Today, despite her eighty-five years of age, she is cheerful, energetic and jolly. She is reciting humorous poems and jokes. Although she almost can’t hear anything Shaposhnikova likes to chat.

There was a time when 17-year-old girl Sasha Shaposhnikova came to work at the Atyrau Oil Refinery. It was back in August of 1948. The girl had a difficult childhood. She was born in the village of Topolya, in the Makhambet district. Her mother Anfisa passed away at the age of 25. Her father Mikhail, who worked as an accountant, was accused of espionage and sentenced to 10 years of prison, together with millions of Soviet citizens in 1937 at the height of Stalinist repression.

Little Sasha and her sister Lyuba were taken by their uncle Konstantin Yashkov. But in the beginning of the war he went to the frontline. He fought in World War II and was killed in combat by the Japanese in 1945. Shaposhnikov sisters were left alone, as other relatives, too, were victims of the Stalinist regime. Who knows what could have happened to them if in 1947 their father hasn’t had been released from prison. At that time, they were living in Peretaske and went to school in Zhilgorodok. After graduation, Alexandra began to work at the factory. First as a sampler in the central laboratory, then as a lab worker in the commodity laboratory.

“We had a very responsible job. In our laboratory we had the passports for all the manufactured products,” she said. “The head of the Laboratory was Yashkevich, then Boris Shirokov. Also there was another worker Valko. My colleagues were Nina Tolstova, Lida Shigayeva and Rita Sherstyankina. We were honest workers. So many commissions were coming to do their checks and they had no complaints. I had no time to lose. It was hard, but we managed to do all.”

Shaposhnikova met her future husband at the plant. They lived together for almost 50 years. His name was Lev. In his youth Lev was a prominent man, worked on the famous installation Goodri. Then he was transferred to the coke plant. The couple raised three children: sons Yuri and Mikhail and daughter Tatiana. All of them, though briefly had something to do with the plant. Shaposhnikova worked in the CFL for nearly 30 years, and maybe her seniority would have been more if not an occupational disease. Later, she had problems with hearing and the sense of smell, because of that she had to register a disability. Today, she almost can not hear anything, nor can she smell. But she is not feeling discouraged.

For many years she has been winter swimming. Every year on Epiphany day she took dips in the freezing waters as long as the doctors allowed her to before the surgery on her eyes. Also she is an herbalist. He knows hundreds of methods of traditional medicine. She is sure that herbal teas can cure many diseases. And she is always ready to help those who ask for help.