Summary Of Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin is about a six year old boy living in communal housing with his father in Moscow, Russia during the 1900’s. As he slept under the table, Sasha awoke immediately at the sound of guards running up the stairs. While he watched his dad get taken away by the guards, he sat there helplessly. He got kicked out of his apartment by his neighbor and worked his way over to his aunt Larisa’s apartment. As soon as the streetcar dropped him off at his prison-like school, he got straight to work, unwilling to get in trouble. The purpose of this historical fiction book is to give the reader facts of the past in life of the U.S.S.R. through patriotism, human behavior, and determination. In the book, Yelchin educates the reader about the U.S.S.R. For example, he taught us about Stalin’s loyal dictatorship and how people lived in communal housing. The Soviet people used the saying “Stalin is our happiness” to show dedication to Stalin’s dictatorship. People believed that his decisions were fair and reasonable. On page 5, he says “We are all equal; we have no secrets.” Living together so closely led to forced sharing of family resources and space, which was seen as favorable. This demonstrates to the reader how the Soviet people lived during this time period. …show more content…
For example, when Sasha accidentally broke the monumental statue of Stalin while impatiently waiting for the rally to begin. Immediately after this happened, he realized what he did and hid in the bathroom fearing a harsh consequence. After some pressuring discussion, Sasha finally admitted to Vovka that it was him who broke the statue. After being confronted discreetly, he had no punishment yet but to be sent back to class. From this situation, he learned to be a more honest person to important people. Humans learned from their mistakes. Some people might think that sometimes you don’t, but Sasha is