Vlas (Valeriy) Ozhga (Sardzhveladze) Влас (Валерій) Ожга (Сарджвеладзе)

Here they bring a TV. The TV should be given to the barracks, for people to watch it. And me… I had a task, which we called it… I called it castration. That is, I had to disassemble the TV, throw out the channels of Western propaganda, of West Berlin. And GDR channels had to work. And so I threw away those TVs, I mean I castrated them, and sealed the rest of the TV and gave it away… And GDR channels… were very boring, very… Lighting, decoration and so on, it was, so… A simple man, a simple guy from the village immediately saw where was a GDR channel, and where were other channels. They had a completely different technique, it was completely different. What role did it play? This, this is my job, sir. I allowed myself to watch Western television. I was watching it.

There were many music collectors in Lviv. It was a big challenge to find a good collector. What does a music collector mean? They were smuggling American giants. He got me interested in music. And we went to these collectors, we listened… It was necessary… to put a needle, it was necessary to give 5 rubles… And I helped them maintain the radio equipment. I helped fix an amplifier. And that collector helped the mechanic. And we got involved in this music. And I knew a collector, I don't want to mention his name because he died a long time ago, he drank too much. He had a large collection, but... what terrible things were happening. Collection of records cost... I had a salary of 120, say, rubles. The American giant recordings cost 300. Collectors were looking for them. But once I asked them: sell me, uh, Ray Konev. That's great music, there's a symphony arrangement… umm... They didn't sell it! Why… Ella Fitzgerald? This is a beautiful song. Or Frank Sinatra? Why is it like that... The fact is that the KGB was burdened with this unnecessary work. They confiscated a film library from this collector… He was the son of a high-ranker, I don't want to mention his last name, I'll say it without a record. He was... He… I learnt everything from him - Michelle Legrand, I wouldn't know much without Tolik. Yes. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The KGB confiscated his film library, I must say that because it was part of destroying the culture of the society. But then they return the recordings, but not the covers. But compared to now, and cleavages women have now, it was so modest. Ella Fitzgerald is just… umm… jazz… this… The covers were not returned. They returned only recordings.

The fact is that we were recruited… I was at the military registration and enlistment office, and… I had my reference with me. They called me because I came from Germany… I have… served… They called me and told me to show up. I gave them the reference, which I was given…It said: "He is a literate person, respects seniors, modest, interested in the politics of the party and the government, but has not enough theoretical knowledge to properly assess the events." And… my commanders… The reference was signed by Ryzhkov, he died in Leningrad a few years ago… umm… this… Why did they write it? There were disputes. I… defended the position because I listened to German television, and they… they listened but they… The GDR was like economic shackles on us. And I saw all this because I listened to the party figures, who praised the Soviet Union for balancing their budgets because they lived by not their means… GDR… There was a discussion and in this discussion, I expressed what I saw. Y.K.: So they wanted to send you to work in Czechoslovakia? Or... V.O.: No! In Czechoslovakia in 1968… There was a... Y.K.: Oh, you're talking about this… V.O.: And I came to the military registration and enlistment office with this reference. Because if they sent me there… I would refuse. I definitely would. I refused. But I say: Listen, you don't need any troubles, look what is written here… when you make this decision… you will be responsible… I used this diplomatic move… because if I was taken away… They would've said: So? Are you coming? I would've said: No! I will go to prison, but I won't go there. Those were my beliefs. Germany raised me, so… I brought myself up. And... He looked, really, why would he need that, this person wouldn't be approved later… It was signed, by… Lieutenant Colonel Ryzhkov, okay. "Has insufficient knowledge", so why would we need him? What troubles would he make in the Czech Republic? That is our responsibility. That's how I refused. So I don't think the Czechs felt that I... That I... deserted. I don't give myself a credit for that, just… This is my belief.

We had a confiscation… speaking of details, there was a confiscation. Because he was in prison, he was in prison… And he was sentenced with an additional condition - confiscation of property. And I lived…we lived in the house where people who were evicted used to live. And… they came, took everything, everything we had, from the house. Neighbors asked them to leave at least a featherbed for a child or anything else. But they took everything. They took this and that. Myself… with these children of administrators, there was also police… They were…. quite athletic boys. What picture do I have there... Beaten Bandera followers were brought to Kosiv all the time. And we went to look at them. And what impressed me... It impressed me that those people, those boys… they were cruel. They dug up corpses, put apples in their mouths, it was unbearable for me. And… for them, it was as simple as ABC.

My parents were officers in the Soviet army. My father was a tank commander and my mother was a medical officer. My father died - he burned in a tank at the age of 43, my mother went through the whole war. I was born in Belarus, they were stationed at... the military unit of my parents was in Belarus. I was born in Novoborysov. Then they were transferred from Belarus… to the Romanian border. Now I know from history that our leaders wanted to cut off Romania from oil supplies to Germany. There they were caught in the war. My mother took me to her mother, my grandmother, near Kharkiv. And I lived with my grandma. The situation at the age of 1943 was that my grandmother, as my mother told me, disobeyed the German command and administration and hid the cow in the forest. And she lived with the cow there. But she was found and shot. At once. And I was left alone. My parents were at the frontline, the grandma was shot… In 1943, the Germans took everyone from this frontline area to the echelons. And the neighbors handed me over to this echelon. I was just nobody. This echelon was formed… children were also recruited. Why children? The Germans used children's blood for their wounded. The road took a long time. The platform was open. I clearly remember it all. The fact is that in 1943 I was 4 years old. I remember the taste of… moldy bread. And we were on the road for a very long time. And in Przemysl I was already famished. I won't tell you much… but I… had lungs issues and… I have to tell you - my organs were falling outside. And I remember how they took me off from the train at the station… The monks took me when we were in Przemysl. The monks took me and I started living with them in the monastery. In Przemysl. In Przemysl, then, in this monastery… I was no longer in pain, but I was crying… I even caught myself thinking, why am I crying as I have no pain. So I was saved. And in Przemysl I was adopted by a family who lived in Lezajsk near Przemysl. They were childless. They took me and adopted me. And so I became Ozhga. The fact is that the documents in Przemysl… they didn't have my documents… I was just called "georgian" for my appearance... And also I looked similar to a Jew.