Hannah Bartoshesky

pg. 8 —  pince-nez
A style of glasses that perch on the nose without support of earpieces. These provide recurring imagery throughout the book, often distancing characters from the wearer, acting as a sort of impersonal barrier.

Pg. 8 — Krakatoa
A small volcanic island, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, it was the site of one of the most devastating eruptions in human history, killing more than 36,000 when it erupted in 1883.

pg. 9 — Moscow
The city of Moscow, the setting for most of this book, has roots dating back to the 12th century-- after Kievan Rus disintegrate into many separate principalities, the prince Yury Dolgoruky had a wall constructed around the several settlements on the banks of the Moskva river, to protect the citizens living within and act as a border checkpoint. This became known as Moscow.
The decades preceding the publication of Envy in 1927, were tumultuous times for Moscow; rulers changed frequently and Moscow was variously occupied and at war. In the early 17th century Moscow was occupied by Poland, and then eventually liberated in 1612. In the mid 18th century Moscow grew into a cultural hub with the founding of several universities and gymnasiums. In 1812 Moscow was raised to the ground and suffered heavy casualties from a war with Napoleon. After the expulsion of French troops from the city, Moscow again flourished for a time in the 19th century. The later 19th and 20th centuries brought more political conflict and dissent, undergoing a number of tumultuous political and cultural shifts through the 19th and 20th centuries. The 1825 Decembrist rebellion, though occurring in St.Petersburg, had ties to Moscow as well, and impacted the political mood of the time. After the freeing of the serfs in 1861 industrialization increased and city populations grew rapidly. From the 1860s to 1890s the population in Moscow more than doubled, reaching around 1 million inhabitants. In 1917 the Russian Revolution successfully overthrew the monarchy, leading to the start of the The Russian Revolution which created political and social revolutions across Russia. The unrest ended in 1923 with the Bolshevik establishment of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of this Civil War the capital was moved from Saint Petersburg back to Moscow. 
Envy is set during the early years of Soviet Russia after massive shifts in the socio-political structure and societal values; Soviet society placed emphasis on the ideals of industrialization, egalitarianism, and collective achievement rather than individual achievement.  

pg. 9 — Nikolai Kavalerov
Our protagonist. Nikolai is a 27-year-old failed poet of sorts who is taken in to live with the well-respected director of the Food Industry Trust, Andrei Babichev, after a drunken break down. He laments his birth into communist Russia and dreams of the fame he might have achieved in a liberal Western European society where one can be recognized for being an individual. He is a miserable, though witty and entertaining, character who refuses to accept Communist values and is consumed by loathing and envy for his benefactor Andrei Babichev.

pg. 10 — People’s Commissar
The people’s commissars were individuals that headed each of the central executive bodies charged with the management of specific sectors of State activity or sector of the National economy. This structure lasted from 1917–1946 and was initially instituted when Soviet power was established in the republics in the territory of the former Russian Empire.

pg. 10 — Andrei Petrovich Babichev
The man who take Nikolai in after finding him in a gutter, drunk. A model soviet citizen by all accounts. He is alternatively described as boyish and intimidatingly hulking. He is depicted as an extreme glutton; both consuming large quantities of food and expressing great enthusiasm for culinary achievements. He is a character with a great vigor and zest for life. He is seemingly kind and friendly, though Nikolai perceives him to be indifferent, controlling, and condescending.

pg. 10 — Food Industry Trust
An organization in charge of property and assets for the Russian Food Industry.

pg. 11 — Two Bits
Andrei’s pet project. Two Bits is planned to be a cafeteria that efficiently produces quality meals for the masses. This affordable dining experience will provide two course meals for two bits. It is a product of communist ideals aided by industrialization. Andrei devotes endless time and attention to the details of mechanized processes for his future Two Bits kitchen; from vegetable cleaning machines to Primus stoves. 

pg. 11 — Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid, translated as “the Orthodox” or “the Rightly-Guided," was the fifth Abbasid Caliph and ruled during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age. Although he ruled during a time of great scientific and artistic prosperity, his actions directly contributed to the eventual fall of the Abbasid caliphate. He is featured in many stories from the Thousand and One Nights.

pg. 12 — Primus stove
The first pressurized-burner kerosene stove. It was known to be durable and reliable, performing consistently even under adverse conditions. It was developed in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist, a factory mechanic in Stockholm.

pg. 12 — fakir
This term is derived from faqr, an Islamic term used traditionally for a Sufi Muslim who depends upon, and lives for, God. More generally it refers to a religious ascetic that survives on alms.

pg. 12 — Comrade Prokudin
A man working under Andrei in the food industry trust, more specifically involved in candy-making.

pg. 12 — Rosa Luxemburg
A Polish philosopher, Marxist, anti-war activist and revolutionary socialist. In the context of the book it appears “Rosa Luxemburg” is also the name of a variety of hard candy.

pg. 13 — Comrade Fominsky
A man working under Andrei in the food industry trust, involved in the Two Bits project.

pg. 14 — Levin straight out of Tolstoy
Levin, a character from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. He is a very humble and human character, notable for being independent-minded; following his own vision of matters rather than subscribing to any one group’s perspectives. Moreover, Levin prefers isolation over fitting in with a social set and is quite comfortable with peasants, resenting the social pretension of more aristocratic groups.

pg. 14 — Supreme Economic Council
The government body that worked to transform old bourgeois capitalist forms of industry into socialist ones by nationalizing and decentralizing all large scale industry.