Short Fiction · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

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Chapter 1
Short Fiction
A collection of short fiction pieces exploring themes of human experience, nature, and social dynamics.
Chapter 2
Easter Night
On Easter night in a provincial town, a young recruit named Faddéyef stands guard outside a prison. Inside, a delirious vagrant convict, seized by a desperate hope upon seeing an open door, attempts to escape. The recruit, torn between duty and compassion, ultimately shoots the fleeing man, whose dying groan mingles with the joyful Easter chants.
Chapter 3
A Saghálinian
The narrator, alone in a yurt, struggles with isolation and homesickness as night falls. A vagrant named Vasíli arrives seeking shelter, and his tale of wandering and longing for freedom deeply stirs the narrator. The next day, the narrator observes Vasíli's outward contentment but senses an inner restlessness and yearning for the forest life.
Chapter 4
I
The narrator describes a journey from Arzamas to a unique hillside site known as the 'Village of God,' consisting of small, toy-like houses with crosses and icons. The local clergy perform an annual requiem there for unknown dead, a custom rooted in the region's violent frontier history of oppression and suffering.
Chapter 5
II
This chapter recounts the history of rebellion and repression in Russia, focusing on the uprisings of Stepan Razin and Kondraty Bulavin, the brutal tsarist vengeance that followed, and the establishment of the 'Village of God' on the slopes of Arzamas mountain, where the bones of rebels and executed Stryeltsi were buried. Over time, personal memories of the dead faded, leaving only a vague tradition and a solemn prayer for all who died unknown.

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Short Fiction

Easter Night

A Saghálinian

I

II