Box Seat

St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1966. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, the actress Elena, wrote, "A film about the life of the past century. I am at the theater, sitting in a box seat, watching a performance. The woman who is sitting next to me I cut off. I am wearing [your] jabot. This photograph was taken in the second half of December, not long before the blows."

Perhaps Elena refers to this when she mentions "the blows."

Thanks to my friend, D, for translating the inscription on this photo.

A Different Angle

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 6, 1969. Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, writes, "To Tanjusha, my dear sister."

This photo was one of three publicity shots Elena sent to Tatjana.

Thanks to my friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

Depth

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 6, 1969. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, Elena, wrote, "To Tanjusha, my dear sister."

A Closer Look (Part 18)

Tambov, Russia, 1910 or 1911. This is my paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, Elena. She was 12 years old when she sat for this photo. Here's the original post.

Elena's embroidered dress matches the one her sister Natasha wore that day.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 38)

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, September 25, 1965. Elena, a younger sister of my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, wrote, "To my sister, my dear Tanjusha as a keepsake. I'm always reminiscing about you. I love you."

Thanks to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

Publicity Portrait

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, November 6, 1969. Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, writes, "To Tanusha, my little sister.* I am posing in costume. This is how I earn money. I am living the life of a widow."

Thanks again to my friend, D, for translating the text from Russian to English.

*[My paternal Grandmother was the eldest of six children; Elena must refer to Tatjana's size, not her age.]

"You ask: How do I live?"

After I posted this photo of my paternal Grandmother's sister, Elena (the actress), I found an envelope of letters and photos Elena had sent to Tatjana in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Earlier I had wondered whether Elena ever married or had a family. This photo—and what Elena wrote on the back of it—provides more information:

January 7, 1960

My own Tanjusha, I want to send you my own portrait as well, but I haven’t had my photo taken in a long time.

I am sending you a photo of me and my husband taken six months before his death. I was trying to restore his health—

*     *     *     *     *

I so wanted my beloved to live…
But death is implacable, he is in the grave
And for the widow there is inconsolable grief…

Why did this happen?  Why?

For I loved my husband very dearly.

I look at his portrait. It is deaf and dumb,

I am left alone—a broken-off branch.

(This is my own poem.)

*     *     *     *     *

You ask: How do I live? It is already the third year since I buried my husband, but I am still grieving and sad.

I am alone; my son is working in the north. This increases my melancholy and grief—I describe my feelings in poetry.

I spent the summer in a suburb of Leningrad at a dacha. My son was with me for a month and a half, and then I was living there alone. Now I am again living in the city apartment. In January my son will come to see me again. As for my health, I can’t complain. I sleep well and have a good appetite. I receive a good pension, and in addition my son helps me.

I kiss you warmly, my dear. I often remember you as you were when we were growing up. I remember. I love you. Deeply loving you. 

Ljalja

 

Thanks to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

 

Reading Spots

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard from the city of Tambov, where my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived.

An Ordinary Day

Suburban Chicago, 1963. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, sits at the kitchen table after cooking dinner. I wonder if she struck this pose so that she'd have a good snapshot to send to her sisters, who lived in the Soviet Union.

It's Sunday; take a walk in the park.

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard from the city of Tambov, where my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived.

Memories are a joy.

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, November 6, 1969. Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, writes, "To Tanjusha, my dear sister. I love you as I loved you in childhood. I am 67 years old, and I am working as a model. I am living the life of a widow. I remember everything … Mama, Papa, our brothers. Memories are a joy. I kiss you warmly."

Thanks to my friend, D, for translating the text from Russian to English.

The traffic is still light.

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard from the city of Tambov, where my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived.

Traffic is light.

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard from Tambov, where my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived. 

Repurposed

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard from Tambov, where my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived. It looks like a former church has been repurposed; the postcard identifies this building as a "music school."

Foot Traffic

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. Here is another Soviet-era postcard that depicts the city in which my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, lived.

Same Role

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, December 1966. This is another photo of my paternal Grandmother's sister, the actress Elena, in her role in a film about Russian factory life. The action takes place in 1901. Soviet filmmakers usually cast Elena in the role of an aritsocrat.

Thanks to my friend D for translating the narrative on the back of this photo for us.

Postcard from Home

Tambov, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1958. This Soviet-era postcard shows an image of the hometown of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. One of Tatjana's sisters sent the image to her.

Aging

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, August 1963. Elena, a sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, writes, "A keepsake for dear Tanjusha. I am 61-1/2 years old. I am already a gray-haired old woman."

Thanks to my friend, D, for translating the text from Russian to English.

A New Role

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, December 1966. My paternal Grandmother's sister, the actress Elena, tackles a role about factory life in 1901, in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Thanks to my dear friend D for translating the narrative on the back of this photo for us.

This is an old photo, but it's not *that* old.

Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana was an actress in the Soviet Union.

Here's another snapshot of Elena, in character:

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1966. Elena writes, " A film about the life of Rus’ [Old Russia] in the sixteenth century. I am an aged mother. I am awaiting the warriors who were to return after a battle for Rus’."

Thanks to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.