Family is sacred, it’s the extension of one’s self, the extension through children. It’s not for nothing that the Russian word ‘family’ seems to be made of two words: ‘seven’ and ‘self’. But family is not just one’s continuation on the bodily level. There are many cases when blood relatives become blood enemies because they hold different opinions or beliefs. That’s why family is also a spiritual entity: the unity of interest, beliefs, ideas and actions. This is a place where one won’t be betrayed, where one can always count on a helping hand in hard times, where one can always get help…

My family is my children. I have three children: two sons and a daughter. The older son and the daughter are already grown-up, independent people. They have got higher education, are working and have their own families. I live with my younger son Aleksei. He is 15 and goes to high school. I love my children and am proud of them.

I’m also proud of my relatives who had a difficult life full of hardship. My great-great-grandfather was from Czechoslovakia. Long ago, during the tsar rule, he fought for Russia serving in a Czech battalion. After the war he settled in the Crimea, in Simferopol, where my father’s family comes from. My mother’s mother was like the girl named Catherine from the play ‘Thunderstorm’ by Ostrovsky. She was born into a Cossack family. When she was 16, she was married off to a man [...]]]>

Family is sacred, it’s the extension of one’s self, the extension through children. It’s not for nothing that the Russian word ‘family’ seems to be made of two words: ‘seven’ and ‘self’. But family is not just one’s continuation on the bodily level. There are many cases when blood relatives become blood enemies because they hold different opinions or beliefs. That’s why family is also a spiritual entity: the unity of interest, beliefs, ideas and actions. This is a place where one won’t be betrayed, where one can always count on a helping hand in hard times, where one can always get help…

My family is my children. I have three children: two sons and a daughter. The older son and the daughter are already grown-up, independent people. They have got higher education, are working and have their own families. I live with my younger son Aleksei. He is 15 and goes to high school. I love my children and am proud of them.

I’m also proud of my relatives who had a difficult life full of hardship. My great-great-grandfather was from Czechoslovakia. Long ago, during the tsar rule, he fought for Russia serving in a Czech battalion. After the war he settled in the Crimea, in Simferopol, where my father’s family comes from. My mother’s mother was like the girl named Catherine from the play ‘Thunderstorm’ by Ostrovsky. She was born into a Cossack family. When she was 16, she was married off to a man she didn’t love. She worked hard for her husband’s family and her mother-in-law was very harsh on her. After the revolution their family was dispossessed. My grandmother never said a word about her husband or any other relative until her death.

Our family has its traditions. Our favourite family holiday is the New Year. We start preparing for it well beforehand. We clean the house spotless, bake cakes and pies, cook all kinds of delicious food. And most importantly, we decorate a pretty live fir-tree. It has to be live because even the best artificial Christmas tree can’t replace the live aroma of the fir-tree which fills the whole house. This is a great event.

To be really happy I need a kindred soul with whom life would be easy and interesting, with whom I could share my deepest secrets, enojy the sunrise and create our world together.

To me, family is respecting the one I love and his interests, it’s trust, warmth in the relationship, attention to his needs, honesty and care. I dream about building the family in which love, mutual understanding, joy and happiness rule. A place where I can share everything, being sure of understanding and support. This is a journey to Paradise — together…

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