Chita

Chita matters as the conspicuous place Strelnikov’s pursuers search while he is hiding nearby, turning his reputation into a temporary form of cover that soon fails.

A Search Centered on Reputation

Strelnikov tells Yurii Andreievich Zhivago that he reached the area after escaping eastward hide-outs and crossing Siberia on foot. Because he was so well known in Chita, he assumed it was the last place his pursuers would expect him to return to; he believed they would not imagine he had the nerve to hide there.

Concealment Nearby

The search did continue around Chita, but Strelnikov says he was concealed either in the house where he is speaking or in one or two other places he knew to be safe in the neighborhood. The distinction between the searched-for town and the nearby hiding places gives his account its precarious geography: he relies on familiar, secure shelters while the authorities look in the conspicuous area around them.

Exposure and Renewed Pursuit

Strelnikov’s cover does not last. After a young tramp betrayed the location of one of his hide-outs to the local Cheka in exchange for a chance to save his imprisoned mother, Strelnikov escaped before the betrayal could reach its conclusion. He later crossed Siberia through what he describes as endless adventures and arrived in the region around Chita. By the time he tells Zhivago this history, his current concealment has also been exposed, and he says his pursuers are on his trail. Chita thus marks not a secure refuge but a recurring point in a flight repeatedly interrupted by discovery.