Summary

Same Day – Raisa, a teacher of compulsory political studies at Secondary School 7, along with all the other teachers, has been given a special one-day lesson. These often come as a result of edicts based on State government beliefs or concerns. Today, Raisa is to teach students that Stalin loves them the most, that they love Stalin the most, and that they should never play on railway tracks. Incorrect responses are to be logged. Raisa has only one friend at work – an unwise friendship with a man of about 40, Ivan Kuzmitch Zhukoiv, who tends to speak his mind when he shouldn’t. As a result of Ivan’s not being denounced by Raisa, he has come to trust her, and she him.

As she leaves school with Ivan, Leo is outside in civilian clothing. In the past, Leo had had Raisa followed to make sure...