“Well, that crisis can be averted I see,” Andy said.
“Yes, thanks,” Justin said. “I saw what she was wearing laid out on the bed this morning but I was afraid to say anything.”
“I thought she was getting better about holding back her outbursts,” Jozette said.
“She is, it’s not like it used to be but she’s still Belinda,” Justin replied.
“There’s only one of her, that’s for sure.”
“Thank goodness,” Justin said and Jozette laughed.
“Here she comes.”
“What a change.”
“We’re back,” Belinda said and she had her trademark smile. Belinda now wore shorts between her waist and knees, a pretty blue top, modest heels, no sunglasses, stud earrings and less whorish makeup.
“Lind, you look very nice,” Jozette said.
“You do, Miss Belinda,” Julieta said as she walked over to Belinda and put her arm around the much shorter Belinda. At five two Belinda often resembled a little sister to the five ten Jozette and five eleven Lexi. Julieta was five seven and Tatiana five six. Jozette always thought that Belinda’s diminutive size played into her loud and bombastic demeanor. Like a runt puppy that yaps louder so it can be heard. She never told Belinda her runt puppy thoughts to avoid setting her off but she was certain it was a factor.
“Thanks, I actually feel better. The shoes hurt my feet and the shorts were so tight I couldn’t breathe.” There was mild laughter. “I’m sorry I was dressed the way I was earlier. I owe everyone an apology.”
“You don’t owe anyone an apology, honey,” Tatiana said as she gave Belinda a quick hug.
“I vote we move on and board the plane,” Little Wolf said as he read the screen that it was time to board their charter and thought it was a good segue to help Belinda, whom he liked very much. They all found seats, first class of course and settled in for the trip to Washington D.C. There were groups of four seats in pairs facing each other. Warren and Ariel sat alone, which was their preference since they weren’t social animals. Tatiana and Dave sat across from Jozette and Andy which left Justin and Belinda across from Julieta and Little Wolf. Belinda had a thousand questions so she made sure Justin and she were across from the man with all the answers. Little Wolf was a wealth of knowledge and Dave and Justin were also well versed in history and international politics, Little Wolf was patient with Belinda and she liked to hear things from him. She sat down with her legs crossed and cupped hands on her knee then let out a sigh and smiled at Little Wolf. He was caught off guard and looked at Justin who grinned then leaned back and closed his eyes.
“You’re on, professor,” Justin said chuckling. Little Wolf turned to Julieta and she nodded towards Belinda.
“Okay, what about this Stalin guy?” Belinda asked.
“What?”
“Stalin, you said we’d continue talking about things on the plane ride. Well, here we are,” Belinda said.
“Ah, yes, now I remember, well, Joseph Stalin was a part of the Russian Revolution,” Little Wolf started.
“What’s that?”
“Russia is a very old nation and for centuries they were ruled by Tsars.”
“What’s a Tsar?”
“He’s like a King. He rules until he dies then his son becomes the Tsar.”
“What about daughters?”
“The oldest male always became Tsar first.”
“What if he didn’t have any sons?”
“Then the oldest female would rule.”
“She would be the Tsar?”
“Yes, except she was called Tsarina.”
“Were the Tsars bad?”
“Some were and some were good.”
“Is there a Tsar in Russia today?”
“No, that ended in 1917.”
“Why?”
“The Tsars had ruled for many years and the last royal family, called the Romanovs, ruled from 1613 until 1917.”
“Wow, so why did they get rid of the Tsars?”
“It was an old form of government that had outlived its usefulness. The Tsars were out of touch with the people. There were millions of Russians who were starving while the aristocrats lived in luxury.”
“What’s an aristocrat?”
“They were the wealthy landowners. Their families went back hundreds of years and the upper classes ruled over the lower classes.”
“Was that bad?”
“Not all the time but the rich are never very concerned about the poor.”
“So, what happened?”
“A group of people formed a party called the Bolsheviks. They were led by a man named Lenin and other guys such as Stalin and Trotsky plus many more. In 1917 the Russian people had had enough of being hungry and they revolted. The Bolsheviks led them and the Tsar was forced to abdicate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he had to give up his position as Tsar.”
“What happened to him?”
“He, his wife, his four daughters and one son were imprisoned.”
“Why?”
“The Bolsheviks thought if they were left loose, they might try and raise their own army and get back in power.”
“I see and what happened to them?” Little Wolf looked at Justin and he nodded for Little Wolf to tell her. Belinda had a childlike naiveté and violence wasn’t something she liked or understood. Yes, she had faced death with her friends and had seen people killed but the specter of political slaughter by the hundreds and thousands was something she couldn’t understand.
“A year and half later in July of 1918 they were all shot.”
“The children too?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To show there was no going back to the old ways.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Yes, but people would argue that under the Tsars millions starved to death and were shot by the Tsars’ police and that was terrible.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Belinda said and looked out the window for a moment. Little Wolf looked at Julieta thinking that Belinda might have had her curiosity peeked and he could rest. “Okay, now, did this Stalin guy have anything to do with killing them?” Justin chuckled and Little Wolf sighed.
“No, he was sort of out of the way at the time.”
“When did he become important?”
“Well, after the tsar was overthrown there was another man who led Russia, named Kerensky.”
“Was he good?”
“I guess so but he wanted to continue Russia’s involvement in World War I and the people did not want that.”
“So, he didn’t last.”
“That’s right, Miss Belinda, you’re picking things up fast.” Belinda smiled and wiggled like a school girl.
“Who took over for that Keren… guy?”
“Lenin took over and the first Communist nation was born.”
“Where was Stalin?”
“He was there and kind of waiting in the wings.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, Stalin knew that Lenin’s health was fragile. So, Stalin just waited and did whatever he could to ingratiate himself to Lenin.”
“What does ingratiate mean?”
“It means you kind of suck up and brown nose.”
“Ah, I see. So, what happened next?”
“In 1924 Lenin had a stroke and died.”
“Did Stalin take over?”
“Not right away it took about four years.”
“Why?”
“Stalin had a rival in Trotsky and they battled for power. Finally, Trotsky fled the country to save his skin and Stalin took over in 1928.”
“How long did he rule Russia?”
“Until he died in 1953.”
“What did he do that has people liking him today?”
“He expanded Russia’s borders by taking over countries and after World War II he took over all of Eastern Europe.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that. Was it still called Russia?”