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Natasha Frolenko
Alik Finkelstein is Kolya’s best friend. Like Kolya, he’s studying to become a mechanical engineer. He looks up to Kolya and promises Sofia that he’ll keep her son safe when they travel to another city to work in a factory together. But Alik is unable to stop the government from arresting Kolya in the middle of the night. At first, he assumes the whole thing is a mistake and that Kolya will be back after a day or so. When Kolya doesn’t return, though, he gets worried and travels to Leningrad, where he tells Sofia and Natasha what happened. In the ensuing weeks, he takes time off of work to help Sofia seek out information pertaining to Kolya’s case. He often helps Sofia by saving her a space in line so that she doesn’t have to stand in the cold all night, but he soon has no choice but to return to the factory. And yet, he’s eventually fired for refusing to dissociate himself from Kolya—an illustration of his fierce loyalty to his friend. He returns to Leningrad and once again tries to help Sofia Petrovna by standing in line, but she worries that he might make things worse by openly voicings his frustration with the government. Sofia thinks that Alik lets his anger get the best of him too often, assuming that this must have been why he was fired from the factory. She formulates this theory after Alik suggests that the government’s persecution of innocent people has gotten out of hand. Her reaction to his complaint underscores her hesitancy to renounce the Soviet Union’s practices, even when those practices have been used to harm her own son. In the end, Alik is imprisoned, too, leaving Sofia all alone.
Alik Finkelstein Quotes in Sofia Petrovna
The Sofia Petrovna quotes below are all either spoken by Alik Finkelstein or refer to Alik Finkelstein. 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:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“You’re still very young, I assure you, you’re mistaken. It’s all a question of tact. For instance, yesterday I defended Natalia Sergeyevna at the meeting. And the result? Nothing’s happened to me because of it. Believe me, this business with Kolya is a nightmare to me. I’m his mother. But I understand it’s a temporary misunderstanding, exaggerations, disagreement…One has to be patient.
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Chapter 16
Quotes
Lying in her bed, she would think about her next letter to Comrade Stalin. Since Kolya had been taken away, she had already written three letters to Comrade Stalin. In the first she had asked him to review Kolya’s case and have him released since he was not guilty of anything. In the second, she had asked to be told where he was so that she might go there and see him just once more before she died. In the third, she implored him to tell her one thing only: was Kolya alive or dead? But there was no answer…The first letter she had simply dropped into the mailbox, the second she had sent by registered mail, and the third, with a return slip for confirmation of delivery. The return slip came back after a few days. In the space “signature of recipient” was an incomprehensible scribble, in small letters: “…eryan.”
Who was this “Eryan”? And had he given Comrade Stalin the letter? After all the envelope had been marked: “Personal and Private.”
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Alik Finkelstein Quotes in Sofia Petrovna
The Sofia Petrovna quotes below are all either spoken by Alik Finkelstein or refer to Alik Finkelstein. 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:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“You’re still very young, I assure you, you’re mistaken. It’s all a question of tact. For instance, yesterday I defended Natalia Sergeyevna at the meeting. And the result? Nothing’s happened to me because of it. Believe me, this business with Kolya is a nightmare to me. I’m his mother. But I understand it’s a temporary misunderstanding, exaggerations, disagreement…One has to be patient.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16
Quotes
Lying in her bed, she would think about her next letter to Comrade Stalin. Since Kolya had been taken away, she had already written three letters to Comrade Stalin. In the first she had asked him to review Kolya’s case and have him released since he was not guilty of anything. In the second, she had asked to be told where he was so that she might go there and see him just once more before she died. In the third, she implored him to tell her one thing only: was Kolya alive or dead? But there was no answer…The first letter she had simply dropped into the mailbox, the second she had sent by registered mail, and the third, with a return slip for confirmation of delivery. The return slip came back after a few days. In the space “signature of recipient” was an incomprehensible scribble, in small letters: “…eryan.”
Who was this “Eryan”? And had he given Comrade Stalin the letter? After all the envelope had been marked: “Personal and Private.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
