Translated material
About cattle, cattle and Russian women
While one part of the state is mastering nanotechnology and launching space satellites, the other is living as before or a little worse.
In the village of Novormakovka, which is located 30 kilometers from the small town of Tara in the Omsk region, there are about 100 people left. There is no Internet, cellular communications and migrant workers do not settle down there, but there is a farm where villagers work.
In this photo story, I want to talk about the life of a Russian woman, Lyubov Andreevna Lavrentieva, the pride of the district and region, a repeated winner of various livestock competitions.
Morning milking starts at 5:30.
Lyubov Andreevna takes care of 120 cows together with her partner Lena. All cows have nicknames. And the women remember the name of each cow.
“I love my profession very much, but my health is gone, it’s hard...” Lyubov Andreevna sighed in front of me.
In three and a half morning hours they finished milking the cows. If it is colder than minus 20 degrees outside, then the cows are not allowed to walk. It’s almost thirty today, and you can go home early.
Men also work on the farm. Cattleman is the name of their profession. They are responsible for the supply of hay and other feed. Good workers, but one problem - they drink.
At home, the housewife has grandchildren, children, husband and livestock waiting for her.
Lyubov Andreevna has three daughters. Two with small children now live in the village, and the eldest in Magnitogorsk. There are enough worries with grandchildren, the middle daughter Yulia recently divorced and is looking for work, and the youngest Lena dragged her husband from Magnitogorsk to the village. Now he works as a cattleman on the farm next to his mother-in-law.
Lyubov Andreevna’s mother, a milkmaid with thirty years of experience, needs care.
Until 12 noon, the housewife babysits the children, does housework, and prepares dinner. And then - back to the farm. For day milking.
Doctors advised Lena to live in her native climate for the first time after giving birth. And she left Magnitogorsk for a Siberian village - to visit her mother. He says at least until the summer.
Her husband Kolya really didn’t want to leave the city, but love turned out to be stronger. He changed to a more “well-fed” profession as a truck driver. Became a cattle farmer. As they say in the village, he “twists the cows’ tails,” that is, he takes care of the cows. She also loves the village bathhouse. Once a week, going to the bathhouse is a sacred thing for the entire Lavrentyev family.
Once, in 2002, Lyubov Andreevna received a regional award - a Zhiguli car. In the city, the regional governor himself handed her the car keys. But we drove this car to Novormakovka and then it turned out that we had to pay for the gift. According to the documents, "Zhiguli" was held as a prize. And on it, as with every payment, it was necessary to pay income tax - 13% of the total amount, somewhere around 25-30 thousand rubles. Alas, there was no such money in the family... Lyubov Andreevna did not earn it during 30 years of work as a milkmaid, having milked hundreds of tons of milk... The car had to be sold to someone who could pay the tax, and the rest was paid to Lyubov Andreevna. Then she bought a sofa, two armchairs and a new TV with VCR for her house - fun for her daughters, who would soon become brides.
The Lavrentyevs' house has modest decoration, but it is cozy and clean. I never left these hospitable people empty-handed. They gave us lard and dumplings for the road. Well, they always fed from the heart. Whatever is in the house is on the table. These are such holy, spiritually generous people. In their homestead they keep two cows, a calf and seven pigs, and in the summer they also have chickens. In principle, this is how they live. After all, the salary of one of the best milkmaids in the district and region is six to seven thousand rubles a month. 200 dollars!!! For hard labor!!! The average salary in the agricultural sector of the Tara region is even less, in fact at the “minimum wage” level. But here’s what Lyubov Andreevna says about her income: “You can live here. We earn good money. We have one of the best farms in the area...
“It’s getting evening. Lyubov Andreevna goes to the farm for the third time this day. Now for the evening milking.
It starts at 17:30 and lasts about three hours, like morning milking.
By nine o'clock in the evening Lyubov Andreevna returns home. The bustle of the house, all these children's laundry, bath chores, dinners, and putting children to sleep continues almost until midnight. Tomorrow at 5:30 am she will be at work again. And so for 30 years in a row...
I don’t like loud phrases, but I know firsthand the kind Russian soul. Everything is for others, for the sake of children, grandchildren, elderly mother, and about yourself - in the last place. One can argue for a long time: who needs such sacrifices and suffering? But millions of people live like Lyubov Andreevna and her family. This is partly their choice, but it seems that the state has long given up on them. They will survive so they will survive! And they live, nursing cattle, but without becoming cattle. In our time, we often want to call those who flash on television screens in political and secular news “brutes.” And these village Siberian women and men are spiritually pure people, and not cattle at all. I value, respect, and love those without falsehood, whose soul is clear and without stains, with hard-working hands.