{"product_id":"under-the-sickle-the-sledgehamm","title":"Under The Sickle \u0026 The Sledgehamm","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘A captivating story of courage, belief, and disillusionment under the persistent tyranny of Russian imperialism. Even after 90 years, Kirsti’s story is a testament to the ongoing fight for Freedom.''\u003c\/strong\u003e - Ana Khizanishvili, Human Rights Lawyer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnder the Sickle and the Sledgehammer was originally published in 1942, as war still raged between Finland and the Soviet Union.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author of this memoir, Kirsti Huurre (a pseudonym, since it was far too risky to reveal her real name), was a Finnish woman who immigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1930s, convinced the new egalitarian state and workers’ paradise would provide a better life for her and her young son; she was hopeful that, once settled, she would be able to send for him. What followed was vastly different to what was promised: a life filled with fear, suspicion, violence and state-run propaganda that spun a web of lies around its people. Kirsti eventually escaped – defying the odds when so many of her friends and loved ones did not.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnder the Sickle and the Sledgehammer\u003c\/em\u003e is the first English translation of what became the second most censored book – second only to Mein Kampf – from Finnish libraries after the war. This is a gripping and valuable account of life in Stalin’s oppressive Soviet Union.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57198679032190,"sku":"NW9781803996691","price":16.04,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781803996691.jpg?v=1778542657","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/under-the-sickle-the-sledgehamm","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}