Under the Sickle and the Sledgehammer

<p><strong>‘A captivating story of courage, belief, and disillusionment under the persistent tyranny of Russian imperialism. Even after 90 years, Kirsti’s story is a testament to the ongoing fight for Freedom.'</strong> - Ana Khizanishvili, Human Rights Lawyer</p><p><strong>Under the Sickle and the Sledgehammer was originally published in 1942, as war still raged between Finland and the Soviet Union.</strong></p><p>The author of this memoir, Kirsti Huurre (a pseudonym, since it was far too risky to reveal her real name), was a Finnish woman who immigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1930s, convinced the new egalitarian state and workers’ paradise would provide a better life for her and her young son; she was hopeful that, once settled, she would be able to send for him. What followed was vastly different to what was promised: a life filled with fear, suspicion, violence and state-run propaganda that spun a web of lies around its people. Kirsti eventually escaped – defying the odds when so many of her friends and loved ones did not.</p><p><em>Under the Sickle and the Sledgehammer</em> is the first English translation of what became the second most censored book – second only to Mein Kampf – from Finnish libraries after the war. This is a gripping and valuable account of life in Stalin’s oppressive Soviet Union.</p>