People in Irbei
Leongardt (Leonhardt) is by far the oldest inhabitant. Have you ever wondered about the fact why the elderly have a better strength of mind than young people and why they distinguish themselves by longevity? This is solely because they contrive to conform themselves to any situation of life. Having experienced distress and sorrow, they still found enough strength and will to survive. Strong will and diligence are still inherent in them. Let us just take Aleksander Ivanovich Leonhardt, the eldest inhabitant of Stepanovka. This year he is going to celebrate his 90th birthday. You believe that, during his life, he attached most importance to material goods? No! The preservation of courage and intrepidness were most essential to him. Just these two inner values, these two character traits helped him to find his way through all difficulties of life, all fateful events which were in store for him.
Aleksander Ivanovich’s life starts in the Saratov region. He says: “ At that time it was an autonomous republic. I recall the 28 August 1941 up to this day. It was the day, when they deported us to Siberia”.
In October they reached Solianka, afterwards they came to Irbei by horse. Leonhardt’s family was assigned to life in Beresovka. Together with other men, he was mobilized to the trud army – to work somewhere in the deepest wilderness of the taiga. They were to build a winter road and baracks. Only after the far he was allowed to take his family to Stepanovka.
This father of a big family remembers another event, an event out of the ordinary – the birth of his triplets. One day he had left for Irbei on foot to ask for a certificate by which you received 10 m of cloth for each infant. From Irbei he went to some office in charge in Kansk to collect money for the support of his family. He received 7200 rubels and felt himself a rich man. He returned hom with a cow, which he had bought at 4000 rubels. Instead of a happy reunion he had to learn that one of the new-born children had died. The remaining two little ones, however, survived. Although, one year later, a daughter was born to them yet, the life of the family was again shadowed by another case of death – the wife of their adult son, who was working as a school director. Not only once he had to experience this terrible feeling – as if some strong hand compressed his heart. But he bore up all misery, all loss! He even recalls some joyful event, the day when the created the first village Soviet in 1968 and he became its first chairman. It meant that he was considered as a reputable man. Unfortunately, one can neither restore the past with all its lost years, nor fame, which is nothing but a transient shadow. Everything is over. But one may courageously say: even if I am not going to stay on this earth for another ten years, I will be able to die with the thought of having lived, lived, lived!
“Irbeisk Truth”, 20.05.1998