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In 1949 Sasha got a problem during his night shift at the printing house - the central committee of the Communist party discovered a typo in the newspaper. This happened during the period of struggle against cosmopolitism (5) and the Central Committee insisted that he was dismissed. He was deeply upset about it and we all felt sorry for him, but his boss couldn’t help him, because they got instructions from higher authorities. Sasha was a war veteran and had an order of the Great patriotic War and few medals. He wrote letters to all newspapers looking for justice and even the “Komsomol Truth”, a most popular newspaper in the former USSR, published his letter, but there was nothing to do. His editor valued him high and gave him a job assignment in Donbass. He lived there at the hotel and we corresponded for whole year. Later our editor Mr. Statipko was promoted and replaced by Mr. Kolomiets, a former secretary for propaganda of the Chernovtsy regional Party committee. We worked together in Western Ukraine and developed nice relationships. Kolomiets was aware that Sasha and I were close and assured me that he would help. He helped to return Khandros to the propaganda department in Kiev, only Sasha couldn’t be restored on his former position.
Our deputy editor kept telling me to join the party and said that he would give his recommendation. But during the period of struggle against cosmopolitism he changed his attitude dramatically. Once I joined a group of representatives of the Central Committee of Komsomol of Ukraine (headed by 2nd secretary Semichastniy) going to Stanislav region to monitor how they managed with their work with young people. Zaslavskiy, our former deputy editor, asked me to take a letter to director of Stanislav garment factory: during the war Zaslavskiy, his wife and director of the factory were frontline friends. I called this woman when we arrived to tell her that I had a letter for her. She said that she would be happy to see me, only she couldn’t invite me home, because it was so cold in her house and there were no utilities functioning. We decided to meet at a restaurant, she ordered schnitzel and coffee and I gave her the letter. On the following day I came to the café where our group was having dinner and said “hallo” to Semichastniy. He smiled and said “Well, well, we’ve come here to criticize director of the factory and you, a Komsomol secretary and a journalist, meet with him at the restaurant?” - these people had their informers everywhere. I went to see him in his office later to explain that a frontline friends of director of the factory asked me to give them a letter. He smiled and said “Well, I understand, but you know how wicked ideas people can have”. When I returned to Kiev deputy editor that was also secretary of the Party organization asked me in his office and said “Here we criticize director of the factory for his failure to organize work with young people and our correspondent enjoys herself in a restaurant with them!” This happened during the period of struggle against cosmopolitism and my boss could accuse me of “slackening of political awareness”, but fortunately, it didn’t happen. Semichastniy was a decent man and didn’t pay attention to this event.
Our deputy editor kept telling me to join the party and said that he would give his recommendation. But during the period of struggle against cosmopolitism he changed his attitude dramatically. Once I joined a group of representatives of the Central Committee of Komsomol of Ukraine (headed by 2nd secretary Semichastniy) going to Stanislav region to monitor how they managed with their work with young people. Zaslavskiy, our former deputy editor, asked me to take a letter to director of Stanislav garment factory: during the war Zaslavskiy, his wife and director of the factory were frontline friends. I called this woman when we arrived to tell her that I had a letter for her. She said that she would be happy to see me, only she couldn’t invite me home, because it was so cold in her house and there were no utilities functioning. We decided to meet at a restaurant, she ordered schnitzel and coffee and I gave her the letter. On the following day I came to the café where our group was having dinner and said “hallo” to Semichastniy. He smiled and said “Well, well, we’ve come here to criticize director of the factory and you, a Komsomol secretary and a journalist, meet with him at the restaurant?” - these people had their informers everywhere. I went to see him in his office later to explain that a frontline friends of director of the factory asked me to give them a letter. He smiled and said “Well, I understand, but you know how wicked ideas people can have”. When I returned to Kiev deputy editor that was also secretary of the Party organization asked me in his office and said “Here we criticize director of the factory for his failure to organize work with young people and our correspondent enjoys herself in a restaurant with them!” This happened during the period of struggle against cosmopolitism and my boss could accuse me of “slackening of political awareness”, but fortunately, it didn’t happen. Semichastniy was a decent man and didn’t pay attention to this event.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Sheindlia Krishtal
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