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How old is Ivan? Judging by his looks, his rank (Captain), him calling about the "politruk" that ratted on him "a boy" - he must be 45, 40 at the very least.
However, he tells this story how his father - a taxi driver for "Taxi Park named after Uritsky" drove Yesenin and he, then a "mal'chonka" (little kid), asked Yesenin for an authograph. Yesenin died in 1925. The first taxis only arrived in Moscow in mid-1925 (see http://www.infoservices.com/moscow/899.htm )so that encounter could only happen in 1925.
Let's assume Ivan was 10 then (though it's hard to call a 15-year old a "mal'chonka"). That means in 1944 he would be 29 at the most!