The Commission

Peasants attempt to keep up with the political changes in their country in this 1975 work by Siberian environmentalist and novelist Zalygin. In the autumn of 1918 in the village of Lebyazhka, a Forest Commission of five men is elected. At one time the Tsar protected the land, but now people are entering and cutting down trees at their will. The commission hopes to regulate the process, but instead its members get bogged down in bureaucratic procedures and disputing what is best for ``the people'' while actually looking out for their own interests. One member, Ustinov, is the most respected man in the village and also the most committed to its general good. Although a farmer like the others, he has a house full of books and an intelligent air. He has romantic problems, however. Another man's wife is pursuing him, despite the fact that he is married. The cast of characters is large and sometimes confusing, and the commission's meetings can drag on, but Zalygin achieves a rare combination of irony and poignancy, and Wilson's able translation is complemented by his useful introduction, which lends historical context. (Nov.)