…1945. The war was over. A new life began, in new postwar conditions and gradually came into its own. In 1944 I gave birth to a daughter, who in honor of my mother, we named her Rivka. In 1947 we gave birth to a son – Nikolai. It’s a strange sounding Russian name in a Jewish family. In the post-war years, anti-Semitism in the country intensified, more and more Jews were accused of all sins. The experience of the war years showed that many Jewish
Ruben Gulkarov with co-workers in his own jewelery store
children were saved in Russian families, which was the reason for the Russian name. The second name we gave him Nisan, because he was born in March – the tenth day of the month of Nisan 5707 according to the
Jewish calendar, on the Saturday before the holiday Pesach, which has a special status and is called Shabbat a-Gadol. Reuben, the husband, took a job in commerce. He was assigned to open a store of jewelry. The job was difficult and unsafe. He was in the business in precious metal jewelry, especially diamonds.
It required special knowledge and skills. The characteristics of the stone weight and color, is not enough. One needed knowledge of human psychology, everyday life and traditions, gullibility, imagination and caution.
Ruben organized and opened a jewelry store in Tashkent, which successfully jewelry store in Tashkent, which successfully operated for almost two decades. Ruben was constantly in labyrinth of universal, specialized and professional knowledge, all kinds of human passions and vices, “traps” and “traps” set up by the system and authorities of that time by the system and the authorities. He was able to provide invaluable help to many people in difficult situations, especially his friends and relatives.
An example of the highest nobility and immense responsibility can be the fact that during the war
is the fact that during the war he did not prevent me from taking in for foster care orphaned children left behind by the death of my mother and sister. Reuben took a very active participation in the life arrangement of each of them. My husband was characterized by cordiality and attention to people. And our hospitality was an inviolable custom. Guests were always and they were always welcome. There was something to say, something to hear, something to marvel at,
Ruben Gulkarov with his wife Tamara Mavasheva
Tamara Mavasheva- took an active part within a drama club
Yuriy and Iosif Mavachev, Ruben Gulkarov with his son Nikolay and Abo Mavashev with his daughter
Dina.
We discussed, thought about, and borrowed from each other’s life experiences.
I am grateful and thankful to my husband for his foresight, which protected us and nurtured us, not only in our life together, but also after his death, to the present day. Praise him for his activity, intelligence, thrift and care for the future! I will always honor the memory of him and his deeds.
Thank you that he was and is in our hearts and souls.
The house we bought during the war was a happy and successful one: six large rooms, a large veranda, a small cellar, a yard, a room with a hallway.
Everywhere there were stoves for heating. Coal or wood was used for heating. A Russian stove for for cooking, and the same in the time room. There was a big hazel tree in the yard, which yielded a lot of nuts every year. Roses and bulldenezes grew. At the end of the yard were three storerooms, in one of which stood a tandyr, a universal stove to the height of a man’s height, made of scorched clay, which was the height of a man, made of scorched clay, in which bread could be baked and meat roasted, and a two in-ground hearths for cooking in special cauldrons on coals and wood.
We used the tandyr for baking Passover matzah and the hearth for cooking on the Sabbath. The cooked food was covered with a special thick blanket to keep it hot for the Sabbath meal.
In the center of the courtyard there was a water pipe, the water from which was collected in a small
recess, which occasionally emitted foul odors. Not far from the house
There was a small river flowing, a marketplace across the street from our street, and a park with a lake called Komsomolsky Lake.
To the right of it, across the street, was a park with a lake called Komsomolskoye Lake.
We rented out two rooms and a temporary house. We always had good neighbors.
One of them, Aunt Lisa from Moscow, settled with us during the war. An old woman, alone, her son was in the army. She liked to spend time with my daughter Rosa, who was difficult to feed. Aunt Liza would take Rosa to the water and there, telling her something and tried to feed her.
During the war, the Nemirovsky family, Abram and Esther, moved in with us whose daughter Frida was born in 1948. We were like siblings. We lived together for a long time, and even when we moved to another house, they stayed with us.
In this house we performed the weddings of little sister Maria, little brother Rafael and niece Luba, the first Victory Day when all three brothers returned from the front.
Our house was a staging post. People from Bukhara, Samarkand, Andijan, Khiva, Kata-Kurgan and many other cities.
In 1955, we sold our home, where we were all getting on our feet, a house of bread, cheerful, hospitable. How many weddings and feast days we spent in that house! But it had to go under demolition, which was the reason for selling it.
House in Tashkent built by Ruben and Tamara
We moved into a house with only four small rooms, so we decided to build a new house, as there was plenty of room. The construction lasted about four years and took a lot of energy, nerves and health of energy, nerves and health. And although the house was built, it did not bring satisfaction and joy.
