The Troika Journal

A memoir written in Russian by one of our editors.

«Память уверяет нас, что вчерашний день действительно был, но как знать, не появилась ли вся эта память с первым утренним лучом?»

- В. Пелевин

Мать Ринго Старра любила говорить сыну, что своим рождением он спровоцировал Вторую Мировую Войну. Я тоже родился на разломе, с некогда грозным, для кого величественным, а для кого зловещим, но каким-то неизменно гордым именем «Советский Союз»…

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By Zuzanna Gruca

A translation from Polish of Wisława Szymborska’s poem “Trzy Słowa Najdziwniejsze.”

Trzy Słowa Najdziwniejsze

Kiedy wymawiam słowo Przyszłość,
pierwsza sylaba odchodzi już do przeszłości.

Kiedy wymawiam słowo Cisza,
niszczę ją.

Kiedy wymawiam słowo Nic,
stwarzam coś, co nie mieści się w żadnym niebycie.

The Three Oddest Words

When I pronounce the word Future,
the first syllable already departs to the past.

When I pronounce the word Silence,
I destroy her.

When I pronounce the word Nothing,
I create something that no non-being can hold.

A poem in Russian by Veronica Terugly

Да и….

Сильно ж верила в любовь, ее надежду-
Открыла книгу, тихо села, и как прежде
Строки, мысли, дум, глупость, грусть
Не думала ни о чем ни думая, взяла перо
Стала легче тут мне как, слово “Слабо”,
Вдруг открыло между строчек суть
Ту ж самую что была когда-тогда
Ее мы вместе разбирая, ушла навек-
Туда где счастье спит, да грёзы скук
Откроют глазки, и споют, на показ куда.
Бегут все время – паруса тех людей,
Проснувшихся когда все спят и волей
Произносят заветнные слова под руку,
Не забывая свой век да и муку

By Katherine Pisarro-Grant

Flash fiction refers to miniscule stories — the exact length is not widely accepted, although the maximum is generally 1000 words (flashfiction.com imposes this limit). Some go for 300, some for 55, some for 7. Whatever the length, the idea is to create a tiny “burst” of a narrative, which should engage the reader and somehow tie things up at the end. An oft-quoted example (usually attributed to Ernest Hemingway, probably apocryphally) is the uber-flash-y “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” See what  he did there? Yeah. That’s the idea. It’s become a popular mode of writing on the internet and in magazines and writing competitions. If the short story presents difficulties in condensing the most crucial parts of a narrative, flash fiction is the existential crisis of creation: how to possibly encapsulate anything meaningful in so few words?

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By Olga Slobodyanyuk 

When the Troika Journal was founded last year, it was intended to be a space for undergraduates to display their interest and achievements in Eastern European and Eurasian cultures. Although our mission has remained unchanged, the journal has grown tremendously since its inception at those first meetings in the corner basement rooms of the library. We release more issues, receive more submissions, and have a bigger, and truly distinctive, editorial staff.

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Welcome back to a new semester!

The release event for our Fall 2011 issue is being held on Thursday, January 26th at 6:30 pm. It is a free event, with music, free Eastern European hors d’oeuvres and, of course, free new issues of the Troika. Please join us at the Magnes Museum at 2121 Allston Way in Berkeley this Thursday! More information about the event can be found here, on the facebook event page. While you’re there, feel free to “like” us on facebook!

In other news, we are already working on our Spring 2012 issue and the deadline for submissions is February 24th. Please take a look at our Submissions page for guidelines on sending your work in! Contact us if you have any questions.

We are also hiring new editors for Spring 2012. Previous experience not neccesary and everyone is welcome (not just Slavic majors, or Slavic language speakers!). Email us at thetroikajournal@gmail.com.

Have a great Spring 2012!
See you on January 26th at our release event!

The Troika Staff

The deadline for submissions for Fall 2011 is now closed and we are hard at work on the new issue! It will be printed and available in January. There will be a release party for the issue at the beginning of the Spring semester; more details to come.

We are still accepting submissions (now for the Spring 2012 issue) so don’t hesitate to send us your work. And as always, if you have any questions or are interested in working with the Troika get in touch at thetroikajournal@gmail.com.

Have a good end of the semester and Happy Thanksgiving!

-The Troika Staff

Welcome back to a new semester! The Troika editors are currently working on the Fall issue, and submissions are being accepted through October 21st. Please look at our Submissions page for more information.

The journal is looking for new Associate editors, as well as a Managing editor. No experience is required for the Associate editor position, and freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to get involved. If you are interested, please e-mail us at thetroikajournal@gmail.com. The next meeting for new and potential editors is Wednesday, September 20th on the Berkeley campus at 5:30 in 108 Wheeler.

We are also looking for new advertisers in the Fall 2011 issue, as well as donations. More information can be found here.

Upcoming Events:

ISEEES (The Institute for East European and Eurasian Studies at UC Berkeley) is holding its Fall reception on September 20th at 4 pm, in the Alumni House on the Berkeley Campus. For more information, please look at the ISEEES website.

The Troika Spring 2011 issue has been printed and is being distributed this week. Copies have been mailed to Slavic departments nationwide, and at UC Berkeley copies are available in the Slavic department and in the ISEEES office. If you would like one mailed to you, contact us at thetroikajournal@gmail.com. It is also available in PDF form under the “Archive” link.