Capitolina and Lev Fiedelgolts

These are my parents, mother Capitolina Fiedelgolts and father Lev Fiedelgolts having a walk out of town. The picture was taken shortly after I was born during country walk.

The photograph was taken in Moscow in 1927.

Having finished lyceum in 1916 father at the age of 17 went to study in Petersburg. There was a cult of medicine in the family and father was firm to become a doctor.

It was very hard to enter the higher educational institution as there was a 5% admission quota for the Jews. Father was lucky and he was admitted in the university. There was the physiology chair on the faculty of the natural science, headed by the renowned and decent doctor-physiologist Leon Orbeli.

He ignored the admission quota for the Jews, and accepted as many Jews he considered appropriate judging by the results of the examinations and interlocution.

My father was admitted by Orbeli. Father was an excellent student and did well in studies. When the entire family moved to Moscow, father was transferred to Medicine Department of Moscow University. Father was in the fourth year.

Later on in 1926, when the medicine faculty was transferred into 1st Moscow Medical Institute, father went to Moscow. Orbeli played an important role in the life, he gave the recommendation to the rector of 1st Moscow Medical Institute.

Orbeli wrote in his letter that a very gifted student would come over to his university and he asked to assist. Father was not specialized in neurology, so he was sent to study to be taught by the famous neurologists.

After graduation father was offered a job to teach at 1st Medical University. He became a post-graduate student, defended his thesis, he was an assistant professor, when he was teaching. He also was involved in practical work.

He published over 40 works. Unfortunately, the Great Patriotic war haltered his intention to defend the doctoral dissertation, which was almost complete.

Mother was on maternal leave, while I was an infant. When I was more or less independent, at the age of 5, mother enrolled on the courses of laboratory assistant. She worked in clinics of Moscow Medical Institute as a microbiologist- laboratory assistant. Mother was a good worker, then she was promoted even to the medical position though he did not have higher education.

Father was a stickler of communistic ideas in the youth. He welcomed the revolution as of 1917. When the civil war was unleashed, father discontinued his studies and joined the Soviet army. as a volunteer. He also joined the Bolshevik party.

Father worked in the political department of the party, but he had to take part in the reconnaissance and in battles. He sincerely adhered to ideas of world revolution. When the civil war was over, father came to the university and regained studies.

My mother Capitolina was born in Moscow suburb, in Bronnitsy [50 km from the center of Moscow] in 1899. It was a very wealthy family. There were 12 children in the family, but I did not know many of them. My mother was the youngest in the family.

Grandfather made sure that all his children were educated in lyceum, mother also finished the full lyceum course. My grandfather built 12 houses over there for each of the children. Of course of that property was sequestrated by soviet regime.

My parents met, when father was practicing medicine and was in the last year of the institute, internship. He was assigned to hold internship in tuberculosis sanatorium in Moscow suburb. Mother was afflicted with tuberculosis as a result emaciation from hunger during revolution and civil war.

The doctors sent her to the sanatorium for a treatment course. My parents met there and fell in love with each other. My mother's feeling was even stronger than love - it was adoration, worshiping. I cannot even put in words.

The picture on my table tells a lot about them. Father was looking ahead of him, and mother looked as if she only needed father in her life. It has always been like that between them.

Parents got married in 1926. They merely got registered in the state registration authority. They moved to the communal apartment in Moscow working district. I was born in 1927. I was named Yuri.