Questions tagged [voroshilovgrad]
Questions about the novel 'Voroshilovgrad' (2011) by the Ukrainian author Serhiy Zhadan. The novel's title is the Soviet name for Luhansk. Use with the tags [serhiy-zhadan] and [ukrainian-literature].
15 questions
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Do history majors at Ukrainian universities typically have to do archaeological field work?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and Ernst met at the airport at the first time, they had the following discussion:
"... What'd you major in?"
"History."
At this, his expression ...
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1
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Was there a book written about jazz in the Donetsk region?
In Voroshilovgrad, the Presbyter gave Herman a book called The Development and Decline of Jazz in the Donetsk Region. Olga expressed some degree of surprise that they played jazz there at all, and ...
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1
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Is there an abandoned Soviet airport near Luhansk?
In Voroshilovgrad, Ernst Thalmann lives at an abandoned Soviet airport that he's trying to resurrect. I'm a little unclear about the exact location of this in the book, but I would assume that it's ...
2
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1
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What is the Ukrainian equivalent of a community college?
At one point in Voroshilovgrad, Injured and Herman go from the old airport to what's referred to in the books as the community college dorms.
I'm slightly confused by this translation, since I don't ...
3
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Is there actually a "railroad to nowhere" on the border between Ukraine and Russia?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman had the following discussion with some smugglers about some rail on the border of Ukraine and Russia:
"There's a railroad here?" I asked.
"Well, yeah," ...
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How do you move a factory by rail?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman meets someone who owns his own train. He mentioned that there were certain tracks that were built in case there was a war, so that they could move factories east:
"Do ...
4
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1
answer
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Why did the priest arrive in an ambulance?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman and a few of his friends attended a funeral. At one point, a priest evidently arrived in an ambulance:
An ambulance rolled up to the building a bit later. A young man hopped ...
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What was this dubious medical facility by the salt lakes?
When Herman and Olga were trying to straighten out the paperwork for the gas station, they realized they need to track down a director of an oil depot for some help with some paperwork. However, they ...
2
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0
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How did Herman and Ernst know how many Tiger tanks were produced?
The following dialog occurred in Voroshilovgrada:
"Herman, you're a history buff, right?"
"Sure."
"Then you probably know how many Tigers were produced in the Reich?"
&...
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0
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Why did Herman claim that there's no racism in Africa?
"Herman," he said. "What would you do if you came into a lot of money? Like a million..."
...
"I'd buy a house... in Africa."
"What would you want to do with a house ...
4
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1
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Why did Injured tell the other players to focus on trapping the ball cleanly?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and his team were about to play soccer against the "gas guys", Injured urged his teammates to focus on trapping the ball cleanly:
"All right, guys," ...
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Why did the Accountant's poor vision preclude him from playing soccer?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and his friends played soccer against the "gas guys", the gas guys has 12 players, including their accountant (who they didn't let play due to his poor vision):...
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1
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Which AC/DC album were they playing in "Voroshilovgrad"?
Prior to playing a soccer game, the players demand some music, and someone obliges by playing some AC/DC from "circa 1981" whose "terrible guitar licks sent us back to a black pit" ...
4
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1
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535
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Why was the Gypsy so annoyed about being asked if they have tonic and gin at the bar?
When Herman first went to go see Olga about the state of his brother's gas station, they went to a bar neither of them had been in in quite awhile. They had the following rather odd exchange with one ...
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1
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What did Herman mean when he claimed that operators monitor people's conversations?
Voroshilovgrad states the following (from the perspective of Herman, the main character):
Telephones exist for breaking all kinds of bad news. They make people sound cold and detatched. I guess it's ...