The story of my life

The story of my life
By Kim I. Rabinovich


Now that I have reached a respectable age (I'm 83 years old), it's time to look back and remember the most significant events of my life and those people who left a deep imprint in my memory.
My parents, Sonya Mendelevna, and Joseph Favelevich Rabinovich, moved from Belarus to the Jewish Autonomous Region in 1938, hoping to get a job and housing. At that time, they already had three children: Mira, Felix, and Lisa. My parents were very industrious and settled down in a new place to raise their children, give them a good education, and pass along Jewish traditions through the family.
Jewish Autonomous Region

Wikipedia says:

Birobidzhan is a city in the Far East of Russia and is the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Region (since 1934).
The history of the city begins in 1912, when the Government decided to settle the territories along the Amur Railway.
On 28 March 1928, the Presidium of the General Executive Committee of the USSR passed the decree "On the attaching for Komzet of free territory near the Amur River in the Far East for settlement of the working Jews." The decree meant "a possibility of establishment of a Jewish administrative territorial unit on the territory of the called region".


My parents received a house, land and pets for free: cow, pigs and chickens. This was enough to start a new life and feed a large family. My mother began to work on a collective farm (Kolhoz) in the fields, and my father did construction work.
In 1941, the Great Patriotic War (WWII) began. My father, Joseph, was drafted into the army. My father died a brave death on January 10, 1943 in the Russkoe village in the Rostov region. (He, like most other Russians, was unafraid of going to war—for millions of Russians had died.) Unfortunately, I never saw him. We held a funeral, and for many years, I dreamed of my father’s grave, which I managed to do 70 years later.
I was born on May 21, 1942 in the village of Amurzet in the Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia.
There, I spent my childhood, and my family lived there until 1946. I grew up as a sickly boy and was the youngest child. Every morning, my mother milked our cow, and I enjoyed a mug of fresh milk. I was cared for by my brother and sisters. My mother had to work very hard. She had four children on her hands and a small farm, which she had to take care of, so that she could feed the animals and the children.
After the end of the war, a fellow villager, Solomon Perchonok, returned to our village. He had lost his entire family. Our mother married him, and a year later, our sister Svetlana was born.
Solomon did not like working on the collective farm, so we moved to Birobidzhan. Soon, he invited the whole family to return to their homeland, Belarus. The road home was long and frought with difficulties and experiences, with transfers in Moscow and in Minsk. In Minsk, an incident occured: my mother did not have time to get on the train and stayed on the platform, and the children, led by their elder sister Mira, went to Babruysk themselves. There, the children found their aunt Zelda, their mother’s elder sister, who took us in and fed us. After our mother’s arrival, she found work in a plywood factory and received a small room of 11 square meters in a barracks for our whole family of seven. There we lived until 1951.
All these years I was constantly feeling hungry, and I cried. Neighbors sympathized with me and tried to feed me what they could; one would give me a piece of bread with sunflower oil and salt, another would pour me a glass of milk. The kids on the street called me a jerk and bullied me; I often had to fight them.
In 1951, we moved to a two-room apartment that was already occupied, so it became a bit easier to live. My mother continued to work at the combine, Solomon worked as a gas welder. The trouble in the family was that Solomon was addicted to alcohol, since his customers paid him with a bottle of moonshine or vodka.


Starting in 1949, I studied at school No. 18 in the city of Bobruysk. I never answered out loud, because I stuttered, I was shy, and so the teachers gave me barely-passing grades. But towards the end of school, my stuttering began to go away. I liked technical subjects, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and I solved those problems well. I finished school in 1959, and before me was the question: where would I go to study? Since I did not speak foraine languich, I decided to go to a technical school in Minsk. I enrolled in this technical school, when taking the exams there, the mathematics teacher tried to fail me. I had to resort to the help of the director of the technical school and tell him about my difficult financial situation, which allowed me to retake the exam the next day. During the first semester I did not get a scholarship, but I received a pension for my deceased father. My older brother Felix by that time was working as a mechanic on a ship and sent me money. My accommodation was better; I did not go hungry all the time.
My time training in the technical school is very memorable. I found there faithful friends, took part in a brass band, danced, attended theaters and concerts, organized dancing evenings on Saturdays. My life became so interesting, I chatted a lot with my classmates, my mood improved, and, oh, a miracle—my stutter just about passed! Yes, it was an unforgettable time of my youth!
In 1962, I graduated from the Minsk Telecommunication Technical School, and I was drafted into the army. All of my classmates were also summoned, and we went through basic training in a camp near Minsk. After the end of this course, we were sent to the Poltava Red Barracks (an educational institution for training junior communications specialists), where we stayed about six months. In this school, we were taught to read diagrams and repair communication equipment.
We took part in an internship in the city of Mytishchi near Moscow. We worked at a factory that produced radio-telephone communication equipment for military units. After our training, we returned back to Poltava, where we assigned a new place of service. I was sent to the city of Grodno, to the army regiment of communications, where I repaired equipment. I liked doing it; my colleagues treated me very well. My two years there passed very quickly.
In the beginning of 1965, I was sent to preparatory courses for admission to university. After the arrival of the representative of the Kharkov Institute of Communal Construction, I decided to go there and go to the city of Kharkov. I received release papers, and the whole regiment saw me off, wishing me luck.
In Kharkov, I passed all the exams, I scored 21 points out of five exams; I was accepted to the institute, my years of study began. The knowledge that I acquired in technical school and in the army was useful to me at the institute. The money that I received was not enough for living, so my friends and I had to work as part-time


workers at different jobs. I was the night watchman at the stadium “Metalist” and in other places.
I was surrounded by young and cheerful people with whom we spent interesting evenings, went to music shows and exhibitions, walked in parks, and were interested in the life of the country. I was friends with all my classmates, and life was interesting.
In 1968, I met my future wife, Raisa Gershkovich, whom I married in 1969. Since then, 48 years have passed, our family has grown up, we have two sons and three grandchildren. In 1970, I graduated from the institute (university) and got a job as an engineer in Giprotyazhmash. All my knowledge and skills obtained in the technical school and in the institute were useful to me in my work. There, I worked for 11 years, and got new and loyal friends. All the staff and I were on great terms. I was allocated a new, three-bedroom apartment in the new microdistrict Alekseyevka, to which we moved in December 1981. There, we lived until June 1994.
After GIPROTYAZHMASHF I had to change several places. In 1986 I were taken to the SKB Agregate machines as a senior engineer. Here I also had a very good team. I was friendly with all the staff. I worked in this organization until I left for the USA.
On 7 June 1994, we emigrated to the USA, to Columbia, South Carolina. During the first year of my life in America, I changed 11 jobs. I did not know English, so I was fired over and over. And I again persistently searched for a new job, and found it. Eventually, I was hired as an operator to a factory that manufactured locks for cars. My English language improved a bit, and I managed to get a job as a hotel mechanic in 1999, where I worked until 2006, when I retired.
In 1997, we bought a house with my wife. Now, I do housework, organize things, bring my grandson Eugene, Kevin, Daniel from school, and help my wife, Raisa.
I believe that my life was successful, despite the difficulties encountered along the way. I remember my past and I am sure that I lived a good life; I have created a strong family, and I have descendants. I hope for the best for them and their lives.