Alexandra was the second-youngest of six children born to Russian Orthodox parents. Her family lived in a small village in the Orlovskaya region, some 250 miles south of Moscow [in the Soviet Union]. She attended public school, where she learned German. Alexandra's father was a plasterer and painter, and often worked away from home for months. Her mother worked at a collective farm in the village.

1933-39: In 1933 food was scarce. The government seized grain harvests for export; other crops were taken to feed the military. We improvised for food. Nettles picked from a meadow made a good soup; oak leaves, dried, crushed and mixed with a little flour made bread. In 1936 we joined my father in Zhdanov on the Azov Sea where he had moved for work. We lived in a one-room apartment, and shared a kitchen with two other families.