Sergei Kourdakov | Notes from the Motherland

Even though Sergei Kourdakov’s book was published in 1973, it’s always uplifting for me to know that people are still searching for information about him. Thus it was a pleasant surprise when I received some interesting comments on my blog from Alex. His research notes about Sergei, that he called “Notes from Siberia,” came at the perfect time.

Yes, it was perfect timing. As it turns out, I met Sergei Kourdakov in the fall of 1972—exactly 50 years ago. My mind drifted to long ago memories as I recalled the day I first met Sergei. Little did I know then that I was going to play a part in Sergei’s life, and that Sergei would play an important role in mine. Little did I know then that one day I would write about Sergei Kourdakov in my memoir, A Rose for Sergei.

In Sergei’s autobiography, he wrote that he wanted to find out more about his mother, father, and brother. After checking a database of victims during Stalin’s repressions, Alex’s response was: “His [Sergei’s] granddad might have had a different surname. There was a practice that small children of repressed parents were separated and their surname changed by authorities. Although in past it's common for overall Russia that surnames of siblings might have got changes in spelling. Or even brother can get totally different surnames especially in such cases as described in book when after revolution Bolsheviks started to do dekulakization. Brothers held different surnames and divided property to save it. As well in the past people with education tended to change the ending of surname to have it more Russian sounded if they had a Ukrainian or Belarusian version.”

Regarding a discrepancy in Sergei’s book, Alex said: “Sergei mentioned Konstantin Koptelov one of Russia's most popular writer who won the Lenin Prize for Literature. But he mixed it up. There is only one writer Koptelov but with name Afanasiy who won USSR State Prize instead but only in 1979.”

Regarding this possible mix up of writers, I do believe Sergei met a famous Russian writer. The exact name, or award, may have been misunderstood during transcribing from an audio tape. Sergei recorded his book on audio cassette tapes. From those recordings, someone typed his manuscript. From my own secretarial experience in the 1970s, transcribing from audio tape directly to your typewriter was a very difficult, time consuming process. Plus you had to constantly rewind the audio tape if you couldn’t make out what the person was saying. Throw in the fact that Sergei’s accent was quite heavy and that added another level of difficulty. I can see that a name/word could be easily misunderstood, or the recording “blipped” at that second and only part of the name was available.

I found it interesting that Alex mentioned the English version of The Persecutor differed slightly from the Russian version Forgive Me Natasha in some places, especially regarding location.

Alex also noted that he was shocked when he heard Sergei’s voice from the Forgive me Sergei documentary film: “…He did not have typical Russian accent and was talking fluent! Most of Russians never got to talk English properly. There is great language barrier which takes years due to different way of thinking and mentality. As well as native English people will always sound non Russian even after many years of learning. Sergei was phenomenally talented!”

Heartfelt thanks for your comments and research, Alex. Since your “hello” went out to me, and Author Dane Cramer, I forwarded all your notes and web links to him also.

And I absolutely agree that Sergei Kourdakov was phenomenally talented.

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Sergei Kourdakov’s autobiography was published under three titles:

The Persecutor - Sergei - Forgive Me, Natasha

The Writer Talks! | Sergei Kourdakov

I recently had the opportunity to talk about Sergei Kourdakov on the podcast program, The Writer Talks! The interviewer/author, Asha G. Kumar, engages with award-winning writers as well as indie authors from across the world as she asks them to share their books, writing process and love of literature.

I was thrilled when she reached out to me to discuss my book, A Rose for Sergei. Of course I said “yes” when she invited me on her podcast. Ms. Kumar is a writer, has a Masters in English Literature and 14 years experience as an educator, as well as a lifelong enthusiasm for literature.

I felt like I was talking with a dear friend right from the beginning of the interview. Asha’s introduction was heartfelt as she began:

The thing about memories, our fondest, happiest or the most painful experiences are etched in our forever memories. Have you ever held onto an unspoken memory… for decades maybe? Well my guest today, author Kolleen Kidd has done precisely that. She has held onto an unspoken secret memory for four decades… and finally decided to relive it freely by penning her captivating memoir, A Rose for Sergei.

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Watch the YouTube podcast by clicking below.

A Rose for Sergei by Kolleen Kidd on The Writer Talks!

Sergei Kourdakov | Round Trip Ticket

The following short fiction story was inspired by my writers group. The writing topic was, “Who would you meet in heaven?” Once I got home from the meeting, the story unfolded quickly. And, yes, someone really did wonder what would happen if you met your enemy. My imagination took off in an entirely different direction.

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Round Trip Ticket

by Kolleen Kidd

    The topic from Writers’ Roundtable was, “Who would you meet in heaven?” We all agreed that it was an interesting subject. The talk around the table increased. “What if you met Napoleon in heaven, what would you say to him? What if you met your enemy?”

    I chuckled softly. I never thought about meeting enemies in heaven, I only wanted to meet good people. But my writer friends clued me in on that possibility. We ended the discussion clearly looking forward to all the possibilities when we read our stories the following week.

    Once at home, I nuked some hot water for my orange herbal tea, grabbed a chocolate biscotti and headed to my computer. Before the meeting I had noticed some odd stats on my book blog website and wanted to check it out. Hmmm…twenty-seven page views from Austria in one day was a little peculiar, but it’s possible.  Seems okay, I thought as I signed out of my blog and waited for my desktop settings to appear.

    Nothing happened though. No Google icon, no Twitter or Facebook icons. I was half expecting the “black screen of death.” Instead of that I was facing a blank, glowing white space. In seconds a message appeared smack in the middle of the screen. Bright, bold yellow letters formed to spell out: “Congratulations, you have won a round trip ticket to…heaven! Click here.”

    I shook my head back and forth and mumbled, “Great, I have a heaven virus on my computer.” The smart part of me knew not to “mouse click” on anything inviting me to click on it. But my curious side caused me to reach out and touch the word “heaven.” Who wouldn’t want to touch heaven?

    Instantly, I was drawn into a sea of beautiful swirling clouds as I felt the wind rushing past me at lightning speed. I wasn’t afraid, I felt peace and love when I arrived at…at where I wasn’t exactly sure. But there was a pearly white gate and a light so bright behind it that I was pretty sure it had to be heaven.

    An angel materialized in front of me and confirmed that I indeed was at heaven’s gate. His wings extended the full length of his body and kindness radiated from his face in golden rays of light. He was quite tall, but then he was floating above me.

    He told me he was Archangel Gabriel, a messenger. One of his angelic duties was to support writers and journalists. His words were music to my ears. It was comforting to know that writers really had a special someone looking over our shoulders. I told him I had once sensed a presence when writing but seldom shared that information.

    “I’ve been with you throughout your writing journey,” he beamed. “But that’s not the real reason for your visit today.”

    I leaned slightly to the right as I tried to peer around him. I longed to see what was behind the ornate gates. Layers of clouds in every imaginable color obscured my view. Straightening, I replied, “Actually, I’m not sure how this all came about.”

    Gabriel extended his glowing wings and floated lower. His voice was soft and calming. “Your round trip visit to heaven doesn’t actually let you inside the gates. It’s not your time yet. But you are allowed to meet one person while you’re here.”

    “What?” I cried out. “It’s not possible to choose to see only one person…my parents, grandparents, the list goes on. I can’t decide. My heart aches, Gabriel. You choose. Please choose for me.”

    “There is someone,” Gabriel boldly proclaimed. “I sense that you know who that person is.”

    I gasped as my hand flew to my heart. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, I do know.”

    Gabriel’s wings drew up and wrapped around his entire angelic form. “Then it shall be.” In one swift motion his magnificent wings unfurled. Wisps of clouds floated where he once had been.

    I stood motionless as feelings of love washed over me. Winds whirled around me from every direction. I closed my eyes as my hair swept wildly across my face. Visions formed in my mind of a past long gone but never forgotten.

    I reached out.