In 1933 Hitler came to power in Germany. I was too little to be interested in that. I was politically aware after I became a pioneer. Pioneers were interested in the events in Germany, discussed at our meetings, and condemned fascism. Anti-fascist movies such as 'Professor Mamlock' [17] were shown in the cinemas. We saw this movie for several times, read the articles about the atrocities of the fascists. Of course, we thought fascism to be a crime.
- Traditions 11756
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Major events (political and historical)
4256
- Armenian genocide 2
- Doctor's Plot (1953) 178
- Soviet invasion of Poland 31
- Siege of Leningrad 86
- The Six Day War 4
- Yom Kippur War 2
- Ataturk's death 5
- Balkan Wars (1912-1913) 35
- First Soviet-Finnish War 37
- Occupation of Czechoslovakia 1938 83
- Invasion of France 9
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 65
- Varlik Vergisi (Wealth Tax) 36
- First World War (1914-1918) 216
- Spanish flu (1918-1920) 14
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- The Great Depression (1929-1933) 20
- Hitler comes to power (1933) 127
- 151 Hospital 1
- Fire of Thessaloniki (1917) 9
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- Thessaloniki International Trade Fair 5
- Annexation of Bukovina to Romania (1918) 7
- Annexation of Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union (1940) 19
- The German invasion of Poland (1939) 94
- Kishinev Pogrom (1903) 7
- Romanian Annexation of Bessarabia (1918) 25
- Returning of the Hungarian rule in Transylvania (1940-1944) 43
- Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia (1940) 59
- Second Vienna Dictate 27
- Estonian war of independence 3
- Warsaw Uprising 2
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- Austrian Civil War (1934) 9
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- Dollfuß Regime 3
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- Waldheim affair 5
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- Józef Pilsudski (until 1935) 33
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Holocaust
9685
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Communism
4468
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Displaying 6691 - 6720 of 50826 results
Jacob Mikhailov
We had a clear understanding of what fascism was when the war in Spain [Spanish Civil War] [18] was unleashed. It goes without saying, that all of us were on the Republicans' side. War chronicles were shown in the movie theaters at that time. Spanish orphans, whose parents were killed in the war, were brought from Spain. We desperately envied adults who were able to be volunteers at war. An adopted Spanish boy of my age lived in our house. I made friends with him. We remained friends as adults. All of us hated fascism and detested Hitler. I don't know how it was with the grown-ups, but we, the children, couldn't comprehend how a peace treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact [19], could possibly be concluded with Hitler. I remember the arrival of Ribbentrop in Moscow. My mother said surprisingly that his face was pleasant.
In 1936 arrests commenced [during the Great Terror] [20]. My father was deputy head of the leading committee and he testified to that. He used to get back from work and tell us about new appointments of other people to leading positions. I knew that it meant the former leaders' imprisonment. I don't know what my father was thinking at that moment; maybe he was hoping that it wouldn't touch him. There was a time when my father worked with Polina Zhemchuzhina, Molotov's [21] wife. Once I used to come to my father's work and heard him talking to Zhemchuzhina. My father introduced me to her. She patted me on my shoulder and gave me two big oranges.
I was shocked by the arrests of enemies of the people [22], such eminent militaries as Yakir [23] and others. They were idols for us, the boys. My mother had known the family of Turovskiy, deputy commander of Kharkov, since childhood. They were born in Chernigov, and Turovskiy lived there for a while. Once my mother took me to the cinema to see a documentary on military maneuvers, and Turovskiy was in that movie. Then, after a while, he turned out to be an enemy of the people. I couldn't believe the things published in the press, and I couldn't comprehend how it could have occurred. It didn't make any sense to me. I tried to talk to my father regarding that. He also used to say, 'I cannot understand how people who went through exile, civil war and prisons all of a sudden turn out to be the enemies.
I was shocked by the arrests of enemies of the people [22], such eminent militaries as Yakir [23] and others. They were idols for us, the boys. My mother had known the family of Turovskiy, deputy commander of Kharkov, since childhood. They were born in Chernigov, and Turovskiy lived there for a while. Once my mother took me to the cinema to see a documentary on military maneuvers, and Turovskiy was in that movie. Then, after a while, he turned out to be an enemy of the people. I couldn't believe the things published in the press, and I couldn't comprehend how it could have occurred. It didn't make any sense to me. I tried to talk to my father regarding that. He also used to say, 'I cannot understand how people who went through exile, civil war and prisons all of a sudden turn out to be the enemies.
In 1939 Hitler attacked Poland and our troops were mobilized there [see Invasion of Poland] [24]. My aunt's husband Pavel was drafted into the army and dispatched to Poland. Fortunately he had been demobilized before the Finnish campaign started [see Soviet-Finnish War] [25]. I remember my uncle's tales about the war in Poland. During the Polish war and the 'liberation' of Western Ukraine there weren't even enough rifles for all the soldiers. There was one rifle for several people. There were no battles though. Our army had to be more careful with the Polish than with the Germans, who came to a certain point and stopped. The part of Poland where our troops came was very antagonistic against our army and they were vindictive towards the Polish division. There were cases when a Soviet soldier came to the barbers for shaving and was killed with a razor blade.
I couldn't even think that Germany would attack the USSR after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact had been signed. Of course, such propaganda was a mere profanation and duping, but only later on I came to understand that.
On Sunday, 22nd June 1941 our family was about to move to a dacha [26]. But in the morning my father was given a call and told that the driver had lingered on and should postpone moving until next week. I was happy to hear that as my friends were going to Sokolniki stadium to play football. I joined them. When we got to Sokolniki we saw a throng of people clustered by the loud-speaker. We stopped and were told that a paramount important message from the government was about to be announced. We listened to Molotov's speech, who said that treacherous Germany had attacked the USSR. We went back home. All day long we were discussing when our troops would be crossing the border. People outside had likewise talks. The next day we would ask each other with hope whether our troops had crossed the border. There was no information on the radio for a while, only optimistic promises that the enemy wouldn't cross our territory. Only a few days later we found out that Minsk had been captured by the Germans. They didn't even say a thing about the battles with the enemy on this territory. Then, when the Germans were deep in the country, for thousands of kilometers, there was nothing to say, but, 'After severe fighting our soldiers had to retreat from such and such city ..
At the beginning of 1941 father was transferred to the Ministry of Coal Industry, which was evacuated to Molotov [today Perm, 1,250 km from Moscow] in June 1941. Moscow wasn't bombed at that time. Bombing started in August. Mother left her job, and the three of us were evacuated. We traveled in a crammed freight car for five days. There was provision in Moscow shops still, so we took some food with us. It was possible to buy things at the stations. We were lodged in a private house in Molotov. The hosts gave us a six-square meter room for the three of us. First there was some food in Molotov, and we ate at a canteen. About a month later the food cards [see Card system] [27] were implemented.
I went to the ninth grade of the local school. Mother worked in some office. In half a year my father was called to Moscow. My mother and I stayed in Molotov until July.
When my father came back to Moscow, there were some people in our apartment. In a year by court ruling our apartment was given back to us, and in July 1942 my mother and I came back home. The director first didn't want to let my mother go home. He gave in after receiving a governmental telegram signed by the deputy minister of foreign trade with the request to let my mother go to work in Moscow. Mother regained her work in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. I went to the tenth grade in September.
In December 1942 I was drafted into the army. I hadn't reached the drafting age of 18; I was 17 at that time. We were brought together by groups in the military office. My group was sent to Yaroslavl [about 200 km from Moscow] to the gun school. I was sent back home as they told me there that I wouldn't go through the examination commission. I celebrated the New Year of 1943 at home in Moscow. I was summoned to the military enlistment office a couple of months later and was sent to the military engineering school near Moscow. I was told by the physical evaluation board that I was fit for the troop duty, but not for the military school. The doctor asked what school I was supposed to enter and I told him military engineering. The doctor must have thought that it was some kind of a technical school and came to the conclusion that I was healthy.
I recall the time spent in the military school as a nightmare. We were trained even harder than in any other military schools.
I recall the time spent in the military school as a nightmare. We were trained even harder than in any other military schools.
I was given the rank of a junior lieutenant after I finished school. I was sent to the 1st Ukrainian front. Shortly after my arrival I was sent to the combat engineering squad and assigned the commander of the combat engineers' platoon. The previous commander was in hospital, and I stood in for him. In couple of months I got a higher rank - lieutenant. Then the previous commander came back from hospital, and I was transferred to the 5th paratroopers' regiment of the 2nd guard airborne division. I was there until my first wound.
Combat engineers were responsible for mine planting and mine clearance. I was supposed to join the reconnoiters, as the intelligence didn't head out anywhere without a combat engineer because the fields were planted with mines. The combat engineer was to go first and set up the route in the mine field for the reconnoiters and others. When tanks were to attack, combat engineers were supposed to check the route for them. Of course, we didn't have time to clear the whole mine field. Combat engineers moved in front of the tanks, cleared mines, and then the tanks followed the combat engineers.
Combat engineers were responsible for mine planting and mine clearance. I was supposed to join the reconnoiters, as the intelligence didn't head out anywhere without a combat engineer because the fields were planted with mines. The combat engineer was to go first and set up the route in the mine field for the reconnoiters and others. When tanks were to attack, combat engineers were supposed to check the route for them. Of course, we didn't have time to clear the whole mine field. Combat engineers moved in front of the tanks, cleared mines, and then the tanks followed the combat engineers.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
The first time I was wounded was in Hungary in 1944. We came to a hamlet after receiving the message from the headquarters that it was occupied by our troops. I went halfway on the tank turret, and then I got off to check whether there were any mines getting a hold of the tank weapon. Then all of a sudden shooting was coming from that hamlet. It turned out that it was occupied by Germans. The tanks turned around and retreated; I was close to the tanks. But I couldn't move forward way too far as a mine fragment hit my head. I was unconscious for a while. When I came around I saw a local Hungarian woman sitting by me. She tore a piece from her chemise and bandaged my head. I was hospitalized with that wound. Then I came to the understanding that I could be wounded, not killed.
,
1944
See text in interview
I didn't join the Party while in the army. The political instructor used to annoy me with requests to join the Party after I had become officer and platoon commander. I declined saying that I wasn't a Komsomol member, and besides at the age of 19 wasn't eligible to be a party member. In the end I was pushed to become a Komsomol member.
Combat engineers didn't have to assault, but we couldn't condone the orders. Gun soldiers who were to defend the headquarters were under my command. These were several combat engineers and infantry men. We reached an altitude in the evening and it was getting dark. All approaches to the altitude were lined with the corpses of our soldiers, who had made the attempt before us. But we had to act no matter what. I tried to convince the soldiers to attack. But nobody moved. Everybody wanted to live. Frankly speaking, I had to kick and shove them so they could get up. Then the words came - 'For the Motherland! For Stalin!' - and we attacked. A fragment reached an arch of my gun and the spent bullet broke my finger. Then the fragment pierced my leg. In the ardor of the battle I felt no pain. Only later I felt that I couldn't walk, and my leg pulled back. When the altitude was captured, I told the commander over the phone that the order had been fulfilled and asked for a permit to be hospitalized. Luckily the bone wasn't touched and I wasn't sent to the rear regiment. I stayed in the hospital for three weeks and then I returned to my regiment.
I had to participate in cross- examinations of the Germans because I spoke pretty good German. None of the captives recognized that he was a military. Some said they were barbers, others were builders; they named any profession that came to their mind. We treated captives in a good way. I remember that captured Germans slept along with our soldiers in the basement, and the weapons were close by. None of the Germans made an attempt to get a hold of a weapon. Captives were fed together with us. I saw the columns of captured Germans lead by two elderly soldiers. It was hard for one of them to carry a gun as it was heavy, so he put it on the shoulder of a captive. The Germans didn't try to escape or disarm the sentinel. They understood that the war was over, and they wanted to remain alive.
There was no anti-Semitism at the front. Nobody was interested what nationality the comrades were. There were other criteria: would your comrade give you a hand when you are in a quagmire, would he defend you from a skirmish or would he share rusk and water with you? There were Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians and Moldovans [also see Moldova] [28] among my front-line friends. There was no national feud.
After Khrushchev's [32] speech at the Twentieth Party Congress [33] covering Stalin's trespassing I brooded on how great Stalin's role was in defeating Germany. Alas, my thoughts were very wistful. Even now we don't know for sure how many casualties we had in that war. It is known that the Germans had nine million casualties. [Editor's note: regarding different resources, battle casualties of the USSR were between 8,6 and 13,6 million soldiers, of Germany between 3,45 and 4,75 million soldiers. Total military casualties of World War II in Europe number between 27 and 55 million people.] Germans are very punctilious, they consider everything. We still don't know the exact figure; all we know is that it considerably exceeded the casualties of the Germans. It should have been vice versa. They were assaulters, who were supposed to lose more than the defenders. People say that 30 million soldiers perished. But this figure is unrealistic. There were so many unburied soldiers. At present people are still finding human bones when they dig in the kitchen garden. Our state doesn't look into the issue of their burial or collecting data about them, some other people are doing that.
I came back home. I forgot everything I had learnt in school. I entered the preparatory faculty of the Moscow Mechanics Institute, which became the engineering physics institute. I entered the institute the following year.
When I was a sophomore student I bumped into the mathematics teacher who had taken my entrance exam. He came up to me and apologized for giving me a lower mark. I was so taken aback that the only thing I could say was that I was OK studying at another faculty and regretted nothing. I cannot say for sure, but I think that case referred to anti- Semitism, I don't have any other explanation for it. Anti-Semitism wasn't displayed during the years of my studies, though I knew it existed. A different attitude towards Jews could be felt after the war. Anti-Semitism was streamlined with the commencement of cosmopolitan processes in 1948 [see campaign against 'cosmopolitans'] [38]. At that time I thought that the process was against certain scientists and cultural activist, not against Jews in general.
I think my parents felt the jeopardy of what was going on. My mother worked at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and she was offered to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When she told my father about it he said that she should flatly refuse although the offered salary and position were better. My parents' job was connected with secretive and sensitive materials. Every time they were supposed to fill in certain forms to get access to these materials. During the war and for some time after the war, my father worked in the Ministry of Defense Industry and Armament, and then he was transferred to the Ministry of Heavy Industry. He worked there until his retirement.
In December 1952 I graduated from the institute. Father didn't retire, though he was severely ill. He needed my help. Apart from working for the Ministry of Construction, he was also a member of the municipal party committee, which was a rather high position. According to my mandatory job assignment [39] I was to go to the Ministry of Defense Industry and Armament. My father, previously employed there, called the secretary of the party committee of the ministry. I don't know the subject of their conversation; I assume my father was asking him to help me stay in Moscow. But nothing came of it. Then my father resorted to the deputy minister of the Ministry of Construction of Heavy Industry Enterprises, who called the deputy minister of defense industry and armament. But it didn't work out either.
There was no stopping my father. He had an appointment with the minister of construction of heavy industry enterprises, Reiser, one of the few Jewish ministers, and it brought no result either. [Reiser, David Yakovlevich (1904-1962): Russian-born state activist of Jewish origin. In 1953 he was the deputy minister, later minister of the USSR construction ministry.] I was sent to the closed institute of defense industry and armament in Izhevsk, located 1,000 kilometers from Moscow. I had stayed there for a year, then there was a decree of the plenum of the central committee of the party regarding 'Strengthening of agriculture' and I was offered to go to a kolkhoz [40].
The issue was very serious. I came to the instructor of the central committee of the party. I explained that I would be useless in the agricultural industry with my education in instrument building and no experience in rustic living and with agricultural machinery. The instructor listened to me very carefully and totally agreed with me. She wasn't the one who could have issued a resolution, so she called the secretary of the regional committee of the party in Izhevsk for him to decide on the spot. I had an appointment with him when I got back to Izhevsk. He was aware that agriculture wouldn't suffer a loss without me, but he unofficially recommended me to go. I was sent to a village in Izhevsk district and appointed chief engineer of the tractor station. I didn't know anything about agricultural equipment, but I had organizational skills, other issues were taken care of by the chief mechanic. I bought and established the necessary equipment, and I provided them with building materials, but I didn't have to maintain this equipment, for this purpose there was a mechanic. So I didn't have to have a thorough knowledge in production. There was a forestry nearby, and I got acquainted with the mechanic. He told me that his nephew was to graduate from the institute soon and his mandatory job assignment was to be in Kazakhstan. I suggested that his nephew should be appointed for my position as his relatives were there. He wrote to his nephew and got a positive reply. The nephew came, I told him about the functions of the chief engineer and we both went to the regional committee of the party. I introduced my successor to the secretary, and he signed my resignation letter. In 1954 I returned to Izhevsk to my previous position. In 1957 I left for Moscow, my home.
There was no stopping my father. He had an appointment with the minister of construction of heavy industry enterprises, Reiser, one of the few Jewish ministers, and it brought no result either. [Reiser, David Yakovlevich (1904-1962): Russian-born state activist of Jewish origin. In 1953 he was the deputy minister, later minister of the USSR construction ministry.] I was sent to the closed institute of defense industry and armament in Izhevsk, located 1,000 kilometers from Moscow. I had stayed there for a year, then there was a decree of the plenum of the central committee of the party regarding 'Strengthening of agriculture' and I was offered to go to a kolkhoz [40].
The issue was very serious. I came to the instructor of the central committee of the party. I explained that I would be useless in the agricultural industry with my education in instrument building and no experience in rustic living and with agricultural machinery. The instructor listened to me very carefully and totally agreed with me. She wasn't the one who could have issued a resolution, so she called the secretary of the regional committee of the party in Izhevsk for him to decide on the spot. I had an appointment with him when I got back to Izhevsk. He was aware that agriculture wouldn't suffer a loss without me, but he unofficially recommended me to go. I was sent to a village in Izhevsk district and appointed chief engineer of the tractor station. I didn't know anything about agricultural equipment, but I had organizational skills, other issues were taken care of by the chief mechanic. I bought and established the necessary equipment, and I provided them with building materials, but I didn't have to maintain this equipment, for this purpose there was a mechanic. So I didn't have to have a thorough knowledge in production. There was a forestry nearby, and I got acquainted with the mechanic. He told me that his nephew was to graduate from the institute soon and his mandatory job assignment was to be in Kazakhstan. I suggested that his nephew should be appointed for my position as his relatives were there. He wrote to his nephew and got a positive reply. The nephew came, I told him about the functions of the chief engineer and we both went to the regional committee of the party. I introduced my successor to the secretary, and he signed my resignation letter. In 1954 I returned to Izhevsk to my previous position. In 1957 I left for Moscow, my home.
In January 1953, when I was in Izhevsk, the Doctors' Plot [41] commenced. Of course, I didn't believe the things written in the articles. I couldn't envisage a doctor, who had been treating the top circles of the government for many years, to poison people. It was a libel. Many people believed that. There were some of my acquaintances who believed that Jews would be able to commit anything, including the assassination of Stalin. There were some younger people who considered Stalin to be a criminal, who should have been exterminated a long time ago. Such talks were very hazardous at that time. We were lucky that there wasn't an NKVD stooge among us, and that we weren't arrested. Common people unconditionally believed everything they broadcast on the radio or things written in the newspapers. People refused to go to the Jewish doctors in the polyclinics. Anti-Semitism was acerbated.
On 5th March 1953 Stalin passed away. It was both a shock and a tribulation for me. My mother reiterated one and the same line in her letters after Stalin's death: 'How are we to live without Stalin now?' I had no such thoughts.
I remembered the Twentieth Party Congress, where Nikita Khrushchev divulged crimes committed by Stalin. I believed Khrushchev at once. I still think a new page in history was turned, removing the old one full of terror. It wasn't accepted by everybody. My father didn't know what happened at the party congress as he was in hospital. When he was discharged from the hospital, he went to the central party committee and read a publicly closed letter with Khrushchev's speech. My father was so astounded that he stayed in bed for a few days feeling unwell. Father saw things happening around him and he wasn't so gullible not to understand what was going on. After perestroika [42] they started publishing the list of people who had been shot [see Rehabilitation in the Soviet Union] [43], where I found many familiar names, former employees of my father. He might have stuck to the opinion of the majority that Stalin's surrounding was to blame, not Stalin himself. There are many people nowadays who disbelieve the repressions, the fact that millions of innocent people had been shot and exiled to the Gulag. Mother told me that after the exoneration many people came back to the ministry. When my mother asked her former employee who was falsely convicted and imprisoned for 14 years, what had happened to him in the Gulag, he told her to ask no questions. I can only imagine what horror he had to go through if he didn't want to recall things.
After the Twentieth Party Congress I was sure that our life would dramatically change for the better. Of course, certain things changed. We didn't have to fear repressions. One could speak his mind; anti- Semitism slightly faded in every day life, though it remained on the state level.
After the Twentieth Party Congress I was sure that our life would dramatically change for the better. Of course, certain things changed. We didn't have to fear repressions. One could speak his mind; anti- Semitism slightly faded in every day life, though it remained on the state level.
When I came back to Moscow in 1957, I wasn't able to find a job. My name was Russian, and I didn't look very Jewish. When I came to the human resources department I was offered a job, and after I filled in my nationality in line #5 [see Item 5] [44] I was apprised immediately that the position wasn't vacant any more, and that they'd just forgotten about it.
I took pains to be employed by the construction bureau of the non- ferrous metals plant Tsvetmetavtomatika. Then I was assisted in the transfer to the scientific and research institute of heating appliances. My non-Jewish surname complicated my life. Very often I was offered interesting and more lucrative jobs, and when they saw the line with my nationality, they backed off. Once my mother told me that there would be a new committee by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and there were vacancies. She kept me informed and told me to go there for an appointment. I was received by the deputy head of the committee of the Ministry of Radio Industry. He told me about the field to be involved in, and what I would have to do, and then asked me a question, 'Is there anything bothering you?' He must have noticed my tension and then asked me another question, 'Are you Russian?' I replied, 'No.' Then an explicit question followed, 'Are you a Jew?' - 'Yes.' And the last question was, 'Is it indicated in the form?' Then he told me that such issues could be tackled only by his boss. Then he added that I would have another appointment, and that the position had been taken. Things were very clear to me, and I never went back there.
I took pains to be employed by the construction bureau of the non- ferrous metals plant Tsvetmetavtomatika. Then I was assisted in the transfer to the scientific and research institute of heating appliances. My non-Jewish surname complicated my life. Very often I was offered interesting and more lucrative jobs, and when they saw the line with my nationality, they backed off. Once my mother told me that there would be a new committee by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and there were vacancies. She kept me informed and told me to go there for an appointment. I was received by the deputy head of the committee of the Ministry of Radio Industry. He told me about the field to be involved in, and what I would have to do, and then asked me a question, 'Is there anything bothering you?' He must have noticed my tension and then asked me another question, 'Are you Russian?' I replied, 'No.' Then an explicit question followed, 'Are you a Jew?' - 'Yes.' And the last question was, 'Is it indicated in the form?' Then he told me that such issues could be tackled only by his boss. Then he added that I would have another appointment, and that the position had been taken. Things were very clear to me, and I never went back there.
Elena finished school and entered the engineering and economic institute. After graduation she stayed in Moscow and had a mandatory job assignment to a design institute to work as an economist.
Our wedding was ordinary. We got registered in the marriage registration office and had a wedding party in the evening with our kin and friends.
After school Victoria entered the Moscow State Medical Academy of Veterinary and Bioengineering named after Skryabin. She got married during her last year of studies. I don't want to talk about her husband, as those recollections are hurting. Victoria's last name remained unchanged after she got married, but her son, born in 1988, was given the surname of his father: Bogachev. When my three-year-old grandson was asked in the kindergarten, 'Who is your dad?' he replied, 'Grandpa.' Victoria stayed in Moscow after her graduation. It was difficult for her to find a job, but her friends gave her a hand.
We used to celebrate birthdays of our family members and Soviet Holidays - 1st May, 7th November [October Revolution Day] [45], Soviet Army Day [46], New Year's Eve, but the most festive occasion for us was 9th May, Victory Day [47]. The whole family goes to the Grave of Unknown Soldier, where we meet with front-line soldiers. My grandson has attended since the age of three. The rest of the holidays were just mere days-off - an occasion to get together with friends and have fun. We danced, sang, and enjoyed having a chat with dear people. Neither Elena nor I thought of the gist of the holiday.
In the 1970s mass immigration of Jews to Israel started. I sympathized with those who wanted to immigrate. I helped my friends, who were on the verge to change their lives. I didn't want to leave, though my wife craved for it and even insisted on our immigration. At that time her younger brother left; and Elena thought he was right as he did it for the sake of the future of his children. Many people didn't understand why a well-off person gave up an apartment, a car, work and left the country for uncertainty. I didn't have a wish like that. I think my upbringing was the reason for it. Besides, my mother was flatly against immigration, and I didn't want her to stay by herself.