By Stacey Dresner

WEST HARTFORD – Sergey Dratva has seen and experienced many things in his life-time – from fighting on the frontlines as a Russian soldier during World War II and watching the collapse of the former Soviet Union, to arriving in the United States in the 1990s and becoming an American citizen.

Dratva celebrated his 100th birthday on April 15 with his family and a few close friends at his home in West Hartford. At the celebration he was presented with a proclamation from the mayor of West Hartford and a letter from the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York, both congratulating him for reaching this special milestone.

In a recent interview with the Jewish Ledger, Dratva summed up the secret to reaching 100 years of age in one word: Discipline – something he undoubtedly learned as a soldier in the Russian army during World War II. At his birthday celebration, he donned the numerous medals he received for his heroism and bravery during what the Soviets called “The Great Patriotic War.”

“As a decent, brave, smart, person with high discipline, he defended his motherland and his relatives the invasion of the German Nazis,” his daughter Galina told the Ledger. “He and his fellow soldiers hated Nazism, helped each other on the frontlines and in battles and showed high-quality patriotism.”

“We needed to fight against the fascists to save our country,” Sergey said. “It was my duty.”

Born in Ananiev, a town in Ukraine, Sergey’s family was religious, attending synagogue, celebrating Jewish holidays and speaking Yiddish at home. When Sergey was three years old his father died; he recalls his grandfather taking him to synagogue to say Kaddish. Sergey attended a Jewish school for several years, but stopped when the government closed Jewish schools down. As a child, he says, he experience some, but not much, antisemitism. 

In 1939, at the age of 18, he was accepted into the Financial-Economic University in Odessa. But that same year World War II broke out and he was drafted into the Soviet Army. 

He fought in some of the most difficult battles of the war including the defense of Moscow and the Kursk Bulge. He helped to liberate several cities, including Orel, Harkov, Kiev, Lviv, Krakov, Kotovica, Prague, Vinica, Belgorod, Poltava, and Kremenchug. Dratva was on the frontlines of combat for 1,265 days of the 1,418-day war. 

The recognition he received for his service includes an Order of the Patriotic War and Order of the Red Star, as weak as medals, including the “Za Otvagu” Medal for Courage, “Za Boevye Zaslugi” Medal for Combat Merit, and the “Za Osvobozhdenie Prague” Medal for the Liberation of Prague. 

One of his most courageous acts during war was saving the life of his commanding officer during an ambush by SS troops. Despite being shot in the arm, Dratva covered his superior officer as they were being fired upon and was able to get him to safety.

After the war Dratva returned to Ananiev and found his mother and sisters, who had survived by escaping Georgia. But they had lost many family members to the Holocaust, including their grandparents, aunts and uncles. Four of Sergey’s uncles died as soldiers during the war. Dratva went on to marry Polina, a Jewish girl from Ananiev, who had also been evacuated safely, and they had two children, Leonid and Galina. After serving in the Soviet Army as a financial officer for 20 years, he retired as a colonel before working as an economist. 

Leonid Dratva and his family immigrated to the United States in 1982, and Sergey and Polina did not see them for 10 years, except for one visit to the U.S. by Polina in 1988 and a visit by Sergey in 1989. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the borders opened, Sergey and Polina decided that they wanted the whole family to be together and started planning their move to America. 

“We saw life is good here,” he explained. “When Soviet Union collapsed, it was a bad time. The economy was down and it was not a good time in Russia.” 

Sergey and Polina arrived in the United States in May 1992 when Sergey was 71 years old. Four months later his daughter and her family arrived from Chelyabinsk, Russia. After five years, during which he took English classes at Congregation Beth Israel and learned how to drive, Sergey became an American citizen. He gave a speech after he was sworn in as an American, saying in part, “Thank you, America, for giving me this good life.”

During his nearly 30 years in West Hartford, Sergey has made friends and stayed active with other veterans of World War II at the Mandell Jewish Community Center, where he is a member of the Russian Veterans club. He was financial head of the group for many years, helping to run the chapter and organize club events. 

A member of Chabad House of Greater Hartford, Sergey went there for morning services every day for several years. After losing his vision and before Covid, he enjoyed the Friday morning services Rabbi Yosef Gopin led at his building.

His wife Polina passed away eight years ago, but they have been blessed with three grandchildren and one great-grandson.

With a huge 100th birthday banner draped across his living room wall, and surrounded by birthday cards and bouquets of flowers and balloons from his many friends, Sergey stressed that there is nothing magic about turning 100. All it takes is discipline.

“My life is scheduled,” he said. “Everything in moderation, not too much of anything.”

Main Photo: Sergey Dratva, bedecked with his many wartime medals, at his 100th birthday celebration.