HARDEST. While serfs were to be protected from overseers, it was not uncommon for a serf to expire under punishment. Our serfs, Misha and Vitya, now face the menacing challenges of their overseers. By doubling the number of strokes, increasing their power and intensity, and delivering them at massive speed, Lev makes both men express the depth of their agony in their soul-destroying individual ways. This is a test for both men. The depth of their pain is unequivocal, absolute, without reservation.