The new edition of Gleb Pakulov’s novel “Gar” fully reveals the history of the Russian church schism of the mid-17th century. At the center of the novel is the fate of the great Russian writer and “stander for the patristic faith” Archpriest Avvakum Petrov. No amount of torment could force Avvakum to renounce his truth, and after fifteen years of sitting in an earthen pit in the city of Pustozersk, he was burned alive along with his like-minded people. There is a living legend that from the flames of the log house Avvakum’s scorched hand rose with the ancient fatherly hand and his voice was heard: “Here So be baptized!..” Pustozersk was covered in sand. Years have washed away the fumes and ashes, but the “Havvakum’s stumps” remain like black nails driven into the people’s memory.