In Into the Whirlwind, we see Eugenia Ginzburg’s experience as a political prisoner change her viewpoint of the USSR and its approach toward those who disagree with the policies of Stalin’s government. Fear sweeps throughout Russia, and something as simple as telling a joke, or for that matter not reporting one, can get you sent to an isolated prison so far away from home it would make one question if they will survive the week, let alone long enough to ever return to their town and what used to be normal life. As a result, differences seem to fade away. Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, hard-line Marxist/Leninist Communists, regional leaders, cultural outsiders, and others were all affected (111). A particular example is when Ginzburg helps smuggle cigarettes to Abdullin, who had just been returned from extensive interrogation (83). She helped do this in spite of him acting against her when she was under investigation by the party and her dues were being refused (78). Naturally, this surprised him and made him appreciated the gesture even greater.
Instances like this prove political divides no longer became very prominent. Everyone knew that that what was occurring was inherently wrong and that most of them should not be suffering such consequences for actions they did not commit or actions that were so minuscule. Pursing such individual cases makes one wonder about the vast waste of resources within the Soviet government, especially regarding the NKVD. From Stalin’s perspective, would it have not been simpler to address the issues and try to rally the diverse Soviet people around the common goal of making the government run efficiently for the betterment of all citizens? From an outside perspective this seems incredibly counterproductive…especially with the waste of such talented and educated individuals. However, when absolute loyalty is demanded from all, I suppose most reasonable logic immediately goes out the window in favor of finding the perfect, ideal follower to fill a certain niche (or in this case, massive group of niches).
Abdullin really was unkind to Eugenia, as Ian said, but she decided to take the high road. When she smuggles him his cigarettes he says, “How could you take such a risk? After all of my callousness to you? What if you had been caught?” (Ginzberg, 83). This example really goes to show Eugenia’s character. And whether she is being cheeky or being sincere Eugenia replies to Abdullin by saying, “The thing is not to get caught. .. Technology is the key to socialist reconstruction-remember?” (Ginzburg, 83). Even if Eugenia is saying this to be facetious, it still goes to show the point Ian makes about the lines between ideologies becoming slightly blurred. She sees an effective component of socialist reconstruction that helped her to help a socialist reconstructionist. Eugenia may not fully like Abdullin, but the shared experience of prison brings them closer together.