[4] It was published in English, then translated to at least fourteen languages including German,[5] Spanish,[6] French,[7] Russian,[8] and Dutch.

He jumped into the sea and deserted the ship but surviving as planned became a Hercules’ task as he begins struggle against the current.

He became exhausted and just as he was about giving up, he prayed to God for the first time in his life to save his soul, miraculously, his strength was renewed and got a sense of directions.

Sergi’s grandfather was a soldier who fought few wars for USSR and against communism in his country but lost and everything was taken away from him and sent to prison in Siberia where he eventually died in 1928.

They took care of him as their own, however, one of their sons, Andrei is mentally unstable and tries to kill him which made him to run for his dear life and stay away from the Kolmakovs at the age of six.

He lived on the street for ten days scavenging for foods including stealing to survive before he was rescued by a police officer who took him to his station and refused to tell them who he is, they took him to Number One – children orphanage’s home.

Sergei was also taught a valuable lesson by his friend or colleague when he was given the “bulb treatment” (quote) – on trust and naiveness; he saw his life flashed before his eyes but luckily, he did not break his neck in the process.

Due to the pathetic situation in the home, they were no longer supervised or cared about them as long as they did not destroy the State’s properties.

Sergi choose the world of crime that almost ended his life in summer of 1965, when he obtained a large amount of hashish with two of his close friends from Turkestan.

After completing his one-year training at Leningrad, he was assigned to another navy school to continue his study at the Alexander Petropavlovsk Naval Academy in Kamchatka Province far east, north of Japan.

The commander of the base appoints him as the Communist Youth League leader at the of 18 years due to his excellent records.

The Communist Youth League was the party’s watchdog and it is his duty to oversee the political beliefs and dedication to communism of every one of the 1,200 officer cadets under him.

The Communist Youth League often challenge the purely military officers in deciding the merits of a case because political purity was more important than the technical skill.

He reports directly to the local communist party leaders in Moscow and soon become a popular public speaker talking about American imperialism and their involvement in Vietnam, importance of Soviet military might, Marxism-Leninism ideology.

At the age of 18, Sergei is introduced to the KGB by Azrov because Moscow is pleased with his excellent records and they want him to become the head of the newly created branch in his district.

On getting to the station with the suspects, Sergei and his men were chastised by Captain Nikiforov, their supervisor for letting the other believers go free without bruises even though they cooperated.

However, Sergei became disgusted at him and the rest of the leaders in the banqueting hall because he found them drunk and they have been warning the youths to stay away from alcohol.

It looks like they have been fooled, and to make the matter worst, Orlov, in his state of drunkenness curses Stalin which indicates that all their public appearances is just a charade.

His first two attempts to leave Russia via Hungry-Austria and Armenia-Turkey failed due to the presences of Russian Soldiers at the borders, so he had no choice but to return to base with a turmoil mind.

On December 1st, Nikiforov and Azrov (KGB, Major) try to entice him with scholarships and positions and he told them to give him time to think about it.

He was assigned to a Soviet destroyer but he could not escape for the next one month and half he spent on the sea before they returned to base for two weeks break and he lobbied his way to a submarine off the coast of US.

He boarded the submarine on the 4th of March and looked at his homeland for the last time and vowed that he would rather die or be free than to return alive.

Weeks turns to months but he could not escape and continues to perform his duties diligently until mid-June when a Soviet’s trawler, Ivan Serenda came calling that they need a radio officer.

They sailed towards Vandenberg Airforce Base on the California Coast and shortly, he received words that he will be transferred to another trawler, Kolivan, a large Soviet’s fleet.

Elagin encounters a fierce storm which tests the ship’s limit to the point of forcing the captain to order Sergei to inform the Canadian authority to grant them permission to enter their territory, Sergei is happy to hear this because his chances of surviving the icy water have increased.

Around 10pm on September 30, he jumped into the water but he has spent five hours in the freezing sea, climbed 200 – foot cliff, exposed to cold and bleeding from his injuries – he lost consciousness and he was rescued by the people from Tasu village and taken to a hospital where he was revived.

His case becomes a public outcry which stopped his extradition to Russia and stayed in jails for several weeks while his papers are being processed.

In his search for God, he came across a Russian girl who invited him to a Ukrainian church and met a pastor who helped him with his struggle and became born again.

He was found dead in a ski resort motel in Los Angles with a gunshot wound from the gun he borrowed from the father of the family he was staying with.

Through the film, she claims that contrary to her own expectations, there are many inconsistencies in the autobiography, such as the section dealing with Sergei's experience in the Barysevo Orphanage as a child.