Evgeni Chazov’s mother Friena Chazova and sister Ludmila Borisenko
My mother Friena Chazova and my sister Ludmila. This photo was made on my sister's 2nd birthday in Krivoy Rog in 1934 .
In 1932 my older sister Ludmila Chazova was born in Krivoy Rog. A year later my father was transferred to work in Dnepropetrovsk in 30 km from Krivoy Rog. My mother entered the Medical College there. It was her dream to become a doctor. However, she had to quit the college three years later after my father got another assignment. My mother obtained an assistant doctor diploma [issued to students who quit their studies inmature, had however sufficient knowledge to work as junior medical personnel]. My father got an assignment in Ovruch, Zhytomir region, in 120 km from Kiev. My parents always stayed in state owned apartments with furniture and everything necessary. All these belonged to the state and they only took their belongings with them. Ovruch was a small town with the majority of Jewish population, but my parents resided in the military housing district with its customs and rules. Wives of the military were friends and lived in their own close community. In 1936 I was born.
My father was political deputy of commanding officer of the military unit. He was a colonel. My mother worked as a nurse in the medical unit of the division. My father was convinced that the wife of a political officer just had to go to work. We lived in a cottage owned by the division. There were 3 big rooms and a kitchen in the house. The furniture was also owned by the division and each piece of furniture had an inventory number on it. Even curtains and tablecloths were owned by the division. We had a housemaid that did cleaning and cooking and also looked after my sister and me. My mother said that my father had many friends: they were his comrade officers, for the most part. There were frequent gatherings in our house to celebrate Soviet holidays: 1 May and October revolution Day. On Sunday officers' families visited each other and had parties.