The day Vladimir was born Anatoly was nine and had just been expelled from his first school. It was freezing cold and snowing and Anatoly's mother cried when she heard the news. He was going to turn out just like his father, she sobbed and shut herself in her bedroom for the rest of the day.
At nine Anatoly was already an independent child and this emotional outburst had little effect on him. He helped himself to food from the fridge and went out to meet his friends.
When he got back to the apartment, just as it was getting dark, he found it quiet and deserted. Neither of his parents were there. With a shrug he let himself in with the spare key, heated a can of soup for his evening meal and curled up on the faded, old sofa to watch TV. It never occurred to him to wonder where his parents were. They would show up again eventually.
It was nearing midnight when Anatoly heard the sound of a key in the lock and his father appeared in the doorway, covered with snow. He briefly told Anatoly that his mother was at the hospital and that he had a baby brother and then stamped off into the tiny kitchen to get himself a drink.
When Anatoly went to bed that night he had a good feeling about his new little brother. He was sure they would get on, once the baby was older. He smiled up at his bedroom ceiling and decided that it would be nice to have some responsibility and to have somebody to look out for.
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Three weeks passed before baby Vladimir was allowed to finally come home. He had picked up a minor infection and had to be monitored at the hospital. Anatoly visited him every day to make sure he was recovering. He already felt surprisingly protective of his little brother.
After just a few day his mother had been allowed to come home, but he had the feeling she would have rather stayed in hospital to bond with her new son. Anatoly had once overheard her complaining to his father that Vladimir didn't seem to like her. It was true, the baby did start to cry every time she picked him up. Every time she and Anatoly were in the same room as Vladimir together he got the feeling that she was jealous of him and resented the fact the his brother seemed to like him, as he never cried when Anatoly was holding him. Soon Anatoly started avoiding his mother, just to get away from the envy he could feel radiating off her.
When Vladimir eventually was allowed to come home there was an argument as to where to put his crib. Anatoly wanted him to share his room, so that he could keep an eye on him in case he got sick again, but his mother wanted the baby with her. In the end Vladimir settled the argument by refusing to sleep in his parents' room and crying all night until his bed was moved into his older brother's room. His mother refused to speak to Anatoly for a week after that.
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The tension in the family increased, if possible, over the next months. Anatoly and his mother had never been particularly close, but now Vladimir seemed to have come between them for good. She was unable to get over her jealousy and the fact that she was envious of a child, her own son, embarrassed her and made her more angry.
The only times Anatoly ever really spoke to his mother any more were when she was telling him off about his behaviour at school, which was steadily worsening. He had stopped doing his homework and now rarely attended school. Also, he had been caught fighting with other children. Anatoly was clever enough to do well at school and his grades, when he did show up, reflected that, but he just didn't want to be at school. Instead, he spent most of his days out working with his father, sometimes as a lookout during a robbery and sometimes stealing things himself. His mother was furious, but there was nothing she could do.
When he was at home Anatoly spent most of his time with his baby brother. Whenever he saw his brother now, Vladimir smiled and reached up his tiny hands to be lifted up. Anatoly loved him, in a way he had never been close to his parents, and spent hours telling him stories about how, when they were older, they would work together as respected thieves. It never occurred to him to think about a nice, normal career, like his mother wanted him to have. He wanted an exciting life, just like his father.
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One day, a wet and rainy Sunday, Anatoly and his family were sat at their kitchen table, sharing a rare meal, as a family. Anatoly was bored and was eagerly waiting for an excuse to escape. Clearly, so was Vladimir, as he kept reaching out to his brother, in a way that made it quite clear he wanted to leave. Every time he did this, their mother threw him an angry glance and Anatoly had to bite his tongue to stop himself from snapping at her.
He was looking down at his plate, playing with his food, when suddenly a little, demanding voice interrupted the awkward silence. 'Tolya', it said crossly. Anatoly looked up startled. Vladimir was staring straight at him. 'Tolya', he repeated. It took a second to sink in and then Anatoly was out of his chair, beaming and hugging his little brother. It was the first word he had ever said. Anatoly was thrilled that it had been his name. Vladimir looked pleased with himself, as his older brother snatched him up and dashed from the room with him. The last thing Anatoly noticed before the kitchen door swung shut behind them was the poisonous look his mother was giving both of them. Then the door slammed and Anatoly put her out of his mind and spent the rest of the evening trying to encourage Vladimir to say other words.
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Anatoly first got into trouble with the police two years later, when he was caught stealing from the shop around the corner from where he lived. The owner of the shop saw him slip something into his coat pocket and called the police, but when they searched him there was nothing there. Young Anatoly smiled mockingly up at them and assured them that it had all been a mistake.
The police officers were furious and warned him that he would be arrested if they ever caught him stealing, but there was nothing else they could do. They were sure he was guilty, but there was no evidence. They had to content themselves with taking him home and telling his mother what had happened.
She thanked them, showed them out and then rounded on Anatoly, yelling at him that he was going to ruin his life and become a criminal just like his father. She tried to hit him, but he was too quick and ducked under her arm and out of the room, leaving her crying at the kitchen table.
Anatoly went to find his little brother, who was sat on his ragged bedroom carpet, rolling a ball backwards and forwards for himself. His face brightened when he saw his brother and he clambered to his feet and toddled over. His obvious preference for Anatoly was a constant source of jealousy and anger for their mother. She rarely did anything with Vladimir and sometimes Anatoly even had the feeling she disliked the toddler.
Sitting down on the carpet beside Vladimir, Anatoly reached into his jumper and pulled out a bar of chocolate, the same bar he had just stolen from around the corner. As they shared the treat he told Vladimir all about the police and what had happened. His brother grinned up at him the whole time, hanging on his every word. Anatoly had just become his hero as well as his beloved older brother.
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Vladimir was only five years old when his father was shot and killed by a police officer during an armed robbery. He was at home in their tiny apartment, sat in the gloomy kitchen when it happened. The first thing he heard about it was Anatoly speaking to their mother in low voices in the next room, followed by crying and the sound of a door slamming. Then his brother appeared in the doorway, his face worried. He sat down beside Vladimir and briefly related what had happened. Vladimir listened quietly and then hugged his brother. He was sad, but he had not been very close to his father.
For a whole week their mother refused to leave her room. Anatoly left food for her outside the door and she must have eaten it because when she did finally emerge she looked much the same as usual. Their lives carried on like they had before, just instead of arguing with her husband about his chosen career, their mother now argued with Anatoly. Anatoly ignored her.
When she saw her arguments were having no effect their mother grew gradually more distant. She found herself a new boyfriend and started staying out late. Anatoly and Vladimir hardly noticed that she wasn't there. Anatoly started taking his younger brother with him when he went out, leaving him as a lookout when he was working. He began to save the money he got with the vague idea that he and Vladimir could leave home one day and live together on their own.
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A year later their mother went out with her new boyfriend one day and never came back. She left a brief and unemotional letter for Anatoly, telling him that she was leaving and she never wanted to see either of them again. Six-year-old Vladimir didn't even get a note.
As they were still too young to live alone, the two boys were sent to live with their uncle. Neither of them were very happy about this. They knew the uncle was the older brother of their father, but they had only met him once before. He lived in a tiny apartment and he hated children.
The day they arrived in their new home he was out and they were forced to wait outside on the doorstep for two hours. When their uncle eventually returned home he was not pleased to see them. He showed them their room, no bigger then a cupboard with only one bed, and then left them to their own devices. They shared sandwiches Anatoly had made at home and the curled up together on the bed and Anatoly read his brother a story. As Vladimir fell asleep Anatoly promised himself that they wouldn't stay in their uncle's horrible flat a day longer than was absolutely necessary.
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For a few months Anatoly, Vladimir and their uncle got along fairly well together by ignoring each other. During the morning Vladimir was at school and Anatoly, who had already left school, made sure to be out working. He had taken over his father's role, where he was now trusted and accepted despite his young age. Then in the afternoon Anatoly picked Vladimir up from school and the two of them stayed out until it was dark and their uncle would have gone to bed. At the weekends they went out early and stayed out all day.
Then a few day before Vladimir turned seven he was taken ill and couldn't leave the apartment. Anatoly wanted to stay with him, but had an important meeting. He promised he'd be back as soon as possible and left his little brother in bed, resting.
The meeting went well and Anatoly returned in a good mood, excited to tell his brother about it. When he opened the door he heard shouting coming from the kitchen. Vladimir and his uncle were arguing. It didn't surprise Anatoly, from what he had seen of his uncle, he was a tactless and rude person and Vladimir was already stubborn and easily offended. He hurried into the kitchen to break up the argument.
As Anatoly pushed the door open he was just in time to see his uncle lunge at Vladimir and hit him. Furious, Anatoly threw himself at his uncle. He broke his uncle's nose.
As soon as he had stopped the bleeding, their uncle called the police and Anatoly was arrested. Due to his behaviour at school, the fights he'd had with other children and the suspected thefts, the police refused to listen when he insisted he had been defending his brother. Anatoly was sent to prison for a year.
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During his time in prison Anatoly missed his little brother very much. He often wished Vladimir would visit him, but he knew their uncle would never agree to take Vladimir to see his brother. Anatoly just hoped that Vladimir was being as restrained as possible and not arguing with his uncle too much. Vladimir had always been stubborn and could bare a grudge indefinitely.
Anatoly spent his time deciding on what he would do once he got out. There was no question about the fact that he would never live with his uncle again. He had money, he would take Vladimir and they would live somewhere together.
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The first thing Anatoly did when he was released was to go to his uncle's home, pack all his things, take Vladimir and leave. He refused to tell his uncle where they were going. He never wanted to speak to the man again. He had saved enough money to be able to pay for somewhere to live and he knew an old criminal friend of his father's who would help them.
As they walked Vladimir told him what had happened while he had been away. He had been expelled from school and at his new school he was already in trouble for fighting, he had run away from his uncle's home four times when his uncle had refused to take him to see Anatoly in prison, and he had learned how to pick locks, so he could break into peoples' flats. Vladimir was particularly proud of this new skill and Anatoly had to restrain him from demonstrating it to him. They would have time for that later.
It was getting late by the time they arrived outside an old apartment block and Anatoly knocked on the door. They were let in by a thin woman with greying hair. Anatoly left Vladimir waiting in the hall and went into one of the apartments to talk to his father's friend, who owned the building. The man was an experienced thief, who appreciated Anatoly's talents and remembered his father well. He agreed to let them rent an apartment.
That night Anatoly and Vladimir moved into a cramped one-bedroom flat with mould on the walls and a damp patch on the ceiling. It was cold and dark, but as he lay in bed, his arms wrapped around his brother, Anatoly felt proud that they were finally independent. From here things could only improve and one day he was sure, together, they would achieve their childhood dreams of being powerful and respected.