The new book by the famous Russian writer Yuri Polyakov, “Soviet Childhood,” is a unique opportunity to look at Moscow life back in 1968 through the eyes of a twelve-year-old Soviet boy, observant, well-read, mocking, but sincerely expecting the onset of a bright communist future. The author masterfully restores in the smallest detail that long-vanished world, with its selflessness, sense of camaraderie, sincere belief in justice, goodness, equality, despite the occasional shortcomings. It is no coincidence that the new work has the subtitle “a book about the bright past.” The reader, as always, will encounter the unique style of Yuri Polyakov: precise, elegant, imaginative, full of subtle irony.