American trapped in Russia reverts to native tongue after stroke
An American man who has lived for 77 years in Russia has suddenly reverted to his native English tongue after a stroke, despite him having not spoken it for much of his life.
Kenneth Edwards, now 95, moved to the Soviet Union in 1934. He has rarely spoken English since and converses only in Russian with his wife and two children.
"I have a Russian wife and Russian children. I speak only in Russian. I think only in Russian."
Doctors have been stunned to find out that after a recent stroke, he lost all the Russian he had acquired.
"I am having to learn Russian all over again," he said in a halting American accent.
"I say something in Russian to him, and he replies only in English," said 79-year-old wife Zoya.
"I only understand what he wants to say by his intonation."
Kenneth has lived and worked in the Ural mountains for 60 years in a watch-making factory and later as a locksmith for the head of his department.
According to The Daily Mail, his Russian life began when his idealist left-wing father took his family to the USSR when Franklin D Roosevelt came to power, believing Communism was the future.
Over time, his siblings found a way to get out however his father insisted his eldest son should give up his American citizenship.
His father returned to the US as early as 1935 after he realised there was no hope of teaching in a 'progressive' Stalinist school.
Kenneth decided that instead of risking imprisonment or death by trying to escape, he would make the best of his situation and set up his life in the Soviet Union.
When asked if he regrets his decision, he says: "Those are very hard questions.
"I went to school. I learned a trade. I went to the institute.
"I met my wife there, we had two children. Of course, we had many difficulties."
He is admired among his friends and neighbours.
One said: "He never drank or smoked and he swam each day until he was 90."
They say he has managed to retain a respect for both the US and Russia.
