THE GRANTOR
In prison, Shakhurin Sr. survived several heart attacks; he complained of a bad heart, and poor circulation in his feet. To keep from going mad, he copied out poems and talked to a spoon. His cell mate, a technician at a documentary film studio (this was how Ilyin introduced himself, the head of the third section of the secret political department, who had been in prison since ‘43 because of mutual jealousy between the NKVD and SMERSH, and lived for a long time afterwards until he was hit by a car) did not like Shakhurin: Shakhurin had food delivered from a restaurant but “didn’t share the grub,” and cursed his accomplices.
What went through Shakhurin’s mind during this time remains unknown, and he only wrote: “Only my faith in the Party saved me. The faith in the Party, my o
