A Thin Thread
of Destiny

The past 20th century and the present one were extraordinarily rich in events that literally redrew the destinies of all mankind. One of them was the revolution in October 1917 which caused the collapse of Russian tsarism and marked the beginning of a new era, the era of socialism, which lasted for not so long. The other was the World War II. It laid the cornerstone for the future collapse of communism. Soviet Russia Stalinism almost destroyed the gene pool of Russian people and other nations living in the country. And then there was the collapse of the once mighty state which was the first in the world to build socialism – the USSR …

The novel “The Thin Thread of Destiny” reveals the life of a Russian family, once powerful, rich and big – the family of Ukhtomskiy dukes – through the prism of the events mentioned above. The reader witnesses the fates of four generations of Ukhtomskiy family. The three brothers stay in Russia during the October Revolution of 1917, and each of them faces the question of how to live further.

Their ways separate while they search for an answer to this question. The life of brothers and their descendants take different directions. The wheels of history twist their fates. Someone bends under the blows of destiny and descends to betrayal, humiliation and cruelty. Someone stands it all and becomes a role model, shows the nobility of soul, honesty in life. Each character experiences love. But for some, it becomes the all-embracing feeling which brings the joy of life, for others it turns into a sizzling pain.

Critics ascribed the book to the category of modern psychological novel. It raises issues topical for all generations and all times – problems of conscience and honor, love and hate, patriotism and betrayal. There is an attempt to answer the eternal questions like what should one do and how to live for the destiny not to become a curse, and not only for that person but also for people around him.