By that time mother had been evacuated in some small town in Siberia. Unfortunately, I do not remember its name. She managed to find me in some incredulous way. Father was drafted in the army in August. He was in the lines. Before war he worked in procurement ministry. He was drafted and given military uniform. In the front he dealt with procurement of forage. He had worked there for a year, but since he was rather old for military he was sent back to Moscow, to his previous job.
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Displaying 38611 - 38640 of 50826 results
Mark Kabakov
It was the year of 1942, one year before Stalingrad battle [20]. Again we had to take the vessel to go to Baku from Astrakhan by the sea. Baku as well as entire Caucasus was in the state of siege. We were distributed to marine schools. I wanted to enter naval academy named after Dzerzhinsky, Mechanical Engineering Department as I was one of the best students and had the choice where to go. I had studied there for two years- 1942, 1943.
Then the minister of the navy issued an order regarding cadet’s practice. In accordance with the order, cadets were assigned to battle navy ships in summer time and studied in winter. First, in summer I was having battles on anti-aircraft ship, which was in Kaspiy.
I was assigned to the ship, but I do not remember how my position was called. Our anti-aircraft ship practically remained uninvolved in military actions. It was the year of 1943 and the front shifted to the west. There was no fire or bombing in the vicinity of Kaspiy. Though when we were in Astrakhan , the aircrafts of the enemy were bombing and we were firing at them. In 1944 I continued studying in winter and in summer my fellows and I were sent the North Navy. There we took part in convoy operations for three months. We escorted the conveys of battle vessels, which came from the east via Vladivostok and from the west via Murmansk [about 1400 km. to the north from Moscow] from England and America with the lend-lease freight [lend-lease is the system of transfer (loan or lease) of weaponry, ammunition, strategic raw materials, provision etc.
Our task was to meet convoys of the 72nd parallel, to the north from Polar Port, by the exit from Kola bay and escort them to Murmansk. It was the operational zone of Northern front. Soviet ships and aircrafts escorted ship convoy. We, the big chasers long with patrol and torpedo boats and aviation came first to make a preliminary search for German submarines on the adjacent territories to Kola Bay. Firefighters covered convoys. There were times, when Northern front placed 40 vessels for defense. When we were to meet convoy we took certain place in escort order. The captain said over ship radio: «Attention! It is the time for defense. Be vigilant on the observation point. Do not make any unnecessary movements on the deck.’ We escorted those convoys of ships, resisting attacks of the submarines and aviation of the adversaries. Germans took frenzied actions while attacking in the vicinity of Kola Bay, when the distance to Murmansk was inconsiderable.
One day during our escort, there was a rather strong storm, when we were approaching Kola Bay. When high waves split up, the sea discovered deck cabin of Hitler’s submarine. The reaction of the captain, coxswain, miners, machinists and other people on duty was fulminant and express. The commander ordered to start depth attack. The vessel made a steep turn being hit by a billow of water. The wave crushed windshields. People were knocked down. Any minute the miners could be washed off the ship, but it did not happen. They succeeded. Twenty one mines were dropped on enemy’s submarine and it was exterminated together with the crew.
SMERSH [21] representatives were on our ship as well as at any other vessel, but they did not mind our communication as it was the wartime and there were other things to be focused on.
For me personally the war was still not over when the act on capitulation was signed by Germany on the 9th of May 1945. I take pride in the fact that I was still involved in military actions when the war was over.
In 1947, when I graduated naval academy, I was assigned an officer to the 6th Krasnoznamennyi mine-sweepers division the Northern navy. Up to 1950 I had been dealing with postwar minesweeping. Germans obstructed Northern seaway with mines. Minefields were reaching New Land Island [about 2500 km. to the north-east from Moscow]. The Northern seaway was one of the most vital arteries of Soviet Union and it was practically closed down for navigation. All navigating vessels, including the merchant ones could only go to the areas, having been tested by mine-sweepers or being escorted by them. Our task was to find the mines and exterminate them with the help of mine-sweepers.
We were paid very well and it was the only good thing. I, mechanic of the mine-sweeper had such a salary that it was exceeding my combined income for the entire marine service, which was pretty long– 34 years.
In 1950 I was assigned to higher courses for the officers in Moscow. Having finished them I served as a military representative at torpedo building plant in Alma-Ata [about 3000 km to the east from Moscow]. After that I had served in the Baltic navy for 6 years, then at Black Sea navy for another 6 years. Then I came to Moscow and worked for four years in scientific research institute as a military representative having the rank of commodore. I resigned in 1974. I was clad in military uniform in 1940 and resigned in 1974.
Besides, I am actively involved in literary activity. My first publication was made by house magazine in Astrakhan in 1942. My first book was published in 1968. About two dozens of my books were published. Most of them are poetry, but there is also prose and journalistic genre. I was admitted in the council of writers in 1973. I have been its member for about 30 years.
For many years I personally came across anti-Semitism for a number of times like any Jew, living in Russia. In 1951 I finished higher courses for the officers. Those very higher secretive courses held in the period of time when the doctors’ plot [24] was in the full swing. At that time there were repressions against Jews, both military and civil. In 1951 5 Jews were expelled right shortly after the course commenced. The quota must have been exceeded by admission. Only 2 Jews were left, and both of them were Muscovites. Upon finishing course, neither I nor my comrade were to stay in Moscow, but we were sent in godforsaken places. My further service was in Alma-Ata. There my little sonny was teased and called ”Little Zhyd” [editor’s note: ‘Zhydy’ – abusive nickname of Jews in the Soviet Union]. He came home sobbing. I slapped one of the parents of those kids. The regional engineer of state acceptance, my boss, called me on the carpet and started edifying me that our country was multinational and there was no anti-Semitism in it. When I was in the navy, I had never felt anti-Semitism during the entire period of my service. But when I was demobilized in 1974, I was not hire in any civilian enterprise. I understood why- because I was a Jew. Then for 17 years I was not permitted to go abroad since I had an access to secret documents during my service, though those people who performed my job later and had an access to even more sensitive documents were permitted to go abroad earlier than I was. Probably KGB deemed that there was nothing more dangerous as a Jew, who had an access to secret documents.
When a campaign on so-called ‘doctors-murderers’ was launched I understood that it was fabricated and had not a slightest doubt in that. I perceived that there was anti-Semitism behind it. It was adulterated to exterminate Jews. Zhabotinskiy [25] said: “We, Jews deserved the right to have rascals amongst ours”. I can only add: “We deserved the right to have blockheads amongst us”, as there were blockheaded Jews, who believed things published in papers.
Stalin’s death in 1953 was a joyful event for me. I would never forget the lamentation on the plant yard. I lived in Alma-Ata at that time. My wife and I came home, I took a bottle of wine and we gladly drank to the death oft that rapscallion.
I met my wife Maya Zeitman in 1949 during my vacation in Moscow. I had corresponded with her for a year and then in 1950 we got married.
Maya was born in Moscow in 1927. Like me she finished secondary school with honors, then Moscow Higher Technical School named after Bauman [Moscow High Technical School named after renowned revolutionary Nikolay Bauman, today it is called Technical Institute]. She worked as a designer, When we lived in Alma-Ata, she taught technical drawing and resistance of materials in the institute.
Children identify themselves as Jews. My wife and I always told their children that they were Jews. We talked about Jewry and about our Jewish problems. My son, who is living in Israel, the three of his children are true Jews. My Israeli grandsons’ names are Innesa, Dmitriy and Sofia. My son’s wife lights candles on Sabbath. Their family observes kashrut and that is it. They are not Orthodox Jews. My son drives on Saturday and he does not consider it a sin. My daughter-in-law talks on the phone on Saturday and does not reckon it a sin either.
My son Leonid has two children – daughter Svetlana and son Yuri. The are expecting the third child. Younger son became Orthodox. He is religious and he strictly observes all the rites. All my grandchildren (his children) are baptized. His family goes to the church. The family of my son Victor, living in Israel, disapproves of the baptism of Leonid’s family. Being baptized and Christian Leonid still identifies himself as Jew. The fact that Leonid and his family became Christians was calmly accepted by me. Everybody has the right to profess the religion of his choice.
I identify myself as Jew. If I address to the Creator, I picture him in Jewish apparel, though in the religion of our ancestors he is invisible and immaterial. I am proud to belong to the peoples, who gave 10 commandments to the modern civilization. Only ignoramuses and rascals can deny them.
I found perestroika [28] taken place in my country, positive. No matter what, all things incurred by perestroika were for the better as the system which could not survive, collapsed. It is strange that the system based on determent and fraud has existed for such a long time. Perestroika merely goaded the process, which was to happen. Another thing, we were lead by famous Bolshevik refrain “We will raze the world of violation…”, we insanely exterminated every we had. The collapsed systems had its accomplishments as well. We had a unique education, healthcare and recreation systems. But we contrived to do make it in accordance with the European norms and completely destroy it.
I also would like to say on the state of the modern Russian navy. I think our navy is not in the best position. Though, I am prone to think that every powerful state should have something to be respected for by other countries. One of the things to be respected for is the navy. It should look nice, be spectacular and powerful. Nowadays our navy cannot be compared to the one it used to be. Navy is cost-consuming. Battleship is outrageously expensive. The expenses for building of any aircraft-carrier should be provided in the state budget, and our country does not have such money, and not expected to have in the short run.
Grandfather Morduch Kabakov worked as an accountant for his rich relatives Kabakovs. There were two lines of Kabakovs in Minsk- one wealthy and another one, where my grandpa belonged to, was not very rich. The business of the Kabakovs my grandpa worked for was very prosperous. They even had their own synagogue. There were only 50-60 telephone subscribers, 20-30 out of which pertained to public institutions and one of them belonged to the rich family of Kabakovs. At that time it spoke for welfare. Though, my grandfather, the accountant, was not a poor man either. All his children finished lyceum and obtained higher education in Warsaw and Saint Petersburg, which was rather problematic for the Jews of that time.
Grandpa Morduch Kabakov was very religious. He strictly observed all Jewish traditions. The solemn holiday of Yom-Kippur was the most revered by grandpa. On that day all Jews, including women went to the synagogue. They had stayed there all day long and fasted until the first evening star. If some of the children broke the fast, grandpa was infuriated and in father’s words the violator got in the neck.
My father Volf Kabakov was born in 1896. Having finished lyceum father left for Saint Petersburg, where he studied at Juridical Department of the University. He managed to finish only two courses. He could not go on with his education as the civil war was unleashed [5],there was no scholarship, no heating in the hostel, no prospects for future and in a word it was not the time to study. Father went to his relatives in Minsk.
He married my mother Anna Pelix in 1919. I do not know what kind of wedding they had- secular of religious.
Father was an officer, i.e. performing office functions. Such profession was called clerk in the west. Clerk was supposed to work in different branches, one day in one, tomorrow in another etc. My father was such type of a clerk. Though he was called the economist or statistics expert, all the same it changed nothing. He had never been involved in legal work.
My parents came of traditional Jewish families, but they were rather liberal in mind. They belonged to such type of Jews, who wanted to escape from Jewry and patriarchal principles of the past. It was not rare at that time. Though, as the experience showed, they were not able to do as they wished. They remained Jews subconsciously. Having denied religion and Jewry in the years of adolescence, my parents at a mature age came back to Jewry and started thinking of God.
Father being over the hill, at the age of 70 started to go to the synagogue and fast on Yom-Kippur. Mother also took an interest in religion. I remember her cry when she was listening to Hatikvah [7].
He was declared peoples’ enemy [8] and imprisoned in 1929 being charged with bourgeois views. He was exiled to Solovetskiye Islands [about 1000 km. to the north from Moscow]. He got off with that pretty easily and was released in 1932. His incarceration in GULAG [6] left an imprint on his further life.