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At first they employed us at the motor-transport station and I became a weigher. It was a night job, and it was very cold, Mother muffled me in ‘valenki’ [traditional Russian felt boots] and a sheepskin. We used all winter clothes that we had taken with us. We sold Father’s clothes – he had a ‘bekesh’ [short sheepskin] – as it was necessary to buy food. After I found a job, I got a food ration.
Then, my pal Sarah Sigal, who repatriated to Israel later on, worked as a head bookkeeper in ‘raizemotdel’ [regional land department] and invited me and Sophia, one of my cousins, to be accountants. We even learned about external courses for accountants, and I applied for those courses. Later they moved us from Tarkhany village to a village, where I was employed as an accountant. We got a separate house over there, while our grandparents stayed in Tarkhany. We bought a goat, a couple of pigs, some chickens, and organized our own husbandry.
Then, my pal Sarah Sigal, who repatriated to Israel later on, worked as a head bookkeeper in ‘raizemotdel’ [regional land department] and invited me and Sophia, one of my cousins, to be accountants. We even learned about external courses for accountants, and I applied for those courses. Later they moved us from Tarkhany village to a village, where I was employed as an accountant. We got a separate house over there, while our grandparents stayed in Tarkhany. We bought a goat, a couple of pigs, some chickens, and organized our own husbandry.
Period
Location
Russia
Interview
Anna Dremlug