Breaking Stalin's Nose Power Quotes

Can you say, propaganda? We knew you could! Check out how Sasha is constantly bombarded with messages that paint the Soviet system as the perfect political system ever. How could he possibly manage to feel anything different?

In his letter to Joseph Stalin, Sasha totally buys into the Soviet media's portrayal of communism as the greatest thing ever for humanity. He also buys into the idea that the citizens of capitalist countries live under truly wretched conditions. Keep in mind: Sasha later wonders whether children in capitalist countries have even tasted a carrot before. He's totally internalized these messages, which makes it hard for this little guy to think for himself.

The Young Soviet Pioneers was a youth organization that indoctrinated children from a young age in proper Communist values. Kind of like the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, but, you know, communist. If you imagine such an organization having badges for "war preparedness," "Stalinist spirit" and "turning in your best friend for honor and profit," you wouldn't be too far off.

What do you think the purpose is for constantly saying "Communism is just over the horizon" or "When you grow up, you'll be living in Communism" (9.6)? Why is it not yet here? How does constantly looking forward make people do what the State wants them to do?

Sasha can't imagine this, because under Soviet totalitarianism any dissent was criminal and ruthlessly put down. We also get a major foreshadowing alert with an added bonus of irony: precisely the same thing ends up happening to Sasha when he destroys the statue of Stalin later, and it's very clear that he, himself, is definitely not a "bad character." It's a total accident, but this system doesn't believe in accidents.

Check out the symbolism here: the black automobiles of the State Security agency are highly mobile, fast, and at work 24/7. They're sturdy and strong, "made of black metal and bulletproof glass." Stalin's statue literally oversees these vehicles of terror, similar to how the real Stalin gives his State Security agents their orders. This nifty technique is called synecdoche, which means that an object that is closely associated with a thing (the car) ends up symbolizing that thing (Soviet totalitarianism). The cars are stand-ins for State Security and all of the horrible things that it represents.

The Soviet Union had a truly impressive (and by that we mean "widespread," "wretched" and "terrifying") system of prisons. As Yelchin points out in his Author's Note, more than twenty million people were detained under this system, exiled, or put to death. This system included your garden-variety labor camps (gulags) and prisons like Lubyanka. Kolyma's is one of the former. And since it was so far away from civilization, it's fitting that the students call the seating area in the back of the classroom (where the bad kids sit) Kolyma. It emphasizes the separation between the good little Communist kids and the bad ones.

Much of the power that the totalitarian system exercises comes from the ability to completely control people's emotions through various irrational fears. Here, it's the utter irrationality of being considered guilty just because your dad has been arrested. This fear of guilt-by-association runs rampant in the book. The kids at school are more eager to throw each other under the bus than are the hapless chefs on "Hell's Kitchen" during a team challenge. And they should be: they have more at stake than getting called a "donkey" by an irate, British chef.

To maintain power, Stalin has to appear all-knowing and all-seeing. Yep, Big Brother is definitely watching Sasha.

Here, Sasha's kind new friend is not just talking about the mess they have on their hands with their loved ones in prison. She's talking about the entire mess of Communism. Do you think they have "sorted it out?" What has been the cost? You might want to take a look here for some information on the fall of the USSR while you ponder that question.