Snergurochka of the Spring Breeze, Manga

In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union was a “land of plenty,” but famine was everywhere—and deliberately so in Ukraine. Likewise, medical care finally available for all, yet the only care available for frail teenager with amputated legs is that of her servant, who is blind in one eye and suffers from a rare blood disease that renders him weaker than her. Since they are known as Bielka (meaning “Squirrel”) Zaytsvena (derived from “hare”) Sneguroya (evoking Snergourchko, or “snow-maiden)) and Shchenok (meaning “puppy”) they are clearly hiding their identity. Presumably, they have a darned good reason for doing so during the Stalinist era of Hiroaki Samura’s award-winning manga, Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze, which just released in a translated edition from Kodansha.

Shchenok is Sneguroya’s servant, but he often refers to her as “older sister,” even though he is obviously her senior. Similarly counter-intuitive, the wheelchair-bound Sneguroya clearly prioritizes Shchenok’s safety above her own, even though he is supposedly her caretaker. For some reason, they have a keen interest in a confiscated dacha in northern Karelia, even though it is not much of a dacha by the majestic standards of the Czarist royal family.

Of course, interest in the nobles’ former real estate is a good way to draw the attention of the OGPU (the forerunner to the KGB). Indeed, sickly Shchenok barely survives the light torture that serves as his interrogator’s typical how-do-you-do. At least their fragility seems to preclude them from serious espionage, so they are remanded into the custody of Victor Stepanovich Mikhalkov, an OGPU agent temporarily taking possession of the same dacha, to execute or employ as servants. He choses the latter, for distinctly unedifying reasons with respects to Sneguroya.

Spring Breeze is a fascinating tale of Stalinist era tragedy and intrigue, featuring compelling real-life characters, like Sneguroya’s future ally, Maria Spiridonova. A former Socialist revolutionary,  Spiridonova turned against her former Communist comrades, becoming a prominent dissident and prisoner-of-conscience from 1918 until her execution in 1941.

Indeed, many significant historical figures play active parts in Spring Breeze. Most of them have secrets, a few of which would surprisingly rehabilitate them retroactively. Regardless, Samura vividly recreates the Stalinist regime’s cruelty and hypocrisy, while simultaneously celebrating the soul of Russian history and culture. It is radically different from his monster manga hit, Blade of the Immortal, but apparently that is why his editor’s germ of an idea appealed to him.

Despite a handful of disturbingly adult sequences, Spring Breeze is quite a beautiful and sophisticated story of unconventional love and devotion. Even moderately experienced manga readers might be occasionally put off balance by the layout, but it is worth the effort. Although its original Japanese publication came in 2014, it ranks a one of the best graphic novels of the year for American readers. Very highly recommended, Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze is now on-sale wherever books and comics are sold.