Portraits of Russia: Aslanbek, plumber

I wanted to become a doctor, I was afraid of my mother, I married a general’s daughter, I was imprisoned for stealing timber, I gave birth to three daughters, I lost everything, I believe that happiness is when an understanding person is next to you.

About childhood

I was born a frail child. They nursed me for a long time, the aunties said. My parents worked at a fish factory in Makhachkala, and we lived not far from the city. My father was a warehouse manager, and my mother worked either in a smoking shop or in some kind of procurement shop, I don’t remember exactly. I was looked after by my grandmother, who was very strict. I didn’t love her, I was waiting for my parents to return home.

From my childhood I clearly remember only a couple of bright moments. My grandmother forgot me on the bus. She and I were returning from the doctor. Granny was probably tired then. The mother got it from both the grandmother and the conductor, who dropped the child off in the evening in a vacant lot. They even wrote about me in the newspaper then. Well, not about me, but about the conductor, they say, such insensitive citizens are a disgrace to the Soviet Union.

I also hated fish. We had something at home, but there was always enough fish. We didn’t live well, so my father carried fish home. When I was ten years old, my father was imprisoned. He then started one enterprise, he wanted to get rich. He stole sturgeon and wanted to transport it to Moscow, but his friend turned him in. My father was given ten years. In prison he contracted tuberculosis and died. A year after his death, his grandmother also died. So my mother was left with just me.

Why didn't I become a doctor

By the way, I studied with straight A's. I wanted to become a doctor. I told my mother about my dream in ninth grade. She gave me a scandal and said that she would never forgive me in my life if I became a doctor. Why was the mother against it? You'll laugh, she didn't want me to become an alcoholic. Mom, as a woman raising a child alone, was given a room in a communal apartment. It so happened that all our neighbors were doctors. And everyone drank. They didn’t buy vodka, they diluted it with medical alcohol and drank it. That’s why my mother always thought that all doctors were alcoholics.

After finishing nine grades, I entered the Polytechnic. He was supposed to study to become a specialist in energy construction lines, but after a year he dropped out. Just, as they say, one fine morning I woke up and realized that I was terribly afraid of electricity. But I was more afraid of my mother and so I ran away into the army. She, of course, came to my unit in Samara, scolded me, but reconciled herself.

I got married in the army. By the way, he married the general’s daughter. In general, I would have had a good military career if my wife’s father had not often interfered in my wife’s and my life. When his term of service came to an end, he and his wife divorced. My father didn’t want to let her go with me to Makhachkala, and I didn’t want to stay in Samara.

About prison

After the army, I worked in different places in Makhachkala. He worked on the railway as an assistant driver, as a mechanic in a taxi company, and worked for two years at a logging base. It seemed like he was earning good money, but he wanted to save up for a house. My dream was to build my own house and get married. In short, my friend and I decided to sell the boards. This is where we were tied up. They gave me five years in prison in Komi.

That is why some writers say that there is practically no difference between prison and freedom, they say, the rules of coexistence are the same, they are just stricter in prison. I will never agree with this. Because in prison everything depends on how you present yourself, what you say. You watch your language, don't talk idle talk. A closed world is completely different, there, if you promised, then kindly keep your word. In general, I met all sorts of people in prison, but I understood one thing - to survive in this environment, you must always be honest with yourself, not do what you don’t like. My best friend was the man who killed his parents. This is how life is sometimes.

In the colony I worked in a logging camp. He was a good framer and earned decent money for those times. I thought that after serving time in the North I would stay. As soon as I was released, a letter came that my mother was very ill. Well, I went to Makhachkala. During the trip, someone stole my wallet with money. I was very upset then. In general, the goal arrived like a falcon, as they say.

About family

After prison I was almost thirty years old. I think we need to start families. Mother gave money for bride price and wedding. He got married, and a year later his wife gave birth to triplets, all girls. I have to feed my family, but no one would hire me, a prisoner, for serious work. I worked in small jobs at construction sites.

In general, I took it and my family left for the Krasnodar region, to the village. There he took calves for fattening, and made a profit from the difference in weight. Three years later, I finally earned enough money to buy a house; we bought a big house in this village. We settled in. I took my mother from Makhachkala to live with me. But two years later she died - a heart attack. In total, I lived with my family in this village for about twelve years, and then we moved, at my wife’s insistence, to Stavropol, where her parents lived. We sold the house, reported it from above and bought three rubles in Stavropol.

What they did badly was that they took the apartment on the same site as the wife’s parents. In general, they divorced a year later. He left his wife and children an apartment and returned to Makhachkala.

About hard work

In Makhachkala, I worked in a carpentry shop for a long time. Sent money to daughters. Then he began working as a plumber. In general, the work is good, I like it. What's wrong with today's youth? Because he doesn't want to work. They want to earn all the money in the world, but without lifting a finger. There is no end to work in Dagestan. True, this is a job that requires hands. Tell me, why do Vietnamese work on construction sites even in our mountainous regions? Because ours charge too much for their work. That's why they lie on the couch more and complain about life.

I am now almost sixty years old. A year ago I got married. Do you know what is the most important thing in life? When there is a person nearby who understands you. This, if you like, is 99 percent of happiness, and the rest will follow.