Shurka Dmitriyev

 Shurka Dmitriyev

“Take Shurka Dmitriyev, from the village of Masleno. He was thirteen when his father, Fyodor, died in 1925, and the only son in a family of girls. Who was to manage his father's holding? Shurka took it on. The girls and the mother accepted him as head of the family. A working peasant and an adult now.. He was a worthy successor to his hard-working father, and when 1929 came his bins were full of grain. Obviously a kulak! The whole family was driven out!”- (page 426)

We learned about the Gulag Archipelago written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about elders, adults, adolescents, and children who resisted and fought against the temporary lies of socialism. We learned about how children and adolescents were also able to fight against the indoctrination that the Soviet Union attempted to cause against children. We learn about the example of Zoya who decided to not be indoctrinated in socialism describing how she would not be a thief nor be corrupted by socialism when she was placed in an orphanage far from her family members. We learned about how she resisted socialism by choosing to worship GOD Almighty above everything.

Even when there was persecution for denying socialism, Zoya persevered with unchanging devotion to GOD Almighty without disobedience to the commandments of Moses. We learn that Zoya persevered without practicing sin and iniquity despite her young age. There were other stories of children and adolescents who did not give in to the indoctrination of the Soviet socialists. Shurka was another individual that chose to be responsible and persevere with valor, honor, and goodness. Shurka decided to take over the head of the household position when his father, Fyodor died. We learn that Shurka took on the responsibility and decided to work being a farmer raising grain and wheat from the land. Shurka at the age of thirteen decided to be responsible and worked hard to sustain his family by working hard in the land.

Because Shurka was able to persevere and kept working hard having his bins full of grain and wheat, the Soviet Bolsheviks decided to persecute Shurka and his family. We learn that the Soviet Bolsheviks in 1928 decided to persecute the farm workers because they were self-sufficient, industrious, righteous, and wanted to know nothing of the temporary lies of socialism. Shurka being an adolescent decided to be responsible and work hard. We learn that the Soviet Bolsheviks probably did not like Shurka because of his industrious work ethic at such a young age. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described that Shurka and his family were driven out of the land meaning that the Soviet Bolsheviks decided to steal from an industrious and self-sufficient adolescent. We learn that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described that the Soviet socialists hated the elderly because they were adamant and resolute in their faith, the adults because of their valor and courage not believing the lies and deceit of socialism, and the children and adolescents because Christianity allows individuals to improve themselves and their descendants.

There are multiple stories that describe the incongruencies of Soviet socialism that only wants to stifle the freedom and autonomy that exists. We learn in the Gulag Archipelago about how even children and adolescents understood this knowing that socialism did not look to help anyone. We can learn to keep persevering despite the persecution, adversity, and envy. We learn that righteous individuals were able to persevere in the Soviet Union trusting in GOD Almighty, and Christian individuals persevered. We know that the Soviet Union did not persevere and collapsed in the 1990s because of innumerable reasons already mentioned. We learn that Christianity has kept being preached in Russia and different nations so much so that there are a greater number of churches in Russia describing the Orthodox, Catholic, and even Christian denominational and non-denominational churches that have been created after the fall of the Soviet Union. We can learn to appreciate the good and remove the negative and the temporary lies of socialism from our lives so that we can persevere.