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.

"[S]he was seen knitting a hat and walking her dog in New York City."

Maybe she was knitting a dog sweater.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

Acting in St. Petersburg

Here is Elena, a sister of my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, in another role in a Soviet-era film.

Elena wrote:

This was a film about Pushkin. I am a “Russian aristocrat” on a walk near Pushkin's house.

These photographs were particularly pleasing to me, as this was a film about Pushkin. I also appeared in Anna Karenina, but I do not have a photo yet.

St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1966. Elena "cropped out" other actors who appeared in photographs with her before she mailed the snapshots to Tatjana. Was she protecting them, so that they would not appear in photos sent to the United States?

Thanks fo my friend, D, for translating the description of this photo.

Revisiting, with Translation

I earlier posted a photo of Elena, the younger sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. Elena, like Tatjana, was born an aristocrat in Tsarist Russia. After the Russian Revolution, she came to know hardship. Eventually, Elena became an actress; she was typecast to portray an aristocrat.

Recently, my friend, D, translated what Elena had written on the photos she sent to Tatjana.

Here is what Elena wrote about the snapshot in which she is costumed as a lady in Catherine I's court:

 November 6, 1967

To my dear, my own, my sister Tatjana as a keepsake.

Tatjana, I remember our whole childhood. I clearly remember our papa and mama, you, our brothers.

I love you just as I loved you in childhood and youth. 

This photo was taken in the summer of 1967 at a play set in the time of Peter I. I was playing a court lady in the suite of Catherine I.

One of my shoulders is now somewhat higher than the other. This happened after my second rib was broken. My hands are the hands of a woman laborer. These are not the hands of an aristocratic lady. My hands have done a lot of washing, done housework, carried heavy things. It’s a pity that I wasn’t wearing gloves.

Yours with all my heart,

Your Elena

Playing the Part

Elena, the sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, worked as an actress in the Soviet Union. Stage directors usually cast her in the role of an aristocrat.

Here she is in the role of roles, as a member of Catherine I's court:

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 6, 1967. Elena is satisfied by a good performance.

UPDATE: I later posted what Elena said about this photo here.

Another Glimpse

Soviet Union, 1958. This is Elena, the second sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. Like the other sister, Natasha, Elena survived the Russian Revolution and remained in the Soviet Union until her death. We don't know, however, what became of Elena: whether she married, whether she had children, or where she settled. I recall that when I was a child, my Grandmother used to correspond occasionally with Elena, but my memories of the content of the letters have evaporated. I only remember that my Grandmother was cautious about what she wrote because the Soviets censored letters that arrived from the West.

We do know that Elena survived the Russian Revolution by becoming an actress in Soviet propaganda films about the "degenerate aristocracy." She played the role of an aristocrat well because she was one.

Elena appeared earlier in this 1910 or 1911 photo, seated in the top row, in the middle, with her chin resting on her hands.

Natasha

Soviet Union, 1950. This is Natasha, a sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana.

Natasha appeared earlier in this 1910 or 1911 photo in the bottom row, at the far left.