Tag #146395 - Interview #95374 (Mark Kabakov)

Mother Anna Pelix studied at conservatoire in Saint Petersburg. She had a good voice. Her siblings studied in Lausanne, Switzerland. For a Jew to study in conservatoire at that time, it was necessary to have a wonderful voice as well as wealthy parents who would be able to pay tuition. Mother’s family was one of the richest in Minsk. There was a house in Minsk with servants and maids and there was a house out of town, where his office was located. After revolution Bolsheviks demanded money from rich people and arrested their children, threatening that they would be killed if money was not brought. Mother was among those arrested children. It proves that grandpa was one of the wealthiest people in the city. The money was collected and children were released. There are terrible recollections of the time being cooped up in ChK [10]. Later on grandpa Haim was murdered in 1918 during civil war. He took the wages to the forest and on his way he was attacked by a pack of gangsters, who robbed and killed him.