State of Terror

State of Terror is a fictional account of factual events. This novel was written in a screenplay format and revolves around the life and times of an NKVD executioner named Yurii Maksimovich Petrov. It is a panorama of Soviet and Russian history from 1936 until his death in 1995. It is an attempt to capture the stark terror of living in the former Soviet Union during the time of Nikolai Yezhov or 'Yezhovshchina' and the impact it had later on during the Great Patriotic War. It is not meant to be a condemnation of humanity. It is an attempt to instill a sense of pathos for the 'Dead Souls' and the family members left behind. The novel is not a morbid choice of the dead over the living, rather the murdered over the murderers. It also serves as a warning of what the future might hold in this era of unfettered government growth and power.