tragedy of all that took place. Much loved Russia was lost forever. Here began the life of an immigrant, full of belittling and difficulties both moral and material.
As a military man now in China, without another profession or a penny to his name, Papa, like all the other migrants, was in a difficult situation. His first job in China was cleaning out pigsties. He then worked in a bakery and after that found himself in a leather factory where he learnt to prepare and colour leather. My parents met during this time. They gently fell in love. My wise grandmother, Varvara Michailovna Antonova, saw my father as a good, honest man and blessed their marriage. A year after they wed, I was born.
The leather factory belonged to the Kataev, Gorbunov and Shmelev families. The Kataevs and Gorbunovs also came from Miass. Mama and Papa lived on the other side of the river from my grandmother’s home, near the factory.
After working at the factory for three years and having mastered the trade, Papa, together with Fedor Potapovich Riabkov, opened a shop trading in leather goods. Their initial stock included three pairs of boots and several pairs of shoes. They opened this store in Hailar and gradually the business flourished. They expanded into making leather coats and eventually had a large store which sold many goods, all of which were made on the premises. This naturally necessitated a move from Manchuria to Hailar.
As a child, however, I did not like this first store. To me, it appeared narrow, dark and totally unimpressive. It did not have any toys – no dolls
As previously mentioned, Dun Chan met my taste in stores. According to my mother, I would see one toy, then a second, then a third. I would then say, ‘Mama, let’s buy the entire shop.’ However, I would only ever receive one toy and soon forgot about the others.
I must confess that my love of things has remained with me to this very day. Another time, I was walking past the same store and ran up to my own reflection in one of their large mirrors. I was very disappointed that the ‘little girl’ did not wish to return my handshake and to make friends.
I was an only child and was told that I brought my parents much joy and happiness. I cannot remember my parents punishing me for anything but my father’s authority was paramount. I tried never to disappoint him. He loved me very much and Mama always remained sweet and loving, dedicating her life fully to Papa and me. It was said that I was my father’s daughter. Mama seemed neither offended nor jealous and did not try to win my affection and love. She did not try to bribe me with toys or treats but was simply, without heightened emotions, a gentle and loving mother.
Papa was more emotional. He was very loving and sensitive and reacted to jokes. He was also prepared to be the butt of jokes and during, particularly touching times, was able to shed a tear. He was never embarrassed to show his emotions.
Galina, age 6. First day of school.
Many years later, my daughter Marina wrote about her grandfather:
My grandfather, Ignatii KallinikovichVolegov, was a White Army officer who died still loyal to his oath: ‘For God, the Czar and the Fatherland’. He was also the only person who refused to drink to Stalin at a reception in China, and survived.
He did not justify his choices in life through hate and although he was very much an anti-Communist he retained a love for his country and the people in it. He never joined any organisations which would have harmed the Russian people in Russia, nor did he berate, those who stayed in Russia. He shared her suffering. He did not feel threatened by acknowledging anything positive that may have come from post revolutionary Russia.
In our home criticism of the long-suffering Russian Church, zloradstvie (joy) at the trials inflicted on the Russian people was anathema. It was unnecessary. I remember my grandfather as a man so confident in himself that he could allow himself to cry if something touched him. He was man enough to apologise, even to a child, if he felt it necessary. He was accepting and I could talk to him about everything that mattered, even The Beatles. In Bernard Shaw’s play, ‘Pygmalion’, it is said that a lady is a lady not by the way she behaves, but by the way she is treated.
My grandfather knew how to treat a child with respect and in doing so laid the foundation for the way I have always, though not always successfully, tried to behave.
The children of Hailar experienced never-ending fun in the summer and winter months.
In the winter, we had our very own ice rinks on two rivers. I remember coming home from school, grabbing a quick bite to eat and then running to the ice rinkd to skate before sundown. Papa built up a small snow hill in the backyard and children from the entire street would come to toboggan down the hill. The boys did this while standing on their toboggans but I was a chicken and went down either sitting or on my stomach. What a wonderful time of pure unadulterated childhood joy.
In the summer, we would swim in three large rivers - usually without adults. The rivers were quiet, shallow and clean. There were bushes along the banks. I loved to bathe, to read and to wash our clothes and then drape them on the bushes. Everything dried quickly and we returned home clean, fresh and having had a great deal of enjoyment from the water, the sand and having spent time in the company of friends. What joy – bathing in the water and playing on the shore.
Although I loved going to the river, I never did learn to swim properly - which brings me to my next story ...
One day, I went to the river to bathe with my cousin Vera. Vera was a very daring girl who was very spoilt by her parents. She did not recognise any limits and was never punished by her parents. She did whatever she wanted. She was older than me by three years and I naturally wanted to play with her and her friends. They were not too willing to include me in their games, however.
Vera always presented me with certain conditions and gave me the most demeaning roles in her games. If we were putting on a show in the backyard, a show where the audience consisted on neighbourhood children, I was always given the role of a silent flower. I was not allowed to say one word. I would start feeling sorry for myself whilst ‘on stage’ and start crying.
If Vera and her friends decided to play actresses, Vera was always Marlene Dietrich. The other girls would choose roles according to their tastes. I could only become part of the game if I took on the role of a poor actress wearing, in Vera’s words, ‘a torn beret’, who had lost everything. I agreed, if only to be allowed to play with them.
So, on this terrible day, Vera came to take me to the river to bathe. In order to get from one river to another, one needed to pass the first river by walking on the right side of the bridge. No one wanted to walk across the river, on the left side of the bridge, as it was too deep but Vera, however, was fearless and accepted the challenge. Of course, I had to follow her.
Just as I nearly reached the bank, I suddenly fell into a large hole. Luckily, a family friend named Tatiana Andreevna Kataeva happened to be walking along the banks of the river. She heard Vera calling, ‘Help!’ and rushed over. At first, she grabbed me by my hair and by my dress but I slipped out of her hands. She tried again and again. After what felt like a lifetime, Tatiana finally pulled me out of the water. What did she end up telling my mother?
I came home timidly. My mother told me off for being late. Having changed into dry clothes I lay on the bed with my favourite grandmother, who was visiting us at the time and said to her, ‘Babusia, I have drunk so much water.’
My grandmother understood everything and believed that what I said about having nearly drowned was true. She told my mother. Tatiana Andreevna said
