Stone — A Historical Novel about Soviet Ukraine and the USSR (1920s–1940s)

  Stalin: The Merciless Whip Stone — Book One: First Steps Toward the Light and Back  — Chapter 4 by Volodymyr Shablia June 1941. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Moscow. On June 23, 1941, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, woke shortly before noon feeling utterly shattered. The lingering effects of an exceptionally severe psychological crisis, brought on by the realization that his strategic plans had collapsed, seemed to press his body deep into the mattress. When he tried to lift his head from the pillow, a dull pain throbbed somewhere deep inside the back of his skull, as though his brain itself were resisting any movement of the cranium. Despite this, Stalin forced himself out of bed at once and walked over to the washbasin. The cold water had a refreshing effect. Wanting to intensify it, he undressed and stood beneath an icy shower for several minutes. A large purple terry towel with an abstract pattern brushed pl...

The Offensive Is Called Off Stone — Book  two. Difficult roads to hell   — Chapter 2 by Volodymyr Shablia September 22, 1941, morning. The battlefield near Melitopol. As they waited for the briefing to begin, the regiment's officers took their seats around the large table in the middle of the room. The soldiers spoke quietly to those sitting beside them, occasionally tossing a word or two to someone farther down the table. "Well, are we ready to give the Germans and Romanians a taste of their own medicine?" asked the dark-eyed major sitting to the right of the head of the table, barely smiling as he glanced around at those present. His faint accent and characteristic swarthy features marked him as a native of the Caucasus. "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff," replied the captain sitting opposite him with a sly grin. "We've got plenty of fire to spare!" A ripple of laughter ran along the table and ended in a hearty roar from the far end. At exactly 6:15, ...