Asher Sisneros

In this English assignment, I have to describe the biggest choice, or choices, that Sergei Kourdakov made throughout his life that led him to join the Soviet Union’s secret police.

During his youth, no matter what the environment was, Sergei always tried to attain excellence. During his studies he became fascinated with communism, partially because of the indoctrination he underwent through schooling, but he still accepted the indoctrination with pleasure. Being an orphan, Sergei had no physical father to look up to. Instead, he made Lenin his father figure, eventually even praying to Lenin’s statue.

During high school, Sergei would make stunning speeches about the dangers of imperialism and America, and why communism looks out for the people. Every time he made a speech, the audience went wild. He was an immaculate speaker, and every word resonated. Because of his dedication to the cause, the Communist party looked favorably on him, and he won an award from the communist youth league. This award allowed him to join any military branch he wanted and certainly gave him a step above everyone else his age.

Now Sergei started thinking about a career. Most of the friends he made during his time in the orphanage became complete degenerates. A lot of them went to jail or died. However, one, made a career for himself: Nikolai Povaleyev. Nikolai became “businessman” selling drugs and narcotics. Nikolai offered him a job as a courier delivering drugs from one city to another. He explained to Sergei how lucrative the business was and as a currier he wouldn’t even be in any danger.

To me, this is biggest dilemma Sergei faces up to this point in his life: Should he start a life of crime fighting the state, or should he join the military being employed by the state?

After thinking it over for a while, Sergei joined the criminal underworld. Sure enough, his first mission ended in disaster when he got stabbed in the back. Now, you’d think that getting stabbed would seal the deal to join the military, but that wasn’t enough. After healing, instead of joining the military, Sergei tried crime again! This time, he got shot. This is when Sergei notices a pattern. First, he gets stabbed, then he gets shot. Dying is clearly on the table, and the money wasn’t really worth it.

Finally, Sergei joins the Navy. After joining the Navy, he ends up doing part time work for the secret police, breaking up bar fights and such. But I think his decision to flee from narcotics was easily the most impactful. Crime is the antithesis of police, thus it’s safe to assume that crime would’ve disconnected him the most from working under the Communist party’s secret police.