On January 27, the patriarch of the White Russian emigration, the last person evacuated with the army of P.N. Wrangel and the commemorator of the White Commander himself, Rostislav Vladimirovich Polchaninov, will be 100 years old. Russian Educational Society. Emperor Alexander III and
the Voice of Epoch magazine congratulate the highly respected Rostislav
Vladimirovich on this outstanding anniversary and thanks for all his
tireless work to this day for the benefit of our Fatherland, as well as
for his support of our publication, the literary contest to them. I.I. Savina and others. Our projects.
There were many things in his life - underground activities under the
Nazi occupation, illegal crossings of state borders in wartime, work in
the Pskov Orthodox mission during World War II, scouting, participation
in the White emigre conspiratorial organization, recording programs for
Radio Liberty, and much more . But the main thing is the dream of returning home to Russia. Rostislav Vladimirovich Polchaninov - son of a colonel of the White Army, evacuated from Sevastopol with his family in 1920. Once outside of Russia at the age of two, he sought his whole life back.
His dream came true only partially. Today Rostislav Vladimirovich is 97 years old, but he is still “Russian without Russia.” He lives in America, not far from New York.
A small house built in the beginning of the last century in a quiet
suburb - here Rostislav Vladimirovich spends almost all the time,
surrounded by the care of children and grandchildren. In the cozy living room of his house - products of Russian crafts. Red corner. On the walls - a portrait of Emperor Nicholas II, a reproduction of Ivanov, landscapes. On the bookshelves - Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn.
While I am considering a souvenir wooden plate hanging on the wall with
the image of the Pskov Trinity Cathedral and the inscription "Pskov
1943", Rostislav Vladimirovich talks about how he spent only a year in
Pskov, but this is the most vivid memory of life.
For a man who grew up dreaming about Russia, a few months in a
provincial Russian city turned out to be a more significant event than
twenty years in Sarajevo and for many years in America.
- Rostislav Vladimirovich, your first childhood memories probably
belong to Yugoslavia, where your family settled after the evacuation
from the Crimea?
- I don’t remember evacuations from Sevastopol in 1920, I was only two years old. But when I was four and we already lived in Sarajevo, General Wrangel arrived there - he had some business there. And I, as the youngest in Sarajevo Russian kindergarten, was released to greet him. I handed Wrangel a bouquet of flowers and said a welcome word: “Here you, uncle, are flowers from Russian children.”
After kindergarten, I graduated from four classes of Russian schools - in the same place, in Sarajevo. Both the garden and the school were founded by white immigrants. At school, we did not even learn the local Serbo-Croatian language. The teacher told her father: “Why do we need a Serbian? After all, we will soon return to Russia. ”
- This is what year was said?
- It was about 1925.
- That is, it was already the fifth year of emigration, but still there was confidence in the imminent return to Russia?
- Yes of course. Indeed, in Russia, the uprisings against Bolshevism continued for a long time. Kronstadt, Tambov uprisings and a few smaller ones. The Far East has long resisted. And then, in emigration, everyone thought about the Bolsheviks - this is not power, it will collapse right away.
But here I graduated from the four classes of the elementary Russian
school, and it was time for me to enter the local Sarajevo gymnasium. I must tell you, it was difficult for me, since I did not know the local language very well - only what I heard on the street.
I remember that the teacher once got angry with me and asked: “What did
you learn about the Serbo-Croatian language in your school?” (He knew
that I had studied at a Russian school before). I say: "We did not learn this language at all." He asks: "So what did you learn?" I say: "French." And all the guys in the class laughed.
Although we must admit that by the mid-30s, many children and young
people of the white emigration began to forget the Russian language and
spoke to each other in the language of the country where they lived. Not all, of course, but this trend has been and over the years only intensified.
- And when did it come to the white emigration circles that it was not possible to return home in the near future?
- Let's say, already in the mid-30s it became clear that in the very near future we will not go to Russia. But just at that time the Solonevich brothers appeared in Europe, who began to publish their own newspaper. (Note. - Ivan and Boris Solonevichi - publicists and public figures who fled the USSR in 1934). They had just escaped from the Soviet Union, and in their newspaper described Soviet life in detail.
The brothers argued that as soon as there was some kind of push, for
example, war and general mobilization, as a result of which people would
get a weapon, then the people would immediately overthrow Soviet power. And many emigrants believed this, because it was said by people “from there”.
- The Great Patriotic War denied this statement?
- Yes, a few weeks after the start of the war, when reports came from
the front, it became clear that people would not deploy weapons against
the Bolsheviks.
- When Mikhail Bulgakov’s play “Days of the Turbins” was released in
1926, it was well received not only by Soviet audiences, but also among
white immigrants.
In the play, however, on the eve of his death, Colonel Turbin speaks of
the highest command and staff of the White Army as follows: “... our
officers turned into cafe cafés. Cafe army! ”And in another place:“ They will make you fight with your own people. And when he splits your head, they will run away abroad. ” Did the officers and soldiers of the White Army, who were forced to emigrate, share the opinion of Alexey Turbin?
- Bulgakov Turbin was a colonel of the Russian Southern Army, which was the only one who fought back the Petliurists. And the hetman had his own guard, which ran away. Getman went to Germany. In the last action of the play there is a scene where a Russian officer says that you need to go to the Don, to Denikin. Among such officers was my father - Colonel of the White Army Vladimir Polchaninov.
Just at the time of the Petlura offensive, he was in Kiev. And from Kiev I came to the Don - that is why I was born in Novocherkassk. In Kiev, the White Army was essentially under German occupation.
What could be the relationship between the Germans, who were against
the White Army, and the White Army, which did not recognize the
Brest-Litovsk peace? It was a very difficult position.
The Germans approved the creation of the headquarters, but were
categorically against the creation of the regiments, as they were afraid
that these regiments would hit them. Some armed units could be, but units. That is, the headquarters was, but the army as such was not. My father told me about all this. And the attitude to the higher commanders, such as Bulgakov describes, was not in the White Army. It is not true. You understand, the play was written in Soviet realities.
- After the Crimean evacuation of 1920, your family arrived in Yugoslavia. How did the country accept you and other Russian émigrés?
- As soon as we arrived, we were put in quarantine for 40 days. Lived in a special settlement. Suddenly someone has typhoid fever or something else. Very afraid. Then, after quarantine, they began to disperse around the country.
In the eastern, Orthodox, part of Yugoslavia, emigrants were well received. In the west - not very. Our family fell just in the western part.
When we were brought to the city of Hell, the Hungarian master, to whom
we were temporarily, waiting for a job for my father, was lodged by the
Yugoslav authorities, was extremely displeased that he would have to
give up the room and restrain himself. But then, when he saw what a pitiable state we were in, he began to treat us very well. My mother told me later that the daughters of this Hungarian me, then a two-year-old child, were fed with jam.
Then my family moved to Sarajevo. And there, in general, we were also not very friendly met. Who! First of all, Catholics. Muslims-so syak. But the Orthodox Serbs who lived in Sarajevo were our friends.
But you consider one more thing. During these years, there was a catastrophic lack of intellectuals in the country - many were killed during the wars. First the Balkan wars, then the First World War. And then suddenly comes the Russian intelligentsia, and one hundred percent loyal to King Alexander. You can rely on them. Russians were snapped up, were in demand. (Note. - Alexander I Karageorgievich - King of Yugoslavia from 1921 to 1934).
But it was so in Yugoslavia. In France, let's say, completely different.
There, even the Russian invalids of the First World War, who fought for
France as part of the Russian legion (it was the expeditionary corps,
which Russia sent to help the French), did not receive any help from the
state. That is the attitude.
- How did your family live in Sarajevo? What did parents earn for bread?
- Lived poorly. My father, Colonel of the White Army, did not possess anything except military affairs. Therefore, he was not immediately able to find a job.
But in Yugoslavia in those years, the census began, and the government
decided that Russian officers were suitable for such work. My father started working in Sarajevo in the state statistics department. The salary is small. Local residents later admitted that they paid less to the Russians than to their own. But we were glad at least something.
My mother went to work in the dining room of the Red Cross, but this dining room soon closed. Then the mother and grandmother organized their own - and we began to somehow make ends meet. We were visited by single Russian officers who worked in a souvenir shop on a nearby street - they made music boxes there. I got clothes from my friend who was older and taller than me. The American Red Cross sent us help. Soap, I remember, also sent.
Some families lived better - for example, my friend's father worked as a
French teacher at a local gymnasium, and his family was much easier
financially.
- What role did the Orthodox Church play in the life of the white emigration?
- Until 1929, a Russian cadet corps was located in Sarajevo, and the Russians of Sarajevo could attend a corps house church. But then the cadets moved to another city, and started talking about the need to establish their own parish. This happened in 1932, the premises of the former workshop were removed for worship.
There was also a Russian Sunday school.
Six days a week we went to a regular one, and on Sunday our parents
sent us on a Sunday, where they studied Russian and homeland studies.
In general, of all the Russians who lived in Sarajevo in those years
(and according to official statistics there were a little more than six
hundred), 100 people were recorded in the parish, and no more than 70
came.
- So few people in the parish?
- Yes. My mother and many of our friends did not go to church at all. My dad took me to church only while I was little. And when I grew up and began to go to the temple myself, my father stopped going there at all.
- It is surprising, but it seemed that before the revolution the life of the people was inextricably linked with the Church.
- Unfortunately, a significant part of the intelligentsia was already retired from the Church during the tsarist period.
- Why did you continue to go to church, contrary to the example of your parents?
- When my father stopped driving me to church himself, my parents began sending me one there. It was so accepted, they thought that the child should go to church - my mother, when she was little, also went.
When I entered the local Sarajevo gymnasium, then every second Sunday
there was a need to be in church without fail (depending on the
religion, part of the class went to the Serbian Orthodox church, part to
the Catholic, part to the mosque, etc.). And even the roll call was, checked who came.
But when the Russian parish was founded in Sarajevo, my friend and I began to serve there. And in their gymnasium they said that we could no longer go to the Serbian church, because we were helping in the Russian. So we are used to church and church life. Then, when we had already grown up, we had friendly relations with a Russian priest.
- What can you remember the most significant cultural or social events in the emigration before the Second World War?
- For example, the Nobel Prize awarding to Bunin. I was then 14 years old, but I remember well how great this event was for the white emigration. For us, it was pride in Russia. Well, the Soviet Union nose wiped!
- And in exile were familiar with the work of Soviet writers, composers?
- Of course!
We loved Yesenin very much, often got together and recited his poems
(at this point Rostislav Vladimirovich is interrupted and reads several
poems of Yesenin as a souvenir). But Mayakovsky, for example, was not taken seriously.
And not only we, my wife, a Komsomol member who graduated from the
Soviet Union in the top ten, did not want to hear about Mayakovsky
either.
Translations of Russian songs were very popular in Yugoslavia. But everything Soviet under King Alexander was forbidden, but after the killing of the king in 1934, Soviet films were allowed.
Soviet songs also became very popular at that time (Rostislav
Vladimirovich again interrupts and sings the song “Easy at heart from a
cheerful song” from the film “Jolly Fellows” in Serbian). I did not miss a single Soviet film in the cinema.
But it is in emigration in general. And in the NTS, we should have known not only Soviet films and songs, but even jokes.
(Note - The People’s Labor Union of Russian Solidarians (NTS) is a
youth organization of white emigration, whose aim is to fight the
Bolsheviks. Rostislav Vladimirovich has been an organization since
1936).
We in the NTS learned about the life of the Soviet Union from the books
of the Solonevich brothers, as well as thanks to jokes from Crocodile.
True, in Yugoslavia, for a long time, Soviet newspapers and magazines
were banned - even after the death of King Alexander, since, unlike
films, they were filled with political content. But the leaders of the NTS somehow got them and let us read. It seems to me that neither Pravda nor Izvestia had such attentive readers in the USSR as we, the members of the NTS, were. In addition, it was a forbidden fruit - it was incredibly interesting not only to read, but also just to hold it in hand.
- At a fairly young age, you joined a scout organization. Please tell us about the Russian scout movement in Europe and its goals. Why were scouts banned in the Soviet Union and in Nazi Germany?
- I was 12 years old when I joined the organization of Yugoslav scouts,
as there were no Russian scout units in Sarajevo at that time, but they
were in Belgrade. A little later, I joined the Russian movement as a lone scout. And when the Russian Falcon scout society was finally established in Sarajevo, I became a member of it. In 1937, I was appointed head of the Sarajevo detachment.
By the way, we preferred to say “intelligence officer” rather than
“scout”, because why use a foreign word if there is an adequate
translation for it in Russian.
The purpose of the intelligence (scout) organization was the patriotic
education of children and young people in emigration, the preservation
of love for the motherland, Russian culture and language.
I have already said that in the 1930s, the denationalization of young
people became noticeable, many stopped speaking Russian and had little
interest in Russia. Our goal was to combat such manifestations.
We also urged young people to study in order to return to Russia not with empty heads. We considered our return a matter of time. Communism can not be eternal. And we will come - we have the education, knowledge, experience, we can be useful to the Motherland, the Russian people.
In Russia, the scout movement arose in 1909 with the support of Emperor Nicholas II. The Soviet government arrested many leaders of the organization. And on the territory of the USSR, for a long time, scout work was conducted underground.
By banning scouts, the Bolsheviks created their youth organization -
pioneerism, which in fact was built on the principles of scouting. But they, of course, changed the essence and purpose of the movement.
The solemn promise of the scouts was this - "I promise with honest
words that I will fulfill my duty to God and the Motherland." You understand that the pioneers could not fulfill their duty to God. Our scout motto was: “Be ready! For Russia! "And the answer:" Always ready! For Russia! ”And the pioneers simply“ Be ready! ”-“ Always ready! ”
After the USSR, scouts were banned in Nazi Italy and Nazi Germany.
Because these were organizations competing with the German Hitler Youth
in terms of influencing young people and opposing Nazism.
In 1941, when Yugoslavia capitulated and was occupied by the Germans,
the scout organization was banned there as well - but we did not stop
work, but went underground.
- Do you remember the day when Germany attacked the USSR?
- Yes.
On Sunday, June 22, 1941, with some of the guys, underground scouts, we
decided to go to Trebevich mountain, not far from Sarajevo, to hold an
underground meeting there. On the way there, we were near the house where a friend of our family, a Russian German Eugene Gerdt, lived. In the window we saw his tearful wife, who told us that the war had begun.
At first, we did not understand what she was talking about - after all, war was long overdue in Europe. We asked: “What war?” “This war,” answered Gerdt, who appeared at the door.
“They said on the radio that today at dawn Germany attacked the USSR,
that the Red Army was defeated, and that the High Command promised to
end the march to the East with lightning speed.” “But I don’t believe it,” he added. “I know Russia and the Russian people very well.”
- You have become one of the participants of the Pskov Orthodox
mission, the work and feat of which became widely known relatively
recently. And how did you, the white emigrant, find yourself in occupied Pskov in 1943?
- On the eve of World War II, the white emigration divided into two camps. On the one hand there were supporters of the Anglo-French.
On the other hand, those who were hostile to France because they helped
the communists in Spain, and who pinned their hopes on the help of the
Nazi regime in the struggle against the communists (after all, when
Hitler came to power, all the communist parties were banned very tough
fight).
But the NTS considered otherwise.
The chairman of the organization, Baydalakov, said that neither France
nor Britain were friends with us, but Germany was also an enemy of
Russia. He also said that if we perish, then in Russia and with the Russians. After Germany attacked the USSR, the NTS set a course for transporting its members to the occupied Soviet territories.
The NTS saw itself as some kind of third force, which, not joining any
of the parties to the military conflict, conducted underground work in
the occupied territories, calling for fighting simultaneously against
both the Nazis and Stalin and the Bolshevik system.
And with me it turned out like this.
After the capitulation of Yugoslavia in 1941 and the beginning of the
German occupation, conscription essentially meant service on the side of
the Nazis. My friends from the NTS and the scout organization did not want this.
And then just at the end of 1941 the Germans announced the recruitment
of workers from Croatia to Germany, and for this they opened their labor
exchange in Zagreb. Only non-citizens and those who were not subject to military duties could go to work in Germany. In terms of age, I was liable for military service, but since I was still a student at the time, this gave a delay. However, this delay was about to expire - I was just finishing university. We were all subjects of Yugoslavia, but the NTS made us fake IDs that we are Russian non-subjects.
And we went to Germany to work - firstly, in order to avoid
mobilization, and secondly - in order to be further transported to
Russia with the help of the NTS.
From Zagreb to Berlin, we traveled in passenger cars with other workers. In each car was a German, who kept order. We drove there for a long seven days. On the way, many workers ran away. In Berlin, on the platform, we were built by four and told to wait for the order that we can move on. At this moment, my friend Boria Martino, with whom we came together, quietly went down and was lost in the crowd.
I worked a little more than a month, and when the NTS said they were
ready to begin my transfer to Russia, I simply did not go to work. Although it threatened the concentration camp if I was caught.
Then the NTS illegally ferried me to Warsaw, where I spent some time
working with young people under the Russian Public Committee.
This committee defended the interests of the Russian emigration: before
the war - before the Polish authorities, during the war - before the
German occupiers.
Every day in the committee they fed the Russians - there it was
possible to buy soup for pennies, and without it, it was impossible to
make ends meet only with ration cards. We there illegally launched a scout activity, however, when the Germans learned, they immediately covered everything. But just at that time in the NTS it became known that people are needed for the Pskov Orthodox mission. And I went to Pskov to teach the Law of God at school.
- Did the NTS have connections with the Russian Orthodox Church?
- NTS had connections everywhere. Apparently, one of the members of the organization was surrounded by Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection). This someone heard that the Pskov mission needed teachers of the Law of God, and reported to Warsaw.
- Tell us how you crossed the border between Germany and Poland? This is wartime - to be caught without the necessary documents threatened with big troubles.
- Yes, it threatened a concentration camp. I was helped by a smuggler, a Pole. He walked away and watched if everything was normal.
When I saw that I had safely crossed the border and did not stumble
upon a border guard, I went back and informed the NTS that everything
was in order.
At that time, the border was a usual rural road with rare signs
indicating that it was a border zone, but on both sides there were
German border guards.
By the way, there was a local rule - everyone who lived in the border
region had to take off their hat when meeting with the border guards. Thanks to this, the border guard knew that he was a local resident, and in most cases he did not ask for documents.
But if the documents were asked and arrested, the hat taken before the
border guard would further increase the suspicion, since how could I
know about this local rule. Therefore, I was without a hat at all, although it was April and it was still cold.
When I crossed the border, I came to the nearest railway station, bought a Polish newspaper. I got on the train, just like everyone else, I read the newspaper. The border guard enters, looks at everyone and leaves, everything is in order. Next instruction was on arrival in Warsaw to take the tram and drive to the final one. And why, it would seem, to go, when two stops in total, you can walk on foot? But because in the tram the documents are usually not checked, and on the street patrols the documents are checked everywhere. If they stopped me and saw the Berlin documents, they would have arrested me. On the same day, the NTS members in the Russian Committee wrote me a certificate of a resident of Warsaw. And after some time, I went through Riga to Pskov.
- You have an impressive wartime map - Berlin - Warsaw - Riga - Pskov. Transport freely went between these cities?
- Yes! In Poland, trains, trams ran freely, and no permission was needed to board them.
And now, on the Russian territory, trains went only for the Germans,
the Russian people could not move anywhere without a permit, letters did
not go, there were no trams.
- How did you get to Riga and Pskov?
“The NTS ties have already helped here, with which he grew during his underground activities.” One of the members of the organization had a document for traveling through Riga, and he added my name to his document.
And from Riga to Pskov, for me, Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection),
the head of the Mission, received a pass across the border for me.
Getting on the train to Pskov was easy, but getting out of it turned
out to be much more difficult - at the station in Pskov the gendarme,
looking at my Warsaw ID, said: “But you are not my ID, you show me the
passport.” I explain to him that this is all that I have. He replies: “Then wait. You are not arrested, but you will spend the night in our prison. ”
In the morning they had already phoned to Riga, and Vladyka Sergius -
and I must say, he was a very assertive person - asked: “We don’t have
enough people in the Mission. Here is this Warsaw citizen. Make an exception for one person. ” And the Germans agreed, released me from prison.
- What did you feel when you entered the Russian land?
- Oh, it was an experience! When I got out of prison, I first looked around. City as a city. And I need at the very end of Pskov - Petrovsky Posad, there is a cemetery church, at which there was a church school. I went - and that ended these urban European houses and went to the hut. What a feeling I have! Motherland! What I dreamed about! I'm coming, and everyone speaks Russian! This is a special feeling.
- What memories do you have about Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection), who led the Mission?
- ABOUT! He was a wonderful organizer, a true Russian patriot, a persistent man. At first, the Germans arrested him, because he had come from the Moscow Patriarchate, but then he was released.
Vladyka spoke with the German military, who had just arrived in Riga,
and the military were not the Gestapo, they were overlooked at many
things. Some may even have sympathized with us.
In Pskov there was one German military who worked in the economic unit,
as he always threw milk and butter from our orphanage (note - an
orphanage organized by the members of the Pskov mission at the church of
the Great Martyr Dimitriy Solunsky). Then it turned out that he was a former officer of the Russian Tsarist Army.
Easter, 1943 In the center, Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection) is leaving the cemetery church of St. Dimitry of Thessalonius in Pskov. On the left, Father George Benigsen. It was under this church that there was a school in which Rostislav Vladimirovich taught.
Easter, 1943 In the center, Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection) is leaving the cemetery church of St. Dimitry of Thessalonius in Pskov. On the left, Father George Benigsen. It was under this church that there was a school in which Rostislav Vladimirovich taught.
Easter, 1943 In the center, Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection) leaves the cemetery church of St. Dimitry of Thessalonius in Pskov. On the left, Father George Benigsen. It was under this church that there was a school in which Rostislav Vladimirovich taught.
The murder of Vladyka Sergius made a terrible impression on the
Russians in the Baltic States (approx - in 1944, the car of the
metropolitan was shot by unknown persons on the way from Vilnius to
Kaunas). I then, in 1944, was in occupied Riga. The Germans immediately announced that the murder of the metropolitan was the work of Soviet partisans.
But at the same time people began to say that in reality this was the
work of the Germans themselves, who were always very hostile to Vladyka. There is still a dispute. Personally, I think that the Germans did it - to take revenge, since Vladyka behaved too independently.
In addition, after Stalin also permitted the opening of churches on the
territory of the USSR and even choosing the Patriarch, Metropolitan
Sergius, as well as the entire Pskov mission, the Germans ceased to be
needed, the propaganda goal of the mission was lost.
- How did the local population feel about Vladyka Sergius?
- Very good. He was very popular. Imagine, he was the Exarch of the Baltic States, sent from Moscow after the Baltic states joined the Soviet Union. Initially, he was greeted with hostility, almost called him by the Chekist. But he was able to gain credibility, and people changed their attitude.
By the way, in the churches of the Pskov mission during the Liturgy, the metropolitan of Leningrad was commemorated.
Imagine - the Germans in Pskov, and in the churches of the Leningrad
Metropolitan Alexy commemorate, the very one who sends leaflets against
the Nazis. The Germans ordered to stop remembering him.
But the Germans could not force Vladyka Sergius to stop commemorating
the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne Sergius (Stragorodsky).
- Please tell us about your work in the Pskov mission.
- I taught the law of God in school. When I arrived in Pskov, my documents were Polish.
Batiushka, Father George Bennigsen, to whom I was sent, looks at my
documents and asks: “What do you know about the Orthodox Law of God?” I
answer: “These are only documents, and I myself am from Yugoslavia. We have the Orthodox Law of God there in the local gymnasium all the years of study were.
He asked: "And how are you so from Yugoslavia, through Poland and in
Pskov?" I say that we have such a youth organization - the NTS. He looked at me and said: "I know ... And do not tell anyone that you are from Yugoslavia."
So I began to teach the law of God in the church school, all six days a week. There were no textbooks, of course. I explained the liturgy according to the Orthodox calendar for 1943, published by the Pskov mission.
Then I started studying with my students and local history. I was very surprised that they, living in Pskov, know almost nothing about the history of their city. I bought a city guide that was intended for the Germans. During the lessons, we talked about the Pskov saints and related monuments.
I was not allowed to arrange a tour of the city for the children, so
the children and I climbed to the bell tower of the Pskov Kremlin, and,
looking at the city from a height, we talked about its history.
Some of my students joined the Scouts - clandestinely, of course. Almost all of them were then taken by the Germans to work. But after the war ended, they returned to Russia.
Before they returned to the Soviet Union, I kept in touch with some of
them, then, after their return, the connection was broken.
- How did Soviet children, surrounded by widespread atheism propaganda, react to the Law of God at school before the war? And their parents?
- In Pskov, in the city school, the Germans allowed only four primary classes to be left. Then there was a labor service - for all who are over 12 years old.
But thanks to the efforts of the participants of the Pskov mission, the
Germans allowed children after four primary classes to go on to the
church school where the Law of God was taught (there were three such
schools in Pskov at Orthodox parishes). Training in the church school made it possible to receive ration cards.
Of course, both children and parents were satisfied - it’s better to
teach the Law of God than to carry out the hardest labor service or be
sent to work in Germany. However, in the end, the Germans closed these church schools. When this happened, I organized extracurricular activities with the guys.
- Ability to avoid German labor service - it was the only motivation of the guys who chose to study in the church school?
- It was different.
The parents of some of the guys who learned from me were very
anti-communist and were glad that their children could learn the law of
God.
And some were absolutely indifferent - their children started going to
school for food ration cards or for company with other children.
- Your arrival in Pskov in 1943 is a very risky enterprise. Did you put yourself in great danger just to be able to teach the Law of God to Soviet children? What did this work in the Pskov mission mean to you personally and why did it outweigh the self-preservation instinct?
- It was impossible to stay in Sarajevo in 1941.
I would either have been taken to the Croatian-Nazi army, or Yugoslav
communists would have been shot as a white émigré, or I would have had
to flee to the monarchists-partisans of Yugoslavia and probably die. But for what? Instead, I consciously wanted to get to Russia, although I was well aware that I could also die or be in a concentration camp. But in this case, I knew what I was risking for.
Teaching the Law of God in Pskov and working with the guys - this was my struggle against Bolshevism, the struggle for Russia.
After all, the Pskov mission essentially made Stalin stop the
persecution of the Church, open churches, and allow the election of the
Patriarch.
And at that time they risked everything. What to do - the war, the terms were killed, planted. Why should there be an exception for me? I was pretty calm about this. I did not even ask God to save me - I said, "Thy will be done."
- In addition to church schools, in what other areas was the work carried out in the Pskov mission?
- The most important thing is that the liturgical life was renewed. Only in Pskov alone, 10 churches were opened, and throughout the Mission - several hundred. When ours (approx. - Red Army) came to Pskov, then left the service only four.
And I understand this - after all, there were practically no people,
the Germans in the 44th year were all cleaned out to Germany. Do you know why cleaned up? Because if they leave, say, a doctor or an engineer, then they will work for the Red Army, for the Soviet Union.
Also opened orphanages at the temples. For example, Father George Benigsen had a shelter, there were about 30 orphans or even more.
- Did the assistance to the prisoners of war were provided?
- Yes, some members of the Pskov mission helped prisoners of war. Although they had no right to help anyone.
All this was done illegally, they found some loopholes, mainly due to
the fact that some Germans looked at it through their fingers. For example, the father Alexy Ionov, the priest of the Mission, tried to help the prisoners of one of the camps. But all that he was allowed to do was bring prisoners some food from time to time.
Getting permission to serve the Liturgy for prisoners of war was very, very difficult. Father Alexy Ionov once received such a right on Easter. Only those prisoners who wanted to do this were present at the Liturgy. They were brought to the temple under escort, and none of the locals should have been in this service. Father Alexey was also allowed to give prisoners a testicle. And these eggs were brought on the eve of believers when they learned about the upcoming worship service.
Father Alexey said that he welcomed everyone “Christ is Risen!” And
everyone answered: “Truly Risen!” And these were the soldiers of the Red
Army.
But the prisoners of war helped not only the direct participants of the mission.
My future wife (like Rostislav Vladimirovich met and married his wife
in Pskov in 1943), like many of her friends, also sometimes cooked soup
and drove him to the camp.
My future wife worked as a translator at a veterinary clinic in Pskov.
The head physician himself spoke excellent German, but in order to save
the girl from being sent to Germany, he made her a translator.
And this veterinary hospital had a large courtyard, where sometimes
prisoners of war were taken under escort after the work they did outside
the camp. Those who are ill complained to the doctor, and he gave them horse medicine - there were no others - to at least cure them. And one of the prisoners will take, and run away. And the clinic staff hid such fugitives in the veterinary hospital premises.
And then a letter comes from the village to the commandant’s office
that, for example, a cow is sick (and the Germans get milk from this
cow) - send a veterinarian. My wife gets a pass to the commandant's office and a medical assistant in this village, and goes there in a cart. She rides in the hay, and under the hay - a runaway prisoner. The Germans stop - she shows them a pass and goes further. Then, in the village, when no one sees, he lets out a fugitive and shows which path to reach the partisans. If the Germans knew, they would have shot everyone.
By the way, many years later, my wife and I received a letter from the
daughter of the chief doctor of the veterinary clinic, who hid prisoners
and forwarded them to the partisans. In 1951, he was given a false denunciation of 10 years in camps. Released him, however, after 4 years, but his health was so undermined that a year after his release, he died. And very many participants of the Pskov mission after the war received 15 years in concentration camps.
- When and under what circumstances did the Pskov mission cease to operate?
- In January 1944, the Red Army near Leningrad launched an offensive. The Germans urgently began to evacuate. The Orthodox mission also received an order to prepare for evacuation, which was scheduled for mid-February.
But I decided not to wait - you know what the trial with the Soviet
authorities threatened for me and my family, I stayed in Pskov - and
together with my wife and mother-in-law I left first in Riga, then in
the labor camp in Vienna, and then in the labor camp in Thuringia.
It
was easy to leave Pskov, since the Germans themselves took all of them
cleaned up — if only nobody left the Red Army to work. But
psychologically, both for me and for my wife and mother-in-law, this
was a big problem - we were leaving the Motherland, it was very hard. But in 1992, when it became possible, my wife and I traveled to Pskov. And one of our sons was there too.
- Did you watch Vladimir Khotinenko’s Pop movie?
- No, I did not watch this movie. Just because I rarely watch movies. I know that he is about the Pskov mission and that the prototype of the main character was Father Alexy Ionov. Father Alexy was the one who crowned me in Pskov with my wife. He then served at one time here on Long Island (note - the suburbs of New York) in the temple of the city of Cycliff.
- You met the end of the war already in Europe. Please tell us about this time.
-
During the war years, the NTS had its own construction company called
“Erbauer”, but the Russians worked there from the first to the last. In
the spring of 1945, I also worked in this company, while she was
evacuated to a small town in Thuringia. And just in this town came the
Americans. German troops began to shoot at them from a roller coaster.
And the Americans, in turn, the Germans. And it so happened that the
working camp of our company was just between them, and the shells flew
through us. The feeling, to put it mildly, is unpleasant - it makes
noise, hums, and if you make a mistake, you yourself know what could be.
The
director of our company was Russian Boldyrev, who knew English well. He
jumped to the American side, raised his hands. The American stopped the
shooting, got out of the tank, and Boldyrev said to him: “Please do not
shoot, here are the Russians.” “What, are the Russians here already?”
Cried the American. "No, not the Russian army, but the Russian workers."
The Americans recorded information about the director and, turning the
tank, drove off, and then killed the Germans from another place.
In
the evening, they called the director of our company to the Americans
to figure out who we are. When he learned that in our work camp Russian
emigrants spoke a huge number of European languages, an American officer
who was assigned to communicate with the local population immediately
took Boldyrev, the director of the company, to work. The very next day,
he received a certificate as an employee of the American army (a
civilian in the American military service — they had this provided). And
then - the war ended, the terms of the concentration camp, robbery,
violence. This American should bring some sort of order. It is necessary
to protect warehouses, food and others. And there is nobody to protect,
the US military is not enough. Then the Americans gave Boldyrev weapons
for protection. And the workers at Erbauer began to guard the
warehouses.
But
then suddenly they say - Thuringia moves to the Soviet zone of
occupation. And we can not be under the Soviet zone, you know. We, as a
DiPi (comment - DP, displaced person - displaced person, refugee) had no
right to leave their camp, otherwise they could be arrested. This, of
course, was done by the Bolsheviks so that Soviet citizens would not
run. Boldyrev tells the Americans that he cannot stay. They told him:
"Of course, you can leave, you are an American employee." He says: "Yes,
but I have workers, I can not throw them." Bargained, and Boldyrev
received permission to travel for five hundred people. And we left.
But
when we arrived in the American zone, we first flatly refused to give
permission to enter, and then pretended to agree, and sent us, as it
later turned out, to the Soviet repatriation camp. And they themselves notified the Soviet side - they thought of getting rid of us in this way. We, not suspecting anything, came to this camp. And it is empty, the bugs are angry, hungry - they bite atrociously. And
in the morning, trucks suddenly arrive, from one of them a Soviet
officer comes out and says: “To the Motherland!” And we are not going. “You will go,” he answers, and pulls out a gun.
And we have a weapon (the fact that even in Thuringia, we were given out by the Americans for the protection of warehouses). Our guys clicked the shutters. The officer did not expect this, left, but then, through the Americans, he demanded that we surrender our weapons. And Boldyrev told the Americans - we will surrender only if you guard us. And they agreed - so this was the only camp where the Americans protected the DP from Soviet agents. Imagine? And in this camp I was.
Then again we did not know where to place, but our guys accidentally found an empty camp to be demolished. The Americans did not want to let us go there, saying that the camp is uninhabited and unsuitable for settlement. “Do not worry, everything will be inhabited,” we answered. Do you know how our guys worked?
Even lazy people tried - because they knew that if everything was in
order, if they did not, then they would go to the Soviet Union.
This was how the camp Menhegof was founded, which existed until 1948
and entered the history of Russian emigration as the center of the NTS,
as the place where after the war the first issues of Sowing and Grani
magazines were printed, where the first own printing house was printed.
"Arrows" in the USSR. Work on the radio "Freedom"
"Arrows" in the USSR. Work on the radio "Freedom"
- How did you find yourself in America?
- After the war in Yugoslavia, Tito, a communist, came to power. I could not go back there - I would have been arrested as a white émigré on the very first day. In Germany, there was no work for me anymore. I had to think where to go. At first I was going to Brazil with my family, but at the last moment I could not leave. In 1951 we went to America, where I got a job as a worker at a bread factory.
- Did your participation in the NTS continue after the war?
- NTS from fictional addresses sent letters to the Soviet Union, and in
them - leaflets, separate articles from the magazine "Sowing". Such letters were called "arrows." I sent such “arrows” to the Soviet addresses, which I took from the magazine “Philately of the USSR”.
At that time, the Soviet government did not prohibit correspondence
with foreigners for propaganda purposes - they say, you see, we have
freedom - but there were still many restrictions.
There was another case - then for correspondence with Soviet citizens,
who considered themselves members of the NTS, they needed the address of
an American who nobody knows, whose name is the most common. I worked in an American factory and found such a person there. Letters came to his address for us, and he gave them to me. And one day a letter comes to this American by mail, and there is a book called “NTS, it's time for us to explain.” It was a book against the NTS. He showed me, I looked and said: “Jame, your work is finished. They already know about you in the KGB. ” He asks: “So why do they report this? They after all, having learned, could intercept all mail ».
I answer: “Do you think the KGB does not have those who share our
views?” Apparently, some of the authorities wanted to warn us that the
address was declassified.
- How did you start working on Radio Liberty?
- On the radio, one of the heads worked my good friend from the DiPi camps in Germany - Igor Morozov. In addition, our daughters were friends. True, at first my wife was against working on the radio. She said that you have the same family, you need to feed. And then, in 1967, I was a factory worker — this was far from the highest paid, but rather stable job. But it so happened that the factory went bankrupt. And then I started working on the radio. At first I was a freelancer, wrote about philately. I myself am a collector since childhood, I understand this very well. Over time, he became a full-time employee and worked on the radio until 1983.
- Today it is no longer a secret that after the Second World War the NTS fell under the control of American intelligence. Radio Liberty was also controlled by the US intelligence agencies. Did you know about it in those years?
- Yes, the radio was funded by some of the American intelligence services.
In the early 1950s, they assembled emigre organizations and proposed
the creation of a “Liberation” committee that would broadcast to the
Soviet Union. Then Radio Liberation was renamed Radio Liberty.
So, at first it was under the control of the security services, but
since the radio was theft, and it is unclear what - the big expenses
that are not controlled by anyone - then around the beginning of the 70s
they wanted to close the radio. But still not closed, and transferred funding and control to Congress.
- Did you have a sense of internal contradiction due to control and funding from the special services?
After all, American intelligence and Congress clearly were not guided
by the interests of Russia and did not care about its welfare?
- I have no sense of contradiction.
Those Americans who held senior positions on the radio in those years
spoke Russian and, as it seemed to me then, were Russophiles.
And what is especially important - I always said only what I myself
considered necessary, and no one dictated what to say and what did not.
By the way, in the same place, on the radio, Father Alexander Schmemann
and Father George Bennigsen recorded their programs, with whom I worked
in the Pskov mission.
I myself had two non-political programs - “Sacred music of all times and peoples” and “Collector’s Corner”. Although, of course, I sometimes talked about some political things.
For example, I put Shalyapin and say: “Listen to Shalyapin, who was
deprived of his Soviet citizenship in a certain year after he had
blessed the house, invited the priest.” He wrote about this in his book.
There was a case when the Lenin against the New Year Tree stamp appeared in the USSR. I make a program on this topic and say: “Stalin returned the Christmas tree, making it a New Year's, only in 1935. And in the time of Lenin, Christmas trees, which were actually Christmas, not New Year, were forbidden.
So was Lenin really on the Christmas tree? ”Imagine that an article
about this was soon published in the magazine“ Philately of the USSR ”-
that is, they listened to the radio and discussed this issue. It was essentially an answer to me, although my name was not mentioned, of course. They wrote that yes, there was such a stamp that the image of it began in 1919, when the Christmas trees were not prohibited. And there was a case when Lenin was invited to such a Christmas tree at an orphanage, and he did not refuse the invitation.
“For us to return to Russia is what we dreamed of.”
“For us to return to Russia is what we dreamed of.”
- What thoughts, hopes did emigration meet with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991?
“We fools thought that everything would be all right now.” But it turned out far from perfect. Russia was robbed, terrible inflation and so on. And now, twenty-five years later, even new monuments are put to Stalin, I don’t speak about the monuments to Lenin. I understand in part - after all, many of the living today were born in the Khrushchev time and later. And Khrushchev time, people remember as a thaw. Then there was nothing so obviously awful.
By the way, the NTS has released a book - “Geographical names, which have no place in Russia”.
For example, the station "Voykovskaya" - it is not clear how stations,
streets, squares can still bear the names of executioners. I know that the Orthodox Church also protested.
- In 1991, you were already 72 years old. I understand that this age is not appropriate for fundamental changes in life. And yet, after the fall of the communist system, did you have any thoughts about returning home to Russia?
- Oh yeah! And by the way, some of my friends returned. As for me personally, I have the circumstances - my wife, children, grandchildren. I was too bound by family ties. If I were freer, you would not see me here. Because for us to return to Russia is what we dreamed of.
And then, imagine that you came to me not in the apartment on Long Island, but in Pskov. After all, I am here, as in Pskov. So I feel. And I have correspondence mainly with Russia, and not with foreign countries. In any case, today I would live in Pskov in the same way as here. I am now 97 years old. For me, to go from the table on which my computer stands to the living room, where we are talking, is work. Grandson Yura takes me to the Russian church. In the same way I would live in Pskov. I would go to church. And the rest of the time at home.
- Your daughter, Lyudmila Rostislavovna, took an active part in organizing the reburial of the ashes of General Denikin. What did this event mean for the descendants of the white emigration, the symbol of what became?
- In fact, there were different opinions - someone was for, someone was against. For example, the question of the reburial of Wrangel was also raised. But his relatives said: “He is buried in Belgrade, because his soldiers are buried there. He should be with them. ” I agree with that. With Denikin decided otherwise. And I agree with that too. After all, Denikin went to Moscow - and now Denikin in Moscow. It is right.
- You said that already in the 30s the children of Russian émigrés
began to forget the Russian language and lose their internal connection
with their Homeland. A similar problem exists today among Russian immigrants living in different parts of the world. How is this problem solved in the USA? The Russian scout organization still exists in many countries, including in America.
Does it help the children of immigrants to preserve their national
identity in the same way as they helped the children of Russian
immigrants in the 30s? What is its size in the US today? Is it the backbone of the descendants of white emigration or those who have recently arrived?
- About half of the scouts are the descendants of the first and second waves of emigration, plus a few from the third.The second half is the children of the fourth wave, that is, those who recently arrived in the States. In 2015, in Washington and New York, the number of scout organizations is about 350 people. There are offices on the west coast - but they did not send statistics.
And if in general, the emigrants of recent years have come to become Americans, to make good money here and get settled. And they, in pursuit of the dollar, do not care at all how their children will feel.
- What is your overall attitude towards modern migration processes in the direction of Russia - the United States? After all, today a huge number of young people voluntarily leave Russia.
- I will tell you briefly - if I were in Pskov today and it would be
difficult for me, I would still stay in Pskov and not go to America,
where it could be easier for me.
- Thank you very much, Rostislav Vladimirovich! The last question I would like to ask about your grandson Jura. Being
an emigrant already in the fourth (!) Generation, Yura speaks and
writes excellently in Russian (only a barely perceptible accent gives
it), knows Russian history well and considers Russia to be her
motherland. This contrasts
very much with what I can see among the newly arrived immigrants -
their children often begin to forget Russian soon after their arrival in
the States. As far as I know, Yura today is thinking about the possibility of moving to Russia. What do you say to your grandson if he decides to move?
- I will bless him!
