Platonov questions

[Pangloss Publishing]

Dear Colleagues,

Could anyone help me understand a difficult passage in Sokrovennyi
chelovek (which I'm attempting to translate)? This is at the
beginning of chapter 3. The commissar tells the main character,
Pukhov, that the fighting is over and the Reds have taken Simferopol.
Pukhov replies, " Why not? Tam vozdukh khoroshij, solntsepek krutoj,
a Sovetskuiu vlast' v spinu vosh' zhzhet, ona i pret na belykh."
Although I can translate the words, the sense escapes me, and I don't
understand how this leads to the conversation that follows. Is this a
political or historical reference?

Also, could someone give me any information on Platonov's appeal
outside literary circles in contemporary Russia? If there are any
relatively popular sources that have discussed his work, I'd like to
know about them.

Many thanks for any help you can give,

Jane Chamberlain
Student, University of Texas at Austin

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