Х75
ХОЖДЕНИЕ ПО МУКАМ
litNPfixed WO a series of trying experiences in life, one following another
a (one) long ordeal
(going through) purgatory.
From the ancient Christian belief reflected in the Old Russian apocryphal text Descent of the Virgin into Hell («Хождение Богородицы по мукам», 12th cent.), that the souls of the deceased endure forty days of torment immediately after death. The phrase came into widespread use after the publication of a trilogy under the same title by Aleksei Tolstoi (1921 -41, translated into English as Road to Calvary).