That diamond sparkled, but she was the center of the image.
I can’t let this get fucked up.
I returned my attention to rushing through St. Petersburg. The police took forever to clear the streets. I didn’t drive myself often.
Damn it. I have to fix this problem with Ava’s grandmother.
Any other time, I would’ve indulged on the sights and smells of my beloved city.
St. Petersburg had become my second home. Many foreigners thought the city was named after, Tsar Peter the Great—also known as Peter the First. He’d been a beast of a man—seven feet tall and a monster at winning wars. Because of him, Russian rose as a European powerhouse. Peter the First ruled Russia from 1682 until his death in 1725. However, while many considered him the city’s true father, it had been named after Saint Peter—one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
After Moscow, St Petersburg served as an alternative to the bustling capitol city—architecturally and culturally. The latter moving at a much slower pace. To many, both cities were Russia’s capitols. Moscow, the official one. St. Petersburg, the Northern Capitol. Others thought of St. Petersburg, as the Cultural Capitol. True locals called the city, Piter.
And the differences between those who lived in Moscow and those who were from Piter continued. Both used different Russian words for regular objects. Moscow citizens pronounced the letter a in the syllable a little bit longer than people in St. Petersburg did. They also stretched out their vowels. In Moscow, the sound ch was sh in St. Petersburg. On and on, one could be very confused speaking Russian in one city, and then going to the other.
But today there was no time to ponder the beauty of Piter, or its differences with Moscow.
What is Smirnov going to do about these protests?
Another halt came to my journey. On this side of the city, even more citizens crowded the streets.
The protestors had come out strong. The energy of revolution pulsed through the city. The idea of freedom was a persistent rattling on the streets. The need for it drummed in the hearts from the rich to the poor. The desire to do exactly what they fucking wanted wouldn’t let them remain on their knees. It was hard to kick hat type of will out of people, especially like the ones who lived in St. Petersburg.
I was proud of them but fucking irritated that they’d chosen today to fight for their freedom.
There we go. Get the fuck out of the way!
Another small break came on the road. I zoomed around a car and sped through, hoping I wouldn’t hit anyone. Protestors jumped out of the way. Another flung a sign at the car. Had they known I was driving the vehicle; they would’ve shit their pants.
Kazimir will want me to deal with Smirnov. Goddamn it! He’ll have to wait until this situation with Ava is solved.
It was the second day of protests and instead of support decreasing, more had come out.
When Kazimir and I had slipped the rebel Gagavok a little money, we thought he would throw a few rallies and bother the Kremlin.
Instead he’d become a power source while we battled with Sasha.
I hope Kazimir is paying attention and has control of the situation.
Kazimir had never met Gagavok, but he’d orchestrated my meetings with the rebel. Therefore, I talked to Gagavok many times. Kazimir had been working on a plan to get rid of President Smirnov for a few years, but my cousin would never let me in on it.
During that time, I didn’t worry about Kazimir’s political meddling. My father had kept Kazimir in line. Now with my father gone, I had no idea who would be able to control Kazimir.
Surely, not me.
And on the topic of President Smirnov, I had no idea if we should overthrow him or not. I believed it was better that we knew the devil we worked with, then someone new coming along. Gagavok might be nice and full of a sense of responsibility now, but when power came, he could be a problem like all the rest.
Father is gone. What will Kazimir do to Russia? And will we all survive it?
Earlier this month, President Smirnov had taken steps to crack down on the political rallies organized by Gagavok. Hundreds were arrested for taking part in the unsanctioned anti-corruption rallies, including Gagavok himself. He sat in jail for fifteen days. I’d bailed him out along with some of his key members.
Currently, Russia’s parliament was considering a law that would allow security forces to shoot protesters at unsanctioned rallies.
Russia will look like the Ukraine’s Maiden Protest Massacre in 2014. And Kazimir will go ballistic.
In the Ukraine Massacre, when sniper forces—backed by Russia—opened fire on huge crowds. More than fifty people died.
Kazimir won’t have it. Smirnov better not do it, or his body will be hanging from a flagpole by the next morning. Just like Sasha.