The Gulag, Lenin's Dream, and Stalin's Grave

After 18 years in the Gulag, a 77-year-old woman stands before 4,000 delegates to tell a dream that could reshape history.

The Gulag, Lenin's Dream, and Stalin's Grave

This episode explores the extraordinary life of Dora Abramovna Lazurkina, a revolutionary who defied the odds and confronted power. It delves into the pivotal moments that defined her journey and the profound question of what it takes to stand against an oppressive system.

Person: Dora Abramovna Lazurkina Born: May 6, 1884 Location: Novozybkov, Chernihiv region (now Ukraine) Event: 17th Party Congress (Congress of the Executed)

- Dora Abramovna Lazurkina, a Jewish girl from a provincial town, earned a gold medal from the Novozybkov Girls' Gymnasium, which served as her "armor." - At 15, she joined her first socialist reading circle after reading Nikolai Chernyshevsky's "What Is to Be Done?" - By 18, she was teaching workers to read and distributing Lenin's underground newspaper "Iskra" in Saint Petersburg, risking arrest. - She lived with Vladimir and Nadezhda Ulyanov (Lenin and Krupskaya) in Geneva for eight months at 19 years old. - In 1937, she confronted Andrei Zhdanov to defend Ivan Kodatsky, despite a clear warning that the conversation would "end badly for her."

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