Irina Lidzhieva, autobiography

Irina was born in 1943, although according to her passport her date of birth is 1940. In order to work, she added three years to her actual age when she was young. She has two sisters. Irina spent her childhood in the village of Minusinsk in Krasnoyarsk krai, Siberia. Since her mother was always away at work, Irina was brought up by her grandmother. In school Irina was an active girl and often participated in skiing competitions. After finishing secondary school, she worked on a chicken farm. In 1958, the whole family returned to Kalmykia where Irina got married and worked in various jobs. She was a herder, a wool cutter, and later worked on a construction site. In 1968 she gave birth to a girl. Having lived in the village of Ulan Kheech for many years, in 1980 Irina and her family moved to Elista. Despite being retired, Irina leads an active social life. She helps out her family and friends, and heals sick children.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin