The cottage looked like a leper. And everyone shied away from it. The house, once rich and beautiful, seemed to decay alive. Just surviving self-employed farmers lived in it. More exactly, those who remained out of large, strong and happy family. The father was picked up and disappeared without trace. The sons, one after another, also disappeared without trace after turning 18. They were banned from leaving. They were not allowed even to take some job in a collective farm leave alone joining it. Even though they were ready to work for 12 to 14 hours for a soup and 200 gram of bread. At the same time they had to cultivate a “decima”, 2.7 acres, in 20 miles distance and surrounded with pastures. They dug with spade. Then the cattle trampled everything down. And they must deliver 60 poods (one pood – 16 kilo)!
That is slow suffocation. Today they tried to go to work. Refused! In spite of labour shortage.