In the peaceful 1940, more than a million weddings were played in the USSR. With the beginning of the war, this figure dropped sharply: in 41st 610 thousand weddings were played, by the end of 42nd - less than 300 thousand. Nevertheless, the lovers continued to get married even at the front. Marriages were arranged in large partisan formations, the newlyweds were "painted" by the commander. After the end of the war, when life began to boil again, the number of weddings again exceeded a million. Among them was the story of our fellow countrymen - the spouses Vasily Yegorovich and Maria Andreevna Gaiko from Megion. They pledged love and fidelity 72 years ago and are still happily married today. ⠀ Vasily Yegorovich Gaiko - participant of the Great Patriotic War. They met their future wife Maria Andreevna in 1948 in Verkhnyaya Pyshma (Sverdlovsk region) at a dance. Six months later, on April 2, 1949, they got married. The groom was 23 years old, the bride - 20. “We used to have passports at work, he came to me, he said,“ Take your passport, let's go get married, ”I could not disagree, I really liked it, looked after beautifully,” recalls Maria Andreevna ... ⠀ The couple moved to Ugra in 1999, when they retired. They settled in Megion. They raised three children: Vladimir, Nina, Alexander. Now the Gaiko family has nine grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren. Spouses Gaikos consider themselves a happy family. Maria Andreevna says that the secret of their happiness is simple - it is love, respect, the ability to give in to each other.