Boris BEYLIN

Russian industry is the subject of endless disputes, discussions, and forecasts. Most of the Soviet industry, like a chameleon, changed its “skin color” and became nominally private in post-Soviet Russia, but, being budget-dependent, retained the same essence. In parallel, a completely new industry was created literally from scratch. It was heterogeneous. One part of it was established with capital from the West and its long-standing business culture. Another part was created by Russian entrepreneurs: some invested the initial capital they had built in the early 1990s; others started their businesses from scratch with nothing but enthusiasm and faith that production was the future.
How did it become possible to launch a manufacturing business without any startup funds or administrative connections? How did companies need to change themselves in order to survive in an ever-changing environment? On what principles can a successful business be built when everything is against it? Can a company’s future be predicted several years in advance in modern Russia? Can the label “Made in Russia” be prestigious?
The 30-year experience of the BIG Filter company offers answers to all these questions.

After World War II, a Soviet Army officer, whose family lives in Kiev, finds himself in Leningrad for a brief period of study before he is sent to the Far East. He is drawn strongly to his family, but is only able to visit them every three years, for a three-month vacation with his wife and children. Their long journeys across the country allow them to witness the sweeping changes taking place throughout the Soviet Union.
In the Far East, the officer is frequently transferred from one garrison to another. While life in military outposts may seem monotonous to adults, it is a world of endless adventure for boys.
Told as seen through the eyes of the officer’s son, Osya, this account not only reveals the hidden life of Soviet garrisons, but also offers a child’s perspective on a nation in the midst of transformation during the 1950s.

A love story told through letters from the 1930s and ‘40s.

From the compiler:
I decided to create this book due to a rather uncommon turn of events. In early September 2019, my mother Gita Charnaya passed away. While sorting her archive, my sister Rita showed me more than 250 old letters written in the 1930s and ‘40s, mostly from my father to his beloved. I was profoundly struck when I saw and read them. In the first place, I couldn’t understand why, after all these years, I knew nothing of these letters. It was surprising that my mother had never told me about their existence.
Secondly, these are not just letters, but also a vibrant account of those turbulent times, the story of my parents and of the country in general. Ultimately, it is a stunning poem of love.