The Brave Doctor Learn English through story level 4
moscow 1901
the small sad group walked behind the
horse and carriage which carried the
coffin of maria nicolaevna
as they walked they sang eternal memory
people along the way stared and made the
sign of the cross
some asked who was in the coffin
zhivago they were told
but not the great man himself
it’s his wife
the coffin was closed and put into the
ground earth was thrown on top of it
and suddenly a ten-year-old boy threw
himself on top of the earth
like a wild animal which has lost its
mother the small boy covered his face
with his hands and burst into tears
finally his uncle the dead woman’s
brother
led him away the boy
yori andreavich djibargo
was now an orphan
even though his father was still alive
he had left yuri and his mother a long
time ago and had gone to siberia
since then he had spent the family’s
millions on bad business plans women and
alcohol
yuri didn’t know his father
but he could remember something about
his own past
many things used to carry his name
there were zhivago factories a zhivago
bank
chivago buildings
even a zhivago cake
when he was younger yori had lived in a
wonderful house in a beautiful park
he had enjoyed the best of everything
then one day it all disappeared and he
and his mother became poor
now his mother was dead and he was
leaving moscow with her brother nikolai
nikolayevich
his uncle collier
uncle collier was a serious religious
man
he was concerned with the political
ideas of his time and was looking for a
new path that would change the world
in the future he would write several
important books that guided the thinking
of many people during russia’s coming
revolutionary years
yuri loved and admired this uncle who
was now mother and father to him
the young boy listened to his christian
philosophy and accepted it as his own
summer 1903
yuri spent several happy years with
uncle collier often traveling with him
and always listening to his ideas about
russia and about the role of the
individual in society
on one of their trips they went to
duplianca
they were going to a beautiful large
estate which reminded yuri of his mother
she had been fond of nature and had
often taken him on long walks in the
countryside
at the farm uncle collier spent the time
discussing changes in the agricultural
system with a fellow author
and yuri wandered around listening to
the birds
and praying for his mother
angel of god
lead me in the way of truth
and tell mama that i’m all right
she must not worry
if there is life after death o lord
please receive me and please protect and
keep dear mama
at this point yori was suddenly
overtaken with emotion and was not
conscious of where he was for several
minutes
when he shook himself awake
yuri thought of his father
he had forgotten to pray for him
he can wait
he almost thought
it was difficult for the boy to pray for
a father he did not remember at all
while this was going on at the farm a
train was coming towards duplianca
one of the people on the train was misha
gordon an 11 year old boy who was
traveling to moscow with his father a
lawyer from orenberg
one day in the near future yuri and
misha would become friends
but on this day they were still unknown
to each other on this same train there
was another well-known lawyer and his
client
the lawyer was victor ipolitovich
komarovsky and his client was the famous
zhivago yuri’s
father zhivago had been in the gordon’s
railway carriage for much of the journey
he had talked for hours to misha’s
father about his financial matters
from time to time the lawyer komarovsky
would find zhivago and take him back to
the bar for more drinks
it was easy to see that zhivago’s
worries and his nervous condition were
in some way to komarovski’s advantage
after one of these trips to the bar
zhivago rushed into their car
grabbed mr gordon by the hand and then
ran to the door and left from the train
he died at the exact moment that yoli
forgot to pray for him
the train stopped in the valley near
duplianka but it was many years before
yuri knew the whole story of his
father’s suicide
soon after this trip uncle colier sent
yori to moscow to live with some distant
relations the grameko family
yuri was very happy in the grameko house
both of the parents were kind and well
educated and their daughter tonya became
yuri’s closest friend almost immediately
with the grameekos yori enjoyed the kind
of life that society believed was proper
foreign
1905
in another part of moscow another young
person was living a very different style
of life from yuris
and her brother lived in three small
rooms at the back of their mother’s shop
the workers in the shop made dresses for
the rich ladies of moscow
amalia larissa’s mother was a widow with
a small amount of money
she was a frightened weak woman who
relied on an old friend of her husband
for advice
the friend was the handsome confident
lawyer who had been chivago’s advisor
victor ipolitovich komarovsky
komorowski marched through the shop
quite frequently with his fashionable
beard and expensive clothes
he looked down his fine nose at the poor
workers and they whispered behind his
back here comes amalias don juan
the old devil
the king of hearts
they knew he was not good for amalia but
their opinions did not matter larissa or
lara as she was usually called was a
natural beauty
she worked very hard at school and
helped her mother as much as she could
it was easy to love her because she was
the purest kindest girl in the world
at 16 she understood her mother’s fears
about becoming poor
but she was strong and naturally
optimistic
she had no worries about the future
sadly komorowski was to change her
picture of herself and of her future
evening lara’s mother amalia had an
appointment to go to a fashionable party
with komorovsky but she felt ill and
unable to go
instead she encouraged dramarovsky to
take lara
tomorrowski introduced lara as his niece
but after several elegant evenings in
the finest restaurants and clubs of the
city the ladies and gentlemen of moscow
society
knew that lada was something very
different from a niece lara could not
control the events in her life
at first she went to places with
komorowski because he was kind to her
mother
and every evening with him was exciting
full of luxury and temptation
she floated along in a dream and did
what komorowski wanted her to do
but when she was at home again and
looked at herself in the mirror
lara hated the woman that she saw
she knew that komorowski was evil and
that he had made her evil too
she wanted to be innocent again
but she could not break away from
komarovski’s power
lara’s shame was her secret
her mother must never know the awful
truth about her and komarovski and her
friends at school would not understand
or accept her double life
her best friend was a boy named pavel
pavlovich antipov
known to everyone as pasha
his father was a railway worker who was
in jail because of his part in a railway
strike and his mother was very ill in
hospital pasha was now living with some
of lara’s neighbors
he was a charming young man intelligent
funny kind
and because of his father he was
involved with the politics of the day
like many students of that time he
wanted change in russia and he was
willing to work to make things better
but the center of pasha’s life was lala
he loved her with his whole heart and
would do anything for her
secretly he had promised his life to her
during this revolutionary time in russia
many groups of workers in moscow such as
the railway men went on strike
workers and students marched in the
streets hoping to change conditions for
everyone but especially for the workers
and the farmers
then on october the 17th there was good
news
the tsar nicholas ii had signed an
agreement which would give land to the
peasants and would make everyone in
russia equal
unfortunately the agreement was not
worth the paper it was written on
conditions for workers and farmers grew
worse and worse
students politicians and churchmen
wondered what would happen to their
country
some thought a lot about the situation
and discussed it for hours and hours
while others looked for more direct ways
to change their history
pasha and his friends were among the
groups of students and workers who were
willing to fight on the streets for the
new russia
one day amalia grisha’s workers
surprised her when they stopped working
and walked out of the shop
amalia did not understand that the
strike was not against her but against a
whole unfair system
she was depressed and worried and felt
that she could not make sense of the
world
fortunately she had a friend and
neighbor who she could talk to
he was tishkovich a violinist and he
listened patiently to amalia’s concerns
about her finances and her worries about
komarovsky january 1906
many of moscow’s workers were now on
strike
and like amalia grisha they wondered
what would happen to their families and
future
but in some parts of the city people
were still untouched by the troubles
behind the closed doors of their large
comfortable house the grimikos were
planning one of their celebrated musical
evenings
everyone in the family was a great music
lover
the preparations went on for days before
the party carpets and curtains were
cleaned the furniture was moved around
and in the kitchen everyone was busy
preparing bread salads meat vegetables
pies and cakes for the elegant supper
after the concert
on the evening itself moscow’s most
important and fashionable ladies and
gentlemen sat down to enjoy a special
musical event
the musicians were the best in the city
but the music was dry and boring and the
song seemed extremely long the audience
wished that the entertainment would stop
so that they could go into supper
yuri was sitting with tanya and misha
gordon
the three of them were always together
in those days
you already noticed that one of the
servants was waving at tonya’s father
gramiko tried to ignore the girl’s
signals but she wouldn’t stop waving and
pointing
finally he walked quietly out of the
room
well
what is it why have you dragged me away
from my guests
i’m sorry sir but there is a man outside
for mr tishkevich one of the violinists
he says it’s a matter of life or death
he must go immediately
that’s impossible you’ll have to wait
until the end of this piece of music
but sir
someone is dying
insisted the girl alexander gramiko
returned to his guests
ladies and gentlemen please forgive me
but i must end this wonderful music
mr tishkevich has had some bad news from
home and must leave i’ll take him there
myself please stay and enjoy yourselves
i will return very soon
it was an extremely cold night and yuri
and misha decided to go with mr gramiko
and tishkovic
the violinist’s friend amalia grisha
had tried to poison herself
life had become a heavy weight for
amalia
with the shop closed she had very little
money and now she was confused about her
daughter and komarovsky
what was going on
what had changed
she was too frightened to face them
directly
but she knew that something was wrong
the atmosphere felt dangerous when lara
and komorovsky were in the same room
amalia was not strong enough to find any
solutions
instead
she drank poison now the doctor was
cleaning out her stomach and tishkovich
and mr grimiko were standing beside her
bed
mr tishkovic my dear
where’s your hand
please
give me your hand
i was such a fool
oh my imagination
but now i see that everything is all
right
and here i am alive
oh forgive me please tish of it
be quiet now amalia you have said enough
how awful
mr grimiko i am sorry don’t worry
tishkovitch answered ramiko we’ll leave
now
all this time yuri and misha had been
watching
they stared at the feverish woman
covered in sweat and talking wildly
this was a world they did not know
as they were leaving they went through a
small sitting room
the walls were covered with photographs
and there were books newspapers and
fashion magazines piled high on the desk
and table beyond the round table in the
soft light they could see a girl of
their own age asleep in a big chair
she was completely exhausted
and had slept through all of the noise
and comings and goings
you will leave now gramiko said again
as soon as mr tishkevich comes out i
must say good night to him
but it was not gishkovich who came into
the room
it was a handsome rather heavy
self-confident man
he was carrying a lamp which he placed
on the table
the light woke up the sleeping girl and
left yuri and misha in dark shadows
the girl stretched and smiled up at the
man
on seeing this stranger misha pulled at
your sleeve and tried to tell him
something
yuri told his friend to be quiet and
stood very still carefully watching the
action before his eyes the girl and the
man believed that they were alone
not a word past their lips
only their eyes met
but the understanding between them was
complete as if he were the master and
she were a willing slave
his smile told her everything
the crisis was finished the problem had
disappeared
she looked at him and nodded contentedly
she understood that her mother’s suicide
attempt had failed
but that their secret was still safe
yori and misha watched this show with
horror
misha was upset because he recognized
the man
it was komarovsky the lawyer who had
been with your his father when he
committed suicide
he wanted to take yuri outside and
explain who kamalovsky was
but yuri was trying to understand what
he was watching
he stood in the darkness and stared at
the two people in the circle of light
the girl was young and beautiful like
him and his friends
but she was controlled by this dangerous
man he knew that he was watching
something forbidden something which was
wrong the relationship between the man
and the girl made yuri feel
uncomfortable
his heart was painfully crowded with new
feelings
he wanted to rescue the girl
but he could see that it was impossible
for him to interfere
however a connection now existed
and one day this girl
lala fierdarovna grisha would be the
most important person in your life
for now
she was still an upsetting mystery and
someone who did not even know that yuri
existed
misha pulled yuri outside and shouted
do you know who that man is
julie
he’s the lawyer who made your father
drink so much
he caused your father’s death
he was on the train that day with your
father remember i told you
but yuri was thinking about the girl and
the future not about his father in the
past
he wasn’t even sure what misha was
talking about he wasn’t sure about
anything as they drove home through the
frozen streets of moscow
christmas 1911.
yuri tonya and misha were in their last
term at university in the spring they
would all graduate
yuri in medicine because he wanted to do
something useful with his life
misha in philosophy and tonya in law
they were all very intelligent and hoped
to succeed in their professions
a large part of their view of the world
had come from uncle coleus books his
ideas guided their thinking about
history politics and art but especially
about each individual being responsible
for his or her own thoughts and actions
yuri thought well and wrote even better
since his school days he had dreamed of
writing a book about his impressions of
life
but he didn’t want to say things
directly he wanted to keep the most
important things hidden under the
surface waiting for the intelligent
reader to discover them everyone was in
evening dress and looked as if they were
enjoying the party atmosphere
everyone that is but one young lady
lara
she had learned that komorowski was at
the sventitsky’s party and she was
searching for him with a desperate look
in her eye
she danced with a young man she knew
from university and continued her search
suddenly she saw komarovsky at a card
table
pulled out the gun
and fired at him
everyone turned and looked in the
direction of the sound
there was a moment silence
and then people began screaming and
running towards the injured man what has
she done what has she done
kamarovsky kept saying
he was not hurt
the shot had hit another man
but he knew it had been meant for him
yori hurried over to the injured man and
saw lala and komarovsky for the second
time
that girl
again in a sensational situation
and that evil man
but yuri had no time to think about lara
and komorovsky
tonya rushed over to him they were
needed at home immediately
yuri forgot everything else and ran out
of the house with tanya
they did not find anna ivanovna alive
when they ran up the stairs to her room
she had been dead for ten minutes
anna’s death was a tragedy for the whole
family
but tonya especially was beside herself
with sadness
yoli remembered the pure terror he had
felt 10 years earlier when his dear
mother had died
now he was afraid of nothing
neither of life nor death
he had learned many things in the last
10 years from literature art history the
bible
and felt that he now understood himself
and his world
he would help tanya
he would protect her and stay beside her
always
and he would write a poem for her mother
so that they would never forget her
after the guests had left the christmas
party
lara lay feverish and half conscious in
one of the sventitsky’s bedrooms
the rest of the house was dark and quiet
but one nervous angry person was still
awake trying to decide on his next
course of action
komarovski’s good name was threatened
and he was determined to stop any gossip
that might link him to lara or to the
shooting
he had already spoken to the police and
tried to smooth things over
he must not go to court and answer
questions about his private life
he would find a place for lara to live
anything to keep her quiet and out of
his way
and above all he would never go near her
when he looked at her he had to admit
that she was still extremely attractive
to him she was intelligent and beautiful
but wild at the same time
he had always known that she was special
and he wanted her desperately but now he
could see that she had the power to
destroy him
he would help her
and then try to forget her he was too
young to write this book yet so instead
he wrote poems
these were practice for writing his
great book one day
the young people had very few worries
but they were concerned about tonya’s
mother
anna ivanovna gramiko
she was not well and had spent all of
november and december of that year in
bed
she often called yuri and tanya to her
side and talked to them about her family
and her childhood at varikino a
grandparent’s enormous estate near the
town of yuriatin far away in the euro
mountains
on the 27th of december yuri and tonya
were wondering if they should go to the
sventipsky’s annual christmas party that
night
it was always the best party of the
season and everyone would be there but
they did not want to be away from
tonya’s mother
anna was feeling a little better that
day and she called yuri soon to be a
doctor to come to her bedroom and check
her condition
yuri agreed that anna seemed better and
so he stayed to talk with her
i want a word with you yuri anna said
seriously
i know anna ivanovna you’ve seen the
letter from the lawyers about my
father’s estate
yes i have and i want you to do the
right thing
do not act quickly think about your
future
i know you agree with uncle colga but
please
let me explain
the lawyers will take any money that my
father left
but there’s no land there are no
factories no houses
my father lost everything
i do not wish to go to court and listen
to the details of his sad foolish life
and still have nothing from him
there are other people who will step
forward if you do not want the estate
protested anna
yes i know
when lamar was still alive my father
fell in love with a strange princess
and she had a son by him
his name is yevgruff and he’s 10 years
old
i’ve seen a photograph of their house in
the euro
sometimes i dream about it and feel that
the windows are staring at me giving me
the evil eye
no i don’t want anything to do with this
princess her house or my father’s penis
all right yuri i will leave that
decision to you but i will decide about
tonight
you and tonya must go to the spinpitskis
party i am much better today and i want
to see you both in your evening clothes
before you go out
in the spring of 1906
lara was in her final year at secondary
school but she was having a very
difficult time
the relationship with komarovsky had
started six months earlier and at times
lala believed that she was going insane
she was exhausted by late nights and by
worrying she hated herself for being
weak for acting like komorowski’s slave
but she could not stay away from him
finally lala decided that she could not
continue with a life which disgusted her
at school she wrote a note to her best
friend nadia colagrivova
nadya
i want to live away from mother can you
help me
i want a teaching job i need to earn
enough money to live independently
you know lots of rich people
do you have any ideas
nadia wrote back
mother and father are looking for a
teacher for my little sister lipa
why not come to us
it would be wonderful
you know we are all very fond of you
and so lada escaped from the terrible
dream world that komorowski had trapped
her in
she spent some years at nadia’s house
where she was not only useful but also
greatly loved as a member of the family
she was able to save some money because
she was paid a very reasonable wage as
liepa’s teacher and she was also able to
continue her own education
nadia’s parents were very kind and
generous and helped lara to solve
another difficult problem while she
lived with them
one day in 1911 with no warning lara’s
brother roger arrived at the color
grievops house
he was a student at a fashionable army
college
he was both proud and stupid and now he
was in deep trouble because of gambling
debts
he had gone to kamarovsky about his
trouble and the smooth lawyer was
willing to help him if lala wished him
to
she had only to speak to komolovsky and
he would save her brother from disaster
lala could not believe her ears
her years of honest work for nothing
she did not think she went straight to
nadia’s father and he helped her brother
without question
but before he left lara made roger give
her his gun
because he had threatened to shoot
himself if he didn’t get the money he
needed
after he was gone lala’s anger died
but she remained very upset laura
believed that she was in an impossible
situation
lipa was finished with school and did
not need her anymore and she could not
pay back the money she had borrowed from
nadia’s father for roger’s debts
she felt that she was not wanted any
longer in the coligribuff house although
this was not true
the family thought of her as a daughter
and would have been very upset if they
had known about lala’s concerns
in desperation lada came up with a crazy
plan
she would go to komorovsky and demand
enough money from him to rent her own
flat and to finish her studies
if he wouldn’t help her
she would shoot him with her brother’s
gum
on december the 27th she left nadia’s
house to look for him
she hid the gun in her coat
as lara walked through the snow
tonya and yuri were in anna ivanovna’s
bedroom showing her how fine they looked
before they left for the spentitsky’s
party
anna was very happy to see her two
favorite young people oh my goodness
where is my little yori and my sweet
tanya
what has happened to my children
you’re both grown up now ready to face
the world on your own
come here
let me look at you
they came closer for anna ivanovna to
see them and stood shoulder-to-shoulder
beside her bed
tanya you are beautiful perfect and
you’re so handsome and elegant
my heart is very happy tonight
you are ready for the best the brightest
party of the year
i think you are ready for the world
listen to me
but she was interrupted by her own
coughs
yuri and tonya reached out to her and
their hands touched
still coughing anna held their hands in
hers and said
if i die
stay together
you are meant for each other
get married
there now
you are an official couple
and she began to cry softly
now go
you must enjoy the party for me on the
way to the sventipsky’s house tonya and
yuri were changed people
after six years as children and young
adults together they knew everything
about each other they loved to study
together and argue about politics and
religion they shared the same taste in
art and literature and laughed at the
same jokes
they were part of the same close loving
family
but suddenly there was something new
between them
now they looked at each other with
different eyes
they were a man and a woman
and saw that they were truly
deeply in love with each other
for both of them it was as if tonya’s
mother had opened a secret door
and had shown them a bright magic future
they arrived at the party and were
greeted by the spentinskis and many
other old friends
there was dancing for the young people
card playing and a little gambling for
their elders and tables full of every
description of christmas food and drink
1915
during world war one
soon lara was living in her own flat and
spending her time at the university or
with pasha
mr color grievous nadia’s father had
helped her with some extra money and
both lara and pasha would graduate from
university soon
their dream was to get married
move out of moscow and then work in the
country as teachers
secretly lara was afraid that komorowski
or at least her past relationship with
him would spoil their dream
she tried to protect pasha from her dark
secrets but he believed that nothing
could damage his love for lala
they got married soon afterwards
and moved to uriatin the small town in
the urals where lala had been born and
had spent her childhood
by this time yuri and tonya were also
married
yuri was a doctor at a big moscow
hospital and as in most hospitals at
that time the beds were full of injured
soldiers from the battlefield but in the
autumn of 1915
yuri was more concerned about tonya
she was in hospital waiting for the
birth of their first baby
she had been there for three days before
yuri finally heard the news
a nurse found him
congratulations
it’s a son
be very loving and gentle with your wife
she has had a bad time
she’s safe
tonya and the baby are safe yori said
almost as a prayer
the great thing was that tanya was no
longer in danger
she was fine
and they were parents
lara and pasha had now been in yuriatin
for four years
lala had her hands full and plenty to
think about
she took care of their house and their
daughter katya who was three years old
she was also a teacher at the girls high
school and shared all of pasha’s
interests too
she worked constantly but she was very
content
this was exactly the life she had
dreamed of
she was happy to be in yuri once again
with people who knew her and her family
she liked these people and their simple
way of life pasha was also a teacher
but teaching and family life were not
enough for him
he missed the big city and sometimes
criticized the people of uriatian rather
strongly
he thought that their ideas especially
their political ideas were very simple
he stayed away from the local people and
instead concentrated on his education
he could read quickly and remembered
almost everything he read
he was a teacher of latin and ancient
history
and now he taught himself everything he
could about science physics and
mathematics
he sang himself into studying often
forgetting to eat or sleep
and the more he learned
the less he liked living in yuriati
pasha and lara’s relationship was good
but not perfect
they loved each other very deeply but
they were not able to be completely
natural with each other
pasha knew about komarovsky and worried
that lala believed he thought badly of
her because of her past lara tried to be
kind and loving but sometimes she was
too much like a mother in pasha’s eyes
they were often too polite to each other
too careful
which made things more complicated
one night when he could not sleep pasha
stood alone staring into the night
he questioned lara’s love for him
and then even wondered if his love for
her was really true
he began to think that they were acting
roles instead of behaving honestly
and yet he couldn’t hurt lara she meant
everything to him
he looked up at the stars as if
searching for a solution
what should he do
suddenly an army train came into view
and went hurrying past to the west
asha smiled got up and returned to bed
he had found his answer
when pasha told lara about his decision
she could not believe her ears
he had arranged everything and was
leaving for the army school in omsk
pasha pasha darling screamed lala don’t
leave us
what’s the matter with you
you are not my pasha what has changed
you
you don’t even respect soldiers suddenly
she realized that her husband didn’t
actually want to be in the army
he wanted to be away from her
she didn’t understand completely
but she knew that he misunderstood her
love for him
she became silent and helped him to pack
his things
lara’s whole life seemed silent without
her husband
her brightest hopes and dreams had
drifted away
but eventually pasha wrote from the
battlefield and sounded less depressed
he wanted to be with lara and katya and
prayed for an opportunity to visit his
home in yuriati
but then his letters stopped
and lada could not get any news about
him
she was filled with worry so she took
action
she trained as a nurse
and went to look for pasha in the war
she left katya with her old student lipa
in moscow
and got a job as a nurse on a hospital
train going to the hungarian border
and passing through the town of liskey
the last address she had had from pasha
lala didn’t know yet but the news about
her husband was not good
during a very fierce battle parsha had
led an attack against the austrians
he and his men had moved quickly
forwards across an open field towards
the enemy
suddenly the big german guns opened fire
on them black clouds of smoke hid the
soldiers
but the observers behind them believed
that all of the russian soldiers were
dead
misha gordon was travelling by train
from moscow to the war front to see his
childhood friend dr yori andreavich
ivargo
yori was working in one of the army’s
hospitals
the train passed villages that the enemy
had destroyed
old people looked up at the train
wondering when peace and order would
return to their lives
misha finally found yori and spent a
week with him at the hospital
they talked about everything in the
world just like they had done when they
were students
yuri couldn’t accept the horrors caused
by a modern war
men’s bodies were torn to pieces but
sometimes they didn’t die
these men became his patients
how could people be so cruel to each
other
they talked about the spirit of the
times the impossible role of bazaar and
of the suffering of jewish people in
their own country yoli did not
understand how one group of russians
could hate another group of their own
countrymen
the following day yuri came back to
their living area and said
we’re all living here
all of the medical people have received
orders to move out
i don’t know where we’re going to
they both packed that afternoon without
any rush
during the night they were awakened by
shouts the sound of guns and men running
the germans had broken through and were
attacking the village the hospital had
to be moved immediately
with all begun before dawn yuri told
misha
you’ll go with the first group i’ve told
them to wait for you hurry up i’ll come
with you and get you a seat
what are you going to do ask me
i’ll come with a second group don’t
worry i have to go back and collect my
medical equipment first they separated
at the edge of the village
yoli wave to misha and then hurried back
to the hospital
he had almost reached the hospital
building when he was knocked down by the
force of an explosion
he fell in the middle of the road
bleeding and unconscious
yori was recovering in the army hospital
in a small forgotten town
it was a warm day at the end of february
the window near his bed was open and he
was reading letters from tonya that had
just been delivered to him
all of the patients were bored and
waiting for their dinners
suddenly everyone’s attention was caught
by the sound of light footsteps coming
into the large room
lara or nurse antipava walked into the
room and greeted the men
yuri recognized her at once and so did
one other patient
larissa viadorovna and deepava said the
other man i knew your husband
we were officers together for almost a
year
i’ve kept his things for you
it isn’t possible
lana kept saying
who are you
please
tell me how my husband died
what happened
please don’t be afraid to tell me soon
after doctor yori andreovich ivargo also
set off for home
friends helped him to find a seat on a
train for moscow and he had time to
think
his thoughts moved in two big circles
constantly changing shape and confusing
him in one circle were his thoughts of
tonya their son and their home with its
warmth sincerity and love
after more than two years away from
moscow he dreamed of being there and
having his family safe and whole again
this circle also contained his
commitment to the revolution as he
understood it
and his excitement about a new future
for russia
he was eager to talk to his friends in
moscow and to uncle colga about new
ideas in philosophy art and politics
the other circle also contained new
ideas
but they were very different from the
ideas in the first cycle
it contained his memories of the war
blood teller and cruelty
he worried about the side of the
revolution that was being led by
professionals
and about the peasants who were being
stepped on and forgotten among these new
thoughts he saw nurse antipava lara
living in the urals with her daughter
she was mysterious and strong
but was she strong enough to make a life
for the two of them in the middle of a
revolution
yuri wanted to be near her
he wanted to be the man that she could
rely on
but at the same time
he wanted to stop himself from loving
her
he had to stop thinking about her
following a restless night yuri looked
out of the train and recognized where he
was and what was waiting for him
after almost three years of war and
struggle coming home had become his
purpose in life coming home to his
family to himself to a new life
suddenly he saw the church of christ the
savior over the top of a hill
then the chimneys roofs and houses of
the city
moscow
said yuri
it’s time to get ready yoli was able to
hire a carriage of the station and as he
looked at the streets of moscow during
his ride home he saw a picture of what
the city would soon become
the markets were closed because there
was nothing to buy or sell
the streets were dirty because no one
cleaned them and thin hopeless old
people stood beside the buildings trying
to sell useless but once expensive
objects from their past because they
needed a few pennies to buy bread
the carriage came close to yuri’s house
and he felt his heart begin to beat
faster in his chest
he ran up the steps to his front door
and rang the bell
suddenly tonya appeared
and they rushed into each other’s arms
a moment later they were both talking at
once
first of all is everybody well asked
yuri yes don’t worry but yuri listen
i wrote a lot of silly nonsense in one
letter you must forgive me you’re home
now and we’re together that’s all that
matters
tanya darling you have always been the
only woman in my life and in my heart
no more of this talk
how young you look and so pretty
and where is sasha how is he
all right thank god he’s just woken up
we’ll see him in a minute
and your father is he at home ask julie
no of course not didn’t you get my last
letter
father is at the city offices from
morning to night he’s the chief official
from this district can you believe it
tonya led yuri up the back stairs
don’t we go through the sitting room
anymore yuri wanted to know
well you see yuri we gave part of the
ground floor to the agricultural academy
and the top floor as well
we’re using three rooms upstairs for
ourselves it’s better that way don’t you
agree
yes definitely
there really was something unhealthy in
the way rich people used to live
too much furniture too many rooms too
much concern about the individual i’m
glad we’re sharing what we have
but still i don’t think all of these
changes will be easy for anyone
oh yuri interrupted tanya i’ve got
wonderful news for you
nikolai nikolajevic is back
uncle collier
are you serious where is he now
calm down
he’s in the country he’ll be back
tomorrow
he and father constantly argue about
politics but there are more urgent
topics to discuss
we hear rumors every day
they say there won’t be any fuel for
heat or any water or light
they say the new government will get rid
of money
nothing will be coming into the city
we need to plan for the winter we will
tonya we’ll get through it and what
about all of our friends what is
everyone doing these days
yuri continued to ask questions antonia
told him about their friends and about
the exciting but hard life they were all
facing now
but in all of this excitement the most
important event for yoli was meeting his
son
yoli had been called into the army
almost immediately after sasha was born
so that he hardly knew his little boy
he was filled with emotion as he walked
into the room where sasha was waiting
little sasha let the stranger get quite
close to him
then he jumped into his mother’s arms
and slapped you his face
he had frightened himself with this bold
action and burst into sad confused
tears sasha
what will daddy think
tonya shouted at the poor little boy
he’ll think sasha is a bad boy now kiss
daddy don’t cry silly don’t worry tanya
said yuri calmly don’t upset him
it’s so natural
the boy has never seen me
tomorrow he’ll have a good look at me
and then we’ll be friends we’ll get
along wonderfully
and yet yuri left the room feeling cold
and depressed
was his son’s reaction a sign of what
the future would be like
over the next few days yuri’s depression
did not lift
he began to realize how many changes had
already taken place
many of his old friends seemed dull and
colorless without their large houses and
lots of money in the bank they didn’t
seem to have any real character or any
original ideas
yuri was comfortable only with tonya her
father uncle collier and two or three
colleagues who were working at ordinary
jobs which they did well and without
complaining
you’re his greatest pleasure was talking
to uncle colyer again on their first
meeting they felt drunk with the
excitement of seeing each other they
laughed and cried threw their arms
around each other and talked about
everything they had done over the last
two years and about the present
political situation they were both
bolshevik supporters and believed that a
revolution had been necessary
uncle colyer argued that for centuries
the common people had lived difficult
impossible lives
the great differences between the rich
and the poor were not natural or fair
this had been known for a long time and
the world had been preparing for a great
change a change that would bring light
to the people and put everything and
everybody in their proper places
both yuri and his uncle supported the
principles of the revolution
but they worried about how the new
system would work in people’s day-to-day
lives after they had discussed the great
events the two men calmed down and
enjoyed something very special
they had an extraordinary relationship
that went beyond being uncle and nephew
or being good citizens
they shared an understanding of what it
means to be an artist
for ten years uncle collier had not
talked to anyone about the problems of
writing and the importance of a writer’s
work
but he could talk to yuri about these
things and they could understand each
other completely and encourage each
other
they would shout rush up and down the
room shake their heads stand in deep
silence and then find a solution to some
artistic problem they were discussing
for both men being together again was
like waking up after a long sleep and
realizing that they were fully alive
it was the autumn of 1917 and everyone
was worried about getting through the
coming winter and seeing another spring
people in moscow were city people
in general they were as helpless as
children and they were not familiar with
going without food or heat
yuri remained sane by concentrating on
taking care of his family
he was back at his job at the hospital
of the holy cross
and although he was very excited about
russia’s future he tried to stay out of
politics
he worked long hours and spent his free
time fixing things at home looking for
food and fuel and sometimes writing
poems
one cold dark night shortly before the
october battles yuri found a man lying
unconscious on the pavement
the man had been attacked and robbed
yuri checked him carefully and sent him
to the hospital in a carriage
later he learned that the man was an
important politician
from then on this man helped and
protected the zhivago family whenever he
could
without such help it is not certain that
the zhivagos would have seen the next
spring i am joseph gimazadinovic
from moscow
i live near you in 1905
on breast street
i’m sorry i don’t remember you but
goodness me i remember that year
how extraordinary
but pasha please tell me about my dear
pasha
galil told lala what had happened to her
husband
and then she left the room very quietly
in tears
yuri thought about the two times he had
seen her once as a schoolgirl when her
mother had tried to commit suicide
and once when she had shot a man at a
christmas party
by the time lara returned to the room
yoli had decided not to mention these
events and upset her further
when she spoke to him he said
thank you for your help
i’m a doctor
i’m looking after myself
i don’t need anything
one sunday afternoon in october uncle
collier and misha gordon you’re his old
school friend came rushing into this
vargo’s living area in the big house
they’re fighting in the streets the
bolsheviks are fighting against the
soldiers from the provisional government
you can’t get through nikitsky gate you
have to go round it
come on yori shouted uncle colga put
your coat on and come outside you’ve got
to see it this is history something like
this happens only once in a lifetime
but misha reported increasing gunfire
people had been shot in the street and
all traffic had been stopped
they stayed in the house for three days
and nights waiting to see who would be
in control
the city had stopped living until the
victory was decided
at the end of three days yuri and tanya
were exhausted by the endless discussion
unfortunately misha and uncle collier
felt that it was safe enough to leave it
was still too early to say that moscow
was at peace
and several parts of the city remained
closed
but yuri went out the next day to visit
a colleague the streets were almost
empty and jolie walked quickly through
the light snow
without warning the light snow turned
into a terrible storm the wind whistled
down the side streets and a blanket of
snow quickly covered the whole city
to yuri it seemed that there was
something similar between the political
events and the terrible weather
a news boy came running around the
corner in front of yori carrying a bunch
of freshly printed newspapers under his
arm and shouting all the latest get the
latest news
yuri ran after the boy and overtook him
at the next corner
keep the change said yori and then he
found a lighted apartment entrance to
standing and read the latest news the
paper gave the official announcement
from petersburg that a soviet of
people’s commissars had been formed and
that soviet power and the dictatorship
of the proletariat had been set up in
russia after that there were the first
rules from the new government
yuri was shaken by the greatness of the
moment and by the thought of its
importance for centuries to come
as he was reading the newspaper yuri was
interrupted by someone coming down the
stairs of the apartment building
he looked up and saw a boy of about 18
in a reindeer cap and a stiff reindeer
coat
the boy was dark and had narrow siberian
eyes and a proud handsome face
he looked at your ears if he knew him
but he was too shy to speak
yori gave the boy a cold hard stare
which frightened him away how could yoli
have known
that at that moment he had been face to
face with his half brother jeffcraft
within a few minutes yori had forgotten
the boy
his mind was full of news and he wanted
to be at home and to tell tonya and
gramiko what had happened to their
country they sat up most of the night
trying to make sense of these latest
events
the surprise said yuri is that our
leaders have decided to create a new
world in the middle of the old one
this new history must begin now today
without any concern about what is
already here
this is a great idea
but i doubt that it can work
the dark cold hungry winter of
1917-18 arrived
and the people of moscow struggled to
stay alive
the old way of life and the new ways did
not fit together
but they tried to exist side by side
the civil war which caused so many new
problems for the country would not begin
for almost another year
for now there was the appointment of new
people to run government departments for
housing industry business and city
services the new leaders had unlimited
power and spent their days making
bolshevik rules for every part of life
yuri’s hospital changed from the
hospital of the holy cross to the second
reformed hospital
many other things about the hospital
changed too
some doctors were pushed out and others
looked for unofficial ways to make more
money outside the hospital
yuri stayed on but spent more and more
of his time in meetings about the
government’s new plan for hospitals
if he had any free time he was looking
for potatoes to buy in order to feed his
family
like most people around them the
zhivagos were not healthy
they were cold most of the time never
had enough to eat and were always
exhausted
their politician friend helped them many
times but finally his circumstances were
the same as everyone else’s and he had
nothing extra to give away
there was typhus throughout the city
and finally one day yuri became one of
its victims he was returning home with
firewood
and couldn’t see properly
then he couldn’t walk in a straight line
this is it he thought
i’m finished
it’s typhus
someone carried him home but he had no
idea what was going on around him for
almost a fortnight
when yori was out of danger he began to
see a boy near his bed
the boy had narrow eyes and was wearing
a reindeer cap
yuri thought he was the spirit of death
but how could death
help him write poems
and bring him hot soup and bread
finally yuri really woke up from his
black dream in which he had watched love
win the battle against death
little by little he noticed that he was
drinking tea with sugar in it and eating
white bread with real butter
how did you get all of this he asked
onya
your brother got it for us my brother
what do you mean
well yes you’re half brother
you have grav from tomsk
he came every day while you were ill
he took care of all of us daniel
explained
does he wear a reindeer cap and a
reindeer coat
that’s right
so you did see him
you were unconscious for days
he admires you very much he has read
everything you have written and he
brought us wonderful things rice dried
fruit sugar
i think he has a connection with the new
government
he’s gone back to tomsk now and he
thinks we should leave moscow for a year
or two i suggested the very chemo estate
my grandfather kruger’s place and jeff
grab said it was a good idea
we could grow vegetables and hunt for
food
what do you think yuri
in april of 1918 dr zhivago left moscow
with his family
they were on their way to the very kino
estate
near the town of yuri artem far away in
the euros why should he seem so offended
lara wondered
but as the days passed she talked to
yuri as she talked to each of her
patients and she got to know him a bit
better
what a curious man
young and serious
not exactly handsome but intelligent
with a very attractive character
however it’s not my business my business
is to finish my job here as soon as
possible and get back to katya and then
back to yuryatin and our life there
now that i no longer have pasha
i must be strong for my poor daughter
yuri’s head was full of some news from
moscow
he had heard that misha and some other
friends had produced his book
it had impressed many people and his
ideas were taken seriously
moscow was going through exciting times
the russian people were growing more and
more discontented
a serious political event seemed to be
just around the corner
you’re his dreams both awake and asleep
what about moscow about his work about
the political situation and about tanya
and sasha yuri woke up from his dreams
because of the noise of other patients
running in from other rooms
they were all shouting
street fighting in petersburg the
soldiers have joined the rebels
it’s the revolution
the patients and staff from the hospital
were moved to the small town of
melbourne
dr zhivago nurse antipava and galiulin
the officer who had been with pasha were
considered to be experienced and clever
because they were from moscow
they were picked for every job
but all three dreamed of the day when
they could return to their families and
their ordinary jobs
yuri and lara were often brought
together by their work
they became sincere friends and learned
to respect each other’s talents and hard
work
when yuri had any free time he wrote
letters to tonya darling tanya
i’ve been to see some of the soldiers in
the neighborhood
there is an impression of confusion and
desperation everywhere
have i told you that i do a lot of work
with a certain antipover a nurse from
moscow who was born in the urals
do you remember the girl student who
shot a man at that terrible party on the
night your mother died
and misha and i once saw her in the poor
district of moscow
your father took michelle and me to her
flat because of a suicide attempt
well that girl was anti-poverty
i keep trying to get home but it is very
difficult
the problem is not the work here really
anyone could do it
but it’s impossible to arrange a journey
either there are no trains or they are
completely full and don’t even stop here
of course this situation can’t last
forever
antipava galilean and i are all
determined to lead next week
we’ll go separately
so we will each have a better chance
so i might surprise you one day
but i’ll try to send you a telegram
oh my love yuri before he left he
received tonya’s reply
her words were marked with tears
and she begged him not to come back to
moscow but to go straight to the urals
with the wonderful nurse antipapa
tanya believed that her simple ways must
look dull compared to lara’s many
sensational adventures
she had persuaded herself that yuri was
in love with lara and that she had been
forgotten
yuri wrote back to his wife immediately
you are out of your mind tanya
how could you imagine such a thing don’t
you feel my love for you
if it were not for you and for my
faithful thoughts of you and our home i
would have died before now
but words are useless
soon we will be together and our life
will begin again
tanya you are everything to me
please do not forget that throughout the
district around melusiavo people were
feeling the effects of the revolution
a neighboring town attempted to become
independent from the central government
they were led by an extraordinary man
with ideas from the 1905 revolution
the people wanted to share all of the
work and to divide the land equally
but their independence lasted only a
fortnight
then the provisional government was in
charge of the town again
finally there was news of more trains
and lala made her plans to leave
melbourne
yuri found her in the laundry room and
told her that he needed to talk to her
she talked about the revolution and
about all the problems involved with
leaving
but yuri wanted to talk about his
feelings for her
he had been analyzing these feelings
since he received tonya’s letter i want
to tell you about my wife
and my son and myself
tell me
why can’t an adult man talk to an adult
woman without everyone thinking that
they are more than friends don’t answer
just
let me talk
the world has been turned upside down
it was partly the war
and then the revolution did the rest
suddenly everyone was free to create
themselves as new people
it’s as if there were two revolutions
a personal revolution for each of us
as well as the general one
now people intend to experience a new
life not in books and pictures not in
theory but in practice
lara gave him a serious look but yuri
rushed on saying everything that came
into his head
i want an honest life
i want to work hard and be a part of the
great changes in our country
i get very excited about what is going
on all around us
and then i see you
you look sad and lost
and my heart aches for you i’d give up
anything to know that you are all right
i wish that someone close to you your
husband or your best friend
would come and tell me to stop worrying
about you and to leave you alone
but of course then i’d knock him down
i’m sorry i didn’t mean that
yuri had surprised himself as well as
lara
he was embarrassed and walked to the
window so that he didn’t have to see
lara looking at him
i was afraid of this
lara said softly as if to herself
i shouldn’t have
if only
yuri andreevich
you must be sensible
go outside and get some fresh air and
then come back my dear
and be as i’ve known you until now
and as i want you to be
do you hear yuri
i know you can do it
please for me
i beg you to
they had no more discussions of this
kind and a week later lara left
1918
leaving moscow was not a simple
operation
first of all yori was against the
journey
what worries me he told tanya and her
father is the complete uncertainty
we are leaving a place that we know and
where we have a house and friends to go
to a place that we know nothing about
who is in power in that part of the
country who is living in your
grandparents house
will we be allowed to live on the estate
in the end tanya and gramiko won the
argument
the situation in moscow was getting
worse
and tonya believed that if they worked
hard in the country they would have a
better chance of fitting in with the new
bolshevik system that’s it
we’re right at the battlefront
he nodded to himself as he jumped down
from the carriage
he walked to the back of the train and
saw that two carriages had been taken
away
they had carried the soldiers
maybe they were already in the middle of
the fighting
yuri walked to the other end of the
train where are you going
do you have permission to be off the
train
a guard asked as he stopped yuri
what is this station
you’re he asked softly
why do you need to know who are you i’m
a doctor from moscow
my family and i are passengers on this
train here are my papers
i can’t read your papers in this fog get
back on the train while you’re still in
one piece warn the guard yuri walk down
the other side of the train
through the fog he could see some small
boats from the shawl of a river
another guard appeared in front of him
who gave you permission to wander around
what are you looking for
what river is this he only asked without
thinking
he had decided earlier not to ask any
more questions
the second guard took yuri by the arm at
the same time as the first guard
appeared from the other side of the
train
is he still asking questions
yes do you know him ask the second guard
i saw him a few minutes ago
i suspect he’s up to something get his
papers we’ll take him to our train and
see what the boss says yuri was led away
to a special train that was being used
as the offices of the red army commissar
strelnikov
he was left in a clean comfortable
carriage where tidy well-dressed people
were working
yuri was surprised by the business-like
atmosphere
he had had a different picture in his
mind of how strelnikov the terror of the
region would operate
yuri was brought to this office and then
forgotten
to the people around him he wasn’t there
although his papers lay on one of the
desks
from little bits of conversation you
already learned that they were very
close to yuri artem and that the whites
were in charge of the region
the soldiers from the train were
obviously much more important to these
people than someone like yuri was
suddenly a man marched into the room
the force of his character filled the
carriage
and yuri knew at once that this was
strelmikov
he seemed brilliant and original in
every way tall and handsome and alive
with an extraordinary intelligence
congratulations he said to his staff
we’ve driven the whites out of yoriyati
and who is this man
we think he’s the spy that we were
looking for
reported one of the guards
nonsense
he’s nothing like him
i apologize comrade
my gods have made a mistake you’re free
to go
where are this man’s papers demanded
strelnikov
then he saw your his name and his moscow
address
ah
zhivago
from moscow
please come with me i won’t keep you
long
who was this drill
had been born in moscow gone to
university and then to a teaching job in
the euros with his wife
in the 1914-18 war he had been captured
reported missing and believed kill
he had only recently escaped from prison
in germany he had returned to russia
with the spirit of the revolution
shining in his eyes
he quickly became a leader because of
two things his power of clear and
logical reasoning and his methods on the
battlefield which were often harsh but
led to victories for the reds
javago
repeated strelnikov when they were
sitting in his private room
why are you going to marry keno it’s
very rural for a doctor from moscow
yuri explained his reasons for leaving
the city and told stronghold about
tanya’s connection to the kruger family
none of that is important now as you
know comrade
i see you with a medical doctor in the
army
why aren’t you helping us now
australia
i have my papers i left the army after i
was wounded twice well these are unusual
times dear doctor
now you are free as i said
but i have a feeling that we’ll meet
again
you may have a greater purpose in our
plan than being a farmer in very keno
for now
take care
said strelnikov as he sent yuri away
when he was alone the army commissar
looked out of the window towards yuriati
where he and his wife and daughter had
lived
were they still there
couldn’t he go to them
but they belonged to another life
first he had to finish his work for the
revolution
then one day
he could go back
but when
when would he see lara and katya again
the train left the station soon after
yuri was sent back by strelnikov
and two stops later the zhivagos finally
got off
they were the only passengers to leave
the train at very quino and after the
train had disappeared tanya could hear
the birds and smell the countryside
how lovely she cried out
she could not say any more she burst
into tears there was an old man at the
station with a carriage and he offered
to drive the zhivago’s to the kruger
estate
he had worked for tonya’s grandfather
and recognized her immediately but he
warned her not to talk to other people
about the krugers
that connection would not make her
popular now that the bolsheviks had
taken over
everyone in the little group including
sasha enjoyed the trip to the estate but
they were faced with an embarrassing
situation when they arrived
aversius mikulitzin and his wife were
living in the house that had been the
estate managers in the old days
mikulitzin was an old style
revolutionary and supported the ideas of
the bolsheviks but not all of their
methods
his only son liberius on the other hand
was a very important bolshevik leader
although he was not much more than 20
years old
mikulitzin had worked for the krugers
for more than 25 years
right up until the day when the land and
factories were taken over by the
government mikulitzen had taken
advantage of the fine house and some of
the gardens
living there was not legal but the local
bolshevik officials had not noticed what
was going on
mikulitzen and his wife made it quite
clear though that they were not
interested in sharing their good luck
with the zhivagos or in putting
themselves in danger to help them
but mikulitzin was much kinder than he
appeared at first
after a quiet evening of conversation
with the chibagos he had agreed to give
them two rooms connected to the back of
the big house to live in
through the spring and summer he gave
them farm equipment seeds animals and
lots of advice
both mikulets in and the chibagos were
happy with the unspoken contract that
they had worked out and so yuri began
spending hours at the train station
every day
he had to queue for tickets for
permission papers for information about
trains
but finally the day came for the family
to leave as usual the station was dirty
and very crowded there were many other
families trying to leave the city
soldiers going to the battlefields to
the east and typhus victims who had been
pushed out of the hospitals before they
were well
when the train came into the station
yuri fought his way through the crowd
and found a corner with a window for his
family
the train was packed with people and
their boxes and baskets all of which
contained food and objects that they
could use as money on the journey
there were 23 carriages and about 600
people
the rich and poor soldiers and sailors
and men who had been forced to join
labour gangs whenever the train stopped
tanya looked out and decided whether it
was a good idea to get off or not
a decision depended on the size of the
station and the appearance of the people
standing there
would she be able to bargain with
someone for fresh food for her family
at one large station she combed her hair
and found a beautifully decorated towel
in her basket
then she set off in search of food
carrying the towel across her shoulder
girls and women from the local villages
were sitting beside the station office
selling fresh vegetables cheese meat and
hot bread
the soldiers and sailors were the best
customers and the women enjoyed joking
with them
at the end of the row of women tonya saw
an old peasant wearing a black scarf
she waved to tonya and whispered
look at this
i bet you haven’t seen one of these in a
long time
you can have half of it for your towel
the woman showed tonya a cooked duck fat
and juicy and just the thing for her
family
she gave the woman her towel and felt a
bit embarrassed
had she cheated the woman or just made a
good bargain
there were several men traveling east
for the labour gangs in each carriage
including the zhivago’s carriage
one sixteen-year-old boy was
particularly noticeable
was from the
district
his father had been killed in world war
one and his poor mother had sent him to
petersburg to live with his aunt and
uncle and to work in his uncle’s shop
one day at the beginning of 1918 vasya’s
uncle had been chosen by the new labor
department for one of the labour gangs
his wife was very upset by this and was
sure that a mistake had been made
she and vasya went to the station to say
goodbye to the uncle
he begged the guard for permission to
leave the train and kiss his wife before
the train left
the guard refused unless someone would
stay on the train in his place
so the uncle offered basia
the boy was put inside the train and his
uncle was let out
this was the last massiah ever saw of
his aunt and uncle
when the trick was discovered basia
burst into tears and begged the guard to
let him go
but it was no good the guard had to
report to his boss with a certain number
of workers
that was how vasya came to be in a
labour gang
basia was an attractive boy who looked
like a young prince or an angel in an
oil painting
he was unusually innocent and unspoiled
his favorite thing to do on the train
was to sit on the floor and listen to
the older people as they talked about
their past adventures or the politics of
the day
by watching his face you could almost
follow the conversation without hearing
it the journey lasted for days and days
and the train traveled through many
empty villages that had been destroyed
by either the white or the red army
one day the train pulled into lower
calmest a burnt out station with an
empty village behind it
but there were still a few people around
and the station master came out to talk
to the train driver
it looks like you’ve had a fire said the
driver
yes
we certainly had a fire but that wasn’t
the worst thing that happened
answered the station master
i don’t understand what you mean
it’s better not to try
you don’t mean strelnikov
said the driver i do
and we hadn’t done anything
our neighbors in the next village
refused to give their horses to the red
army or to allow their young men to join
the labour gangs i see
so their village was destroyed
naturally
and we were attacked and burnt out of
our houses as insurance
stronghold won’t have any more trouble
in this district said the station master
this was not the first time that the
people on the train had heard the name
strelnikov
like the citizens of lower calmest they
began to link this name with the signs
of violence that they saw
as the journey continued the passengers
were often called on to help the train
crew
sometimes they got off the train and
cleared snow from its path
at other times they looked for wood and
cut it to use as fuel for the engines
yuri and gramico enjoyed this occasional
physical work after so much time on the
train
it also gave them a chance to talk
privately
don’t go so fast you’ll tire yourself
yuri told his father-in-law
let’s have a rest and a talk
we’ve cut a lot of wood in a short time
what do you want to talk about
us build a man
we’re going deeper and deeper into a
part of the country that is unfamiliar
to us
these are revolutionary times
no one knows what to expect from one
village to the next
some villages have been completely
destroyed others are controlled by the
whites and still others by the reds
it’s not what we expected is it
do you remember that night in the middle
of the big storm when you brought home
the paper with the first news of the new
government
we were excited because it was so direct
and honest
but no political system can stay pure
and now we see things happening that we
cannot agree with
said grameko
we must try to live according to the
original ideas of the revolution we’re
not going to the very kino estate in
order to be the owners
there are no owners these days
we’ll live in a modern way
we’ll plant our vegetables look after a
few animals and be good neighbors but we
must be very careful
we live a quiet life and try to keep our
mouths shut
the two men went back to the train
feeling a bit sad after their
conversation but they felt satisfied
with the fact that they understood each
other so well
as spring came closer it became hot and
uncomfortable inside the train
only one morning they pulled into a big
station
and yuri carefully got down from his bed
and opened the carriage door
everyone else was still sleeping
yuri could hear a sound
like distant thunder
but because of his experience in the war
he recognized the sound of guns
the train was near the battlefield
1919
at the end of the summer of 1919 yuri
finally had a bit of free time and began
to write a diary
in it he wrote that he had found the
strongest drug of all good health and
real need
yuri tonya and gramico worked very hard
all day
and then sat in their small fitting room
and read sewed or repaired things every
evening
as a family they were closer than ever
and very content
in fact yuri wrote in his diary that his
professional eye told him that tonya was
expecting another baby
although she wouldn’t admit it yet
yuri recorded his dreams and fears in
his diary
besides recognizing the signs of tonya’s
condition he also saw the first signs of
heart disease in himself
he kept his condition secret but he knew
that he would have the same problem that
his mother had had
sometimes he got very bad headaches and
imagined that he heard a calm beautiful
voice
he knew that it was not tonya or his
mother speaking
but he wondered who it was yuri’s great
ambition was to write an important book
about art or science
something new but useful as well
tonya encouraged him to make regular
trips to the library in uriatim and to
return to his habit of studying and
writing yori began going to the library
two or three times a week and started to
feel like he was part of yuriatin
one morning yuri was sitting in his
usual seat in the library’s reading room
he had a large pile of books on the
table in front of him and was surrounded
by other regular library users
he was ready for several hours of hard
work he was concentrating on his books
when he noticed a change in the room
at the far end there was a new reader
yuri immediately recognized nurse
antipava
she was sitting with her back to him
speaking in a low voice to one of the
women who worked in the reading room
this woman had looked ill all morning
but after whispering to lara for a few
minutes she walked back to her desk
smiling and looking very much improved
several people noticed the change in the
ill woman and looked up and smiled at
lara
but she was already lost in the book she
was reading
yuri wanted to go and speak to lara
but he felt shy and did not want to
interrupt her work
he turned away from her and tried to
read his own book but he kept thinking
of lara
suddenly he knew that the calm beautiful
voice that came to him in his dreams was
hers
she does not try to please people or to
look beautiful
but that makes her lovelier than ever he
thought
how well she does everything
she reads as if it was the simplest
thing in the world a thing that even
animals could do
he looked at her and felt completely
peaceful
then he went back to his studies with a
smile on his lips after reading for
several hours yuri decided to speak to
lara
but when he looked up he found that she
had left the library he returned his
book to the desk and accidentally saw a
form with lara’s name and a dress on it
it wasn’t many days before yori went
looking for her house
the house was not difficult to find yori
opened the gate and saw lara fetching
water
she looked amazed but remained natural
in her manner
all she said was
givago
larissa
whispered yuri
what are you doing here
have you come to see me lala asked
who else
why didn’t you speak to me in the
library
i know you saw me
they walked into lara’s small flat like
two old friends
they drank tea talked about their
children and discussed the revolution
yuri told lara about meeting stronghold
you saw him
lara said in amazement
how extraordinary
what kind of impression did he make on
you
on the whole very good
i think he’s a brilliant man one of a
kind
he will be very important for the
country but for some reason
i think he will fail in the end
i must be honest with you before you say
anything else
the strelnikov you met
is my husband pasha antipov
he can’t be cried yori
what do you have in common with such a
man
i don’t understand everything he is
doing
but i know that he believes in his goals
maybe you think he doesn’t love katya
and me that he has forgotten us
well you’re wrong
someday he will be finished with
fighting then he will come home to us
and lay his victories at my feet
just then katya came in from school
lara surprised the eight-year-old by
lifting her up and holding her tightly
two months later yuri was riding home
from yuriatin
for those two months he had been
deceiving tanya lying to her about why
he needed to stay some nights every week
in yuriati
he had never chosen between tanya and
lara
he still loved his wife and did not want
to hurt her in any way
at home he felt like a criminal
he knew he was putting his family’s
happiness and safety at risk
but now things would change
he had decided to tell tanya everything
and beg her to forgive him
he had told lara that afternoon that he
could not continue to be unfaithful to
tanya
lara had listened calmly and agreed with
yuria’s tears rolled down her cheeks
yuri was thinking about lala and
desperately wanted to see her again
he hadn’t said anything to tonya yet
so why couldn’t he see lala just one
more time
he would make sure that she understood
how much he truly loved her and he would
again explain more gently this time
why he had to stop seeing her the
thought of seeing lala again made yuri’s
heart leap with happiness
he was picturing his next visit to her
house
when he heard a gun fired very close to
him
three men on horses stood in his path
don’t move comrade doctor said the
oldest of the three
if you obey orders you’ll be perfectly
safe
if you don’t it’s very simple we’ll
shoot you
our army needs a doctor
and you’ve been chosen
are you mikulitz in son iberius ask
julie
no
but comrade liberius forester is our
leader
now follow us and no funny business
1919 to 1921.
yuri had been kidnapped by a group
called the forest brotherhood
such groups were considered by many
people to be the true spirit of the red
army during the civil war
they were known for being untraditional
even a bit wild
the men who joined them came from all
levels of society there were peasants
soldiers from the german army churchmen
students disappointed politicians and
true revolutionaries who were determined
to see a new russia
one of the leaders of this enormous
people’s army was comrade liberius
forrester
once known as liberius avacyevic the son
of a versus mikulitzin from valley keno
he was the head of the forest
brotherhood and dr zhivago became their
medical man for almost two years
it was easy and right for them to be
together
and to be separated from the rest of the
world
they were both disappointed at how the
individual had been lost in the
revolution
do you remember what it was like when
you were a child yuri
lala asked one afternoon
i remember something
what are you talking about
i remember a long time when everything
was peaceful
even the future seemed full of peace
people listened to reason and it was
natural for everyone to act fairly in
their business with each other murders
and other violent actions only happened
in the theater not in our daily lives
but then
something false came into our country
do you know what i think was the root of
all the evil and blood and tears and
insanity that we have gone through
i’m not sure
please go on said yuri
all of the evil happened
when people stopped listening to the
voices of individuals
it became old-fashioned to have personal
beliefs
everyone had to sing the same tune and
follow the same leader
everything was touched by this new law
friendships families marriages as well
as politics
no one could act naturally
and so the individual was destroyed
explained lara
yori and lara would talk about the
revolution and its effects on society
and the individual for hours
still their great joy was their love
most people experience love without
noticing how remarkable it is
but yuri and lala knew how lucky they
were to have found each other
lara agreed that yuri should go to
moscow as soon as possible to find his
family
but for now he was too weak
and so the happy couple along with
lara’s daughter katya enjoyed a short
time of peace and happiness in their own
private world
yuri found a job at a hospital because
they needed money and because it was
dangerous to be unemployed
and lala continued her day-to-day
routine
but this situation could not last
the new government was not kind to
citizens who did not behave properly
the officials had their eyes on both
lara and yuri
it was thought that yuri’s ideas were
too independent
people began to talk about him at the
hospital
he didn’t follow the rules
he got all of his ideas from nikolai
bedenyapin his uncle kolya
he couldn’t be trusted
he wasn’t a good bolshevik
lala was in danger because the leaders
knew that strelnikov was pavel pavlovich
a husband
pasha had never been a member of the
bolshevik party and after the civil war
he was no longer considered a hero
he had disappeared
and so it was logical for people to
think he might get in touch with lara
and katja
the air is getting thick said lara one
day
our time of safety is over
they’ll come after us soon you and me
and then what will happen to katya
i’m a mother
i must think of something
we must have a plan
these worries are driving me out of my
mind
i agree said yuri but what can we do
we can’t escape
answered lala there’s nowhere to hide
but maybe we could get away from the
officials attention for a while
can we go to that aquino
no one goes there
could we disappear there and live away
from the dangers that surround us
i don’t know what to say my darling
i must think about moscow
haven’t you been telling me to go there
why can’t the three of us leave here and
go to moscow to moscow
yuri i can’t
no i have to stay
i must wait for pasha and be here if he
needs me
for the moment they were unable to make
any decisions about their future
a few days later in the evening yuri and
lara were sitting at the table
discussing how to protect katja
someone rang the doorbell and lana
walked quickly through the hall to open
the door
yuri heard her talking to glafiera who
worked at the central post office
i’ve brought a letter for your friend
it’s lucky for him that i work at the
post office
i don’t know how many hands it’s been
through
it’s from moscow and it was sent five
months ago no one had heard of this dr
zhivago until they asked me
the long letter written on many pages
torn and dirty was from tanya
yuri found it in his hands without
knowing how it had got there
he began to read it and forgot about his
surroundings
my darling yuri
do you know that we have a daughter
we have named her masha in memory of
your mother now more important news
several important people professors
writers and others including uncle
collier my father and the rest of us
must leave russia
we are being sent away
this is a terrible thing because we
don’t know where you are or if you are
all right
but it could have been much worse
if you were here you could go with us
but where are you
i am sending this letter to antipava’s
address
i’m sure that she will give it to you if
she finds you
i am worried because i do not know how
you will find us or if you will want to
come to us one day
my heart tells me that you are still
alive
and i trusted
maybe when you are found things in our
country will be calmer
and we will not have any difficulty in
being together again
but as i write this
i myself don’t believe in the
possibility of such happiness
my greatest problem is that i love you
and know that you don’t love me
i keep trying to understand the reason
for this
i look into myself
and think about our life together
i cannot imagine how or when things
started to go wrong
as for me
i love you and always will
i know of no one better than you in the
world
nothing has been decided finally
but it looks like we will go to paris
where you lived as a small boy
father is well and both of the children
sasha is a big strong boy and he misses
you very much
you know that i met your lara
she was very kind to me at very quino
but i can see that she is the opposite
of me
i was born to make life simple and to
look for solutions
she was born for a complicated life with
adventure
god keep you
i must stop because a man has come for
this letter
my darling husband
my children’s father
what has happened to us
do you realize that we’ll never
never see each other again
when he received tonya’s letter
yuri lost his reason for going to moscow
his family were beyond his reach but at
least now he knew that they were out of
russia and safe
he got up the next day and continued to
work at the hospital
not knowing what might happen to him and
lara
one winter evening yuri walked through
the heavy snow after work
when he arrived at the flat larla met
him in the hall
kamarovski is here she said she looked
very frightened
as if someone had struck her
what
why has he come here demanded yuri
he says he is going to the far east
he has been given a very high position
in the new government in that part of
the country
he will be the minister of justice
he says that we are in great danger you
and i and pasha
and that he can save us if we follow his
advice
i’m going out i will not see him
said yoli as he turned to go outside
again
lara threw herself at your feet and
grabbed his legs please talk to him yuri
he’s practical and experienced
i realize you find him disgusting but
please for my sake put your feelings to
one side and listen to him
just for a few minutes
yuri could not deny lara’s request
he followed her into the sitting room
and looked at komarovsky with a hatred
that he could not hide
this was the man who had stolen lara’s
childhood
he had made her discover life too early
and forced her to experience things that
she was not prepared for
lara believed that komorowski had not
only spoiled her early years but the
effects of knowing him had also damaged
her marriage to pasha
kamarovsky was also the man who yuri
considered to be responsible for his
father’s death
yoli believed that he was an orphan
because of this man who lala was asking
him to rely on for advice and help
he walked into the room and komorowski
spoke to him in a familiar manner
my dear young man
as you know i was a great friend of your
father’s
he died in my arms
he was a wonderful generous man
but i see you look more like your mother
she was a gentle dreamer and a great
beauty
excuse me sir
yuri interrupted
lala has asked me to see you
she said that you had some business with
me
i agreed
but haven’t chosen to meet you and i
don’t consider you as a friend do not
speak about my father and mother
what is it that you want
calm down young chicago there’s no
reason to lose your temper
i’ll come straight to the point
i’ve been here in yuri out in for two
days
and in that short time
i’ve learned many things about the two
of you
more than you know about yourself
neither of you measure up to the new
bolshevik style
the officials will not be tolerant for
much longer
you cannot afford to pretend that you
are safe and that no one is watching you
the police will come for you any day now
the young nibirus was respected by the
leaders of the red army because he got
results and the forest brotherhood
helped to drive the whites led by kochak
towards the east
during yuri’s time with them the
brotherhood grew to ten times its
original size and made liberius more
famous than ever
unfortunately for yuri he became one of
liberius his favorite
he would invite yuri to his tent and
keep him awake with long drunken
explanations of his plans and ambitions
yuri was opposed to liberius in every
way
first he could not accept the extreme
acts of cruelty that he had witnessed by
both sides in the war
second he could not agree with the ideas
that people like liberius wish to force
on all russians
and finally he hated liberius for
kidnapping him and keeping him away from
his family
but liberius was too interested in
himself to notice what yuri thought of
him
you dr zhivago
a man continued komodovsky
you are your own master and can act
foolishly if you choose to but lara
theodorovna is not so free
she is a mother she’s gambling with her
child’s life
she must play by the official rules to
protect her daughter
and you think that you are the man who
can save us
ask julie with a sound of disgust in his
voice
yes i can
and i will if you will use your head and
accept my offer
because of my new position i can take
the three of you with me to vladivostok
from there you can easily get a boat and
join your family in paris
i’ve also promised lara that i will save
stronghold if possible
my men can look for him in eastern
siberia and help him to escape into the
region where i will be in control
when lara heard the plan for herd and
katya and for yuri and pasha she said to
yuri
you see darling how important all of
this is for us and for pasha
lada
why should we trust this man
for my part yoli said looking at
komolovsky
i do not intend to let you control my
life in any way
as for lala and stronghold that is
lara’s decision
you know without my saying anything said
lara to yuri that i would not go without
you
the three argued for several hours
but in the end they all refused to
change from their original positions
komarovsky kept talking about the
political importance of mongolia and the
possibility of a new life there for yuri
and laura
but they had stopped listening
they wanted him to leave so that they
could talk to each other
finally they showed him to the door
after kamarovski’s visit lara and yuri
began to notice more signs which proved
that the older man was right
their situation was growing more
dangerous
every evening they talked about what
steps they should take
finally yuri said why don’t we go to
valley keno as you suggested in the
first place
at least we might have a few weeks of
peace
oh jory
how glad i am
can we go quickly without today it will
be wonderful to be away from our
problems are you sure you want to go
lara astiori
komolovsky is still in yuriati
and your position is different from mine
you do not need to share my danger you
can go with him and protect katya
yuri my darling
you are my strength and my happiness
i want to be with you and nowhere else
let’s go to valley keno and forget about
the world of politics when we get there
i will tell you some good news
i feel exactly the same said yuri
he didn’t say anything about lara’s news
because he thought he already knew that
she would tell him she was expecting a
baby
i think the death is knocking at our
door
so why don’t we live our final days as
we choose
let us be alone together for the last
time before we are separated
we’ll speak to each other in our own
secret language we’ll live in our own
world and we’ll be surrounded by our
love
they left town on the morning of a gray
winter’s day without telling anyone
where they were going
the three of them laughed and sang as
the horse and carriage raced along the
road to barrikina
when they arrived they decided against
living in the house that yuri had lived
in with his family
it held too many painful memories for
him
instead they moved into the bigger house
that had been mick you literally
[Music]
yuri walked into a large elegant office
and immediately made plans to begin
writing again
then all three of them lay down without
undressing using their coats as blankets
they fell into a deep enjoyable sleep
like children who had been running and
playing all day in the open air
the next morning they began a routine
which satisfied all three of them so
long as they didn’t think about the
outside world
katya found liberia as his old books and
play things and was happy in the peace
and comfort of the big house
lara enjoyed her role of wife and mother
and thought about a new baby
she cleaned rooms washed clothes and
cooked for her little family yuri took
care of the horse found wood for fuel
carried water and helped lara all day
then in the evenings he went to the
office and wrote far into the night
he rewrote old poems began new ones and
made plans for many other kinds of books
yuri’s heart was at peace and he
experienced the feeling that his writing
was controlled by something which was
outside him and above him
his writing and lara’s nearness made him
feel whole
but there was no way that jolie and lara
could avoid the wider world
every night a group of wolves came to
the house
and each night they got bolder and came
closer until yuri went outside and
frightened them away
lara thought that the wolves were a bad
sign
and she began to worry about their
safety again
she wanted yuri to find a better place
for them to hide
but they had run out of hiding places
one morning yuri returned to the house
with his arms full of wood
and found komolovsky there talking to
lara
fury she cried where have you been we
need you here i’ve been to fetch more
wood
why is everyone standing sir please sit
down
said yoli politely
yuri aren’t you amazed to see victor de
politovich victor tell him tell him
quickly
lara was very
nervous yes you’re right lara this must
be done quickly
i have allowed the rumor that i have
left yuri out in to be heard around the
town
people think that i have already left
for bloody vostok but i have come to get
you to take the three of you with me my
official train is waiting for us but we
must go now there is not one minute to
lose
i don’t understand you kamidovsky
you talk as if i’ve agreed to come with
you
go and good luck to you and let lada go
with you if she wishes
but i will not go with you
said yuri calmly
what is this nonsense shouted lara if
flower wishes
you know that i will not go without you
so you have decided that komorowski
but please
with lara’s permission
may i speak to you dr zhivago alone for
two minutes
certainly if it’s so important we can go
into the kitchen said yoli
they left larry in the sitting room full
of worry
strelnikov has been captured and shot
komorowski reported to yori
how awful
are you really sure ask julie it’s what
i’ve been told
and i’m quite certain that it’s true
don’t tell lara warn jury she’ll go out
of her mind if she finds out
that’s why i’m talking to you
you must make a leave here don’t you see
the police will be looking for her now
more than ever
you must tell her to leave with me
pretend that you will catch up with us
as quickly as possible lie to her if
necessary but make her come with me said
kamarovsky
i’ll obey you for lara’s sake
i know that we’ll be separated soon one
way or another
i’ll talk to her
you should come too you know
yes i know
but i don’t want to owe my life to you
one day i may come to you and beg you to
save me but not now
for now i worry about lara
i’ll worry about myself tomorrow
said yuri sadly
yuri watched lala and katya leave with
komarovsky
he stood at the big window in the office
and wept
his heart was breaking
what have i done
he asked himself
i have sent away my reason for living
and she doesn’t know that i have tricked
her
she thinks that i’ll join her in yuri
artem before the train leaves
we didn’t even say goodbye properly
i didn’t even kiss her
yoli watched the carriage disappear
and then they were gone
still standing at the window he thought
my bright sun has gone down
my life has finished
over the next few days
something was going on with yoli that
made no sense
he stopped taking care of the house or
the horse or himself
he lost count of the days and forgot to
eat or sleep
he drank vodka and wrote poems for lara
when he did sleep he had frightening
dreams about her she was standing before
him holding out her arms to him but he
could not reach her
a few days later yuri heard someone
approaching the house on foot
how odd
he was sure that komarovsky or the
police would come on horses
who could it be
his visitor opened the door and
confidently walked in
he obviously knew his way around the
house
yuri was sitting in the office listening
to the footsteps get nearer
the stranger opened the door of the
office and looked directly at yori
he was a powerful handsome man
started talking almost immediately
and did not want to stop
it was as if he had made an important
decision and did not want to be alone
with it
he and jury shared their ideas about
what they called the revolutionary
madness of the times
and pasha was determined to look into
every corner of his own life
he wanted to be judged and would not
stop talking until he had told you
everything that he felt guilty about
from the last 10 years
in the autumn of 1921 towards the end of
the civil war
yuri was with the brotherhood as they
began to build their winter camp
he was losing all patience with liberius
and was almost sick with worry about his
family
tanya my darling my poor child he prayed
did you have our baby
have we got a new little son or daughter
my dear ones what is happening to you
lara i dare not speak your name or i
will die
oh god oh god please protect my loved
ones
please return me to them
yuri had lived all of his time with the
brotherhood with no news of his family
all of lala
he had heard rumors that the whites had
destroyed yuri
but liberius’s information about even
his own family could not be trusted
then they talked about lara
you can’t imagine how lovely she was as
a child
as a schoolgirl
you have no idea
said pasha
oh but i did see her once in those days
said yuri
i saw her on the night that her mother
tried to kill herself
i still remember how she looked
yes well i did everything for the sake
of that girl
i studied became a teacher and left
moscow for uriatin
i kept studying for her sake and then
went off to war to show her that i was
good and brave
after i escaped from the germans i had
to finish my life’s work before i could
return to her but now i would give
anything for one look at her and my
daughter
when she used to come into a room it was
as if the window flew open in the room
filled with air and light
i know how much you loved her
but forgive me have you any idea of her
love for you
she loved you more than anyone or
anything in the world said yuri
what makes you say that
she told me
she said that you were the example of
what a human being should be
a man who had no equal
she said that your sincerity was beyond
question
and that if she could go back to the
home she had shared with you she would
crawl on her hands and knees from the
ends of the earth
when the two men finally stopped talking
yuri put pasha in the next room
and then he went to bed and had the
first good night’s sleep that he had had
since lara left
he woke up with a headache because he
had slept too long
at first he couldn’t think where he was
then he remembered
strelnikov is in there
he must be up by now
i’ll go to the kitchen and make us some
coffee
he knocked on the door of pasha’s room
that got no answer
he wasn’t in the room and jorie couldn’t
find him anywhere in the house
he’s probably gone out for a walk he
thought
yuri lit the fire picked up a bucket and
went outside for water
a few yards from the door
asha lay across the path
he had shot himself
and the snow around his head looked like
a soft red pillow
stromikov was dead
and lada was gone
yoli left the house
and began his final journey
to moscow
that winter the brotherhood was safe
inside their camp deep in a large
siberian forest
they were surrounded by their enemies
but the whites were too weak to cause
any damage to them
the whites made one last attempt to
trick liberius’s men they began to
attack one corner of the camp
as a result liberia sent soldiers to
that area to drive the whites away
there they found a dying man
with only one arm and one leg
his other arm and leg had been cut off
and tied to his back
he was hardly able to crawl along on the
ground
he spoke a few words with great
difficulty
look out
comrades
i am a warning
don’t worry the soldiers told him
there are plenty of us in the camp
the whites
want to surprise you
they want to boil you alive they’ll cut
your children into pieces
they will make your wives their slaves
the fail
the poor man was unable to go on
he cried out without finishing his story
the soldiers took off their caps and
made the sign of the cross
they knew this horrible and desperate
act by the whites to frighten them
singled the end of their enemies power
that night
yuri was called to liberius’s tent for
another conversation
he pressed liberius for news of very
kino but only got liberius aimless
political ideas
yoli lost patience and stood up why are
you putting on your coat where are you
going
i’ll be back in a minute said yuri
there’s a lot of smoke in here and i’ve
got a headache i’ll just go out for some
air
yuri looked at the clear sky and
imagined tonya walking through a
snowstorm carrying sasha and a small
baby
she dragged them through the snow with
all her strength but she couldn’t keep
going she fell and the snow covered her
and the children
there was no one to help them
suddenly yori made a decision
he walked out of the camp without
looking back
he passed the guards with no difficulty
because he had learned the brotherhood
secret words
and he kept going until he found the
food heavy clothes and boots that he had
hidden under a big tree near the edge of
the camp
he looked at the tree which was covered
in snow
but he was no longer thinking of tonya
the white branches reminded him of
lala’s white arms held out to him ready
to welcome him
i’ll find you my love
my heart
my life
it was a clear night with a full moon
yuri picked up his things and walked
further into the forest
there was always a small crowd of people
on the main square of uriatin
they stood silently reading the latest
announcements from the local government
lately taken over by the reds
about work papers housing food
allowances
it was no joke in those days not to know
about any new rules
it might cost you your life
among the group of people trying to
understand the most recent announcements
on this fine spring day was a thin wild
looking man with long hair and beard
wearing dirty bits of rags and old army
boots
the people around him wondered if he was
ill or insane
but they were used to seeing these
forgotten men and didn’t pay much
attention to him
they would have been surprised to know
that he was the brilliant doctor from
moscow yuri andreevich chivago
yuri had left liberius’s camp
and walked from siberia
he had followed the railway lines most
of which were out of action
he was witness to events that proved
that the laws of human society had been
forgotten
but now the sight of yuriatin filled him
with happiness like the sight of a
long-lost friend
he read as many of the announcements as
he could and then walked slowly to
lara’s house
not knowing if she still lived there or
not
no one was at home
except for the rats who looked at yuri
boldly before running after their holes
yuri’s heart jumped when he moved a
brick and found the key where lara
always used to hide it
but imagine his surprise at finding a
note there for him
he read it quickly
what happiness
they say you are alive and have come
back
don’t go anywhere
wait for me in the flat
i’ve left some food for you mostly
potatoes
put the lid on the pot to keep the rats
out
you know that your family are in moscow
tonya has had a little girl
we’ll talk about everything when we meet
you’re alive
i’m mad with happiness
yuri sat at the table and wept
he thought about tonya and his children
now two of them
i can’t think straight how did my family
get to moscow
are they all right
what will become of my darlings
i’ll find them
even if i have to walk all the way to
moscow
i’ll see them again we’ll be together
one day
yuri’s thoughts were going round in
circles
he forced himself to eat some potatoes
and then he fell across lara’s bed
he woke up sweating and in tears
i’ve got a temperature
i knew he thought
exhaustion
or perhaps typhus again
i must wait to see which is going to win
life or death
but i’m too sleepy to think
in the darkness yori wept and complained
to himself
each time he sat up a little he realized
that he could not move and fell back
into a deep sleep again
once he looked towards the window and
thought how long have i been lying here
is it winter now
then one day yuri realized that he was
in a clean bed
wearing a clean shirt
he was comfortable and not hungry
thirsty or tired
an angel was sitting beside his bed
holding his hand
he had recovered
because his angel lara had washed him
fed him been his doctor and nurse
her care her beauty her whispered
conversation had saved him
spring 1922.
after a long frightening struggle to get
home
yuri walked into the great city
thinner and more worn out than when he
had arrived in yuri artem after escaping
from the forest brotherhood
he had sold most of his clothes and wore
a few old rags to cover his thin broken
body
he was not noticed among the thousands
of red army men who crowded the stations
and the streets of the city
he did not arrive alone
he had traveled across the country with
the young peasant boy vasya whom he had
met again on his journey
after all of their experiences
they were both extremely shy and stood
quietly in the street or in rooms where
yuri was still welcomed
in such rooms yuri heard the story of
his family’s departure from moscow this
odd couple found a way of living that
suited both of them and allowed them to
stay away from the noise and crowds of
the city
vasya had some talent as an artist and
so yuri with help from a few old friends
found him a place at the stroganoff
institute
eventually the boys specialized in
designing and printing books
after a while yoli began writing short
books on a variety of subjects and vasya
put them together
these books contained yuri’s philosophy
of life
his views on medicine his definitions of
health and sickness his thoughts on
history and religion as well as poems
short stories and descriptions of places
he had seen throughout his life
the books were written in the
conversational style and they became
very popular although his opinions were
considered progressive and sometimes
dangerous
eventually the friendship between yuri
and vasya cooled the boy was eager to
make something of his life and he looked
for ways to work within the new system
yuri on the other hand wanted to close
himself off from the world and forget
about people and politics
the boy left and yoli gave up medicine
completely stopped seeing friends and
lived alone with his thoughts
city life was not like it had been 20
years earlier
it was difficult to get food and
impossible to have enough heat light or
water
the citizens of moscow were unhealthy
and unwashed most of the time
but one family was doing better than
most
and they were able to help yuri
this was the family of marco who had
been the chief servant at the grand home
of alexandre alexandrovich grameeko
tonya’s home and the house in which yoli
had grown up marco was in charge of a
large apartment building and he and his
family lived in the rooms under the
ground floor
unlike the rest of the building these
rooms were always dry and warm because
of an enormous oven
and they had an endless amount of hot
water markle and his family felt rich
indeed
they helped yuri because he was totally
alone and because he had become strange
and quite helpless
dr zhivago as the family knew him was in
and out of the markle’s flat every day
to get water
and before the parents noticed their
elder daughter had begun to help yuri in
little ways
she sowed his clothes cleaned his room
and took food to him
and before much longer she was staying
in yuri’s room
and marco was talking about
my daughter the doctor’s wife
summer 1929
yoli and his third wife marina
now lived with their two children in a
flat near misha gordon’s house
yuri still avoided a normal life and
relied on marina to look after the house
and children
she worked at the post office and kept
the family together
yuri often spent sunday afternoons in
misha’s house talking about the past and
about the politics of the day
yoli would get bored with misha and his
friends but listen to them politely
because he loved misha so much
one day nisha made yuri sit down and
listen to him with both ears
misha had a list of things that he
wanted his old friend to do
first
contact tonya in paris
so that he could make marina his legal
wife
second pay attention to what was
happening in the country and learned to
follow the rules
and finally go back to work
misha believed that yuri was too
talented to waste his life you must wake
up and make something of your life
you’re right misha
i’ve been thinking about my life
recently too
i promise you that i’m going to change
and quite soon too
honestly you’ll see
i’m not yet 40 years old
i want to live and to do something
important
but now
i can’t stay any longer said yuri
thank you for worrying about me
but i must go
i’m having difficulty breathing
it’s the smoke and too many people
i’ll go now or i’ll have an attack
thank you misha
you’re a good friend
goodbye
next morning marina came running to
misha’s house
she was very upset because yoli had not
come home the night before
she had the baby in one arm and was
dragging the other child along
no one knew where yuri was so they
searched for him for three days and
nights yuri had left misha gordon’s
house determined to make a new start
by chance he ran into his half brother
jeff graf and the two of them planned
yoli’s future
yet graf has always knew how to make
things happen
he found julie a small flat made him eat
properly encouraged him to write and got
him a job in the bopkin hospital
after the first three days with
jeffcraft yori wrote to marina
he told her that he had left in order to
rebuild his life
he did not want her or their children to
be ashamed of it
he would return to them as soon as he
had a job and was in control of his
future
unfortunately yuri was not given enough
time to see his future come to life
one morning at the end of august julie
took the train to his new job
the train stopped and started over and
over again and the crowded carriage
became hotter and hotter yuri felt
desperate for air and tried to open the
nearest window
but as he pulled on the window
he felt an unfamiliar pain
he knew that something had torn in his
heart
the next time the train stopped
yuri fought his way through the crowd
and got off
he took three steps and fell to the
pavement
he never got up
yuri’s coffin was visited by a stream of
people who had known him at different
times in his life
many came because they had read his
books and poems
others because they had known him as a
brilliant doctor
and a few came because they were his
true friends
one woman walked into the room where the
coffin lay
and without a word
everyone else left her alone with the
dead man now
only lara and yuri were in the room
she fought back her tears as long as she
could
but then they burst from her pouring
down her cheeks
and falling on her dress her hands and
the coffin
oh what a love it was
so free
so new
like nothing else on earth
a love that writers can imagine
but most people never know
lana stayed for several days with the
epgraph in moscow
she helped him to organize jody’s papers
and he helped her to search for a child
this was the reason that she had been in
moscow at the time of yuri’s death
she was looking for an eight-year-old
girl who had been raised by strangers
there were many of these lost children
in moscow
but lala did not find the one she was
searching for one day lala left yep
gruff’s house and did not come back
she must have been picked up in the
street by the police
still a common practice in those days
she disappeared or died
forgotten as a nameless number in one of
the many women’s prisons in the north
summer 1943
misha gordon was an officer in the
soviet army during world war ii
he spent a lot of time with another
officer major doodleof who had also been
a good friend of yours when the three of
them had been at school in moscow
both of these men had been political
prisoners more than once in the time
between the first and second world wars
i hear zhivago
the general yuri’s brother is in this
area said misha
really why is that our studio
he thinks he has found his niece the
child of yoli and larissa theodore of
their antipova
he has been looking for her since 1929
when he only died and lara disappeared
but where did he find her
she’s here said misha she’s the girl who
does the laundry for our camp i’m sure
you know her she smiles like yuri and
has the same nose and eyes
you mean tanya out of turn
yes
that’s what they call her poor girl
she remembers her mother a little and a
man called komarov but it must have been
komarovsky
anyway tanya knew that this man wasn’t
her father
he didn’t want children around until her
mother asked a young couple to look
after tanya for a while
she meant to come back for her but the
child never saw her mother again
eventually she ran away from the couple
and became one of the homeless children
who wandered through the country after
the civil war
she’s had a very rough life and no
education
but jeff grav will look after her now
said doodah yes that’s true
after a few minutes of silence misha
added
but this kind of thing has happened
several times in the course of history
a thing that is born from a great love
or from great ideas
becomes rough uncommon
rome came out of greece
and the russian revolution
came out of the russian enlightenment
about ten years later on a quiet summer
evening the two friends misha gordon and
dudarov were reading a book of yuri’s
writings as they looked down on moscow
they felt a peaceful joy for this city
for the whole land
and for their children and grandchildren
they had faith in a new freedom of
spirit
and a silent happiness filled them
they looked forward to the future
and believed that you’re his book would
give them the strength that they would
need
you