“He seeks to crush us, to take away our spirit and everything that is Ukrainian. He sends in his activists, his Party, and his OGPU henchmen. These Twenty-Five Thousanders! Fools from cities who don’t know a wheat kernel from an ear of corn, brought here to make us join their collective farms. They try to tell us how to farm. Bah! Then, they take our priests, teachers, and our leaders. Our brothers, sisters, and neighbors! Stalin’s men arrest them without a trial and deport or shoot them.” Tomas slammed back the shot and banged down his cup as he looked at each person in turn.
