How does the protagonist in condensed milk cultural background affect his choices

Answer and explanation:

"Condensed Milk" is a short story by Russian author Varlam Shalamov. Shalamov spent fifteen years of his life in a Gulag, a Russian forced-labor camp. "Condensed Milk" is one of the many stories he wrote based on that terrifying experience.

Not much is said about the protagonist's cultural background, so we end up assuming most of it. He is most likely an educated man. He describes himself as political, meaing he was not arrested and taken to the camp for being a regular criminal, a thief. He was one of the enemies of the people, which at that time meant he probably expressed an opinion that was unacceptable under the Soviet Regime.

He knows how life works at the Gulag: "Everyone looked out for himself here." He knows the government, the way it uses people to prey on other people. It is that knowledge that will keep him alive. When Shestakov offers him the chance to escape, the protagonist realizes it must be a trap. Shestakov has a good job at the Gulag, which means he's a favorite of the government. The protagonist pretends to be fooled, asks for some condensed milk to drink to recover his strength, and then says he won't come. And he was right about the whole scheme. The five men who did believe Shestakov either ended up dead or with worse sentences after a second trial, while Shestakov himself is not punished.