It's called "The Hunting Party."
www.fanfiction.net/s/8226312/1/The-Hunting-Part...
What do you think of it? Please feel free to comment. Good or bad comments. They will not upset me. Did she get the Russian translations correct?
www.fanfiction.net/s/8226312/1/The-Hunting-Part...
What do you think of it? Please feel free to comment. Good or bad comments. They will not upset me. Did she get the Russian translations correct?
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07.11.2015 в 01:11Did she get the Russian translations correct?
Not exactly. She used a plural form instead singular one. I can't copy and paste from this site, unfortunately.
The Nicholai's words should be: Da, ty sdelal, Illushenka, khoroshaya rabota. Eto byl otlichnyi vystrel.
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07.11.2015 в 01:16I know about the "cut/paste " problem with that site. Thanks, I will let her know. She likes to be precise. What did you think of her story?
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07.11.2015 в 01:52Or just "Оtlichnyi vystrel" would be nice
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07.11.2015 в 02:02Глория Энгель, это уже редактура, а не корректура
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07.11.2015 в 02:03-
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07.11.2015 в 02:06-
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07.11.2015 в 03:37Strizh_,
MLaw speaks some Russian and has a friend who translates to Russian for her. Your language, from what I've been told, is difficult to read and write. But then again, English is not easy either. MLaw does much research for her stories, unlike the Man From UNCLE sсript writers (hence Illya's name was mis-spelled). She likes the history , terms and translations to be
truthful. So many stories here are incorrect and believe me, it's noticeable. There are times when I begin to read a story that is so full of mistakes, I stop reading and select another author, never reading any further stories by the one with all the mistakes.
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07.11.2015 в 13:39English is not easy either.
Oh, believe me I know
I see that MLaw does her best to research for her stories. And I love her language wealthy in nuances, I really do.
I'm afraid I don't know English well to explain what is incorrect of those stories but I'm gonna try.
I read both stories. First - Heart and Home. Second - The Hunting Party.
1. I don't understand the timeline. "Heart and Home" is about autumn 1941 or later, right? In the end of the story Nicholai says he wants to take Illya out into the forest and teach him to hunt. Though "The Hunting Party" is about Illya's first hunt and the hunt happens before the war.
2. I don't know MLaw's headcanon, but I'm quite sure if Illya was a grandson of Russian Count he had one chance in a million to become an agent/spy and get to KGB or GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate - military intelligence in USSR).
3. Who is Illya's father? Is he a forester and works for the Forest Service? In this case why do they call their home "dacha"? Dacha is a summer/holliday cottage. In 1930-s and 40-s dacha was not common for soviet people (except for high-ranked official).
In total, those stories seem somewhat unlikely for me but it's just my point of view. It doesn't have to match with MLaw's
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07.11.2015 в 14:12I like these texts as just stories, they are nice. But I can't place them in time and land. Nikolay is son of a count who had died in Solovki, but he owns a gun? They go hunting without a dog even and find a deer and a wolf right near the village, what's that, wild taiga somewhere in Siberia? But why dacha then? Aristocrat and Christian calls a deer "sister" and teaches his son to ask its' forgiveness?
And yes, "clean dossier" was absolute requirement for any secret service, grandson of an aristocrat sent to Solovki would not receive clearance to work with classified information
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07.11.2015 в 15:29I see that MLaw does her best to research for her stories. And I love her language wealthy in nuances, I really do.
I'm afraid I don't know English well to explain what is incorrect of those stories but I'm gonna try.
I've selected a series of MLaw's stories to recommend here. This is her "Illya" series and the details of why the family is poor, living in a dacha and hunting in the forest is revealed in the series with more stories. I remember the family never speaks to anyone about Nikolay's father being a count.The family lives in the dach and it is their only home; they have no home in the city as they are poor. Illya's father's profession will be revealed in another story. I will post a link to the next story soon.
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07.11.2015 в 15:56Why not own a gun to hunt? Would it have been forbidden? Bykivnia is northeast of Kiev and Illya and his father went into a forest a few miles from there. MLaw does not say how far they had to go into the forest to find a deer and wolf. Perhaps it is not a custom to thanks God and the animal for giving up it's life to feed a family. It is customary here to do so. Not for everyone, but for some.
As I explained to Striž_, these two stories are a part of a series of stories and details are told as the stories unfold.
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07.11.2015 в 16:14Я не знаю, как объяснить, почему эти истории смотрятся совершенно неверибельно.
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07.11.2015 в 16:37да можем на ты, так проще.
Для меня проблема в том, что я по-русски не объясню, что именно не так. Детали, интересные сами по себе, но не складывающиеся в общую картинку. Как испорченный калейдоскоп. Вроде каждая сама по себе ОК, а вместе дают ощущение "чего-то не того".
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07.11.2015 в 16:49Как испорченный калейдоскоп. Вроде каждая сама по себе ОК, а вместе дают ощущение "чего-то не того".
Даааа. Именно!
Ну не может такого быть, потому что не может такого быть.
Даже если картина складывается, она совершенно невероятна в тех обстоятельствах и в том окружении. Она какая-то чужая выходит.
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07.11.2015 в 16:57I'll try to check about the gun in 1941. I don't think it was that easy for a count's son to own a gun
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07.11.2015 в 17:36NikaDimm,
Was it possible for an ordinary man to own a gun? Wait...I remember now. Illya's father was in the army. He had a rifle he left one at home for hunting and family defense in MLaw's series. These details are tricky for us to write. It is good to have you tell us the errors. Further reading will unfold about the Count. It is important to remember when I comment here, I am giving my own opinions, not MLaw's opinions.
Have you noticed my avatar? I finally figured out how to post it. Now, if I can only figure out how to post images...
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07.11.2015 в 19:34I googled. Here is a short story of Soviet legislation in this area.
It says that after the Revolution, in 1918, it was forbidden to own firing weapons except for Communist party members and those who needed weapons for professional service (military and militia - that was the new name of police). In 1920 guns for hunting were allowed for those who had special hunting permits (given by NKVD). Hunting gun could belong only to the person with permit, no right to hand it over to somebody else. Of course permits were given only to adults.
I don't think somewhere in a Siberian village with long tradition of hunting anybody cared about giving a gun to a son. But near Kiev?
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07.11.2015 в 20:06I see. So it was very difficult to own a gun. Perhaps Nikolai had a permit and he taught his son to shoot and kept it a secret, the story does not say. He may have not surrendered his firearms as was the law. In the US some children are taught at an early age to fire hunting rifles. Myself, I believe gun licensing should be very strict.
I think this is a "grey" area and the gun issue in the story is not clearly right or wrong.
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07.11.2015 в 21:33it was difficult and it depended on many issues - poor peasant would receive a permit much quicker than poor former count (who most probably would receive Solovki or Gulag for just asking - he asks for weapons, he plans counter-revolution). Those who were from aristocratic families lived as low as possible at that time. And not surrendering weapons was a criminal offence, it could put at risk the whole family (not reporting on a family member who commits criminal offence was also considered punishable). So if Illya's father had a gun, he would keep it hidden in some secret place. And he would never go hunting with it, because he can't bring back deer killed with a gun, it's the same as writing report on yourself to NKVD.
Illya's father had to work somewhere, they couldn't just live on dacha. And by the way, 100-kilometer zones around Moscow, Leningrad and 50-kilometer zonez around Kiev and Kharkov were monitored especially closely by the state authorities, those who awoke suspicions were just sent out. There was such a saying "to be sent out to 101-st kilometer" which meant being ousted from one of these cities. And no dacha could be as far away as that, dachas at that time were 20-30 km away from cities at most. And many dachas were state-owned and were given to state and party officials, scientists, artists and other new Soviet elite, so there was a very small chance for Illya's father to receive a dacha if he wasn't part of this elite (and even smaller chance to keep it if it belong to the family since pre-revolution).
But you see, that is why I was reluctant to write about my impression of these stories. If I look at them as just texts - they are OK, nice stories about a boy growing in a loving family in harsh times. But when I think that it's the USSR in early 40-s - I can't believe it. The details don't fall together in a whole picture
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07.11.2015 в 23:42There is no need to feel you must hold back. I asked and desire to hear your impressions. All this information you have given is precisely what I need to write historically correct stories. I have said before that we must separate fiction from facts. Only through people which live in Russia and information not easily available to us can we do this.
May I ask questions about what you have shared? Rather I should state what I now understand. Illya's father would have to work. His family would have to live in an apartment or a small farmhouse if his family ran a farm, not a dacha. He would not own a gun unless he was in the army or police. Would he hunt at all? With bow and arrows? I need to read and learn more about life in Russia when Illya was growing up if I want my stories based on facts.
The works in LJ as well as all of the stories in the FanFiction.net and AO3 are, of course, fiction. Unfortunately Illya and Napoleon were not real spies. Much artistic license is taken in these stories. The group of writer's on LJ would call me out if I made a mistake about our culture, traditions or history as well as locations and fashions of the times. I will give an example: I wrote a short story about Illya and Napoleon watching fireworks while on the roof of the UNCLE building in New York city. I did research to see where the NYC fireworks display was that year, what buildings were next to the UNCLE building, what orchestra played for the fireworks show that year and if it was broadcast on the radio. After I posted the story, one of the other writers congratulated me on the research. She knew New York CIty and checked the facts about fireworks that year. So if we are that particular about facts in our own country, we had better be just as diligent about facts of Russia and Kiev.
Thank you NikaDimm.
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08.11.2015 в 00:13Illya's father would own a gun if he was a forester, for example. He would hunt in this case. But he would not be a son of Count or no one had to know about it (nor his neighborhood nor authorities).
His family would have live in hunters lodge not in village.
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08.11.2015 в 00:27This is an open discussion. Please feel free to interject at any time. May I ask what you mean by forester? A hunting lodge would work.
In this series of stories by MLaw, she writes that the Grandfather was a Count who died in a gulag and the family was most secretive about it. Illya was told to never speak of it to anyone, As an adult, he mentioned it to Napoleon once and Napoleon was very impressed. Illya down-played it saying it didn't mean anything.
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08.11.2015 в 00:55I have read a some MLaw's stories. These stories say that the neighborhood and Illya's schoolmates know about noble birth of Kuriakins.
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08.11.2015 в 01:29I have read a some MLaw's stories. These stories say that the neighborhood and Illya's schoolmates know about noble birth of Kuriakins.
Стриж_
Hmmm I Cannot recall his classmates saying that but if you say it is there, I believe you. It would be a bad thing to tease him about-very dangerous!
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08.11.2015 в 01:45It would be a bad thing to tease him about-very dangerous!
You mean dangerous for his classmates? Illya has fought it back
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08.11.2015 в 01:57Sorry, I am being silly now.
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08.11.2015 в 09:39Illya's father would have to work.
Yes. Otherwise he would be considered a suspicious person.
His family would have to live in an apartment or a small farmhouse if his family ran a farm, not a dacha.
As to apartment - that depends. They can live in a separate apartment if Illya's father has some rank in the society (not necessarily Stalin's right hand; e.g. by family memories my grandfather had a very good spacious apartment, he was head of the only hospital in a small town and thus a part of local elite ). Otherwise they would have a room or two rooms (depend on the size of the family) in a communal apartment and would share kitchen and bathroom with other inhabitants of this apartment.
His father could not run a farm, it's after collectivisation. All farmworkers were working at collective farms (kolkhoz). But they could live in a village and Illya's father could be a mechanic for example. Or a driver of grain combine. Then he would work not in kolkhoz but at mechanical station (MTS - machines and tractors' station). But again it needs some googling, I don't remember exactly when these stations were introduced. MTS owned tractors and combines and were providing services to kolkhozes. It was considered economically justified because they could move from one place to another and thus work more time during the year.
He would not own a gun unless he was in the army or police. Would he hunt at all? With bow and arrows?
Oh no. In the army or police he would have a different type of gun. It's not supposed that policeman or military officer would use personal weapon for hunting.
To go hunting he needs to obtain hunter's permit. For that he needs to be loyal citizen - working, well-established in the society, loyal to Communist party and Soviet power. Not necessarily a Party member, but definitely not a son of count who died in Solovki. And it couldn't be just "let us not tell anybody about that". He would have to change his surname and maintain some fictitious story about his parents.
Actually in rufandom one of fanons is that Illya's father or grandfather corrected spelling of his surname in the documents. There is a well-known aristocratic family of Kurakins. In Russian Kurakin and Kuryakin looks very similar:
Куракин
Курякин
He only needed to correct "а" to "я" which in handwriting is quite easy. But then he would not tell anybody about this, would he?
Now if Illya's father is known as loyal citizen he can obtain a hunter's permit, then buy a hunting gun and... Well, again it needs googling but at least for some kinds of animal he would need a hunting licence for this particular animal. For example, wolves at some times were protected, and at some other there were rewards for killing a wolf - and it differed by the region also.
As for hunting with bow and arrows in Ukraine in the 40-s, I can hardly imagine that. Some kind of trap would be more handy to use. But near Kiev, in reserved zone, in a place where people were buried after execution... No logic for me in all this.
I wrote a short story about Illya and Napoleon watching fireworks while on the roof of the UNCLE building in New York city. I did research to see where the NYC fireworks display was that year, what buildings were next to the UNCLE building, what orchestra played for the fireworks show that year and if it was broadcast on the radio. After I posted the story, one of the other writers congratulated me on the research. She knew New York CIty and checked the facts about fireworks that year. So if we are that particular about facts in our own country, we had better be just as diligent about facts of Russia and Kiev.
Yes, that's it. We also do this usually. And stories about Russia often look as if the author took a description of medieval Chinese fireworks and placed it in NYC.
But all this discussion really made me wonder. I usually write on Russ or on LoGH, but once I wrote a crossover fanfic on "Good Will Hunting". Would it be as strange and wild for somebody who lives in the US? )))
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08.11.2015 в 10:43I went to MLaw's stories and found that Illya's father was working on a small farming collective (she does not say what his job was exactly) but before the war broke out all the supplies and grains were confiscated by Stalin for his army, leaving the local populace in dire straits. I confused her story with another writer's, (there are so many) and I just wanted to clarify.
"The Hunting Party" was about a boy and his father not only bonding over hunting in order to help feed the family, but about Nicholaí's underlying worry of an impending war. He was teaching Illya to hunt before the boy could really even hold the rifle. It was grow up fast for young IK. Stalin took all the grains, and left people with next to nothing. Nicholaí had to push his little boy into growing up to help take care of the family. The giving thanks for the hart giving its life to help feed the family (and for Illya to learn to shoot) is a very touching scene. A father teaching his boy to have respect for nature and be thankful. I hope that despite any ideosychrocies in the story, the true meaning of what MLaw wrote shines through for my Russian cousins.
All the information you've given me here has helped me to better understand what life was like before and during WWII Russia. Allow me to ask another question. Was there much left of the city after "The Siege of Kiev” in 1941? I've read about how many Russian soldiers and residents died and the city was burned. Even homes in rural areas?
But all this discussion really made me wonder. I usually write on Russ or on LoGH, but once I wrote a crossover fanfic on "Good Will Hunting". Would it be as strange and wild for somebody who lives in the US? )))
I am confused about what you are asking or is this a rhetorical question? There are many cross-overs as I'm sure you are aware. Good Will Hunting and Man From UNCLE? Why not? FanFiction is a place to let our imaginations run wild (within reason). *grins wickedly*
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08.11.2015 в 11:38Я потому и предложила профессию лесника, поскольку это позволяет жить в отдалении, где-нибудь на лесной замке, и охотиться (а иногда и браконьерствовать
Насчёт аристократического происхождения... В этой серии фанфика у Ильи бабушка вообще цыганка.
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08.11.2015 в 11:41it's a long comment, so I put it under MORE
more