“There is a special place in my heart for old photographs.”
~Leo Malevanchik
San Diego Art and Fashion Photographer, and Former Russian Refusenik, Leo Malevanchik Shares His Precious Family Photo with Reviewer Magazine:
Check out Leo Malevanchik’s description of the stern looking people his family heirloom photo below: “The man on the far left is narcom Maxim Letvinov. The man on the right is my grandfather Simon Malevanchik. The boy wearing sailors uniform next to him is my father. I’ve never seen my grandfather – he was arrested and executed (by Joseph Stalin) in 1938. Litvinov was assassinated in 1951.”
In the picture below his family photo we see Leo in 2010, with San Diego art gallery director Anjela Piccard during her birthday party. Leo’s looking very happy at home in the USA. Photo by Rob Rowsey.
“He (Letinov) was foreign commissar from ’30 to ’39 and was dismissed by Stalin. My grandfather was executed around ’38 (’39?) nobody knows for sure,” Leo said.
“My grandmother died in 52 from a heart attack. So I’ve never seen my grand parents from my father side. It was even dangerous to keep this photograph at home. It was kind of taboo to talk about what happened with Simon within the family and I’ve learned about what actually happened to him only recently. My grandfather from my mother’s side spent 15 years in and out labor camps as well. Such a family, lol.”
Leo can be contacted at his website, LeoMalevanchik.com.