Love survives after 60 years apart.

January 18, 2008 7:51 AM

After 60 years of separation due to her family being marked as an enemy of the people, and sent off to internal exile a couple who spent only three days together after their marriage have reunited, in an amazing stroke of luck.

Stories of reunion are popular in Russia, as the popular television show Wait for Me portrays. A recently published book examines the effects of the stresses Stalin placed on the family.

posted by korej (39 comments total)

Awwwwww. Cute old people <3
posted by spec80 at 8:02 AM on January 18, 2008

Love triumphant: Stronger than death, time or distance.


The picture of him hugging her is quite moving.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:08 AM on January 18, 2008

That story made me all gooshy inside. Awwwwwww.


oh, and fuck Stalin.
posted by notsnot at 8:14 AM on January 18, 2008

That's the sweetest story. (The couple reuniting, not internal exile.)
posted by bassjump at 8:21 AM on January 18, 2008

I'm so happy for them. But it makes me again sick with anger for the evil rulers who get such joy in destroying so many people's lives, the Stalins and Maos and Hitlers and, yes, the Bushes and Cheneys and Putins too.

Here's a little of my writing on this subject -- I strongly welcome comments on it.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:27 AM on January 18, 2008

Great story—thanks for the post.
posted by languagehat at 8:33 AM on January 18, 2008

I'm so happy for them. But it makes me again sick with anger for the evil rulers...

Well, thanks to Stalin these two have something really wonderful for these late years of their lives. And all of us have our hearts warmed by their reunion. From a utilitarian standpoint I'd say Stalin did good this time.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:51 AM on January 18, 2008

Damn you George Bush. *shakes fist*

Oh wait...
posted by rockhopper at 9:01 AM on January 18, 2008

That story brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for posting it.
posted by dbiedny at 9:04 AM on January 18, 2008

aw. thanks for that.
posted by gaspode at 9:05 AM on January 18, 2008

From a utilitarian standpoint I'd say Stalin did good this time.

You're kidding, right?

Also,

Awwwww...
posted by lordrunningclam at 9:10 AM on January 18, 2008

I'm not a utilitarian, no.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:20 AM on January 18, 2008

Well, thanks to Stalin these two have something really wonderful for these late years of their lives. And all of us have our hearts warmed by their reunion. From a utilitarian standpoint I'd say Stalin did good this time.

Well, no, because you have to add in the bad things that happened as well, and see what the net result is. Yeah, these two are happy now, but they were unhappy before. They also lost the ability to choose for themselves. And, of course, you're ignoring the however many couples that were split and never reunited.
posted by delmoi at 9:27 AM on January 18, 2008

Does anyone know if either if them had children in their other marriages?
posted by yeoz at 9:28 AM on January 18, 2008

What a top hairstyle young Boris had. No wonder she fell so hard, just like the Third Reich before the mighty and brilliantined Red Army.
posted by Abiezer at 9:45 AM on January 18, 2008

I think the "Stalin did good" line is ironic, ladies and gentlemen.

Remember when you're old and grey and the kids think the second world war is as far away as we think the Napoleonic Wars are, that this shit was still going on now in 2007, having the loose ends tidied up.

Unless you're old and grey already, in which case I hope you're still with your one true love.

Oh, and what Abiezer said.
posted by imperium at 9:49 AM on January 18, 2008

Oh man, every so often MetaFilter makes my whole day different before I have cup #2. Thanks a lot for that sweet sweet story. Jesus, it's almost too poignant, like something out of a Mark Helprin book. But...awwww.
posted by freebird at 9:50 AM on January 18, 2008

I'm human. I felt that.
posted by doctorschlock at 9:51 AM on January 18, 2008

They're adorable! Nice post.
posted by misha at 9:56 AM on January 18, 2008

Bah! Commie propaganda. Just like all that "fall of the berlin wall, the cold war is over" nonsense.

This story contains one important logical flaw. Any REAL American knows that only love that counts is the love between young attractive wealthy people.

Nice try Boris.
posted by billyfleetwood at 10:24 AM on January 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

damn. teachers are not supposed to start crying while the kids are taking a final.
posted by RedEmma at 10:26 AM on January 18, 2008

Aw, crap, now I'm crying, too...
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 10:42 AM on January 18, 2008

Wow. Nice post, great story. For Russian speakers, note that you can download episodes of the television show Wait For Me from their website. (You can run the search in English but the translation is kind of funky and the shows are all in Russian.) I watch them whenever I feel the need to get sniffly.
posted by posadnitsa at 11:06 AM on January 18, 2008

Lovely story, thanks for posting it.

As an aside, my gf works with refugees and internally displaced people, I sent her this story and she then forwarded it to everyone at her office, so, just like with the rest of the commenters here, you just made the day of an office full of people who more often receive bad news than good ones.
posted by micayetoca at 11:34 AM on January 18, 2008

oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who gets all mushy at things like this!
posted by korej at 11:42 AM on January 18, 2008

Another Awwwwwww story: Man Carves Wife a 6,000 Stair Path in Mountain.
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on January 18, 2008

Hard to pretend that I'm reading stuff related to work with tears running down my face. two really great stories. Thanks.
posted by nax at 12:12 PM on January 18, 2008

That is incredible and just heart-warming, I hope they both live many more years, happily together.
posted by SuzySmith at 12:17 PM on January 18, 2008

That story would have been a lot sweeter if he hadn't been a member of the group responsible for their separation and her father's death...
posted by nzero at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2008

You think because he was a Young Communist he was "responsible for their separation and her father's death"? Get serious. If he were a member of the KGB you might have a point.
posted by languagehat at 1:42 PM on January 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Her father had been purged by Stalin before the war for refusing to work in a collective farm, but Boris did not care.

Are they implying her father was wrong in refusing to work in a collective farm? Or am I missing something?
posted by proj08 at 2:08 PM on January 18, 2008

No, they're implying that her entire family was tainted and she would probably have serious trouble as a result, which was what happened.
posted by languagehat at 2:16 PM on January 18, 2008

Wow, that was amazing. Thank you.
posted by chihiro at 4:51 PM on January 18, 2008

You think because he was a Young Communist he was "responsible for their separation and her father's death"? Get serious. If he were a member of the KGB you might have a point.

Hm, no. I think that because he was in the Red Army, the story is tainted by his involvement with the very people who caused their separation.

Do you think that because he was a member of the party at large, rather than the more corrupt core, he shares no responsibility?
posted by nzero at 9:23 AM on January 19, 2008

That was adorable on so many levels. Thanks for posting!
posted by Phire at 5:10 PM on January 19, 2008

Because he was in the Red Army?? OK, that's really dumb. Sorry, but are you implying that truly patriotic/moral Russians would have stood with folded arms and watched Hitler overrun the country?

Do you think that because he was a member of the party at large, rather than the more corrupt core, he shares no responsibility?

That's a meaningless question. Who can legitimately say someone "shares no responsibility" for anything whatever? Maybe we're all responsible for everything. I think that unless he was personally involved with the apparatus of repression (which was not, in case you know as little about Russia as I'm starting to suspect, the Red Army) he bears no meaningful responsibility, and I have very little patience for people who feel comfortable making sweeping moral judgments about those trying to get by in a totalitarian society.
posted by languagehat at 5:20 PM on January 19, 2008

You're right, please forgive my ignorance. I was ill informed about the time period we were discussing, and I should have got my facts straight before posting about it.

Who can legitimately say someone "shares no responsibility" for anything whatever?

That's not really fair. I meant meaningful responsibility, of course.
posted by nzero at 11:35 PM on January 19, 2008

Also...

I have very little patience for people who feel comfortable making sweeping moral judgments about those trying to get by in a totalitarian society

I do too, and I didn't mean to imply that I was doing that. My original point was that it detracted from an otherwise happy/sappy story. I was wrong about that, but I wasn't making moral judgements, sweeping or otherwise.
posted by nzero at 11:37 PM on January 19, 2008

OK, fair enough, thanks for the clarification and for being gracious.

*buys nzero a beer*
posted by languagehat at 6:38 AM on January 20, 2008