Memories. Student years

Student life is always full of vivid impressions, positive emotions and a sense of freedom. We decided to interview those who can only remember the best years of their lives. What still remains in memory after five years of study or more:

Daria Antropova, Uralsky State University them. Gorky, 29 years old.

The most memorable was the life in the hostel. I also remember our frequent game of forfeits all over the floor. The tasks were very different, for example, standing with your feet in a trash can, spinning around on the 1st floor on a revolving counter, walk through the kitchens of the floors, and what you find the first thing you will find - you have to try, so my neighbor ate a small piece of raw meat. Then we considered ourselves to be just generators of ideas. It amused us very much, and the hungry existence away from our relatives no longer seemed so sad.

Ksenia Bogdanova, Ural Institute of Economics, St. Petersburg Academy of Management and Economics, 27 years old.

What a student body without the Cheerful and Resourceful Club. Almost the entire group participated in our team, we met after pairs, or in pairs led by our curator. We discussed contests, and what topics we will develop, many people invented jokes themselves, they took something from the Internet, something came during the rehearsal. And while we were rehearsing, the basic plan was changed a million times. The curator was also brought in, she participated in a couple of miniatures. The KVN itself passed very quickly, I don't even remember, we improvised a lot, because from the excitement we forgot the words and carried everything that came to mind. But it was fun and we won! The most interesting thing is that at that time we were freshmen, and KVN took place among all the courses of the academy.

Yulia Kormilitsyna, European-Asian Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, 27 years old.

With school years I dreamed of accepting participation in a beauty contest, and thanks to the university, the dream came true. I participated in Miss University, the preparation took about a month. Daily rehearsals, memorizing monologues, songs, etc. And then the long-awaited day came, at first everything was perfect. And I had to unsuccessfully twist my leg and fall. Of course, I didn’t become a Miss University, but I won the Audience Award. Apparently out of pity.

Yulia Kukushkina, Ural State University of Economics, 27 years old.

I have always participated in the cultural life of the institute: various competitions, KVN, holidays. And one day, for those who are not indifferent like me, they decided to arrange a holiday with a daily trip to the recreation center. Most of the teachers went with us. It was the end of May, the weather was gorgeous, we swam and sunbathed. There was a disco at night. None of us had any idea that the historian plays the chanson on the guitar, and the teacher of higher mathematics professionally dances rock and roll. It is still useful to spend time with teachers in an informal setting.

Yana Bushina, Ural State University named after Gorky, 28 years old.

Most of all I remembered the defense of the diploma: the scientific adviser had gone on a spree the day before, and as a result we had to write a description ourselves, and he did not appear at the defense itself. We had already managed to wind ourselves up then different options that we will not be allowed to the defense or we will have to defend ourselves in a year, or maybe they will be expelled altogether, and we will go with an unfinished higher education... As a result, everything worked out, and we successfully defended our work.

Alexander Osokin, Yekaterinburg College of Economics and Technology, 23 years old.

I remember the watch in the wardrobe, at that moment I felt like a king. There is a crowd of people in front of you, and you decide who will receive their clothes faster. It is a pity that this place of honor is in great demand, and therefore in five years I managed to feel the power only once. So, by the way, I met a girl whom I liked for a long time, but there was no reason to talk to her. Someone, like in songs, is connected by music, in our case we were tied by a wardrobe tag.

Olga Razlivinskikh, Ural State Pedagogical University, 29 years old.

I was studying to be a speech therapist and, impressed by the lecture material, I decided to put myself the letter "R" (at that time I said "L" instead). Strange as it may seem, I succeeded! At the next seminar, I tried with all my might to demonstrate my work and focused on the "R" in every word that has this letter. As a result, my answer took almost the whole couple - my classmates were grateful to me, and I am proud of myself for the correct speech.

Tatiana Nikonova, Ural Institute of Finance and Law, 26 years old.

For me, my student years are primarily associated with first love. He was the star of the institute, read the REP at all concerts, dedicated songs to me and confessed his love from the stage. We walked until the morning, and then immediately went to the pairs. It was a sleepless time, but I was really happy!

Mikhail Osokin, Ural Polytechnic University, 28 years old.

Once my classmates, who lived in a hostel, invited my brother and me to visit. We were offered to enter through a window on the second floor. The hostel had women's and men's floors. The second floor was shared with a laundry room and a kitchen. Because there was video surveillance in the hostel, it was dangerous to go up to the women's floor in its usual form. They put on robes and wrapped towels over our heads. In this form and with basins in hand, we got to the final destination. This was my first and last experience of changing into the opposite sex.

Alexander Bakulev, Ural State Pedagogical University, 26 years old.

I studied at the Pedagogical University, and every summer we were sent to practice in country camps. I came across a detachment of second graders, it was impossible to calm them down. I had no experience and knowledge of communicating with children, and nothing came to my mind except how to start “catching butterflies”. This is what I called jumping up with a show of hands. For an hour, they caught imaginary butterflies. But then they immediately fell asleep, and I went to the disco to the senior squad.

Evgeny Abramov, Ural State Agricultural Academy, 27 years old.

When preparing for the exam, I had enough to study only one ticket, namely the first one. Approaching the teacher, I pulled out a ticket and said that the number of my ticket was the first one and, pretending to read from the ticket, I told the tasks contained in this ticket, which I knew by heart. After that, I put the ticket back into the pile of tickets. Naturally, the teacher was surprised at this act and asked to give him a ticket. Break all the tickets, I hardly found the first one and successfully defended myself perfectly.

Cherepakhina Julia, Ural Academy of Public Administration, 29 years old.

At our academy, there was a competition for knowledge of the Russian language - "The most intelligent". Because I have always been good with literacy, I decided to take part. I had no idea how little my knowledge in this area was. Most of the answers I gave relying on intuition, but, apparently, I also have problems with it. Our team took the last place, I was extremely offended and immediately ran to buy a spelling dictionary, which I have never opened.

Olga Yumaguzina, Ural State Law Academy, 28 years old.

Our group was sent to a collective farm. Early morning, rain, mud, cold and we are planted in the middle of a giant field of beets. I have never been as dirty and tortured as that time. But a common table, hatred of beets and hot tea brought our group together, after that we became much more friendly.

No matter how endless learning may seem at the beginning, sooner or later everything comes to an end. And all that remains is to feel nostalgic. While you can - create your own story!

Photos from the personal archive of the respondents.

I graduated from the MGRI (RGGRU) in 1976 (group GIR-71, specialization in the technology of underground mining of uranium deposits), then the institute was still located near Manezhnaya Square. When choosing a specialization between a gold ore placer and an uranium worker, I chose the latter due to the fact that the scholarship for this specialty was increased by 15 or 20 rubles. A scholarship of 55-60 rubles for a student was then a lot of money. A monthly travel ticket for a student in Moscow then cost, I think, 2, 50 rubles. A good lunch in the student canteen of the Moscow State Geological Institute then cost an average of 1 ruble. I will add that, by tradition, mining universities (MGRI, MHI and SGI) fed their students well and cheaply. Unlike others, for example, once after a lesson on M. Bronnaya, I went into the cafeteria of the Moscow Law Office. Not lunch, but a prison gruel. I remember two typical types of teachers. The first type of teacher is a business assistant, but he is late, he does not check students. He does not cling to students, tries to convey the knowledge of the course. So, the first type: Classes on the theory of explosives (for the conditions of mines and mines) in the laboratory on M. Bronnaya were conducted by an associate professor (forgot his name, heard he died, the kingdom of heaven, and defended his doctoral dissertation). And always his couples started with his lateness. We are waiting for 5-10-15 minutes. Suddenly, the door opens, a frantic teacher jumps up feverishly, says "sorry, only from the plane", throws his portfolio and immediately began to feverishly write a topic on the board and teach the lesson? even if 2-3 people came to the lesson. The second type is naive, absent-minded (as Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Underground Mining, Honored Worker of Science and Technology, Geliy Nikolaevich Popov), gave lectures on underground mining systems. I always began my lectures by checking the magazine of those present (it took up to 30 minutes). Each time up to qlz before the absent student (s) he raised the head of the group, asked about the reason for the absence from the lecture (got sick, mom came). The latter (for the most part without knowing the reason) said (lied) that Sidirova, who had been absent for a week, for example, was ill. G.N. was very kind, he seemed not showing liked all the students. The tests themselves had no consequences for the students from the professor. In MGRI, I also remember the teacher Borsch-Companello, who taught seminars on geodesy. He moved to MGRI from mining (MGI). It so happened that I personally passed geodesy with him twice, in the mining and MGRI (I did not do the test). When he appeared with us, he immediately began by explaining his unusual surname, that after the revolution his revolutionary Bolshevik dad (in the fashion of that time) added the surname of the glorious Companello to the non-romantic "borscht". B-Sh was clever. In his classes in geodesy, everything was clear and sensible. I remember twisting "Felix" !, the calculus of theodolite moves, he also fits on a piece of paper (with a large line-by-line array of numbers) and says, here and here there is a mistake. Then it seemed to me to the student the level of the god of geodesy.

MGRI (1971-1976). USEFUL TRANSFER. Since I was stupid, I fell in love with sopromat: everything is clear and simple there. You just have to study, do your homework, what I did. In the study room in the dormitory on Studencheskaya in the evenings, only the diligent Vietnamese and myself sat. The head of the department, a professor by the name of Rebrik, was so curly, if the correspondents needed the appearance of a professor, they took pictures of him. Two groups were handed over, my GIR (uranians) and drillers (forgot the designation). Including a student driller, with whom I lived in the same room in a hostel on Studencheskaya. Later he went out on a spree, picked up his tails, took an academician, went north to work as a driller and never got out of his peak of life. listening to strumming and singing did not deceive. I took a ticket, to be sure I told him that when he entered the exam he would grab me a cheat sheet on one topic. He brought me - a part of a new library book on strength of materials, which he tore in half. Nothing to do, put it on the table, waiting for the moment. Professor Rebrik began to walk between the rows, came up to me and said: student T. pull out the cheat sheet. Of course, I didn't pull it out, then he climbed, pulled it out ... almost fainted from what he saw and shouted: "Barbarian ... savage ... new library book ... out ... for retake!" In general, I passed the examination in strength of materials to Professor Rebrik four times. I got so drunk in strength materials that I knew all his basic table formulas and the tasks of the course in strength materials, so I was already arguing with the professor. He gave me four. The love of strong materials is a difficult thing.

MGRI students eating potatoes in Kashino. Is Ilyich's lamp a myth or a dark story? Epigraph: “On November 1, 1920, a ceremonial start-up of a power plant for electrical supply took place in the village of Kashino. The light came on, and it was proposed to celebrate this event, and invite Lenin to the celebration. The message to the Kremlin contained the words: “The board of the partnership hereby informs that the opening of electric lighting in the village of Kashino will take place on November 14, at which we humbly ask you to come and share the joy that we feel at the sight of electric lighting in peasant huts, about which the peasants are under the rule of the tsars did not dare to think. Your presence is highly desirable ”

In 1972, we, second-year students of MGRI, helped to harvest potatoes in the fields of the village of Kashino (Moscow region), where in the middle of a small village (one street) there was the notorious Ilyich's Lamp. It looked like a doghouse by a dried-up stream, 1.5 meters high, with an area of ​​1 m2, inside which there was a generator (dynamo machine, modern, turbine with a current generator) with a royal monogram, weighing 50-60 kg, on the shaft of which there was belt pulley. A local old-timer told me that the “hydra” was built in tsarist times by a local craftsman who worked at an electrical equipment plant in Moscow, his small hydroelectric power station had time to illuminate houses and the street of the village of Kashino back in tsarist times. Apparently, the management of the plant donated or sold an expensive dynamo car to its employee at a big discount. In modern times, the Bolsheviks shot the founder of GOERLO, and the orphaned “hydra” was, as it were, nationalized. There is information on the Internet that under the Bolsheviks the people of Kashin only restored the stolen wires. After Ilyich and Krupskaya came to the village of Kashino to see “the technical miracle of the liberated peasantry,” the doghouse became, as it were, the beginning of the Lenin's GOERLO plan. According to the old-timer, they arrived at night, at 23 o'clock, the local party cell greeted the leader warmly and hospitably, spent the night in the good house of the exiled (or shot) kulak, now there is a museum there. In the morning, inspection of 1 kW micro-hydroelectric power station (MHPP), the leader saw great things behind the small, then a meeting, a photo, after a good dinner, they left warmly saying goodbye. At the rally, according to the people of Kashin, Lenin for the first time said famous phrase: "Communism plus there is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country." A woman from the museum came to our student camp and offered to visit the museum. However, none of the students went. Since the rise was at 6-00, the tired ones came from the potatoes at 18-00. The Kashin people were among the chiefs on potatoes, it often rained, and they did not let us out of the camp. I would like to note that the apples in the orchards of the Kashin people were notable. The only event was a stormy celebration by the whole camp of my birthday, the students of hydrogeology, geophysics, placers, uranium specialists (my group) dropped 3 rubles each, in the village we bought several boxes of “apple effervescent” (two for each brother), in bottles with champagne , 82 kopecks each. thing - effervescent, tasty, sweet and intoxicating, my girlfriend arrived from Moscow by bus, packed with sausage, cheese and other yummy, which her mother, my future mother-in-law, handed over to her by train through a guide from Mineralnye Vody. Celebrated in some kind of cow shed, makeshift tables out of doors and chairs boards. On one side, cows stood and stared at us, teachers were not invited. Soon local guys from Kashin were sitting with us (there were 80% of girls in the camp), they brought a gramophone and dances. Since after all the troubles and the apple effervescent I passed out, the residents of Kashin drove the car and took me to rest with my friend. I remember how the guys from Kashin, embracing our girls in the back, rode with a song: “Fly forward with our steam locomotive, we have a stop in the commune, we have a rifle in our hands”. The next day, one comrade and I were sent to Moscow to the dean's office, with a note for violations of the camp regime, me for immoral behavior, as I mistakenly slept with a friend on the bed of the political commissar of the detachment (political economy teacher, left for Moscow on Sunday), bully. This was my "Ilyich's Lamp"

I graduated from MGRI (RGGRU) in 1976 (GIR-71 group, technology of underground mining of uranium deposits), then the institute was still located near Manezhnaya Square. When choosing a specialization between a gold placer and an uranium worker, I chose the latter due to the fact that the scholarship in the specialty was increased by 15 rubles. A scholarship of 60 rubles for a student was then a lot of money. A monthly travel ticket for a student in Moscow then cost, 50% seems to be 2, 50 rubles. A good lunch in the student canteen of the Moscow State Geological Institute then cost an average of 1 ruble. (from 0.80 rubles to 1.20). I will add that, by tradition, mining universities (MGRI, MHI and SGI) fed their students well and cheaply. Unlike others, for example, once after a lesson on M. Bronnaya I went into the cafeteria of the Moscow Law Office. Not lunch, but a prison gruel. I remember two typical types of teachers. The first type of teacher is businesslike, but is late. First type. Classes on the theory and practice of explosives were conducted by an associate professor (forgot his name, heard he died, the kingdom of heaven, and defended his doctoral degree) in the laboratory on M. Bronnaya street. And always his couples started with his lateness. We are waiting for 5-10-15 minutes. Suddenly the door opens frantically, the teacher jumps up, says "sorry, only from the plane", throws the briefcase and immediately began to feverishly write the topic of the lesson on the blackboard and teach the lesson. I didn’t get to the bottom of the students, I didn’t make a check. The second type - a naive professor (as Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Mining, Honored Worker of Science and Technology, Geliy Nikolaevich Popov), gave lectures on underground mining systems. I always began my lectures with checking the log of those present (it took up to 30 minutes). Each time he reached the absent student (s), he raised the head of the group, made sure that the head of the group knew about the reason for the absence of the student (he got sick, his mother came). The latter (for the most part without knowing the reason) said (lied) that Sidirova, who had been absent for a week, for example, was ill. G.N. was very kind, he seemed not showing liked all the students. The tests themselves had no consequences for the students from the professor. In MGRI, I also remember the teacher Borsch-Companello, who taught seminars on geodesy. He moved to MGRI from mining (MGI). It so happened that I personally passed geodesy with him twice, in the mining and MGRI (I did not do the test). Having appeared with us, he immediately began by explaining his unusual surname, that after the revolution his revolutionary dad (in the fashion of that time) added the surname of the glorious Companello to the non-romantic "borscht". B-Sh was clever. In his theoretical studies in geodesy, everything was clear and sensible. I remember Felix's twist, calculus of theodolite moves, he fits on a piece of paper with a large line-by-line array of numbers, and says, here and here there is a mistake. Then it seemed to me to the student the level of the god of geodesy.

I congratulate all those involved with the Day of the Medical Worker. Probably, everyone in life has had situations for which we could thank the doctors. And today there is just a reason to wish all doctors good health, success in work and well-being.

We always congratulate mom on this day. After all, she has 40 years of medical experience, she is a candidate of medical sciences, a neurologist, and even though she is now retired, this profession remains with a person for life.

Those who have been reading my magazine for a long time and constantly remember that a couple of years ago my mother published a memoir book “Notes of a native Kharkiv woman”. Then I criticized her that in the book she did not reflect the most interesting memories - about the years of her student life. And now the manuscript of my mother's second book is ready. We called it "Comprehending the secrets of Aesculapius." In it, my mother wrote about the choice of a profession, about the years of her student life, about interesting cases from her medical practice. I think today is the right day to acquaint readers with a chapter from my mother’s future book. It is called

Our first lessons in the anatomy (anatomical corpus) were a serious test for me. The first lectures were given to us in this building. The anatomist had a large hall, located in the form of an amphitheater, with a huge ceiling painted with paintings. In the center - below - there was a department, where our professors read lectures to us. The morphological building on Lenin Avenue (now Nauki Avenue) was just being completed at that time. And lectures on the specialties of the first courses (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, etc.) were read to us in the anatomy. From the first days of my stay at the institute, the anatomist was our main place of study. Without knowledge of anatomy, it is impossible to study further. Classes in the anatomy! O! How young we were then, almost children, standing over a corpse in our white coats. And the smell of formalin and some kind of gray masa, which was once a man.

Fig. 1. Our group in the classroom in anatomy. I'm in the bottom
row, first on the left

Among student folklore at all times there was such a joke song:
"From Eve and Adam
Go stubborn people,
Cheerful people have gone,
Students live happily
From session to session,
And the sessions are only twice a year.
We'll walk the day
Two we will get sick.
And then we don't know any boom boom.
So let's drink to those walking
For those who knew nothing.
So let's drink to those who handed in at random. "

Some students in our time studied in the same way as it is sung in a song. But this did not apply to medical students. From the first months we studied passionately, with great interest, as if possessed. Otherwise it was impossible. Without a thorough knowledge of normal human anatomy and physiology, it would be impossible to move on to the study of various pathological conditions of the human body. And that is why we spent all the evenings from the first days of school in the anatomical, where there was a wonderful museum, preparations and corpses, on which we dissected, studied, studied, studied. Probably, it was difficult for all of us then in this new life for us, and there was fear, but we overcame it together, as a whole group.

And how unlike we, then, were like modern students! Everyone lived the same way, there was no luxury: very modest clothes, there were no beautiful bags and other accessories, but only small cheap suitcases in which we put our robes, and often carried with us both the bones of the skeleton and the skull, constantly studying.

Rice. 2. Our group after class

We tried to memorize everything in Latin, as instructors and experienced experienced students suggested to us.« Supinator u pronator, two extensors and that's it. " I still remember. And there were many such examples. And even nicknames were given to some students in Latin from anatomy.

Rice. 3. Our group for a walk

Yes, classes in medical institute had their own specifics, sharply different from everything that was studied in other universities, except for Marxism-Leninism. And some could not stand it. One very good girl from our course could not study and left at the end of the year.

And our group was special. We supported each other and helped each other. They explained to those who did not understand “eminentio" andsulcus¢ we were looking togetherbulli arterii, et venul¢ NS. And sat up in the anatomy until late in the evening. And then they went out into the fresh air, and he hit us in the head, like wine, after many hours of student vigils.

A lot of strength, energy, our intellect was spent on anatomy, but this was the basis, without the knowledge of which further study would be meaningless. And we understood that. Now I am surprised how, without knowledge of elementary mathematics, people study in technical universities. And if in senior years, when we studied clinical disciplines, the teachers told us: “The pulsation is weakened ona. Dorsalis pedis» , for example. We knew where to probe it. Because in the first years we studied for real. I wanted to remember everything, to learn everything, so that later I could become doctors. This was our strongest motivation. And this is for life. Not a day without professional literature, not a day without comprehension of something new in your medical field. "Sick - book - sick" - the talented therapist of our time Tareev bequeathed to us young people. And we fulfilled this covenant in our working life.

The main god in anatomy was then, living in Kharkov and working at the Medical Institute, Professor R. Sinelnikov. I still have one of the volumes of the atlas of anatomy, created by him, which was presented to me by A., my sister's husband, with the inscription: "Tomke in honor of entering the KhMI."

The author of the atlas himself was a student of the famous professor Vorobiev, who embalmed V.I. Lenin. And there was even a joke among the students. Allegedly, Vorobyov, addressing R. Sinelnikov, said: “Rafka! Give me galoshes. " I think it’s just a student’s invention, such a stupid joke. In fact, Professor Sinelnikov could only be addressed with the deepest respect. For everything in him exhibited high intelligence, culture and kindness. He was small, already old (from "the height of our youth"), gray-haired, with a soft kind smile. I remember how I passed the exam for him. I was very worried, although I knew the answers to all the questions. “Baby,” he said, interrupting my answer. “Don't worry, calculate how many times you will have to take exams in all your years of study. And what will happen to you if you are always so worried. Take it easy! Remember my words. " And I remembered them all my life, even after graduation. And this helped me a lot in my life to maintain my health.

In addition to the anatomy that worried us, there were other, very interesting "sciences". I remember the lectures on normal physiology given to us by Professor Alpern, tall, slender, with a well-set voice. And just as the lectures were interesting and practical lessons. It was difficult for me to practice in practice. I couldn't cut frogs and rats at all. And then we arranged an exchange in our group: one of the boys, by agreement, slaughtered a rat for me, and I translated whole sheets of English for him.

Rice.4. In practical classes in histology

We have been fixated on the same English texts many times, and I still remember pediatrician Dombrovskaya from these texts and her guidelines: "A day spent by a child without air, a day lost for his health." And all my further life, when most of my peers became parents, I repeated this phrase for them. But, in general, practical exercises with frogs, rats, biochemical cones and test tubes, microbiology, etc. flashed like one day.

I had the hardest part in my practical training in forensic medicine, when I had to independently open the next corpse that got to the forensic medical examination. And here there was no way to escape. We had not opened rats and frogs for a long time, it was already impossible to change into English with the boys. I'm lucky. When my turn came, the deceased turned out to be dead from poisoning with denatured alcohol. And the smell of the fumes of this substance interrupted absolutely all smells, up to the corpse. I did a good job.

Lectures on microbiology aroused great interest in me. They were read to us by a respected, already middle-aged professor Derkach. Unfortunately, I read in a boring, monotonous fading voice. Few listened to him. Everyone went about their business: preparing for the next class, reading, chatting, etc. And suddenly, amid the lulling silence of the boring voice of the lecturer, a loud exclamation was heard: “Do you hear? Spirochete Obermeier! " And in an even louder voice with a raised hand: “Spirochete Obermeier! You hear?" Everyone suddenly woke up and listened to his exclamations, and after that, and part of the lecture on syphilis.

And among teachers without high scientific titles and merit, I remember associate professor Stupina, always beautifully dressed, well-groomed, beautiful woman... She addressed us with the invariable "Hello, comrades, students." And this "comrade students" sounded like a military appeal, it was spoken in a clear, sonorous, sonorous voice like an appeal of the commander to his army. Time passed, and we moved on to senior courses, where clinical disciplines had already begun.

During our senior year, we all "got sick" with those diseases that we studied in clinics. We were all examined by our teachers and delivered their verdict: "Healthy." Even then, we looked closely at the features of different medical specialties in order to opt for one. At the same time, we were being prepared to be district doctors in rural areas. Sometimes we went with teachers to rural outpatient clinics and hospitals and learned in practice the basics of medicine. And besides, the training program included practice, which I will write about later.

I remember to the smallest detail the faces of the students of our group at primaryx courses. Headman Volodya M. is a thin black-mustache boy from the Kharkov region. Beautiful, modest Ukrainian beauty, tall, slender black-eyed Lilya S. Iz Sum, very educated, all in herself, with emotions that rarely come out. And next to her is Valentina P. - plump, with a constant six-month perm with small fair-haired curls, very sedate, not for her young age, who seemed older than us in her attitude to life and to study.

The biggest scoffer in the group is Ivan K., lanky, somewhat awkward, slow, imposing labels on some of us who were not infrequently malicious in content and were offensive, but well-aimed. And the most cheerful of the boys was Alik D. - a lanky, thin guy, clean blond with curly curls. I remember that during short breaks between 2-hour classes, he constantly ate rolls, and we laughed at him. And then it turned out that he was already suffering from diabetes. From there an increased appetite.

And also in the group there were two girls who became my beloved friends: Sveta T. and Emma F. Emma F. - from Sukhumi, a purebred Armenian. Her brother Armavir Karapetovich was already a doctor at that time, and later became a famous specialist operating in the field of thoracic surgery. I first met her at the apartment where they lived with Armavir, somewhere on Moskalevka. In those days, I was very shy. She was embarrassed at the sight of Armavir. And he asked me: “Tomochka! Are you from Poltava? " And I was even more embarrassed after these words, thinking that he considered me a deep provincial, having asked such a question. And with Emma I was also brought together by the love of music. I grew up listening to the music that I heard on the radio. And Emma graduated from a music college. She was a professional. We went with her many, many times to our Kharkov Philharmonic, where famous musicians - performers, including S. Richter, performed in those years.
Oh, what an unusually cozy, homely and at the same time classically strict was our Kharkov Philharmonic in brown tones, which no longer exists. It was demolished. It was located on the corner of Sumskaya opposite the 1-st Komsomolsky cinema (now there is a shop).

During my studies and later, before the demolition of the Philharmonic, queues for tickets to it stretched all over Sumy, almost to the former Soki-Voda store and the medical library. I remember that there were no tickets for one of the concerts of the famous pianist performing Chopin, and I went to the administrator. "Do you study at the conservatory?" - he asked me. And I was very surprised to learn that I am a student at the Medical Institute.
In general, during the years of our study (the middle of the twentieth century) there was the highest peak of culture. And most importantly, everything was available. And now - astronomical ticket prices, and not the same, alas, the level of performers, in a word, pop!And that's it.

Emma was very wise beyond her age; huge brown eyes, a crooked nose like Anna Akhmatova's, a low chest voice. I perceived her as a very close person to me.
In the senior years, I often visited their house, already their own, on the beautiful Shatilovka. It was green, all in gardens, the best district of Kharkov, located on a hill above the mineral water source - "Kharkovskaya 1". And next to it there is a park and again solid greenery. It even breathed better there than in other places. There, on Shatilovka, in their garden, we often studied, preparing for the next exams.
Emma loved Armenia very much. She often invited me to visit: "When I come, I will show you the mountains of Armenia." It didn’t come true.

Well, my closest classmate-friend was Sveta T. Cheerful, funny, pretty, clever. All my student years are connected with Sveta.

Rice. 5. Me and Sveta T. in the park

I loved her mother, Maria Nikolaevna, very much. They lived then on Moskovsky Prospekt in one of the high-rise buildings. We often studied together in her apartment, and my mother took care of us, fed and watered, and somehow, when I spent the night with them, she put us to bed. And all this with such care and kindness that I remember all my life. Strict and at the same time - soft, kind, and Sveta looked a little like her. Her mother treated me well, like a daughter. And Sveta sometimes used it to her advantage. Leaving late on dates, she told her mother that she was coming to me. And her mother trusted me very much: if the meeting with T., then everything will be all right. I always remember Maria Nikolaevna and I will remember. And when I met Maria Nikolaevna, I always wanted to snuggle up to her, as to to a loved one... From her average height, slightly plump body, tired in the early wrinkles of her face, gray with gray hair short hair, a loving gaze always exuded some kind of warmth. But there was also severity in her, but not imperative. The last time I saw her was when I came on vacation from Voroshilovgrad, my worker Belyanka. She greeted me like her own daughter. And Sveta was even unhappy with our long communication with her mother. “After all T. came to me - said S. -“ But I also want to talk to her mother answered. ”

In the transition to the study of clinical disciplines, we were reorganized into other groups. And I got new classmates. Among them, Stanislav G. (S.G.) stood out especially. Small, sturdy, below average height, with small gray eyes, expressionless face, he conquered us with his intellect. And then his appearance - not handsome, receded into the background. He was mostly friends with the girls of our group, and each mother of her daughter considered S. to be her fiancé. He had "one but fiery passion." He loved theater to adoration. And he dreamed of a theatrical institute. But his mother, whom he loved very much, intervened in the choice of profession. And she did not allow him to enter the theater. She chose a medical one for her son. And he turned out to be an obedient and loving son.

Rice. 6. At the door of the clinic. I'm with Stanislav G.

Before its demolition, the theatrical institute was located on the corner of Sumskaya between the present Mirror Stream and a Japanese restaurant (formerly a vending machine). It was a beautiful blue and white building, the dream of our S. And all his free time from studies he wasted in this theatrical, where he made many friends among future actors and actresses. His life was constantly flowing not only in our reality of the Medical University, but also in the world of theater. Often before us he copied the then fashionable heroes of films and theatrical performances, and I must say - very similar. In the same theater, his love studied, because of which he took a direction to work in the same place where she was sent - in Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk) region.

During the years of our study in our Kharkov theater, the organization "White Horse" appeared, which united students-theatergoers who had extraordinary views on our then reality. The "white horse" was, of course, defeated. After working on the periphery of the due date, S. entered graduate school and worked all his life in a medical institute at the Department of Histology. But he remained faithful to the theater as a spectator. Throughout his life, after work, he ran to the theater for regular performances. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, he did not have a family.

And the biggest aristocrat in our newly created clinical group was Oleg K. Nobody called him an aristocrat. It was I who mentally gave him such a nickname. Slender, with a beautiful cut of blond hair, horn-rimmed bicycle glasses, always elegantly dressed in a black velvet jacket or suit, with an expensive leather briefcase. He stood out among all the students and attracted attention. He was distinguished from the general level even by living in an aristocratic house - Salamander on Sumskaya. He answered brilliantly in all classes, was an excellent student. He was predicted a bright future in science.

Oleg had love for E., a student of our own group, the daughter of a professor mother. After graduating from the institute, O. and E. left for Leningrad, where E.'s mother, it seems, lived. In Leningrad, O. gave birth to a daughter. I came to Kharkov several times. She died early. The daughter emigrated to one of the Scandinavian countries, where O.

And also in our group was a student - a Chinese, Go-Yu-Chzhun, he just gnawed at science, although it was difficult for him. He was very hardworking, quiet, calm, excellent student. We treated him with great respect.
I remembered here only very, very few, but you can write a whole novel about each of our classmates.

Studentship is a special time in a person's life, it is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood, a period of personality formation. Upon entering this new stage of life, yesterday's schoolchild acquires greater independence and greater responsibility. This is a time of self-determination and self-realization, interesting acquaintances and new friends. It is within the walls of the university that many discover in themselves qualities and skills that they did not even suspect before. For most students, the university becomes a second home, and the student group becomes a second family.

Albina Dzusova, a graduate of the Ural branch of the Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Department of Design of the Architectural Environment, shared her memories of her student years.

Why did you choose the specialty of a designer?

It will sound a little silly, but this is fate, coincidence, and love decorate everything around you.

Did you have any difficulties with admission?

Of course, there were difficulties. Lack of time, loss of faith in achieving the goal and loss of time to restore this faith, huge loads. It felt like you were holding the sky on your shoulders. I remember that I did not believe that I had acted the truth, and did not tell anyone until they gave me my student certificate.

Did your ideas about studying at the academy coincide with reality?

No, everything turned out to be much more complicated.

Was it hard to leave your hometown, to live away from your parents?

No, it's not hard, I was waiting for this. I wanted to see and feel more.

Did you like studying at this educational institution?

Oh sure. Wonderful educational institution... When you are inside, you are like in your personal art gallery.

What was the most memorable part of your student life?

The most striking was the initiation into students. A very bright and joyful event. I also remember the hours and even days spent at the academy on projects and other disciplines.

What were your favorite disciplines and teachers?

- I remember very much such disciplines as: strength of materials, design, descriptive geometry, theoretical mechanics, scientific specialization, constructions, philosophy and many others. I remember all the teachers, without exception, they all made a huge contribution to our knowledge and character. I am grateful to everyone, it is impossible to single out someone specifically, because the educational process is a systematic approach to shaping you, and there is something in you from all of them that influenced you.

What difficulties did you face during the training? Which course was it harder on?

The main difficulties are struggle, struggle over oneself. It was necessary to make tremendous efforts to realize the transition to a new stage in life. It is difficult to answer which course was the most difficult. In our specialty, every year brought surprises that seemed impossible to cope with.

How did the defense go, were you worried?

There was no doubt about it. But overall, it was a beautiful day. You saw what you've been working on for a whole year. This day is a great joy.

Do you regret anything that you didn’t have time to do while you were a student?

I will regret the knowledge that I did not take.

What would you like to wish the current applicants?

Rejoice in the knowledge and the obstacles you face in gaining it, because it all shapes you as an intelligent and educated person.

Unfortunately, many perceive their studies as a tedious duty, and their teachers as tormentors. Someone does study at all only for the sake of receiving the cherished crusts that will open the way for them to life. But in order to become a successful specialist, it is important to love your specialty and appreciate the knowledge that teachers put in your head. And, of course, to achieve this goal, you cannot do without perseverance and patience. Spend your college years so that there are no missed opportunities.

So, we parted not far from the state farm fields beyond the Oka, where on a summer evening boys and girls dance to what, according to modern liberal interpreters of the past, was completely inaccessible to them and for which they could be punished by "stranglers of freedom and the shoots of real art." 😊

This interpretation was imposed by "gentlemen" Dibrov and Weller on the "Nostalgia" channel in the program "Born in the USSR". The "truth" was streaming from the screen about how hard it was for the Soviet people to fall into the life-giving Western rock and pop music. When I was a young and inexperienced youth, it seemed to me about the same. But:

Anyone who was not a revolutionary in his youth has no heart.

Anyone who has not become a conservative in maturity has no brains.

Not only is Western rock not so life-giving moisture at all. I "hungry" for him enough and I know what I'm talking about. But for the most part he is not an example of the highest musical skill. And a caring state should palm off only the best for development, and not stupidity, to its lambs. The rest will be found by curious fools themselves, just as a child finds harmful sweets or matches hidden from him. And in the USSR, everyone could easily find their way to the "forbidden fruits" ...

Western rock, like Hollywood cinema, is rather a lightweight, invitingly smelling, but harmful commercial stream that will overwhelm accessible, intrusive and inviting, and imperceptibly wash away national culture and morality.

In the "dung heap", I confirm, after digging and getting poisoned, you can sometimes find "rough diamonds". 😊

Today, only a blind man does not see that emptiness and lowland were quickly mastered by our pop musicians, leveling, by the way, by no means the best examples of Western music. Eternally young performers are running around the stage, sparkling with glass and attracting attention with catchy coloring, like ladies of easy virtue. " Dance while you're young, boy ... "- knocks at the temples. And it means: "after us, even the flood" or remember the fable "The dragonfly and the ant."

And there is nothing to say about our rock in the musical sense. Poisoned by the "freedom" that has fallen on him, he is more likely to die than not. In contrast to his "venerable fathers", who are quite eking out for themselves and not poor, but miserable in the professional sense, existence ...

Well, I, having stumbled upon a shameless distortion of the realities of my youth in a TV show, decided to call the Nostalgia channel live, where I gave some details, to which the presenters had nothing to argue. The remark that in my institute every first musician could listen to Western music without any effort made Weller somewhat embarrassed, who was not used to being confronted with evidence-based refutations of his point of view. But he was rescued by Dibrov, asking a question that distracts from the essence. Naturally, no one was going to convey the "wrong" opinion further to the listeners, and they took me out of the air out of harm's way, saying that the call had failed.

Back in the mid 70s. The best music for me in the last school classes was associated primarily with VIA "Pesnyary" and "Flowers". But there were also "For me, there is no more beautiful you", and "How beautiful this world is, look", individual songs of different performers who were recorded in "assemblies" from radio and TV to the already distributed "babina" tape recorders. We also copied from tape recorder to tape recorder and Western recordings ("Shizgaru" come on!) By authors whom no one really knew in our periphery. Those who were especially keen then dug up that the song "Venus" from the group Shocking Blue sounds. I remember very well how on the portable "magician" of my acquaintance I heard for the first time Demis Roussos and the Humphrey Forest Singers, who left an indelible impression that did not fade even through a string of years. The comrade's recording came from Seva Novgorodtsev from the BBC, whose programs were jammed, jammed by the "inept" KGB officers, but not drowned out.

In those days, I happened to visit the village every year. From the open windows of the neighbors, to my dismissive young surprise, in the summer, ditties, folk songs from the program Sing, Accordion and our official and foreign pop music (Karel Goth and other performers from the countries of the socialist camp) were heard. The musical preferences of the older generation did not differ much in the cities where they listened and sang the production of "Singing Guitars", Leshchenko, Kobzon, etc.

By the way, later, speaking in the city of Leninogorsk in Tatarstan as part of the student VIA, I found only confirmation of my school observations, when I heard a request to perform "The Lady" at the dance instead of Slade. But the "Moscow artists" (this is how they perceived our ensemble) were, nevertheless, invited to stay for the whole summer to play dances. 😊 So, most of the country's residents with great pleasure filled the stadiums at the concerts of Pugacheva and "Gems", listening to Vysotsky's tape recorder and various bards. And getting tickets for the "Flowers" concert in the Moscow Region city theater was a very difficult task.

It is important to remember that the overwhelming majority of the official singers and musicians of the Soviet Brezhnev "stagnation" possessed pronounced musical voices and performing skills. Listen at least to Obodzinsky in McKenna's Gold. And people who cannot hit the notes live (Varum, the younger Malikov and the mass of modern "performers") simply could not appear on the stage then, because no one canceled the level of a certain quality for the sake of money and base tastes.

And the problem for our rockers with the transition to the pros often arose not because of their opposition to the regime texts and manner of sound presentation, but because of insufficient performing skills, which is openly mentioned by talkative Podgorodetsky in his book.
At one time I was at the Moscow Aviation Institute at the audition of the "Sunday" group to perform as professionals. Many famous songs were performed. Then there was a rumor that they were not allowed, although everything looked quite official and without rock outrage ...
And what about the audience? And the audience at the dances is not very important what quality the musical product is thundering, which I have repeatedly seen when playing in an ensemble. The crowd went into a rage only from the fact that our solo guitarist simply pulled the "vibratto" lever and the audience responded with a harmonious roar, going into delight.

So, young people, as everywhere and at all times, wanted something new, loud, expressive, shocking, unusual, exciting, which corresponded to the state and age of their organisms. And the fashion for the Western arose and spread from the megalopolises to the periphery, reinforced by ordinary human curiosity. The forbiddenness (more precisely, the lack of popularization on the part of the state) of this "fruit" made it even more attractive for young people. Yes, and life itself, accelerating before our eyes, was more in line with the harsh rhythmic hard electric music than the unhurried melodic routines of the parents who grew up from the 19th century.

We, teenagers, were jarred by the tightness and officialdom of the stage behavior and the severity of the performing manner, which neutralized the difference in the performance of the bravura march, children's song and dance rhythms. Well, tell me, how can you, while coming off, relax, being dressed in a tie and a three-piece? You can only dignifiedly tremble and rhythmically move the handles.

But the quality of musical performance among Soviet professionals was unambiguously higher than the overwhelming majority of Soviet rockers, who did not really own instruments, often did not even have a music school as an education, and did not have a voice. It is not for nothing that the same Makarevich's favorites include the voiceless Vertinsky and the like. And when some Bravo group needed to play a complicated guitar solo, the jazz guitarist Boyko was involved. 😊 By the way, session musicians are actively used in the West and not only for recording albums.

Having entered the MEPhI, I immediately eagerly plunged into the then most fashionable musical trends, characteristic of both our and foreign rock music.

But it was only after many years that I realized why my father did not share my enthusiasm for Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. With age, loud sound only starts to annoy, which I discovered relatively recently, making assemblies from my favorite compositions. And for young people, loudness very often replaces skill and quality. For us, then, the novelty of musical aggressive expression overshadowed everything else. Ours then sounded sluggish and constricted in comparison with Western liberated groups. Especially if the group had a leader with a strong character voice and performing skills were present.

And what is interesting: today there are no teams comparable to the best Western rock bands of the 70s, and there they have and here with us. And this with complete freedom of expression, which, focusing on the low demands of the crowd, replaced music with rap and the simplest rhythm. In the 70s, rock was drawn to the complexity of jazz and classics, drawing its fans along with it to their complexity. Today it sinks to the level of trembling in the city alley.

And our professional groups in those days actively promoted Western rock, injecting its compositions into their concerts. I remember that Araks performed at the Moskvorechye Palace of Culture. I was surprised to hear almost a whole branch of Western compositions that I know, realizing that expression and loudness are the easiest and most accessible that can be reproduced for the public. But the most difficult things of the best Western bands were especially difficult for ours ...

And the fact that people still feel real art and are drawn to it confirms such a case.

Someone brought to the institute hostel to listen to the "native double" (!) Of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar". It was written in 1970 by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. "Native" - ​​then meant a disc, not even a reprint by secondary companies, but "double" - two albums of 40 minutes each.

The MEPhI hostel in those days consisted of five buildings. The campus had four buildings, each five stories high. Today the hostel is being demolished and therefore I will describe a little what it was formally. Next to the residential buildings there was an asphalted sports ground and a bath building. On the first floor of each residential building there was a buffet, a "reading room" where you could study, and a club room where dances, concerts of groups such as "Broken Air", "Polite Refusal" or "Time Machine" were held. Poets and famous bards also performed there. And above, the residential floors consisted of rooms for three people, located on both sides along a long corridor that ended with washrooms and toilets, and in the middle had a kitchen. The room had three beds, a table, a wardrobe and several shelves. Compared with the hostels of other institutes, the living conditions of the studiosus were both better and worse. I, on the other hand, lived a significant number of semesters with a living room, i.e. - fourth. But youth, an interesting rich life and intellectually developed good friends allow me to consider that time to be fantastically happy in all respects even today. Although I can say for sure that among my acquaintances there are those to whom that time does not seem heavenly at all.

So, in one of the rooms we sat down with our comrades and with the full power of the equipment we listened with delight to two discs of a rock opera, without stopping. We sit under the impression. There was a knock on the door: "Guys, what did that sound? May I listen?" During our "concert" the people walked past the door and listened. Naturally, no one knows who to give the real "layers" then because of their high cost and value.

We brought additional chairs, made an "amphitheater" and listened to the opera again with pleasure together with new music lovers. So, good music attracts everyone. I know that we also made attempts to record this opera in Russian by our performers. But I have not heard a better performance than on that "double", the creation of Weber and Rice.

By the way, to understand the atmosphere of life in a hostel - another case. We have music in our room. After a while, in the pause between songs, a knock is heard at the door. I open it. On the doorstep - institute teachers, checking the life of students in the hostel. They are trying to shame me for excessively loud music. I propose to ask the neighbors if we interfere with them. Much to my surprise, the neighbors suggested increasing the volume ...

There are people past whom the students flew past like an uninteresting landscape outside the window. For me, this is the sweet period of my life. I was looking for a reason why? In short, it can be formulated as follows: a rather carefree, free and interesting life in communication with very different and not trivial developed people... A very dense stream of new information, which was not available to everyone, especially on the periphery, for that time. Then there was no Internet! And here only at the institute itself on a regular basis there are screenings of films that are not available to all, meetings with the Strugatskys and speeches by Gradsky, Egorov and Gaft. Next to the skibatron (electronic bulletin board) are announcements of lectures on the most controversial and advanced concepts of science and philosophy. In the movie "Dolly the Sheep Was Angry and Died Early" you can see this place.

And the hostel gives "for one night" the opportunity to read the "Hobbit", which has not yet been published in Russian, or the not very widespread works of Bulgakov and the forbidden "Moscow-Petushki". We also read Brodsky in reprints and much more ... This is how the mythical techie spent his leisure time if he aspired to harmonious development. No one in the hostel scammed and did not select forbidden literature, which had access to those who wanted it. And those who were before Brodsky or Tolkien, as if they were before the icon lamp, calmly walked past them and went to Moscow, as we called it, to theaters or exhibitions. 😊

And now? Students, who do not have a scholarship that allow them to live on it, are forced to earn extra money. And the time that we spent on development, entertainment and human communication, today we spend on earnings, which will allow us to get an education and stay on the Internet.

Yes, and the institute hardly seeks to broaden the horizons of its students, spending its own money on it, as it was in my youth. The MEPhI national football team trained in the CSKA football arena in winter. Each hostel had musical complexes and equipment. Famous writers, lecturers, musicians who performed at the institute were invited.

The scholarship at MEPhI was 55 rubles, if there were no more than two triplets per session. Everyone who shot the session with one four and the other fives received an additional 15%. Excellent students - 25%. On a fairly regular basis, the trade union threw coupons for lunch in the institute cafeteria. The cheapest three-course meal in it cost 45 kopecks. V mall On the way from the institute to the hostel, the cheapest semi-finished cutlet cost 8 kopecks, and a kilogram of potatoes - 10. True, in order to fill up, it was necessary to make one of two cutlets, and a third of a packet of potatoes could go to the dump due to rot. But the idea of ​​the price of living is clear to you if a loaf of good real bread cost 13 kopecks.

It was possible, if desired, to spend a month in the dispensary. This is a sanatorium-type building next to the hostel and the institute and reusable meals for slaughter. In the summer, those who wanted to were sent less than 20 rubles for a shift in the Volga Solitary Station. In winter - to the Sredmash rest houses near Moscow. If the student was helped at least a little by his parents (they gave me 15 rubles more for food, and some up to 100), then life in a hostel, which cost about 3 rubles, turned into an endless fairy tale. Only it was necessary to bypass the session. And some, not wanting to graduate from the institute, even arranged a fictitious "academic". 😊 I had a friend who knew how to raise the temperature. I went to the hospital and, nevertheless, lay there for the allotted time to "study" at the institute for another year.

And in the hostel life was in full swing. The MK newspaper then told about the first music and literary club, which opened in the MEPhI hostel. We already had such clubs with a mass of branches of interest in each building. There was also high-quality and rather expensive equipment for those times. As I said, poets, writers, bards, rock bands came. It was not easy to study in such conditions. After all, no one has canceled girls and sports. 😊

In the first year I got into a vocal instrumental ensemble (VIA). The group was created by older guys who introduced me to preference, the echoes of hazing and the "layers" of rock bands. Having become interested in Western music, I recognized many who were selling branded vinyl discs, which cost from 25 rubles to 100, depending on the state, quality of the company, etc. Naturally, there was a crush of disks at the institute, which from time to time was slightly deceived by the officers. There was such an organization that somehow differed from the voluntary people's squad (DND). I don’t remember what, although later I was a member of it. 😊

But at the same time, we performed Queen and Karel Gotha at the dances, and Deep Purple and "A brass band plays in the city garden" ...

VIA contests were held at MEPhI. One of them was chaired by the well-known leader of the jazz-rock group "Arsenal" A. Kozlov. Our group distinguished itself by performing Bach in a rock arrangement.

And since the 76th year, in each building of the hostel, dances have been replaced by discos, the program of which actually consisted only of Western music ... Again we run into the problem of the "loudness" of the minority, who are always given the floor today, with which I began this part of my memories. And the listeners get the feeling that in the USSR everything was exactly as the liberals and anti-Sovietists who occupied the podium tell. In fact, the fascination with the West did not concern the majority of the population, who were quite satisfied with their songs, their clothes and their gadgets. See that the majority of people listen today, when there are no musical restrictions? And this is not Western rock.

Rather, we can say that the people looked at the excessive mods or lovers of Western music as slightly shifty freaks. Not without reason, when the discs of Pugacheva "The Woman Who Sings" and Tukhmanov "On the Waves of My Memory" were released, when Antonov's songs "Dream", "A month ascended the throne" appeared, they sounded almost from every window of the hostel, in contrast from some sensational disc "Queen" or "Pink Floyd" among music lovers at that time. To conclude my musical memories, I will tell a detective-party story that happened in our hostel.

WITH back side there were garbage cans (where the arrow 😊 is).

Our hard college youth.

Someone accidentally saw musical equipment covered with rags next to the tanks. They set up an ambush. Got a student, one of the party bosses. They decided not to inflate the matter. The guy was kicked out of the party and kicked out of the institute. And the equipment from the club of our building was returned to its place.

Hiding from the KGB, we parody one cover of a Western CD.

Pay attention to this old photo, where the cover of the western record is parodying. Doesn't that prove we couldn't listen to western rock back then? 😊

My friend (Volodka, his kingdom ...), with whom they played football, was appointed Komsomol organizer of the stream after the army and preparatory department (the faculty was divided into two streams and several groups of 20-30 people in each).

And at first, they tried to distribute all student posts of an official nature among the former army men, implying that they are older, more serious and disciplined. And these guys were already at least a little, but familiar to the institute administration from the preparatory department, to which those who wanted to study at MEPhI got from the army. And Volodya was already selecting people according to his preferences and told me: let's try to do real real things, and not engage in propaganda nonsense to cut off politicians and opportunists. And you, they say, will raise sports on the stream, and not shift pieces of paper. I agreed with youthful idealism and enthusiasm. Idealism and enthusiasm, having run into a couple of meetings of the flow bureau, were blown away by Volodya and me like a punctured cell. Other members of the bureau probably went with different goals and objectives, or were of stronger character. No wonder one lady today got to the State Duma and the leadership of the Public Front and flashes from time to time in a zombie box.

The activists I encountered, for the most part, spoke some other formal newspaper language that was not very accessible to me. I was unable to establish rapport with those who saw community service as a ladder to growth. Although I admit that everything was to blame for my inability and unwillingness to do organizational work, as the institute Komsomol understood it. So, soon I "scored" on my Komsomol load ...

A year has passed. Everyone was invited to the Komsomol meeting, which was specially arranged between streaming general lectures so that no one ran away. My comrades and I are sitting in the gallery and talking about something "three", as they say today. Suddenly I was asked to listen, tk. my name is declined in vain. I hear that the work of the sports trade was rated unsatisfactory and they took me out of the production bureau. That's the whole repression for almost a year's skimping on Komsomol affairs. Since then, I have no longer been promoted to the forefront of Komsomol work, limiting myself, like most, to the burden for a "tick".

Students of the "male sex", who did not have more serious social burdens, which formally at that time had to be obligatory, chose between the DND (voluntary people's squad), whose members with police officers (or without) patrolled the streets, and the operative detachment. I chose the "detachment" because he was engaged in the maintenance of order at various interesting cultural events at the institute with the invitation of well-known humanitarians. It seemed to me that getting there is a good bonus to inspecting the institute's attics to see if there is evidence of any illegal gatherings. And this is definitely more interesting than just being on duty on the streets as a vigilante.

I remember how the Komsomol meetings were held formally and with minimal loss of time in my study group of the institute. The asset of the group: the Komsomol organizer, the headman and the trade union organizer tried to gather the people only in relation to the time of the classes, uniting the occasions that came up periodically along the trade union, administrative or Komsomol lines. So, the severity of the pressure of the party on our critical minds was not at all burdensome. For example, I have never been to the May and November demonstrations in Moscow, although the people were somehow selected for such events. But once I met some official foreign figure in the ranks waving flags of friendship.

To be continued…