CHILDREN
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In the summer of 1902, the Roerichs were participating in excavations of tumuli. During this expedition, on the 16th of August, in the village Okulovka in the Novgorodskaya region, the Roerichs celebrated the birth of their first son, George.
Their younger son, Svetoslav, was born on the 23rd of October, 1904, in St. Petersburg. From their early childhood George and Svetoslav were surrounded by the love and attention of their parents. Helena Roerich devoted much attention, especially, to their education.
Svetoslav remembered his childhood in the following way: “From the very beginning, my mother, who was a wonderful woman, wife and mother, guided our lives in a very wise way: she observed our interests, impulses and feelings. She never insisted on anything, never tried to convince us of something, but she always gave us everything we needed...
“My brother, from his earliest years, was interested in history. That’s why she carefully gathered books that could help him, that were interesting to him. She went with him to museums, institutions, which somehow gave him direction…
“My interest in the natural sciences appeared early. Ornithology and zoology interested me to a great extent. Helena Roerich got me all the necessary books, which only she could find. She bought us stuffed birds and gathered for our collections insects and beetles. She also gathered for me all kinds of stones from the Ural mountains and others. So from my childhood, I already had a big collection, which included my father’s and his brothers’, who gathered it during their student years...
“Thus, our small world was filled with wonderful impressions. Before our eyes was opening a new and rich world. We always were present during the conversations of Nicholas and Helena Roerich, and we listened to what they said. This influenced us greatly…
“As a child I devoted myself to art: I drew and modeled. That might have been the most significant and important of my occupations.”
From these recollections one can see, how these thoughtful parents helped their children to find their own Path, their own vocation. But this doesn’t mean that the children had no problems. On the contrary, there arose very serious difficulties and obstacles on their paths that they had to overcome on their own.
The family traveled a lot to different cities and countries. And in such conditions the children had to learn, often studying in one year a program that would normally have taken four or five years.
From this story you will see that during their childhood and adolescent years, George and Svetoslav Roerich acquired a wide and diverse knowledge, which helped the entire family to complete a great mission in the future, which was predestined for them.
