Album 9. Section 2 
1949 - October 1952

Summary

After Euphrosinia was injured and admitted to the hospital, Kuznetsov, the chief surgeon, managed to persuade her to stay and illustrate his monograph. She was a drawer in her spare time working at the bandaging room of the surgical unit. She could not help noticing the air of callousness inoculated by the new chief of the hospital with civilian physicians showing no interest or responsibility. New doctors from prisoners were vivid personalities. One of them, Ludwig by the family name, she taught French since he managed to get hold of an otolaryngology textbook in French.

Working at the surgical unit Euphrosinia was personally involved in saving human lives. Thus the life of a man crushed by the train was saved owing to the emergency blood transfusion directly from a Euphrosinia's vein and she did not even lie down not wishing to lose a minute. She also saved a lad suffering of burns from the amputation of both hands making a lot of manipulations, dishes and dressings.

Kuznetsov often used new methods of surgery with excellent results. When traumatologist Pulyaevsky decided out of spite to re-operate on two Kuznetsov's patients using the old method in his absence, Euphrosinia refused to obey that doctor deeming his move to be harmful for patients, and afterwards she proved to be right.

She realized that at the hospital she was more in prison than at the mine where she at least enjoyed the freedom of action in emergency and returned there.

At the time of fires at the mine she went to the group of mine rescuers' labourers and laid the brick bulkheads working with the respirator on. It was difficult to carry bricks in the hands and she, taking the respirator off, ran to another site for the "goats", brick hauling devices, and found in the place full of carbon monoxide unconscious engineer Pozhevilov whom she dragged outside. Later, giving lectures on safety he always told the students of overman course that story admitting that Euphrosinia had saved his life.

The job of a miner had its advantages, each working day was counted as three. But mine #13/15 split in two and Euphrosinia's unit was included in mine #15. Women prisoners were soon transferred from the Nagorny camp to camp #7 and after that worked at the Gorstroy. Again, Euphrosinia felt as a slave she did not even got a bonus for prevention of an accident in the mine, they only read her the appropriate ruling.

In winter 1952, Euphrosinia was at general works in a team clearing railroad tracks. In response of the foreman's insult she stroke back and was placed in a solitary cell of a punitive unit handcuffed. After Kirpichenko, the deputy commander of the camp, beat her she started a hunger strike. The mine executives learned that from her friend, a contract worker Petkun, pleaded for Euphrosinia and she was summoned to the camp commander who knew nothing about his deputy's behaviour. To right the deputy's wrong the commander granted the wish for transferring her to the job of a loader at a transhipment and grocery base. There she earned credits for parole.

At that time prisoners released from the camp faced lifetime exile as a mean of their isolation from general public. Euphrosinia was notified that the place of her exile would be in Narym Area from where she had fled in 1942. She plunged into depression at the prospect of living in the forest as she wanted to stay in Norilsk among few educated people she already knew, at the well-paid work of a miner. Waiting for exilement she copied the painting Rest after the battle depicting of cheerful Vassily Terkin. During an inspection a senior officer asked her why she was not at work. Euphrosinia explained her situation and at his request presented him the copy.

The next day she was summoned for the release but they put forward preconditions for her parole, she had to sign a pledge to sever all ties with those in prison, forget everything she saw and never tell anything about the camp to anybody. Euphrosinia refused pointing out that in the camps she met estimable people was glad to be of use for them and could not forget the things she had seen and experienced there. For her, a signature is not a mere formality, a person worth as much as his word. Euphrosinia was released without the signature, life and work in Norilsk waited for her.