“The Wooden Apple of Freedom” is a historical story by Vladimir Voinovich about Vera Figner, the “fiery revolutionary” who attempted to assassinate Alexander II, a beauty and the first Russian emancipation. In Soviet times, this story was published in millions of copies under a different title - “The Degree of Trust.” Written on behalf of Figner’s husband, Alexey Filippov, it is a story about the degree of trust that loved ones seek, find and lose. Spouses and relatives, despite the fact that these are extraordinary, heroic and transcendental people, the kind that are born only in eras of great changes and cataclysms. And they rush like meteors across the sky of civilization. What motivates a young, educated, full-of-life woman to become a terrorist? Is the Socialist Idea worth giving up the joy of motherhood and simple female happiness? Vladimir Voinovich writes about people of the ancient past as if they live next to us. And this is their choice these days: between dreams and love, between vocation and freedom. Published for the first time after a long break.