Original subtitles

Alyonka

Script Sergey Antonov

Director Boris Barnet

Image Igor Chyornih

Alyonka Natasha Ovodova

Stepan V. Shukshin

Produced by the Union of Cinema Writers and Workers

Why are you always disappearing, you little runaway?

I was looking for Papa.

I'll come back, aunt Grunya. For sure.

Keep an eye on my husband, please.

Efim leads him away from the right path.

Take good care of the child.

And come back home quick.

A married woman should be with her legal husband

- as a watch on a wrist. - I'll come back, aunt Grunya.

Write me about him,

will you, Aunt Grunya?

Write... what?

How can you keep check on a man?

The very hem of a skirt makes them think about it!

Give the child to your grandma and rush back home.

Shame on you! You used to be such a driver, shown on film.

And what are you now?

It's nothing, aunt Grunya.

Everybody says it'll be easier once he's a year old.

And you, about mine,

write everything just as it is. Don't hide anything.

So I'll know what to do for myself.

Hello.

Hello, aunt Grunya.

Hello, Alyona.

Look after her well on the train, Vasilisa Petrovna?

You know how quick she is. Bringing every A from school

but still, naive. One blink and she's...

Don't you worry, Lidya!

And don't let her off the train at stations, she'll slip through your fingers.

Don't you worry about that either.

Nastya's coming with us too?

She is. She finally made up her mind.

They say her husband's being unfaithful to her.

Who knows.. Maybe he is.

Oh goodness!

What's that?!

Where are you going? You're crazy or what!

What are you doing?

Get on. We're leaving.

What's the hurry?

Your fatty is probably still drinking tea at home.

Hey you!

You are all good at talking

but nobody's left when it comes to helping a sick person

Sit near me

I need to tell you

that since we met

you've always been my...

I love your fair look, your simple words

Did you put bricks in it or what?

- Lidya, help me. - Give it to me.

That padlock is like in a bank!

Here's the bundle. Here's the suitcase.

Here's Sonya's parcel.

Where's my handbag? My handbag!

My God, where's the handbag?

Here's the damned bag.

My heart's stopped beating.

Farewell, Vasilisa Petrovna.

Do I know you?

Farewell!

Lidya, take it, don't break it.

In heaven's name, help me.

Ouch, I can't get on.

Be careful with the child.

Ouch!

Good-bye, Agrafena Sergeevna!

- Good-bye. - Good-bye, Lydia!

Forgive me if I've done something bad.

Alyonka!

She left her schoolbooks, the little scatterbrain! Here you are.

She's not here.

Where is she then?

You know her! Nastya Tarasova,

they shot her for a film.

Well, you know the driver Tarasov?

- And what is it? - She's his wife.

- She wears a floral cotton dress. - Cotton dress?

Don't you understand?

She's with a baby, in the trailer!

And you, who are you?

- Muratova. - Which Muratova?

Muratova.

Oh, that one!

And why are you running away from your parents, Muratova?

I have to study and there's no school here.

Wait two more years and there'll be a school.

You want everything too quickly.

- Well, what was your question again? - It takes 500km to get to Aryk.

- And?

Nastya Tarasova has a baby.

How can she ride in the trailer 500 km!

Ah, I see!

- Hello, Agrafena Vasilevna. - Hello, Dmitri Prokofitch.

Little but fearless child!

Don't listen to her, Dmitri Prokofitch!

Don't listen to her, comrade Gulko, she's talking nonsense.

She doesn't understand anything.

Look what you've done, aren't you ashamed!

- Into the cab. - I won't go.

You're shown respect, so get in the cab.

No, for all the tea in China, Dmitri Prokofitch.

Stop being childish!

Go get in the cab, I say.

Thank you, Dmitri Prokofitch!

Shh, go ahead.

- She doesn't understand who she's talking to. - Let's go.

- They've gone? - Gone. I saw them off.

Too bad.

Too late.

Please, my leg!

Oh, who's here?

Who's here?

Comrade Gulko, let's cut across the steppe.

I don't object.

In 1955

thousands of young and not so young people

from every corner of our land

headed to the fertile virgin lands.

And in the same year

some people were leaving the virgin lands.

Among them was

Alyonka.

My daddy works there.

- Are you going to Aryk? - We are.

Good.

Hey, guy, where are you going with your dog?

- I have to meet my wife. - What wife?

Not yours, don't be afraid.

Hey you,

get off.

What's wrong?

I've been trying to hitch a lift for a long while.

Come down quick.

I'm telling you I have to meet my wife.

Is that clear to you?

- Are you stupid? - What?!

I hate such people.

Let him stay, I don't object.

As you wish!

What have you done?

Hey, my friend, get up.

Wake up, pal!

- Wake up, do you hear? - What!

You got lost?

And you claim to be a driver!

He took a shortcut and lost his way.

Why couldn't he wake a man up!

Bomb scare!

Sit him up.

Hey, have you ever been to Aryk?

You know the road?

Which ear is ringing?

- The left one. - Exactly.

Scratch my back.

My pesky stepsister is biting.

- I say, have you ever been to Aryk? - Don't shout! Sure, I have.

- I took my wife there. - What's your name?

Revun Stepan.

Sit in the cab, you'll show the way.

- Lost the way? - We did!

You know what?

Things look bad!

You may drive around for a year here without meeting a living soul.

Last time we followed the poles but got lost anyway.

Good Heavens!

How could you sign up for such an important trip, smarty pants!

- Why didn't you say you didn't know the road? - Did you ask?

The only thing you can say is "Quicker and be careful".

Let's not talk about me, is that clear?

- Do you have a compass? - Maybe you want an astrolabe too?

Another helpful one!

Go west!

Where's the west, I'd like to know.

Follow the shadows then the poles.

Always the same.

A load of passengers and none knows where to go.

Do as you've been told: follow the shadows then the poles.

Hello, friends!

How many kilometres is it to Aryk?

450.

Go west all the way.

Got it.

North.

West.

South.

East.

The corners of the world.

Pets' names should be written with capital letters.

Are these all school books?

They are.

You get homework from all of them?

All of them.

My God!

How children are tormented!

It's hard, isn't it?

No, I can remember everything at the first lesson.

I can solve new problems and remember the old ones.

Where's such a school where you're taught to remember till death?

- At Rybinsk. - Beyond the river?

Yes. What should I do?

The teacher forgets the old problems but I don't.

What a nuisance!

Listen, Alyonka.

Don't think about it!

You've done what you've been asked but now think about something else!

Home, life,

the cost of things.

Aren't you ashamed!

Instilling such ideas in a child?!

It's none of your business!

And who are you?

It doesn't matter who I am.

I'm a dental surgeon from Riga.

Dentist?

- Yes. - Where do you work?

I can't say now.

I'm probably unemployed.

Don't be afraid, little girl! I won't bite you.

I came to the virgin lands after graduation

to work.

My Dad is an eminent doctor and I've always dreamt to be worthy of him.

I went to the Komsomol committee and asked to be sent to the steppe.

I ended up on the steppe.

There came a great many of us.

The radio shouted:

"Truck drivers to the right". And they went to the right.

"Tractor drivers to the left". And they went to the left.

And then the radio asked:

And you, who are you?

I'm a dentist.

I've graduated and I'd really love to work.

But I was dogged by bad luck.

I was not supposed to arrive there

but at the regional Health Center.

But very kind people happened to be there.

They didn't send me back to Aryk

but to the "Sovkhoz of the South"

The director there is a cultured man who creates exceptional conditions for medicine.

Drink, please.

Can you pull teeth out or only fill them?

I can pull them out, of course.

I have pliers with me.

These are for the upper jaw. These are for the lower one.

Well... we'd better do this.

I'll send you to the "Sovkhoz of the Sun".

The director there is a cultured man who creates exceptional conditions for medicine.

This truck will take you there. Go.

- Good-bye. - Good-bye. Thanks.

Sovkhoz of the Sun!

I got in the truck and thought that everything was fine,

that I'd begin to work soon,

that I should send a telegram to my Mom.

I remembered my dear Riga,

the orchestra playing "The Danube's waves" at the station

and the radio which I was offered, with the inscription on it:

"Listen to your dear Riga and don't forget your friends".

But I was dogged by bad luck.

It turned out I got in the wrong truck.

"Be brave, Elsa", I said to myself.

Think.

What would Pavel Korchagin do in your place?

No doubt he'd go to the main road

and hitch a lift.

I walked to the road

and I felt so good

that I could have walked across the whole steppe.

But I was dogged by bad luck.

There wasn't any road on the steppe.

Moreover the radio was very heavy.

But some good luck smiled on me.

And I hitched a lift.

I was so proud that I could overcome such difficulties.

Mummy is wrong to say that I'm not well adjusted.

And I have to send her a telegram to calm her down.

I was riding in a truck, the night was wonderful and I was dreaming

about my arrival at the sovkhoz hospital,

about the white and bright surgery I'd have.

I'd work from morning till night.

My picture would be taken

and published in the newspaper.

And daddy would see this newspaper and run to show it to mommy.

And mummy would say:

Oh, how wrong and cruel I was to think that my little girl wasn't

well ada.. adjusted.

I felt so good that I offered my jumper to the driver.

Surname?

Kalnyn.

Elsa Kalnyn.

Not yours, the driver's?

I don't know. I didn't ask him.

Ok. I'll find out by myself.

So I arrived at the sovkhoz and looked for the hospital.

They told me that I had to wait until a woman gave birth

before I could see the head doctor.

I stood and waited patiently

until that woman gave birth.

Ouch mummy!

Why are you yelling?

- Have you thought about a name? - Electron.

What electrons are you talking about!

- A Christian name! - Electron!

Light!

Run to the mechanic, tell him that Valya is delivering and we need light!

And you were saying Electron!

A cute little girl!

Who are you?

I'm a dental surgeon.

"From now on, Elsa," I said to myself,

"this kind woman will be your second mother."

I told her how I'd been sent here,

that I had two pliers with me:

a pair for the upper jaw, a pair for the lower one.

And then I asked: where will my office be?

Which office?

The dentist's, of course.

And, please, find me a chair.

So you want a chair!

And where do you think you are!

What do they teach you there in geography?

That there are dental chairs every kilometre here?

What did you expect from a sovkhoz which isn't yet one year old.

You thought you'd be pulling out teeth

with an orchestra playing "The Danube's waves".

Well, my pretty one, go to Karatau,

get yourself a chair, a drill and an office.

Don't come back with empty hands.

"Be brave, Elsa",

I said to myself.

Think. What would Pavel Korchagin do in your place?

Do you feel sorry for her?

- I do, very much. - I don't a bit.

Why do I have to feel sorry for her? She should feel sorry for me.

She's about 20, and I'm twice as old.

Her life is only beginning,

mine is at twilight.

Here is my story.

I have a wife and children in Ryabinsk and I probably won't see them anymore.

My daughter went to study and my son's going to the army this year.

Why have I come here? What for?

Because my place is here and nobody will do my job except myself.

The moment I remember I have 1,000 motors on my shoulders

I jump out of my sofa.

Why has she come here? What did she expect?

I perfectly understand why Agrafena Vasilevna shouted at you.

I'll shout myself soon at all those delicate hands!

They arrive, have a look and immediately begin to play the fool.

They create, so they say.

But we have to fetch nails for their creation.

And here in the steppe, to get a nail, you need more imagination

than to write Evgeny Onegin.

So, be so kind

as to pull out teeth on a wooden stool as long as there's no chair.

Canteen

- Thanks a lot. - You're welcome.

Please.

- Look how they cook here. - How could I do the same?

You know my oven. It's completely unsoldered.

- 1,000 motors come before your oven. - 1,000 motors!!

When Mr. Gulko comes, he wants the best, the bottom of the pan.

But the warehouse gives the same products to everybody.

They don't look at who is who.

Mr. Gulko or not.

Skip it, we weren't talking about me.

Do you find it right

when it rains in the workshops,

when workers thresh night and day,

when the grain temperature goes up,

do you find it right to run back home?

And you call yourself a head chef! Let the milk boil over and run!

Your oven is unsoldered?

It doesn't concern you anymore. Stay out of it.

She's smarter than everyone.

While others fix the oven,

she took sick leave and ran away from the sovkhoz.

If you want to know, I'm really sick.

I've had X-rays done twice.

The whole illness is on paper.

Each spoon here is worth its weight in gold and you are ill.

In the war you didn't feel pain, I'm sure.

You worked two shifts in a row like a diesel engine, right?

That was war.

She doesn't understand.

Today's harvest, if you want to know, has an international importance.

Each ton of bread keeps the war away.

Leave the war alone!

What do you mean "leave it alone"?

It's so scary that I'm not even afraid of it.

I see that the way to your reasoning is not easy.

Come in, young lady, come in.

I'll bring your first and main courses.

And the bill, 3.20

Coming.

No cashier, no chef today. Everybody's at the harvest.

That's too much!

Eat, young lady, don't be afraid.

I've cooked enough for 200 demobilised soldiers.

But they passed by without eating.

Everyone's rushing. Where are they rushing?

Eat, young lady.

Add some salt.

Enough.

- Something's wrong? - I don't know.

There's nobody in the office.

They've all gone to the harvest. Nobody knows when they'll be back.

As soon as the harvest's finished, they'll come back.

They won't disappear.

True. Don't worry about that.

You've been sent here. Wait here.

What can happen to you? Nothing.

You've been sent here. Stay

until you've got what you've come for.

Once I made a bet with Lyuska for an Eskimo Pie.

Lyuska was responsible for order and cleanliness.

She teased me that I was the teacher's pet.

because Vitaminych only gave me A's.

It's our teacher's name - Konstantin Venyaminovich.

Vitaminych, for short.

He's very kind, that's why he gives A's.

But Lyuska says I'm his favourite.

So we quarrelled about it.

I bet her I'd bring as many C's as I wish.

She says: No, you won't. I say: I will.

I dare you won't. I reply: I dare I will.

So I bet I could get five C's.

At home I'm not allowed to eat Eskimo Pies.

because I have tonsils.

But Lyuska and I are just mad about Eskimo Pies.

Muratova.

This is how it began.

At an exhibition of all Soviet agricultural colleges

there were two pumpkins.

One pumpkin weighed

twenty five kilos.

The other pumpkin was

three kilograms less.

Question:

How much did the two pumpkins

weigh?

Forty seven.

Forty seven.

Dyakushkin,

leave the classroom,

please.

Muratova, are you ill?

I don't know.

I have tonsils.

So Vitaminytch began to explain the problem but got confused.

The next day Vitaminych entered the classroom

with the headmaster.

I thought there would be some announcement

about a rags collection or a demonstration.

Not at all.

I'm called to the board once again.

And once again I'm asked to solve the pumpkin problem.

- Two melons. - Pumpkins.

Pumpkins.

One is twenty-five, the other one

is three less.

Question:

how much do both weigh?

I wrote 28 as an answer.

Then the headmaster says:

Muratova, why are you misbehaving?

Write 47.

How can I write 47 when I find 28?

Write 47 and don't argue.

What should I do?

The headmaster ordered:

I had to write 47.

It's correct now.

Good job.

47.

Wait, wait.

- Look what you wrote. - 47

- 47 what? - Pumpkins.

- Do you have a television? - We do.

Everything's clear.

Influence of foreign films.

If she goes on writing such nonsense, give her no lunch and call the parents.

Here it is, she always finds 28.

My parents are like Vitaminych,

they just look angry.

Daddy read the problem and said:

Maybe you think two pumpkins can't weigh 47 kilograms?

said daddy.

They easily can.

I saw one pumpkin at an exhibition,

it weighed 80 kilograms.

Quite possible,

I say.

"So write," daddy says.

Write what?, I say.

"47", daddy says.

How can I write 47 when I need to find

a solution? I say.

- Find a solution then. - I don't know how! I say.

Ok.

I'll solve it.

And you'll copy it out.

And we'll talk later at home, daddy says.

And daddy began to write the solution but got confused.

2 pages were covered with writing

and he still had no results.

He only knew the result

but how to get to it,

the solving steps,

he didn't know.

So daddy vented his anger on the school,

on Vitaminych, on the headmaster, on mummy and me.

Why do you persist, Muratova?

I know everything about your bet.

This is stupid.

The whole school is fighting against C's.

Every C is a failure for the whole school

and a shame for the teacher

and for the pupil.

It's bad,

Muratova!

Each C, Muratova,

is a stain not only on you

but..

on your own school.

Well,

you aren't grown up enough,

it seems,

to understand it, Muratova.

Education

can't help here.

But can you understand

my position?

The position

of your old teacher?

Can't you?

Am I so old

that I can't teach anymore!

Should I retire from school?

I didn't expect it

from you, Muratova!

I didn't expect it.

Then I felt sorry for Vitaminych

and decided to solve the problem.

But he didn't call me anymore.

Petrov!

One week later the girls whispered during the break:

"The regional inspector is here to expel Muratova from school."

I'm called into the teachers' room.

There was Roman Semyonovich, the director of our sovkhoz.

At that time in Rybinsk

he worked for the education board.

- How many C's do you have, Muratova? - Three.

Three.

- How many do you need? - Five.

Let's solve these problems.

I try but can't find the right solution.

"Hey", teases Roman Semyonovich.

And he gives me a C.

Another problem.

C once again.

Wonderful!..

Two C's in a day.

Done. Now go improve your grades.

- Good-bye, Roman Semyonovich! - Good-bye.

Good-bye, Konstantin Venyaminych!

But then, Vitaminych and I

both got afraid.

Here's what happened:

I was sure I was writing 47.

But my hand didn't obey anymore

and I wrote 28.

Konstantin Vitaminych!

I've solved the problem.

I've solved the problem.

47.

47?

not 28?

No. 47.

What's the matter with you, Konstantin Vitaminych?

One eye is crying, the other one isn't.

When you're in the 3rd year of school,

both will cry.

Wait, little girl!

Where are your friends?

What do you think, girls?

- Are the noodles good? - Delicious.

- Where have they gone? - To Aryk.

About fifteen minutes ago.

Everyone's rushing. Where are they rushing?

Find shelter somewhere, girls!

The Kazakh rain's coming.

Hurry up.

What are you going to do now?

I'll hitch a lift and catch up with them.

What about you?

Alyonka!

Where are you, little runaway?

I'm here!

Hold, my friend!

Stay here

until you get what you want.

Nothing can happen to you.

Let's take her with us.

The crafty old girl!

Who?

Your aunt Grunya, of course!

Why didn't I notice her trick at once!

She didn't come herself, of course.

She's too well-known

and everybody keeps from her as from the plague.

So look who she sent, the crafty old girl!

Well done! What will they see?

A poor, little, helpless, skinny, always weeping volunteer.

Willing or not,

she inspires compassion.

'Why are you crying, young girl?'

'How can I not cry when the dentist's office

has been taken away by Mister Gulko?'

The crafty old girl!

And you, what do you think?

That I requisitioned those two little rooms for myself?

No.

Mechanics are there now

because if I hadn't provided them with housing,

the trucks wouldn't be delivering bread to the state.

And those rooms aren't good for medicine anyway.

Wait, aunt Grunya!

You're crafty,

but we're craftier.

I ordered millions of people around!

Ordzhonikidze himself talked to me.

- Hello! - Hello!

Hey, pal. Is Aryk far?

Four hundred and fifty.

This way?

That way.

What a mess!

On such an important trip

you're given as much petrol as in Moscow.

I asked the head mechanic,

no answer!

I asked Roman Semyonovich,

no answer.

Your Roman Semyonovich is an amazing guy.

You're no match for him.

Alright, pal,.. Finish your meal, ok?

Hey, grandpa!

How many kilometres is it to Aryk?

Four hundreds and fifty.

Don't say if you don't know, grandpa.

I sure tell you, four hundred and fifty.

Grandpa, do you have some water?

We do. Bring your bottle.

Do you have a cinema?

No.

We do.

At the sovkhoz of the Sun.

The other day I saw a frightening film.

- About Koshchey the Immortal. - Shaytan!

- Where's Shaytan? - You are.

Come.

Do you want to go for a ride?

On horseback?

On horseback.

I do.

Wait for me here,

I'll go fetch the colt from the herd.

Alyonka!

Do you want to stay behind again?

Quick into the truck!

My God!

How do people live here!

Our country in comparison,

is a paradise

Yes, a paradise.

But if you want to know, it's better here.

What's good here? Only dust!

It's better here anyway.

Right!

Look at that expanse!

Expanse and what!

Even if you plant palm trees in a foreign land,

you won't get used to it. - It depends.

A man won't. But a woman is like a cat.

Wherever you throw her, she'll sniff out the area and find a place to lie.

I brought mine from Moscow.

Well, she got used to it.

You mean she'd rather have you than Moscow?

Am I worse than the others?

I work very well.

I earn our living, thank God.

I neither drink nor smoke.

Honestly! I don't like that.

Give me a break!

Well, auntie,

I'm not accountable to you, nor do I have any reason to lie to you.

Listen if you want! If not, don't.

I don't like it.

Good!

God help you!

You're a happy man.

She married you at first sight!

It takes a guy years of courting,

to finally find a wife who turns out such a fleabag

that puts off not only her mother-in-law but also her husband.

But she fell for you at first sight!

How did you mesmerize her?

I didn't let her regain her senses.

She argued with her parents at the dacha over a silly thing.

They didn't want her to learn horseback riding, or something.

And she fell out with them.

She left the dacha for Moscow

as if she was leaving her parents forever.

If I hadn't run into her, she would've gone back home that very evening.

She'd feel like drinking coffee at home.

But I was just between two stations.

I saw her and made her acquaintance. That's it.

I brought her to Belogorsk.

I had a room there.

Facing the construction site, splendid!

Some time later she says: I am bored.

She's bored!

What does she need? We lead a cultured life.

We subscribe to a newspaper.

But she's bored!

After some more time together, she says:

I'll get a dog. I won't be bored anymore.

First I didn't understand why she wanted a dog.

But one weekend I picked up a book and I saw...

"The Lady with the Dog".

It speaks about a dog too.

So she decided to copy this lady to escape boredom.

And took her dog for a walk through Belogorsk.

Is it funny or sad?

She was about to lead a life-substitute.

The book spoke about a pedigree dog,

but this one was some sort of a mix,

full of fleas,

scratching himself and the ground every minute

and stopping at every pole.

An ugly pet!

I watched them and thought:

something has to be done.

In the newspapers they wrote about the virgin lands.

I took my salary and went to the station.

I bought tickets to Aryk.

Two for us, a third one for the dog.

I said, "get your Fido ready, we're leaving".

Where to? she asked.

To the south, to the seaside.

So we arrived there.

You'll certainly remember the winter that year.

Freezing! We slept with our hats on.

Sovkhoz of the "South"

The director noticed that we were the only family among the newcomers.

and with a dog into the bargain!

He wanted to give us favourable conditions,

proposed that we'd live at the station until summer

to receive the freight delivered to the sovkhoz.

"No", I said, "comrade director".

I'm a tractor driver and a mechanic

I have nothing to do here.

So he sent us to the sovkhoz.

First she flatly refused.

So I had to explain to her how a man should live in this world.

I had to give her some didactic lessons.

And we settled down in the centre.

We lived like barons, in a separate house.

Like a good housewife she boiled snow to get hot water.

I was on the road all day long.

I would take my double barreled rifle

and sing songs on the road.

When I saw a rabbit, I would shoot it and bring it to her as a gift.

By the time I got home, it'd be as frozen as in a supermarket.

You can put it in a soup or make a meatloaf, as you wish.

One evening I came home and didn't believe my eyes.

I began to examine it. No doubt.

She'd hung a naked woman.

I took the rifle and aimed at it.

And bam from the left barrel!

My wife off the reel started shaming me.

Oh, no, what are you doing? It's Rubens!

I'm trying as much as I can to create comfort.

And you, bigfoot, you enter here like in a forest and shoot!

I explain to her that comfort has nothing to do

with hanging naked men or women on the wall.

Is it comfort when you sit naked?

She doesn't understand anything, sits numb.

In Belogorsk she would embrace me fiercely

and say, "I love you madly".

But here, she kept silent, as if her tongue refused to talk.

Silent she was, the next two days, silent like in a reading room.

I didn't like that.

Why don't you say something?

Hm?

What more do you need?

Nothing.

I'm tired here.

What are you tired of?

I'm tired psychologically

But you won't understand this.

Why wouldn't I?

Do the mice bother you?

Yeah.

There are so many mice.

So I had to spend all night on a mousetrap.

I was too busy during the day.

A construction site had just begun

and the steppe was posing its enigmas every day:

What to make a window frame out of?

Where to unearth a trowel and pliers?

And a beam for the roof?

To solve these enigmas was our daily life.

Frames were made of crates that once contained the parts for the ploughs.

In springtime sledge runners for tractors served as beams.

A mousetrap seemed a simple thing to do

but it wasn't easy to find material even for that.

Pals gave me wire.

I removed nails from the tread of my shoes.

And all in all that made a mousetrap.

The mice were caught better.

We made up.

She started working as an accounting clerk.

Later I went to Aryk

and bought her a nice clip-frame bordered picture.

A silver cat,

with a red ribbon,

on a black background.

A nice picture,

50 roubles worth.

She looked at the picture and said:

"You know, Stepan,

I don't think I love you anymore".

Well, you don't love me, what can I do!

I got out of bed and lay on the floor.

She said, "You stay in bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

Of course I didn't do it on principle.

Now there is an empty bed, and the two of us sleep on the floor.

Almost like in the army.

Here is where Rubens leads!

One morning I got up and went to clear the road.

I kept thinking of her all day.

Of course it was strange to her.

We're not made from the same mold.

Her father is en eminent worker.

From the Nomenklatura. He has a chauffeur.

On the other hand, why doesn't she like it here?

Look at that beauty all around.

Snow, wilderness.

When I came home, something was not right.

And obviously she hadn't been there for a while.

Has she gone to the office? Very unlikely.

In such a snowstorm no one would get there.

I didn't like it at all.

Dear Stepan, I can't bear it anymore. Lida

I got out and looked for her.

But how? Now with electricity the village can be seen from 10 kms around.

But then there was one street lamp and a storm, to make things worse.

If I started searching, I could easily get lost too.

And if I found her, which way would we go back?

I drove, flashed lights on and off. She was nowhere.

And such a roar I couldn't here my own tractor.

I drove and drove so much that the tractor flooded.

I dug about in the motor, hands frozen to the bone.

To hell with my hands, I thought.

If I could only save a living soul.

I went back and didn't know what to do.

And there the dog moaned too!

I looked at him

and I was hit by such a fit of anger that I couldn't find words for it.

I let him loose and shouted "Search, you son of a bitch"

He understood what was expected of him and ran.

And we found her.

Not far at all, in a snowdrift

She sat curled up.

She wasn't frozen yet and could even talk.

I brought her home and undressed her like that Rubens.

I brought her, as one says, to life's reality.

From this night on my relation to the dog changed radically.

Everybody began to respect Fido,

took their hats off in front of him.

When there's a problem, they call him to search.

And he never betrays their trust.

Even she felt hurt.

Willing or not, she had to be worthy of her Fido.

The Lady with the Dog!

She said "I know, what I have to do".

"The most important thing in a man is culture".

She began to work in a cultural centre and she likes it.

In short,

things look better now.

We sleep together again.

Are you married?

Why?

You don't think she'll come back?

You know better.

So, are you married or not?

There's no town hall yet. Where could we marry?

You don't think she'll come?

Don't have any doubt, young man, she won't come.

Why are you disheartening him, Vasilisa Petrovna?

- Let's see and I bet she will. - Keep quiet!

There's nothing to do here!

My deceased daughter,

may she rest in peace,

didn't even work two days here.

Egor's to blame! Damn him!

- I'll never forgive that devil! - No need to accuse him.

- Why did he abandon the sacks then? - Did you forget the mud we were in?

I didn't.

I remember everything.

Not a single truck was driving.

Why did we come to this steppe!

I had two daughters, twins. Nyurka and Lisaveta.

Thank God, Nyurka stayed home.

But my deceased Lisaveta wouldn't go anywhere else.

She was so conscientious.

A perfect Komsomol girl.

Nyurka likes to sing and dance,

but Lisaveta had only work in mind.

As we arrived at the sovkhoz,

we registered in the tent.

She was appointed as a shepherd.

She looked like a cavalryman anyway,

in her ski pants and on horseback.

She was about to rest a little when that damned Egor shouted:

"Shepherd,

I left the seeds near the river, I ran out of petrol.

Watch the horses so they won't eat them."

I sat and waited.

I began to sense misfortune.

I thought, "at least Nyurka is safe at home.

No worries about her there".

Then my heart wrung

as if by pliers,

without relief.

That same second as if somebody had breathed out behind me,

the candle flickered and blew out.

I felt some unearthly spirit on my cheek.

God, what terror!

The sign was given.

Trouble came.

When I saw the horse

with an empty saddle,

a scream came out of my throat.

At that time

the first tank truck arrived at the camp.

Everybody had run like mad to see it,

all the drivers

and the others too.

I came up to them, nobody heard me.

In the end I found someone

to take me to the river.

Why are our children, my God,

attracted by those far lands and hard jobs?

Home meadows have grass like sugar,

You could make jam with it. You smell honey when you lie there.

But my daughters want none of it.

No comfort, no peace.

They want only this bare steppe.

And their mother is the last person able to hold them back.

What have you done to us, little siren?

I heard someone come closer.

He mumbled something, a bit afraid.

He was so young he obviously hadn't seen a dead person yet.

Then I understood.

They needed measurements.

I gave him her measurements and crawled to the center,

thinking about Nyurka.

They were mad about each other.

I said to myself I would neither write her nor send a telegram.

I'd stay here alone

until all sorrow was gone.

And then I'd see.

I arrived at the village.

I found the brigadier.

I gave him her measurements but he shook his head.

We've never done such a job.

Word of honour, grandma!

We don't even know where to start!

Do you want me to stay all day long teaching you how to do it?!

She's lying there all alone.

Birds will peck at her.

If someone can give us a draft,

we'll do it, otherwise we can't.

You won't be satisfied in the end.

Go, Vasilisa Petrovna, we'll take care of it all.

That was how it all happened.

She was eager to come here

but never even saw what the steppe was like.

She lived just three days

on this steppe.

I went back to her.

I noticed a bunch

of lilac flowers at her feet.

the first flowers, irises.

A kind soul had gathered and placed them there.

If you agree, Vasilisa Petrovna,

this is where we'll bury her.

In the park.

In the very center,

where all the roads will join,

and where, in years to come,

yews and maples will murmur.

And we'll not only bury her

but will also erect a stone.

Granite!

And on that stone

we'll stamp in gold letters

her name, surname

and this ardent year of 1955,

so that

every resident of our future city,

whatever way he'll go,

he'll arrive at that stone

and will remember

those party volunteers who weren't afraid

to swap their home cakes for the bare steppe

and will understand that here,

in the second half of the 50s in the 20th century,

young people preferred hard work

and the glorious fight for communism

to picnics and joyful entertainments,

so that

in some ten years,

around 1965,

the residents of our future city could stop

near that stone and meditate

on the meaning of their life.

Yes, Roman Semyonovitch showed her respect.

When we buried my little one, my own flesh and blood,

music played everywhere and all the cars stopped.

Cars, trucks and tractors.

Stop crying!

You should have stayed anyway to work in the canteen.

In my village I have

another daughter.

How will I tell her about her sister?

How will I do it?

Wait.

Doesn't your family know yet?

If they knew, would I have stayed here all summer?

I'm afraid,

Dmitri Prokofych,

to go back home.

How could I

appear in front of my daughter?

How could I

justify myself?

It can't be hidden long.

If I don't say it, my eyes will.

My daughters were

twins.

They were mad about each other.

I know one thing.

As soon as I tell her,

she'll drop everything

to get here

to the sovkhoz

and to work on the steppe.

She's so stubborn!

And I'll be unable to hold her,

absolutely unable.

Where are you going?

Am I your husband or not?

- Where is little Pyotr? - Take him.

Come on, home!

Quick!

Get on.

Egor, there's no kindergarten there.

How can there be one

if everyone takes their children to Russia. Get on.

Dmitri Prokofych!

They asked you to call the district committee.

- Did they? - Yes.

They'll give you hell because of that doctor.

Alyonka!

Sit here and keep an eye on the bags.

I'm going to the medical center. Hope I can get in without queuing.

Here's a rouble for you.

Buy yourself an Eskimo.

Thanks, aunt Vasilisa.

Well, Alyonka!

Study, get any job,

Go to make flip-flops in a circus if you want,

but don't you ever become a head mechanic.

They'll bite and tear you apart.

Here's a rouble. Buy yourself an Eskimo.

Thanks, Dmitri Prokofych.

Excuse me.

I can't move from here.

I have to look after the bags.

Could you, please, buy me one Eskimo?

Is this yours?

No, yours.

Thanks a lot.

Buy two Eskimos, please.

One for me.

One for you.

At your service.

Here you are.

Here you are.

Have a good trip, Alyonka!

Subs JM2L@KG