Born and raised in after the siege of Leningrad. The city could not recover after the 900-day siege. People cleared debris, restored almost destroyed communications, bought bread and cereal if they have special coupons.

Lived together in one, six rooms apartment, and had fun. The whole city is practically lived in communal apartments. In our six-room apartment lived twenty people. Was one toilet, where stood in the morning queue. The faucet in the kitchen, with a thin stream of cold water. In the kitchen room stood six tables with little oil stoves and all together in the evening people cooked dinner. In our 12-sqm room lived four. Our mother, our father and my sister. Mom died young in the age of 41. Grandfather left for somewhere to the South and we stayed together with my sister. She was older and could go to work, and I must go the industrial school. There supplies uniform, led study in special school and work, and most importantly fed us.

Received the profession of Turner, after graduation, I was distributed to the plant, make parts for tanks. Work, because of young age, allowed me four hours per shift, but the work was unsuited and required return. The equipment was terribly old, recovered from the plunge in Germany and permanently destroyed. The profession was not that bad, but monotonous and dreary.

Next career step brought me to school work as hairdresser at downtown and was livelier. Hitting once in a posh restaurant "Metropol", I decided that this is the place where I want to work. Apparently affected by the constant recollection of hungry childhood. I figured two years to stay there, and then go to study in the Theatre College, but stuck in the profession for life. Tried to enter the Theatre College, but without success. In the restaurant business, all went on the contrary more than successful. Stepping from stage to stage got to the restaurant general manager position and realized that no more road ahead for me there. Nonpartisan, although demanded repeatedly, but something inside me resisted. The fifth paragraph, (nationality) and wondered nature.

I was able get out of the country and got in New York! Most émigré occupations have undergone a succession. Private taxi, the licensed taxi driver, cashier and bartender at the restaurant. McDonald and Russian restaurant! It was time to open something on my own. It was a glorious time. Youth and my own boss. Be of good cheer and try! I tried to write and once even together with my wife wrote a cookbook. This is a separate story and its (book’s), a detective story. Desire to write has always been somewhere nearby and when came the opportunity and the time to do it, it turned out that life only just starts.