Tag: Russia
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COLD TEARS
They huddled closer together as the roar passed overhead. The stone walls of the barn did little to protect them from the frost outside. Their breaths formed white clouds in the air, their cold tears stung their faces. They heard an explosion in the distance. Then a series of cracks like gunfire. They had come…
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DEAD ROSES
Dead roses in winter, withered and defeated. The Grand Armée reduced to an icy hell. The villages they entered had nothing to offer. They had stripped them bare of what little they had on their way to Moscow. Starving, frost-bitten and dog-tired, he stumbled on. To drop now meant certain death. No comrade would burden…
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GORODSKOY PARK
Gorodskoy Park in the sunshine. Not the most beautiful park. More concrete than greenery, but well-maintained. A series of paths connected by roundabouts. Along the wider walkways, freshly painted green benches, shaded by overhanging wispy branches. So what was I doing in this nondescript park in the middle of Minsk? Well, that is a longer…
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AT ALL COSTS
Her lungs felt like bursting, her legs had no energy left in them. Still she pushed herself on. The bell rang for the final lap of the track. She pictured that tunnel of trees over and over in her mind. How many times had she ran through it? How many 5 a.m. starts, up and…
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NEW BEGINNING
Boris looked out of the small barred window. The summer dawn was breaking under a bright pink and golden sky filled with soft clouds. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. He needed to get some sleep but it was not often they were allowed to stay up and watch television through the night. It had…
Iain Kelly 