AN EXPLANATION

Document Text:
From Sgt. Kazimir Zykov, 1st Guards Tank Army
To Mrs Raisa Zykova - Baruta Township, Pskov Oblast

Raisa, I do not know if this letter will ever find you, but you deserve an explanation. I want you to know that I did not abandon you and little Anya to fend for yourselves. I was ordered to do something impossible, and like so many before me, I answered the call of Mother Russia. The details are not important. You would not believe me, anyway. But if my death can prevent many others, maybe even yours and Anya’s, how could I refuse? Some things are worth dying for.

Do you remember growing up in our little village? Do you remember the famine of '22? Children like walking skeletons? Rumors of cannibalism? Then came the plague in '29. I remember being chased by packs of starving dogs roaming our streets. But no matter how bad things got, what pulled us through as a people was our endless capacity to endure hardship. This is what sets us above other nations. This is what will sustain me in this final mission. And sustain you and Anya in the years ahead to carry on without me.

Not even Stalin's purges shook our belief in the Soviet Union. Revolution is seldom clean or peaceful, but the workers of the world will unite. The day will come when all men and women are equals and each has their share of the wealth. Surely, we could not suffer so much for nothing. The world will change for the better. Our people will see to it. Knowing Anya will grow up in that bright future is worth any price.

Love,
Kazimir