevs full text on Dr. Ian Garner’s website.

42:18 - Sorry, Ian! I would have edited this out…but you could hear our ill-timed laughter in the re-take.

46:11 - “From Stalingrad to the Stars: Science Fiction and Memory in Putin’s Russia”

The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.

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