The Stalinist Purges: Individual Accounts--Al'dona Volynskaia

Figure 1.--Stalin liked to be photographed with children. The photograph shows Stalin watching a parade of athletics at the Soviet sports meeting in the Dynamo Stadium, Moscow. There are many propaganda photographs like this one. Often the children of Party officials in good standing were chosen for these photographs. What we do not know is how many of their parents were arrested. There must have been quite a number. Also not well documented are the experiences of the children after their parents were arrested. Here is an account if one such children. I'm not sure when the photograph was taken, perhaps the early 30s.

By William Ferguson

Historians often write in great detail about great events. All to often children are left out of the discussions. This is true even though they were often present and affected. Part of what we are trying to do at HBC is to bring out how children were affected by historical events. The Great Purges are one example of this. Historians discuss the purges in great detail. There are differences as to the number of individuals swept up in the purges. Soviet appolgists down play the Purges. Serious historians suggest very large numbers. And this means thazt very large numbers of children were swept up in the Purges, especially when the NKVD began arresting wives. Experiences of course varied. Here is what happened to one little girl, the daughter of a senior Party official.

Gareth Jones

Gareth Jones was Mr. Lloyd George's special foreign adviser. His duties took him to Russia. He was travelling to Moscow. While he waited at Kharkoff he saw a large group of homeless boys. They were ragged, malnourished and some of them were very sick. When he boarded his train he saw a little girl who was well dressed. It was her rosy cheeks that the reporter first noticed. She held a toy and was eating a piece of cake. He thought the little girl's parents were engineers or Communist Party members. It was the contrast between the groups that the reporter thought about. There were lots of other children like the little girl on the train -- Al'dona Volynskaia was one of them.

Volynskaia Family

Al'dona's parents were Communist Party members and enjoyed a comfortable existence. Her father eems to have held an important position in the Communist Party. We do not have details at this time. Her mother was an engineer. She worked in the Kamensk-Uralskii Metallurgical Works (KUMZ) and then as an Instructor on a Regional Committee.

Privlidged Life

Al'dona came from a cultural background. She was looked after by her nanny. She saw to it that Al'dona was a well dressed little girl. Her nanny took her to places. In the summer she played in the park or had picnics. On rainy days she had books a plenty to read. She had many children's books but her favourites were books by Pushkin and Chekhov. She had toys to play with. She went to the birthday parties of her friends. She would have been a well dressed child wearing cotton dresses, white ankle socks in the summer She would have worn a large white ribbon in her hair. In the winter time she would have worn warm clothing. Her nanny's duties probably included taking her charge to cultural activities when her parents were working late. She also accompanied the child to her music and ballet lessons after school. Nanny also bathed the child every night. It was a nice comforting feeling to be wrapped in a soft cotton towel to be dried and then climb into a comfortable bed to sleep the night away. She was a child who made friends with other children easily. Her parents were very loving towards her and by all accounts the family were enjoying a comfortable life. The family lived in Istra, an engineering town near Moscow.

Arrests (1937-38)

All this changed in 1937. Stalin had launched the Great Purges. The change for the Volynskaia family came quite suddenly. Her father was apparently denounced. Presumably another induvidual who was arrested had named him. That was part of the interogation process, to get those arrested to name names. Most of those arrested were entirely innocent, but the NKVD wanted names anyway. The had various ways of getting the names. Often just demanding them was enogh for the terrified individual in custody. They might be beaten or tortured. Or threats might be made about their wives and children. There were cases when wives and teenage choldren were arrested anyway. Here the need to fill quotas were a major factor. Al'dona's father was expelled from the Communist Party. He was then arrested and subsequently executed by firing squad in 1938. The next change involved her schooling. She had to leave the school she attended in Istra. It was apparently a special school for Party officials. Al'dona was transferred to another Moscow school. Its number was P.S. 275. Here she encountered hostility from the staff. She was quizzed about her parents and was forced to tell them that her mother was not a member of the Communist Party. One day in 1938, shortly after her father's execution her mother was called to the NKVD headquarters. She did not return home because she had been arrested. She was charged with being a "family member of a traitor to the motherland."

NKVD and Children

Most Party officers and Soviet officials were men and thus the purges primarily targeted men. With so many arrests during the purges, the NKVD had to establish procedures for the disposition of the children. This was especially the case when the wives were subequently arrested. The mother could take of children if the father was arrested. If both parents were arested, then the children had to be dealt with. I think many were deposited with relatives, but can not yet substatiate this. Some children even if they had relatives were assigned to orphanages and children's homes. I am not sure hiw the NJVD made these decessions.

Al'dona's Disposition

Al'dona was worried and knew something was very wrong because her mother had not returned. She worried about what had happened to her mummy. She was comforted by her nanny. After three days men and woman who she did not know arrived. Their presence bewildered the little girl. Why had they come? Where was mummy? The child was asked about her grandmother. They told her that she was going to live with her. Al'dona knew this was a lie because they never asked for the address. The strangers searched the apartment. While they undertook this Al'dona was told to pack a few things. She packed a satchel with her favourite books. She was allowed to take 2 others. One was a book by Pushkin and another was by Chekhov. She wanted to pack her photograph album but they did not allow it. The strangers packed a suit case which they filled with her clothes. Al'dona's neighbour saw what was going on. They exchanged winks and the neighbour slipped a piece of crepe de chine into her bag. The neighbour knew that to give the child sweets she would have to ask the NKVD officials. This generosity was allowed. If they This incident came as a great shock to Al'dona. She realised that no-one had the right to give her things anymore. They would need permission. Once the search was completed and the child's things had been packed everything was done and they could depart. The strangers took Al'ona with them when they left. A strange, bewildering and frightening new world was opening up before her as she was whisked away from the happy, comfortable and secure life she had known.

Danilovski Children's Reception Centre

Odessa Children's Home

Uncle Misha told the children that they were going to live at a children's home in Odessa. This is a city on the Black Sea Coast. Al'dona recalls boarding a Black Maria which took them to the railway station. She recalls that the van door was not closed and that an armed guard watched over them. In his hand was a revolver. The adult leaders instructed the children in what they had to say if anyone should ask. They had to say they were 'A' level students on their way to Artek to spend the rest of the school year there. Eventually they arrived in Odessa. From the railway station they were taken to the Birch Tree Special children's Home in Odessa province. The home was made up of limestone barracks in the middle of the steppe. It was an institution that held over 500 children. All had the same experience the sudden disappearance of their parents who had been arrested. The older children thought about this and realised that there could not be so many 'enemies of the people' in Russia. This was dangerous talk but the children did not realise this. A boy was with Al'dona and her friends; he was older than they were. He spoke about his feelings. He was unhappy because he felt that instead of playing he should be thinking about his parents and all the others who had been arrested. Eventually Al'dona realised that even in this place and with their common plight there were children who informed the resident NKVD officers of this and other conversations. Not very long after the older boys conversation the home was closed down and the children were sent away to other orphanages in groups of 30 or 40.

Novoukrainka Children's Home

Al'dona was in a group of 38 children. They were sent to Novoukrainka, in Kirovograd Province. They walked from Birch Tree to Novoukrainka. They arrived tired and hungry. They saw a dark building before them. They entered and found it was the dining hall. The tables had been laid and their meal had been put out for them. All the bowls of soup were covered in flies. None ate the soup but soon they were so hungry that soup with flies in it was of no consequence. It was at this place that Al'dona knew about being hungry. None of the children were given enough to eat. They arrived at The Lenin Children's Home No 1. Al'dona says that it held 400 children. There was the group of 38 that Al'dona had come with. This group came from a situation in which their parents had been arrested. The rest were there because their parents had died of starvation in the 1933 famine. Near the dining hall Al'dona saw a pear tree. She says that all the time she was at the camp it never bloomed. She also says that beneath it was a hole. Into it were thrown the bodies of children who died at the camp. There was the day visitors came to inspect the home. At lunch that day they were served full dishes of vegetables. They talked to the children and wanted to know if the children had enough to eat and liked what they ate. The children said they liked the food. Once the Commission left the children were screamed at by the cafeteria lady. 'We have not eaten for three shifts!' She collected up the children's unfinished meal and threw it into the waste bin. Many children were covered in soars caused through the poor diet. The orphanage nurse was called Maria Ivanovna, she was a kindly person, explained that along with the greens the children also needed meat. A few days later the children looked in wonder at the table. There with the plates of vegetables were plates full of fried meat. It was when the children tried to eat the fried meat did they realise that something was wrong. The meat smelled of Kerosene. They fed it the dogs but they would not eat it. Al'dona realised that a sick cow had been treated with kerosene before it had died. The bedrooms were very cold. The children usually lay two to a mattress. The children slept wearing their clothes and boots. The children covered themselves with a second mattress and blanket. The children had a monthly bath. None of the children liked trying to dry themselves using wet sheets. Al'dona found this a very disgusting experience. She felt that the staff were very cruel when she wanted money for postage stamps to write letters to her mother. She had to listen to taunts and lectures about how there was nothing Al'dona could write to enemies of the people. The non-Komsomol children were watched carefully. At lessons they had not to get a 'D'. If this happened then they had to attend Komsomol lectures. On one occasion Al'dona got a 'D'. She was lectured about it being an enemy'D'. This was despite the fact that they had received numerous Soviet 'D's. Al'dona does not mention much about her clothing at this time. I believe it was supplied by the Children's home. She does say that they wore print cotton dresses. She does say that they were bore footed. [Bill-- what does this mean?]

Great Patriotic War (1941)

The Soviet Union had been cooperating with the NAZIs when World War II broke out. The Soviets like the NAZIs invaded Poland. This changed dramatically when Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union (June 1941). This launched the Great patriotic war. Stalin after invadeing Poland had annexed areas of Finland as well as the Baltic countries. Another target had been was Romania (1940). This the Romanians joined into the NAZI invasion. Odessa was very close to the Romanian border and thus one of the first Soviet cities to be endangered by the NAZI invasion.

Novoukrainka Staff

On learning that the German army was very near, the teachers and staff fled the children's home. The director, Polina Panasiuk, also fled but not before stealing soap and valuable personal possessions of the children whose parents had been arrested. Al'dona knew that the director had taken Elia Iuian's violin. She also stole Al'dona's piece of crepe de chine. She also took Nina Isakians' gold watch. The children thought she sold the soap and the other things for a steamboat ticket. Then Children's home director was gone. She had abandoning the children to their fate with the Germans.

Pioneer Camp

There were 400 children at the children's home. The children were then sent to a Pioneer Camp 7 miles from Novoukrainka. The Soviet Union had begun to build youth summer camps around the country for the Young Pioneer movement. Once at the Pioneer camp the children found that the city was almost surrounded. The only road open was the one to Odessa. Larisa Shadurskaia, the principal of the Pioneer Camp, arrived and took the 40 oldest children away to help the Russian war effort. The children divided themselves into work groups. The 14 cows were milked by Natalka Liashko and Al'dona. The children reaped, tied sheaves and harvested sunflower heads. The boys also worked as well. They rubbed the sunflower heads to get the seeds out. They got the firewood. They made fuel blocks out of animal dung. They also helped the collective farm director asked the children to help gather the harvest. Afterwards they were given a sow. Later it gave birth to little piglets. This was a happy moment in their lives.

German Occupation (1941-44)

It is confusing at the point where the German army arrives. The panic by the staff who flee but leave the children. They leave the children in the home and flee. After the fighting front moves east, the children move back to the Children's home in the city. There is a near by POW camp filled with captured Red Army solders. The children make soup and take it to the camp. The Germans allow the children inside. Al'dona and several of her friends, (Elia Iuian, Natalka Liashko, and Aina Saulit) worked for the Germans as washerwomen. They had no soap but they managed to clean and ironed the German's laundry. The children did all kinds of jobs about the city. Children worked in a variety of places the hair salon and or the tailor's were favourite places. They swept and cleaned the shops. The boys looked after the horses. Al'dona saw the prisoners the Germans drove through Novoukrainka. Some of the prisoners were shot there and then. Afterwards the dead were buried by the towns people in a near by ravine. When children were 16 they were likely to be taken away for Bridge construction. The fear was that they would be taken to Germany. One of the girls married old man from the village so that she would not be taken to Germany. There came the night the polizei came. All the Jewish children in the camp were gathered together. Their names were called from a list. Al'dona thought they were going to the ghetto. The next day everyone learnt that they had been shot. The children discovered that it was the bureaucracy of the Children's Home that had given the Jewish children away. The Germans asked to see the lists of children contained information of the children's origins that nobody had bothered about before. Another time Polish refugees came through the city. Two littler Jewish boys and a girl arrived at the Children's home. These children lived there and were never given away. They survived. As did Al'dona.

Liberation (1944)

The Red Army finally reached Odessa (1944). Al'dona's ordeal was not quite over when Odessa was finally liberated. There are just brief notes to say what happened at the end of the War. We do not know what happened to her mother. In fact Al'dona may not know. Women sentenced for political crimes, if they survived the Gulag and were released, often were not allowed to rejoin their families or contact their children. Al'dona was arrested by the NKVD. I'm not sure when this occurred. It may have been part of the Vengeful Children campaign when after the War many of the children of the Great Purge victims were arrested. She now lives in Moscow and heads the Society for the Victims of Two Totalitarian Regimes.

Sources

Hoffman, Deborah. "Testimony of Al'dona Volynskaia," Memoirs of Childhood in the GULAG (University of Toronto: Academic Electronic Journal in Slavic Studies, 2002).

Sources

Hoffman, Deborah. "Testimony of Al'dona Volynskaia," Memoirs of Childhood in the GULAG (University of Toronto: Academic Electronic Journal in Slavic Studies, 2002).

Created: 7:50 PM 12/7/2007
Last updated: 1:08 AM 12/19/2007