Today is February 29.

Everyone knows, this day is only in the high year, what happens

every four years. Nothing special for all people except those.

who were born on that day. I had a friend I knew, called him.

Misha and he was born on February 29, 1936. As a man with

With humor, Misha even had homework answers for those who learned,

When he was born, he asked him the standard question: "How old are you?

Misha, do you celebrate your birthday once every four years?”

Eighteen, he would answer, say, this year. You are still

young, followed the usual replication.-Well, of course, answered Misha, I take in

I only count good years, I don’t think bad.



But not everything was so easy with Misha in real life and he was as hidden as he could.

People on their birthday. Once I felt something wrong, I

I asked him to show me my passport. What did I see there? I saw that

Misha was born on February 29, 1937. It cannot be so, I said,

He asked Misha to explain how it happened.



Here is his story. They lived in Minsk before the war. The war begins, my father.

They were taken to the army, and my mother and Misha left in a hurry under a bombardment.

Minsk was evacuated to the Uzbek city of Samarkand. In 1944, Micheal

It was supposed to go to school. I went to first class at eight years old.

of age. Documents were lost and the Russian school without them to get

is impossible. The number of places in the school was limited.

The chief strictly followed the order in the registration - no metric of anyone

not accepted. You could go to the Uzbek school, but Mishina’s mother didn’t.

She wanted it, she hoped that the war would soon end and they would come back.

to Minsk. You think, my mother said, Misha will become a scientist a year later. So is

They remained in Samarkand until 1945, when the war ended.

His father returned from the front and they moved back to Minsk. Also in Minsk.

There was a problem with school registration: a metric was needed. had to go

Recovery of lost documents. When asked

My parents, how many years of Misha, they, not long thinking, said, eight, no.

They wanted Misha to go to the first class as, so-called,

The transition. The date of his birth was recorded in 1937, and the day and month were left behind.

On February 29th, we did not notice the disagreement.

So Misha, possibly the only in the world by documents was born on February 29

In 1937.

My mother was right, Misha became a scientist, a candidate of technical sciences and lives

He celebrates his unusual birthday with his family.

Friends celebrate March 1st.