Chapter 2 - Dead Giant English version

🌨️ Siberia, December 1946 – Scenario

1. Setting

Siberia in the middle of winter – the cold reaches hundreds of degrees below zero, snow up to the knees, wind cutting through every layer of clothing.

Stalin sits in a small, primitive hut, with a stove barely providing warmth.

Silence surrounds the hut, roads are buried under snow, and there is no contact with the outside world – complete isolation.

2. Stalin's physical condition

Thin, pale, clearly suffering from a cold – neglecting himself, without staff or medicine.

Cracked skin from the cold, trembling hands, and a cough indicative of a respiratory infection or cold.

Eyes blind to the outside world – visible fatigue and hopelessness.

3. Mental state

The silence and isolation deepen the sense of helplessness.

The awareness that the USSR formally exists but holds no real power further lowers morale.

The approaching New Year, traditionally a time for planning and reflection, serves only as a reminder of failure and loneliness.

4. Strategic context

Germany and Japan control most of the world, the USSR's border at the Urals is occupied by the Germans, and Japan controls Asia and the Siberian frontier.

Stalin knows that his state survives only in name – the army and civilian population are in deficit and paralysis.

5. Atmosphere

The hut fills with gray smoke from the barely burning wood – the air smells of dampness and cold.

Silence is broken only by coughing and the rustle of snow outside.

A moody scene: a lonely dictator in the shadow of his former power, cold, hungry, and aware of his defeat.

🌨️ Night in Stalin's hut – December 31, 1946

21:00

The cold wind howls around the hut, blowing snow against the doors.

Stalin sits by the barely burning stove, wrapped in a worn fur coat.

Thin, pale, shivering from the cold, he holds a cup of steaming water – barely sipping it.

He thinks of the USSR: "This state no longer exists… only the name remains."

22:00

Coughing intensifies, signs of illness worsening.

An old, worn journal lies nearby – Stalin tries to make notes on the situation at the Urals, near the German border, and on Japan in China and Mongolia.

Writing is slow, hands tremble, ink smears.

A thought arises in his mind: "All my power, all my decisions, and now… snow and silence."

23:00

The stove barely gives warmth; the wood is running out.

Stalin stands to add another piece of wood – movements slow, painful, coughing worsening.

He looks out the window at the dark, empty Siberia – no army, no allies, only snow and silence.

23:30

He sits back by the stove, wrapped in fur, shivering from cold and illness.

He thinks of the New Year – traditionally a time of hope – but this year, there is none.

He imagines Germans standing at the Urals and Japanese in the east, smiling from their advantage.

23:50

He places his hand on the cup of hot water – minimal warmth.

He tries to check if there is any information about enemy movements – no communications, no couriers, no news.

The loneliness is absolute; silence is overwhelming.

0:00 – New Year

Snow continues to fall, the stove nearly out of fuel.

Stalin sits hunched, thin and pale, thinking: "Another year has passed, and the USSR is only a shadow of itself."

Silence and frost fill the hut; the only sounds are the crackle of wood and coughing – the new year in Siberia begins in total isolatio