Lev Drobyazko's uncle, mother's elder brother Yakov Vaisblat.

My uncle, mother's eldest brother, Yakov (Jewish name - Yankel) Vaisblat. He was born in 1880 in Malin. The photo was taken around 1900 in Kiev. The first son of Rabbi Nukhim and Basya Vaisblat, he left Malin very early, after finishing secondary school. In Kiev he received the education of a builder and worked in construction. Yankel, later Yakov Vaisblat, lived an absolutely secular life; he was very handsome, played cards and billiards, and had a lot of girl-friends. He saw many countries during his construction tours. He never had a family of his own, and died at the age of 44 from tuberculosis, which he contracted from his mother, my grandmother.