Gita Vygodskaya
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Gita Vygodskaya

16 Jul Gita Vygodskaya

Posted at 13:55h in Activity Theory, Education, Psychology, Psychology of Becoming by

July 15, 2010

Gita Vygodskaya (Lev Vygotsky’s daughter) died on July 13. She was in her mid-80s. I and so many Vygotskians around the world will miss her wonderful stories, her warmth and sparkle, and the joy she took in meeting people the world over whose work was inspired by her father’s writings.

Gita was nine years-old when her father died at age 37 in 1934. His works were then banned by Stalin and   his widow and two daughters kept the manuscripts safe under their beds in their apartment in Moscow for years. When her mother died, Gita took charge of keeping the  manuscripts safe and getting a volume of them finally published in 1956. Over the next two decades she worked, along with some of Vygotsky’s students, to turn the manuscripts into six volumes of his works published in Russia in the 1980s. She received her  doctorate in psychology from Moscow University in 1959 and worked with deaf children for many years.

I first met Gita in Moscow in 1993 when she invited me to visit her in her apartment. She shared memorabilia and stories of her childhood with her father, something she continued doing with people until her final days. The next year, I and the East Side Institute brought her to the US for her first ever visit to visit with our community, visit the Vygotskian school we were running at the time (Barbara Taylor School) and give a conference presentation.  Over the years, Gita and I saw each other a few more times. Our last visit was this past November at the home outside of Moscow she shared with her daughter, son-in-law and their family. With friends Carrie Lobman, Elina Lampert-Shepel and Dot Robbins, I spent a memorable and lovely night there.



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  • Claudia Schulte
    Posted at 22:24h, 09 November

    I’ll always remember Gita’s warmth and enthusiasm at the Vygotsky conference at Columbia University around 2001. I asked her if her father had ever written specifically about the pedagogical implications of writing and reading poetry. Her reply left me dumbfounded — there was no way of telling, because during one very cold winter, the family had needed to burn many of his writings to stay warm! So it was possible, but we’ll never know what was lost that winter.

    She did tell me that he always found time to read poetry to the children, no matter how busy he was.

    Thank you, Gita, for the beautiful memories you’ve kept alive, and for your own dedication to furthering his work.

  • Volker Bunzendahk
    Posted at 17:58h, 29 July

    Yes, and I am so happy that I have met Gita two, allmost three times.

    First and second time was in Århus and Vejle, Denmark, where I had the possibility to share words and thoughts, and last not least to share moments with her. The third time was at the 110 years conference in Moscow, 2006, where she unfortunately already was not so well. At that time Elena Kravtsova and her son Lev, and her husband made the connection inderectly to Gita.

    In Århus, while Lois talked in the auditorium in Århus,1998, she whispered in my ears: “Isn’t it wonderful that she will bring Vygotskijs words over to the next millenium. She helps his words to be heard in the future!” –

    Gita will allways be remembered by me as both grandmother and child, grandmother for all of us trying to work on with her fathers contributions, child because she could tell us stories about Lev Vygotsky as a father, as a husband, as a friend.

    Volker

  • loisholzman
    Posted at 02:07h, 20 July

    Thank you, Dot. And ditto, ditto, ditto!

  • Dot Robbins
    Posted at 03:18h, 19 July

    Dear Lois,
    Thank you for your thoughts and the picture of Gita. Wonderful!! I am so happy that you and others shared experiences with her. You can be very sure that you were very meaningful to Gita and Elena Kravtsova (her daughter) in so many ways…..And, it all continues through our mutual friend, Elina Lampert-Shepel, who was in Moscow with the International Vygotsky Summer School when Gita died. Lois, you were a true friend to Gita for so long. Thank you for all of the support you showed her.
    With very good wishes,
    Dot

  • loisholzman
    Posted at 20:23h, 16 July

    And now you’re performing in the world performing the world!

  • Melissa Meyer
    Posted at 20:20h, 16 July

    I remember first meeting Gita at the East Side Institute on 500 Greenwich Street. She sat on a stool in front of the what was the costume shop for the Castillo Theatre.

    I had moved to New York to train in the Institute’s therapist training program. I had only been in the city for a couple of months and did not quite realize the significance of her visit, nor meeting Joe Bruner who came to our offices as well. I don’t remember what was said, but I do remember her smiling eyes. Thanks to her we have Lev’s writings and the influence they have had on social therapy. Thank you, Gita!

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