The Tale of Zoya and Shura

The name of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya has become a symbol of the heroism of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. Her younger brother Shura, who, following his sister's example, went to the front as a volunteer, heroically died less than a month before the Victory. This tale is about their short lives; the brother and sister died barely having reached adulthood. It is mainly about family, childhood, and growing up: how the small, responsible Zoya cared for Shura, how she studied at school, how she matured quickly after their father's death, what books she read, what she wrote in her notebook-diary, and what she debated with her friends… The image of Shura is very charming, mischievous, talented, and not always predictable. The image of Lyubov Timofeyevna, the mother who lost both children, tragically woven with the pain of loss and pride in their feat, also emerges in the pages of the tale. The story by L.T. Kosmodemyanskaya has been literarily processed by the writer, journalist, and educator Frida Vigdorova, who infused this book with her talent and understanding of the child and adolescent soul.