My father Srul Leib Volodarskiy with my brother Matvey and his wife Tatiana. This photo was taken on the occasion of my father visiting Matvey in Moscow in 1954.
In 1930s my brother Matvey began to lecture in the Kiev Theatrical College. Later the Academy of film producers opened in Kiev. The first admission was about 12 students. Matvey finished this academy and became a film producer. At first my brother worked as film producer the film studio in Kiev and later, before the great Patriotic war, he moved to Moscow to work at the 'Mosfilm' studio. In Moscow my brother met Tatiana, a Russian girl, and married her in 1939, I think. Their son Vsevolod was born shortly afterward. Matvey was recruited to the army during the Great Patriotic War. His commandment knew that he was a film producer and sent him to Chkalov [about 2000 km from Kiev, Russia] in the rear. Matvey became chief producer at the house of officers. His family joined him there.
After the war my wife and I, our son, my wife's mother and my father returned to Kiev from evacuation. After we returned to Kiev my father decided to visit in Belaya Tserkov to take a look at the his house. The house was sinking to one side and there were other tenants there. Of course, the authorities acknowledged my father's ownership of this house. However, they only gave him one room in the house since he was alone. My father was so kind. He never managed to force these tenants to move out of his house. It was his house and he could take an effort to make them move out, but he wasn't this kind of a person. He lived there for a short time, but what kind of life it was when he was alone? He sold his room for peanuts and moved to me in Kiev. In 1950 I went to work as shop superintendent at the motorcycle plant. My father also worked there till his last day. He died at the age of 87. He worked as a timekeeper clerk, including description of the product and its quantities in the sheets and indicating the shipments, and had a sound mind. My father died in 1957. We buried him in the town cemetery.
After the Great Patriotic War my brother and his family returned to Moscow and Matvey continued his work at the 'Mosfilm' studio. Matvey was very attached to my father and often invited him to stay with them in Moscow. Matvey died in Moscow in 1993 and was buried in the Jewish cemetery. I don't remember when Tatiana died. Matvey's son took after his father: he finished school with excellent marks and entered the Faculty of Fine Art in Moscow University. He was scientific secretary of the Tretiakov Art Gallery for a long time. Now he lives in Moscow.
