Bella Kisselgof 's mother's brothers: Misha and Grisha Rivkin

My mother's brothers: Misha (seated) and Grisha (standing) Rivkin. The photo is signed 'For the eternal memory to our dear sister Sonia from Misha and Grisha. 28/VII. 32.' The photo was taken in Gorlovka in 1932. Grisha lived in Gorlovka after the war and worked at the headquarters of the mine. He married a Russian girl. At that time, after the revolution, nationality didn't matter to young people. All were Soviet citizens and internationalists. Grisha and his wife had a son. Uncle Grisha perished at the front in 1943. He was at the Stalingrad front with my father and that is all we know about him. My grandfather and grandmother got along well with their daughter-in-law, at least, to all appearances. They also welcomed Misha's Russian wife. Uncle Misha also lived in Gorlovka before the war. He worked at the production association. At age 18, he married a girl of 16. My mother told me the story of his marriage. Mama had a friend, a Russian girl named Elena. Misha was renting a room in Gorlovka then. He saw Lena where Mama lived, took her by the hand and they went to his home and started living together. There was no national issue in Donbass, the miners' region. They lived in civil marriage. In 1936 Yury, their first son, was born. Misha was at the front during the war. After he returned the couple had another son, Victor. When it was time for the boy to go to school, Misha and Elena got officially married. Misha worked at the association and did some commerce. He died in 1982.