Liudmila Davidovna
L'usia is my former host mom from 3 summers ago. I lived with her the second time I came to Moscow, the summer my grandma was sick, just before she passed away. She's in her mid-60s and has had quite a life, and has quite a family history. Lusia is a sweet, sweet woman, and we became very close.
Her birthday is June 22, 1937. For those of you who don't study Soviet history, June 22, 1941 was the day Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. 1937 was the height of Stalin's terror, where over 1,000,000 people were executed for imagined political crimes.
Lusia's parents were both devoted members of the Communist Party, and in 1937, when Lusia was born, they were living in Volgograd/Stalingrad, where her dad was an engineer at the Lenin tractor factory. The NKVD (the KGB's predecessor) repeated called in her dad, wanting him to rat on his boss, to accuse him of espionage or "wrecking". He kept refusing, because he knew of no crimes, real or imagined. But the pressure kept building, so late in 1937, her mother and father left with Lusia on the train back to Moscow. Her older brother had already been sent to live with relatives. Had they stayed, it is likely her father would have eventually be arrested, and the rest of her family placed in a difficult position.
Luckily, the Volgograd political police never bothered to look for Lusia's father, and as the family was originally from Moscow, they returned to work and life. But on Lusia's 4th birthday the Germans invaded. Lusia and her brother were sent to their dacha (country house - its not as lavish as it may sound) east of Moscow to live with a grandmother and their nanny. Her parents at one time manned anti-aircraft guns in Moscow.
When she grew up, Lusia decided not to join the Communist Party, even though her parents and her brother were all members. He brother was a trainer for Soviet Olympic team (I forget which sport - tennis I think). Lusia worked as an engineer. This is a broad category in Russia. I once asked her, what kind of engineer. She worked on some component or another for their space program - for the rockets. !
Her husband, her brother, and her parents have all passed away. In the 1990s, she started hosting students to help supplement her pension. In Russia, now, pensions are practically worthless. She does get free medical care, and free public transportation, but her pension from the state is the equivalent of about $25. So the dollars she gets from hosting students is basically the only way she can keep her family's apartment and afford to live. Her son, his wife, and their 4 year old daughter also now live with her.
I was in quite a state when I first arrived here 2 weeks ago, because everytime I tried to call her number, it was busy. And I started freaking out, because she was kind of sick the last time I was here, and I hadn't heard anything from her in some time. It turns out the number had been changed, and through a chain of people, we got in touch with each other and I went to see her this Sunday. She is doing well. We had tea, looked at pictures, had dinner (Yum yum! - For once, I wasn't hungry here!) and talked and talked and talked. Its very complicated and crowded at home with so many people there, and her life basically consists of taking care of the student currently there (which she doesn't mind at all) but also her son and his family. It leaves her little free time, and her heart condition has made the daily tasks of shopping, etc. more difficult for her. But all in all, she is good. I was so happy to see her. She's the closest thing I have to a grandmother - although Lusia would state emphatically that she is much too young to be considered in the babushka category!
And she doesn't miss a thing - including my gray hair. Her first proclamation when I came by was that my face looked much older. Well, comprehensive exams and a year with Brian-the-jerk will do that to a person!
And Katie, her little black poodle remembered me too!
Next time I'm over, I'll take pictures. And Liz - Lusia sends her regards to you, too!
