“When I entered the hospital, I realised that things were very bad for me. I said nothing aloud; in my thoughts alone I prayed to God to have mercy on me, to let me remain with my children, so that they would not be left there as strangers, without father or mother, in those wastelands.

“I wrote with trembling hands, but with a courageous heart. Not for myself, but for all those lost in Siberia. Someone had to tell the truth,

“Que le diable se contente de t’avoir arraché à la vie éternelle pour te vouer aux tourments éternels de l’enfer ! Quant à moi, je ne sacrifierai pas aux idoles.

“Siberia is not merely a place on the map. Siberia is a merciless mother who takes everything you have and gives you nothing back except pain and silence,