Some sides of Russian life looked completely illogical. Many everyday life facts were not very understandable for American readers, when they read the story, Farewell Slav.
It was hard to explain what it meant - exchange of apartments. Why was this exchange so difficult in the USSR and why did it require many bribes from various officials? Why did the bureaucrats not work without bribes? Moreover, why did the authority threaten to send to prison the main personage of this story just for exchanging apartments?
Yefim applied for emigration from the USSR. The KGB tried to prevent him from leaving the country and threatening to arrest him. Yefim plays trick on the KGB by using a phone surveillance system.
He discusses with his friend the overall sense of emigration, role of Good and Evil in the human life.
When you read this story, you can see the typical Russian intellectuals and how they live under totalitarian regime.
