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Issue 11 – Trinity 2022

Apologia

Lenin Will Live

On communism.

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I loved my Oktyabryonok pin. It was a large five-pointed star, shiny, deep red, with a wonderful, grooved texture. There was a white circle in the middle of the star. And in the middle of that white circle, a boy’s face in gold. It was a kind, intelligent face, framed by long curls. I was seven when I received that pin; it was my first sacrament. Being baptized into a community of faith was both an honor, and a responsibility. I realized I had to try my very best to be a good person, a good example to other children. I had to prepare, so I could be confirmed.  

Several years later, my new scarlet kerchief that an upperclassman had just tied around my neck, rested upon me like a tongue of fire. My new Young Pioneer pin was burning on my white blouse. That second pin was a smaller red star with three flames rising above it. ALWAYS READY! was written across the bottom of the star on a slant. And in the center of the star was a man in profile. His face and the top of his head were dazzling white, and the little hair he had left was golden. Somehow it was still the golden boy from my first pin, and yet another person, a father figure, or as he often was referred to affectionately, Grandpa Lenin.


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About the author

Sasha A. Palmer