Interview with my Grandmother - Djuliet Karapetian

Djuleit Karapetian, my lovely grandmother was born in 1936, Armenia and lived most of her life during the Soviet Union years. She’s now sixty-nine years old and still active all the time.  During the time period of Soviet Union she lived under communism. She’s very fun to interview with because she’s energetic all the time.  Soviet Union took place from 1917 to 1991.  Armenia became part of USSR in the year my grandmother was borne And Stalin-god of USSR-took control from 1022 to 1953. 

I was born during Soviet Union in Armenia and until 1995 I was in Armenia.  Freedoms during the Soviet Union years, depends on the time period.  For example, elections where under the control of the Government, they choose who was going to be elected president, so they did everything by their own, under their control, everything was ready and done, but the elections where fake, we all went to the elections even though we knew it was fake but we loved to go to the elections, we did not worry that they chose already because we where used to it, we learned that way, we knew who was there and who was elected , the person was there we just had to vote but didn’t count, that was our elections; however, we went there and we loved to vote. During Stalin years it was the same way, chose by the Government. Ahead they chose who was going to be elected and then it was everywhere in the newspapers. People where told who to choose and people did not argue instead went to the elections. If you where eighteen years old or older during Stalin year’s people had to go to the elections, no one was aloud to be absent it were against the law. During Stalin years there was no freedom of speech, which had the right to say something more, or complain about something or speak out on government, there wasn’t such a thing because those are very big issues that wasn’t respected and instead brought fear. And if somebody complained or said bad things on Stalin’s address; for example, during the time I wasn’t old enough, I was fifteen-sixteen years old girl, but I still remember people couldn’t even whispered, or speak out, though that time Stalin wasn’t standing next to people and listening the conversation; however, there where special kind of people from the government who transferred the conversation from the families to Stalin, which then you wake up the next morning you don’t see the family because they where forced away.

Not everything were bad during Stalin times, at schools you had to be educated and there was special classes, they where very strict against education. The jobs and the hospitals where all under well care in a good way. Also, doctors weren’t allowed to ask for one cent or money from the patient, those where very strict issues. I was young, when after the World War II; there were lot of things like wood, coal and food on sale. Also, electricity was everywhere- even during the war- in the Villages, where they didn’t have before.

After the five year of war, it was hard for the children and students living in poor conditions. The schools where in horrible conditions, there where no heaters, instead they had fire grates which they burned wood.  And the children where treated strictly. For example, the teachers usually hit the students, and hurt them –but why-if they didn’t behave well, didn’t study, being absent from the class. Yes, they had the right to hit the students, and no one had the right to complain.  The teachers wanted the students to be educated even though if you where from working class you still had to be educated, that farmer have to be educated, that’s what they want , they want everyone to be educated – ten years of education .  Which provided them with jobs; jobs were a lot during Soviet Union. After graduating from school, I got accepted in college for billing. And then it wasn’t hard to find a job, so I got a job at the billing center. Almost everybody where provided with jobs, very little percent of the people didn’t work, mostly women worked less; nevertheless, seventy percent of the women worked.

If I compare the wage with other countries, now that we live in United States of America, in U.S.’s conditions we wouldn’t be able to survive, it was less but we where used to it, we had to be able to live with  the amount we saw. And sometimes we did claimed for more, but it was from the government and the country’s budget.  The help from the government was mostly for the poor people, old retired people, but very little amount compare to U.S.’s well care. The welfare was kind of less, but still there was vacations going to hot waters where provided for the people.

There was no freedom of religion during Soviet Union.  There were churches, but people didn’t have the right to visit to church. Eighty percent of the population didn’t went to church, they where used to it, they learned it that way; however, some very religious families; for example, me myself and my family was religious and went there more often and gather but everything was in secret. Actually, one day my friends and I decided to visit to church after school, I thought it would be interesting, but when we came out, we saw our teacher and felt ashamed because the school district didn’t allowed the students to get the idea of religion, it was against the law. And if someone gets caught with gathering others around, that person might have got arrested. The Christianity was the most popular religion. One other religion was Avendarakchakan, which was strictly illegal.  In Armenia there were lots of churches before Soviet Union, during Soviet Union those churched where transferred into storage for grain of wheat so no one went to church. Because the government was very strict toward religion that no one was aloud to pass around a religion.

Also, the visit to Soviet Union was limited, and leaving the Soviet Union was limited.  It was limited to go out, see a new world, or has relationship with others: only special kind of people where allowed to leave the country, peoples like artists or one a kind. And the people that came to Soviet Union where under the governments control.  You could only visit the countries in Soviet Union. During the Stalin’s time it was called “Ironed Fence” which meant no one could have entered.

I never heard of someone to win on hid/her own rights in the court room, there wasn’t even freedom of speech. However, there were court rooms, but we never heard someone to win. The trails were under control of the president and the government. Police played a big roll by supervision. Police did hurt the prisoner and sometimes before the court trails, some of them died. Passports were important to carry, because; for example, here we have IDs, but in soviet years there were only passports, which was important to have it in eighteen years of age- even driving or going other cities.  And if you haven’t done anything wrong the police wouldn’t ever ask for passport.

During the Stalin’s years, there where people loved him and people hated him, people loved him because they where afraid of him.  Stalin’s time period, people respected him by being afraid of him. There are people that still like him and still have his picture in the house, I remember, when I was small we where scared to even whisper in the house about him because we thought the walls would tell him. Images of the leaders where everywhere: at schools in every class, especially Stalin’s pictures. Sixty percent of the population had the images of the leaders, in the buses. However, Stalin never was the god for the people, any issue would be fake.  Funny pictures of the president in the newspapers are risk of loosing job, if not get arrested. There were newspapers, on an artist, singers, mostly factories, something new invented. Why would they write the negative things, and who had the risk of writing it, bad things that occurred in Soviet Union weren’t reported, everything was under government’s control, people worked for the government, all the markets where own by the government. You could own a house if afforded enough money because the wage of the workers were low, about eighty – ninety percent of the people lived in the apartments. Mostly were middle class people. No businesses allowed by owner.

Interviewed by Arman Torosyan