Chapter 8. Life after War. 1945 – 1955
The War ended, people stopped dying from the enemy’s bullets and bombs, they were genuinely happy to begin the restoration of the pre-war life. Most of them came through the hell, they lost their relatives and loved ones. They were ready to suffer the terrible living conditions some time more now, when they had a bright hope for the better future.
With end of War the School of Military Logistics, where Fedor had a director position, was reorganized to be a part of the Frunze Military Academy, well-known higher education institute for preparing high ranked Soviet officers. During the War Fedor showed outstanding skills and personal engagement in organization and maintenance the uninterrupted munition supplies to the hot battle grounds. Lena became a military medical officer and by the end of War got a rank of Major.
Fedor’s hard work was noticed and rewarded by Soviet government – he was promoted to the rank of General Lieutenant (two star general), received multiple orders and medals, and was awarded with a spacious Moscow apartment and a dacha (vacation house) not far from Moscow, in a new vacation village designated for high ranked officers of Frunze Academy. That village was erected, like many other dacha villages around Moscow, mostly by German prisoners, who were used in construction for the 7 or 8 years following the end of War. Fedor's dacha was just 48 km from the Moscow center and close to the Kiev highway, meaning an easy transportation, that’s why actors of the great Big Theater were also allowed to build their dachas in that village.
Fedor, lieutenant general in 1956 Lena, 1948
With dacha Fedor and Lena received almost six acres of land, which could be used for self-sustained life in the still damaged economy and poor living conditions throughout the country. They hired a woman house worker Pasha, who lived with them permanently like a family member till her death. During the summer dacha was filled with many relatives, mostly children, and an additional building was constructed, where a cow and chicken were held and the upper floor was given to the family of a Shepard/handyman. So everyone had basic food, milk and eggs, right from the yard.
In 1946 Sasha was summoned to the director of the munition research center, where he worked on development of the high explosives. In a few words he was given an order to be reassign to the top secret research center far from Moscow. Director told him that all the details he will know at the place. In one week Sasha and Nadia packed their single suitcase with clothes and things of little Vlad, made arrangements with their parents and friends. Just before departure Sasha met his new boss Yuly B. Khariton, outstanding scientist and research organizer, the first director of the Soviet Atomic Weapons project. Khariton personally selected his starting staff, and Sasha, 25-years old engineer, got an extremely important position of high-explosive charge design and test group leader. Thanks to a great ability of Khariton to recognize potential of his future employees he was able to attract talented people in the beginning of this project and continued to direct the later famous Research Center for 50 years. We will return to Sasha and his family later, because that story needs a separate chapter.
Pavel and Inna worked in Administration department of the UN from the beginning of its organization and lived in Manhattan, in Soviet UN mission on 67rd Street and 3rd Avenue. It was heavenly good life, unexpectedly came to the young couple. Though they had to work long hours, they still had enough time to enjoy all the wonders of New York, especially because they, being the UN employees, could keep their salaries for themselves, were exempt from the Soviet law demanding to give away the foreign currency to the government. By 1948 Pavel became one of the leading member of the committee for the liberation of African countries. Inna was a secretary to the Chief Soviet Representative at UN, Andrey Gromyko. He noticed her efforts to get her job done effectively and fast, so she moved up in the career ladder, which was unusual for the secretaries of twenty-some years old. Some of her colleagues decided that the reason was her ability to read terrible pencil hand script of Gromyko.
In 1948 their first daughter Natasha was born. Pavel was very happy, especially after his recent promotion, maybe he was more happier than Inna. Young mother was all in the career building and a baby unavoidably slowed down her pace. So, as soon as she was able to continue her work at the Mission, she called for her mother Ducia, who lived in small shared apartment in Moscow. Natasha’s grandma was a very kind person, in her life she met much more than her share of hardship and tragedy. Still she always believed in better future, maybe not for herself, but at least for her only daughter. Ducia rushed to New York as soon as it was possible. She was a great help, actually she took all housekeeping tasks under her control, Inna got a lot of time to concentrate on her career and even to take driving lessons. Meanwhile Ducia felt herself as a mistress of the family, took a really tender loving care of the baby and even prepare individual meals for her son in law, because he developed ulcer often neglecting the regular and healthy diet in his busy eventful work at the UN.
Natasha recalled her walks in the Central Park together with Ducia, once when she was just over two they met there a photographer who noticed a pretty healthy and happy looking child and decided to make a picture of her for the cover of some baby food product of a nation wide company. He followed them for a few days and even made several photos to convince Ducia, but she decided to stay away from a stranger in unknown to her country, so she refused. Showing me the picture of her could be cover of a famous American cereal, she said with a sigh “cautious Ducia preferred to loose easy money in favor of safe and quiet life of her granddaughter”.
Natasha in 1950, New York
At the age of four and a half Natasha and Ducia were sent back to Moscow, Inna decided that her daughter was grown up enough to live with her grandmother. Successful secretary enjoyed her life at work and even more at her free time, doing shopping, playing tennis, spending hours on beach or in Mission's mansion out of city. Another big reason for Inna to send Natasha out was her second pregnancy, Inna wanted to concentrate on, without any distraction. Well, it was the first travel Natasha could recall, she remembered Atlantic and a big ship Queen Mary, and then how big contrast to the bright American city was grey and gloomy city of Moscow in 1952.
Yet one more huge difference was her Moscow residence, single room in an apartment shared by four families. Ducia being extremely cautious, actually expecting from any neighbor a some kind of report to KGB about people from America, she forbidden Natasha speak any English in the public places, which included everywhere outside their room. Natasha did not see her mother almost two years until her sister Olga was big enough to travel to Moscow.