[At the time the military were the only authorities, so we decided to visit the military district attorney.] I laid out all our concerns before him, all the things that I didn’t understand, speaking openly and holding nothing back. I did not try to be cunning; I was completely open and trusting. [To start with, I enumerated to the smallest detail everything that I owned. It was pointless to hide the fact that we owned 46 hectares of land as they already regarded us as landowners."What do you mean by 'landowners'?", shrugged the attorney. Yours is a kulak property. I can tell you plainly that you won't be allowed to keep all this. You wouldn't want it all anyway; the tax on it would be more than you could pay. But they'll certainly leave you with the house and garden. You can grow whatever you like there with your own hands, but you won't be allowed to use hired labour."]