The Land That Once Became Native

Long Life Smorgon!

Smorgon warmly welcomed the two friends. There was work at the plant, in the hostel - beds. Nikolai left his wife Zhanna and two sons in Kazakhstan. He planned that the family would be taken to Smorgon only after he had his own home here. However, everything went a little out of plan.

- Until December, I had about 15 time off for work on weekends. Therefore, on the eve of New Year I decided to go to my relatives in Kazakhstan for two weeks, - Nikolai Sergeevich says.

The holidays passed quickly and the time off was coming to an end. The man had to go back to work in Smorgon. He could not leave his family again for an indefinite period of time. Nikolai and Zhanna, who at that time had been married for about 10 years, had already seen many separations during their married life. To part was more and more difficult. So the couple decided to move to Smorgon. The prospects for their own home were very vague. But the uncertainty did not frighten Zhanna.  At that moment she realized the deep meaning of the saying ‘heaven is with a sweetheart’. She packed her suitcases, took her children and went with her husband to Smorgon, a place she had never seen before. After big Temirtau and huge Chelyabinsk, where the family used to live, Smorgon could seem a very unattractive town. But Zhanna is the kind of person who firmly knows that it is not the place that makes a person beautiful, but the person makes the place. The strength of spirit, strength of character and incredible vitality were enough to start a new life in a new place at the age of 30. Looking ahead, I will say that the Grekhovs' family really did well. Today they have two sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren. And behind their shoulders is a rich experience of what they have seen, achieved and experienced. Zhanna and Nikolai have been together for almost 45 years. And it all started...

Two elements

It all started in 1978 in Chelyabinsk, Nikolai Sergeevich's hometown. At that time, he was studying to be an electrician at a metallurgical technical school, while his future wife was studying to be a design technician at the Chelyabinsk Technical School. The fateful meeting took place on the sports ground, where they both came for training. Then they travel a lot, visited cinemas and had romantic walks in the evening Chelyabinsk. Zhanna and Nikolai quickly realized that they had found each other.

‘ We are completely different in temperament. I was very active from childhood, becoming a leader everywhere. At school I was the class commissar, the chairman of the Komsomol organization, the chairman of the local history museum. I attended all kinds of clubs, danced, drew and even played the trumpet. But I loved sports most of all,’ Zhanna says. ‘ Kolya is by nature very calm, balanced and reasonable. I immediately felt that this man will never let me down and will not betray me. I was completely confident in him.’

‘ I saw that Zhanna is the exact opposite of me by temperament. Sometimes it even seemed that by virtue of her character she could do what I could not, ’Nikolai Grekhov smiles. ‘And at the same time, if Zhanna is compared to fire I have always been for her the one who could extinguish this fire a little, calm the burning flame. We have always complemented each other perfectly.’

Lights of hope

Nikolai and Zhanna got married in February 1979. Nikolai Sergeevich recalls with a smile that when he decided to marry he was still a student. His father strictly ordered him to get a profession first. Nikolai promised his father that he would do so. And he kept his word. Late in the evening on February 22 he defended a diploma at a technical school. And the next day he led his beloved down the aisle.

Zhanna Vasilievna recalls an equally interesting story about the wedding and preparation for it:

-I have a twin sister. We are very similar in character: both of us considered ourselves leaders from childhood and wanted to be the first in everything. When we got a little older we argued who would get married first.  Kolya and I were about to get married and suddenly my sister announced that she was getting married on March 8. To get ahead of her we decided to schedule the wedding for February 23. My sister didn't know anything about it. But then she said that they also postponed the wedding to February 23. It so happened that we got married on the same day. Kolya and I had a wedding in Chelyabinsk and my sister’s wedding was in Nizhny Tagil.

            Due to the circumstances, Zhanna Vasilievna did not get to her sister’s wedding and her sister missed Zhanna's wedding. But this is not the worst thing. Later, life once again showed Zhanna and Nikolai Grekhov that a person cannot always be in the right place at the right time. It so happened that Nikolai could not attend the birth of his eldest son Pavel. The reason, of course, was respectful: in April the man was called up for two years in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Zhanna, who was pregnant at that moment, stayed to live in Chelyabinsk with Nikolai's parents. And the husband went to pay off the debt to the Motherland in the Red Banner Ural Military District. For about a year, the newlyweds lived only in letters and rare phone calls. Nikolai Sergeevich saw his eldest son only at the age of 10 months. Prior to that, he learned about Pavel only from his wife's letters: how he grows, how he tries to take the first steps.

            In 1985 the Grekhovs had another son, Yevgeny. At that time the family lived in Temirtau (Kazakhstan). Zhanna Vasilyevna says that they left Chelyabinsk because it was extremely difficult to solve the housing issue there. The city had more than a million inhabitants. The queues for apartments were endless. Therefore, the family moved to Temirtau. Both got a job at the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant. Zhanna worked in the design bureau, Nikolai — as an electrician. However, even in Temirtau the housing issue of a young family was not resolved in any way. The couple did not know in which corner of the vast USSR they should try their luck again. And then a spark of hope lit up in a town with an unusual name Smorgon.

There is a city under the blue sky…

In Smorgon Zhanna and her husband got a job at the tractor factory. There was a place for her in the design department. From the very first days the woman was actively involved in the social life of the enterprise. Neither competitions nor tourist gatherings were held without her. Sport was her favorite hobby since childhood. Zhanna Vasilyevna recalls that at school she used to run to the gym even during breaks. And in order not to spend a lot of time on changing clothes, she wore a sports uniform under the school uniform. As soon as the lesson was over, she quickly took off her dress and ran to the gym. For 10 minutes it was possible and to run and throw the ball in the ring.

In 1994, the Grekhovs built cooperative housing in Smorgon. At that time their sons had already gone to school. Zhanna Vasilyevna was worried that her eldest son and his peers were left to fend for themselves. And then, on the basis of the secondary school No. 5, where her son studied, she organized a boys' basketball team and began to coach them. Successes did not take long to come. The novice coach took her team to competitions and returned with victories. Zhanna's successes were recognized at the Children's and Youth Sports School. And soon she was invited to work at the sports school as a coach. The woman agreed, and for more than 20 years she has been coaching boys and girls. During her work on the basketball Olympus more than one star was lit up. Among them is the master of sports of the International class Julia Dureiko. Zhanna Vasilyevna notes that there are stars in every team.

Zhanna Grekhova is sure that if you become a prize-winner, be thankful to the whole team, because they brought up a champion in you. And the woman also has no doubt that without sport and physical activity a full human life is impossible. It is not customary to talk about a woman's years, but I will only note that Zhanna Grekhova has already reached retirement age. Since 1994, this woman lives in the most remote neighborhood - Koreni. And every morning, regardless of the weather, she goes to work in the city center on foot. Zhanna Vasilyevna is not going to change this habit.

The Grekhov family has been living in Smorgon for almost 35 years. Their youngest son Evgeny, a physical education teacher and basketball coach, stayed here with his family. Smorgon became a second homeland for Nikolai's parents who moved here to live from Chelyabinsk. Zhanna Vasilyevna continues to educate young basketball players. Nikolai Sergeevich works as an inspector in the Smorgon energy and gas inspectorate. The couple are glad that once life suggested them a route to a previously unknown Smorgon. No one then could have predicted how their lives would turn out. But the ticket for the long-distance train, bought by Nikolai Sergeyevich back in 1988, turned out to be a happy one.

Tatiana LYSKOVA.

Photo of the author.