The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia

by Masha Gessen

They said that Masha had to wake up the neighbors because someone had to witness the removal of the body. It was three in the morning, and Masha felt bad about waking people up, but she was worried that soon it would get hot again and things would start happening to the body. While she was trying to decide what to do, the morgue’s driver left. The policeman remained and was now demanding money, a bribe, though Masha could not quite understand what for. She called her aunt again. She came, and so did Masha’s grandparents. The body was now cold and the skin had started changing color. It will be hot soon, Masha said. Her grandfather shouted at her, something about how the smell was the only thing she was worried about, and why was she not crying? Why was she not crying? Because she needed to be alone to cry, and she also needed a cigarette, she wanted to smoke more than anything in the world right now, but she had only recently turned eighteen and she still did not feel that she could smoke in front of her grandparents.