World war ii names: Were they always called World War I and World War II?

Frequently Asked Questions — World War II Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

Why can’t I wade in the Rainbow Pool?

For reasons of safety and respect. The pool contains many lights and sharp fountain heads that could injure visitors. American and Allied victories are celebrated here as are the millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines that fought to secure those victories. Please honor our veterans by respecting the symbolism underlying the memorial pools and water features.

How are the states arranged?

Much like a formal gathering of military or governmental leaders, wherein the guest or place of honor is at center. In this case, the place of honor is held by the Freedom Wall (field of gold stars) that symbolizes the number of American dead from World War II. To the right of the place of honor would be the next important element in rank, seniority, or designation, in this case, the State of Delaware, the first to ratify the U. S. Constitution. To the left of the center would be the second, in this case the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Then the order goes back and forth, or right and left, around the circle, much like a military procession, or march of states as each entered the Union. The states are followed by U.S. territories, again in the order by which they became such, alternating right to left.

What do the stars represent?

There are 4,048 gold stars; each one represents 100 American military deaths. That means that more than 400,000 soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and military personnel lost their lives or remain missing in action in World War II. Of 16 million men and women in military service during the time, that number represents 1 death out of every 40. When an American went off to fight, the family often displayed in their window a flag bearing a blue star on a white field with a red border. If one of those dreaded telegrams arrived informing them of their family member’s death, they would replace the blue star with a gold one; revealing that family’s sacrifice. “Here We Mark The Price Of Freedom” is inscribed below the Freedom Wall.

What are the wreaths on the pillars?

There are two wreaths for each pillar; one on the front and one on the back. Each pillar has both, but they alternate from side to side for variety. The wheat wreath represents agriculture and the oak wreath represents industry. This symbolizes the fact that not only did the states and territories give their citizens to serve in the military, they also offered their resources and the fruits of their labor to the cause of victory. Without the hard work, sacrifice, and support of the home front, success on the battlefront was impossible.

What are the construction materials?

The World War II Memorial is a predominantly granite structure. Almost 17,000 individual stones make up the memorial. The stones found in the vertical pillars and pavilions are Kershaw Granite from South Carolina. The horizontal paving stones are Green County Granite from Georgia. The accent stones in the Memorial Plaza are Rio Verde and Moss Green from Brazil. The coping stone around the Rainbow Pool is Mount Airy from North Carolina and the pool tiles are Academy Black from California. All of the metal sculptural devices are bronze, with the exception of the stars, which are stainless steel with gold plating.

Who was Kilroy?

“Kilroy was here”, accompanied by a cartoon drawing of a man looking over a wall, was a popular piece of graffiti drawn by American troops in the Atlantic Theater and then later in the Pacific Theater. It came to be a universal sign that American soldiers had come through an area and left their mark. Its origins most likely come from a British cartoon and the name of an American shipyard inspector. The myths surrounding it are numerous and often center on a German belief that Kilroy was some kind of superspy who could go anywhere he pleased. There are two Kilroys hidden in the memorial. You have to find them yourself!

What is the meaning of the the sculptures inside the victory pavilions?

Inside each victory pavilion is a sculptural canopy called a baldacchino. These baldacchinos are actually four eagles holding a laurel victory wreath suspended above an enlarged victory medallion set into the floor below. The eagle is the symbol of the United States of America. The laurel wreath is a symbol of victory going back to ancient Greece. So, the sculptures symbolize American victory in the Atlantic and in the Pacific theaters. The eagles have wingspans of 11 feet and are perched on columns 18 feet tall. Each of the laurel wreaths weighs 5,000 pounds and was designed by Ray Kaskey of Maryland.

Why are the two pavilions marked Atlantic and Pacific?

During World War II, U.S. military forces fought in two military theaters of operations on opposite sides of the world. Navy ships zigzagged their way across the Atlantic to transport Army and Marine personnel to fight in Northern Africa and Europe against the Germans and the Italians. Likewise, Army, Navy, and Marine units fought a brutal island-hopping campaign across the Pacific against the Japanese. The two forty-three foot tall victory pavilions honor their heroic service and ultimate success and list at their bases many of the major campaigns and battles from each theater of war.

What do the bronze bas relief panels signify?

There are 24 bronze bas relief panels flanking the formal 17th Street entrance to the memorial. Each panel measures two feet tall by five feet long and was designed by Maryland artist Ray Kaskey. Twelve scenes from the homefront and the Pacific Theater are displayed on the south walk and twelve scenes from the homefront and the European Theater are along the northern walk. Descriptions and explanations of the sculptures are available as handouts at the World War II Memorial visitor contact station located along Home Front Drive.

Why was the World War II Memorial built here?

The question of location is answered partly by the inscription on the massive granite Announcement Stone facing 17^th Street,

HERE IN THE PRESENCE OF WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN, ONE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FATHER AND THE OTHER THE NINETEENTH CENTURY PRESERVER OF OUR NATION, WE HONOR THOSE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICANS WHO TOOK UP THE STRUGGLE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND MADE THE SACRIFICES TO PERPETUATE THE GIFT OUR FOREFATHERS ENTRUSTED TO US: A NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.

As to why the memorial was built at all, refer to the quotation by President Harry S Truman found next to the Freedom Wall,

OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.

Can I borrow a wheelchair?

Yes, a limited number of wheelchairs are available on a first come, first served basis for use while at the World War II Memorial. There is no cost, but a valid driver’s license is required and will be held until the wheelchair is returned. Please note that available wheelchairs are to be used only while visiting the World War II Memorial. Each of the other National Mall and Memorial Parks sites staffed by National Park Service rangers has wheelchairs available for public use while at that site.

World War II — Military Records at the Archives & Library of the Ohio History Connection

Ohio and World War II

Ohio played an important role in helping the U. S. obtain victory in World War II. Approximately 839,000 Ohioans served in the armed forces during the war. Approximately 23,000 of those Ohio men and women died or were missing in action by the end of conflict. Ohio civilians contributed by working to produce items to support the war effort. 

Below is a list of Ohio Units in the U.S. Army that served during World War II, mainly Ohio National Guard (ONG) Units.

• 2nd Battalion, 372nd Infantry Regiment (formerly known as the 9th Battalion ONG)

• 37th «Buckeye» Infantry Division, ONG

• 107th Cavalry Group

• 112th Engineer Combat Regiment

• 131st Quartermaster Regiment

• 147th Infantry Regiment

• 151st Medical Battalion 

• 166th Infantry Regiment

• 174th Field Artillery Battalion

• 191st Engineer Light Platoon Company

• 192nd Tank Battalion, Company C (37th Tank Company, ONG)

• 254th Engineer Combat Battalion

• 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion

• 987th Field Artillery Battalion

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Collection Information and Access

• We have very few records concerning World War II veterans from Ohio.  In order to obtain military service records from WWII, you should contact the National Personnel Records Center.

• The World War II Compensation Fund, Pensions, and Discharges, 1948-1963 [State Archives Series 4495].This series is restricted under the rules and regulations of the Ohio Historical Society and provisions of the Ohio Revised Code. Researchers wishing to use these records should contact the reference archivist.

• The World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing [940.546771 Un32w] can be paged for research in the Library. This publication can also be viewed on microfilm roll GR 6767 in the Library Microfilm Room.

• A selection of World War II related Manuscript Collections records are available to view using the Online Collections Catalog.

• The World War II Oral Histories collection is digitized and available on Ohio Memory, a statewide digital library program. 

• Further World War II information can be accessed by using Ancestry and Fold3 which are available via computers in the Library.  

• You can browse all World War II era newspapers, library, archives, and museum records using our Online Collections Catalog.

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Major General Robert Sprague Beightler and the 37th Infantry Division

Major General Robert S. Beightler was the commander of the 37th «Buckeye» Infantry Division from 1940 to 1945, and was one of only a handful of National Guard officers to command their divisions throughout the entire war.  The 37th Division largely fought in the South Pacific during the war, mainly campaigns in the Northern Solomons and Luzon in the Philippines.

The following collections related to Major General Robert Sprague Beightler and the 37th can be paged for research in the Library:

• Robert S. Beightler Audiovisual Collection, 1941-1945 [P 295] documents General Beightler s activities and the service of the 37th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

• Robert S. Beightler Papers, 1940-1948 [MSS 593] contains correspondence, speeches, and other documents related to the 37th Infantry Division.

• Minutemen: The Military Career of General Robert S. Beightler by John Kennedy Ohl [B B396o 2001] includes bibliographic references and an index. 

• 37th Infantry Division Collection, 1941-1943 [State Archives Series 1036 AV] includes photographs of enlisted men, officers, and General Beightler during training and service.

• Major General Robert S. Beightler’s Report on the Activities of the 37th Infantry Division, 1940-1945 by Robert Sprague Beightler [PA Box 63 9]

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Ohio War History Commission

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the Ohio History Connection (then called the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society) advocated the creation of a war history commission to collect data on the role and activities of Ohio during the war.  In the spring of 1942 Governor John W. Bricker created the commission which consisted of 21 members from whom were chosen a chairman, vice chairman and executive secretary. The War History Commission held its organizational meeting on April 1, 1942.  It ceased to function in 1948.

A card catalog index is available for Ohio War History Commission collections in the Library.

The following collections were compiled by the Ohio War History Commission and can be paged for research in the Library:

• General Files, 1942-1946 [State Archives Series 1142] contains news clippings, correspondence, and photographs describing events in Ohio during World War II.

• 37th Infantry Division Collection, 1941-1943 [State Archives Series 1036 AV] includes photographs of enlisted men, officers, and General Beightler during training and service.

• Accession Record, 1942-1949 [State Archives Series 2036] lists items accessioned by the commission.

• Administrative Files, 1942-1947 [State Archives Series 1880] contains minutes, correspondence, and reports.  

• Civil Defense Announcements, 1941-1948 [State Archives Series 1035 AV] are sound recordings of announcements made

• Headlines from World War II, 1941-1945 [State Archives Series 1037] contains newspaper headlines concerning WWII events.

• War History Commission World War II posters, 1941-1945 [State Archives Series 2829]

• United States Office of Price Administration, World War II rationing stamps and forms, [ca. 1941-1945] [State Archives Series 2804]

• Scrapbook on World War II food production and rationing, 1943 [State Archives Series 1430]

• Scrapbook of the American Red Cross in Ohio, 1942-1946 [State Archives Series 2954]

• Photographs of World War II scrap drives [graphic] [State Archives Series 1959 AV]

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Ohio World War II Compensation Fund

The Ohio General Assembly, on June 4, 1947, adopted a resolution calling for the electorate to vote upon amending the state constitution to provide for the compensation of Ohio’s World War II soldiers. The constitutional amendment passed in November 1947, and the World War II Compensation Fund was set up under the auspices of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund. The deadline for making application for compensation was set at July 1, 1950, but the Compensation Fund remained active until 1954 in finishing its work.

The following collections were compiled by the Ohio World War II Compensation Fund and can be paged for research in the Library:

• World War II Compensation Fund Ledger, 1947-1962 [State Archives Series 6272]

• Administration of the World War II Compensation Fund for Ohio Veterans, 1947-1950 [State Archives Series 4627]

The following collection was compiled by the Ohio World War II Compensation Fund and is restricted under the rules and regulations of the Ohio Historical Society and provisions of the Ohio Revised Code.

• World War II Compensation Fund, Pensions, and Discharges, 1948-1963 [State Archives Series 4495]

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Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?

We do not hold military service or pension records.  That information can be obtained by contacting the National Archives and Records Administration. Records created in the 20th century are housed at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.  

You may also wish to read the military records section of the National Archives Genealogy webpage.

If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 614.297.2510.

Memory of the people::Original documents about the Second World War

This section contains stories and memories of people whose lives were affected by the war of 1941-1945.

Stories published: 130

Every family has stories of relatives who fought, from memories
which is formed
general picture of the liberation of our Motherland. Inscribe stories about people’s fates with every step you take
bringing the victory of our people closer, in the annals of the Great Patriotic War is the duty of everyone
a person who is not indifferent to his country. Today you have the opportunity to publish
here are stories about the war of people close to you, preserving their names for the history of Russia.

Published stories

Total: 130

Abdrakhim Abdrakhmanovich Ishbaev

On the eve of the holy holiday of Victory Day, I want to tell you about a soldier, about my uncle Abdrakhim. For many years, my relatives, my dad did not know about his fate, except that he died in the Great Patriotic War in 1942. The search for documents, answers from the archives, the help of strangers, but not indifferent people, helped to restore the uncle’s biographical data, circumstances and place of death. Memories of loved ones about the deceased hero // Ishbaev Abdrakhim Abdrakhmanovich Ishbaev Abdrakhim Abdrakhmanovich was born at 1917 in the village of Allaberdino, Troitsky (now Tulgansky) district of the Chkalovsky (now Orenburg) region . ..
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05/03/2019

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Abdulbari Nizamutdinovich Isaev

About the fate of the Isaev brothers, participants in the Great Patriotic War. The “Memory of the People” portal helped me find two of my close relatives at once, who were considered missing. I want to tell the story of my family, one of the many families in which for many years the memory did not know peace because of the tragic events of the Great Patriotic War. And only «Memory of the People» helped to find this peace. All three Isaev brothers went to the front from different cities: the eldest from the city of Ufa, the middle one from the city of Hatta-Kurgan and the youngest from the city of Beloretsk. When my father and two of his brothers went to the front…
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04/27/0018

Agvan Kuboyan

My grandfather, Kuboyan Agvan Ambartsumovich, was born in 1920 in the Tsalka region of the Georgian SSR. In 1940 he was drafted into the Red Army. During the Great Patriotic War he was sent to the 14th Guards Tank Regiment. The young, inexperienced soldier quickly learned how to operate unfamiliar equipment. In 1942, in the month of May, fierce battles were going on on the Western Front, where my great-grandfather fought heroically. He destroyed 2 tanks and was awarded the medal «For Courage». Between battles, he wrote letters home, because the mother was waiting for news from her sons that they were alive. But the thoughts of the young soldier about his home were interrupted by a shot of a gun …
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01/27/2020

Alexander Alexandrovich Ovchinnikov

Victory went along the front road Ovchinnikov Alexander Alexandrovich was born on August 29, 1916 in the village of Sushi, Vyatskopolyansky district. From October 1937 to October 1940 he served in the Red Army as part of the 59th separate rifle company. Before the war, he worked as a carpenter on a collective farm, was single. From August 1941 he was called to the front in the 38th artillery regiment as part of the active Army. Already in October, during the fighting, he was slightly wounded in the arm and until March 1942 years was in the evacuation hospital. Then he continued his front-line path as part of the 63rd Infantry Regiment. In October 1942 he was seriously wounded in the arm and before I …
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10/22/2019

Alexander Dmitrievich Daibov

When my twenty-year-old son, after watching a short fragment of a series about the war, said: “Yes, war is a terrible thing,” I felt proud that he was brought up correctly and realizes the importance of the Victory, for which we are all grateful to our grandfathers. For me, he still seems like a child, but his great-grandfather at his age had already returned from the war, having fought for 3 years. I want to tell about him. Daibov Alexander Dmitrievich — my grandfather, was drafted into the army on 01/21/1943g. He was 17 years old. Throughout the war, he served as an ordinary gun battery of the 1st Battalion of the 34th Guards Rifle Division of the 4th Ukrainian Front. In plain language…
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09/06/2021

Alexander Leontievich Karmin

My great-grandfather Alexander Leontyevich Karmin was born on June 22, 1910 in the city of Chistopol, Kazan province. His parents Leonty Gavrilovich and Alexandra Grigorievna were peasants. Father participated in the Russo-Japanese War 1904 — 1905 and the First World War 1914-1918. For a long time, the family used a lamp made by his father from a shell case, which he brought from the Russo-Japanese War. Leonty Gavrilovich went missing in captivity in the German camp Schneidemulv, where he ended up in 1915 after the battle of Belsk. In 1921, Alexander Karmin graduated from a rural school in Chistopol. In May of this…
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09/06/2021

Alexander Novoseltsev

“Vanya and Uta. Remember sometimes me, Shura Novoseltsev. Among the old grandmother’s photographs, which were kept in my parents’ house somewhere in an inconspicuous place and became available to me after the death of my father and sorting out the boxes, there were three, the captions under which caused bewildering questions. One of them, made in 1923, depicts three young men, in the center — older, in a uniform similar to a railway one, the other two are clearly younger. The photo is signed: “In memory of Uta from two brothers and P.N. Balobanov». Made on a postcard (POST CARD on the back) and with the ARTUR badge in the upper right corner. On a friend…
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04/22/2018

Alexander Petrovich Fedorin

Dedicated to dear eternally young grandfather I remember the eyes of my grandfather Alexander from childhood. Light, with a beautiful cut, they looked at me for many, many years from a photo that stood in a frame at our house. And when I got older, I found out about the triangle letter that grandfather Sasha wrote to his sister Dusya, my grandmother, on June 1940 years old, studying at the Novosibirsk Military Aviation Pilot School. It was kept by my grandmother Evdokia all my life, then by my mother, and now by me. // Fedorin A.P., February 1940. I hold in my hands this fragile, tender, full of love and warmth, yellowed from time to time, re-read hundreds of times…
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May 25, 2019

Alexander Prokofievich Saltykov

Thanks to the information published on your portal, my family was able to restore the military path of my great-grandfather, Saltykov Alexander Prokofievich. On the eve of Victory Day, on behalf of our entire family, I want to express my deep gratitude to all the employees of the “Memory of the People” portal. Thanks to your work, the historical connection between generations is restored, people find their relatives and friends, we have the opportunity to collect bit by bit and preserve the history of our families in family archives for future generations. The feat of heroes is immortal as long as we remember them. Memory is needed not only for those …
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May 05, 2018

Alexander Semenovich Yannikov

Yannikov Alexander Semenovich was born in 1908. The war caught Alexander Semenovich when he was studying at the military-political school of Menzelinsk (TatASSR). He went to the front in 1941 as a political commissar. //Alexander Semenovich Yannikov //Alexander Semenovich Yannikov Fought on the Leningrad front. In 1942, having received a serious wound, he was commissioned with the rank of senior lieutenant and sent to his homeland in the Malmyzhsky district, the village of Stary Burets, as the Chairman of the collective farm. He served in this position for 22 years. With his wife Anna Mikhailovna, they raised 4 sons and 2 daughters. He died at the age of 81, was buried on Vyats…
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10/22/2019

Alexander Stepanovich Ilyushechkin

My grandfather Alexander was born in 1911 in the village of Pochinki, Gorky Region, into a peasant family. He was mobilized in August 1941. Leaving his wife and four young children at home, he could not do otherwise, since his brothers Ivan and Alexei were also at the front. Ivan Stepanovich Ilyushechkin // Ivan Stepanovich Ilyushechkin (on the second photo, in the center) There were four children in the grandfather’s family: 1 sister and 3 brothers. All the brothers were mobilized and fought. Of these, only Ivan did not die, who began to fight with the White Finns as a young officer — at 1939g. in Finland. Where he was wounded in the back with a cuckoo knife. From the memories of the front …
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04/23/2018

Alexey Alexandrovich Motorkin

My grandfather Alexey Alexandrovich Motorkin was called up for military service in 1938. He went through the Finnish War, after which he was demobilized in 1940. From the first days he was called up for the Great Patriotic War with the rank of guard sergeant. He served on the front line in various positions, from the clerk of the financial unit to the head of the financial unit of the regiment. I also had to go on reconnaissance behind enemy lines. During the war he was wounded twice and received a severe concussion. He was awarded various awards, including the orders of the «Red Star» and the «Great Patriotic War», two medals «For the battle …
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09/06/2021

Alexey Alexandrovich Shmelkov

I knew that my grandfather Shmelkov Alexey Alexandrovich, born in 1923 was drafted in 1942, was a tanker, fought in the Caucasus, in the Arctic, met a victory in Berlin, served in Germany until 1947. After the war, he worked all his life as a turner of the 6th category at the Dynamo plant in Moscow. His brother, Nikolai Alexandrovich Shmelkov, born in 1924, an artillery officer, died at the end of the war somewhere in Poland. Working in the archive, I established the combat path of relatives, the numbers of the military units in which they served, their awards, I was able to get acquainted with the service records, award sheets and orders. When I ordered d…
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11/14/2018

Alexey Vasilievich Kokotov

The story of a soldier Alexei Vasilyevich Kokotov was born in the village of Parunovka, Seryshevsky District, Amur Region, in 1907. He worked as a tractor driver. He went to the front in 1942. A wife and 7 children remained at home, the eldest of whom was 14 years old. He served in the 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Baranovichevskaya Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Division of the RVGK, 302nd Guards Order of Kutuzov Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment Guards. senior sergeant. The battle path began near Stalingrad. Participated in the Battle of Oryol-Kursk, was wounded, escaped by a miracle. He said that a gray-haired old man helped, pulling him out of the funnel, where …
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07/18/2019

Alexey Ivanovich Moskalev

The story about «Twelve Muscovites» … And they go without the name of the saint All twelve — into the distance. Ready for anything, Nothing to be sorry about… A. Block «Twelve» Above my desk right in front of me hangs a framed photograph. There are twelve officers and a Red Army soldier on it. They look into the lens and smile. They are looking at me. Every day. Each hour. Every minute. And they smile… Needless to say, this photo is dear to me. It’s not only on the wall, it’s in my heart. Exactly three years ago, in the days of April 2015, I learned from the newspapers that for the first time the march of the «Immortal Regiment» will take place in Moscow along Tverskaya Street and the Krai . ..
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04/27/2018

Why did people change names in the 20th century? – DW – 03/30/2002

Gasan Huseynov

01/08/2002

https://p.dw.com/p/22p2

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Second gear. Traces of the First World War in familiar names.

We continue the conversation about how, when and why in the 20th century people changed their names — and their own names and surnames, and the names of cities, and shops, streets and fortresses. In many cases, as we found out in our first January broadcast, street names and city names were changed during the First World War. The Russians and the British got rid of, for example, German-sounding names. However, at that time all this was not done very systematically.

In Russia, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd by the decree of Emperor Nicholas, and the Ural Yekaterinburg retained its name, although the Perm governor tried to Russify the name of the city at the beginning of the First World War. The British royal house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was renamed in 1917 as the House of Windsor. And in Germany, in some places, they got rid of, for example, French names. So, in the Hanseatic city of Bremen, all highways (chaussee) were converted into «military roads» — Heerstrassen. There was, for example, Schwachhausershasse, became Schwachhauserheerstrasse. It has remained so ever since. In another free Hanseatic city — Hamburg — the highway was not renamed into «military roads». With the exception of soldiers’ tombstones or chapels, you will no longer find external traces of the First World War, but the names of the streets, uttered countless times every day by the inhabitants, continue to sound. One has only to think about where this strange name came from, and we find ourselves in a strange era.

Valdemar Melanko, director of the Finnish Institute of Russia and Eastern Europe in Helsinki, tells about the history of his family and his name:

— As a child, I already knew 3 languages ​​- Finnish, Swedish and Russian.

I was born in the city of Vyborg a few months before the start of the war. The family owned a brewery. Great-grandfathers came from Russia, from the Yaroslavl province, there was one grandfather from Ukraine. So, there was such Fedor Ivanovich Sergeev, the father of my grandmother, he had 8 children. And his sons married Finnish Swedes, and there was one German woman, Frida Böcke, her family was from Weimar, and his daughters married beautiful Russian officers who served in Vyborg. Among them is my grandfather, originally his name was Maksimenko. All this mixed up, assimilated, and when I was born, the family already spoke many languages. I remember after the war, when we lived in Helsinki, one sister had a reception on the second day of Christmas, and the other on the second day of Easter. Frida, she was a singer, and she had students, so 60 people gathered at her receptions, and they mostly spoke Russian, Swedish, German and Finnish; Finnish was spoken mainly with the servants. Languages ​​changed very quickly. It all happened very smoothly. At the second aunt, at aunt Lyuba’s, they didn’t speak German, there the fourth one was French. Because the boys studied in France. My father was a graduate of the Technical University of Toulouse, an engineer. The environment was so multilingual. The city of Vyborg was famous for its multilingualism, there was a Finnish part of the city, a Swedish part, a German colony, and Russian merchants.

After the Soviet Union liberated us from this city, a beautiful city, everyone moved to that part of Finland that was not occupied by Soviet troops. For example, I lived in the north-west of Finland, in the city of Gammlekarleby, I lived in a purely Swedish-speaking part of Finland, I went to a Swedish kindergarten, I spoke Swedish with the children. And Finnish was my second or third language. At home they spoke Russian, on the street — no, didn’t say a word, because you could get a brick on the back, Russian was not in fashion in those years, and gradually the next generation did not speak Russian, and now I have a daughter, unfortunately, she does not speak Russian, she took a short course. My cousins ​​and second cousins ​​do not communicate in Russian, they do not speak, the Russian language is gone. And that Wednesday, those merchants who arrived here, left. Finland was a hundred years in the Russian Empire, the Grand Duchy. From Finland it was easier to trade with England and Germany than from Russia, the duties were different, and in general the contacts were different, so Finland attracted people. White emigration did not linger, and after the war, when new Russians, Soviets, appeared in the 1950s and 1960s, they were afraid of each other. Now we have a new Russian wave, the so-called returnees. If anyone had Finnish roots, they could return to Finland, they speak Russian. Their children learn Finnish, while their grandchildren forget Russian.

My family has lived in Finland for 150-200 years. On one line, I am the fifth, on the other, the fourth generation in Finland. My grandmother’s father was born a serf of Count Sheremetev, in Yaroslavl, in the village of Chernetsy. He came to his relative in Vyborg in the 1850s. Along this path, many young people who aspired to get into life arrived in Finland. There has never been serfdom in Finland. For 600 years it was part of the Swedish state, in 1809, after the division of Europe by Napoleon and Alexander in Tilsit, it became part of the Russian Empire, then an opportunity was created for Russian merchants to carry out their activities. Fedor Ivanovich had the sixth trading empire in Finland — a brewery, steamships, tobacco, steamboats, had a lot of business with the St. Petersburg Nobel, the founder of the Caucasus society, which began to extract oil from the Caspian Sea. He had 8 children.

Maternal grandfather Mikhail Grigoriev, he had a caramel factory and a horse farm in Vyborg. A serious, active old man, a church warden, Fr. John of Kronstadt. He left slippers for my great-grandfather, which passed to my mother, she danced Krakowiak on the stage in these slippers.

The family continued their business, but after the revolution, when Finland became independent and when troubles began, Russians were not treated very well in Finland, and factories, for example, tobacco, flew out of the pipe. And the brewery was destroyed during the bombing. There were silver spoons and everything. And the language that I inherited. Daughters married Russian officers, and sons married Finnish Swedes or Petersburg Germans. The boys studied at French universities, some in Toulouse, some in Rouen. Some of my relatives live in different countries. Only a few people speak Russian.

— And how did the transformation of the name Maksimenko into Melanko happen?

— In the thirties, when Russians were not respected, our last name was Maksimenko, we had to change it to Melanko. So, Uperov became Urne, Uspensky — Usvalahti, i.e. «foggy valleys», Sergeev — Serko, what other examples? Yes, there are as many as you like Pugin — Pokhtamo, Kulagin — Kaareskoski.

— Are Russian surnames recognizable by the Finnish name?

— Of course not, that’s why they changed it so that it would not be recognizable. They often changed it, like mine: they wanted to keep it all the same, so that the surname was with the letter M, because the letter “M” was on the family silver.

— And the -ko ending is preserved.

— But such a surname exists in Finland. So this is the result of those years. It can be said that Russia itself destroyed its Russians abroad. These are wars, and all this Great Russian chauvinism. We are not alone, however, here both the Baltic and Poland have suffered.

— Did you have the feeling that language is also a root?

— I must say that I have no roots in Russia and the Soviet Union. I feel like a Finn. When I am in Sweden, after two or three days I think in Swedish, so I have no attraction, no friendliness for Russia or Sweden anymore. I write in Swedish, I think in Finnish. Well, I’m Orthodox, I was baptized in the Orthodox faith. But in Finland there are Orthodox who have never spoken Russian, our Karelians.

The dispute about what to call a very ancient and very young European country has not yet been resolved

Sometimes they say: just think, the names of singles or the names of some half-forgotten historical figures. What useful historical experience can be drawn from the knowledge of all these particulars? Instead of answering this difficult question, I would like to remind you that an entire continent is named after the half-forgotten historical figure Amerigo Vespucci. And one of the most absurd disputes on our European continent, at first glance, revolves around the name of one of the most ancient and, at the same time, the youngest countries of this continent.

After secession from the SFRY in 1991, the dispute with Greece over the name of the state is Macedonia. In April 1993, the UN accepted the country under the temporary name «The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia» until the dispute with Greece was resolved. The Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov tells about the origins of this dispute:

— It is hoped that Greece will regulate its relations with Macedonia on the same principle as Bulgaria did with the Macedonian language. For 10 years since the recognition of Macedonian independence, the Macedonian language has been a stumbling block for politicians. In the end, both states accepted an agreement that each side would sign documents in the official language of the other side. Those. in fact, Macedonia abandoned the demand for the recognition of the Macedonian language by Bulgaria, and Bulgaria stopped insisting that the Macedonian language is Bulgarian. Macedonia is located in a politically unstable region: on the one hand, Serbia, which has long been a source of instability, on the other hand, Kosovo (it is unnecessary to comment on the danger of this neighborhood). Neighbors to the south and southwest are Albania (home to an Albanian minority demanding more rights) and Greece, which is demanding that Macedonia change its name.

It’s not just about the symbolism of the name Macedonia, as it might seem at first glance. The geographical backbone of Macedonia is the White (Aegean) Sea in the Thessaloniki region. Macedonia consists of several parts: its smallest part is located in present-day Bulgaria (Pirin part), the largest part on the territory of today’s Macedonia, the Aegean part (very large) — in Greece.