by Glenn Meade
The funeral at Novodevichy was a small affair, and it had already started when I arrived. A half dozen or more Israeli Embassy staff were huddled around the open grave as an Orthodox priest chanted his prayers for the dead, and the snow gusted around us. I saw Anna Khorev’s granddaughter holding on to the arm of a handsome woman in her fifties who I guessed was Sasha, their faces pale with grief. The coffin was open, and I took my turn to kiss Anna Khorev’s cold marble face and say my final goodbye. For a brief moment I looked down at her, thinking how beautiful she looked even in death, then I walked back and stood at the edge of the mourners as the gravediggers went to work.
Something remarkable happened then.
As I stood watching the coffin being lowered into the frozen ground, I noticed an old couple standing arm in arm among the mourners. The woman’s face was deeply wrinkled, but under the headscarf she wore I could see a fading tint of red in her graying hair. The man was very old, his body almost bent double with age.
He wore a black leather glove on his stiff left hand.
I felt a shiver go through me.
The couple waited until the coffin had been lowered into the ground before the old man came forward and placed a bunch of winter roses in the open grave. When he stepped back he stood there for several moments, then I saw his eyes look over at Alex Slanski’s headstone. For a long time the old man looked lost in thought, until the woman took his arm and kissed his cheek and led him away.
As they shuffled past me, my mind was on fire with excitement. My heart pounded in my chest as I touched his shoulder and asked the question in Russian. “Major Lukin? Major Yuri Lukin?”
The old man started, and his watery eyes looked up to study my face. For a time he seemed undecided about something, then he glanced over at his wife, before replying to my question in a frail voice.
“I’m sorry, sir. You’re mistaken. My name is Stefanovitch.”
The couple walked on. I started to say something then, remembering the name, Slanski’s family name, but I was struck dumb. I saw the couple step into one of the black cars parked nearby and drive off down the narrow cemetery track before the red taillights disappeared in a mist of snow.
Was it Yuri Lukin?
Perhaps.
I like to think he hadn’t really died as Anna Khorev had said. But it was all such a long time ago. I had found my own truth. I had resurrected my ghosts, and now it was time to bury them.
I took one last look at the three graves, then turned and walked back toward the cemetery gates.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
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Although the exact date and time cannot be confirmed, history relates that Joseph Stalin was taken fatally ill on the night of March 1–2, 1953. He died almost four days later.
To this day the exact circumstances of his death remain a mystery.
Some sources claim he was poisoned by Lavrenty Beria, whose gloating at Stalin’s deathbed is well recorded, but the claim has never been proven.
Stalin’s immediate family claimed that he had almost certainly been killed and had not died of a cerebral hemorrhage as was widely reported, and that the true circumstances of his death were covered up for reasons of state security. There are historically recorded facts that point to an answer that supports this view.
Some months before Stalin’s death, the CIA had been receiving reports of the Soviet leader’s worsening mental health. Stalin was displaying alarming signs of a deep psychological disturbance, and the CIA was also aware of Stalin’s almost manic wish to perfect the hydrogen bomb ahead of the USA. The CIA was acutely aware of the fact that the Soviets were ahead in their research, and that Stalin intended a “final solution to the Jewish problem,” on a par with Hitler’s.
All these were serious and troubling signs, especially at the time of a dangerous Cold War. And the likelihood of war, as those who lived during the period will recall, both in America and the Soviet Union, was both very real and very threatening. Was Stalin assassinated to prevent the situation from worsening?
There were numerous intended plots to kill him. As far as history records, all failed, or never materialized. But history rarely records or reveals its true secrets. What is true is that the CIA had already sent a number of agents with military training to Moscow at the time of Stalin’s death. It also seems likely that the CIA would at least have considered such a plot. And almost immediately after his demise, the KGB unleashed an unexplained and savage program of assassination against top anti-Soviet émigré leaders who were working with the CIA.
Former senior CIA officers, responsible for such missions during the period, remain curiously tight-lipped, even very elderly men long since retired. Nor to this day will they reveal the identities of those they dispatched, invoking the fact that certain details of the period remain top secret and claiming that some of the agents are still alive and living in Russia to this day.
So what exactly happened on the night of March 1–2 at Stalin’s dacha seems destined to remain a mystery. It is known that he spent his last days prior to that eventful night in seclusion, heavily guarded, apparently fearful for his life, and with strict instructions to his guards that all the big wooden log fires in the dacha be kept lit, just as the Russian hunters and shepherds of old kept fires burning to keep away wolves. And on pieces of paper Stalin drew, obsessively, pictures of a wolf with sharp fangs.
But one very remarkable incident, never fully explained, is confirmed fact. In the early hours of March 2, after Stalin was reported to have been taken seriously ill, several members of his guard at the Kuntsevo villa witnessed the bodies of two men being removed from the grounds. Both had apparently died from bullet wounds.
Rumors spread within the KGB itself about the mysterious incident, but not until many months later was an official internal explanation offered. The two men, the KGB report claimed, were bodyguards of Stalin’s, so overcome with grief at their leader’s certain demise that they had shot themselves.
Stalin certainly incited awe in many of his unsuspecting countrymen, but those closest to him who witnessed his rages and his incredible malice, who knew too well his evil crimes, lived in fear of him and breathed a deep collective sigh of relief when he died.
The names of the two alleged bodyguards were not divulged, nor was any further explanation offered. The matter was firmly closed, and the file on the incident destroyed. The two men who died were buried in a Moscow cemetery. To this day their graves remain.
Curiously, each bears a nameless headstone.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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Some of the events in this book are documented history. Although mention is made of certain well-known figures within the historical context of the period, this book is a work of fiction, and no reference is intended to any living persons. The term KGB is used to denote the Soviet State Security Organization, which went through several name changes before and after the period in which this book is mainly set, until it finally adopted the name KGB in 1954. And although certain events portrayed within these pages are historically recorded fact, they are tempered with a reasonable amount of artistic license in time, place, and content.
In the course of my research, there were many people who gave their help and personal insights into these events, and I would like therefore to acknowledge the following:
In the United States: the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO).
In Finland: the staff of the US Embassy, Helsinki; the SUPO (Finnish Counterintelligence) for their invaluable help and courtesy, and allowing me access to certain archival material.
In Estonia: Arzeny Zaharov, Gulag survivor, for his memories of the period and background information; and Ave Hirvelaan for her kindness and support.
In Russia: certain former members of the KGB who, understandably, wish to remain nameless, but who will know the reasons why I thank them. For their expertise on the period and of certain historical episodes in this book: Alexander Vishinsky and Valeri Nekrasov.
; Also, I would like to thank Steven Milburn; and the unfailingly helpful staff of the Finnish Embassy, Dublin, especially Hannele Ihonen and Leena Alto.
There were many others, especially former intelligence personnel, who gave of their time and expertise, but as I’ve discovered, such men and women prefer quiet anonymity in their retirement—to all, my grateful thanks.
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SNOW WOLF
* * *
READING GROUP GUIDE
Journalist and grieving son Bill Massey sets out to find what CIA mission caused his father’s mysterious death in 1950s Moscow. What he uncovers involves a group of damaged yet courageous individuals who developed a highly classified plot to kill Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. As the group—including a Russian assassin, a Gulag escapee, a French furrier, and a disillusioned KGB major—moves closer to its goal, the collateral damages and deaths pile up. Each member faces torture, unbearable losses, and the brutal machinations of Cold War proponents who will stop at nothing to protect their unstable leader. Bill Massey finds much more than the answers he seeks, and uncovers a history lesson few will hear—or believe.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When Bill Massey confronts CIA section head Donahue, what do you think of Bill’s argument—does he indeed deserve to know what happened to his father? Are some secrets better left unexplored? If you were Bill Massey, would you have bulldozed your way into the truth?
2. The first time we meet Anna Khorev, she is lying half frozen, wearing a Russian officer’s uniform, in the woods near the Finnish border. What has she endured by this point? What kind of mental state is the result of all she’s suffered? Does Anna’s character surprise you through the story? If so, how?
3. Revisit the scene in chapter 6 where Alex Slanski dispatches the senior KGB officer, Grenady Kraskin. How would you characterize his attack on Kraskin? Is Alex a dispassionate killer or an angry one? What makes him specially qualified to participate in the plot against Stalin?
4. When Jake Massey is accused of hating Russians, he counters, “Make no mistake, the men in the Kremlin are interested in only one thing, and that’s power. You’re looking at the mirror image of Nazism.” Do you agree? Why or why not? What did the Cold War reveal about Russia? About America? How would you respond to Jake’s argument?
5. Anna explains her killing of the camp officer and border guard by saying, “I only returned the evil that was done to me. It was me or them.” After hearing her whole story, how do you feel about Anna’s actions? Would you send her back to Russia or allow her to be rescued by the American ambassador? What does Anna deserve? Discuss.
6. As Major Yuri Lukin fulfills his assignment to arrest the nine doctors, how is his approach what the author calls “civilized”? Consider also his treatment of Anna once she is caught. Given his rank in the KGB and his bloody background, what way would you expect him to handle interaction with his “enemies”? What makes Lukin different from his bloodthirsty comrades?
7. At the concentration camp, Irena Dezov tells Henri Lebel, “Someday, the world will want to know about this camp. But for that to happen our will to survive must be stronger than the Nazis’ will to kill us. . . . Only in surviving will there be justice.” Can there be any justice for the people who suffered in the camps? What punishment would be appropriate for the people’s torturers/killers? Do you think Henri and Irena ultimately got revenge?
8. How do men treat Anna Khorev in this story? Consider the responses of Alex Slanski, Dimitri Popov, Jake Massey: To each, is she a peer or something else? Do Anna’s actions show her as someone who needs protection, someone who can take care of herself, a combination? How does her performance compare to those of the men?
9. Besides Joseph Stalin, who are the most dangerous persons in this story? What makes these characters threatening? To whom are they dangerous? What in the people’s histories has shaped them this way? Explain your answer.
10. The pilot Janne Saarinen says, “The first time I flew into battle I was bitten by the bug. After that I couldn’t get enough jeopardy and excitement. You realize everything else lacks a certain dangerous edge.” Whom do you know—or know of—who shares this lust for danger? How does the person express it? Has this person, like Janne, faced significant personal loss because of it? What, if anything, do you admire about the adrenaline-fixated person?
11. In chapter 29, what pivotal moment cost Yuri Lukin not only an arm, but his passion for the cause he was enlisted to fight? What caused Lukin’s hesitation to shoot in the abandoned house that day? In such a situation, could you have fired the bullet he couldn’t? Why or why not?
12. In chapter 37, when President Eisenhower tries to convince Jake Massey that he must kill Alex and Anna to stop the mission, Jake refuses, saying, “It isn’t moral, and it isn’t right.” Reread the president’s war story about how in Panama he failed to kill a fellow American. What do you think of Eisenhower’s reasoning that the mission must be halted, at all costs? What consequences would result if Alex and Anna were caught?
13. Pasha Kokunko plays a pivotal role in the story. How did you view him when you first encountered him as the driver on Lukin’s assignment, and how did you view him at the end of the story? What might have happened to Lukin if Pasha had not been his friend?
14. Snow Wolf opens with a secret—Jake Massey’s mysterious death—and closes with one—Anna’s story. What is the impact of keeping secrets? When, if ever, is it justifiable to keep something unrevealed? Do you have secrets? Do they serve you, or do you serve them?
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: WAYS OF ENHANCING YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. Do some research about Joseph Stalin’s last days and the fortress in which he was guarded. Is there any uncertainty about the way Stalin spent his final days or how he died? If so, what? What about his mental state—would it have helped or hindered a would-be assassin? From what you learn, discuss whether it’s possible someone could infiltrate Stalin’s command post and commit the assassination. What parts of Snow Wolf seem plausible? Impossible?
2. Author George R. R. Martin has said, “My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results . . .but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.” Which characters in Snow Wolf qualify, in your opinion, as heroic? Individually, list some qualities you require of a “hero”; then compile a list of noncelebrity heroes you’ve encountered personally or in the media. As a group, share lists. Do any unexpected traits or people appear?
3. Anna tells Bill Massey that “Alex did the world a great service. . . . There were as many sighs of relief in Moscow as in Washington when Stalin died.” Do you agree with her assessment? Had Stalin lived longer, what might his impact have been on history? As a group, diagram possible outcomes and discuss President Eisenhower’s options. In the story, did he make the right choices?
QUESTIONS FOR GLENN MEADE
1. The Publishers Weekly review of this novel said, “Meade writes with a silken pen, inking unusually sympathetic leads.” What gave you the idea of writing an unexpectedly compassionate KGB major into this story? Are you aware of any persons like Lukin who existed in Cold War history?
I spent two months in Moscow and the Baltic States researching Snow Wolf. One of the people who helped me was a former KGB major, who was also an official KGB historian. He was a very humane, soft-spoken, intelligent, good-humored man whom I liked very much. I can recall sitting outside Stalin’s Kuntsevo villa with him, one blistering hot summer afternoon, as we talked about the cruelty of the Stalinist era. With obvious emotion, he told me about relatives of his who had been executed, or banished to prison camps during Stalin’s infamous purg
es, a very brutal time in Soviet history. I am sure there were many men like him in the then-Soviet security services—decent, humane family men who were forced through circumstance to participate in an evil regime, because of fear for their own lives, and the lives of their families. Good men who had to wear a bad uniform. I think that’s how the character of Lukin was born, using this man as a reference.
2. Brutality is juxtaposed with tenderness throughout the story. Why does a thriller need both elements?
It doesn’t, necessarily, but the marked contrast often creates more drama, and drama is the fuel that runs the story engine. The more contrast that exists within a drama, often the more powerful the story can be. For me, the contrast of brutality and tenderness can make for a more intense emotional roller-coaster ride for the reader. Also, I wanted to show that despite the harshness of that time in Russian history, compassion still flourished in everyday lives.
3. One of your strengths as a writer is finding little pockets of mystery in historical fact and posing ideas about what may have happened. How do you find these situations? Then, how do you flesh them out?
I read a lot of contemporary history mostly, and biographies, as well as fiction. Once an idea sparks—and it often involves a real and dramatic historical event—I read as much as I can about the event, the era, and the real-life main players of the day who were involved. I guess I’m really stoking the fire—trying to set the idea ablaze, and attempting to find flesh-and-blood characters in the past that I can bring alive within my own story. Of course, I’ll add my own fictional characters to the pot. Fleshing them out is always the hard part. However, I’m a great believer in Aristotle’s principle that a character is defined by their actions. Push your characters to “do” something—the things they “do” will shape and characterize them.