"Hello." "Excuse me, where does Putin's mother live?" "Who?" " Putin's mother." "Over there, in Metechi." "Hello." "Where does Putin's mother live?" "Drive to the village of Metechi and ask someone there." "Do you know what she's called?" " Vera." "There, in Metechi." "No way, you're crazy." " She lives there." "Those kids are lying." "Hello." "Can you tell me where Putin's mother lives?" "Up to the church, then right at the square." "Hello, girls." "Have you got a minute?" "Putin?" "No, he doesn't come here." "Never at all?" "A little further." "They'll know there." "What's she called?" " Vera." "His mother's called Vera." "is she called Vera?" "Me?" " No, that woman." "is this the square?" "Where does Putin's mother live?" "The president's mother?" "." "No idea." "To Vera Putina." "To Georgia." "She raised her son to be president of the great country of Russia." "Cheers." "May everyone raise their child  to become a statesman." "Here's to Vera Putina." "To my dear old mother." " And to your brother." "She brought us into the world." "I don't know." "I don't like to think about her dying, but I don't want her dying unhappy without having seen him." "If he'd just come once." "That's all we want from him." "It wouldn't change our lives." "We'd still be ordinary people." "We know you don't like to talk about it, but we'll ask anyway." "How did you meet Vladimir's father?" "." "We went to the same college." "That's where l met him." "One night there was a party for the whole college." "There were boys there too." "That's how we met." "We danced." "Russian dances." "I met him there." "What was Vladimir's father's name?" "Platon." "So you studied together?" "." " Yes, but different courses." "He studied mechanical engineering and I did electrical engineering." "But it didn't last long." "Why didn't you marry him?" "I didn't marry him because one day a package came from his village." "When I opened it, I found salt pork with a letter." "It was from his wife." "I broke it off that very day." "That's why I didn't want him at the birth either." "So Vova isn't called Vladimir Platonovich after his father but Vladimir Vladimirovich." "As if his father was called Vladimir." "That's the name people know him by." "Even he thinks his father was called Vladimir." "Because I never told him his father's real name." "He doesn't know it." "In the village my parents came from everyone was called Putin." "Most people were old." "The young ones had left for the city." "There used to be a priest there who had baptised the whole village." "People were poor, and he gave them his own surname." "So everyone was called Putin." "How did you meet Giorgi?" "At New Year's you do shwatkas." "I don't know the Georgian word." "You stand before the mirror and put your ring in a glass of water." "Then you see the face of your future husband." "Giorgi appeared in that glass in his uniform." "I smashed the glass, because I didn't like the look of him." "Later, fate led me to Tashkent." "That's where l met him." "I was living there with some other girls in a flat from the factory where l was doing my placement." "There were barracks nearby, and the girls attracted the soldiers." "He was one of those soldiers, and when I saw him, I thought, that's him." "I recognised him at once." "He was just like in the glass." "Then I stayed with him." "When I came here, it was all different." "I lost my freedom." "I wasn't allowed to go to parties or sing or dance anymore." "So you liked parties?" "I was always the life of the party." "I was the best singer and dancer." "I love it to this day." "When I hear music, my feet start dancing by themselves." "I can't help it. I love dancing." "Tell them she's busy." "I know who it is." "Just a moment. I'll be right back." "Sorry to interrupt." " Relax, he won't bite." "All dogs bite." " Not this one." "I wanted to talk to you about something." "When are they leaving?" "." " After Easter." "Her daughter..." "Did you film that too?" "If I talk now, they'll record it." "You should have turned it off when I was talking to her." "We couldn't understand it." " Her daughter..." "Turn it off. I don't want her story on the tape." "They've already got it." " Did you record our conversation?" "I couldn't understand it." "You were quite far away and the dog was barking." "Where's what's-his-name?" " Hiding." "Don't record this, OK?" "Her daughter is a nurse." "She wants to marry one of you lot so she can go to Holland, because she earns nothing here." "So that they can send a visa back for her. I said, 'No way." "'They're filming me, not you." "And things are just as bad there." "'Life in Holland is just as lousy as it is here." "'The economy is at a standstill,' l said." "'Here too,' she said." "Sopho, where's that photo?" "Show it to them." "Which one?" " From when he was little." "Show them what he looked like when my mother brought him here." "You can still see the resemblance." "You'll see." "The photo from back then, and now that he's president..." "His eyes still gleam like they used to." "Maybe he was crying." "The expression is still exactly the same." "Just look." "This will surprise a lot of people, but it's true." "That makes me even surer that it's him." "It looks just like him." "In this photo he's eighteen months or maybe two years old." "It's incredible how similar the eyes are." "Look closely." "It's one and the same person." "The top ones might differ a little, but these are the same." "STALlN STREET" "Did Vladimir settle in well after your mother brought him here?" "Not at first." "Only after he'd learned Georgian." "Later, he sometimes said he didn't like it here much at first." "I don't know why." "Maybe because we were poor." "After school he went fishing with his friends." "And sometimes wrestling." "That's what they did." "What else would a boy of ten or eleven do?" "When he wrestled he always had to win." "Otherwise he got angry and kept going till he did win." "He was like that." "He was a go-getter as they say." "He loved winning." "He had to be the best." "That was his character." "A special child." "I don't know." "We called him Vova." "Putin was his surname." "I'm not sure that they're one and the same person. I can't prove it." "I only know that I sat next to a boy called Vova in Grade 2." "Until he was ten." " Nine or ten." "Up till which grade?" " Grade 4." "Not till Grade 4, but he stayed at our school three years." "He left in Grade 4." "My grandpa went fishing with him sometimes." "Wasn't there something about his finger?" "." " He got a fishhook in it." "He always joined in." "Wrestling, dancing and singing." "But just for fun." "I remember Vova as a boy with straight, blond hair." "A real Russian." "With one of those long, thin faces." "What I know about Putin?" "He was adopted." "And he was maltreated and then he went away." "We got on well with Vera." "Not with his father." "But we liked her a lot." "Just imagine, she was Russian." "To us that was really foreign." "They sent him to Vera's mother, and she sent him to boarding school." "Now he's..." "What's it called?" "...the king of Russia." "Cheers." "To Vova." " To Vladimir Putin." "Did Vova and Giorgi get along?" "." "Not really." "He wasn't his own son." "A stepchild is not the same thing." "They didn't clash, but they didn't talk either." "When I said I wanted to go back to Russia with my son, Giorgi didn't say a word." "He was scared I wouldn't come back." "When I got to my parents' there was a telegram from him:" "'Send her straight back." "I said, 'Can't I stay with you for just one day?" "But since I'd left my two daughters at home, I had to go straight back." "My mother said..." "'Go look after your girls or bring them here." "'We'll take care of Vladimir." "I was sent back because of the girls." "That's what happened." "My mother said, 'Bring them here or do something." "That's what happened." "I didn't know what to do." "And when I came back, my life was hell." "Hi, Giorgi." "How's things?" "I've come to visit your grave." "What happened to your eyes?" "No, I need the hoe for this." "Do you remember what you talked about the first time?" "What do you mean, talked?" "Within two or three days, I was married to him." "End of story." "We didn't talk much." "Was it arranged that fast?" "You got married in three days?" "He said, 'When I'm discharged, I want a wife. I don't want to go home alone... ' '... because my mother is already dead." "I was a bit impetuous." "Did Giorgi know you had a son?" " Of course." "He was good at arguing." "But so was I." "My life was like that: full of fights and misery." "But we still stayed together." "He needed me." "I wore the britches at home." "Even though we fought, he still talked to me." "Not me." "If I had a fight with someone I wouldn't talk to them for months." "But he couldn't keep that up." "That was our marriage." "Such is life." "You have ups and downs." "I'm sorry now, but it's too late." "I've lived here for 52 years." "I should have stayed away and never come back." "That would have been better." "But well, it was my fate to stay here for 52 years." "But how I put up with it I don't even know myself." "I still have the strength to go on." "Thank God." "Do you dream about Russia often?" "Not really. I do dream about Vladimir." "Not about anyone else." "Recently I dreamt that he came here, but that he wouldn't talk to me. I said, 'Why are you angry at me?" "It's not my fault." "Then a woman came up and said she had to take him to a party." "I lost sight of him and then I woke up." "They took him away to a party." "I was left behind without speaking to him." "I dream that often." "Not every day, but still." "It might be because I burn candles for him in church." "Why else would I dream of him?" "I don't know." "Vera, do you remember what it was like the day you came here?" "I'll never forget that." "It was 1 or 2 AM." "I arrived by train." "I sat down here on the platform next to my suitcase." "I leant on the suitcase." "Where could I go?" "I was a complete stranger." "Then a man who was married to a Russian came up to me." "He stared at me and asked..." "'Where are you from?" "' l was pregnant." "I was expecting my second child." "'Come sleep at our place,' he said." "'lt's dangerous staying here alone at night." "I slept one night at his house." "Then my father-in-law-to-be came with a horse and cart and I raced off to Metechi." "Giorgi was still there." "He'd wanted to go to town to pick me up, but I was already there." "I was too fast for him." "That's what happened." "I wasn't anxious." "I was just curious, because he had convinced me that he had a big house in Tbilisi." "But he turned me into a peasant." "It was too late to go back." "So then we built our own house." "He worked in a brickyard, so we were able to save up bricks." "That was the start of our marriage." "I shouldn't have come, but he convinced me that he had money." "And what did I find?" "His parents' house didn't even have a floor." "The walls weren't even plastered." "Incredible." "His father and stepmother were really poor." "What could I do?" "I stayed." "grapevine, you take all my time hey, coachman, I want a ride" "into town in your coach" "The long ones have to go." "This one can stay." "For the new shoots." " This one comes off next year." "Look." "This is a branch from last year." "It has to go." "This one too." "Relax, I'm doing it." "The pruning is finished." "May it be a peaceful year." "To a good, rich harvest." "May the family's cellar be full next year." "Enough for a wedding, a family gathering and a baptism." "To the house and the good harvest." "Say a word of thanks, Vera." " See, like that." "Go on." " To your health." "sometimes death comes, tra-la-la tra-la-la in the middle of the night, tra-la-la tra-la-la then he says, come with me tra-la-la" "Grandfather Suren..." "STALlN AVENUE I'll cut your hair." "There used to be two ha/rcuts:" "boks and po/boks." "We'd only leave a bit at the front and shave off the rest with clippers." "Nowadays there's all different haircuts." "The kids ask for a naneti, but they don't even know what it is." "This is polboks." "You had boks, boblik, yozhik po/boks, v/sh/boks and so on." "Which haircut did Vladimir have?" "He had boks." "Was he shy or smart?" " Smart, not shy." "You can tell the bull from the calf, as they say." "Even then you could see that he had get-up-and-go and that he would achieve his goal." "Ready for your wedding." "A lot better." " Next." "Here, thanks." "My pleasure." "Straight." "STALlN STREET" "Do you know anything about Putin?" " My sister-in-law knows more." "You tell us." " Putin lived in this house." "He always squatted here." "Very sad." "He squatted on his heels against this wall." "The poor boy." "Why was he a poor boy?" "." " Not now, but when he was little." "About Putin?" "I don't know anything." "Are you filming?" "." "I'm off then." "You know it very well." "You're related." " Her husband is his stepfather's brother." "No, he isn't." " Well, half brothers then." "Bezyan and Giorgi are related." " You're his aunt, from the same family." "He wouldn't know my name anymore." "He was only small." "But you remember, don't you?" " Only his childhood." "His stepfather maltreated him." " Shut up, otherwise..." "He hit him and kicked him, didn't he?" " Vera handed him over to him." "He still turned out alright." "May he live long in health and happiness." "They locked him up in the house." "Once, when he got cold, he called out..." "We were neighbours and the dividing wall was very thin." "He called, 'Aunt Lilya, help me." "I'm cold, cold, cold." "Very sad." "That was how he was brought up." "He was beaten with a belt too." "He should have had a better mother." "She let it all happen." "STALlN STREET" "In the cemetery you said that the relationship with your husband deteriorated badly once Vova was gone." "What about it?" "What do you want to know?" "." "Did you ever talk about it, with the neighbours for instance?" "No, I never said anything to anyone." "I stored it all up in my heart." "How can I explain?" "My brothers never came here." "My father didn't want me to come to Georgia to live." "That was why." "It was my own fault." "How did you hear that your mother had died?" "I got a telegram." "I wasn't allowed to go to Russia, but I started screaming, so he let me." "She had been too ill to speak for quite a while." "I wasn't even allowed to ask about Vladimir." "They went to their graves with my son on their consciences." "Probably they weren't allowed to talk about it. ln the old days if you wanted to join the KGB, you were better off without a family." "I'm glad he doesn't bother about us." "He couldn't in such a high position." "But he shouldn't have claimed that his father and mother were dead." "They don't come prettier." "What's it cost?" " l don't know." "Can you give me a special price?" " 70 laris." "is 60 OK?" " No, that's really too little." "Can you throw it in the boot?" " Sure." "Shall I shut it?" " Go ahead." "When your daughter recognised Vova on TV, was your husband still alive?" "Yes, he was still alive." " Didn't he say anything?" "." "Vova was in the newspaper once." "He looked just like me." "Giorgi said, 'Look at that, two peas in a pod." "That's all." "Not later either." "He was very jealous and he died jealous." "Natia, come here." "Here's the lemonade." " And the candle." "I want some too." " You can't have any." "Open the bottle." " Here are some empty glasses." "Come here, girl." "Light the candle." "To Giorgi's spirit." "Pour some more." "Leave the candle." "I came here in the morning to choose a site for my father." "When my mother saw that only women were buried here, she stomped off." "My sister Marina followed her and asked, 'What is it, Mama?" "'" "She said, 'How could you do that?" "He was always a ladies' man... ' '... and now he's in amongst them again." "Couldn't you find somewhere else?" "'" "Where did you get that from?" " You really said it." "No, I didn't." " You did." "There's a couple buried here." " The woman died first." "Their son asked me, 'What's Giorgi doing here?" "Chasing after my mother?" "Join us." "Welcome." "Our traditions are good." "Our people, our land." "We're at the cemetery." "That's why I drink to our dead." "To their memory." "We offer up our small, delicious meal for their spirits in heaven." "Our Georgia is great and we brought forth a great and noble man, Joseph Stalin." "A noble man who defended the world against the oppressors." "Let us drink to him." "There's a statue of Stalin in Kaspi and another in Gori, where he was born." "Here we have streets named after Stalin." "The main street in every village is always named after Stalin." "In Moscow Vova is doing things just like Stalin." "They say that a second Stalin has emerged." "A little Stalin." "Are you proud of that?" " Of course I'm proud of it." "He has become very popular." "I believe in God, but not in that priest." "What now?" "." " What do you want?" "I have a sheep and I'd like to circle the church with it like we always do." "That's not allowed anymore." "Before, under the communists they demolished the churches and shot the priests." "Do you want that over again?" "No, I don't want that." " That's why we don't do it anymore." "Just once around the church." " l'm not a heathen priest, am I?" "You want me to promote blood sacrifices?" "You still haven't learnt what Christianity is." "He was less than two weeks old when he was baptised." "In the church." "I think he got the cross he now carries from my mother." "He often says that when the house burnt down, that cross survived the fire." "That everything got burnt except the cross." "He says that since that day he believes in God." "Since then he always wears that cross." "He got that from my mother." "When he went to boarding school." "I think that's what happened." "Vera, you say often that your fate is in God's hands." "Have you resigned yourself to it or do you wish He'd allowed you another fate?" "It is as it is." "You can't change your fate." "All I would like is the joy of seeing my son again." "That's all I ask." "What kind of happiness could I wish for?" "." "I'm old, and soon it will all be over." "Death is already at my heels." "You can't escape your fate." "You can't run away from death." "Shall we drink to the sheep?" "Happy Easter." "Friends, to the head of this family." "To Giorgi." "To his memory." "To his spirit." "I didn't give him to a stranger, I gave him to my mother." "My mother said, 'Leave him here with me." "I don't know where he went after that." "He could have warned me." "He knew where l lived." "'Mother, I'm here now and don't tell anyone you're my mother." "'Never come here either." "I didn't know he'd rise so high, did I?" "When I heard, I was overcome with joy." "Should I have kept it to myself?" "." "That he's my son?" "That's my mistake, I admit it." "That's why he's angry at me now." "We never visited him, never asked about him." "How could we have?" "It happened like that." "What the future will bring, I don't know." "That's why I cry so often." "I think it's so terrible." "It's like that." "Nothing can be done about it." "The way your life is destined to be is the way you have to live." "Put this on, it's no beauty contest."