Tag #146588 - Interview #78019 (Rita Kazhdan)

As for all Soviet people, 5th March 1953, the day of Stalin's death, has remained in my memory. At that time I was studying at a dress-making course. Suddenly they declared Stalin's death. I heard exclamations from everywhere 'Oh! Ah!' and I calmly said: 'Well, thank God!' in some mechanical way. I remember one more incident from this year. I was at my friends' place, at the house of an elderly architect Galkevich. I was on friendly terms with his wife Lyuda. She sewed for me. During a conversation I said of Stalin: 'It serves him right!' Something of that kind. Alexey, Lyuda's brother was there when I said this. As Lyuda told me later, he said: 'I shall imprison her for such words!' And then Galkevich, a Russian, reacted very sharply: 'If you dare do so, if a single hair falls from her head because of you, you will never set foot in my house, even though you are my wife's brother!