p. 12, kovsh: A traditional Russian drinking vessel, varying greatly in size, made of wood or metal in roughly the shape of a boat and with a single handle.
p. 15, It’s the risen Christ going to Emmaus: See Luke 24:13–32.
p. 23, Nenko: An affectionate Ukrainian term meaning “mother”.
p. 23, Would you be a Tatar… Not yet: The frequency with which Tatars made a living as rag-and-bone-men by the end of the nineteenth century meant that the name of the ethnic group became a synonym for such traders.
p. 27, a story of savage people… killed wild beasts with stones: A popular brochure by Dmitry Nikolayevich Kudryavsky (1867–1920), How People Lived in Days of Old: Sketches of Primitive Culture (1894), was commonly read in workers’ revolutionary circles and is probably the work alluded to here.
p. 31, seven versts: A verst was a Russian measure of length approximately equivalent to a kilometre.
p. 34, She had heard that socialists had killed the Tsar: The Emperor Alexander II was assassinated by members of the revolutionary organization People’s Will in St Petersburg in 1881.
p. 37, One of the new songs… agitated the woman: The song referred to is ‘The Workers’ Marseillaise’, with words composed by Pyotr Lavrovich Lavrov (1823–1900) in 1875, sung to the tune of the French national anthem. It was very popular during the 1905 Revolution and became the Russian national anthem for almost a year following the February Revolution of 1917.
p. 40, About him organizing a sort of artel, like the flagellants: The flagellants were one of the numerous heretical sects still thriving in nineteenth-century Russia, here incongruously associated with a workers’ cooperative organization (artel).
p. 56, I know the Dukhobors: The Dukhobors or Spirit Wrestlers were an oft-persecuted religious sect who preached equality and were opposed to all authority – spiritual or secular – that was in conflict with their conscience.
p. 58, Take away this cup from me: See Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:42.
p. 58, He recognized Caesar: See Matthew 22:21 and Mark 12:17.
p. 58, And he was wrong to curse the fig tree: See Mark 11:12–14.
p. 59, God is the Word: See John 1:1.
p. 64, joie de guerre: “Joy of war” (French).
p. 81, poods: A pood was a Russian unit of weight equivalent to approximately sixteen kilograms.
p. 85, Sehr gut: “Very good!” (German).
p. 98, And have you heard… a new ear of corn: See John 12:24.
p. 143, and the holding is four desyatins: A desyatin was a Russian unit of land measurement equivalent to a little over one hectare.
p. 143, The troops used to beat the people in Stepan Razin’s time too, and in Pugachov’s: Stepan (Stenka) Timofeyevich Razin (1630–71) and Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov (1726–75) were Cossack leaders of popular revolts put down by Russian governmental forces.
p. 151, Stand up now, arise, working people: See note to p. 37. More lines from the song are quoted hereafter with minor variations on the original lyric.
p. 155, all of them are Bashi-Bazouks for the working man: Bashi-Bazouks were irregular soldiers of the Ottoman army, renowned for their brutality and indiscipline.
p. 163, A victim, you fell: The song being sung here is ‘The Revolutionary Requiem’, adopted as a funeral march by the Russian revolutionary movement and based on two poems of the late 1870s and early 1880s by A. Arkhangelsky, the pseudonym of Anton Alexandrovich Amosov (1854–1915).
p. 169, the Way of the Cross: The stages of Christ’s progress to His crucifixion.
p. 184, the zemstvo board: A zemstvo was an elected district or provincial assembly with certain administrative powers which were carried out by an executive board.
p. 186, Is the coffee ready: This is an apparent example of an authorial oversight in the text, as Sofia has already been drinking coffee.
p. 188, This is Grieg: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843–1907), Norwegian composer.
p. 208, kvass: A mildly alcoholic drink made from rye bread.
p. 259, volost: A volost was an administrative unit consisting of a number of neighbouring villages whose affairs were run by a volost board.
p. 289, And I believe His words – love they neighbour as thyself: See Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31 and Luke 10:27.
p. 312, And you, Nilovna, did that cup pass you by: See first note to p. 58.
p. 313, she’s in prison and I’m at large, I’m at large and she’s in prison: This tautology would appear to be another example of an authorial oversight.
p. 316, sazhens: A sazhen was a Russian measure of length equivalent to approximately two metres.