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The Ivan Aufulich Papers
26. Borya Tudet
The study of Marxism-Leninism, or "Scientific Socialism", is a grim and gray thing, and nowhere grimmer and grayer than in the classes of Borya Tudet ("Borya" is a diminutive for "Boris"). So it is most unfortunate that Borya's first and last attempt to interject some human interest into the subject went so awry.
Borya was lecturing to a group of Pionerki (Young Pioneers, rather like Scouts in the West, though of course founded earlier), and sought to enliven things by asking, "Who knows something personal about Lenin?" Little Nikita piped up, "Lenin was 1.75 meters tall." Borya, who thought he knew everything about Lenin, was astonished at this tidbit, and asked, "How do you know that, Nikita?"
"Because," said Nikita, standing and holding his hand at chin level, "My father is 2 meters tall, and he says he's had it up to here with Lenin."
Poor Borya. Poor Nikita and his father. All are certainly undergoing some "reeducation"; and in the case of the latter the lessons are likely to be quite strenuous.
©1997 Grant Schampel