Ivanov Union

Ivanov, as you know, the Russian land holds on. The most common surname, one might say. We even have two ministers (of defense and foreign affairs) wearing it. And the Ivanovs live not only in Russia. How many of them are scattered all over the world - in the near and far abroad! By the way, how do they live there? We asked our correspondents in Latvia, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine to find out this point.

Belarus: where you were not born, you came in handy there
...Amigo - a luxurious parrot, as if from a pirate ship, has been living in the Ivanov family for twenty-six years. Yuri Stepanovich, who retired with the rank of lieutenant general, brought him to Minsk from Cuba - with all the documents necessary for such a rare bird. But of course, this is a gift from Fidel Castro himself! Gratitude for assistance in training the Cuban military, who were “schooled” by General Ivanov, leading a group of advisers.
By the way, after Freedom Island, Yuri Stepanovich could choose to live anywhere in the USSR, but the Ivanovs’ spouses became attached to Belarus. Here their son was born, their careers were successful, and they made friends.
So a native of Veliky Ustyug, a former combat commander of a T-34 platoon and a native Leningrader, goddaughter of the poet Balmont, taken along the Ladoga Road of Life from the besieged city, settled in Minsk with a parrot friend...
Even the wise Amigo knows the love story of his owners! Sitting on Yuri Stepanovich's shoulder, the parrot likes to spend a long time looking at photographs depicting a peasant guy similar to Chaliapin, who submitted documents to the Leningrad Conservatory before the war and retrained as a tank driver on the orders of the Motherland. But in the photo the mother of his beloved wife Lidochka was a nurse of mercy during the First World War. But her father, the Red commander Joseph Adriannikov, was shot in 1937 as an enemy of the people. Well, Lidochka herself, to whom the wounded elder Yura Ivanov proposed at the Shuya hospital. By the way, this happened on May 9, 1945!
Amigo, aka Mishka, at such moments, stops cooing and becomes silent. And I am also silent. What should I ask? About the retired general's life? Why not. After all, there was a lot of interesting things in it - both funny and sad, everything. For example, during the perestroika years, General Yuri Ivanov, who had fallen ill, was saved by Marshal Sergei Akhromeyev by sending his former subordinate foreign medicine worth 6 thousand rubles (at that time, all the savings of the general couple barely amounted to 4 thousand).
Our heroic general, who does not like to put on his ceremonial jacket because of the weight of front-line awards, does not complain about life at all. On the contrary, at 80 he writes articles and books. He considers a pension of 280 thousand Belarusian rubles (about 5,300 ours) normal. In addition, Lydia Iosifovna, chasing her husband around the garrisons, did not sit idly by and earned her share of 70 thousand (this is about 1,400 rubles). There is enough for themselves and Amigo and their unmarried granddaughter Olga who lives with them.
In a word, Lieutenant General Ivanov is pleased. Beloved wife. An apartment. Pension. Lukashenko Alexander Grigorievich. And especially with my son and grandchildren.
Yuri Stepanovich’s son is truly an eagle. But he doesn’t share his father’s views on many things. That’s why he recently resigned from the post of director of the Borisov Mechanical Repair Plant, having previously pulled him out of the laggards, bringing the workers’ wages from 14 to 160 thousand rubles (equivalent to $100). He even opened a company store... And suddenly he handed in his resignation. He explains his actions this way: “I’m tired of the helplessness and lack of rights of the directors’ corps. From questions from workers that I can’t answer. From the lawlessness, when in one year in Borisov alone, a city with a population of 150 thousand, 14 directors were removed from their positions.”
Now Igor Yuryevich commands a workshop at a numbered plant. Successfully commands. For 240 thousand Belarusian rubles per month.
And the youngest Ivanov, Yuri Igorevich, followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. Serves in Borisov as deputy chief of staff of the division. Currently in the rank of senior lieutenant, but will also be a captain. Then you can count on an increase to your current salary. Otherwise, you have to pay almost a fifth of the starley’s salary just for the apartment you rent with your young wife. Quite a lot. What if the next Belarusian Ivanov wants to be born?..
Lyudmila Selitskaya. Minsk.

Ukraine: you can’t fool your last name
Who said that a name does not affect a person's destiny? It has such an influence, and the last name even more so! At the same time, there are many reasons for changing a surname. Both due to some personal moments (well, I don’t like the sound of the last name), and forced. Only God knows how many newly minted Ivanovs and Petrovs appeared on the territory of the former USSR during the years of Soviet power. We are talking about just such a person. Our Ivanov should not have been Ivanov at all, but fate and the cautious father decreed that, giving his son the surname of his second wife. What the father's last name was is another question. What is called “the son of a lawyer.”
In short, Vladimir Borisovich Ivanov, born in 1959 in Kharkov, grew up as a completely Soviet child. He was a pioneer, a Komsomol member, graduated from school, and it was then that he appreciated his father’s foresight. The university he decided to enroll in was completely closed to the “unreliable,” which at that time included just about anyone! But for Ivanov all doors were open. He entered physics and mathematics and completed it quite successfully.
This is where the first embarrassment with the surname happened. Our Ivanov was a very capable student, and his path was predetermined - graduate school, department, degree. But, unfortunately, in his native Kharkov there was a research institute for low temperatures and there was a department there entirely consisting of employees whose last names either ended in “stein” or “berg”. It got to the point that the HR department ordered the boss to hire at least one engineer with a “normal last name”, so as not to spread “Zionism” at the research institute. It was not customary to argue with the HR department at that time.
The enraged head of the department, who, by the way, lost the right person to “Zionism,” came to the university where our hero studied for assignment and declared that he would hire a person with the last name Ivanov without looking. But when recruit Volodya Ivanov entered the department and said: “Hello!” - according to eyewitnesses, the team was unable to work from laughter until the break. But laughter is laughter, and Ivanov just had no time for that! The topic of his scientific work had nothing to do with either low or high temperatures. According to the laws of the time, a young specialist was chained to the enterprise, like a slave on a galley, for three years. There was nowhere to go, Ivanov honestly served his term and only then entered graduate school at his native university. However, perestroika struck, and troubled times came when a candidate of sciences, living on a salary, could not feed his family.
This is where the genes of my grandfather, who had a different surname and was quite successfully engaged in commerce on a particularly large scale, came into play, which was assessed by the Soviet authorities as fifteen years in the camps, where his grandfather perished. After this, by the way, our hero’s father had a desire to become Ivanov...
Ivanov the son gathered unsuccessful candidates like himself, and they went into business. The topic of commerce was a familiar one: computers. Having managed to deliver several small batches to friendly Kharkov research institutes, a group of businessmen earned some money and began to dream of “big business.” Ivanov furnished the apartment, dressed his wife up a little, and even bought a used Quartet.
The theme of “big business” was French perfume. Superficial marketing of the Ukrainian perfume market foreshadowed unprecedented profits. The contract was concluded, bets were made, money was invested.
But, apparently, Ivanov remained Ivanov for a long time and the surname had a detrimental effect on the commercial vein. Theoretically, the project was flawless, but delivery of the perfume was entrusted to a Western Ukrainian transport company with virtually no control. The cargo left France, crossed the border of Ukraine and... disappeared. Two months later, the goods were found in one of the customs warehouses of Ukraine - in a heavily gutted state. Ivanov was ready to sprinkle ashes on his head. Moreover, perfume of the same brand appeared on the market at a bargain price. Isn’t it them, dear ones?
The commercial union collapsed with a terrible crash. True, several boxes of eau de toilette helped the Ivanov couple out for a couple of years. At least I had something to give to my friends. The last bottle was presented to my mother-in-law on the occasion of the millennium.
At the turn of the millennium, an idea was born in the Ivanov family - to leave independent Ukraine. The conversation with the hero of our story took place just the other day, just before he left for permanent residence in Germany:
— By the age of forty, I realized that I was not a businessman - working at the department brings neither money nor pleasure. And what have I gained here? Two rooms on the old Saltovka (outskirts of Kharkov), a rotting “four”, a dacha plot of six acres without a house, moronic students... And I have two children.
Workers of my qualifications are unlikely to be needed there, but I’ll look around and come up with something...
- Perfume shop?
- Over my corpse! Perfume, especially French... no, that’s it, I’ll hate it for the rest of my life.
— Tell me, what is the reason for such unsuccessful commerce?
“I’ve been Ivanov for too long!” (Laughs.) It’s just that the ancestors worked honestly, relying on their partner’s word, and their word was kept! And here is a wild market, partners are like spiders in a jar! Probably, if I had not lost three years as a young specialist, I would now be engaged in science. And so I cooled off at the Institute of Low Temperatures!
— Do you want to change your last name back? Maybe that's the problem?
- No. I’ve been Ivanov all my life! And my children Ivanov. By the way, he proved his “Jewishness” without any problems when preparing documents for leaving. Is it worth changing the name of the ship?
The next day, Ivanov left Kharkov for Kiev Boryspil airport to leave Ukraine forever.
Sergey Krivulya. Kharkov.

Georgia: tennis player from Tbilisi
Alla Ivanova is an honorary master of sports of international class in tennis, a participant in five Spartakiads of the peoples of the USSR, a multiple winner of the USSR championships, a member of the Union national team for 15 years. For 12 years she was one of the ten strongest tennis players in the country. Alla was born and still lives in Georgia.
— Tell us about your family.
— I was born in 1946 in Tbilisi. My father was a carpenter - a restorer of antique furniture, my mother worked in a garment factory. I have two sisters. One is ten, the other is twelve years older. My father is a native of Tbilisi, but my mother is from the Penza region. At one time, in search of a better life, she came to Georgia to visit her aunt who lived here.
Actually, my grandmother was Ivanova, and my grandfather was a Pole named Novakovsky. He was repressed in the 30s, and his grandmother rewrote his father’s name so that he would not suffer the same fate. Life was very hard and hungry for them then. However, who had it easy?
— How did sport enter your life and why did you choose tennis, which was completely unusual for those times?
- Don't even know. In 1954, when I started playing tennis as an eight-year-old, I, of course, didn’t think that it would be for the rest of my life. A huge role in my introduction to sports was played by my older sister’s husband, Eduard Giorgadze, himself a water polo player. But the main person in sports for me is coach Marya Vladimirovna Kldiashvili. She taught me a lot, not only in sports, but also in life. We were always together - both in joy and in sorrow. Her lessons have helped me many times.
By the way, already in 1957, my tennis lessons began to affect the family budget. At that time, athletes were given food stamps, clothing, and travel passes. And this was a tangible help. Since 1959, I already began to participate in the Spartakiads of the peoples of the USSR, in 1961 I completed the master standard, and in 62 I joined the Union team, for which I fought for 15 years. In ’64, having taken first place in the qualifying tournament, she entered Wimbledon, where she entered the top four.
—What was the fate of your sisters?
— They still live in Tbilisi, both housewives. But the niece is a philologist, and the nephew followed in the footsteps of his father - now he is the deputy chief of the fire department of Georgia, a colonel. We see each other often, spend a lot of time together, we have become Georgian in this sense, Russians live more separately. I help my sisters as much as I can. One of my sisters’ salary is 14 lari, and my niece’s salary is 40 (1 lari = 15 rubles - Ed.). Go ahead and live on this money!
— Alla, you traveled a lot around the Union, visited abroad more than once, and had the opportunity to compare. Have you ever wanted to leave Georgia?
— You know, during the “highest” hours of my life, I was invited many times to live and play in Moscow, Kyiv, Baku, Yerevan. They offered me an apartment and all that stuff. But the thought of leaving did not arise. For some reason, people think that if they leave, the new place will definitely be better. I believe that a person should not get lost anywhere; it is a human duty to arrange one’s life and try to live well.
- And yet, if you were given the right to choose, what would you change?
- I wouldn't change anything. I lived a happy life. There were failures, of course, but there was also fame and recognition, so it’s a sin to complain. Although I am not married now and have never been married. I live with the concerns of my sisters’ families and the affairs of my pets.
— Don’t you blame big sport for the fact that your personal life has not worked out?
“I don’t blame you, although that may be the reason.” Climbing the steps of the podium, I always thought only about playing and winning. And then somehow it didn’t work out...
— Do you keep in touch with your relatives in Russia?
— I have relatives in Penza - on my mother’s side. Nephews, nieces. Previously, we communicated closely, corresponded, congratulated each other on holidays, and even went to visit. But after the death of my mother or for some other reason, the connection was somehow interrupted. You have to pay a lot of money for a visa alone, not to mention tickets...
— What are your happiest and most difficult memories?
- With sports. Being at the zenith of our glory, we were welcome guests everywhere, we were invited everywhere, we were welcome, and strived for acquaintance and communication. This of course gave pleasant moments. The most offensive thing is when they forget about you... In 1992, perhaps the most difficult period in my life began. Mom was dying, the war began in Abkhazia, and I underwent a difficult operation. I always thought that I had many friends. It turned out that one or two things were wrong... I actually had to start everything from scratch. I was on crutches, we turned out to be beggars - the money turned into pieces of paper and evaporated. They lived from hand to mouth, hoping only for a miracle. The only people who helped were my colleagues and the city sports committee. Some money was collected - as much as anyone could, and with this money I buried my mother... But nothing. Life goes on. Today I am again engaged in coaching, enjoying the achievements of my students.
- And is there anything to be proud of?
- Yes. There are even champions of Georgia, some are already performing in the European arena. But this is not the main thing. The main thing is what they will become. I try to instill in them a love of life and teach them how not to bend under its blows and remember about their friends.
Interviewed by Sandro Andronikashvili. Tbilisi.

Latvia: Roman's novel
How does the young Ivanov family live in independent Latvia? Want to know? If you please, I’ll start the story.
There lived a boy in Riga, Romka Ivanov. They are called the life of the party: cheerful and cheerful, they will tell a story, sing a song. These are indispensable on hikes and picnics. I wrote stories, read smart books. He was a striking example of that category of Soviet and post-Soviet youth who grew up on the “boiler room culture” of Russian rock. And what kind of work did he do? He was a cloakroom attendant at school, a trolleybus driver, and a security guard. And then he joined the border guards: he became a great dog handler - there are only two or three such people in Latvia.
And he often fell in love. He knew how to look after beautifully, from the heart. True, it cooled down quickly. But one day, friends began to notice that Roman had changed: he spoke about the new novel, attvainoet* for the pun, with some special intonations and a changed look. The friends understood: there will be a wedding soon. The girl Iluta, timid and modest, which, however, is typical in the early stages of life in the capital for former residents of remote towns, was able to do the seemingly impossible: she seriously bewitched our playboy.
— The relationship with Iluta is a classic office romance. We met at work, during my business trip to Latgale. In order for the dog and I to quickly get used to the area, they gave us an accompanying person. This was Iluta. She somehow offended me, but the communication was short-lived and purely businesslike.
After some time, she moved to Riga. Together with a friend, also a border guard, they rented an apartment. And - there are such coincidences! — my friend fell in love with her girlfriend. One day, and it was, by the way, on my own birthday, he calls me and offers to have a good time, and along the way, they say, you’ll meet a friend of a friend, and we’ll celebrate at the same time. I didn’t have any special plans, I agreed. Iluta opened the door. It never even occurred to me that the girl I liked in Latgale now lives in Riga, and nearby! So, after a couple of days I packed my things and moved in with them...
So the Russian guy became the groom of the Latvian girl. What about the interethnic tension that is only written about in the newspapers? But to the heart, as they say...
— I don’t know, I never paid attention to nationality. True, one Russian couple once sarcastically asked: maybe he couldn’t find ours? Since then, we rarely communicate with them. As for Iluta’s parents, all their questions disappeared as soon as they heard my Latvian...
After living for some time with a couple of other friends in love behind the wall, Romka and Iluta realized: they had to move out. Тогда, почти три года назад, с деньгами было не ахти. Дождались лета, когда Ромкины родители уехали на дачу, оставив молодым городскую квартиру. Осенью Илута забеременела.
— Как честный человек, я просто обязан был жениться! (Смеется.) Хотя до свадьбы никто и не замечал ее положения — мы постоянно перешивали форму, а когда ей становилось нехорошо, брали выходной или бюллетень. Нет, не боялись, что начальство не поймет, просто не хотели, чтобы ее отправили раньше времени в декретный отпуск — посчитали, что в той ситуации нам было выгоднее работать как можно дольше.
Когда Илуте все же пришлось оставить работу, с деньгами стало так хреново, что ребята подумывали уехать из столицы в провинцию, скажем, в портовый город Лиепая, где квартиры раза в 3 дешевле. Их остановила не только беременность Илуты, но и трудности с одновременным переводом в новый район сразу двух штатных пограничников. Решили остаться в Риге, но ограничить себя во всем. По словам Ромки, подчас он не мог себе позволить лишний раз проехать на троллейбусе.
Вы думаете, они отчаялись? Not at all! Помаялись, но перетерпели. Сейчас маленькому Йоренсу уже два года, Илута вернулась в пограничный строй. В материальном плане стало легче. Зато появилась новая проблема — с кем оставить малыша? Теперь и с этим более-менее разобрались: меняются с коллегами дежурствами, договариваются с начальством.
— Принято говорить об ужасном притеснении русских в Латвии. Честно говоря, на себе я этого не испытываю. У нас, конечно, далеко не идеальная страна, много проблем, в том числе и с русскоязычным, как принято говорить, населением, но считаю, что со временем они разрешатся. Больше всего меня волнует, что у нас ребенка с полутора до трех лет нигде невозможно пристроить. Ни яслей, ни детских садов...
Я спросил у ребят об их житейских планах, и они, не задумываясь, ответили: учиться. Конечно, если позволят финансы.
— Такую работу, как раньше, я смогу найти всегда. Но хочется-то лучше! Тем более что и голова вроде бы позволяет. Значит, нужно высшее образование, и желательно юридическое — оно очень близко моему нынешнему профилю. Илута скорее всего тоже пойдет в вуз, но после меня. Так что все у нас будет о'кей! Тьфу-тьфу-тьфу, чтоб не сглазить...
Alexander Shunin. Riga.

PS Четыре рассказа наших собственных корреспондентов о сложившихся по-разному судьбах четырех Ивановых — конечно, лишь частные случаи. Они не претендуют на обобщение, мол, только так живут русские в ближнем зарубежье. Но нам эти истории показались интересными. What about you? Может быть, кто-то из других Ивановых или Петровых (не важно) расскажет нам в письме о своей судьбе? Как им живется вдали от матушки-России? Наиболее интересные отклики мы опубликуем на полосе читательских писем «Новослободская, 73».