"It's easier to go through life with a song." Mogilev District resident Maria Chmyrova celebrated her 95th birthday.

Maria Stepanovna Chmyrova lives in the agro-town of Polykovichi in the Mogilev District, where she is affectionately known as " Baba Manya." She is a celebrated figure not only in her community but also beyond its borders – she has spent her entire life singing Belarusian songs, spinning, knitting, and preserving our traditions. Just recently, she celebrated her 95th birthday. As a child, Maria Stepanovna experienced and survived the Great Patriotic War and devoted her entire life to working in agriculture. She has a large family: eight children, 20 grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren, including many great-great-grandchildren. A BELTA correspondent, along with residents of the agro-town, family, and friends, attended the celebration to congratulate Maria Stepanovna and learn her secret to a happy life.
Maria Stepanovna was a little nervous before her anniversary. She says she's never celebrated a birthday on such a grand scale in her life—on stage, with family, fellow countrymen, and distinguished guests. "It was a real wedding," she smiles. This

petite woman has almost a century behind her. She's lived through many periods, including the Great Patriotic War alone. But despite all the hardships and difficulties, she retained a cheerful spirit, a positive attitude, and a love for the world and people around her.
"I was born in the village of Barsuki in the Shklov district. There were four other children in the family. We were raised by our mother, Anna Makarovna Baranova, who worked on the Pobeda collective farm. We had everything like a normal family: we kept livestock, went to school, and helped our mother with the housework," she recalls.

And then the war broke out. "There were children, still small. I finished three grades. During the war, it was terrible and miserable. There was nothing to eat. We collected potatoes, rotten things, collected clover flowers, ate all the horse sorrel. We would dry it, pound it in a mortar, and then cook or bake something from it. That's how we ate then," she says. "Thank God, we didn't get very sick, we didn't swell from hunger. A lot of people died around us. But we survived, the whole family survived."

After Victory in the Great Patriotic War, she says, it was also difficult: we had to rebuild life, help the adults. "We gradually got back on track, and then bread appeared in Mogilev, they started baking, they opened stalls. After the war, my mother bought a cow:cottage cheese ,"Sour cream , our own MILK . It was a big deal," she shares. "I didn't continue my studies: there were no textbooks or books, they burned everything, no newspapers. None of our young people got into anything, everyone worked on the collective farm, getting the business going. But now our youth have enormous privileges, they have everything they could want. It's quiet and peaceful here, we have everything." "This is all largely due to the President."

In 1956, she met her husband, Anatoly Kuzmich Chmyrov. He was a widower, raising two sons alone. Maria Stepanovna shared that her happiest memory from her youth was her wedding. The whole family moved to Polykovichi, where they settled. Six more children were born here.

She devoted her entire working life to agriculture, working on a collective farm in Barsuki, then at Komintern (now Polykovichi OJSC). She worked as a milkmaid on the farm; it was physically demanding, but she had to cope. At home, there were children and the farm. Her husband was a stern man, but he always remained a loyal supporter and supporter of Maria Stepanovna. "You know, our work seemed difficult, but it was always friendly and even fun. We would all get together, on horses, lots of girls, everyone at the collective farm. "You go to work and eat, you go home and eat," she smiles.
Maria Stepanovna went through life singing. She says it was always easier to cope with a song. And she always had a creative streak. "Somehow, everything just happened on its own: I'd remember something, and that's good. Besides songs, I taught myself to knit: I started with simple ones, then something more complex. I once knitted a whole bag of socks. "Vests, various sweaters," she says.

She can also spin. She still has a spinning wheel at home, which is over a hundred years old. She processed the wool herself, spun thread, and made clothes from it. She is also a master weaver - what can this fragile woman not do! But, according to her, singing has always been something special for her. Maria Stepanovna is the oldest member of the folklore ensemble "Krynichanka". The woman taught songs to other performers, learned new lyrics with them. She says that if her legs didn’t hurt, she would still run to her girls’ rehearsals and performances. She gave a very precious gift to her beloved ensemble - she gave them an embroidered shirt that her mother made. The embroidered shirt is more than 100 years old, for Maria Stepanovna it is a real heirloom.

Another treasure of Maria Stepanovna is her large and very close-knit family. In total, there are about 100 people. Many have moved to different cities, some have remained in Polykovichi, but despite everything, they try to return to their home as often as possible, where they are always loved, welcomed, warmed, and well-fed.
Darya Vinogradova is Maria Stepanovna's great-granddaughter. She is 19 years old and lives in Polykovichi. She is very proud of her great-grandmother and always listens to her advice. "I admire Granny Manya for her energy and kindness; I have never seen her angry. She amazes me with her hard work and creativity, how she would go out to sing in the fields, how she would travel with her favorite group to Kupalye in Alexandria," she says. "We live nearby and visit her often. I try to heed Grandma's advice. After all, she has been through a long journey, and it hasn't been the easiest. She knows a lot about this life, and so her opinion is especially valuable. We have a large and very close-knit family. Everyone communicates with each other and visits. And our Granny Manya is largely responsible for this."

Maria Stepanovna's son, Vasily Anatolyevich Chmyrov, lives with her. He said he helps his mother with everything. Despite her age, she never sits still: she works in the garden and keeps poultry. But it’s already difficult for her to cope on her own, so her son is always there to help.
“I remember well how, as a child, my mother worked as a milkmaid on the farm. And all of us children would go help her. Our father also played the accordion. And it was such a holiday : we would sit down, and he would hand out spoons to us. He would play, and we would tap. So now I play the spoon, and I also play the accordion,” the man says. “Mom’s birthday is a holiday for the entire agro-town, the entire district. She is respected and loved. We love her very much and are proud of her. May she live for many, many years, and we will always be there for her.”

A sea of ​​flowers, gifts, and warm wishes – Maria Stepanovna’s anniversary moved even the men to tears. A pleasant surprise for the birthday girl was the arrival of her son from St. Petersburg, retired Lieutenant General Vladimir Anatolyevich Chmyrov. The man noted that there's a slight age difference between him and his mother. "She's my second mother. My first passed away when I was 13. Then our father found such a beautiful woman," he said. "We found Maria Stepanovna. And since then, we've been with her, and she's been with us. My brother is no longer alive, but we both did everything we could to make our mother proud. She didn't want us to leave, but she accepted our choice. Every year, we came to visit our mother, to her home. She is our beloved, our dearest, and our dearest."
The anniversary evening was a true sell-out. There were many memories, good wishes, and plans for the future. After all, as Dmitry Pimoshenko, Deputy Chairman of the Mogilev District Executive Committee, noted, our land rests on people like Maria Stepanovna. "Maria Stepanovna Chmyrova's anniversary is a celebration for the entire district and region. There are only a few like her. She spent her entire life in agriculture, her entire life in creativity. There's a saying, 'Throughout life with a song.' Song helps in work and in life. And Maria Stepanovna is a shining example of this approach," he said.

Throughout the entire celebration, Baba Manya could hardly hold back her tears of joy. Such a creative evening with warm wishes and a three-tiered cake from her great-granddaughter will be remembered by all the participants for the rest of their lives. Maria Stepanovna tirelessly thanked everyone and shared her life wisdom.

"Life has been different: both good and bad. That's what life is for. I worked all the time, never sitting idle. At work, I milked cows, and at home we kept a lot of livestock: three cows, horses, sheep. And how could it be otherwise, with children, we needed everything. I couldn't have managed on my own; my husband and children helped. And in the evenings, you make thread, you buy it, so you can knit and not get bored. I spun the thread myself, prepared the wool. Everything myself, everything with my hands," says the birthday girl. "We sang a lot. To this day, when I can't sleep, I start singing. Whenever I remember a song, I sing it. It puts me in the mood."
Maria Stepanovna also offered her best wishes to the youth. "May all be well in your family, and may you never quarrel with your relatives or children. I raised my children to be happy, live, and be healthy. And I wish the same for all young people. Especially HEALTH! If I could, I would drive away all illnesses," she said.

Happiness, Maria Stepanovna believes, lies in health . "With health comes the strength to live, and good spirits," she said. Photo by
Anastasia Guzovskaya,
from the author's archive and from the Chmyrov family archive,
BELTA.