“How strange is the heart of man! My whole soul cursed those who had thought of the idea of building a town in this permafrost, thawing out the ground with the blood and tears of innocent people. Yet at the same time I was aware of a sort of ridiculous pride…How it had grown, and how handsome it had become during my seven years absence, our Magadan! Quite unrecognizable. I admired each street lamp, each section of asphalt, and even the poster announcing that the House of Culture was presenting the operetta The Dollar Princess. We treasure each fragment of our life, even the bitterest.”
– Evgeniya Ginzburg, Within the Whirlwind
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