Out Of Siberia

Out Of Siberia Synopsis

The beautiful city of Zheleznogorsk, the Jewel of Siberia, is home to Maya, a bright teen-aged girl.The city is enclosed with a fence, to secure its underground nuclear plant and its sputnik factory. As Maya's mom harvests veggies and as Maya picks berries in the summer garden (dacha), their history is revealed.

The Soviet government recruited the brightest university students to work in the weapons complex, and Maya's parents were among them. These are the chocolate eaters, people who did patriotic work under the communists, and received privileges that they are no longer getting. The day at the garden culminates with Maya and her family enjoying tea together, with cake from Maya's berries.

Maya loves the outdoors and her parents take her camping in summer and skiing in winter. She competes on a cross-country ski team, and Maya comes up the final hill to her coach's cheering. She's not a winner, but her mother congratulates her for completing the rigorous course.

Because the city is closed there is no mafia presence to speak of. The streets are safe for old and young, and Maya has always felt secure. However, the nuclear complex is changing, and there are limited job opportunities for Maya's generation.
Maya is an excellent student, but as she looks ahead, she becomes interested in Moscow University. She and her mother make a special trip by train to Moscow, and Maya applies. She wins a place at the university and studies World Economy with a Japanese specialty. She is eager to help innovate the Russian economy upon graduation.

The big city is strange at first, but when her mother comes to visit in the summer, she is happy to find Maya has adapted well. No longer a child of privilege, Maya must now make it on her own at a time of great growth and change in Russia. The lessons of trust, security and love of nature she learned in her unique Siberian hometown, serve Maya well in her new life.