In 1952, Vladimir Gelfand graduated from Molotov University. He wrote a thesis on the novel by Ilya Ehrenburg "The Tempest" (1947). In February 1951, Gelfand met with Ilya Ehrenburg in Moscow. Since August 1952, Vladimir worked as a teacher of history, the Russian language and literature at the Zheleznodorozhniki College No. 2 in Molotov. Soon the marriage with Berta was in crisis. In 1955, Vladimir left his wife and son and returned to Dnepropetrovsk, where he joined the city Technical College as a teacher.