Zlatin, Vladimir

Son of Ella and Ernest. He was born on September 14, 1970 in the Soviet Union. A second son of a family with two children. Vladimir grew up, studied and was educated in the Soviet Union. He completed twelve years of study and continued his academic studies at the university in the computer department. In 1991, when Vladimir was twenty years old, he immigrated to Israel alone. He did so for ideological reasons. His father died earlier, his mother and brother remained in the Soviet Union. At the beginning of his career in Israel, Vladimir was in a Hebrew ulpan in Kibbutz Gvat, where he acquired the Hebrew language, a little history and culture of the Jewish people, and became acquainted with the way of life in the kibbutz. In June 1992, he was drafted into the IDF as part of the academic reserve, and was accepted to the preparatory program for immigrants at the University of Haifa where he studied mathematics and computers. Vladimir was more of his age than the other conscripts, he had joined the basic training course, passed it, had successfully completed all assignments and was assigned to the Ordnance Corps. He was chosen to go to the Armored Corps course and was sent to serve in an artillery battalion, and Vladimir was a lone soldier in the IDF. His friends from the unit said that he loved to live in Israel and was pleased with the special conditions of service he was given as a lone soldier. According to them, Vladimir was a mature man in his approach to life and thus acted in the army. He did his work professionally and in an orderly fashion. An intelligent, quiet and introverted guy with a sense of humor. According to his commanders, Vladimir was a good soldier, diligent and disciplined. Socialized among the soldiers and got on well with his commanders. Vladimir used to tell his friends that despite his close proximity to the language and culture of the Soviet Union, he saw his future in Israel. He planned to bring his brother to Israel as well. As part of his rights as a lone soldier, Vladimir was granted leave for two weeks for a family visit with his mother and brother in the Soviet Union, whom he had not seen for three years from the day he arrived in Israel. At the beginning of July 1974, he traveled to St. Petersburg in the Soviet Union and met with his family. On July 11, 1994, Vladimir drowned when he washed in the river and was brought to rest in the cemetery in St. Petersburg, where he died at the age of twenty-four.