The authors of this book, Dennis Shasha and Marina Shron, set out to chronicle the personal struggles of Russian Immigrants who came to the U.S. from the late 1970's to the present. They chose Russians from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and from many different walks of life. These stories are first person accounts of life in Russia, what it was like to live under a totalitarian regime and what sort of changes came to their everyday lives under the policy changes of perestroika.Most of these people were (and frequently still are) professionals in some field. Doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers, and artists all share their struggles to first leave Russia and then to survive in a new country, the country long considered that of the enemy.
All of these immigrants ultimately have very different impressions of their adopted country. Some long for the companionship they feel they can only find among other Russians. Some feel a great sense of security and stability when compared to the relative lawlessness of post Cold War Russia. Still others find the intense work ethic and materialism of Americans distasteful and long for what they considered simpler times in the Soviet Union. Many were allowed to emigrate because they were Jews, facing tremendous anti-Semitism at home in Russia. Finally, one would have to say that all of these people are survivors. They left their homeland under difficult circumstances and have carved out a living for themselves in an unfamiliar world.
258 p.
