My wife’s grandmother’s diary (a glimpse into Russia’s history)

Today Russia celebrated Victory Day, which was always a huge holiday and has grown more pompous under Putin who — obviously — used it to strengthen the image of a strong Russia ready to defeat its enemies.

For once, though, I don’t want to make any political comments. Instead, I want to share something unique — the diary that my wife’s grandmother — Babushka Tonya — left behind. She passed away in 2008, just a couple of months shy of her 96th birthday. I translated these entries almost a decade ago when we moved to the US and I discovered her notes in one of the boxes we had brought. I have to apologize for the many instances of imperfect English. With no Grammarly, no editing, and no help from ChatGPT, it was just a rushed translation of many pages of handwritten notes. I should do a better job. One day…

As you read the diaries, you’ll find much sorrow and suffering. Babushka Tonya lived a long life but unfortunately, her memories were mostly filled with sadness.