This is a photo of me on my 75th birthday, photographed with my wife Lubov Rudiak and our grandson Alexandr Rudiak, our younger son Yuri's son. The photo is taken in Ternopol in 2000.
I and Lubov Rudiak got marriage in 1952. We had a good life. I held a managerial position at work, but I wanted to go back to Odessa. When I told my boss that I was going to quit he told me to obtain our minister's permission from Kiev. I didn't go to Kiev, but I continued looking for a job. When I found a suitable job my management approved my choice since I was staying in Ternopol working in the same branch. In 1953 I went to work at a design institute with the salary three times my previous salary. It was a lot of money at that time and our life was improving. I found my work interesting. I was responsible for development and implementation of designs for restoration and reconstruction of the town, parks and gardens, buildings and even an artificial lake in the center of Ternopol. I worked as director of a design shop for many years and then - chief of Ternopol regional department of the design institute. I wasn't promoted for a long time afterwards, after the first promotion, because I was a Jew. Nobody told me openly, but this was evident since there were no other reasons for not promoting me. My management knew about my skills and qualification. Once secretary of the town Party committee asked me to solve a problem for his son that about twenty people before me failed to resolve. It took me an instant to give him the right answer after I read the problem. However, they were in no hurry to promote me since I worked hard anyway. They were very well aware that Jews didn't have many choices with getting an employment. I worked 43 years and retired in 1993. I didn't participate in any public activities. I had to attend Party meetings and pay my monthly fees, though.
My wife worked as a teacher of the Russian language and literature in a school in the center of the town. Our children finished this school. We live in a small town where she taught many children. For her kind heart and readiness to come to help at any moment people call her 'Bureau of good services.' We often had her pupils that had problems with their parents stay with us. Once Lubov's friend left her husband and stayed with us for some time and children of our acquaintances that came to town to enter a college lived with us. We kept our door open. We had a difficult, but interesting life. We went to the cinema and Russian and Ukrainian Drama Theaters and never missed a performance of Kiev or Odessa theaters when they came on tours. We had many friends. We celebrated Soviet holidays together: October revolution Day and 1 May. We often had guests. Lubov is very hospitable. She likes cooking and having guests. Before our children got married we spent vacations together at recreation centers in the Crimea and Caucasus.
