Tag #141357 - Interview #102467 (Raissa Makarevich)

But it was not always like this. I remember well the Ukrainian famine of 1933. Father got horse sausage somewhere. He and Mamma didn’t eat it, they left it for us, children. I remember the starving people. Once, I came down our building's stairs and saw a stranger. He was lying on the ground, his legs were swollen and huge as barrels, he was breathing hard and died soon after. Sometime later, a wagon covered with black cloth came to pick up the dead man. At school they gave us some food and bread in exchange for special coupons. Our situation at home was a little better than it was for other families – at least our father worked in a store. Mamma taught us to share bread and food with those who were suffering more than us. And at school we always shared our breakfast with other children.

At school, I was an Octobrist and a pioneer. I was proud to wear my red pioneer tie – I thought it was the most beautiful thing ever. My father, however religious he was, was understanding about our interest in all this stuff. He did not object to our becoming pioneers and, later, Komsomol members. We, in turn, respected his outlook and his faith. Our family was very close.

I finished seven classes at school. I went to work at the Kiev-Petrovka railroad station as an assistant accountant and then became a full accountant. While working there, I took night classes and finished secondary school. At the same time, I became a member of the Komsomol League and the Komsomol Bureau.