Irina Lidskaya

This is me, Irina Lidskaya in 10th grade. The photo was taken in Kiev in 1950. When I was at this school I became a pioneer, but I have no memories of it. I almost had problems with Komsomol, as I hesitated to become a member. By the beginning of the tenth grade, all the other students had become Komsomol members. I was called to the Director on a daily basis. They kept asking me over and over when I would join the Komsomol. My answer was always the same -- that I was not quite ready for it. We had long discussions, and they told me that it would be a problem for me to enter the Institute if I were not a Komsomol member. In the end I went to the district Komsomol Committee and obtained my Komsomol membership card.