How It All Goes Down
Eight Hundred Kilometers East of Moscow, 16 March
- Raisa isn't sure if she should've admitted that she never loved Leo. Truthfully, she had only married him because she knew that "he could have her killed" if she refused (3.17.9).
- Finally, Leo and Raisa arrive in Voualsk. Voualsk was once your average Russian small town, but it was thrust into prominence (sort of) after a Volga car assembly plant was built there.
- Leo and Raisa are met on the platform by Nesterov. Nesterov is instantly skeptical of Leo—he suspects that Leo isn't a disgraced officer, as he was told, but a member of the MGB sent to monitor him.
- Nesterov drops Leo and Raisa off at Basarov's restaurant. They'll be living in the spare room on the second floor for now. Basarov seems like a bit of a schmuck, really.
- After they settle in, Leo heads to the militia's HQ, where he receives a call from Vasili. Vasili tells Leo that his parents' upscale apartment has "been taken back," which has forced them to live in a cramped space with several other families (3.17.65). Leo begs him to stop, but Vasili hangs up.