The interview with the veteran

The veteran of the Great Patriotic War Putilov Damian Konstantinovich was born on November, 14th, 1924. Damian Konstantinovich has told about the life and war very little, because in the war the veteran has lost work capacity at execution of office debt. Therefore he can't long talk.But for this small quantity of time I have seen, how the veteran endures very various emotions as pleasure and tears.

I have asked some questions the veteran.

How old are you when war has begun. How have you learnt about it?

At that time I was 5 years old. On June, 22nd, 1941 at 12 o'clock on radio we have listened the message of Molotova that our Native land was attacked by Fascist Germany has sounded.

How have you lost in the war work capacity?

At the very end of war when during all war I have worried so much awful, in March, 1945 during fights near Berlin I have got fragmental wound of chin with crisis of jaw and shoulder wound.

How have you known about victory?

Shooting has begun on the night of May, 8th, 1945. Having woken up, we have run out from car body in which we slept, and have seen that there was shooting at air. It also meant that war has ended. All of us have been overflowed by pleasure.

What do you know about destiny of your fighting companions? Do You meet with them?

Most of my friends were lost, protecting honour of the Native land. With those who is live, we corresponded long time. Now it isn't present, therefore I know many years nothing about their destiny.

What was a trace in your life left by war?

There was youth and all life ahead, therefore all not seemed such bad. But war has left indelible trace because war is unnatural in life of people. The person, been born, т it urged to create, create, and here in dawn of the forces - in 20 years - it already isn't present. It is all it was necessary to worry, see. The enemy was ruthless - we were ruthless also to it. Not you it, so it you. It was especially heavy last days wars. It seemed to us that these terrible events though come to an end, but actually there will be no it end. We desperately resisted to the last. Because you feel, soon war will come to an end, and you can die. Present if to pass all such difficult way, and already in the end to die. Here, to tell the truth, a little bit the shyness took. We weren't afraid, certainly. After all to pass is way good so much. And it would not be desirable to die any more.

What would you wish today's youth?

To be people in any case, even the most extreme conditions. Never to lose reason.

In conclusion I can say, that it has passed 65 years from victory of our Native land in the Great Patriotic War and, unfortunately, not all present youth understands weight of that time, and after all such it is impossible to forget. Certainly, on history pages there are feats of heroes, but there will be no that warm-heartedness, there will be no "pleasure with tears in the face of". And all to us should to try be saved it. After all we are the thread connecting generation, won fascism with the future generations.

Creators of museum. Part 3

SERGEY GONCHAROV

Was born in 1976 in the town of Liepaya, Latvia. After serving in the army moved to the Kaliningrad region. At present he lives in Baltiysk and works as an artist in amber treatment for the ‘Souvenirs of the Baltic» company.

The artist started working with amber in 2003. The budding artist has made nine sculptures, mainly replicas and imitations, including the works of his idol Michelangelo. He is interested in religious and historical subjects. His endowments, a passion for the sun stone and an aspiration to comprehend the secrets of its treatment promise the emergence of a new amber master.

Creators of Museum. Part 2

KONSTANTIN BUSHMELYOV

Was born in 1975 in the city of Kirov. In 1992 he graduated from the art department of the Children’s School of Arts in the town of Pionersky of the Kaliningrad region. At present he works as an artist in amber treatment for the «Souvenirs of the Baltic» company.

The artist has been working with amber since 1995 mainly making complex works with delicate carving: goblets, carafes, vases, caskets, clocks. He deals with subjects that are characteristic of baroque and classicism. Reinterpreting classical forms in amber, he combines white landscape stone with contrasting darker pieces, emphasizing the richness of the colour range and various degree of amber transparency. The artist uses the technique of volumetric and tracery carving. The amber form made in the mosaic pattern is turned using equipment made specially by the artist.

Creators of Museum

NATALIA ALMAZOVA

Was born in 1972 in Kaliningrad. She studied for three years at the Philology Department of Kaliningrad University. After that she started working at "Rembyttechnika" and became a jeweler. She has been working with amber since 1996. She is a member of the Informal Association of Artists "Romantic project".

Natalia Almazova’s favorite subjects are those associated with local Baltic myths and legends. In her works she combines tracery and sculptural carving that gives the viewer the opportunity to see the dual essence of the Baltic gem – its barely perceptible lightness and rich density. She sometimes uses the sculptures of antiquity and the Renaissance Period as a starting point for her works.



However these works are not just copies, but rather are always quite original interpretations. The artist quite often writes short stories to supplement the visual image with original literary associations.

Kaliningrad. Amber Museum

Establishment of Museum

In 1972 – the works began, the building of Dohn’s fortress was assigned.
In 1972-1973 – the draft and estimate documentation on restoration of the fortress and conversion it into the Museum was worked out by the Institute of Civil Engineering and Planning.
From 1974 till 1978 the restoration works on fronts, interior decorations had been made by building and restoration organizations, and the adjoining territory had been improved.

The artistic setting of exposition was performed by design centers of Leningrad branch of RSFSR Art Foundation (the authors of the project are Khozatsky and Elenevskaya). There were made the showcases, the lighting fittings, colour stained-glass windows, mosaics and sculpture for fountains, ceramic floor vases for inner and external yards, still lives, etchings, amber articles, colour slides and photographs.

Kaliningrad Amber Museum was established as the museum of one mineral. In its exposition amber is viewed in correlation of different sciences: palaeontology, mineralogy, geology, geography, archaeology, history, natural science. The aim of the museum – is to systemise natural scientific, historical and cultural, historical and art criticism knowledge of amber.

About 10 years ago the sculpture for fountain was created by Robert Derbentsev.

Very important event in the Museum’s fate occurred in May 2003 – it acquired the status of self-supporting cultural institution. This date has become the starting point of new life-style of the museum, and, consequently, its role and importance on the cultural map of the city has changed.

Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The territory, the northern part of the former East Prussia, borders on NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia.
Originally named Königsberg in German, the town was founded in 1255, and was largely destroyed during World War II. Its ruins were occupied by the Soviet Army in 1945 and its German citizens forced out. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in honour of Mikhail Kalinin.

History

Königsberg
In the bombing of Königsberg in World War II in 1944, the town suffered heavy damage from British air attacks and burned for several days. The historic city center, including Altstadt (Now Tsentralnyy), Löbenicht (Now Moskovskiy) and Kneiphof (Now Kantskij Island), was completely destroyed: the cathedral, the castle, all the churches of the old city, the old and the new universities and the old shipping quarter were destroyed. The Battle of Königsberg raged all through February and March 1945. The city was bombed and shelled continuously. On April 9 the German military commander surrendered the remnants of his forces to the Soviet army General Hovhannes (Ivan) Bagramyan. About 50,000 residents (compared to Königsberg's population on January 1, 1940 of 372,270) remained in the ruins of the devastated city. The remaining German population was expelled by the Soviet Union from 1945–48.

Soviet Union
At the end of World War II in 1945, the city became part of the Soviet Union. Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 after the death of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin, one of the original Bolsheviks. The German population was ethnically cleansed and the city was repopulated with Soviet citizens. German was replaced by Russian as the language of everyday life. The city was rebuilt, and went through industrialisation and modernisation. As the westernmost territory of the USSR, the Kaliningrad Oblast became a strategically important area during the Cold War. The Soviet Baltic Fleet was headquartered in the city in the 1950s. Because of its strategic importance, Kaliningrad was closed to foreign visitors.
In 1957 an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the boundary between Poland and the Soviet Union.

Russian Federation
Kaliningrad is the only Russian Baltic Sea port that is ice-free all year around and hence plays an important role in maintenance of the Baltic Fleet.

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kaliningrad Oblast became an exclave, geographically separated from the rest of Russia. This isolation from the rest of Russia became even more pronounced politically when Poland and Lithuania became members of NATO and subsequently the European Union in 2004. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia have to pass through members of NATO and the EU. Special travel arrangements for the territory's inhabitants have been made through the Facilitated Transit Document (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD).
Today, there is some debate about changing the name of the city back to "Königsberg" in the same way that several other Russian cities have reverted to their pre-Soviet names, e.g. Saint Petersburg and Tver, which were known in the Soviet era as Leningrad and Kalinin, respectively. "Kyonig" (a shortened form of "Königsberg" via Russian) is often used in advertisements for tourism companies in the region. Another possibility would be to give it a Russian name similar to other historic Slavic names, such as "Korolevets".
In July 2007, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov declared that if US-controlled missile defense systems were deployed in Poland, then nuclear weapons might be deployed in Kaliningrad. On 5 November 2008, Russian leader Dimitry Medvedev said that installing missiles in Kaliningrad was almost a certainty.[10] These plans were suspended, however, in January 2009.

Slang of the USSR.

Besedchik – it is the propagandist, who talks about actual political themes.

Dvizhenci - participants of movement of truzhennik-patriots. In 1947 the best dvizhenci were "parovozniki" and "vagonniki".

Izbach’ - managing of a log hut-reading room.

Chekiztciya - introduction in the organisations and establishments of methods and style of the work, which are peculiar to the agencies of state security.

Koenigsberg - Kaliningrad 1945-1947

Confidential History of Kaliningrad Region.
Red Pencil of Censorship
I have read in book “Confidential History of Kaliningrad Region” a chapter called “Red Pencil of Censorship”.
In this chapter there are facts about history of state censorship in Kaliningrad Region in the USSR and interesting examples about censorship from history.
Soviet censorship was well debugged and functioned. Region management by files of literature and publishing was organized in Kaliningrad in September of 1947. Censors were members of the VKP(b). The most famous chief of region management by files of literature and publishing was Ternovoy. The main aim of the work of this management was preliminary censorship of such typographical editions as books, booklets, newspapers, magazines and posters, labels, forms.
The main “weapon” of censor was red pencil, but power symbols were special allowing stamp and allowing number.
The hardest acceptable demands were established among broadcasts. A word in an ether had double control. General rule was: “Speech with microphone without text didn’t allow.”
In general, withdrawals of censors were “attempts” of giving away of state secrets and political-ideological mistakes. They are military-economic secrets, different misprints, information about climate and weather and so on. It was prohibited to mention about military men. Therefore, it was impossible to publish information about celebratory parades, presence of military men on solemn actions, sports competition with participation of military men, etc. Besides, it was prohibited to say and write about Officer’s club and hospitals. For example, censor Bezneva withdrew invitation ticket, in which there was written: “Officer’s club invites to New Year’s morning performance.”
More than that, region management by files of literature and publishing was engaged in withdrawal different printed editions from libraries and shops. Some more, censorship looked after contents of museum of local lore. And last sphere of interests of censorship bodies was theatres, circus and philharmonic society. As for me, the funniest example of censorship of theatre was cancellation of performance “Alenkiy flower”, because censor Savic-Saks said, that Ugly Monster is similar to foreigner.
As a result, every day every censor read hundreds of pages and listened radio for hours, but as a matter of fact there was nothing to do.
So, censorship in Kaliningrad region remains the longest lasting and most comprehensive censorship in the end of the 20th century.
In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting chapters in this book. I think, that this chapter is very important and useful to learn confidential history of Kaliningrad Region, because censorship was connected with all spheres of people’s life.