At the center of the narrative is Vera’s fate, typical for most Russian women trying to find their happiness among a male tribe that has been ground down. Her choices are one worse than the other. And the need to become a mother grows stronger every day. Can Vera break under the pressure of cruel circumstances? Can Beauty survive in an aggressive environment? What will become of Vera’s fate—and is there at all a place for a woman named Vera in Russia?.. A. Snegiryov’s novel-metaphor raises urgent questions for us.