Semyon Nezhynski with his wife Irina Nezhynskaya

This is a picture of my wife, Irina Nezhynskaya, nee Razumnaya, and me after we registered our marriage. This photo was taken in Noginsk, Moscow region, in 1944. On 16th October 1942 I met Irina Razumnaya who was a student of Ordjonikidze Pedagogical College. Irina was born in Ordjonikidze in 1923. She is Russian, but I didn't care about it. I fell in love with her. I corresponded with Irina throughout the war. This was very important to me since I didn't have any information about my parents' whereabouts until March 1944. Irina was the only close person for me. Irina's letters were of the utmost importance to me. My wife was finishing college when my regiment was being remanned. This was probably the only opportunity for us to see each other. Nobody could say what was ahead of us. I sent Irina a telegram signed by the commanding officer of the unit, saying 'Nezhynski is wounded. Please arrive, if possible'. I put down my address. There was no direct train from Rostov then. Irina got to Schemilovo via Stalinabad. She didn't know whether I was alive, but she was hoping for the best intending to look after me until I recovered. I had already recovered and met her at the railway station. She stayed with me for a few days and then I said, 'Let's take a risk. If I survive we shall live together. We shall see what life has in store for us. Let's get married!' We got married on 19th January 1944 in the town of Noginsk near Moscow. We had the choice between Moscow and Noginsk. Both were about 30 kilometers from our location. We then decided that since our last name starts with the same letter as Noginsk we should go there.