Breaking Stalin's Nose

As Vovka and Sasha wait outside the principal’s office, Sasha confronts a conundrum. Vodka’s father was no enemy of the state; he knew him growing up. Sasha knows his father was no enemy. He cannot see Borka as an enemy of the state. Finally, the principal calls them in as Petrovna leaves. He tells them that Sasha’s father has been arrested and the orphanage will call to collect Sasha. Likewise, he says he allowed Vovka to stay, even after his father’s arrest, out of the mistake of kindness. Now both will be sent away. Vovka says he’ll tell who broke Stalin’s nose if he’s allowed to stay and avoid the orphanage.

This chapter includes an illustration of Sasha and Vovka standing before the principal, who wears the same style of haircut and mustache as Adolf Hitler.

Sasha finally understands that his father is not coming and that he is no longer part of the bright communist future. In the hallway, he hears the literature teacher ask the students about the Russian classic, “The Nose,” in which a nose is dressed in a uniform and the town treats him like any other person. The teacher, who Sasha thinks is odd, explains that “when we blindly believe in someone else’s idea of what is right or wrong for us as individuals, sooner or later our refusal to make our own choices could lead to the collapse of the entire political system” (112).