Gelfond (née Vainik) Vlada Semyonovna (24 February 1946, Riga) – philologist.

Vlada Gelfond was the daughter of Musya Vainik (b. 1914, Biržai, Lithuania) and Semyon Kaplan (1899, Kazan – 1948, Riga).

She completed Riga’s 29th seven-year school in 1960 and graduated from the city’s 25th evening school in 1963. In 1968, she earned her degree from the Faculty of Philology at the Latvian State University.

In 1968, she worked as a proofreader at the Liesma publishing house. That same year, she began teaching Russian language and literature at Babīte’s eight-year school.

She married Arkady Gelfond (b. 1946, Brașov, Romania), and in 1969, their son Yoel Gelfond was born in Riga.

In 1971, Vlada Gelfond received permission to emigrate to Israel at the invitation of her maternal aunt, Rivka Segal (née Vainik) (b. 1910, Panevėžys).

Family:

Arkady Gelfond (b. 1946, Brașov, Romania) – husband
Yoel Gelfond (b. 1969, Riga) – son
Musya Vainik (b. 1914, Biržai, Lithuania) – mother
Semyon Kaplan (1899, Kazan – 1948, Riga) – father
Rivka Segal (née Vainik) (b. 1910, Panevėžys) – mother’s sister
Brukha Gelfand (née Kovelman) (b. 1918, Uman, Cherkasy Region) – mother-in-law