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Andrius’ Stone
Though Stalin is never actually seen or heard from throughout the novel, his presence nevertheless looms behind every scene. It is Josef Stalin who annexes Lithuania as part of the Soviet Union, and it is he who orders the NKVD to deport anyone considered to have committed “anti-Soviet” activities. This is how Lina, her family, and the rest of the deportees come to essentially become slaves to the Soviet state. Out of all the characters, Lina in particular is vocal about her hatred towards the new leader who has caused the destruction of both her country and her life. Stalin becomes the looming evil behind the tangible torture committed by the guards. His inescapable presence throughout the novel is what makes his representation even more oppressive, since Lina derives all her misery from his rise to power and every subsequent misfortune that befalls the Vilkases. Furthermore, the epilogue points out that unlike with the fall of the Nazis after the Holocaust, the Soviet Union continued to maintain power after the end of World War II, thus rendering all former prisoners of the camps silent. The suffocating presence of Stalin, Communism, and the Soviet Union is what pushes Lina to document her deportation.
Josef Stalin Quotes in Between Shades of Gray
The Between Shades of Gray quotes below all refer to the symbol of Josef Stalin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 30
Quotes
“Jonas,” said Mother, stroking my brother’s face. “I can’t trust them. Stalin has told the NKVD that Lithuanians are the enemy. The commander and the guards look at us as beneath them. Do you understand?”
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Josef Stalin Symbol Timeline in Between Shades of Gray
The timeline below shows where the symbol Josef Stalin appears in Between Shades of Gray. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...man asks Lina what she thinks of the “new Lithuania.” Lina announces that she thinks Stalin, who had recently annexed Lithuania, is a “bully.” Kostas tells her that that’s enough, and...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...he looked fine. She asks Elena why they are being deported, and Elena says that Stalin wants Lithuania for the Soviets, and that similar processes are likely happening in Latvia, Estonia,...
(full context)
Chapter 24
In a flashback, Lina recalls Kostas finding a caricature Lina drew of Stalin such that he was wearing a clown suit. Kostas and his friends with whom he...
(full context)
Chapter 28
...guards. Lina recalls Kostas explaining the tenets of Communism to her—where everything is owned by Stalin and rationed out to the people. Lina realizes she is on a kolkhoz, a collective...
(full context)
Chapter 36
...home base. The room they are placed in has portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on the walls. The commander says (through Elena’s translation) that the deportees have been brought...
(full context)
Chapter 42
...in town. Everyone longs for news about the war. They hear that Hitler has pushed Stalin out of Lithuania, but have no idea what this means for the future of the...
(full context)
...listening to Kostas and his friends speak about politics in hushed voices. They argue whether Stalin or Hitler is worse. Worried about her daughter overhearing upsetting things, Elena orders Lina to...
(full context)
Chapter 45
...hell, and Jonas replies that he was repeating something his father had said: that if Stalin came to Lithuania, that’s where they would all end up.
(full context)
Chapter 46
...killing the Jews, and this makes people upset. Despite the harsh reality of Hitler and Stalin, Elena is elated by any news of Lithuania.
(full context)
