Mr. X: i will politely decline the suggestion to move to the fertile lands of the Volga.

My family broke that sod for Catherine. They prospered for awhile. Then, just a century ago, the family drew straws to see who would stay and who would go before the troubles engulfed them.

My side left all the property and started over with nothing but their lives. The ones who stayed and tried to keep their land did not do as well. The last heard from them was a letter from Siberia.