Basia Gutnik and her husband Vladimir

My husband Vladimir with me, Basia Gutnik, in Brest in 1948. In 1946 I visited my aunt Maria in Brest, Byelorusse. My mother and grandmother stayed in Kiev. I got a job at the pharmaceutics agency in Brest. I also took a course in English and met my future husband Vladimir Fadeev there. He was attending an evening school at the House of Officers. We were meeting at dancing parties, because the only entertainment in Brest was theater and dancing. We decided to get married. Vladimir was Russian and was born in Kiev in 1925. He graduated from secondary school. As a child, Vladimir was like any other boy. He went swimming in the Dnieper River, was fond of the cinema, and was not particularly fond of reading. He finished the 9th grade before the war. After the war, he was admitted to the Communications Department of Murom Military College. After his graduation in 1947, he got a job assignment in Brest. He wanted to continue his studies and attended the Brest evening school at the House of Officers. The curriculum at the Military College gave students an education equivalent to eight years in secondary school, and Vladimir needed ten to gain admittance to the higher military college. This was in 1947, and we married on 5 May 1948. . We just had a civil registration ceremony and then my husband had to leave for his military unit. I went on business trip to inspect a pharmacy near his regiment and he showed me where he lived - in the barracks with soldiers. His bed was separated from the others by a curtain. Then he came to Brest. Maria and Semyon were leaving for the Kuril Islands. I lived with them, and since they were leaving, I was left with no place to live. But we were lucky and got a room next door. Our son Grigory was born in 1949. We enjoyed life. Although we had a baby and my husband was finishing the 10th grade, we still found time to go dancing. In 1950 Vladimir got his school certificate and was admitted to the Electrical Engineering Academy in Leningrad, so we moved there. We lived in Leningrad for five years.