Yanks for Stalin
Interview Transcript

Alexander Luznevoy,  (cont)

A.  I didn't have direct contact with the American engineers.  I was nobody, really.

Q.  You didn't see any of the American workers, either?

A.  Why do you say that?  They worked, walked around, looked at things.  I only saw Mr. Rubins, an elderly man, heavy, who directed the construction of a grinding mill.  More accurately, he was a consultant there.  Our engineers directed the construction, he just consulted.  He demanded that we not hurry in the construction of the mill, that each screw, each nut be tightened down properly.  "Things are built not in a day, but in many days."  He made demands like those.  This lengthened the process, and Moscow sent us telegrams:  "Build faster, finish sooner," etc., because war was brewing.  You could feel that a war was coming.  Once, while this American consultant was absent, he had gone somewhere, the workers who were building the mill, which was already up, just needed to put an enormous detail piece, weighing 20 tons, on top of the building, about 8 to 10 meters up.  And we had no cranes.  Rubins went somewhere to find out how to get this piece up.  The workers made their own sort of crane out of logs and used it to put the piece in place, and when Rubins arrived, he was horrified.  "What have you done, you've ruined everything," he said, and began to check everything over, the supports and the piece.  When he was done, he laughed and said, "With such men, not only can you lift 20 tons without a crane, but also cross the ocean on foot."  He was a man with a sense of humor.  I saw him only once.  Later, he told us that an American company by the name of Marquee had not wanted to complete the drawings on time for us.  Before the construction of Magnitogorsk, Marquee had promised that it would give us all these documents, it would draw up all the designs.  The company sent several drawings, in fine detail, but the main project was delayed, and we had to end our relationship with that company.  Apparently they were afraid that we would build this plant and become their potential enemies.  That's what I heard.  Yes, it's funny.  Rubins himself told us that.  Later, after the war, a relative of this Rubins came to Russia.  I personally did not speak to him, but he said that Rubins, the elderly man who had worked here as a consultant, had died.  This man turned out to be his grandson, also an engineer, and he had been told to come to Magnitogorsk and see whether his grandfather's work was still standing.  He saw that the grinding mill was still standing, had worked for many years, and he was very satisfied by his grandfather's work.

Q.  Why do you think Americans came here?

A.  I've thought about why Americans came to Russia.  I thought that it was a good thing.  I welcomed them.  I was already literate by that time.  I arrived here illiterate, but I took a few classes, read many books, and the construction of the factory was very important to us, because Russia was frighteningly backwards, we knew.  The Americans arrived with fresh technology and ideas, and we understood that.  We mixed with them at community activities, but I personally did not have much chance to socialize with them.

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