This photo was taken for the board of honor of our construction trust. This is me, Evadiy Rubalskiy, photographed in Kiev in 1980.
In 1946 I went to work as a construction plumber in a construction trust. I made a big contribution into installation of gas supply lines in Kiev. There was my portrait on the board of honor of our trust. I was the best specialist.
I got married in 1947. In 1948 our daughter Ludmila was born. Our second daughter Inna was born in 1953. We didn't celebrate Jewish holidays at home. We were both atheists and besides, I was a member of the party. We always celebrated Soviet holidays: 1 May, 7 November, the Soviet army Day, Victory Day, New Year and our family members' birthdays. We had lots of arguments with my wife, till we divorced after living together 21 years. Since then I’ve lived alone. My daughters and I keep in touch.
In 1978 I reached my pension age. Men in the USSR retired at the age of 60. I worked on engineer positions, was a foreman and then a site superintendent. I was valued at work and I stayed until 1986, when I finally retired.
In the 1970s mass emigration of Jews to Israel began. Before this time only few individuals were allowed to move to another country. I had a negative attitude toward it and was not going to leave my country. I had grown up here and my friends were here, my dear ones were buried here and I defended this land on battlefields.
In the late 1980s perestroika began. I was still a member of the party. There was a meeting where the staff voted unanimously for the policy. I believed this was another promise of a better life. Yes, the situation has improved, there is a Jewish life and people are no longer persecuted for their convictions or religion. However, the break up of the USSR [1991] that the perestroika ended up with, reduced it’s achievements to zero. There was a strong and powerful state, and there are only small, separated and poor countries left in its place, even though they are called independent. Could any of these small states have won in World War II? No way. Strength is in unity. Everything bad that there was in the USSR should have been eliminated, but we should have stayed together. It is my point of view. After the breakup of the USSR I left the party and I did not join the Communist Party of Ukraine.
I chaired the council of veterans of the 6th Guard in Kiev for 27 years. For few years I've been a member of the council of veterans in the Jewish cultural society of Ukraine. I attend their meetings and meet with friends. These meetings of Jewish veterans are always interesting. Occasionally I make reports and tell them about what I had lived through. I read many military memoirs, analyze and think about things. I receive Jewish newspapers and magazines and read them with interest. I've remained far from religion, but I attend events in the Hesed, when they invite me.
