Baby Pisetskaya with school mates

This is a picture of me (second from right standing in the second row), with the group of school children awarded a trip to the Caucasus for successful studies. We are near the RKK recreation center in Sochi. This photo was taken in 1940. I studied in a secondary school. I studied German at school. We also passed our tests for GTO [ready for labor and defense] and 'Voroshylov rifle shooter' badges. I attended an artistic embroidery club and wrote poems. I was a pioneer and attended a club in the House of Pioneers. I sang with a string orchestra. I liked singing and got invitations to sing on the radio and in concerts. Our string orchestra gave concerts at kolkhozes and factories. In 1940 I was awarded a trip to Sochi on the Black Sea for my successful studies. I went with Abdulla Yusupov, a Tatar boy from another school. This was an unforgettable tour: we went mountaineering and bathed in the sea. We had bus tours to the towns of Adler and Chosta. We went to places of interest and took a drive on the funicular.