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Family Is All That Matters 72 Vadim killed her and then himself. Masha survived. In honor of her mother, Masha took the name "Braverman" as her surname. Riva now lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Masha went on to marry Forrest Foster, an American, and lives in Austin, Texas, with their two sons, Blaise and Rainer Braverman-Foster. Aleksander's nephew, Lev Braverman, remembers his uncle very well. "Aleksander was a dashing figure, always dressed in a suit and tie, occasionally wearing a white hat," Lev recalls. One story that Lev heard was that when Aleksander was managing the store, he got into a disagreement with the wholesaler's son, who, unfortunately for Aleksander, was a boxer. The last days of Aleksander Braverman's life were not easy. He was overweight and drank too much. Aer an evening of entertaining, he walked his guests outside to say goodnight. The next moment, Aleksander fell to the ground. He was taken to the hospital and declared dead. Some people think he fell and hit his head on the curb. Others believe high blood pressure caused a stroke or heart attack. Aleksander was 46 years old, the same age as his brother, Mikhail, when he died, probably for the same Below: Natasha Braverman, 1956. Bottom le: Zelik and Lyubov Volsun in Moscow, 1949. Bottom right: Lena Braverman in Moscow, 1960. medical reason even though the brothers led very different lifestyles. The diagnosis was kidney failure secondary to hypertension. Hypertension remains a common cause of death for Russian men. Yura Braverman Yura Braverman Yura died at age 10, probably of meningitis. The family remembers a story about Yura washing his hair using the eezing water running om the rain gutters as the snow on the roof of the house melted. It is unlikely that this is how he caught meningitis, a bacterial or viral infection that is contracted by being in proximity to an infected person, not by exposure to cold. Little more is known of the short life Yura led. Zhenya Braverman Fajerman Zhenya Braverman Fajerman Zhenya was born in the town of Kamenets- Podolsk in western Ukraine. She was always an outgoing, artistic child, with a clear talent for song and dance. Even before she was born, Zhenya's mother, Malka, remarked on all the kicking in her uterus: "This one has got to be either a Cossack or a dancer." Once Zhenya was born, everyone believed she would have a career as a performer, and that's exactly how it turned out. She sings in Yiddish, Russian, French, Hebrew, English, Italian, Spanish, and Polish. She has released a number of CDs and DVDs, and in Israel, where she lives, Zhenya continues to perform. Zhenya devoted many songs to her mother, with her particular favorite being "Mein Mames Shabbos Licht"— "My Mother's Shabbat Candles." Leib and Malka loved watching their children sing and dance; they oen staged improvised plays and performances at home. They also sang Yiddish and Ukrainian songs themselves, which Zhenya eagerly picked up. The standard repertoire of Young Pioneer performing companies in those years consisted of folk dances and songs representing the culture of the many peoples of the USSR. Zhenya was a star performer. Her particular favorite was

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