I Want to Share My Life Story
So to start at the start, I was born in a suburb of Minsk called Ratamka in 1984. Back then this was part of the Soviet Union, the Byelorussian SSR. I would be lying if I said I remember this place from my early years as I probably do not, I have visited twice since in my life, firstly to see my grandparents when I was about 10 years old, secondly to attend my grandmothers funeral only 3 years ago.
My father was a police officer and had done no other job other than military service as a young man. At the time of my birth he was 3rd lieutenant which i would say is not so high but perhaps supervising officer of less experienced staff. My mother helped run the stables which was one of the main purposes of the town - a lot of people came to Ratamka for horse riding and jumping and dressage. My mother was a sportswoman who had medals and awards for horse jumping. She was very happy to do this.
As a family we moved to Kaliningrad Oblast when I was very young, before starting school. We lived in a small town called Ladushkin about 20km from the Poland border. Ladushkin was a great town for a family to grow up, I had one older brother and one younger sister and we were very happy. I remember we could ride our bikes to the beach which is on the Baltic sea and everyone was very friendly. My mother and father were very popular, I was told the transfer was due to my fathers work - he was able to be promoted within the police, but I think now he knew what was ahead and wanted to leave Minsk. My mother did not work whilst we lived here, but would look after us and other children from the school.
I remember vividly the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989. I was fvery young, 5 years old, but my mother and father were both crying - not to be sad, but to be excited. Of course now I understand why. At the time though it was unsettling, I did not appreciate what was happening. I remember the town gathering around the statue and singing songs. Looking back, I do not know how my father was supposed to react in public.
In school we were taught this was not about the Soviet Union, only the East and West Germany. Of course I was very young, I'm not sure how older children at high school may have been taught more information. My early school life was good, I had a lot of friends, I remember going to parties and going dance classes. There was a lot of children in the town and we were very close.
It does not seem so close from the Berlin Wall that dissolution happened to the Soviet Union, it was only 2 years. but to a child of 5-7 years old this is a long time. I remember there were gatherings in the town, my father having to work all day and all night for such a long time, my mother very stressed and crying a lot - I am sure this was just with worry for her husband. There were protests and the state controlled organisations, like the police were perhaps targets. Thankfully, my father was never hurt or injured during this time.
I knew of our neighboring states, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and of course my home SSR of Belarus. Each would declare independence but this was not for Kaliningrad, there was still to be a Russian identity and the people were treated well by Russia, by Moscow. This is how we arrived at our special status as a Russian exclave in Europe. I was too young to understand, looking back I'm happy I had a very normal childhood. there were very dangerous parts of the Soviet Union at this time, some fighting and wars but Kaliningrad was never part of this, never really unhappy. If we had stayed in Minsk my father would have been in a lot more danger.
Thank you for reading!
My father was a police officer and had done no other job other than military service as a young man. At the time of my birth he was 3rd lieutenant which i would say is not so high but perhaps supervising officer of less experienced staff. My mother helped run the stables which was one of the main purposes of the town - a lot of people came to Ratamka for horse riding and jumping and dressage. My mother was a sportswoman who had medals and awards for horse jumping. She was very happy to do this.
As a family we moved to Kaliningrad Oblast when I was very young, before starting school. We lived in a small town called Ladushkin about 20km from the Poland border. Ladushkin was a great town for a family to grow up, I had one older brother and one younger sister and we were very happy. I remember we could ride our bikes to the beach which is on the Baltic sea and everyone was very friendly. My mother and father were very popular, I was told the transfer was due to my fathers work - he was able to be promoted within the police, but I think now he knew what was ahead and wanted to leave Minsk. My mother did not work whilst we lived here, but would look after us and other children from the school.
I remember vividly the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989. I was fvery young, 5 years old, but my mother and father were both crying - not to be sad, but to be excited. Of course now I understand why. At the time though it was unsettling, I did not appreciate what was happening. I remember the town gathering around the statue and singing songs. Looking back, I do not know how my father was supposed to react in public.
In school we were taught this was not about the Soviet Union, only the East and West Germany. Of course I was very young, I'm not sure how older children at high school may have been taught more information. My early school life was good, I had a lot of friends, I remember going to parties and going dance classes. There was a lot of children in the town and we were very close.
It does not seem so close from the Berlin Wall that dissolution happened to the Soviet Union, it was only 2 years. but to a child of 5-7 years old this is a long time. I remember there were gatherings in the town, my father having to work all day and all night for such a long time, my mother very stressed and crying a lot - I am sure this was just with worry for her husband. There were protests and the state controlled organisations, like the police were perhaps targets. Thankfully, my father was never hurt or injured during this time.
I knew of our neighboring states, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and of course my home SSR of Belarus. Each would declare independence but this was not for Kaliningrad, there was still to be a Russian identity and the people were treated well by Russia, by Moscow. This is how we arrived at our special status as a Russian exclave in Europe. I was too young to understand, looking back I'm happy I had a very normal childhood. there were very dangerous parts of the Soviet Union at this time, some fighting and wars but Kaliningrad was never part of this, never really unhappy. If we had stayed in Minsk my father would have been in a lot more danger.
Thank you for reading!
36-40, F
