Our cover is based on the original painting "Black Ravens" by Boris Vladimirsky (1878-1950), who often was commissioned to paint propagandistic scenes during Stalin's era. "Black Ravens" shows another side of the soul of Vladimirsky. It is still unknown how this work passed censorship in the Soviet Union.

"Black Ravens" were the cars used by the NKVD (forerunner to KGB) to arrest civilians, often in the wee hours of the morning. They were notorious in creating an atomosphere of fear and distrust so prevalent in the 1930s and 1940s. Note the prison painted in the background.

"Black Ravens", oil on wood, 32 x 20 cm., computer enhancement to create the black eerieness of those dreadful nights was done by Tarlan Gorchu of TUTU Publications, Baku, Azerbaijan.