Alexandra Sanzheeva, About Sandzhi Kenzeev

Alexandra reminisces about her teacher Sandzhi Alekseevich Kenzeev who taught her Kalmyk: Sandzhi Kenzeev was born in 1913. In 2013, the centenary of his birthday was widely celebrated across Kalmykia, in particular in the Elista pedagogical college where he taught and where I was his student. When teaching the Kalmyk language, he always took examples from real life, which made his classes interesting. He also asked us not to forget our native language and pointed out that this was very important for every Kalmyk. Today when I meet with my classmates, we always remember his advice. For his centenary we published a book titled ‘The People’s Teacher’. He really was popular among his students, open-minded, kind, responsive, and in love with Kalmyk language. He was also a very good family man, and all of his four children received a good education. I heard that when he was young, after his wedding, he went straight to the front where he served as an officer, for he had a higher education having graduated from the Astrakhan Pedagogical College. During the war he lost his leg, and his wife must have been horrified to see him in such a state. But she did not leave him anyway. They lived together for more than 50 years. I always remember him as a very pure and nice person.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi