Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag

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Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 147 ratings · 38 reviews

A heroic love story and an unprecedented inside view of one of Stalin's most notorious labor camps, based on a remarkable cache of letters smuggled in and out of the Gulag

"I went to get the letters for our friends, and couldn't help but feel a little envious, I didn't expect anything for myself. And suddenly—there was my name, and, as if it was alive, your handwriting."

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Hardcover, 352 pages

Published May 22nd 2012 by Metropolitan Books (first published May 2012)

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Sep 10, 2012 Adrienne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sveta and Lev met as a college students in the Soviet Union and began dating, but with the outbreak of World War II, their romance hit a snag. Lev was captured by the German Army in 1941, and after spending years imprisoned by them, escaped as the war was ending. However, the Soviet officials deemed all those who had been captured by the Germans as spies, and soon Lev found himself as a political prisoner in one of the Gulag's forced labor camps, facing ten years in prison. Not daring to write t...more

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May 21, 2012 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the moving story of the love affair between Lev and Sveta, who first met while taking the entrance exam at Moscow University in 1935 and only ended with their death in old age. What makes this story extraordinary is that they were kept apart, first by WWII and then by Lev's sentence to ten years in a Gulag on his return to the Soviet Union. During all these years, they kept their love alive by infrequent, and often perilous, meetings and thousands of letters. What makes the letters even...more This is the moving story of the love affair between Lev and Sveta, who first met while taking the entrance exam at Moscow University in 1935 and only ended with their death in old age. What makes this story extraordinary is that they were kept apart, first by WWII and then by Lev's sentence to ten years in a Gulag on his return to the Soviet Union. During all these years, they kept their love alive by infrequent, and often perilous, meetings and thousands of letters. What makes the letters even more important, is that they were often smuggled into and out of the camp, avoiding the censors and making them a fascinating record of life both within the Gulag itself and in state controlled Moscow during the years of the Cold War.

Both Lev and Sveta seemed to be very sensible people; when they first met they were studying physics, which Sveta continued to work in for most of her life and they were both careful not to burden each other with negative feelings during their time apart. During the war Sveta found herself evacuated, along with her colleages, so they could continue their work away from the front lines. Meanwhile, Lev was taken prisoner and, at the end of the war was sent on a death march from Buchenwald. Forced into a force confession he then found himself sentenced to ten years in a Gulag near the Artic Circle. From 1946 until his release in 1954 his life was that of a prisoner. At first he was unsure about whether to contact Sveta or not, not even sure that she was still alive and unwilling to pressurise her with his feelings when he was a prisoner. However, it was clear from the start that Sveta still loved him - even though they had not seen each other for five years.

What follows is an extraordinary relationship, where Lev literally lived through her letters. Eventually, Sveta wondered why, "if letters couldn't be smuggled in, why couldn't she?" and there begins the first of many desperate attempts to visit him, against the odds and many difficulties. Over the years their meetings were fleeting and few, but their letters were far more than the one censored letter allowed a month. She sustained him, while he attempted to keep his self-esteem, and she longed to have a child and a normal life.

This book takes us through the Cold War. The problems faced not only by Lev, but also by Sveta - as Soviet scientists were under immense pressure and she suffered depression and the feeling her life was slipping away. Meanwhile, we read of how Lev and his fellow prisoners coped with the Gulag - as security increased or declined and prisoners were threatened with Siberia. This takes us through the death of Stalin and the changes that came about because of this. However, this book is not really concerned with politics - both Lev and Sveta were either too careful to discuss politics openly, or more interested in other matters, but this is the story of a personal relationship in troubling and tumultuous times. As the record of a love story it is an incredible and moving testament to the human spirit and a privilege to read. As Lev wrote, "let us hope, while we still have strength to hope." (less)

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May 12, 2012 Melinda Le Baron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, historical, non-fiction, favorites, adventure, beautiful-3d-characters, beautifully-written, dramatic, military

This was the most beautiful book that I've ever read. It's nonfiction, and tells the greatest love story since Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And this one has a happily ever after, but they had to earn it. It all takes place in Russia. This is the story of Svetlana and Lev. First they were separated when he became a soldier in WWII when the German's invaded. Then he got captured and was out of touch for about five years. The next thing Svetlana knew...more This was the most beautiful book that I've ever read. It's nonfiction, and tells the greatest love story since Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And this one has a happily ever after, but they had to earn it. It all takes place in Russia. This is the story of Svetlana and Lev. First they were separated when he became a soldier in WWII when the German's invaded. Then he got captured and was out of touch for about five years. The next thing Svetlana knew he was MIA. About a year later his Aunt Olga comes to see her with a letter from Lev! He's alive! But he's been sentenced to ten years in the gulag, Pechora as an enemy of the state under military heading, which is about as bad as it can can get for a political prisoner. Svetlana instantly writes to Lev, which starts a correspondence of 1246 letters back and forth between the two of them. She tries to support him, show him how much she loves him, and keep him in contact with the outside world in Moscow. He tries to raise her spirits (she has depression), show her he loves and misses her, and tries to convince her that life in the camps is not as bad as it really is. At first their letters go through censors, so Svetlana tells Lev - I love you, by saying something like, I have three words to tell you, two are pronouns, one's a verb. The verb is the most important. Finally they find a way around the censors and can speak more freely, but still codewords such as umbrella for gulag and initials for people continue in their letters. Lev feels closest to Svetlana when he is looking at the sky because it is the same sky that she sees. I think it is perfectly summed up in the poem at the front of the book which follows:

Black and enduring separation
I share equally with you.
Why weep? Give me your hand.
Promise me you will come again.
You and I are like high mountains
And we cannot move closer.
Just send me word
At midnight sometime through the stars.
Anna Akhmatova, 'In dream' (1946)

And while there are no wild passionate love letters, it is so fundamentally clear that the love these two have is rock solid and forever, the kind of love that could move mountains, the kind that you wish for your children, the kind these days that is too rare, and is sad all by itself. I am lucky myself to have found true love. After twenty seven years and two kids, a lot of trauma, he's still the love of my life and I can't see that changing. Maybe that's why this story resonated with me so much. Love isn't showy, it isn't flashy, it's quiet, it's comforting, it's solid, and it's always there.

The only thing Lev waxes lyrical about is nature; the aurora borealis, a beautiful sunset on trees, the beginning of spring. And yet when they show their love for one another, the words may not be lyrical, but their passionate love for one another comes shining through like a light in the dark. It is clear that they love each other and will wait for Lev's sentence to be over, if not longer, if need be. They would wait until the end of time if that is what it took.

The author, Orlando Figes, does a magnificent job of telling the story of Svetlana and Lev, from the the first day they met in college until the present. He turns those 1246 letters, plus some other research materials into a narrative that is quite easy to follow and gives a very good picture of Stalinist Russia in the '40s and '50s. He turned a pack of letters into the most beautiful book I've ever read. Mr. Figes, I want to thank you for doing such an incredible job of research and writing. You have put together a masterpiece! I also want to thank Goodreads First Reads where I won this book - I feel so fortunate that you picked me. A thousand times thank you. I can't think of a better book to win.

I would recommend this book to anyone who speaks English. There are so many life lessons here. There is so much history here. There is so much about love that has been forgotten. It is snapshot of life from a society alien to ours, yet people are people, alike in so many ways. This book should be on every bookshelf from California to Maine. This deserves to become a classic and win a prestigious award like the Nobel Peace Prize so that everyone will read it. JUST BUY IT AND READ IT! That's a direct order from someone who's read thousands of books and knows what they are talking about. This one is very special - you'll see.
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Mar 26, 2013 Vivek Tejuja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To live a life away from the one that you love is not easy at all. It almost leaves me breathless thinking about it. I mean just the thought of it is enough for me to send out a prayer for it to never happen to two people who love each other deeply. And while I type this, I am thinking of a wondrous book I finished reading this month. A lot has been written on war camps and the tortures people had to undergo in any war-time, in any country and any place in the world. However, this book is extrem...more To live a life away from the one that you love is not easy at all. It almost leaves me breathless thinking about it. I mean just the thought of it is enough for me to send out a prayer for it to never happen to two people who love each other deeply. And while I type this, I am thinking of a wondrous book I finished reading this month. A lot has been written on war camps and the tortures people had to undergo in any war-time, in any country and any place in the world. However, this book is extremely close to my heart after I finished reading it, and now to its review.

“Just Send Me Word” is a moving love story of two people, Lev and Sveta, who first met while taking an entrance exam in Moscow University in 1935, moving through tough times of the Gulag and ending only with their death in old age. The book talks of how these two loved through these tough times and the only means of exchange they had through these times were letters. This is when Lev was a victim of the political scene and could not do much about it. All they had were letters.

Letters written in abundance and smuggled in and out of concentration camps – from those of WWII to the ones at Gulag and the ones that existed during the Cold War. Lev’s life was that of a prisoner from 1946 to 1954, almost eight to nine years, knowing that his wife loved him and keeping the faith that they would meet someday.

What follows in the book is simply extraordinary – the lives led through letters, the exchanges that take place, the longing to have a normal life and being denied that. There are lots of life lessons in this book as put by Orlando Figes – the way he saw it while reading their letters. I was only too glad that he decided to write a book of this nature, which is not only unique but also quite moving. While a lot has been written about the Gulags and the condition that existed in those war camps, this one provided a heartfelt perspective to me – it was beautiful, hopeful and as a reader I was hooting for the couple to see it through it all and be reunited.

Books like these speak to you. As a reader you do not have to relive the experience or have gone through it. I guess you just need to have a heart – the one that feels the words and the emotions and can connect to them like any other human being. It somehow makes you see the atrocities of war and how love triumphs almost everything. I would not say that this should be made into a film at all (though it has all the elements of one), however it should be felt again and again for the beauty of its words. A must read for a reader who wants to cry and feel happy at the end of it all.

Here is a sneak peak from the book, from Sveta’s perspective and what she thinks to herself: "if letters couldn't be smuggled in, why couldn't she?"
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Jan 31, 2013 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, cold_places, maps, biography

I read Figes' The Whisperers almost 5 years ago and really enjoyed it. It's one of the first books I entered in Goodreads, although I'm befuddled as to why I didn't write anything about it at the time.

Just Send Me Word is an even more focused way of looking at life in Russia during Stalin's regime. While The Whisperers used personal stories to look at the overall reign of oppression, Just Send Me Word focuses more narrowly on the Gulag system, as described in the letters exchanged between one o...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Nancy Stringer rated it 5 of 5 stars

A love to conquer all. A remarkable discovery - the moving correspondence between two young lovers kept apart by the second words war and the Gulag.

"What can I say about you, Svetushka? That I see you every day, than I know how you used to be and how you are now...and that although I will regret every greying hair on your head, although every additional crease in the corners of your eyes will hurt me, these things must occur...Does it really matter if this is called old age? You were my world an...more

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May 08, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-myself

Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag is a historical non-fiction book which explores the lives of Lev and Sveta – two young Russians who fall in love in the 1930s and are separated by war.

I’m not usually a reader of non-fiction for pleasure so this book is a departure for me from my comfort zone. I went along to the Jewish Book Week events in February and Orlando Figes spoke about his experience writing this book based upon the letters written by Lev and Sveta at the...more Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag is a historical non-fiction book which explores the lives of Lev and Sveta – two young Russians who fall in love in the 1930s and are separated by war.

I’m not usually a reader of non-fiction for pleasure so this book is a departure for me from my comfort zone. I went along to the Jewish Book Week events in February and Orlando Figes spoke about his experience writing this book based upon the letters written by Lev and Sveta at the time of his imprisonment in the Gulag. It was one of the most interesting author events that I’ve been to and as soon as it finished I rushed to the bookshop to buy a copy. I had never even heard of the Gulag before. They were Russian prison camps where the prisoners are used for labour under the Stalinist regime. There were many such camps in Russia. The prisoners lived in appalling conditions and had poor diet and ill health. Their labour was used to build many of the “great” structures of the Soviet society.

This an extraordinary story made even more fascinating because it is true. Lev and Sveta met at the Physics Faculty of Moscow University in the 1930s. Their story spans decades and despite their separation due to the Second World War and Lev’s imprisonment as an enemy of the state, they remained constant. Lev was convicted as an enemy of the state because he had spoken German when he was held as a prisoner of war by the Nazis. He was released from the German camp only to be arrested, convicted of collaboration and sent to the Gulag camp in Perchora.

What I really loved about this book was the beauty of the letters which Lev and Sveta wrote to each other. Their styles of writing are so different and though they do not gush with statement of love, they are full of understated emotion and constancy. Lev was imprisoned for eight years and all of the letters they wrote survived. There are over 1000 letters which are now part of the Memorial archive. Most letters from prisoners were destroyed by the people who received them as just by having contact with a convicted “enemy” they too could have been seen as guilty by association.

I found this book enthralling and emotional. It has made me open to reading more historical non-fiction and very keen to learn more about the experience of every day Russians under Stalin. Though I haven’t told you very much about it, this book comes with my highest recommendation. It’s hard to put into words the experience of reading this book – it can only be said that it moved me and gave me a window into another world. Like all the best books do. (less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Aposprout rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think this is the best book I've read all year. The story is powerful and moving. It recounts the lives of two people separated by war and imprisonment for over 13 years through their letters and interviews.

It is an awe inspiring love story. A story of strength, courage and determination. Sveta and Lev share so much wisdom and humanity through their words and provide clear insight into post war Russia and life in the Gulag.

This one is going to stick with me for a while.

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May 20, 2013 Victoria Blacke rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was a slow, quiet read about an amazingly steadfast enduring love. You peak behind the iron curtain and want to scream about the injustice of what happened to this unassuming couple. However you must admire the courage and famous Russian stoicism with which they meet all obstacles and beat the odds. This is book is not for everyone. However, if you are a history buff of WWII this provides an incredibly different perspective of the events during and after the war.

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Oct 28, 2012 Rachelfm rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, yowza

This was really a touching story and a great use of primary sources. I'd recommend it for anyone wanting insights into post-war Soviet life and the life of Soviet officers as POWs.

I thought the narrative non-fiction style the author deployed between epistolary passages was compelling and effective. Truly a remarkable love story and a great example of getting to primary sources before it's too. late.

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May 27, 2012 Casey-Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: eastern-europe, history

The gulags are brought to life through the sharing of personal letters and stories. It brings history to a certain vividness through the touch of the personal that otherwise would have been difficult to achieve. This book was wonderful, engaging, and touching. Lev and Sveta are the couple that managed to stay together against all odds. Their story is a heartwarming one that certainly sticks with the reader, especially given that it is something one would think could only happen in the movies. It...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Maureen E rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-and-autobiography, non-fiction

Non-fiction! Years of letters between Lev, a political prisoner in the Gulag, and Sveta, his girlfriend. It’s an amazing story and a glimpse into a world most of us can’t even imagine. Figues does a great job of weaving the letters together and providing them with context while letting Lev & Sveta’s words stand on their own.

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Jan 29, 2013 Jane Rocks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Biographical account of a Russian couple. Rarely can we get accurate conversation but this couple saved every letter they sent to each other while she waited for him to complete his 10 year sentence in the work camp prison in the Gulag in the late 1940's & early 1950's. Russian life in that era was certainly grim. Makes interesting reading.

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Jul 08, 2012 Tami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-history

This is an absolutely beautiful story based on the thousands of love letters that were shared between Lev Glebovich and Svetlana Aleksandrovna during his 10-year incarceration in a Russian Gulag starting in 1945. Their correspondence is considered one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive, real-time portrayal of Russian prison life that is in existence. Very tender to read their personal correspondence and also incredibly interesting information about life as a prisoner. He was wrongly con...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Carey Combe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this account of an incredible story of two people who manage to stay together against all the odds. I have read fuller more horrifying accounts of the gulags (not least, The Gulag Archipelago), but this brings it all home to life. Wonderful.

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Nov 28, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, non-fiction, should-be-ficiton, orlando-figes

What a story, I really enjoyed learning of this part of history. I have been so focused on the atrocities of Germany, that I haven't thought about what the Soviet Union and Stalin did. I really enjoyed hearing things through the letters but there were times when I wanted more of their point of view rather than narrative. There were so many people in this story I also found it hard to keep everyone straight. I think overall I really enjoyed this book, but it wasn't as powerful as I expected it to...more

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May 08, 2012 Brionna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was an enchanting and heart-wrenching story that brought to life the hardships of Lev and Sveta. Not often does a book touch me like this one did, and I recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a well-written, historical documentation of a love that stood against the adversity of the time.

I have received the book from winning the advanced reading copy.

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Apr 03, 2012 Chrissie marked it as to-read

Shelves: bio, soviet-union, russia

The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by the same author was very good.

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Jun 28, 2012 Shauna rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting read with a lot of historical information about Russian work camps that I didn't know about. The book focuses more on the love story than the horrors of the work camps.

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Sep 18, 2012 Nicole Marble rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is one of the few first person accounts of life in Stalin's Gulag. And it is a touching and true love story.

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Aug 10, 2012 Jennifer added it

Amazing true story of dedication and love despite impossible times. An excellent read.

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Aug 27, 2012 Melisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed reading this one. The letters are amazing.

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Jun 25, 2012 Lynne marked it as to-read

Read about it in The Monitor, June 4, 2012. Sounded good!

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May 05, 2013 Diane marked it as to-read

Listed in Monitor's promising Spring 2012 titles

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Oct 05, 2012 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

There was something enchanting about this.

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May 22, 2012 Sheri marked it as to-read

about life in gulag sounds amazing

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Mar 08, 2013 Joana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, real-life

What a book...

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Oct 15, 2012 Emma added it

Incredible testimony to the human spirit.

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May 19, 2013 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I was a tiny bit disappointed with this book. It is a beautiful story, and I found all the gulag stuff really interesting, but along the way the romance just got left behind. These are two lovely people, but they are very stoic, very pragmatic, and most of their letters are rather mundane. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's just not that moving. The IDEA of this book is more moving than the book itself, told in a journalistic and informative way.

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Jul 16, 2012 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

An amazing love story. Lev survived a Nazi concentration camp only to find himself serving a long prison sentence in one of Stalin's labor camps in Siberia. Against unbelievable odds he and his true love Sveta were able to correspond with one another. Even more remarkably, ALL of their letters survived, giving the reader an unprecedented glimpse into life in post WWII Russia and Stalin's Gulag, and into this very special relationship that defied the Soviet government.

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About Orlando Figes

Orlando Figes is a British historian of Russia, and a professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.

More about Orlando Figes...

Books by Orlando Figes

A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian Revolution

Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia

Peasant Russia, Civil War: The Volga Countryside in Revolution 1917-21

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Quotes from Just Send Me Word: A T...

“Sveta had much less to say, but she sat with Lev and held his hand, and when I asked her what had made her fall in love with him, she replied, ‘I knew he was my future. When he was not there, I would look for him, and he would always appear by my side. That is love.’

Sveta” — 6 people liked it

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