Vera Zenko is from the small Belarusian town of Varozhin. When she was a little girl, her mother, who was pregnant with her sister, was abducted by the Nazis, and she chased the carriage all the way, and finally the Nazis looked at her pitifully and threw her mother out of the carriage. Vera, 91, said her life was "the last season." So she told her story about her life by showing photographer Tatyana Tkacheva the objects in her wardrobe.
When we met Vera in Valorent, she was on her way to the drugstore. She wears large sunglasses, a plaid skirt, and dark red socks and shoes, which is a feeling that you like at first sight. I walked over to meet her, and five minutes later I was seated at her desk. She showed me her clothes and told their stories. After that, I went to Valorent to find Vera several times and spent the night at her house.
She lived here all her life, during which time Valorzh went from a multicultural Polish city to a Soviet city and then a Belarusian city. Her four siblings are scattered across Ukraine and Belarus. Vasily and Olga have died, while Nina and the youngest, Galina, are still alive. Their parents were farmers, their mothers worked in the fields, and their fathers worked in local self-governing institutions because they were literate. Vera has been staying in her hometown, where she married, had three children, worked, and had grandchildren.
On January 1, Vera celebrated her 91st birthday. She wasn't afraid of getting old, and one day Vera told me that this was the last season of her life, and that every spring could be the last. She loves to dress up, she's been in the closet all her life, and every piece of clothing has its own story and memories.
"It's the end of my life, all the important things have happened and passed, childhood, hunger, war, love, children. Dad was killed by the Germans, leaving Mom, Galina and the four of us, who were still in Mom's belly at the time. In memory of my father, I left a hand-woven belt. My father never beat us, but I was so naughty that one day he frightened me and said that if I was naughty again, he would punish me. I was frightened, so I stopped being mischievous. I have kept the belt to this day. ”
©️ Tatyana Tkacheva
Vera sewed the dress to buy the gold fabric for her daughter's prom dress. She wanted to buy fabrics in Valorent and take them to the fashion house in Minsk to make the dress. But Valorent's studio refused to sell the fabric separately without a clothing order. So Vera ordered the purple dress at the studio so they could sell her the fabric of her daughter's ball dress.
"When I was about ten years old, I saw myself in the mirror for the first time. We were selling sorrels (a plant) to the Jews. There were mirrors in the Jewish room, and when I saw myself, I was very depressed: pale, thin, and dressed in ugly clothes. I ran home and cried. Mom pulled me to a bucket full of water and said I was the prettiest. Selling a bag of sorrels, we get paid 5 kopecks. My sister and I bought necklaces and I chose the green one. When I went to the well to fetch water, I bent down to see if the water was deep. Oops, my necklace just fell right in. I cried many times about this. Maybe that necklace is still in that well. ”
Vera in an overcoat and hat. She bought the hat when she worked at the passport office in Vallo. Hats are Vera's favorite accessory.
Left: Vera bought this dress for her daughter to avoid devaluation of the currency after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The daughter was married, and the skirt was left to Vera.
Right: Vera wearing her daughter's wedding dress.
"A lot has happened over the years and I have to get everything myself: diplomas, jobs. At that time, there was no need for a high culture. I went to a Polish school for four years, then to the Soviet era, another year, and then the Germans came, and I didn't go to their school. The Germans recruited students to join Yunak, an organization like the Young Pioneers of the Soviet Union, and I and a few other children were frightened and fled. After the war, I finished tenth grade at night school, where I was already working at the passport office. I wrote very well, so I was hired immediately. I started to have money, and I could sew and buy clothes. We designed our own skirts, imitating the styles from pedestrians on city streets. Mom made the patterns, and I sewed them with my sisters. I love hats so much that whenever I go to Minsk for business, I buy myself a new one. ”
Vera wears a dress with a belt that she left behind to remember her father.
Left: Vera wears a short skirt with shoulder straps that her daughter sewn for military training at school.
Right: A suit that Vera bought at a second-hand store and wore at her granddaughter's wedding.
"I'm trendy, I like to dress up, I also have a lot of suitors, but I love my husband Sergey. In the past five years, we have built a deep friendship. He noticed that I was in the middle of the winter when I was hanging out on the street with my friends. In our little town, there was a custom where young people walked back and forth in the streets, and if the boy had a crush on a girl, he would send her home. ”
Vera wears a dress that her friend gave her, and purple is Vera's favorite color.
Vera wears a transparent white shirt and a patterned skirt. This white shirt was popular when Vera was young.
Vera wears a dress that her daughter sewed for a sewing class exam, and the necklace was brought back from France by Vera's sister.
"I bought myself a plush coat, my uncle fixed the high heel made of wood to the rubber boots, and my mother wrapped a beautiful scarf around me, and then fixed it with a pin so that all the flowers of the scarf could be seen. Sergey fell in love with the scarf. Later he told me that he hadn't noticed me or my friend at all, only the flowers on the scarf. And I think this little soldier took a fancy to us who had followed us all the way. In this way, I lived with him for 31 years, had 3 children, and never quarreled.
Left: Vera wears the dress her daughter-in-law gave her. By the time her son got married, Vera was retired. The daughter-in-law's parents opposed the marriage. Vera asked the newlyweds to live with her and raise their eldest son.
Right: The clothes That Vera's future daughter-in-law wears when she is dating her son.
Vera wears a plush coat, which she bought from a shop in the Valorent district through acquaintances. The flower scarf she was wearing was the one her husband Sergey had when he first saw her.
"Gold teeth used to be very popular, and I especially wanted to wear golden braces. Sergey tried to convince me, but I did it anyway. I often think about how he made me sit on his lap at the time, and if he hugged me, how he said he loved me. Sergei died of a tumor after the Chernobyl accident and died within months of the illness. He died with all his money. Leaving me alone, the kids are still in school and need help. I gave all my pension to my children and tightened my belt to live. When my mother-in-law passed away, she gave me a prayer book. Once, through prayer, I helped a woman heal her fingers. After that, someone came to me and asked me to help them, and I didn't refuse. ”
Vera wore pants that she bought when she was hospitalized in the oncology department of the hospital. Vera didn't like pants, and in everyday life, she preferred to wear skirts. But where Vera was hospitalized, everyone wore pants.
Left: Vera wearing her daughter's prom dress. At that time, in order to buy this cloth, she also sewed a purple dress.
Right: Skirts and blouses that Vera bought at a department store 10-15 years ago.
"I don't take money, but I don't refuse any food, that's how I came to life." I'm not pretty, my nose is long, but I praise myself and when I look at myself, I say 'really, pretty'. Every face has a matching nose. The young people are all pretty and the photos have a complete photo album. And life goes by quickly, like a day. My life will soon pass. I thought it was time to give up my clothes. What do they mean to me? If I die, they'll be thrown out. In this way, I give them to others myself. I don't have a favorite dress, which one I wear, which one I like the most. Let me show you what treasure I have. Apart from having no parents, I was so rich..."
Vera wears the gray coat her daughter wore when she was a freshman.
Vera prepared clothes and shoes for her funeral.
Original and photography: Tatyana Tkacheva
Compilation: Wen Jin
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