Exiled to Siberia In June 1942, the Rudomin family is arrested by the Russians. They are "capitalists -- enemies of the people." Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia. For five years, Ester and her family live in exile, weeding potato fields and working in the mines, struggling for enough food and clothing to stay alive. Only the strength of family sustains them and gives them hope for the future.

English summary: "Voices from the Steppe" presents 101 sources on the history of the Kazakh Steppe and Russia's South Urals region from the sixteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It offers a range of texts-local histories, songs, poems, letters, memoirs, religious-legal writings, and official documents--that shed light on politics, culture, spirituality, economic activities, gender, and daily life in one of the world's great grasslands. The volume foregrounds the voices and experiences of ethnic non-Russians in living in what eventually became part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The texts have been translated from published and unpublished materials in Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, and Russian, and are appearing in English for the first time. German description: Das Buch umfasst 101 Quellen zur Geschichte der kasachischen Steppe und der russischen Region Sudural vom 16. bis zur Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Es vereint eine Reihe von Texten - lokale Geschichten, Lieder, Gedichte, Briefe, Erinnerungen, religios-rechtliche Schriften und offizielle Dokumente -, die Aufschluss geben uber Politik, Kultur, Spiritualitat, wirtschaftliche Aktivitaten, Geschlecht und das tagliche Leben in einem der grossten Graslander der Welt. Der Band stellt die Stimmen und Erfahrungen von ethnischen Nicht-Russen in den Vordergrund, die in dem Gebiet lebten, das schliesslich Teil des Russischen Reiches und der Sowjetunion wurde. Die Texte wurden aus veroffentlichten und unveroffentlichten Materialien in Kasachisch, Tatarisch, Baschkirisch und Russisch ubersetzt und erscheinen zum ersten Mal in englischer Sprache.

Inhalt: The Kazakh short story / Isaak Kramov. - Fierce grey / Mukhtar Auezov. - The suitor / Baimbet Mailin. - Within twenty-four hours / Gabit Musrepov. - Kokpar / Taken Alimkulov. - The grey stork / Takhavi Akhtanov. - Museum-apa / Baurdjan Momysh-uly. - Ardak / Oralkhan Bokeyev. - Saturday is over... / Rollan Seisenbaev. - The white dromedary / Satimzhan Sanbaev. - Rudagi's throne / Anuar Alimzhanov. - Kumys / Dukenbai Doszhanov. - An archival story / Mukhtar Magauin. - The trip there and back / Sain Muratbekov. - The happiest day / Abish Kekilbaev. - Kalkaman-akyn / Magzom Sundetov. - The song of the cicada / Sherkhan Murtazaev. - A winter day / Orazbek Sarsenbaev. - The authors.

A wartime memoir through the eyes of a Russian child.

Steppes—semi-arid biomes dominated by forbs, grasses, and grass-like species, and characterized by extremes of cold and heat—occupy enormous areas on four continents. Yet these ecosystems are among the least studied on our planet. Given that the birth and evolution of human beings have been so intimately interwoven with steppe regions, it is amazing that so few attempts have been made to compare and quantify the features of these regions. In this ground-breaking volume, five leading voices in horticulture—all staff members of Denver Botanic Gardens—examine the plants, climate, geology, and geography of the world’s steppes: central Asia, central and intermountain North America, Patagonia, and South Africa. Drawing upon their first-hand experience, the writers illuminate the distinctive features of each region, with a particular emphasis on the striking similarities between their floras. Each chapter includes a primer of species of horticultural interest—a rich resource for readers with an interest in steppe plants.