Syedyshev Oleg
Syedyshev Oleg

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Humorous Essays Based on students' memories

"All have died
except for those who are alive, and those whom we remember"Confucius

Essay 168. PEA

The communists highly rated all kinds of mass meetings of people, where they could promote their ideas and train the masses in political literacy. To put it short, where they could brainwash average people. Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the International Union of Soviet Officers; Yalta, CPSU; Yalta City CPSU Committee

There were the most various forms of such brainwashing. There were individual meetings, but collective meetings became the most popular, especially during the final years of the communist government. As in those days there was an era of reports. So those on charge reported that they had “got involved” that many and for such and such period of time. The most annoying thing was that those meetings were held after working hours. Officially they were called Political Educational Activity, PEA for short. Though among people that was called: “prate, endure, abandon”.
After graduation from the institute Sasha Popovitch worked as a doctor in a system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He qualified for a rank of an officer and was a head of a department at a regional hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was located at “the five” – a prison camp in Kemerovo, on the other bank of the Iskitimka. He got extremely sick and tired of the annoying PEA, which was conducted by the head of the surgical department careerist and flatterer Sasha Griaznov.


It was impossible to set a deal with him. So in order not to attend those get-together Sasha did a stunt….
I am absolutely sure that you will never guess what kind of adventure Sasha plunged into. He had always had unconventional way of thinking, so that time he thought that as soon as he could not make a deal with Griaznov in order not to attend the PEA, he would pay a visit to the party organizer of the Medical Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And so he did. When the “party member”, as everybody called the party organizer, listened to his request, he literally grew dumb with astonishment. Sasha was applying to study at the University of Marxism-Leninism, neither more nor less. People’s arms were twisted to make them enter the university. And there was an application on one’s own free will. Sure enough, Sasha received a letter of referral and most positive references. Two years of study flew quickly. What kind of years they were is an absolutely different story; though when remembering them Sasha says that there were some interesting lectures, where things were revealed, about which nothing was said in newspapers in those days. However the main thing was that he received a certificate of higher political education and not just a certificate, but the cum laude diploma!


Sasha Griaznov welcomed Sasha with seeming cordiality after his study. “So, we are going to have one more propagandist at the hospital”, he rejoiced. “Who is the one?” – Sasha inquired. “You will be the one”. Sasha was very surprised that Griaznov had assumed that Sasha would be the propagandist and refused point-blank. Griaznov was outraged “So, then you will attend the meetings together with the rest, and that’s it”.




I will tell you honestly, Sasha was prepared for something like that and asked Griaznov whether he had higher political education? And when he received a negative answer he insidiously inquired: “So what is it that you, ignoramus, can teach me? Me, who has a cum laudi diploma of the University of Marxism-Leninism!” No, Sasha was not mean. He just did not like characters of that kind.

September,25 2013

© Copyright: Oleg Syedyshev, 2012
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Translated by Viktoria Potykinato content ↑


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