Голубые ступени / Stepping into the blue. Михаил Садовский

тебе, Господи! Все здоровы!

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      Можешь уже подвинуться… я скоро буду… да… да…

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      During the Stalinist period it was considered a citizen’s duty to avoid all contact with relatives of a declared ’enemy of the people’.

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      Filippovich – a patronymic, or second name derived from his father’s first name. Its use here all by itself (without the first name) indicates that he enjoyed a high degree of trust and friendship on the part of the people he worked with.

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      Bauman – the name of a well-known technical institute in Moscow.

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      Wushu – a category of Chinese martial arts (popular in Russia) with emphasis on athletic and aesthetic performance, in contrast to the more combat-oriented kung fu.