How a Soviet military pilot emigrated to California and opened a Russian store - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

As a Soviet military pilot emigrated to California and opened a Russian store

Visitors to the “Russian store” with the touching name “Grandmother” in the Californian city of Walnut Creek (Bay Area) surely know Leonid - a friendly man behind the counter. And very few people realize that Leonid Malkov was a military pilot in his time, he served in Afghanistan and was awarded the Order of the Red Star and two medals “For Courage” ...

Photo by Ksenia Kirillova

“My father, Mikhail Abramovich Malkov, went through the entire war from Brest to Berlin, ending it as a captain. Then he rose to the rank of colonel and became the regiment commander at the flight military unit at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport. Then, after my father came under the reduction of the army, initiated by Khrushchev, the whole family moved to Tashkent, where my father immediately got a job at the airport. In short, by the time I left school, I no longer had any doubts about who I wanted to become. I entered the flight navigator school in Kirovograd and graduated with honors, ”recalls Leonid.

Leonid Malkov became the youngest navigator in the Soviet Union on the TU-154. At that time, he was just 19 years old. Then Leonid became the navigator of the squadron, and after that - and the whole squad. However, in the 79 year, with the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, the pilots were first sent to the task - to bring troops into the combat zone. Leonid was at that time the whole 24 of the year.

“I remember that in the first months we made 3-4 flights a day. I myself did not fight, but I saw the war very close, ”recalls the pilot.

However, after the outbreak of hostilities and the first deaths, the pilots' task changed: now they had to save the lives of wounded soldiers ...

“We took the wounded from the battlefield. The operation center was equipped right on board the aircraft, and the doctors operated on people in flight. In the air, amputations of arms and legs and other urgent operations were carried out, but not everyone was able to save them anyway. We brought the soldiers to the port, and next to our plane was another, designed for "cargo-200". The living were sent to us, and the dead were laid down to them. We delivered the wounded to Tashkent, and those who can withstand a longer flight were sent to Moscow, ”says Leonid.

To haul the wounded over the war zone was by no means a safe occupation.

“We were guarded by helicopters from above and below the airplane. They fired guided missiles - URS. The fact is that Afghans bombarded our planes from the mountains with special homing missiles that reacted to high temperatures — for example, the temperature of an airplane engine. For this purpose, the URS was used - their temperature was higher than the engine temperature, and therefore they diverted rockets from us, ”explains the former pilot.

This continued throughout the entire war in Afghanistan, right up to the withdrawal of Soviet troops. After the soldiers left, Leonid had to continue his raids for a couple more years, but already with humanitarian aid for local residents, and without protection. By this time the navigator Malkov was already flying a large cargo plane IL-76. It was then that the war touched him personally - Leonid also faced the loss of friends in Afghanistan.

“Once our plane was barely able to land - a rocket hit it, since we had no security at that time. Another time, a rocket hit a plane flying right in front of me with a crew from Krasnoyarsk. Just two seconds - and it was completely destroyed. I knew these guys personally, ”recalls Leonid.

“In general, I have seen a lot of deaths, and it still remains an irreparable wound in the heart. And now, remembering those years, I do not understand how I could withstand it all. I had a feeling that people died absolutely pointlessly. Mothers were left without sons, wives — without husbands, and children — without fathers. There are many people with disabilities, and it is impossible to fix it Afghanistan was a real meat grinder, and no one understood the purpose of bringing troops into this country, ”Leonid complains.

It was then that the navigator came to the idea of ​​leaving, if only for the sake of stability and the future of children. He managed to leave through the "Jewish emigration" line - however, the coveted permission had to wait three years. In 1993, Leonid Malkov with his wife and two children arrived in the United States.

“Here I also tried to get a pilot, but for this I needed American citizenship, before which I still had six years left. At the same time, it was necessary to feed the family, ”says the emigrant.

The first work of the order-bearer was the washing of floors and dishes at Pizza Hut. A week later, he got a pizza delivery man.

Photo by Ksenia Kirillova

“Then my wife Maya got the idea to open a shop and a restaurant. She was an excellent cook, and therefore the idea arose quite naturally. This is how Grandma appeared in 1996.

There were no difficulties with deliveries of products from Europe, since all these deliveries were already established by similar stores in New York, and we just began to develop this network here, ”Leonid said.

The family restaurant began to prepare dishes not only Russian, but also many other cuisines of Eastern Europe. Business began to grow and develop. By the time Leonid became a US citizen in 1999, he had already left the dream of flying, and, as he says today, he does not regret his choice.

Son Malkov and daughter grew up in the United States. Leonid's daughter graduated from a university in London with a degree in business administration and computer science. She now lives in California with her husband and three children. The story of her marriage is quite romantic.

“When we left Tashkent, Biana studied in the eighth grade and sat at the same desk with the boy she was friends with. Many years have passed, she has already graduated from the university and flew to Tashkent again. There she found this boy, and, what is most surprising, he waited for her. Now they already have three children, and their love is still very strong, ”says the happy father.

Son Zori followed the new footsteps of his father — he graduated from a school and a cooking academy in America, worked as a chef at French and Italian restaurants for several years, and five years ago began to help develop the family business. Zori himself began to cook for a Russian restaurant, developed a Russian-French culinary line and other innovations.

“I like the way my life is here. My sister, who also emigrated to the USA, now also has a successful business: her own piano studio, ”says Leonid. According to him, all the members of a large family found something for themselves, and the Malkovs are not going to return to Uzbekistan.

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