My sister and I are playing at a concert in the music school (1975).
Summary:
My family. Secondary and technical schools
I was born in October 1966 in Novosibirsk, which is sometimes called the capital of Siberia.
My parents were power technicians. I also have a sister, Yulia, who is 1.5 years younger than me; she is a book designer.
For some time my family lived in Novosibirsk (USSR) and Ulan-Bator (Mongolia), then moved to Serebryanye Prudy, a small town in the south of the Moscow region, where I studied at a secondary school and a music school (I played the piano).
In 1984 my family moved closer to the capital — to the village of Fedyukovo, where my father and sister still live.
At the advice of my parents, I went to a technical school in Moscow to become a turner. That was a one-year sandwich course of study and factory work. However, the profession did not appeal to me. When I finished the technical school I was drafted to the Army.
My sister and I are playing at a concert in the music school (1975).
The Army and preparation for the university studies
I was sent to Turkmenistan, then a southern republic of the former USSR, for six months' vehicular troops training, which was a preparation for joining the Soviet occupational army in Afghanistan. When they asked me in the end whether I wanted to go to Afghanistan, I said "no", and they sent me to a construction unit in the town of Nebit-Dag (now called Balkanabat) in the middle of the desert between Ashkhabad and the Caspian Sea.
In general, the Army was a big waste of time, but there was also a positive side: I learned discipline and became able to do dirty work in hard conditions (severe climate, bad food, etc.).
Zoom the map
A satellite image of the troop unit (centre) in Nebit Dag, where I spent 1.5 years.
When I came back home in summer 1987, perestroika and glasnost were already apparent, however we were still improving socialism. I decided to study languages and by this way to learn more about the outside world. After one year of work at a post office I entered the preparatory department of Moscow State Linguistic University and then the university itself in 1989.
Linguistic University and the trip to Sweden
Studying at Moscow State Linguistic University was a good and useful university experience, one of the best available in the country at that time. The teaching standards were increasingly deteriorating, mainly due to bad management and financing, but the strong traditions of excellence and a number of brilliant academics still kept the University in good shape.
We studied various aspects of the English language (phonetics, grammar, lexicology, stylistics, history of the language, etc.), Britain and the USA (their geography, history, culture, political systems), the second language (Swedish), theory and practice of translation, as well as social sciences (philosophy, history, theory of culture, etc).
The curriculum also included a reserve officer training which was optional for me, since I had served in the Army. I went through it, though, in order to learn English military terminology and get the military profession of a translator. The course was concluded with one-month combat training in the Vladimir region, in which I commanded 20 men.
My academic standing was good, but not excellent: I did not study all the subjects with the same zeal and often preferred to study on my own. The final year was the year of hard work: passing the finals at my university, earning good scores on American tests (SAT, TOEFL and GRE), winning scholarships at two Moscow business schools and winning a place to participate in the summer course in Swedish arranged by the Swedish Institute.
The Swedish government granted me a free place and a round trip to Sweden. Those 19 days were my first trip to the West and of course it was an eye-opener. Even within such a short time I could improve my Swedish significantly.
My classmate, an American missionary and me in Moscow (1992).
International University in Moscow
In 1994, on my return from Sweden, I started to study a one-year MBA programme at the Graduate School of Business Administration of the International University of Moscow. It was a non-state university; most of the courses were in Russian and were quite theoretical. Three courses were taught in English by foreign professors — managerial accounting, entrepreneurship, and organizational behaviour; the English-language courses were my favourite. I passed well all the courses, but did not write the thesis and did not take the final exam.
While I studied there I earned some money by working as an interpreter for a religious missionary from Taiwan. I was also doing an unpaid translation work for a commercial organization in our University; in return they promised to take me for a trip abroad. Finally, in summer 1995, I did go abroad, to Germany, where I interpreted commercial negotiations. We did a trip all over Germany, visiting various firms. Germany was another culture shock for me.
Work for the Moscow Country Club and Procter & Gamble
From autumn 1995 till summer 1996 I worked at the Moscow Country Club, a golf club near Moscow, as a purchasing manager. I was put in charge of four experienced subordinates although I had not worked either in F&B (food and beverage) or in purchasing before. While I worked there I gained some experience, but I felt tired because of long commuting (5 hours per day). The salary also turned out to be small. After 7 months I left.
From October 1996 till September 1998 I worked as a translator and personal assistant for a department manager, a Turk, at Procter & Gamble plant in Novomoskovsk, Tula Region (200 km. south from Moscow). I worked mainly in the detergent-making department (production of Ariel, Tide and Myth). At this job I improved my translation and computer skills, learned technical terminology and could see a big plant in operation; the people, including my boss, were friendly. The pay was very good, and in two years I saved over $20,000.
At work for Procter&Gamble in Novomoskovsk (1998).
The crisis and the last months in Russia
However, after the start of the Russian financial crisis (from August 17, 1998 on) my boss was sent back home to the P&G plant in Turkey. Contracts with nearly all translators from Moscow, including me, were terminated. As a result of the rouble devaluation, I lost almost half of my savings and my bank, Rossiyski Kredit, froze the other half (I still haven't got it).
During this time I did some free translating work for a Moscow charity while searching a job abroad. Finally, I landed a job in Sweden as a caregiver. I also applied for immigration (in the independent category) at the Canadian embassy in Moscow.