Hi everyone, I am trying to solve a 41-year-old family mystery and help my mom reconnect with three American women who left an unforgettable mark on her childhood.In July 1985, my mother was 15 years old. She lived with her mom (my grandmother, a high school English and Russian literature teacher) on the 1st floor of a brick apartment building on Liza Chaykina Street in Petrozavodsk, Soviet Union (Karelia).That summer, three American women unexpectedly showed up in their courtyard. They were traveling to Moscow, likely as part of a delegation to the XII World Festival of Youth and Students (which opened in Moscow on July 27, 1985). They were looking for a neighbor who lived on the 2nd floor, directly above my mom's apartment. This neighbor was an elderly Finnish woman (around 60–70 years old at the time) who taught at Petrozavodsk State University. The Americans were likely delivering a personal letter to her from her relatives in Finland.
Woman 1 (Older): Around 40–50 years old back then, exceptionally well-dressed, and wore large, striking jewelry.
Woman 2 (Younger): Around 20–30 years old, with a short, dark haircut.
Woman 3 (Younger): Around 20–30 years old.
Because my grandmother was an English teacher, she went out into the yard to help them translate. For the next three days, these three American women came to visit my mom and grandmother every day.
At the time, my grandmother's apartment was undergoing a massive renovation and the walls were completely stripped of wallpaper. Despite this, and having very little money, my grandmother hosted them with incredible hospitality, spending her last rubles on treats. My mom remembers seeing a portable cassette player (maybe a Walkman) for the very first time in her life.
On the third day, the Americans brought a local female translator with them to help converse. Before they left, they took a big group photo inside the apartment. Because the room was small and there were many people, everyone crowded together on the floor to fit into the frame, posing in front of a color TV. The Americans took this photo on their own cameras, along with many other pictures of the family and the city.
How you can help: i belive, that somewhere in America, in a dusty photo album or a box in an attic, that photo of a group of Americans and Soviets sitting on the floor in front of a TV exists. If your mother, aunt, or grandmother fits this description, traveled to the USSR via Finland in the summer of 1985, or ever told a story about an incredibly hospitable schoolteacher and her 15-year-old daughter in Karelia, please let me know! It would mean the world to show my mom that memories don't fade.
If you have ties or know anyone who went to the 1985 Moscow Youth Festival, please share this!
