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Punctured Lines

@puncturedlines.bsky.social
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Post-Soviet Literature in and outside the Former Soviet Union. Blog by Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social and Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social puncturedlines.com

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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This book is both lyrical and tells a unique and rather sad story of migration. As the world rebuilds its walls, those of us with families elsewhere become ever so trapped and disconnected. It's good to have these poems for companionship and solace.
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Enjoy poems from Elina Katrin’s collection Overwintered (@triohousepress.org, 2027) -- full poems available on Punctured Lines. Katrin is a Syrian-Russian immigrant poet who lives in Los Angeles. Her poems are characterized by themes of immigration, dislocation, and cultural hybridity.
Dark text on pale green background and book cover on the right.Dark text on pale green background and book cover on the right.Dark text on pale green background and book cover on the right.Author portrait and book cover. Text copied from the post.
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
ICYMI, with many thanks to @olgaz.bsky.social for help with editing and technology.
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
ICYMI: Poems from Elina Katrin’s Overwintered. Katrin is a Syrian-Russian immigrant poet living in LA, whose English-language poetry incorporates Russian and Arabic. Overwintered is out in February and you can get a taste for it below and pre-order here: triohousepress.myshopify.com/.../pre-order.
triohousepress.myshopify.com
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
And I also love the way this poem appears to be in conversation with the poem by Jane Muschenetz, "Yevgenia," that we published three years ago and that appeared in her collection ALL THE BAD GIRLS WEAR RUSSIAN ACCENTS. puncturedlines.com/2023/11/14/v...
puncturedlines.com
Vinegret, a Recipe for Disaster by Jane Muschenetz
I want to tell you something small, in the great turning of this world, intimate as your grandmother’s soup. When you boil beets, carrots, and potatoes together, the potatoes will soften first, eve…
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In her poems, Elina Katrin beautifully captures the multicultural immigrant experience. She begins with her name, showing the way her Russian and Syrian roots weave together in three syllables that to many in her adopted country continue to be inscrutable.
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Now on the blog. Thank you @olgaz.bsky.social for the editing help.
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Today we are featuring poems from Elina Katrin’s collection Overwintered. Katrin is a Syrian-Russian immigrant poet who lives in Los Angeles. Her poems are characterized by themes of immigration, dislocation, and cultural hybridity, and a mixture of languages. puncturedlines.com/2026/09/25/e...
puncturedlines.com
Elina Katrin’s Overwintered: Three Poems
Today we are featuring poems from Elina Katrin’s collection Overwintered (Trio House Press, 2027). Katrin is a Syrian-Russian immigrant poet who lives in Los Angeles. Her poems are characteri…
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Paperpills 💊🇵🇸❤️ @paperpills10.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Did a resemblance of faces result in a resemblance of fates? Were there similar fates for the heroines of Nizami Ganjavi's poems? #Djabbarova26 #MyDreadfulBody www.chaiandconversation.com/persian-poet...
chaiandconversation.com
sokhanee chand dar eshgh (A Few Words on Love): Intro - Persian Poetry
In this lesson, we introduce Nezami Ganjavi, an important 12th-century poet in the cultures of Iran, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, and Tajiki...
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Paperpills 💊🇵🇸❤️ @paperpills10.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My Dreadful Body #Djabbarova26 #MyDreadfulBody starts today! readinganactofsharedsolitude.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/m...
readinganactofsharedsolitude.wordpress.com
My Dreadful Body #Djabbarova26 starts today!
My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova Shall we make it a slow read? Starting September 11th. 11 chapters in 11 days. Feel free to read at your own pace. It was obvious to me from childhood that if I…
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"Where I come from in Leningrad, everyone wrote poetry. A lot of people who should never have touched a typewriter or a pencil still did it. I wasn’t immune, so I did too." @olgaz.bsky.social puncturedlines.com/2026/09/09/n...
puncturedlines.com
New Perspectives on a Familiar Past: An Interview with Maxim Matusevich by Svetlana Satchkova
Maxim Matusevich’s fiction is filled with people crossing borders — between countries, languages, identities, and versions of the past. That seems fitting for a writer whose own life has taken him …
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Maxim Matusevich’s fiction is filled with people crossing borders—between countries, languages, identities, and versions of the past. Svetlana Satchkova interviewed him about his debut story collection and unlikely path to fiction thru immigration and academia. Read on the blog and buy the book!
Light blue background with a brown text box, two author portraits and a book cover.Light blue background with brown text.Light blue background with brown text.Light blue background with brown text.
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Bergstrom Press and Books @bergstrompressbooks.com · 28/08/2026
Support these publishers any way you can. Buy a book, by a book in translation (try HURI Books for example) or donate directly. We will continue to import and offer for you everything from Ukrainian classics to translations.
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Bergstrom Press and Books @bergstrompressbooks.com · 28/08/2026
Once again, we receive word that another Russian missile has destroyed, not a military target, but Ukrainian books. Our friends Ababahalamaha reported that their warehouse was hit. Other reports mention at least 60,000 books burned and destroyed in the attack. Why?
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
And thank you, @olgaz.bsky.social for the great slides below.
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The Slavic Literature Pod @slaviclitpod.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Around the turn of the 20th century, Akhmet Baitursynov was a poet of a state yet to come. His work teaching, reforming the Kazakh alphabet, and developing the language's grammar would eventually earn him the title "Teacher of the Nation."
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Alina Adams and Irena Smith happened to have crossed paths as newly arrived immigrant children in the U.S., and now they both have come out with new books. Check out their conversation on Punctured Lines that touches upon their immigrant childhood, the USSR and post-Soviet migrations --
A poster with author portraits as children on the left and book covers on the right.Dark text on bluish background.Dark text on bluish background.Dark text on bluish background.
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
ICYMI: “This Bone-Deep Memory of Movement”: A Conversation between Alina Adams and Irena Smith. @olgaz.bsky.social
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
ICYMI: A conversation between Alina Sivorinovsky Wickham and Irena Smith about books, immigration, and more. "I suspect my early childhood experience of only moving forward, without looking back, colors so much of my writing and my characters’ experiences." puncturedlines.com/2026/08/18/t...
puncturedlines.com
“This Bone-Deep Memory of Movement”: A Conversation between Alina Adams and Irena Smith
It is our pleasure to present a conversation between Alina Adams, whose writing has been featured several times on Punctured Lines (here and here) and Irena Smith, whom we welcome for the first tim…
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"This sort of restlessness, this bone-deep memory of movement, whether by choice or by necessity—I think that that gets passed on generationally. And since we were both young when we left, we didn’t get a lot of say in where, or whether, we were going." puncturedlines.com/2026/08/18/t...
puncturedlines.com
“This Bone-Deep Memory of Movement”: A Conversation between Alina Adams and Irena Smith
It is our pleasure to present a conversation between Alina Adams, whose writing has been featured several times on Punctured Lines (here and here) and Irena Smith, whom we welcome for the first tim…
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De Balie @debalie.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Last night, Artists Against the Kremlin opened at De Balie, in collaboration with @themoscowtimes.com. The exhibition brings together more than 70 works by Russian-speaking artists, including @pussyriot.bsky.social and many others. Free admission until 6 September. 📸 Viktoryia Kharytonova
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Lisa C. Hayden @lizoksbooks.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thank you to @paperpills10.bsky.social for hosting a group read of my translation of Egana Djabbarova's My Dreadful Body!
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
A book on a patch of weeds.
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Paperpills 💊🇵🇸❤️ @paperpills10.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Is there any interest in doing a group read of #MyDreadfulBody? I know people have gone off in different directions. Let me know.
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
For those who read in Russian, the title is "Руки женщин моей семьи были не для письма." (If you read in the original but it's not the language of the country you live in, does it or does it not count as translated literature? (Not seriously) asking for lots of us.)
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's #WitMonth, and among the many phenomenal titles, see below for @paperpills10.bsky.social's call for a group read of My Dreadful Body by Egana Dzhabbarova, translated from Russian by @lizoksbooks.bsky.social Writer, translator, group read leader are all women, and this novel is FABULOUS.
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
And a review of the novel - thank you, @olgaz.bsky.social for posting it: Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body: Exploring the Wounded Self and Belonging in Azerbaijani Diaspora Literature | The Common share.google/oYp9tmvo19uf...
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Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body: Exploring the Wounded Self and Belonging in Azerbaijani Diaspora Literature
BRITTA STROMEYER <br> [She] braids personal ache into a collective anthem, forcing readers to confront the weight of unhealed personal and shared wounds. Her prose demands a new definition of beauty, ...
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
And a Q&A with Lisa @lizoksbooks.bsky.social about her translating the novel: puncturedlines.com/2026/07/15/c...
puncturedlines.com
Creating a Vivid World: A Q&A with Lisa C. Hayden, the translator of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body
The publication of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body by New Vessel Press earlier this year is an important contribution to feminist russophone literature available to readers in English translati…
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Read an excerpt from My Dreadful Body to get a taste (no pun intended) on @puncturedlines.bsky.social: Tongue: An Excerpt from Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body, translated by Lisa C. Hayden – Punctured Lines share.google/nHFQaUMbxA85...
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Tongue: An Excerpt from Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body, translated by Lisa C. Hayden
We’re celebrating today the arrival of an eagerly anticipated novel that portrays the life of a young woman from a traditional Azerbaijani community in Russia. A feminist poet, essayist, scho…
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Read a phenomenal novel - in Russian, or translated by @lizoksbooks.bsky.social - with Reem, the phenomenal leader of group reads on Twitter and now on here. You won't regret either of these two things.
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
"The narrator’s toil with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, serves as a visceral metaphor for this history; the illness not only robs her of speech and physical autonomy but mirrors the cultural constraints that have long stifled the women in her family."
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Egana Dzhabbarova's poetry reading during an online event held in May 2025 at Amherst College, hosted by Polina Barskova and Catherine Ciepiela, "felt like a litmus test" to @lizoksbooks.bsky.social as she listened before finalizing her translation of MY DREADFUL BODY. For deeper appreciation: 1/5
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body, trans. Lisa C. Hayden @lizoksbooks.bsky.social Buy Lisa's translation: newvesselpress.com/books/my-dre... and for Russian speakers, the original: bergstrompressbooks.com/en/fiction/1...
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Don't miss @lizoksbooks.bsky.social's interview about translating My Dreadful Body! (With apologies to Lisa--these types of slides that look good on social media can feel a bit over the top, & I bet you would prefer the understated... here's me trying to get social media to work for what matters.)
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
"One of the reasons I love My Dreadful Body so much is that I identify very closely with how Egana writes about the limitations that society, traditions, and family members inflict on women." @olgaz.bsky.social's Q&A with @lizoksbooks.bsky.social puncturedlines.com/2026/07/15/c...
puncturedlines.com
Creating a Vivid World: A Q&A with Lisa C. Hayden, the translator of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body
The publication of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body by New Vessel Press earlier this year is an important contribution to feminist russophone literature available to readers in English translati…
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Punctured Lines @puncturedlines.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The publication of Egana Djabbarova's My Dreadful Body by @newvesselpress.bsky.social is an important contribution to feminist russophone literature in English translation. We’re diving deeper into the context of this remarkable book in our interview w its translator, @lizoksbooks.bsky.social.
Two author pictures next to a book cover. Dark text on a light background. Dark text on a light background. Dark text on a light background next to a book cover.
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Lisa C. Hayden @lizoksbooks.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Huge thanks to @olgaz.bsky.social and @yelenafurman.bsky.social for the opportunity to Q&A about my translation of Egana Djabbarova's My Dreadful Body, published by @newvesselpress.bsky.social in the US & Linden Editions in the UK!
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Bergstrom Press and Books @bergstrompressbooks.com · 15/07/2026
Yay! Look at these translations in our main book display at the bookstore :)
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
"I love the way Egana structured the novel, focusing on one body part per chapter. This is the sort of framework that keeps me interested, both as a reader and as a translator." Thank you, @lizoksbooks.bsky.social and @olgaz.bsky.social for this marvelous Q&A. puncturedlines.com/2026/07/15/c...
puncturedlines.com
Creating a Vivid World: A Q&A with Lisa C. Hayden, the translator of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body
The publication of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body by New Vessel Press earlier this year is an important contribution to feminist russophone literature available to readers in English translati…
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Paperpills 💊🇵🇸❤️ @paperpills10.bsky.social · 31/03/2024
Thank you Yelena Furman For introducing us to #Voznesenskaya24📚🐦 #TheWomensDecameron!!! What a delightful read!!! #JuliaVoznesenskaya #readinganactofsharedsolitude #paperpills🇵🇸❤️ #ReemReel #AThingOfBeauty www.instagram.com/reel/C5MAoBQ...
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Paper Pills on Instagram:
0 likes, 0 comments - paperpills10 on March 31, 2024:
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Longtail News @longtail-news.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Feed: "Five Minutes" By: Yelena Furman on Thursday, September 4, 2025
fiveminutelit.com
The Double
This time, someone emails to subpoena records of my supposed coworker.
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Narrative @narrativemag.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
“I was in my early twenties when I discovered what my name was.” —Yelena Furman, “Naming”
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Delighted to have this conversation with @lizoksbooks.bsky.social up on @puncturedlines.bsky.social today! I'll post it properly in the next couple of days, with graphics and all. Buy the book from the most wonderful @newvesselpress.bsky.social!! puncturedlines.com/2026/07/15/c...
puncturedlines.com
Creating a Vivid World: A Q&A with Lisa C. Hayden, the translator of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body
The publication of Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body by New Vessel Press earlier this year is an important contribution to feminist russophone literature available to readers in English translati…
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Yelena Furman @yelenafurman.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
"We pride ourselves on editing and on working with our authors to develop their pieces. Which makes us slow! But also--I believe--worth the while." As the contributor to the slowness, very much agree. Love working with you, @olgaz.bsky.social !
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Back then, Tatsiana had just completed her novel ab memory & digital immortality that became a wonderful Смерти.net--another as of yet untranslated novel worthy of attention! Today, we're running an excerpt from Satchkova's 2026 Eng-language debut. Check it out! puncturedlines.com/2026/06/17/a...
puncturedlines.com
A Psychological Thriller with a Touch of Mythology: An Excerpt from Svetlana Satchkova’s The Undead
Svetlana Satchkova’s English-language debut, The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, was published earlier this year by Melville House Publishing to rave reviews. It’s a story of an aspir…
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Last but not least for today, from the year 2020, is a translation of Svetlana Satchkova's interview with Tatsiana Zamirovskaya that we titled “Just because Belarusians write in Russian doesn’t mean they’re a part of Russian culture.” puncturedlines.com/2020/08/07/j...
puncturedlines.com
“Just because Belarusians write in Russian doesn’t mean they’re a part of Russian culture”: An Interview with Tatsiana Zamirovskaya
This is a translation of a Russian-language interview conducted by Svetlana Satchkova and published by Storytel on June 16, 2020. The translation is by Fiona Bell. Tatsiana Zamirovskaya is a writer…
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Hilah Kohen's Twitter thread to a link of resources on Blackness, Racism, and Russian and Eurasian Studies. You can still find it on X, but PL's story provides a bit more context: puncturedlines.com/2020/07/21/r...
puncturedlines.com
Readings on Blackness, Racism, and Russian and Eurasian Studies
This post reproduces and documents a Twitter thread that began on June 3, 2020, with articles by Aisha Powell, Sarah Valentine, B. Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz, and Jennifer Wilson. Various members of …
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
-- @yelenafurman.bsky.social 's classic Book Love post about Julia Voznesenskaya's The Women's Decameron -- speaking of great untranslated books -- really, English language translation publishers, take note!! puncturedlines.com/2020/07/15/b...
puncturedlines.com
Book Love: Julia Voznesenskaya’s The Women’s Decameron
(This blog post had to happen sometime.) Sure, we’ve all fallen in love with people, but some of us have also fallen in love with books. I was in my early twenties, living in a newly post-Sov…
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Olga Zilberbourg @olgaz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
-- My piece on Carolyn Gold Heilbrun's monograph about Constance Garnett that keeps coming up for me for various good and bad readsons: puncturedlines.com/2020/07/07/c...
puncturedlines.com
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun on Constance Garnett
Most readers of Punctured Lines are likely familiar with the name of Constance Garnett — English-language translator from Russian par excellence — and so I’ll begin this post with…
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