First of all I want to tell you about Asya Krayeva.
See, over there people used to sit together in groups. The families of water-transport workers formed one little group, Party workers another and railroad workers a third one. They met eachother, because they were working for one and the same organization. They were like good acquaintances and each of them already knew quite a lot of details about the other. And there was I, just beside Masha Anikina and Orlova Krayeva; and among them also was Nadezhda Andreyevna or something like that - I do not know her family name. From their conversations I learned that Maria Anikina was a Party worker. They worked together. Asya apparently was presiding the municipal council. She was called woman mayor, as well, something like the ruler of the town. She told about herself, how she had gone away to attend sessions in Moscow and what kind of work she was engaged in, but, of course, you do not remember all details. However, I can still recall, how friendly and warmhearted people used to behave towards her on such gatherings. Our clothes at that time looked quite different from those we wear today. Medium-length fur coats and felt boots.
She was a simple, blue-eyed, scraggy woman with close-cropped, light hair. She told us that she had no idea herself about how it happened that her party membership book had got lost. And this was the point from which all the trouble started. I do not know further details about it, but she yet reported that they treated her with utmost rudeness during the interrogations, and once, when she was called out of the cell at 2 o'clock in the night - she had been told to get ready for leave with all her belongings - then the others immediately knew what was in store for her. Of course, those who had a close relation to her, said good-bye, almost every-body cried, and who did not sleep accompanied her to the door; we never saw her again. In general, they only used to call us out for interrogations in the middle of the night, and when they came for us, they would always expressly explain that we would now go to be questioned. Who was already asleep was wakened, and as long as she had not come back, the others were waiting for her, and when she finally returned, they heaved a sigh of relief and calmed down again. They only called for interrogations those, who were detained on their own behalf, but when they were in prison because their husbands or fathers had been con-victed, they were not questioned. They were jus called out, listened to what was read out to them - and that was it. Whether you are right or wrong - you have to sign and then wait for being exiled.
The daily routine started with the reveille; the chied warder is shouting, go ahead, hurry up, go and get ready - and this menas: to the toilet. You cannot chose but leave the cell until the evening. You get up and stand up in the queue, until it is your turn. They only admit 5 people at one time, and in case you are the last, then you have to wait until the 117 others got ready.
You then receive hot water and 400 grs of bread, balanda for lunch - a cloudy broth, in which you could sometimes find pieces of potatoes, half mixed with some disgusting leavings, and again hot water in the evening - and that was all. During my stay there I took a bath only once. They distributed sugar, 200 grs - the ration for a whole year, but we had salt. Thus, if someone succeeded in buying some garlic, she distributed the cloves, mixed it with the common salt just for the smell and taste, and then everybody stretches out his arm to dip some pieces into the salt, one with bread, the other merely with her fingers. Many of them had their belongings with them, underwear for change, sheetings and money, because when they had been arrested, they had taken all this stuff with them. These people had the possibility to buy things at the little store for an amount not exceeding 5 rubels per month. One of them collected the money and then they made a list according to which the desired goods were purchased. Their fate had already been determined; they were all waiting for the summer, for the prisoner transport, which would take them directly into exile. Most of them had received 5 years.
I was arrested on the 5th of November, asked to go to work and from there they took me to the NKVD in Marx Street. On the 7th of November, at night, they transported me away into the prison. I had no bundle, no underwear to change, nothing to eat - they had taken everything away from me. I was in possession of a winter coat, a small cap, rubber boots with fabric shoes inside and nothing else. In these clothes I had to run about, sleep and even towel myself. with them. I slept on the floor, in the corner, under the plank beds.
The cell was quite large, wooden beds stood along the walls, the middle was empty - that was during the day; and in the night they put something out on the floor and those who had no space slept under the plank beds. But dutring the day they crawled out from under the bed boards and sat on them. And when they called you out for the interrogation in the middle of the night, then you had to make yourself a way by climbing over the sleepers. The people in the cell were all good-hearted, there were no quarrels at all. They pitied eachother, well, and they helped eachother ... in what they were able to help ... Maybe, you won't believe me, but I myself do not know, how I survived under such conditions. I slept on the floor, put my coat underneath, well, and of course we lay closely pressed against eachother. How could one move, turn round? And imagine - nobody grew ill, only one woman starved to death.
But youth took its own. As did all young girls, we also chatted about how we would get released and, in case of war, go to the front as military hospital nurses. And imagine, there was no embitterment at all; all the time I was thinking that my situation was based on an error, that they would soon release me, anyway. And thus I was waiting. Although I had signed everything they had put in front of me and not what I had written down myself. I was accused of §58-9,10,11. But then there was a commission, a troyka, another troyka, and then they admitted a mistake. And they said that nobody having committed an error would be sentenced for it. But I was to feel the aftereffects of this mistake for my whole life.
And this is what I yet want to write down: there were two female jailors. One of them was Marusya, a positive and friendly woman, who was highly valued. She treated everybody in a human manner. Order is order, but somehow everything took its course in a friendly way; she did not make any attempt to humiliate the prisoners. It might have happened that going to the toilet was unavoidable, and then she was willing to make concessions - not always, of course, but in special cases she would allow that, and during the walks the people were permitted to run free and do exercises for a period of 15 minutes; although in a circle, hands on their backs, but they nevertheless felt as if they were almost free.
But at that time the Judina was already working there, too. Small and stout, well, just like a cyclops. Everybody hated her. She loved to shout, to demonstrate her power and to make you understand that you were no human being; it even happened that she chased you away from the toilet, in case you had sat their too many minutes. On the whole, she was a cruel woman. Justified or without any reason she wood suddenly start to shout, knock at the door or something like that. And she even forbade us to talk during our walk. We were all from one cell, anyway, and she showed us her power and asked us to put our hands on our backs and stop talking.
Well, what else shall I tell you? We found ourselves ina barracks-like, one-storeyed house. That was within tall prison walls, and another enclosure yet. Nowadays there is a one-storeyed house in this place at the stop on Republic Street; that is beside the prison. The house is of light-blue colour and it seems to me as if this is the very same building, and it looks as if it were standing somewhere in the very background of the enclosure. Now the territory is completely fenced. Beside, they have built another house. It looks old and the facade looks very similar to the house I have in mind. But, of course, they would not rebuild such a house nowadays. Inside there were two large rooms (cells). No. 5 was our political cell, and then there was another one, where they had mainly detained criminals or citizens without a passport, people who were homeless and others.
Some were kept in solitary confinement. But I only know about them from hearsay. I was not in touch with them, and in the neighbouring cell there were a couple of political prisoners, too, but only very few, for we did not have enough space for them anymore. During the winter it was so stuffy in the cell that we sat there just in our under-pants and brassieres and even then we were dripping with sweat. There was a stove, but they did not heat it; and with this sultriness the people exhausted and finally demanded to heat the oven. This was, in fact, done, and then the air became much cleaner, it was even easier to catch breath in the dry air. They said that the cell was intended for 35 inmates, but 117 were kept there and most of them had their belongings with them - bundles, all kinds of things - it was moist and stank like hell.
Well, this is all for the moment, but maybe I will yet add something later.