Writing assignment: 500 words on this topic: “Describe the choices that led him to the failed assignment.” Possible topics: Army vs. Navy, Lenin prayer vs. the slave labor city, joining a crime syndicate vs. staying clean, telling the truth about suicide vs. telling a lie.
Sergei Kourdakov was born in Russia in 1951 and was sent to live in a state orphanage right after his parents died. Kourdakov was a very intelligent boy and he enjoyed learning; he quickly excelled in school. But his childhood was very harsh. Part of this was because he and his friends formed a gang, pulling pranks on the village. Not only that, but Kourdakov also had to learn how to survive in a violent world. The orphanage he lived in was very cruel to him and all the others. Kourdakov often saw suffering. One time, he saw the starvation of his friend. The children there also received frequent beatings from the head of the orphanage, Uncle Nichy.
All of these things he witnessed shaped his decisions. When Kourdakov was older, he had to make a very hard choice. He either followed his friends and turned to a life of crime, believing it would quickly bring him security and a sense of power, or choose a cleaner path by joining the Soviet Navy for a structured life with a steady pay. Kourdakov chose the Navy, hoping for a better future. However, his early childhood background at the orphanage still influenced him, and his actions continued to reflect a tough, survival focused mindset even in the Navy.
When he was at the Naval Academy, Kourdakov struggled with what the Communist Party taught and what the reality was around him. One big example of this was a fellow cadet’s suicide. Kourdakov was ordered to lie about his friend’s cause of death, saying it was an accident rather than a suicide. Although he complied with the order, he still felt guilty and torn up about it, which showed that he still had morals and was able to understand the difference between right and wrong. This is important because it shows he didn’t completely lose his sense of right and wrong.
Kourdakov’s main moral conflicts carried over when he joined the KGB. He was tasked with assembling a team of strong men to handle assignments that regular police could not. Their first big task was to raid a Christian gathering and confiscate their Bibles while arresting the pastors. Kourdakov and his team approached very carefully, even knocking on their door, which was very unusual for KGB members. The pastors were very cooperative and even complied quietly. However, Kourdakov’s cautious and somewhat moral approach to the mission angered his boss, Azarov. Azarov demanded violence and aggression, which led him to call the mission a failure. This was all because Kourdakov didn’t want to harm innocent people and did not want to use force like Azarov wanted.
All these decisions showed that Kourdakov had to choose either to listen and obey his leader or do what he believed was right. Even though his environment and upbringing pushed him into a life of crime, he occasionally still resisted hurting people, showing he still knew the difference between right and wrong. His hesitation during the raid, as well as his inner struggle with lying about the cadet’s death, reveals that he had the ability to make moral choices, even in the tough situations he was in. Ultimately, his morals got in the way of the assignment and led him to fail it because he chose to not use violence.
In the end, Kourdakov’s story in these beginning chapters shows how his upbringing and environment shaped his personal decisions. Even though his past pushed him toward doing wrong, he still showed a desire to do what was right. His failure during the Christian raid shows his struggle between what is morally right and what was expected of him, ultimately leading to the mission being considered unsuccessful.
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