skyscrapers, that is, the heights of ‘Socialism’.” Pashat enjoyed well-deserved prestige, not only in the department, but throughout the collective farm. According to some people, Barakatov was once a step away from being enrolled in the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in Moscow. He was aware of the current politics; he read newspapers and even had a knowledge of literary fiction. Last year, Pashat bought Ernest Hemingway’s novel ‘Farewell to Arms’ in the village shop. At a time when the people in the village had not only never heard of such a writer, but could not even pronounce his name in syllables, he amazed many by exclaiming in public: “Oh, did Hemingway’s works really come to our store?” People’s jaws dropped in surprise. The management and the general meeting of the collective farm, taking Pashat’s proposal as a basis, adopted a resolution as an experiment to build two multi-storey buildings in the “Socialism” department. The meeting instructed the foreman of the department, Sepentai, to go to the regional centre in order to obtain technical passports from the builders, the drawings of multi-storey buildings and to calculate construction costs at average prices. “This order is unbearable for one person, let the manager of the department, Barakatov, take part,” was an amendment Sepentai had made, at first Pashat mercilessly criticized him, then the chairman of the collective farm scolded him. “It is unusual for a communist to run away from difficulties. What does the party charter say about this? You are avoiding responsibility,” they said. Since two people had expressed their opinion, what was there left for the rest to do? The activists harshly condemned Sepentai, and there were those who offered to take his party card away from him, and to exclude him from the collective farm and drive him out. The head of the sheep insemination station, veterinarian Ospan, expressed regret that he had to work in the same team as that of such a duplicitous and cowardly communist. Twenty-one people took part in the meeting, all of them were Kazakhs, of course, they did not speak Russian, and if some could speak, then it was only at such a level where they would pronounce the word water as – ‘uada’. Despite this, Ospan expressed his thoughts entirely in Russian. Since the speech was delivered in Russian, the meeting listened attentively to the speech of the veterinarian. They became convinced