It took the residents of Buryatia 44 years to test their feelings. The groom, who is 91 years old, offered to go to the registry office.
91-year-old Sergey Telyatnikov and 89-year-old Yekaterina Maksimova from the Buryat city of Kyakhta actually did not plan a wedding - and they lived together for 44 years without her. When they met, both of them already had divorces and adult children behind them.
- Kyakhta is a small town, we knew each other before, - says Sergey Nikolaevich, now his legal husband. - She worked in the savings bank, I - the head of the warehouse. And then a spark slipped between us, began to meet, then live together.
Ekaterina Innokentyevna says that it was in April 1973: Sergei Nikolaevich stayed overnight with her and never left. A year later, they built a house and moved there together. The contemptuous word "cohabitants" that they heard from those around them did not make them put a stamp in their passports.
- And what's wrong with the fact that roommates? - says Ekaterina Innokentievna. - We just lived in a civil marriage.
In fact, as Sergei Nikolaevich recalls, Ekaterina Innokentyevna said three times about the need to legalize the relationship, but somehow the matter did not go further than conversations.
“We lived well, we didn't hurt each other,” he shrugs. - Is the stamp the main thing?
From his first marriage, Sergei Nikolaevich had three sons, the sons of Ekaterina Innokentyevna died. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren have already gone, and the spouses remained "civil". Until one morning Telyatnikov woke up and proposed to his wife at breakfast.
“It’s not good to go to the other world as a single,” explains Sergei Nikolaevich. - I thought that if I die, maybe the lawful wife will be paid more money for me - I'm still a veteran.
The daughter-in-law, who was present at that breakfast, reasonably remarked that "it's high time." The 89-year-old bride agreed. In the registry office, unusual newlyweds were painted on the day of treatment. Ekaterina Innokentyevna decided not to change her surname so as not to alter her passport. There was no wedding in the traditional sense - numerous relatives from both sides simply gathered in the newlyweds' house, played the accordion and sang songs. It turned out mentally.
Spouses still receive congratulations. This is that rare case when everyone knows for sure: there will be no divorce.