Richard Chen

pg. 57 — typhus
Typhus is a deadly disease caused by bacteria from common parasites such as fleas and lice as well as from unsanitary living conditions. It was a relatively common disease that ran rampant throughout the twentieth century, especially during the Great Wars as many soldiers had to spend time in trenches. Around the 1920s, the typhus pandemic spread throughout Russia, Serbia, and many Eastern European countries, as described in this book. It wasn't until WWII, when a commercial and more reliable typhus vaccine was discovered, that the infection rate of this deadly disease was drastically lowered.

pg. 61 — samovar
A traditional Russian vessel, usually made of iron or brass, to boil water or heat tea.

pg. 66 — default (Germany, 1999)
Due to the loss of Germany in WWII, the Allied Powers forced Germany to pay war reparations, including a sum of $23 billion US dollars, many machineries and factories, forced labors of German POWs, dismantling of governments, etc. Due to the "stoppage" of independent self-sufficiency by the winners of the war, Germany was heavily in debt to the rest of the world and had to default on their payments. However, despite their default, many countries to this day are still claiming that Germany still needs to repay back their debts and reparations to them from WWII, including Greece and Poland. In the context of the story, though Germany has defaulted twice (once after WWI, and once after WWII) at that period in time, Dr. Greiger most likely refers to the default after WWII.

pg. 68 — “Rather, their dancing pointed to their need for treatment…”
This portion of the writing points to a wonderful parallel between what was deemed necessary and what was deemed as entertainment, or in other words, the shift between purposeful activities to pleasurable activities. This is seen through the forms of dancing as Innokenty is talking to Valentina about the dancers they see on TV. In the passage, Innokenty points at the dancers on TV and asks Valentina if that's how people dance now, to which she confirms. He then thinks about what dancing meant in the past, before he was frozen: it was a form of portraying someone as possessed and in need of healing in theaters. Now, it's a less intimate form of entertainment that's been commercialized for the mass to view, with the only word that Valentina and Platonov used to describe it was "energetic."

pg. 71 — Great Lent
An Eastern Orthodox religious observation in which members of the Eastern Orthodox church fast in order to affirm their convictions to life and their faithfulness to their ideals, God, and work ethic. This observation traditionally lasts for 40 days, with many specific days within the period being dedicated to a particular saint or to re-evaluations of their beliefs. For example, during the first week of the Great Lent (starting on what's aptly named "Clean Monday"), members of the church go through a period of spiritual cleansing, fasting, prayers, repentance, among other activities. This is the period when the fasting is the most strictly enforced, only allowing a meal on Wednesdays and Friday evenings.

pg. 71 — Day of Rejoicing
The Day of Rejoicing, otherwise known as Radonista, is a holiday from the Russian Orthodox Church in which feasts are held in memory of those who passed away and for celebrating the resurrection of Christ. During this holiday, many traditional Russian foods are eaten, including funeral kutia (a kind of sweet, grain dish), colored eggs, Russia pancakes, and Russian cookies. Among some, other traditions, such as placing a colored egg on the gravestone of a deceased friend or family to represent the revival of Christ, are also practiced. 

pg. 71 — Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday has different practices and meanings depending on whether the people observe Eastern or Western forms of Christianity. As The Aviator takes place primarily in Russia, only the Eastern Orthodox practices of Trinity Sunday will be explained here. 

Trinity Sunday, otherwise known as the Sunday of Pentecost, is a major religious holiday celebrating the day when the Holy Spirit descents upon the followers of Jesus and the Apostles during their stay in Jerusalem. In the modern era, this holiday now extends to also commemorating the Holy Trinity within Christianity, that of the spirit of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

pg. 71 — Demetrius Saturday
Within many Eastern Christianity practices, there exist many Name Days and Feast Days, of which a particular Christian Saint would be revered and celebrated for their designated days. In this case, Demetrius Saturday is the Feast Day that celebrates Demetrius of Thessaloniki (celebrated on October 26th of the Eastern Orthodox Calendar), a saint stemming back from the Middle Ages in which he was revered within the military. Often, a feast would be held in commemoration of each saint; however, for Demetrius Saturday, the holiday is also used to commemorate the fallen soldiers at the Battle of Kulikovo in which the native Russians were at war against the Mongol's Golden Horde.  

pg. 72 — “I kept my leaf for long time”
This is wonderful symbolism for the impermanence of the present moment. Within the story, Innokenty and Valentina were on a "date" to the cemetery when a pauper came up to them, called them "bride and groom," and then offered them a piece of a golden leaf. Innokenty's keeping of his leaf for a long time reflects how he wants the beautiful present to last forever, much like how he wanted to keep the leaf that he was given for a long time, but time will eventually move on, giving them new experiences and aging them in the process. This is a lot like the fact that if a leaf were plucked from a tree, no matter how long you try to preserve it, it would eventually rot and decay with the passing of time.

pg. 72 — October Coup
This October Coup is also referred to the Bolshevik Revolution (October 25, 1917), a revolution in spearheaded by Vladimir Lenin at Petrograd (present day St. Petersburg) in order to topple the Russian provisional government and its regime after the February Revolution that toppled the autocratic rule of the Tsars. This "insurrection" led Russia into a deep state of conflict and civil war, including the infamous assault on Russia's Winter Palace, in which the provisional government surrendered and disposed. 

pg. 74 — influenza
Influenza, otherwise known as the flu, is a highly contagious viral infection that is spread and transmitted from human to human, causing symptoms such as drowsiness, fatigue, coughs, vomiting, fevers, etc. The influenza, though not as dangerous as it were in the past, ravaged through Russia within the early 20th century, the year in which Innokenty was reminiscing on. During 1918-1919, the Spanish flu pandemic struck the world, killing up to 100 million people world-wide. Within Russia only, 3% of the entire population was lost due to the flu, with estimates being close to 3 million people in only the short span of 18 months.

pg. 75 — “Lie down next to me on top of the blanket”
This is a major callback to the scene on page 12, in which Innokenty asks Valentina to lay next to him as he's recovering from being frozen for so long. It is seen here that Innokenty most likely didn't ask Valentina to lay next to him for purely romantic or sexual reasons, but to "relive" his time with Anastasia, prior to him being frozen.

pg. 77 — The Possessed
A novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, highly regarded as one of his four masterpieces written after his exile to Siberia. Also known as Demons, the book is highly dense and has many allegorical interpretations, so the plot wouldn't be summarized here, but a few ideas within the novel will be stated below:

This book, to many, is considered an allegory for the consequences of Nihilism within the government and the public sector, reflected within the novel as the town falls into chaos due to a conspiracy plot. As a result, the town has to come together under a common leader, in order to rid the place of "evils," represented by the characteristics of some of the characters within the story. As such, this novel also examines the questions of human morality and the need to exercise religious practices as well as nationalism. At the time The Possessed was published, Dostoevsky's plan was to use this as a political commentary on the growing radical left (especially by students) during the latter half of the nineteenth century, as they caused chaos throughout Russia, wanting to overthrow the government ruled by the Romanovs, even causing the death of his friend, Ivan Ivanov. Though this novel was geared towards the student protests, it is also highly applicable to the Russian Revolutions later on, as the old ways of life are completely gone and replaced with a new form of "chaotic" government, one that led to the rise of Stalin in the near future.

pg. 78 — Lera Amfiteatrova
Lera Amfiteatrova is a woman with whom the main character, Innokenty, first had sexual relations with. Innokenty describes her as an emancipated woman* as she took control of how Innokenty should act during their sexual encountered. She is also the person who left Innokenty pondering about whether or not he does what he does because he loves her. She is also described as being the daughter of a priest, unhindered by the restrictions of faith and religion.

*Side Note: Emancipated Woman
The term, emancipated woman, is often used to describe the fight for gender equality within the USSR. When Vladimir Lenin first rose to power in the early 20th century, he spoke of the women of Russia needing the rights to participate in the same labor force as men. As Communism rose to become the central form of government for the USSR, woman's suffrage was granted, allowing them the right to vote as well as even allowing them the right for abortions in the 1920s (thought it was later re-banned).  They were also granted the rights to participate in higher education as well as work in many industries; however, many of the political positions were still held by men. When Innokenty describes Lera Amfiteatrova as an emancipated woman, he wanted to convey that she is strong-willed and independent, without the need for a man to support her.