My Love – Boris and Yevgeniya Feldman
From Kiev, Ukraine; live in Melbourne
I was introduced to Yevgenia, or as I call my wife, Jenya, through a childhood friend in 1958. I was 23 and she was 2 years younger.
We lived nearby each other and I started picking up Jenya from work.
We would sit on a bench in a park and eat cold cuts and bread – when we were lucky to get some. The times were tough after the war. There was a housing shortage and we couldn’t get married for a few years because we had nowhere to live. So, for 2 years we were going out to cinemas, dancing halls, restaurants — you name it!
We got married on 25 December 1961. I ordered wedding rings in advance; you couldn’t simply go and buy those. Everything was in deficit and was hard to get.
The wedding was held at a simple dining hall, across the road from our synagogue. We brought some benches from shul to sit our 50 guests; the Rabbi showed up too. No, we didn’t have a chuppah. It was forbidden in the Soviet Union.
Thankfully, having a wedding dress was permitted! We bought a beautiful snow-white fabric and shoes in Moscow, the very capital of the USSR.
We share many good memories. We went to Sochi – the best Soviet resort one could dream for. We had a car, the famous “Zhiguli Pobeda”; it was like a Mercedes, only better. I used to search the city to buy French perfume for Jenya; it was called ‘Climat Lancome’ and was very popular and expensive.
(Sighs) But she gave me her whole life…
We have one son, Gregory, and 2 grandchildren, and, most importantly, we are lucky to still have each other.
Zhiguli Pobeda and Climat Lancôme
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