To Moscow!

phote: УлПравда ТВ

All the suffering of Chekhov’s Three Sisters Masha, Irina and Olga (the Tom, Dick and Harry’s of Russian theater) is validated ex post facto—to the extent that they are composites of people whose lived experience is immortalized by their creators. "To Moscow" is their famous refrain. Others are not as fortunate. They go on leading desperate lives in which lacking even the dream of escape. Back in the 50s Radio Free Europe’s advertisements would feature peasants in kerchiefs huddled in dark corners where boxy receivers picked up radio waves, portrayed as small cones starting large but diminishing as they reached their target—just in time. Say no more. The point is, a few voices will always be heard. In effect, these voices have, like vultures, plagiarized uncopyrighted lives in order to unleash their brilliance on a world of theatergoers  who find solace in identifying with a suffering that’s only too real. “To Moscow!” was also the cry of a one-time hotdog vendor named Yevgeny Prigozhin as he marched his Wagner mercenaries in their abortive attack on Mother Russia’s capital.

read the Kirkus review of The Kafka Studies Department by Francis Levy

and listen to "Make America Great Again" by Pussy Riot