37 Years of Schooling: Mother of 15 Shares Family Traditions

65-year-old Elena Kitaeva from Altai Krai is a mother-heroine: she gave birth to 10 daughters and five sons. Now all of Elena«s children are adults, and she is retired. Together with her husband, they live in the closed town of Sibirsky and look after their grandchildren, of whom there are already more than 10. Elena spoke about family traditions and the challenges of raising children in an interview with NGS22.RU.

The Longest Gap Between Births Was Two Years

Elena grew up in Barnaul and was the only child of her parents.

«I didn»t dream of a large family as a child. After school, I graduated from the Altai Economic Technical School and got a job at the Fuel Industry Management in Barnaul,« she says.

However, she didn«t work there for long. In the early 1980s, when she was 19, she got married and soon had her first child.

«I went with a friend to the village of Petrovka in Troitsky District and met my husband there. He was already 24 at the time,» the heroine recalls.

After the wedding, the couple moved to the district center—Troitskoye. Back then, as Elena remembers, leaving the city for the countryside wasn«t scary.

«In 1987, my husband was called up to serve in the division, and we moved to Sibirsky. Here we were given a large three-room apartment. Later, as more children were born, we received two apartments in a new building on the site—a two-room and a three-room. We combined them,» she shared.

By the time they moved to Sibirsky, the couple already had five children—and every year and a half to two years, more children kept being born in the family.

«We didn»t plan on having so many children. But generally, I wasn«t opposed either. When three were born, we already got used to the idea that it»s always kids, kids, kids. And so it went,« Elena noted.

Almost all of the heroine«s children are close in age: born in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and so on.

«The longest break between births was two years. I can»t believe now that I was pregnant so many times. But it was easy for me; I handled it all normally somehow. I didn«t feel any heaviness or any problems,» the mother of many added.

There is over a 20-year age difference between Elena«s eldest and youngest daughters—the first was born in 1981, and the last in 2004. Moreover, when the youngest—Masha—was born, her oldest sister Yulia was already married.

«It turned out that the first grandchildren and my youngest daughter played together because they were almost the same age,» the heroine noted.

Elena emphasizes that her husband Anatoly always actively participated in raising the children.

«I simply couldn»t manage alone. He did everything: washed diapers, helped cook food, walked with the children, went skiing, took them to hockey. Besides, on top of his service, he found time to earn extra money—fixing refrigerators. And when the older children were born, our parents were still alive, but then it somehow started that we did everything ourselves,« Elena recounted.

However, despite this, Elena still had a lot to do—especially when it came to feeding the huge family.

«They are, you know, picky; they won»t eat the same thing twice. I had to cook three times a day. I probably baked bread myself for about ten years. All the older children helped when they grew up. So somehow it all passed without much trouble: first there was help from our parents, and then from the older children,« she shared.

The authorities also helped the large family. Although benefits in the 1990s might not be paid for six months, the administration fully covered the Kitaevs« apartment rent.

«We were exempt from that. Generally, everyone here knew us: some people thought we were crazy, but those who knew us understood that we were a normal family, so they treated us wonderfully,» the heroine emphasized.

All the children did well in school, played sports, and didn«t cause serious problems for their parents. By the way, in total, the Kitaev children attended school for 37 years.

«And in the summer, we all went to the river together with the children for overnight trips. Later we bought a dacha near the town. We didn»t go to the seaside, of course; we didn«t have that opportunity. But we had active recreation: in the summer—the river, in the winter—skiing and skating,» Elena recalls.

To transport such a large family, Elena and her husband bought a minibus. Later, when the older ones grew up, they started coming to their parents in their own cars.

«The administration also gifted us a brand new UAZ vehicle. It was the size of an ambulance,» she added.

«When Everyone Leaves, It Gets a Bit Hard»

Now all the children are adults, but the two youngest daughters, Daria and Maria, continue to live with her. Besides, a son who is studying to be a warrant officer in Serpukhov came on vacation for two weeks.

«It»s very unusual when we«re left alone with my husband. When everyone leaves, it gets a bit hard. In the summer we go to our dacha in Pavlovsk, and if no one comes to visit us for a day or two, you get lonely. We call each other every day, of course, but still, we need someone to be nearby,» Elena admitted.

By the way, there«s a funny incident related to the dacha.

«We have a son named Vadik. And once when we were at the dacha near Sibirsky, my husband went to get water for the vegetable beds. Our son was about a year and a half old then. He went to look for his dad, and the grass was tall, so he couldn»t be seen. My husband searched for him for about half an hour. He was a quiet one. He sat quietly and didn«t respond. Yes, it was no laughing matter back then, but now we can laugh because it all ended well,» the heroine shared.

Meanwhile, the whole family rarely gathers together—five of Elena«s children have moved to other regions. But those who remained in Barnaul visit their parents, or the parents go to visit them.

«Now they bring their children to us for the holidays. And sometimes there are up to five of them at once. Can you imagine, five girls. Another family tradition when a crowd gathers in the house is making pelmeni (dumplings) together,» Elena recounted.

«Good Lord, What Am I Doing Here?»

Officially, Elena was awarded the status of mother-heroine back in 2022. However, her award was almost given to someone else because the authorities couldn«t get in touch with the mother of 15 children.

«I see a Moscow number. I think, who could be calling me? Well, in short, I didn»t answer the phone at first, and then I didn«t hear when they called. They sent me an SMS: »Elena Anatolyevna, please pick up the phone, this is the presidential administration bothering you.« They later told me that in another half hour they would have given my award to someone else,» she recalls.

For the heroine herself, this was a pleasant shock. She admits she didn«t believe that, despite all the documents collected, she would be recognized in such a way.

«Of course, it»s nice when you«re awarded, but I never considered myself a hero. I looked at who else was receiving awards and thought: »Good Lord, what am I doing here?« Then I thought, well, probably the president doesn»t just give out awards for no reason, right? All our children are successful. Some have graduated from two or three universities. The boys are in the military: two officers, two contract soldiers in the family,« she said.

According to the heroine, over the years, the family has seen it all: sometimes you need to scold, other times to talk. However, as Elena emphasizes, she has no special secrets to upbringing. She considers the children«s teenage years the most difficult, as well as practical issues: feeding, clothing, and shoeing everyone.

«My husband was always strict with the boys. He still is strict with them. He always repeated to them that mother is the first person in your life. The girls, well, they got married, that»s it, they have their own families, children appeared, but the boys are more attached to me,« the mother of many noted.

Elena admits that she has never had and does not have favorites. However, naturally, the youngest received more attention.

«When Masha was born, we had 14 children. Can you imagine how loved she was by everyone already. As for loving someone more, there»s no such thing; for me, it«s all the same,» the heroine emphasized.

Truthfully, by her own admission, she can mix up the children«s ages, since with 15 of them, you can»t remember how old each one is right away.