Two lives of the family half

The tragedy of the people in the stories of one Lithuanian family and those who were next to her in exile - in the project of the photographer Evgeny Stetsko

In 1951, a large family of half -kaitis was evicted from the village of Kasykena of the Shakiasky district of Lithuania to the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Siberia was sent half the kite of Piyus, half -kaiten Antonin and their children: half -go to Teresa, Luda, Lucia, Stefu, Dana, half -kaites of Simetas and Jonas. Jonas was five months old. He died right away. The misfortune that happened a few years later, claimed Lucia, which the Russians called a man ...

Returned to fifty -seventh. And after thirty -two years, Stefania, collecting certificates and receiving permission, went, taking her uncle, behind her brother and sister's ashes. I then worked in the journal "Change" and, on an editorial assignment, went with them.

A long road to native graves. Stefania, together with his uncle and a young guy, a local resident, go to the cemetery, where half -rounds are buried, who died in exile photos: Evgeny Stetsko

They excavated the graves, took out the black bones of the children from the broken coffins, put it in zinc boxes and drove home. This cargo was waiting for this load at home, two good elegant coffins were already ready.

Taking away in Lithuania, where the children were buried, in Siberia, where Stephanie came behind them, people who again met her in that village near the Red Sopka railway station, I turned on the dictaphone from time to time. Then I realized: the two lives of the family of half -kitis - in Lithuania and in Siberia - cannot be connected.

Happy childhood Stesha half kitte

“The mother says correctly: not Stalin, so life and power. Everyone lived poorly, everything is bad. We came here - Russian people lived very poorly. They had taxes on cows. Once we came a money transfer from Lithuania for five hundred rubles. The postman brought this money home, and we had a foreman. He immediately took this money and carried away. We did not understand anything. But he says: “Help out if I don’t give the tax now, they will take the cow.” And the Russians, of course, had no money. Only when the Lithuanians arrived and began to buy potatoes from the Russians, did people have a little money from people. And the tax is still monetary. And we, by the behavior of this person, understood how bad he is. He shouted to us: “Help out the cow!” Then he gave me a little flour and potatoes. I could not give it money.

We children lived very amicably. The GOP family lived behind us, the girls from them, they bought a bicycle. They invited us to this bicycle. A lot of children studied a lot in our class. I remember Lyuba Tarakan. I still remember Uncle Pasha. A good man was Uncle Pasha. Is he alive? Life still seemed good. Only the father suddenly gets to the stick and remains in thought for a long time. He will finally be asked: "What's wrong with you?" He says: "Isn't it clear?"

All these years they looked after the graves, this can be seen right away. Now they need to be unearthed by the photo: Evgeny Stetsko

The teacher once brought me a doll’s head from a red hill, they were sold like that, and the body had to be done by yourself. Joy! And here I still remember: we go from school and go to your house. You smear fat for bread and sprinkle with sugar on top! How delicious it was. And there was some kind of holiday ... "

“Choice A , probably,” one of the locals interrupting Stesha.

“The table was covered with a red canvas. Oh, how beautiful. "

“There was a lot of beautiful then in life. No one knew anything. ”

"And the wind suddenly rose, and the wind was blown there by the wind."

The same life

“My last name Zhukovych. We got married in the forty -seventh year. Grigory Stepanovich, when they got married, worked as a storekeeper, and then became the chairman of the village council. Just at this time, Lithuanians were brought. I worked as a nurse in the first -aid post and I remember that there was nowhere to arrange them, nowhere. My master [husband. - approx. TD ] was engaged in them, he did not order anyone to take the Lithuanians to him, he simply asked, and people did not refuse ...

We all lived the same, the same. We did not know or heard bad from them. They went to the club, danced in their own way, very beautiful. I liked how they dance! And how good it was for the holidays! For example, on the November: they selected such women that, for example, they are well cooked or kvass boil, and everyone in the same house gathered and noted fun, with an accordion ...

They knew a lot. We sewed a lot to us. Even now I have a blouse that Urshul sewed me. And asking them was inconvenient. How to ask: why have you been removed from your Lithuania?

They left not slowly, but humanly, with wires. And now we have arrived at ashes ... But I think that the land is alone, and the dead could lie here. But, apparently, they have such a law that they have on their native land. Maybe they are right ... And you saw our cemetery? My parents are Lithuanians here. The woman was looking after Lithuanian graves, especially for the girl. She remembered her, often went, especially for Easter, on a parental day.

Then they fill up the graves, and local residents who remember this story, and their children will continue to take care of them photos: Evgeny Stetsko

Everything has changed now. They say that people began to steal more, hate each other, became evil and envious, very literate steel, and before they were illiterate, and smart. Yes…"

Insomnia of memory

“My name is Grigory Stepanovich Zhukovich. At that time I worked as chairman of the village council. They sent us a good old for ten families from Lithuania - it was recorded. The chairman of the collective farm and I spoke. Well, I went to the Red Sopka station. The train came up. Behind machine gun, guard around. These Lithuanian comrades unloaded themselves and came to the site. They ask: well, who wants to take whom? I said: “I don't care.” He comes to me by the name of Stepanaitis, an elderly man, speaks good Russian well. But such a man, crippled, his leg was sick. Accountant. Sits me ... Ah, what about? Brazis Ivan Trutonovich, he has eight or nine people of children, and undressed ... children! And here are the children? Brazis said: “They don’t take me anywhere.” I say: “Come on! Come on, Ivan, sit down with the children, cover them, as it should, go for ten kilometers through the cold.” He gave his Doha, and people also gave clothes. Children's cold ... October. Arrived, settled. Then the foreman enters the old Metskaitis. The grandfather himself was so restless, Metskaitis! The foreman sat with him, drank. Then the chairman found out about this, and come on: “You drink with the bandits ...” And I say: “Why are you, Andrei Ignatievich? Why are you saying so? These are people. What else do you need? Work? So they will work! You can’t treat people from the upper shelf.”

But they will come from the area and begin to teach: why is Stepanaitis an accountant with us? It was necessary for them to intervene in our life, from the region. So they removed Stepanaitis.

I went to them, to the Lithuanians. They will invite - I will come. He watched how they bake bread, watched how they live, how the hut is whitening ... They had, in my opinion, they had a too tightly knocked down, like a brick. We need to do it in our way. But they are a very hardworking people, they worked just fine, all adult men were very correct and worked a lot. And we lived poorly! "

Washing

“Well, you all took it up yesterday ... Kostyaki?” Okay, let them lie in their land. Did you get the grave?

- They took it. The grave was filled.

Uncle Stefania. He took upon himself the hardest and most mournful work of the photo: Evgeny Stetsko

- I won’t leave the grave, I will walk anyway, put the flowers. I can't! ..

- Everyone thought: can we not see each other? You are so similar to your mom.

- I found me in the store yesterday and found out. And the local chairman, when they left, said: "The Lithuanians taught us to grow pigs." They did not know how to care for, they would cut it all ahead of time, and now they saw the pigs from Zhukovichi-oh-oh-oh what pigs!

Lithuania, funeral procession. It is headed by children photo: Evgeny Stetsko By age, they are peers photo: Evgeny Stetsko The funeral procession is headed by children photo: Evgeny Stetsko Antonina's heart was calmed down, the children nearby. She will be able to come to their graves while the photo is alive: Evgeny Stetsko historical memory