I have overcome the eighty first step of my life ladder ... The hardened resin of warm amber beads in the
necklace of my life keep in my memory the images of people who did not let the soul of a lonely boy freeze in
the in the twists and turns of life.
I remember absolutely nothing about myself and my family before the start of World War II, before our
evacuation to the outback of Russia, Bashkiria, Tatarstan ... just a blank spot. The first amber bead of memory
was born under the Nazi bombardment of our echelon of refugees heading to the east; an echelon of
unfortunates like me and my mother from besieged Leningrad, Muscovites and many other thousands of
families from the occupied territories of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
War. Evacuation. Freight trains ... And then ... Then moving from place to place and finally clatter of
the wheels takes someone to ashes, and someone to a new incomprehensible life, probably, also similar to
ashes ...
Hard school years, the life upheavals and many, many good meetings ...and many, many good meetings ...
Children's hobbies led to the profession of a scientist.
Gloomy 10 years of life in the "refusal" of permission to leave Russia;
25 years of intensive scientific life in the USA; raising our son; and finally my retirement on December 31,
2013.
