Fish- a History of One Migration

by Peter Aleshkovsky

  17. The narrator is romanticizing – white markings have nothing to do with a horse’s pedigree. [return to text]

  18. “The Giant Roach” (1921) is a children’s fairy-tale in verse by Korney Chukovsky (1882-1969). It occupies the same cultural niche as Dr. Seuss’s books do for Anglophone readers. [return to text]

  19. Inshallah, transliterated from Arabic, “God willing.” Mukhiba appears to be agreeing with her husband’s wish that she keep sleeping until she passes. [return to text]

  20. The author may be hinting at the common belief that a howling dog portends someone’s imminent death. [return to text]

  21. In the Soviet educational system, one had to pass entrance exams to be admitted to a college or a university. Considering that Vera dropped out of school, this would be no easy task, even though a college is an institution that admits students after the 8th or 9th grade and teaches a high-school curriculum in addition to vocational classes. (See also note 15.) [return to text]

  part two

  1. A novel by Jack London, first published in 1912. Many of London’s works were translated by the Soviets and were extremely popular. [return to text]

  2. Chapter 1 of Smoke Bellew. [return to text]

  3. This is a reference to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy-tale “The Snow Queen” in which the evil Snow Queen breaks her mirror of ice, shards flying all over the world. Those into whose bodies these shards lodge become cold, selfish people, servants of the Snow Queen. [return to text]

  4. The Heir from Calcutta ("Naslednik iz Kalkutty") –a historical adventure novel by the Russian writer Robert Shtilmark. Shtilmark wrote it in a labor camp, trading new installments of his pirate saga for release from labor duties. [return to text]

  5. The Doukhobor (“spirit wrestlers”) are a religious sect with origins in the 18th century. They rejected secular government, Russian Orthodox priests, icons, all church ritual, the Bible as the supreme source of divine revelation, and the divinity of Jesus. Their pacifism and anti-government stance led most to leave the Russian Empire for Canada at the close of the 19th century, with financial assistance from Leo Tolstoy. [return to text]

  6. Oswiencim (Polish) – the Slavic name for Auschwitz. [return to text]

  7. mumijé – a thick, sticky tar-like substance, petrified bat guano mixed with dust; it has been shown to have antiseptic and stimulant effects and promote the healing of wounds. [return to text]

  8. The ninth day after a person’s death, according to popular belief, is when the soul of the departed ascends to heaven. A wake is usually held by the family on this day. [return to text]

  part three

  1. Zaporozhets – the smallest and humblest of Soviet cars, copied off an early Fiat. [return to text]

  2. kutyá – an ancient ritual dish shared by many Slavic nations; the basic recipe mixes boiled wheat with honey, but it can also include poppy seed, raisins, and nuts. The narrator, of course, is blind to her own customs – kutya is not an exclusively funeral dish; in fact, in many parts of Ukraine and Russia it is only made for Christmas. [return to text]

  3. Russia has mandatory two-year military service for men who are not attending an institution of higher learning. [return to text]

  4. lagmán – a Central Asian home-made noodles with various sauces. [return to text]

  5. The Reader ("Chtets") in the Russian Orthodox Church is responsible for reading certain portions of the Holy Scripture during the services. Normally readers undergo a special tonsuring service, but in contemporary practice a layman may receive a priest’s blessing to read. [return to text]

  6. The practice of “registering” ("propiska") is a long-living Soviet institution that involves assigning every citizen to a specific place of residence at any point in time. This becomes problematic when, for example, one cannot get a job in Moscow without being “registered” there, and, simultaneously, cannot get “registered” without being employed. [return to text]

  7. In most cities, one can recycle glass bottles and jars for small change. [return to text]

  8. A thin coat of whitewash on the trunk repels rodents and protects young trees from disease. [return to text]

  9. Isabella – a sort of grape grown in Moldova and Transcarpathia and the eponymous cheap red wine. [return to text]

  10. Alexander I (1777-1825) ruled Russia from 1801 to 1825. [return to text]

  11. Pitsunda – a resort town in the Gagra district of Abkhazia. Abkhazia, a northern separatist region in Georgia, has been recognized as an independent state by Russia and Nicaragua. [return to text]

  12. In ancient geography, Colchis was a Georgian state; it is referenced in the myths of Jason and the Argonauts. [return to text]

  13. kirik – Estonian for Church; in Russian, Aleshkovsky uses the word “kirkha,” which is a transliterative Germanism (from kirche ) that indicates a Lutheran denomination. [return to text]

  14. The Soviet Union (and, by legacy, post-Soviet states) provided financial aid to families with multiple children. In the Soviet era, families had to have five or more children to qualify, but in the light of Russia’s demographic crisis this number has been lowered to three. [return to text]

  15. This is a reference to the practice of treating alcoholism with “coding.” One common practice involves injecting a drug capsule under the patient’s skin to produce nausea, etc. if the subject imbibes alcohol. This process is also referred to as “stitching” in Russian. The patient cannot drink while the drugs are present in his body; thus, people must “come unstitched” (remove the capsule) before going on a drinking binge. [return to text]

  16. “Moskvich” means “Muscovite” and is a four-door automobile produced at a factory near Moscow. It is one of those archaic-looking pieces of Soviet machinery that never break down because they only have a dozen moving parts. [return to text]

  17. The Siege of Leningrad is such an important event in the history of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and the Soviet psyche that it is often referred to simply as “the siege.” [return to text]

  18. This refers to The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906) by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, a children’s literature classic. [return to text]

  19. Varyag – a Russian cruiser in the Japanese war that engaged enemy forces against lethal odds. Varyag, in Russian consciousness, is synonymous with laudable, albeit perhaps ill-timed, heroism. [return to text]

  20. The Soviet institution of registering people according to their place of residence. Post-Soviet law hasn’t entirely done away with it. (See note 6.) [return to text]

  21. Made from wood-processing waste. [return to text]

  22. gogl-mogl – a soft food made from raw eggs yolks beaten with sugar, and any number of flavorings; it is highly nutritious. [return to text]

  23. mors – a home-made fruit drink; essentially, fruit or berry juice, diluted with water and sweetened. [return to text]

  24. Taishet – a town in Irkutsk oblast. The BAM railroad begins here and the town was an administrative center for the gulags. According to gulag lore, there is a prisoner under every sleeper of the BAM. Rechlag was a system of strict-regime camps. [return to text]

  25. pood – an ancient Russian measure of weight, about 36 lbs. [return to text]

  26. válenki – thick felt boots without laces or zippers, traditional Russian winter footwear. [return to text]

  27. Vera is referring to the May holidays, the 1st, Day of the International Solidarity of the Working Class, and the 9th, Victory Day. Since May in European parts of USSR is high planting season, this is usually when people use their holiday leave to plant potatoes, the most labor intensive of suburban crops. [return to text]

  28. Of course, Lutheran Christians, like Yuku, celebrate Christmas Eve according to the Gregorian calendar, on Dec. 24th. The Russian Orthodox Church, however, and a number of other Eastern European Churches, celebrate Christmas Eve according to the Julian tradition, on January 6th. This tradition was commonly known among the Russian
population of the Soviet Union, and Vera, whose grasp of religious holidays is tentative, assumes that’s when Christmas is for Yuku, too. [return to text]

  29. The corner to the right of the entrance has a special traditional significance. It is also the corner where the family’s icons were displayed, and thus it was called “the red corner,” “red” being used in its archaic meaning of “beautiful.” (See also note 3 of Part Four.) [return to text]

  part four

  1. mantakásh – a flat-shaped Armenian bread that is same consistency as a baguette, i.e. soft inside, unlike lavosh. [return to text]

  2. Borodino bread – a specific recipe of extremely dense rye bread; its color resembles pumpernickel but it is much heavier due to the bran added to it. It has a distinctive odor, from cardamom seeds. [return to text]

  3. In Soviet times, the Red Corner was a meeting room for conducting Party events. It was equipped with the red flag and a portrait of Lenin or another leader, and yes, the name was appropriated from the reference to the icons’ place in the home. (See also note 29 of Part Three.) [return to text]

  4. Ten years old at the time of the Nazi invasion of the USSR, Ukrainian Valentin Kotik fought for three years in the partizan resistance, before being mortally wounded in a battle. He was posthumously decreed a Hero of the Soviet Union and held up as an example of vigilance and strength for Soviet schoolchildren. [return to text]

  5. MGU – Moscow State University, Russia’s most prestigious university. [return to text]

  6. Kanalstroy – Short for “canal building.” An abbreviation for a labor-camp system. [return to text]