Zinoviy Rukinglaz’s son Igor Rukinglaz woith his kindergarten

This is the kindergarten where our older son went. Igor Rukinglaz, wearing and sailor's suit in the upper row. This photo was taken in Kherson in the early 1950s.

In early June 1944 we returned to Kherson from evacuation. I went to work as an electrician at the shoe factory. In 1947 I met a lovely Jewish girl. I liked her at onceGitl and I fell in love with each other and I proposed marriage to her. I bought a big bed on my savings. Grisha wife's brother gave Gitl a wedding ring. He was a dentist. We had a civil ceremony in a registry office in autumn 1947.

In December 1948 our older son was born. I named him Igor after my father. My wife didn't work. My salary was 500 rubles per month. We starved with her. We could only afford to buy kishke and fat at the market. Our son stayed 5 days in the kindergarten, because he could have meals there.

We couldn't afford much. We didn't travel on vacations. Actually, I spent my vacations trying to earn some additional money. We didn't have many friends and socialized mainly with my relatives and my wife's relatives. My wife and I tried to observe Jewish traditions, whenever possible. Of course, we had to go to work on Saturday, when there was a 6-day working week. We were generally not religious, but we celebrated Pesach, Chanukkah and Rosh Hashanah as a tribute to traditions and to the memory of our parents. We had festive meals and talked about the history and traditions of the holiday. We tried to teach our sons to respect Jewish traditions, and I can say, they grew up to be real Jews.

Igor finished the Ship mechanic Technical School and Kherson Construction College. He is a site manager in a construction company. His wife Tatiana is Jewish. Igor has three children: twins Vladimir and Yuri, born in 1970, and Oleg, born in 1984. Vladimir is a doctor and Yuri is a computer engineer. In the late 1990s they moved to Israel. My younger grandson Oleg studies in the Kherson Polytechnic College.