Terrifying example would be the deliberate famine

terrifying example would be the deliberate famine caused in the Ukraine, where many hundreds
of thousands starved to death.
The movie, however, depicts Russia during World War II. The movie’s depiction was rather
interesting. It showed a country full of terrified and hopeless Russians trying to survive the
wartime. From destroyed villages and buildings, to grim-faced elderly people. The movie
captured the war’s devastation perfectly. During the war, people were constantly on the move.
Whether it was fleeing a city or village that was destroyed, or returning to the front to fight for
Russia; people were constantly getting relocated. This of course, resulted in many people ending
up in places they never expected to be in, or even not seeing their families ever again. All of
these factors affected people’s interactions with one-another. At times, people seemed timid and
skeptical of others’ intentions. This was particularly evident in Shura’s first encounter with
Alexei on the train. Although she was not timid for long, it still provided a good example of how
many people were at that time. In other situations, many Russians were depicted as extremely
friendly, showing a real sense of comradery in their interactions. However, this was mainly
among soldiers and non-civilians. For example, when Alexei agreed to take the gifts to Pavlov’s
wife. It was very interesting to see how soldiers, although being in the most danger, seemed to be
the most amicable of all.
During the movie, it was made very clear that civilians’ lives were not much better than soldiers’
during the war. Most of the women, whose sons and husbands were off fighting, worked in
factories and fields to maintain production during the war. Their working conditions were
appalling and extremely hazardous, causing injuries to the workers left and right. A prime
example was the one-legged soldier, Vasya’s, wife. Moreover, it was clear that consumer goods
and food were becoming less and less available. This was evident in many civilians’ reactions to

Alexei having soap. The film did a great job at depicting the hardships many Ukrainians, among