Notes

1. Where and when were you born?

Born in 2001 in the North Caucasus, in the capital of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic - Nalchik. The word "Nalchik "from her native language translates as" horseshoe ", the horseshoe is also the emblem of the city. Many people say that the city is named like this because there are mountains around the Republic-almost in the shape of a horseshoe.

2. do you Have the earliest memory from your childhood?

The earliest I remember is when I started to stutter. Until she was about four years old, she spoke very well and could recite long poems by heart. Somewhere around this age, my parents left me for a while with my grandparents. I remember sitting in the house alone and playing, it was evening, and my grandparents were having dinner in the next house. For some reason, the lights suddenly turned off everywhere (maybe an accident? I don't know, it often happened in the villages at that time), and I was afraid. She seemed to fall, then jumped up abruptly and ran out into the street. I don't remember anything else. My parents say that it was after that I started to stutter - at one time no one even understood her
And stuttering has passed over time, now it is much easier for her to speak

4. What was your favorite subject at school? Perhaps a circle?

She did well in all subjects, a stereotypical quiet girl who later grew up to be a person with excellent student syndrome. I remember the first time children were taken to the library in elementary school, and that's when the book addiction started. I took almost everything there, the librarians loved me and addressed me by name, even gave me a diploma of an active reader
Diana didn't really have a favorite subject. I loved drawing, reading a lot, and imagining things.

5. Is there a teacher you remember for a particular good / bad reason?

I remember my homeroom teacher in middle and high school! She taught Russian and literature, always tried to make the lessons more interesting, tried to draw us out for a dialogue in literature. She was interested in children’s life (in a good way!), joked with them, went for walks with them. We'd show up at her house late at night to wish her a happy birthday. she also left school when they graduated. She took great care of her students, and it's almost the only thing Diana misses from school.

6. What did you like/dislike most about school? (If you have any thoughts about the structure of the Russian school as a whole)

I didn't like the Olympics system. I was sent to them very often (especially in law, history, and social studies), and I was always angry because I knew that the participants were cheating. Almost every one of them. this is exactly what annoyed me, because this is not how the system should work.
I didn't like the fact that random people were often hired as teachers. I have seen teachers who are really passionate about their work (the class teacher was one of them!), but they were not noticed

7. What was your first job? (If you have career experience)

I only had one job, and I'm still doing it.
For the first time I wanted to get a part-time job in the 9th grade, but I was not allowed, because I had to sit with my sister all the time.
Then, during my first year, I got a job at a school.I work as a part-time economist on paper, but I actually help in the HR Department. This is not exactly the place where I want to work, but so far it is the only one that can be combined with study.

8. What profession would you call ideal for yourself?

Feature film Director, screenwriter, or writer. I love making up stories, I love making sense of images and symbols and imagining it all. For the most part, I have an imaginative mindset, I think in pictures, not words. When she reads something, I always imagine what it would look like on the screen. The advantage of a movie over a book is that you can show a person just one frame - and they will already get all the characteristics of the character, if their room is shown, they will understand the attitude of the characters to each other while seeing their poses and looks. In the book you will need for this from a few pages to several chapters. I can't explain why, but I really like it. However, I don't think books are useless! They are valuable to me in the same way.

Diana is a big fan of Quentin Tarantino for writing and making films about what he wants to see, without fear of criticism.

What is happiness for you?
Happiness is the ability to do what your soul enjoys. I want to connect my life with something that would help me tell different stories to different people.

9. Tell us a little about your family. Who do you communicate with most closely? Who do you admire most and why?

I have parents, two brothers and a sister. I'm the oldest. Relations with the brothers are a little strained.
My sister is 16 years younger than me. I almost raised her: I sat with her all the time, except for the time I spent at school. My mother once joked that I was not her sister, but her guardian.
I love her very much. And the name was chosen, by the way, by me. I Won this right from my relatives, which is rare in Muslim families
Many people find it easy to sit with children. In fact, this is not the case. Despite all my love, sometimes I get very tired. I feel bad about it, but I can't help it. Children are a huge responsibility.
I have a good relationship with my parents, although there are some difficulties. I can't say that we have a close relationship, because they don't know a lot about me, but sometimes I feel the closeness. However, the feeling does not last long.
I take a lot from my parents: in terms of life lessons. Mom says it's important to take care of yourself, because few people will do it for you.
Dad once told me that it's better to connect your life with someone who loves you, not with someone you love. Yes, you can love each other, but he or she should love you a little more.

My father also told me that there is nothing harder than the life of a Kabardian/Kabardian. According to our traditions, we should always be hospitable. It doesn't matter if it's day, morning, evening, or three in the morning. The doors are always open to guests, even if they are your enemy. And I'm not kidding right now.
Honor is above everything, even life. Respect for the elders-even more so. There's an old legend about a guy who was wounded in battle. He was still bleeding but had to stand up on his feet when his father came into the room, as a sign of respect. Diana told me a lot about Kabardian traditions. You can't praise your children. You can not show your relationship with your husband/wife in public.

Almost all of our traditions are based on three things: respect for elders, hospitality, and respect for women. In fact, the last element - respect for women - is very controversial.
A woman, for example, could stop a fight by taking off her headscarf and throwing it on the ground in front of the fighting people (the headscarf is not the one used by Muslim women; it was an attribute of national costume). Many people mistakenly believe that the kalym that the parents of the daughter-in-law give to the groom's family during marriage is a kind of payment. In fact, half of this property - the kalym - belongs to the daughter-in-law, and she has the right to dispose of it. Also, kalym was used during almost non-stop wars in case of the death of a husband - so that the wife and children weren’t left with nothing.
A woman should not be insulted, beaten or killed. Those who violated this prohibition were stained their honor, and the people drove them from the villages forever.
If a certain person who is considered a murderer gets into a woman's house and asks her for protection, she (without the right to refuse, by the way) agrees, and then the pursuit of him (or blood feud) stops.

However, women also did not participate in people's assemblies. They also did not always have the right to choose their fiance (now this has changed), there are even times when a woman was forbidden to drink water without covering her face with her hand or turning away if there were men in the room. If a woman did not become pregnant within a year of marriage, she could be kicked out of her husband's family. Girls were forbidden to study or leave their homes without permission.
This is all really contradictory about respect to women

My dad once said a phrase that stuck in my memory: there is no harder fate than the fate of a Kabardian woman (or just a Kabardian / Circassian).
Now the world has changed a lot, compared to what it was in the last century. Capitalism, all things, work a little more difficult, but with a mentality where the more children, the better, the husband alone can not feed the family, plus families began to live separately (not 2-4 generations together). Accordingly, women also began to work. However, the entire burden of homework and children is still on them. Families here are different: some share responsibilities, some do not, some have a wife who works, some do not, this is also worth considering. Some not very pleasant traditions still exist. For example, A daughter-in-law should not talk to her husband's parents unnecessarily, She must understand without words. Sometimes this can lead to a huge conflict within the family, which will continue for years (I literally witnessed this).
The eldest daughter is the face of parents, she should help around the house and with children, be an example for the younger ones and follow the traditions. Diana was lucky with this, Yes, she is the eldest and I carries all the responsibilities, but her parents allow her to make a choice.

And more! About Kabardins and Circassians. In the outside world, that is, outside of our territory (although you can also argue about the territory, thanks to the Tsar and eviction), the term Circassian or Circassian is used more than Kabardian

My favorite Circassian girl (can I say that??) - Elmiskhan Hagundokova. Her father is Kabardian, and her mother, as I recall, is German. I was born in Russia, but by coincidence I ended up in France. I won't tell you the whole biography (we taught her in KAB.literature classes), but she was a Legionnaire and an officer of the national guard.order of the French Republic. He has a huge number of awards for services in wartime, she was a representative of the red cross, worked in military hospitals. She died in France, and was buried there (with military honors). They even wrote a book about her, the author is a French woman (Guillemette de Sairigné «La Сircassienne», 2011)
In France, she was known as the Countess Irene De Luard, a name she received after her second marriage to a Frenchman. Before the beginning of the 40s (that is, before the Second World war), if I'm not mistaken, in the 20-30s, Elmiskhan was one of Chanel's favorites. She was even called the "Caucasian star" there. Around the same time, she started her own fashion house called “Elmis”
This woman survived two World wars, lost her first husband in one, went to Italy, Africa, the United States, and then to France, in these countries she ran hospitals, took care of soldiers who were brought directly from the battlefield.
She was educated, she knew several languages, she was a doctor; they say that she was beautiful and was able to win people’s hearts in France, Diana really admires her


Lyudmila Cherina ballerina, an actress, a painter and a sculptor. Born in France, her father is an emigrant. After the Caucasian war (very bloody and long), a huge number of Circassians left their territory - many of them were forced to leave. (Some even changed their names to avoid being touched.) The reason-Russia really liked the land here, good geographical location, mountains, everything. Many people died during the eviction due to the unsanitary conditions and starvation. About 10 years ago, the Kabardins wanted to get recognition from the Russian government that a genocide was committed against the mountain people (this was repeated in the time of Stalin), but no one recognized anything.
That is why there are a lot of Circassians in Turkey, Europe and Eastern Asia
So, Lyudmila Cherina is actually a pseudonym, her French mother called her Monica. She was a really famous ballerina, starred in films. As a sculptor, she became famous for her work "Heart of Europe", which stands near the European Parliament building. This sculpture is a symbol of the European Union.

13. What is your biggest fear?

Live a lacklustre life, stay in my hometown to work as an accountant, and get married, because I just need to.

14. What is your greatest hope?

My sister, some people in my life, movies and the desire to create.