"I want to thank you personally for my happy childhood. I am fortunate to live in the Soviet Union, the most democratic and progressive country in the world. I have read how hard the lives of children are in the capitalist countries and I feel pity for all those who do not live in the USSR. They will never see their dreams come true" (Chapter 1, p. 2).

"The State Security is our secret police, and their job is to unmask the disguised enemies infiltrating our borders. My dad is one of their best. Comrade Stalin personally pinned the order of the Red Banner on his chest and called him, 'an iron broom purging the vermin from our midst'" (Chapter 3, p. 10).

"I stare at the statue and pretend it is Comrade Stalin himself, watching over Moscow from his great height" (Chapter 5, p. 23).

"Down below the guards shove my dad into...