The Wooden Apple of Freedom

The book series “Fiery Revolutionaries” was conceived and launched by Politizdat in 1968. One of the authors invited to participate in the series was also Vladimir Voinovich. From all the candidates proposed by the publishing house on the topic, the writer chose the figure of an SR terrorist and member of the Executive Committee of the party “People’s Will”—Vera Figner. Terror has been used by some people against others throughout human history, starting with Cain. But the People’s Will faction became the founders of organized terror. These people, as Lenin said, “terribly far from the people,” were the first to turn political killings into an assembly line. Party members made them the main instrument of their struggle and were ready to pay not only with the lives of class and ideological enemies, but also with their own lives for their beliefs and deeds. The author was captivated by the possibility of plunging into historical material and looking at the turning point in Russian history through the prism of the views, actions, and fate as a whole of one of its decisive heroes. In this novel, Voinovich appears before us as a historian, a philosopher, and a connoisseur of the subtle emotional structure of his characters. Within the harsh framework of political censorship, historical facts, documents, and the memoirs of contemporaries and participants in the events, Vladimir Nikolaevich seeks out and presents to the reader the fate of a HUMAN BEING! He neither glorifies nor condemns—he gives descendants the chance to judge the deeds and actions of the heroes of bygone times, long forgotten by name.

In Soviet times, the novel “The Wooden Apple of Freedom” was published in multi-million print runs under the title “Degree of Trust.” Now, respected lovers of audiobooks, you have the opportunity to meet its modern audio version.

Published in the latest author’s edition.