Vakhit Zimaletdinov |Winter|

December 31, 1987, Kazan, Basement
23.40. Basement.
Vakhit is sitting by the stove.
On the table there is one plate, one glass, herring, potatoes, and a mug of tea. He is not celebrating.
But, it covered.
Maybe it was his hands, or maybe he wanted to believe someone would come. He looked at the empty space.
Silently.
Then he gets up.
Takes an extra plate and removes it.
As a punishment: "You knew you were always alone."
He sits down and eats. There's radio, laughter, music, but he doesn't listen.
The Christmas tree in the corner. Not real. Made of wire, cotton wool, and paint. I made it myself, because I saw it once and remembered it.
In this silence, the past bursts in not in words, but in fragments.
Suddenly, a sharp smell of vanilla and cheap soap. Like in an orphanage. Before the New Year, everyone washes, everyone is clean, everyone is in the same pajamas. The teacher says, "Today you are like all the other children." But he knows they are not like everyone else. They are the ones who don't get taken home.
Voice on the radio: "Children's Christmas party on central television"
Then they sat in the dining room, looking at the screen: a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, children with their parents.
Someone is crying. Quietly. Softly. The teacher quickly leads them away. And he looks at the floor. He doesn't cry, he remembers, never to ask again.
"Vakhit, you didn't take your gift again?" asks the senior teacher.
He's silent, he doesn't take it because everyone is watching. Because inside, there's shame: "You're superfluous, you weren't bought, you're part of the crowd."
He leaves, but the gift remains, as always.
Night. He lies.
Someone hears, crying under the blanket.
Not the first time and not the last, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, but inside he repeats.
"I won't cry. I won't wait. I won't believe that someone will come. I will survive. I am myself. I am strong.
And he survived, became strong, became the one who decides. But on this New Year's Eve, he sits in front of a single plate and feels for the first time: strength doesn't save him from loneliness; it only makes him quieter.
And at that moment there was a knock.
He shudders at the flashes, they go out, but remain like scars under the skin, like the truth that he does not speak out loud.

In the Universam group, where Vakhit was the super, and the main authority there was considered Vova Suvorov, or simply Adidas
The "Universam" gang had a strict age hierarchy; advancement to the next level depended on age, physical strength, and authority.
The gang's leadership consisted of men aged 20 and older, many of whom had already served in the army or had criminal records. They determined the gang's strategy, negotiated with other districts, and managed the common funds. These included Vova Adidas or Vladimir Suvorov, a veteran of the Afghan War who became the leader of a supermarket after returning from the army. He tried to introduce fair military rules and sports into the gang. The second group was Supera or Supers. The gang's fighting core, boys aged 17 to 19, ensured the execution of orders. The older members organized mass fights and gatherings, and supervised the younger members. These were typically the strong members, such as Vakhit Zimaletdinov (Winter) and Turbo (Valera Turkin), who was Vakhit's best friend.
The gang's core, boys aged 17-19, oversaw the execution of orders. The older boys organized mass brawls and training sessions, and supervised the younger boys, typically strong athletes. They were always into the gym, prominent representatives of winter and turbo. They were unquestioningly loyal to the neighborhood, upholding the purity of concepts among the youth, and carrying out the most dangerous Adidas enforcement missions. The youngest members of the hierarchy were teenagers aged 13 to 16, high school students, and first-year vocational school students. They performed all the menial street work, collecting tribute from merchants, patrolling the neighborhood, selling shoes, or robbing thugs for money and clothes. Only within their own age group, prominent representatives, had the right to vote. Marat Jr. Adidas coat Andrey, Yeralash Misha.
The main laws and attributes of the supermarket are the concepts of the gang. The main code of the gang: a guy has no right to lie to his own, is obliged to protect the neighborhood, cannot steal from his own, and cannot cooperate with the police.