100 Kopeks equal 1 Rouble
Are you still with me?
Lev was sitting on a bench on the platform at Astapovo railway station
Tuppence and Penelope were sitting in front of him
Yes we are
Then I will carry on
The image of St George and the Dragon is to be found on the coins
He is the patron saint of Russia
Just as he is in England
The double headed eagle is the symbol of our great country
It faces both east and west
Tuppence looked at the sun through her dark glasses
It is so hot today is it always like this
Penelope glanced at Lev but did not say anything
No it can get very cold much colder that England
So this is where he died
Yes
It is so rural
The middle of nowhere really
He was like a cat crawling away to die
It was more than that
His relationship with his wife had become hostile
He was running from her
But why to Astapovo?
He just stopped here
He did not deliberately come to Astapovo
He just died here
Tell me more Lev
When is your train?
In an hour
Ok then I will begin
He had been ill for some time and was causing concern to his family
He had written about death and had rejected his aristocratic lifestyle
And in the middle of the he winter suddenly disappeared
People were concerned about him and his departure was followed by many newspapers
But he was safe from his wife
He had left her a letter explaining his actions I believe that it said that he was leaving his wife as it was what old men did to spend their last days in solitude
But he only got this far before illness forced him from the train
The stationmaster gave him the use of his house
But the station was not as peaceful as it is today
The whole thing was a circus
The media arrived and there was no peace to be found
The Count died in public which was very sad
He had not wanted that
His wife who had travelled to this station was only allowed to see him when he was at the point of death
I doubt that he was aware of her presence
Penelope let a small tear drop onto her pale blue vest
Why are you sad?
I was just thinking of poor Anna under a train
How can you be sad on a day such as this?
Tell me Lev how do you see your country?
How do you see yours?
A mess run by people who are basically quite limited
All leaders are poor
That is true in most cases
One does not see natural leaders very often
Most just climb over corpses to the top
I feel scared for the future of my country
Why?
It is acting like a wounded lion
Once it was strong and fierce
But times have changed
It is just the same as your country
One you were strong and to some extent ruled the world
But then you grew small
Times changed
But do you know what I admire about your country?
Your sense of fair play
I believe that we are the most democratic country in the world don’t you Penny?
That depends what you mean by democratic
I have always wondered why large countries such as China and Russia can be ruled so tightly from within
This would never happen in the UK
I do not know why but I do not feel it
Enough my friends you are guests in my country and we should not discuss large things
A great writer breathed his last here
You have travelled many miles to pay homage
I welcome your visit and will accept your invitation to visit your great country quite soon
Both Lev and Tuppence stood up and walked towards the station building
Do come
I will stay here as I want to enjoy the Russian sun
As soon as her friends were out of sight Penelope pulled a paperback from her canvas bag
She was about to read Anna Karenina
She had lost her original copy in Moscow but had found an English language copy in Astapovo
This struck her as unusual but many people visited the town
It had most probably been left by a backpacker
She looked at the ground and at the small stones that roasted in the sun
Quite soon she and Tuppence would be many miles away
Lev would return to Moscow
But the small stones would remain
In a few months they would be covered with snow or at least would suffer the harsh winter
But if she returned next summer they would be there or nearby
She wondered if The Count had trodden on them as he made his way towards his final bed
In the distance she heard a train
It was time to leave