“I opened my eyes. I saw dolls and dresses around me. I didn’t understand what was happening. That is how my grandfather surprised me on my birthday.
I grew up in the Siberian taiga, surrounded by men. My father served in the army like his father had, and my mother worked as a nurse. My teacher was Anna Nikolayevna. I was chosen as the local school manager for the communist youth organization, Komsomol. When I studied to be an engineer, I served as the union chair.
I danced rock ballet as a hobby while in school. I was a solo dancer. I fell in love with Sergei, another soloist. We got married in the fifth year. On our wedding day we danced together, the guests sat in the audience and cheered.
I was hired by the Ilyushin Design Bureau, in Moscow. They built loud but safe passenger airplanes. Denis was born in this time, followed soon by Alexei. My boss said that motherhood was a divine task. I quit my job.
The Soviet Union collapsed, and our son Goergi was born. We had a three-room apartment and a Lada with insurance. The car was stolen; I was able to buy two light bulbs with the insurance money. When the boys got older I started working on my own company. In 1994 the situation was calmer. Our parents worked in the army. We were now doing quite well with Sergei. We sent them money regularly. Our business changed quickly from one industry to another.
My husband said he wanted to live in Istra. I asked, why not along the Moskva River. We went to see the river Istra, it was raining hard. There were rye fields and forests. We drove along the wet dirt road and when we stopped, the rain did too, and a rainbow emerged above us.
Our architecture and building career started here. First we were contracted by five small villages. Then crisis struck. We had planned one thing, but were building another. We had trouble with the bank. We were able to build everything like we had planned. After that we constructed our largest locations: River Site, Sherwood, Greenfield, Monteville, and Millenium. Our house is now on the exact same spot where the rainbow appeared in front of our eyes.
My work day begins at 8 am and ends at 11 pm, sometimes late into the night. I believe a woman needs to look good, and I have many male employees. Every time I promise to stop working by midnight. I can’t always make it, I can’t do it.
When women who work for me approach me with trembling voices to tell me they’re pregnant and scared of my reaction, I answer them: “It is a divine task.”