Terrorist Bombings

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana

The negative side of writing historic fiction is discovering a lot of bad stuff happened in the past.  Even worse is finding outit looks an awful lot like the present.  The more I learn, the more I believe Santayana's proposition did not go far enough.  What I've noticed is those who remember past are also condemned to repeat it.  Case in point, terrorist bombings.  While the present day United States has not fared as badly as Iraq, Afghanistan and parts of Europe, bombings were once prominent in America's landscape.  As my character Massey finds out in this scene from Slogans: Our Children, Our Future, America was not immune.

* * *

Massey sat in Paulie Travica's Barber Shop gripping the pink-tinged newspaper.  The special edition of The National Police Gazette's front page displayed a single morbid illustration.  The intricate pen and ink drawing showed a severed head flung in the air by a massive explosion. 

The National Police Gazette Banner

According to The Gazette, a bomb blast had rocked a quiet residential Washington D. C. neighborhood ripping leaves and limbs from trees, shattering the stoop of a brownstone and scattering chunks of the would-be assassin over half a block. The inhuman device was intended for Attorney General Alexander Palmer and was just one of thirty meant for prominent American leaders and businessmen.  

* * *

Bombers also hit Wall Street.  Borne by a horse-drawn wagon, their explosive devise was powerful enough to cause considerable structural damage and lead to the deaths of 38 people.  Though the real perpetrators were never found, public outrage against Russians immigrants was rampant.

Wall Street Bombing - September 16, 1920

* * *

..., the blame immediately fell on Bolsheviks and the nation called for an immediate response against what was now being heralded as the Red Menace.  One national demagogue suggested sending the Bolsheviks back to Russia in ships of stone with sails of lead.  Then reflecting on his statement added, “Maybe we should just shoot them and save space on the ships.”

* * *

I used this in Slogans by making Massey the target of a local anti-immigrant group.  Like terror bombings of old, lashing out against foreigners is still going on so it was easy to pick up the feelings of those opposed to immigrants.  It was a sad commentary on human nature.

Bombings serve one purpose, to terrorize.  They weaken citizens trust in their government and widen the rift between nations and people.  While bombs and the method of transportation has evolved from black powder and horse-drawn wagons to C4 and trucks, the aim remains the same -- the destruction of the status quo.

Car Bombing in the Middle East - 2017

If my addition to Santayana's proposition is correct, we can expect history to keep repeating itself.

What's In A Name

A constant comment, or rather criticism, of my work is the difficulty of pronouncing and remembering my characters' names.  Since my stories presented the Russian and Russian-American experience, it was difficult to provide those unfamiliar with the Slavic language with easily identifiable monikers. 

Ikons

In my first novel, Ikons: Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker, the majority of the characters bear the names of my family and their friends.  When I needed Belarus surnames to populate Hutava, I used the Minsk phone book and members of Stankovo's military detachment.  The name of the chief of Hutava's Mir, Mayor Voltaic, was appropriated from the Russian word for giant.  In my later novels I used this method to create names for many of my characters.

Banners

I can sympathize with readers of Banners: For God, Tasr and Russia.  There are an awful lot of characters.  I lifted quite a few names for my major characters from the state museum in Minsk: famous Russian poets, leaders and military heroes.  For minor characters I made up whimsical names based on Russian nouns and adjectives.  For instance, Feldfebel (First Sargent) Zortun.

* * *

Feldfebel Zartun was huge.  So huge that Sergei was almost eye level with the seated sergeant.  But it was not the sergeant’s height that upset Sergei―it was his weight.  To call the man fat would have been kind.  It was obvious the sergeant had not earned his rank through forced marches or horseback patrols.  Also, Sergei thought, the sergeant’s neatly trimmed mutton chops framing his bloated face might look fine on a parade field or in army headquarters, but they would draw more fleas than a stray koshka if the man ever left the post.  This Sergei knew from sad experience.

* * *

Zurtun's family name was derived from the Russian word for joke.  Originally,  I planned to use him for comic relief, but he turned out to anything but.  Another play on words was Sergei's commanding officer in Pervosk Fortress, Polkovnik (Colonel) Rygalov.  His last name was Russian for "belch" and I gave the poor guy an unhealthy dose of stomach problems.

Enlisted ranks were filled with soldiers who last names in Russian described their their physical and mental bearing, such as Gunner, Screamer, Lanky, and Grief.  Unfortunately, this did not help the pronunciation and memory problem, but it kept me smiling.

It was also in Banners that I introduced the leaders of the Old Believers as the twelve apostles and used Russian equivalents for their Biblical names. 

Slogans

Slogans: Our Children, Our Future contained many of the characters from the first two books.  Since Slogans dealt two young boys, Stepha and Vanya, the characters surrounding them were children.  For the children's names I used their diminutives: Kolya, Pasha, Valki, etc. Later, when Stepha and Vanya join a gang of Polish urchins, I used street names to identify them.  Stepha and Vanya tried to adopt street names to make them seem tougher.

* * *

After both lowered their weapons, the boy fronted them.  “They call me Ryzhy, because of this,” he said taking off his cap revealing a shock of flaming red hair.  “What cha called?”

Stepha was about to blurt out his name when he remembered Kolya's advice:  Don't use your real name or they'll think you're soft.  Call yourself something fierce.  “I’m called Medved―Bear,” Stepha said.  “And this is my brother, er, Volk―Wolf.”

* * *

Other gang members assumed names reflecting their status or physical qualities.

* * *

The brothers stood in the center of a dank basement, lit by four flickering candles.  Ryzhy's gang had circled them, arms folded, faces grim.  There was Krivoy, with just one good eye; Kosoy, whose eyes were crossed; Riaboy, with a face pot marked by disease; and Starik, who looked like a frail old man.  There also were two girls identified as Monashka, the nun, and Lebed, the swan. 

 * * *

Will this background information help my readers if they read this post?  Probably not, but at least they might be impressed by the genesis of those hard to pronounce and easy to forget names.

Your Character's Perceptions

In the July/August 2017 issue of Writer's Digest, author Jane K. Cleland presented an article entitled "The Perception Gap."  After explaining how writers can use their character's perception of events and people to "propel their plot," Ms Cleland challenged the reader to find examples of correct and incorrect perceptions in their work.  I chose three examples from my novels in which my character made a judgement based on their personal experience.  In two cases, their initial gut reaction, though well founded, were incorrect.

Massey

On Massey's first trip across the Atlantic, he tried to follow the suggestion given to him by seasoned ocean travelers, "Take the lower bunk."  His attempt to follow the advice led to a confrontation and friendship.  The following excerpt from Ikons: Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker, tells of his initial encounter with Marko and how perception based on visual clues can lead to false assumptions.

* * *

Spying an empty lower bunk Massey made straight for it and threw his belongings on the mattress just ahead of a badly worn carpetbag and bedroll belonging to another.

"Moy," said Massey staking his claim.

"Ta moye," came the equally irrefutable retort in Polish. 

* * *

Steerage Sleeping Quarters

A standoff ensued and Massey, based on the man's body language, was sure the Pole meant to fight for possession of the bunk and Massey was ready to oblige.  However, it turned out Massey's assessment of the situation was incorrect.

* * *

Massey stood his ground as the Pole's right hand formed a fist.  Just when blows seemed inevitable, the Pole's face formed a full smile.  He then moved back a step and put out his left hand, palm up.  Slowly he pounded his fist, meaty side down, into his open palm three times.   Once more the Pole repeated his action and this time Massey recognized the child's game of "rock, paper, scissors."  Massey smiled and struck his palm three times.  Massey's rock broke Marko Kozlowski's scissors, earning Massey the lower bunk and two life long friends.

* * *

Sergei

Sergei honed his fighting skills as an infantry officer on the Turkish frontier.  Much later as a civilian volunteer, he witnessed the defeat of the Russian Third Army at the hands of the Germans.  In this scene from Banners: For God, Tsar and Russia, Sergei called upon his previous wartime experience to stem the tide of retreat and hold the line.

* * *

Words.  There are moments in a conflict when one man with words has the power to change history.  If he uses the right words at the right time, beaten men will rally and the rush of defeat will be stemmed.  Sometimes the words must implore the men, beg them to do their duty.  Other times, the words must chastise and humiliate them into standing their ground.  By the time Sergei reached the road crowded with retreating men, he was in no mood to beg.

* * *

Russian Third Army In Retreat

Sergei searched for the soldiers he needed by noting their mannerisms.

* * *

Finally, the men he awaited appeared.

Their company formation was ragged, but their heads were high and they still held their weapons and equipment.  “May God be praised,” Sergei mouthed when he looked into their eyes.  For the first time in days he saw not fear, but betrayal. 

* * *

Based on his correct assessment, Sergei was able to convince these men to reform the defensive line until precious artillery to be saved.  It was also during this scene that Sergei had his perception of a previous character completely reversed.

Stepha

Ten year-old Stepha and his nine year old brother had run away from the displaced persons' camp in search of their father.  Armed only with childish cunning and advice from older village boys, they have so far avoided trouble.  However, in this scene from Slogans: Our Children, Our Future, they believe their luck may have run out.

Young toughs

* * *

“Hey, kid.”

Stepha dropped his end of Akulina's no-touch box and spun around.  Advancing toward him was an older boy almost as disheveled as he.  Glancing to his sides, Stepha saw no place to hide and escaping with their treasures was out of the question.  There remained only one option.  “Get ready.” Stepha instructed Vanya and both pulled out knives and took up a defensive stance.

* * *

The older boy was much more street-wise than Stepha and immediately sized up the situation.

* * *

The boy continued coming, finally stopping seven paces away.  “You're from the camp, ain't cha,” he said ignoring the younger boys' bravado.

Stepha shook his head.

“Don't lie.  Only camp kids wear them kinds of clothes.  Can spot cha at a thousand paces.”

* * *

The older boy introduced himself and offered to take the two brothers into their "gang." At first Sepha was skeptical, but finally relented.  It turned out the gang had a use for the brothers talents.

* * *

A shudder ran through Stepha as he recalled another of Kolya's warnings.  One about gangs of young thugs who lured unsuspecting children into their dens and robbed them.

“So what ya say?  Want to join our gang?” Ryzhy asked.

Stepha and Vanya eyed each other and felt their stomachs rumble.  “Da,” Stepha said, “we'll join, but nobody better touch our stuff.”

* * *

I hope Jane K. Cleland agrees with my interpretation of her article.  In any case, in your writings keep in mind that often your character's perception may or may not be reality.