About the Book
This book is a unique description of the Stalin's Children's Gulag. It is Russian original of the book with the same title in English. It contains several narratives. The first one, "Orphans of Communism," is a historical overview of the orphan's GULAG. Described are the barbaric laws, the scales of the catastrophe, the Russian criminal environment as a bearer of a special folklore-the song and musical culture of the prisons and concentration camps. English translations some of these songs are provided. The second narrative is a translation of the twenty most popular Russian street's and thief's songs in English. Then goes a thief's cant dictionary (Gulag's folklore). The next one is a main narrative of this book: an adventure story "I Am Your Prisoner for Life." It is based on recollections from author's experience surviving at the Center for the Intake and Evaluation of Displaced Juveniles (DPR), situated in city Luga during 1946-1948, after his parents were thrown into prison. The pictures of everyday reality go on: the stealing of food and clothes from starving children, humiliations, scuffles, bullying, assaults and batteries, sex and rape, which could be shocking even for those accustomed to Hollywood productions. The boy overcomes his terror, betrays, and denounces the ringleaders. According to the thief's canons, a traitor must die, and the boy is punished by stabbing. He survives, escapes from the DPR, and finds his way to his mother's prison camp. This book, with a fascinating plot and amazing, unconventional musical arts, was narrated in a way that nobody before had. The indissoluble alloy of orphan's GULAG structure, its folklore, melodies, and songs appears as a genuine richness and thrilling material for film creators. This narrative is not only an almost forgotten page of the waifs' and strays' lives in Stalin's time, but also a document of accusation. The next narrative is memoirs, presented in the form of miniature stories, of a very old woman, a refugee from Russia, who survived the Blockade of Leningrad, Stalin's prisons, exile to Siberia, and the ordeals of her children and close relatives. Some photos and documents are included in this history. The last narrative is a miniature story about an old Jewish woman interview in American Embassy in Moscow.
About the Author: Ilya Polyak Biographical Sketch 1937: Born in Ufa, Ural, Russia, where my father was exiled as an immigrant from Rumania; my mother was also exiled there from Leningrad in a stream of mass repression after Kirov's (one of the Party leaders) murder. 1941-1942: Resident of the Blockaded Leningrad (In 1989, I was given a memorial medal). 1942: Evacuated (almost dead) from Blockaded Leningrad on the icy "Road of Life" through frozen Ladoga Lake to Siberia. 1942-1946: Our family was in evacuation in Omsk. 1946: My parents were thrown into prison. 1946-1948: With brother and sister, I was an inmate of the Children's Receptor-Distributor (a kind of transit prison for children) in Luga, not far from Leningrad. The DPR's children were not schooled, so we lost two years of schooling. I escaped from that DPR eight times. 1948-1951: We were inmates of the Children's Home No. 26, Leningrad, 10 Prilukskaya Street. 1951: I was expelled from the Children's Home, from the school, and from the Komsomol for improper behavior. 1951-1956: In exile with parents in Ishim, Siberia, where, during the first year, our family of five lived in a dug out, underground hole of about 9x7x6 feet in size. 1955: My parents were fully acquitted (after Stalin's crimes were exposed). 1957: Graduated from high school with honor and started Leningrad University in the Department of Mathematics. 1962: Graduated from the University with a master's degree in mathematics. 1966: Ph.D. degree. 1975: Doctor of sciences degree in physics and mathematics. 1962-1989: Researcher, head of the software lab, professor of mathematics. 1978 (October, November): a scientist at the World Meteorological Organization, UN, Geneva. 1983: Finished a novel about the DPR. 1990: In a tough competition with outstanding works of living and dead famous Russian writers, my novel "The Songs of the Bedraggled Children's Receptor-Distributor" was published by the Moscow thick literary magazine "October" No. 1. It received excellent reviews in Russia and in the United States (version in English: "I Am Your Prisoner for Life," Vantage Press, New York, 2000.) 1990: Emigrated to the United States. 1992-2003: Visiting Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, NASA Senior Scientist, methodologies and software developer at several companies. 1962-1996: Published four scientific books and many papers. 1996: Became a citizen of the United States. 2003: Retired as scientist.
