One Woman’s Labor History Winter: Zoya Shmidt
It was a turbulent time in Russia. Life was not easy at all. I guess it was not easy everywhere. And I was born in such time, in 1924 on October 14th. It is not the exact date because we did not use to have birth certificates at those times as people do now. So, it is my birthday according to my parents’ words.
I was born into a quite rich peasant family, but it was mostly a disadvantage. Being rich in the beginning of the 20th century Russia was even dangerous because the country was building communism and its main value was equality.
So, one day Bolsheviks came to us and took away all that we had. They took away our cattle and the main part of the harvest and since that time we were made to share with others. For villagers it meant famine. Our cows, pigs, and chickens provided us with food all year round, and they just came and took it away. I remember it vaguely but I clearly remember my mother’s cries and fear that she would not be able to feed us, as we lost our father and husband.
My mother was a real Russian woman, strong and healthy, and beautiful. She worked hard on a farm, and soon she got old and tired, as all women who worked on a land. She was born in a village in the Far Eastern Russia and was not educated, so she had to be a farm worker. She was the only kinswoman I knew, my grandmothers died before my birth. So she was an embodiment of femininity for me.
I remember school years. Classes were big, crowdy I may say. I with my friends had one textbook to share for each subject, and it was normal because we all were poor then. Everybody has the same outfit, same bags, and same shoes. All kids were like twins.
After school, I helped my mother, mostly with cleaning and bringing water home, as we did not have a water supply. During harvest season I helped with farming, so I was accustomed to hard work since childhood. And, undoubtedly, I had to study. Every pupil was admitted to pioneer organization, so was I. Being a pioneer meant studying hard and believing in the ideals of communism, if you violated it, you were banished. It was so shameful, so we all did our best to stay in the organization.
In those times every woman was expected to work in a factory or in a field. But I managed to become a party member, as I was quite ambitious. But, surely, during the World War II, I was a simple worker in the rear, while my future husband fought with Japanese. Before the war, I studied at accountant courses in college, so after the war I managed to get a job at the unit as an accountant assistant. Soon I became a chief accountant. It was prestigious, and …
