“I became even more friendly with all the Mikoyans at the Gorki-2 dacha in Zubalovo. They lived noisily: once they stole a rifle from the commandant’s house, sawed off the barrel, and when their defenseless father was driving out of the yard (the guards’ car was waiting outside the gates), they fired a shot into the air from the mansion tower! The Checka guys ran around like chickens, they thought it was an assassination attempt!
“We once went to visit Molotov, and Vyacheslav Mikhailovich suddenly and ceremoniously sat everyone down to eat and announced: now everyone has to propose a toast. Svetlana Stalina said something short and very good. I was so confused I couldn’t squeeze out a word. Don’t be shy, Molotov said, just say: to the cutlets! And the people who respect them!”
“When you
