Breaking Stalin's Nose

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Yelchin, Eugene. 2011.  Breaking Stalin’s Nose. New York: Square Fish. ISBN 9781250034106

PLOT SUMMARY

Growing up in the USSR during the 1930’s, ten-year-old Sasha Zaichik’s greatest dream has been to join the Young Soviet Pioneers of the Communist Party.   The night before Sasha finally gets the opportunity to join the Young Pioneers, his father, a State Security officer, is suddenly arrested in the middle of the night and is labeled an enemy of the state.  Bewildered, Sasha dutifully goes to his state-run school when morning arrives with the intent to achieve his dream.  By the end of the day, however, a series of events will cause him to re-examine his long-held beliefs about joining the Young Pioneers, the Soviet government, and his country’s beloved leader, Joseph Stalin.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The setting of the story occurs in the former USSR during the 1930’s, where Sasha and his father live near Moscow.  The beginning of the story take place in the building which contains the komunalka (apartment) where Sasha and his father live with several families and individuals.  The majority of the story occurs not far from his apartment, at the state-run school Sasha attends.   The final scene in the novel transpires outside the building in Lubyanka Square where Sasha has come to look for his imprisoned father.

Ten-year-old Sasha Zaichik is the protagonist and first-person narrator of the story.  The direct style of writing employed in this story is a reflection of Sasha’s passionate, strong, and thoughtful personality. Similarly, the black and white drawings highlight the contrasts found in Sasha’s story; each character and situation contains elements of the comical and severe, hero and enemy, and right and wrong.  Sasha has grown up with his belief system firmly grounded in the propaganda espousing the benefits of living in a country under the control of Joseph Stalin.  His hopes and dreams of becoming a great Communist like Stalin and his father are suddenly dampened from the efforts required to navigate the increasingly hostile environment of his school and classmates, and the reality of being newly orphaned.    

There are several antagonists in this story.  One antagonist is a man named Stukachov who is both Sasha’s neighbor and the informant responsible for the arrest of Sasha’s father.  Not only has Stukachov betrayed Sasha's father, but he quickly moved his family into Sasha's room, threw their broken belongings out into the hallway, locked the newly orphaned Sasha out, and left him alone to fend for himself. Sasha’s former best friend and classmate, Vovka Sobakin, has become an antagonist who taunts him by calling him an Amerikanetz because of his American-born mother.   Vovka tries to get Sasha in trouble at school numerous times throughout this fateful day.

Sasha’s teacher, Nina Petrovna, also fills an antagonist role because she is more concerned with whether her students are following the Communist doctrine than whether they are making academic progress.  Nina spends the majority of her time trying to turn her students against each other in the hopes of catching their hidden acts of betrayal revealing they are enemies of the State.  Although they never directly interact, the final antagonist in the story is Joseph Stalin, whose doctrines and actions were responsible for the execution, exile, or imprisonment of over twenty million people (p. 153).  Despite their demonstrated loyalty and support, Sasha and his father ultimately become victims of Stalin’s regime.

In the exposition of the story, Sasha dreams and hopes of becoming a great Communist like Stalin and his father.  He is convinced that the USSR is “the most democratic and progressive country in the world” (p. 2).  As the rising action begins, Sasha suddenly finds his beliefs challenged after his father is arrested in the middle of the night and is labeled an enemy of the state.  Instead of being convinced of the glory of the Soviet Union and feeling pride in the sacrifices his family has made in support of communism, Sasha begins to see the daily injustices in his life and the lives of those around him.  

Sasha has grown up with an awareness of the harsh consequences of disloyalty to the State.  As the rising action continues, he now finds himself in a precarious position after the arrest of his father.  He develops more empathy and thoughtfulness towards other people whose family members were affected by such accusations.  For example, when Sasha says his mother was a real communist, his classmate Finkelstein replies, “‘My mom and dad are real Communists, too […] They are in Lubyanka prison now-enemies of the people’” (p. 63).  

Sasha is becoming keenly aware of the reality of the emotions and struggles faced by the people whose family members have been falsely accused and are now either in prison or have been killed.  Although currently at odds with Vovka, when both boys are in trouble in the principal’s office, Sasha thinks to himself: “I understand how he must feel.  If my dad were shot, wouldn’t I be angry? What’s hard to believe is this: Vovka’s dad, an enemy of the people? [...]he was a good Soviet citizen, modest, a devoted Communist” (p. 103). 

The central conflict in the story is revealed when Sasha finds himself struggling with the choice to become a Young Pioneer.  During a confrontation with the state security officer, the officer gives Sasha one last opportunity to prove his devotion to Stalin and communism and offers Sasha: 

“a rare opportunity to pledge assistance to the Soviet State Security.  All you have to do is listen in, observe, and report suspicious behavior right here in your own school.  Let your deep-felt devotion to Communism be your guide.  You’ll be our secret agent, like your dad” (p. 134).

The final step in the rising action occurs when Sasha waits to enter the rally for the Young Pioneers.  Instead of triumphantly marching into the rally holding the banner, Sasha finds himself thinking about the state security officer “who has replaced my dad as guest of honor.  My dad, who is in prison.  My dad, who said last night, ‘Tomorrow’s a big day.’ He was right. It was a big day.  It changed my life forever” (p. 141).  To his dismay, he realizes that following the rules and fulfilling the role of a loyal Communist could not save his father, the parents of his friends, and countless other people he knows who were either imprisoned or killed.  It will also not be enough to guarantee his safety either now that his father has been labeled an enemy of the people.  He discovers that to become an informant and turn against his friends and everyone at the school would compromise his beliefs.

The climax of the story occurs when Sasha chooses to walk away and turn his back on all that the Young Pioneers stand for and their part in the communist regime: “I take a last look at the banner, turn away, and dash out the back door, down the stairs, and out of the school.  I don’t want to be a Pioneer” (p. 141).  The falling action of the story occurs when Sasha leaves his school and travels to Lubyanka Square.  There, the resolution of the story happens as Sasha accepts that he will wait in line behind hundreds of people who are also waiting to get into the building with the hopes of learning the status of their loved ones.

The theme of disillusionment occurs when Sasha’s world is turned upside down after the arrest of his father whom he had considered both his hero and the ideal Communist.  With the arrest of his father, Sasha realizes his entire family, including himself, has been judged to be against the state, and to his dismay, Sasha learns how quickly his friends, neighbors, teachers, and the government turn against them, “I am no longer part of the Communist ‘We’” (p. 111).  The theme of disillusionment also occurs when Sasha realizes that his mother did not die of an illness in the hospital, but instead died as a result of betrayal by his father.  The theme of personal choice occurs when Sasha begins to question his beliefs and realizes he must decide whether or not to continue to support a government that encourages its citizen to spy on and report each other for personal gain.

The authenticity of this story is addressed in the “Author’s Note” starting on page 152. Yelchin provides background information into Joseph Stalin’s reign from 1923 to 1953, explaining Stalin “waged war against the Russian people” (p.153).  He notes, “Stalin’s propaganda machine deceived ordinary people into believing that countless spies and terrorists threatened their security.  Tormented by fear, Soviet citizens clung to Stalin for guidance and protection, and soon his popularity reached cult status” (p. 153).  This section provides a look into how Yelchin’s personal experiences growing up in the Soviet Union during the 1960’s was affected and shaped by Stalin’s legacy that “endured in the Russian people” (p. 153).  Yelchin explains, “They had lived in fear for so long that fear had become an integral part of their very beings.  Unchecked, fear was passed on from generation to generation.  It has been passed on to me, as well” (p. 153).

After the Author’s Note, there is a section called “Sasha’s Moscow” that contains background information and additional details that supplement the story.  This section covers topics such as The Kremlin, Sasha’s Apartment, Sasha’s Mom, Young Soviet Pioneers, Informers, etc. Credit for the photographs used in the “Sasha’s Moscow” section is contained in a web address found on the bibliographic information page at the beginning of the book.  

Finally, a “Questions for the Author Eugene Yelchin” section provides additional, intimate details into Yelchin’s personal history and how it deeply affected the writing of this story.  The information in this section helps readers draw comparisons to Sasha’s fictional experiences to Yelchin’s real-life experiences living in Russia.  Most importantly, Yelchin draws readers into his story with the confession that his “research for the novel grew into something much bigger; it affected me personally.  I realized it was my duty to tell the truth.  My book became necessary” (p. 167).

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

A 2012 Newbery Honor Book

From Horn Book: “*This brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends. Appropriately menacing illustrations by first-time novelist Yelchin add a sinister tone” -starred review.

From Publisher’s Weekly: “Picture book author/illustrator Yelchin makes an impressive middle-grade debut with this compact novel about a devoted young Communist in Stalin-era Russia, illustrated with dramatically lit spot art.”

From Kirkus Reviews: “Yelchin's graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha's steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale.”

CONNECTIONS

Collect other Eugene Yelchin books to read such as:

• Arcady's Goal. ISBN 978-1250068149
• The Haunting of Falcon House. ISBN 9780805098457

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• Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily’s Crossing. ISBN 9780440414537
• Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. ISBN 9780547577098
• Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. IBSN 9780064403689
• Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood-Red Sun. ISBN 9780385386555