Běda poraženým - Vae victis – Volkonská Sofie Alexejevna (2024)

Memories The book presents the author's authentic testimony of how she left Soviet Russia in 1919, but soon returned there through a very dangerous illegal route to rescue her imprisoned husband. In her narrative, she describes the complex twists and turns associated with her return to her homeland, her temporary stay in a country torn by post-revolutionary chaos and civil war, her efforts to save her husband, and the everyday life of the inhabitants of 'Sovdepia' (as the new Soviet state was sarcastically referred to by emigrants) as well as the moods of the Russian emigration. The adventure of the author's inner determination unfolds before the reader, stemming from a deep affection for a loved one, her inner struggle against the objective adversity of fate. The personal story is framed by a mosaic of foreign fates, chilling images of what she witnessed. It sketches the shape of a society where almost anything was possible. In the preface to the English edition, Scottish writer John Buchan described the book as the most vivid depiction of the chaos prevailing in Russia in the 1920s. Finally, the author's ability to maintain perspective and self-irony, along with her extraordinary heroism, makes the book an engaging read. The author herself, Princess Sofia Volkonskaya, was an emancipated woman. As a trained physician, she participated in the Second Balkan War, later also as a nurse...