Boris Rubenstein as baby

Mum and Daddy got married in 1927, and in 1929 I was born. Daddy then worked as a zootechnician in Proskurov, and we moved to the city of Nikolaev in 1932. We settled in a good (by standards of that time) 2-room apartment on the second floor. It was a small part of an ancient private residence in the city centre. We had electricity, but the heating was by stoves. The kitchen was common with neighbours and we had a rather large verandah. The apartment was very sunny. We had a very large multinational court yard, where about 40 families lived. There were many children in the court yard, basically girls, for some reason,. But I was on very good terms with them. I remember how my day began. I got up early in the morning, went down to the court yard, sat on the granite parapet heated by the sun and waited for my friends to come out. We played many outdoor games. At that time Daddy worked in a large suburban state farm 14 km from the city [state farm - state agricultural enterprise]. In summer we lived there with Mum and had a rest. I was a very mobile and inquisitive boy then. In the early morning I left together with the workers of the state farm to the fields. It was all the same to me how to go: on a horse cart, on a tractor, by oxen or by car, which was a big rarity then. There was a small club, where they used to show silent pictures on certain days. The display of films was accompanied by music played by a string ensemble. Workers of the state farm with their families came to see the film. Amateur performances were also staged in the club. I, too, participated in them.