Figure 1.-- This shot, taken in the early 1940s, shows a 5-year-old boy of the Popov family with a girl passenger riding his tricycle and wearing H-bar shorts with tan long stockings.

One of the eight episodes, entitled “Small Russian Clouds of Smoke” follows the fortunes of the Popov family, who were Czarist Russian emigres to Czechoslovakia, having fled from the Bolshivek revolution. They never fully assimilated into Czech culture, failed to learn the language, and tried to maintain their Russian culture in a strange land. The family and their friends spent much of their time in a Bohemian summer resort, Kologeje, where some of of the most interesting footage was shot. One image shows a carousel where children in that town are having fun. Notice the boy in the foreground, about 12 years old, who is wearing a short-trousers suit with a Schiller collar and white long stockings. This episode dates from the early 1920s. A later shot, taken in the early 1940s, shows a 5-year-old boy of the Popov family with a girl passenger riding his tricycle and wearing H-bar shorts with tan long stockings. We wondered what happened to emigre families once the Soviets arrived. Apparently as long as they were not politically active or otherwise attracted the NKVD's attention, they were not arrested. One branch of the Papov family actually returned voluntarily to the Siciet Union because of their strong feeling for Russia. Most eventually stayed and assimilated partially as one generation gave way to the next.

Created: 6:31 AM 10/1/2009
Last updated: 3:54 PM 10/6/2009