Yeltsin's Minsk institute mate visited celebration of his golden wedding half a year ago
Boris and Naina Yeltsins celebrated their golden wedding on September 27, 2006. Yuryi Serdzukou, a Yeltsin’s roommate during the period of their studies at Ural Technological Institute, was also present at the celebration. The European Radio for Belarus phoned Yury Ivanavich and asked him about his impressions about the meeting with the first Russian President and borrowed some rare photos of Borys Yeltsin taken when he was a student.
“He looked a bit worse at the celebration of his golden wedding then in 2003... And in 2004. He weighed 85 kilos – lean and healthy. But after he fell… Sorry, I cannot talk to you now, it is very hard…”
Yelstin on the campus (the first on the right)
Their friendship lasted for 60 years.
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “The basis of our relations, starting from 1948, was the fact we never asked each other anything except for the moment he needed to make an honours board when he was a builder. We lived in one room for two years”.
Yeltsin at a PE class at the university (the first on the left)
Ravioli at the Minsk Sea
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “We gathered all the freshmen who studied in Naina’s group –Voroshilov, Agafonova, Enelya and me. A car with diplomatic plates arrived at our yard and took us to a residence at the Minsk Sea.
He wanted to come to our house before, when he visited Brest. He joked: “So… we will have some Ural ravioli!” But the road was very bad at that time. Naya joked: “Tell them Yeltsin is coming for ravioli, maybe they will repair the road!”
Yeltsin with university mates
– Did they repair it?
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “They did it later, three or four months later”.
The first meeting with the first President
Serdzyukou: “We met him every time he arrived in Minsk. I remember our meeting in the office of a former Party’s regional committee in front of the stadium “Dynama”. I was given a pass and promised a room in order to meet him so that we could drink some tea there. I had been waiting all day but nobody phoned me. It was already rather late - about 10 p.m. So I decided to go on my own.
I went past the first and the second posts with my pass. Then I noticed a familiar face in a group of men in black. It was Karzhakou. I had met him at the celebration of Yeltsin’s 60th anniversary. I said: “I need to meet Yeltsin”. He answered: “It is rather difficult because they have a time-table. But we will try to do something”.
He led me into the building. We went to the first floor and approached the door. Karzhakou said: “Wait in the corner. If he notices you then you will be able to meet him. If he does not, then just leave the same way”. I was standing there waiting. Yeltsin was talking to Snegur. And then he exclaimed: “Yura!”, - and stretched his arms towards me. CIS Presidents looked surprised – what kind if meeting is that? What is it?
He called a waitress and she brought us some cognac... After that we parted”.
Borys Yeltsin and Enelya Serdzukova
Last meeting – golden wedding
“The last time, at the golden wedding on September 27, he did like that… There were a lot of people wishing to be there… about 20 relatives. And the table is for about 20 people only. He said: “I have sent all men away. Valera too… Everyone. Only Naya, Lena, Tanya and my grandchildren stayed”.
There were three people who studied with him, two of them were from Moscow and the others were Enelya and me. There were also two Naya’s school friends. And the proceedings chief Uladzіmіr Mіkalaevіch Shauchenka, a physician, the head of guards and Petrov – a former Regional Committee secretary from Sverdlovsk.
It was a small student party of the old days. It made the conversation flow smoothly. It was not even a conversation, we were simply retrospecting. We stayed there for two days and lived with him in Barvis”.
In the photo: Boris Yeltsin, Enelya and Yuryi Serdzyukous
“He looked a bit worse at the celebration of his golden wedding then in 2003... And in 2004. He weighed 85 kilos – lean and healthy. But after he fell… Sorry, I cannot talk to you now, it is very hard…”
Yelstin on the campus (the first on the right)
Their friendship lasted for 60 years.
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “The basis of our relations, starting from 1948, was the fact we never asked each other anything except for the moment he needed to make an honours board when he was a builder. We lived in one room for two years”.
Yeltsin at a PE class at the university (the first on the left)
Ravioli at the Minsk Sea
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “We gathered all the freshmen who studied in Naina’s group –Voroshilov, Agafonova, Enelya and me. A car with diplomatic plates arrived at our yard and took us to a residence at the Minsk Sea.
He wanted to come to our house before, when he visited Brest. He joked: “So… we will have some Ural ravioli!” But the road was very bad at that time. Naya joked: “Tell them Yeltsin is coming for ravioli, maybe they will repair the road!”
Yeltsin with university mates
– Did they repair it?
Yuryi Serdzyukou: “They did it later, three or four months later”.
The first meeting with the first President
Serdzyukou: “We met him every time he arrived in Minsk. I remember our meeting in the office of a former Party’s regional committee in front of the stadium “Dynama”. I was given a pass and promised a room in order to meet him so that we could drink some tea there. I had been waiting all day but nobody phoned me. It was already rather late - about 10 p.m. So I decided to go on my own.
I went past the first and the second posts with my pass. Then I noticed a familiar face in a group of men in black. It was Karzhakou. I had met him at the celebration of Yeltsin’s 60th anniversary. I said: “I need to meet Yeltsin”. He answered: “It is rather difficult because they have a time-table. But we will try to do something”.
He led me into the building. We went to the first floor and approached the door. Karzhakou said: “Wait in the corner. If he notices you then you will be able to meet him. If he does not, then just leave the same way”. I was standing there waiting. Yeltsin was talking to Snegur. And then he exclaimed: “Yura!”, - and stretched his arms towards me. CIS Presidents looked surprised – what kind if meeting is that? What is it?
He called a waitress and she brought us some cognac... After that we parted”.
Borys Yeltsin and Enelya Serdzukova
Last meeting – golden wedding
“The last time, at the golden wedding on September 27, he did like that… There were a lot of people wishing to be there… about 20 relatives. And the table is for about 20 people only. He said: “I have sent all men away. Valera too… Everyone. Only Naya, Lena, Tanya and my grandchildren stayed”.
There were three people who studied with him, two of them were from Moscow and the others were Enelya and me. There were also two Naya’s school friends. And the proceedings chief Uladzіmіr Mіkalaevіch Shauchenka, a physician, the head of guards and Petrov – a former Regional Committee secretary from Sverdlovsk.
It was a small student party of the old days. It made the conversation flow smoothly. It was not even a conversation, we were simply retrospecting. We stayed there for two days and lived with him in Barvis”.
In the photo: Boris Yeltsin, Enelya and Yuryi Serdzyukous
