Yulia Adelson: The Quiet Architect of a Family’s Survival in Atomic Anna

Overview and Role in Atomic Anna

Yulia Adelson is the moral and emotional fulcrum of Rachel Barenbaum’s novel. Introduced as Anna Berkova’s closest friend during their wartime years in Leningrad, Yulia eventually becomes the adoptive mother of Anna’s daughter, Manya (renamed Molly). Her central act—smuggling Molly out of the Soviet Union to raise her in America—drives the novel’s multi-generational plot. Unlike Anna, who is consumed by science and guilt, Yulia is defined by gritty pragmatism, fierce loyalty, and an almost superhuman capacity for love. She is the character who makes the hardest choice so others can have a future.

Plot Role: From Friend to Mother

Yulia first appears in Anna’s life after Anna returns from Berlin. In Chapter 4, Yulia introduces herself as a fellow Jew who has survived pogroms, famine, and the death of her sister Ruth. She quickly becomes Anna’s anchor, teaching her that identity can be embraced in private while hidden in public. During the Siege of Leningrad, Yulia persuades Anna to take in Lazar and Malka Adelson after their parents are killed by a bomb while waiting in a breadline (Chapter 6). This act of compassion foreshadows her later willingness to raise Anna’s child.

Yulia’s most defining plot moment occurs when Anna, mentally deteriorating under Yasha’s surveillance, begs Yulia to take two-year-old Manya and flee to America (Chapter 21). After months of resistance, Yulia agrees. She and Lazar smuggle Manya out of the USSR, giving the girl a new identity and a new life as Molly Adelson in Philadelphia. The novel reveals that Yulia never tells Molly about her past—a protective lie that shapes all subsequent family dynamics.

As Molly grows up, Yulia becomes the stable matriarch. She endures Molly’s addiction, Raisa’s anger, and the secret of Manya’s origin. In Chapter 25, when Raisa confronts her grandparents about the “kidnapping,” Yulia explains that Anna gave the child to them willingly, but Raisa feels betrayed. Yulia and Lazar’s silence was meant to protect, but it also created a wall of misunderstanding that Raisa must dismantle.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Yulia is motivated by love and survival, not ideology. Her early life taught her that power is arbitrary—her parents were killed by a factory owner’s false accusations, her sister died in a loom accident (Chapter 4). These losses make her fiercely protective of anyone she considers family. She never abandons Anna, even when Anna’s mental health crumbles. She never abandons Molly, even when Molly’s addiction strains their relationship. She even provides a home for Lazar and Malka, though they are not blood relatives.

Her pragmatism is evident in her linguistic skills—she becomes an interpreter, learning languages to survive. In Leningrad, she uses that skill to help others and to secure a place for herself. Later, she insists on teaching English to Malka, preparing for a possible escape to America (Chapter 6). Yulia’s love is not sentimental but active; she frames Molly’s artwork, buys her pens, and sits with her during labor (Chapter 8). She also protects Molly’s secrets, like her addiction, from the authorities.

Chronological Arc

• 1938–1941 (Leningrad): Yulia and Anna live together, sharing a deep bond. Yulia takes in Lazar and Malka after their parents’ death. She dreams of America but stays for Anna.
• 1949 onward (After Manya’s birth): Yulia becomes Manya’s caregiver. Anna’s mental health declines. Yasha surveils Anna, and Yulia witnesses the marriage’s destruction.
• 1951 (The Escape): Yulia agrees to take Manya to America. She and Lazar flee the USSR, cutting all ties with Anna.
• 1960s–1970s (Philadelphia): Yulia raises Molly, supports her artistic ambitions, and endures her rebellion, addiction, and imprisonment. She helps deliver Raisa (Chapter 8).
• 1986–1992 (Later Years): Yulia faces the consequences of her secret. Anna time-travels and meets Yulia in Philadelphia (Chapter 8 scene with the stranger), asking for help. Yulia refuses, insisting Anna change Molly’s life instead. Yulia remains the family’s emotional center until the end.

Key Relationships

Anna Berkova: Yulia’s primary relationship is with Anna, which she describes as “sister” (Chapter 4). Although Anna may have had romantic feelings, Yulia never reciprocates. Their bond is strong enough that Yulia is willing to sacrifice her own future to save Anna’s child. When Anna reappears as an old woman time-traveler, Yulia rebukes her for not helping Molly directly.

Molly (Manya) Adelson: Yulia becomes Molly’s de facto mother. She loves Molly without condition, yet she also enables some of Molly’s escapes by not forcing the truth about her origins. When Molly is arrested, Yulia and Lazar agree to raise Raisa, though the legal system intervenes. Yulia’s love is the only consistent maternal presence Molly knows.

Lazar Adelson: Yulia marries Lazar after they flee together. Their relationship is built on shared trauma and a common goal. He helps her raise Molly. In Chapter 8, we see them as a unified front, calling Molly together from a payphone.

Raisa Adelson: Raisa grows up idolizing Yulia and Lazar, believing them to be her biological grandparents. When Raisa discovers the truth about Molly’s kidnapping (Chapter 25), she feels betrayed. Yulia’s response—“We imagined we were protecting you” (Chapter 25)—shows the tragic gap between intention and outcome.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Theme and Symbol Connections

Motherhood and Sacrifice: Yulia epitomizes the theme of maternal sacrifice. She gives up the chance to have her own biological child (she never mentions wanting one), and instead raises another woman’s daughter. Her sacrifice is quiet, unpaid, and lifelong. In Chapter 21, Anna acknowledges this: “You must take Manya and go.” Yulia’s willingness to go to America—a country she once defended but Anna despised—is a profound sacrifice of her own identity for the child.

Intergenerational Trauma: The secrecy around Molly’s birth and Yulia’s past trauma (losing her sister Ruth) echoes into the next generation. Raisa inherits not only Molly’s artistic talent but also her suspicion and anger. Yulia’s attempt to protect by lying becomes a source of pain.

Identity and Assimilation: Yulia represents the immigrant who hides her past to forge a new future. She speaks multiple languages, adapts to American life, yet keeps her Jewish identity alive privately. The bear necklace she receives from Anna (evidenced in Chapter 8) becomes a symbol of her hidden Soviet past.

Science and Responsibility: While not a scientist, Yulia embodies the human cost of scientific ambition. Anna’s pursuit of time travel and nuclear power ripples through Yulia’s life, forcing her to pick up the pieces.

Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Yulia refuse to help Anna when she appears in Philadelphia (Chapter 8)?
   Yulia refuses because she believes Anna should focus on helping Molly, not on her scientific work. She says, “If you’re going to change something, change her life.” This reflects Yulia’s priority: Molly’s happiness over any grand time-travel mission.

2. Did Yulia truly love Anna as more than a friend?
   The only explicit evidence is from Anna’s perspective (Chapter 6), where Anna acknowledges she wanted more but knew Yulia thought of her as a sister. Yulia never reciprocates romantic feelings. The text strongly suggests Yulia’s love was familial, not romantic.

3. Why does Yulia agree to take Manya to America?
   She agrees because Anna convinces her that the child will be ruined in the USSR. In Chapter 21, Anna describes how Yasha controls her, and how Manya needs a better environment. Yulia initially resists but eventually yields because she cannot bear to see Anna and Manya destroyed.

4. How does Yulia affect the outcome of the time-travel plot?
   Yulia’s refusal to help Anna directly forces Anna to act alone. This leads to Anna’s final attempt to change the past and her eventual death (implied). Yulia’s role is to anchor the family in the present, making time travel’s consequences felt in the personal realm.

5. Does Yulia ever regret raising Molly?
   The novel never shows Yulia expressing regret. Even when Molly struggles with addiction and prison, Yulia continues to love her unconditionally. In Chapter 8, when Molly calls from Atlantic City, Yulia says, “We just want you to be safe. Come home.” Her regret, if any, is likely about the secrecy, not the act of raising Molly itself.

Conclusion

Yulia Adelson is the unheralded hero of Atomic Anna. While Anna chases time-travel and scientific redemption, Yulia performs the quiet, everyday work of love, sacrifice, and survival. She is the bridge between Anna’s past and Molly’s future, and her choices ripple through three generations. Without Yulia, there would be no Molly, no Raisa, and no story to tell.

For further exploration, see the main book page, the ending explained, and discussions on motherhood and sacrifice, intergenerational trauma, and identity and assimilation.