SOLVED. Short story about faithful communist who acquires coat from tailor; is mocked by treacherous comrades [s]

[Carolin]

I once read a short story which was set around the end of the communism in what is now Russia. The protagonist was a fervent believer in communism and is unaware of the problems of the system, or that almost everyone else has lost their faith in it. He is shocked when he learns of people buying Western goods, for example.

He is often mocked by the others, for his beliefs and also (I think) for his shabby coat.

He has some interactions with a tailor who's making him a new coat.

I was thinking the author was Nabokov, but couldn't find any story that sounded like this when googling his name.



******SPOILER***********





The coat gets stolen at some point, I believe it is taken FROM the protagonist.


Also, someone rips the lining out of the coat and shows him the label, which says "Made in XXX" (some country other than Russia), which means the tailor simply got a coat on the black market and added a new lining. The protagonist learns this way that the tailor is also not a true communist. Don't remember if he confronts him or not, or if the protagonist keeps the coat in the end.

[Kris]

The short story "The Overcoat II" in the book Greasy Lake and Other Stories. Here's a description on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greasy_l...

[Carolin]

Oh my goodness, thanks so much! That's the one!

[Kris]

You're welcome. :)