MCRD San Diego, Calif. -- Recruit Yevgeniy Mayba’s earliest memory of his native country of Russia, was standing in a long line for four hours waiting to enter the Lenin Mausoleum and see the body of Vladimir Lenin.
Lenin was the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1922, the first de facto leader of the Soviet Union. His embalmed body has been on public display there since the year he died in 1924.
Mayba said that everyone would rally at the Mausoleum on Workers Day, which takes place on May 1 and 2 of every year, and visit the body.
When Mayba was a child, Russia was living under the shadow of the Cold War and was an enemy of the United States. On Dec. 21, 1991, the Soviet Union fell and Russia became a fully independent country.
After the collapse, Mayba’s father, a mechanical engineer, and Mayba’s mother, a government employed doctor, lost their jobs and struggled to find work.
In fear of their two sons being drafted into the Russian Army to fight in the Chechen War, Mayba’s parents decided to sell all of their possessions and migrate to America.
Mayba, who was 14 years old at the time, said that he was not happy or excited about the move to America because he didn’t want to leave his friends behind. But it wasn’t long before he and his family were boarding a long flight to San Jose, Calif.
“America was a lot different then what I had imagined,” said Mayba. “Television portrays the entire country as a big city with skyscrapers, so I was surprised when I arrived to the country and saw suburbs.”
He arrived in the United States knowing very little English and struggled in school. After a few months, he began to adjust to his new surroundings and excelled in his academics. After completing high school, he continued his education by earning a bachelor’s degree in administrational justice, and applied to the San Jose Police Academy.
“I wanted to be a police officer until I realized that the majority of my academy competitors were former service members; most of them were Marines,” said Mayba.
He decided that he wanted to gain the experience, discipline and skills he saw in the former Marines before going into the police academy, so he contacted his local recruiter and enlisted in the Marine Corps.
“I chose the Marine Corps because of its elite reputation, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could complete the rigorous training,” said Mayba.
Five months later, Mayba left home to tackle recruit training, where he picked up with Platoon 3241, Company L.
He did not have a hard time adjusting to recruit training, he said as the hardships that he faced in Russia made it easier for him to deal with the lack of sleep and food during the Crucible, a 54-hour field training event near the end of recruit training that evaluates a recruits’ stamina, leadership and teamwork abilities.
“(Mayba) was a good recruit from the start,” said Staff Sgt. David Lee, drill instructor, Platoon 3241, Co. L. “He took initiative and always was a team player. Although English isn’t his first language, he didn’t have any problems understanding the Marine Corps knowledge.”
Mayba said that the most difficult part of recruit training was completing the strenuous hikes through the mountainous terrain on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.
While in recruit training, Mayba said that he conquered his slight fear of heights by scaling the high obstacles on the confidence course.
“Both my experiences in Russia and in recruit training taught me to always maintain a positive attitude and be optimistic,” said Mayba. “I learned not to let anything get me down, because eventually the struggle will be over.”
Lee, an Easton, Md., native, said that Mayba was never a problem to train and that he excelled during field week.
“(Mayba) did what he was instructed without any hesitation,” said Lee. “During field week, it was raining and cold outside. Some of the other recruits were complaining but Mayba never did; he just continued on with training.”
Mayba said he enlisted with the military occupational specialty of a light-armored vehicle mechanic because it was one of few career options open in the Marine Corps for non-citizens. Eventually, he wants to become a linguist or work in the military intelligence field.
Following graduation Mayba will return home for 10 days of leave, then return to Camp Pendleton for Marine Combat Training.