Potatoes were doused with kerosene ...

Student years (1963-1967) on vacation I was in Moscow in 1967 as part of a group of undergraduates. I gave myself free time from excursions, but there was no sense in shopping. I decided to just take a walk, go to a museum, if it gets in the way. I found the museum of Alexei Maximovich Gorky.

The mansion is two or three floors, now I do not remember exactly, with elegant forged stairs. Visitors, except me, was not, it was possible to approach close to any exhibit.

I learned that earlier it was the house of some count. This is our way.

The Count's house was taken away and the proletarian writer was settled. I had to meet with many peasants exiled in the 1930s in our taiga and marshes.

They told me that this is not a rare case.

At first only the well-to-do people were exiled, who had some kind of thresher, then the one who received the denunciation. Offended neighbor, or you thought that offended, or just like his house, write a neighbor on the denunciation, and the house.

His former master went to the Tomsk region to wrest the forest. Some of the exiles told that his family from a two-story house was moved to the basement as an enemy of the people.

So the new mistress poured potatoes in the cellar with kerosene before she left, she did not regret even the children. This was not the only case, a special document was created that regulates this.

Maybe it's in our blood? Remember Pavlik Morozov, the book was studied in school, pushing the children to repeat the "heroic deed" of Morozov. In 1959, my father worked in a factory that produced gingerbread, candy, soda water. From time to time he brought home the products of his factory.

It is clear, for free. So tempted to show pioneer activity and go to the police. But how then to look father in the eyes? It stopped me.

With me, I'm ashamed to say, there was an incident that I do not want to remember.

Our class teacher in the fifth or sixth grade ordered: You'll stay after class and tell what happened in the class!

It was a good thing that I managed to avoid this, but I was tormented all my life!