“I’ll give you 5,000 dollars if you serve me in russian,” laughed the mafia boss at the waitress…

it away with uncharacteristic embarrassment, revealing a glimpse of artistic sensitivity at odds with his brutal reputation. My mother was Russian, Victor revealed unexpectedly one evening, the confession emerging after three glasses of vodka.

Father forbade her language in our home after their marriage, a control tactic that broke her spirit years continue reading …