The novel discusses the situation of Ukraine as an ex-communist country, focusing on the hardships the people have and still are going through, and giving a general idea of the striking differences between Eastern and Western Europe.
Deliquescence: the property of some entities to segregate, to become liquid by absorbing the humidity in the atmosphere. Deliquescence, decadence, decomposition, degeneration, call it what you like; they are all resulting from the violation of moral rules. Perhaps it suffices for the moment to note that even empires are not immortal and therefore, like all living things, they are subject to decay.