Zeinab Aznakayeva (Sabirova)

Before the war, the Sabirov family (Fatima and her children Zeinab, Mirgazim, and Raisa) lived in Kyiv on Olehivska Street in Podil. One autumn day in 1941, Fatima, along with Zeinab and Mergazim, went to the Tatar section of the Lukyanov Cemetery to visit the grave of the children’s father. There they heard gunshots in Babyn Yar. Before that, they saw an announcement stating that all Jews should gather on Dorogozhytska Street in the morning. Zeinab even managed to say goodbye to her classmate Fira Zilbergberg, who thought that they would be sent to the settlement. But the reality was much more terrible. The shots continued to be heard day and night. It seemed to Zeinab that they could be heard all over Podil area.

The Smolensky Jewish family lived in the same yard as the Sabirovs. They did not have time to evacuate and remained in Kyiv. The Sabirovs decided to help them survive. When the Nazi raids on the Jews were going on, the Sabirovs confidently replied that they had no Jews in the yard. Fatima and Zeinab constantly went to the market to exchange things for food, not only for themselves, but also for their Jewish neighbors. Under cover of night, they visited the Smolensky family with hot tea and food. Fatima had a heart problems and Anna Smolenskaya, a nurse, helped her neighbor with treatment. Mergazim and Raisa were the youngest in the family and were instructed to be on duty at the gates and to watch the Nazis walk down the street and answer that there were no Jews in the house.

This continued until the liberation of Kyiv from Nazi invaders. The Smolensky family was rescued. They remained to live in Kyiv. Their son Leonid, when he grew up studied medicine. Both families have never lost touch and remain close.

On September 6, 1995 Jewish Council of Ukraine recognized Zeinab Aznakayeva and her brother Mirgazim Sabirov as Righteous of Babyn Yar.