Vladimir Golyakhovsky. The Jewish Saga. Book Two. The Cup of Suffering.

The Berg family are the only fictional characters in the novel. Everything else—both people and events—is real and reflects the historical truth of the first two decades of Soviet Russia. The storylines intersect with the Bergs' history, which is why the book can be called a "novel-history."

In the first book, Pavel Berg takes part in the Civil War and then enrolls at the Institute of Red Professors. In a short time, the young man from a poor Jewish family becomes a professor and specialist in military history. But the family's prosperity is suddenly cut short, and hard times begin. The second book, "The Cup of Suffering," recounts this period.