I am Russian. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

Not cool, OP and PPs. Not cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many Jewish Russians send their kids to private Jewish schools for free, collect free clothes and food from the JCC, send their kids to camp for free, not pay synagogue membership or contribute anything towards cover charges for events if they can afford to wear name brand clothes?
Oh and why do they celebrate Christmas if they're Jewish?

I am a Russian Jew. Can you please tell me where I can get all these free handouts? I just shelled out a thousand dollars for JCC summer camp.

[Anonymous]

OP, while I understand the bitterness when you see someone who seems to have had a much easier time of it, I also think it is silly and unjustified for a number of reasons.

First, until the early 90s, Jews were the only ones who could legally leave USSR. The US offered asylum, it is true, but it did the same for any non-Jews who managed to get out. This is not the US's fault, and it is certainly not the Jews' fault either.

Second, many of the Russian Jews in the US today (myself included) came after 1990. This means that they did not receive any special treatment. In particular, if you meet any Russian Jew your own age (under 35) this means that she either had to work just as hard as you to stay in the US, or that she was a small child when her parents brought her here.

To the PP, I think it is sad that there is tension between American and Russian Jews because of their different understanding of what it means to be Jewish. To me, Jewish is an ethnicity. In Russia, my face and my last name identify me unequivocally as Jewish. Neither the SS men who murdered my grandparents' cousins, nor the Soviet officials who denied my parents job opportunities, did it because they thought them to be religious, and neither did the bullies at my elementary school. The majority of Russian Jews I know are either atheists or devout Christians. They are still 100% Jewish. Come holiday season, I don't care much for either Christmas or Hanukkah, but I still decorate my "elochka" for New Years Eve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, while I understand the bitterness when you see someone who seems to have had a much easier time of it, I also think it is silly and unjustified for a number of reasons.

First, until the early 90s, Jews were the only ones who could legally leave USSR. The US offered asylum, it is true, but it did the same for any non-Jews who managed to get out. This is not the US's fault, and it is certainly not the Jews' fault either.

Second, many of the Russian Jews in the US today (myself included) came after 1990. This means that they did not receive any special treatment. In particular, if you meet any Russian Jew your own age (under 35) this means that she either had to work just as hard as you to stay in the US, or that she was a small child when her parents brought her here.

To the PP, I think it is sad that there is tension between American and Russian Jews because of their different understanding of what it means to be Jewish. To me, Jewish is an ethnicity. In Russia, my face and my last name identify me unequivocally as Jewish. Neither the SS men who murdered my grandparents' cousins, nor the Soviet officials who denied my parents job opportunities, did it because they thought them to be religious, and neither did the bullies at my elementary school. The majority of Russian Jews I know are either atheists or devout Christians. They are still 100% Jewish. Come holiday season, I don't care much for either Christmas or Hanukkah, but I still decorate my "elochka" for New Years Eve.

PP, I am really sorry if my words offended you. I don't have problems with Jews as individuals. In fact, it is a good friend of mine who came here 7 years ago (as an adult) who told me she came as an asylum seeker and got her GC in a snap. I did not start to hate her but I am certainly jealous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, while I understand the bitterness when you see someone who seems to have had a much easier time of it, I also think it is silly and unjustified for a number of reasons.

First, until the early 90s, Jews were the only ones who could legally leave USSR. The US offered asylum, it is true, but it did the same for any non-Jews who managed to get out. This is not the US's fault, and it is certainly not the Jews' fault either.

Second, many of the Russian Jews in the US today (myself included) came after 1990. This means that they did not receive any special treatment. In particular, if you meet any Russian Jew your own age (under 35) this means that she either had to work just as hard as you to stay in the US, or that she was a small child when her parents brought her here.

To the PP, I think it is sad that there is tension between American and Russian Jews because of their different understanding of what it means to be Jewish. To me, Jewish is an ethnicity. In Russia, my face and my last name identify me unequivocally as Jewish. Neither the SS men who murdered my grandparents' cousins, nor the Soviet officials who denied my parents job opportunities, did it because they thought them to be religious, and neither did the bullies at my elementary school. The majority of Russian Jews I know are either atheists or devout Christians. They are still 100% Jewish. Come holiday season, I don't care much for either Christmas or Hanukkah, but I still decorate my "elochka" for New Years Eve.

PP, I am really sorry if my words offended you. I don't have problems with Jews as individuals. In fact, it is a good friend of mine who came here 7 years ago (as an adult) who told me she came as an asylum seeker and got her GC in a snap. I did not start to hate her but I am certainly jealous.

OP, I am sorry if I sounded seriously offended. You seem like a really nice person. But I've heard similar things from Russians here and wanted to clarify. But maybe I don't have all the facts where asylum seekers are concerned. I thought that door had closed back in 91.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, while I understand the bitterness when you see someone who seems to have had a much easier time of it, I also think it is silly and unjustified for a number of reasons.

First, until the early 90s, Jews were the only ones who could legally leave USSR. The US offered asylum, it is true, but it did the same for any non-Jews who managed to get out. This is not the US's fault, and it is certainly not the Jews' fault either.

Second, many of the Russian Jews in the US today (myself included) came after 1990. This means that they did not receive any special treatment. In particular, if you meet any Russian Jew your own age (under 35) this means that she either had to work just as hard as you to stay in the US, or that she was a small child when her parents brought her here.

To the PP, I think it is sad that there is tension between American and Russian Jews because of their different understanding of what it means to be Jewish. To me, Jewish is an ethnicity. In Russia, my face and my last name identify me unequivocally as Jewish. Neither the SS men who murdered my grandparents' cousins, nor the Soviet officials who denied my parents job opportunities, did it because they thought them to be religious, and neither did the bullies at my elementary school. The majority of Russian Jews I know are either atheists or devout Christians. They are still 100% Jewish. Come holiday season, I don't care much for either Christmas or Hanukkah, but I still decorate my "elochka" for New Years Eve.

PP, I am really sorry if my words offended you. I don't have problems with Jews as individuals. In fact, it is a good friend of mine who came here 7 years ago (as an adult) who told me she came as an asylum seeker and got her GC in a snap. I did not start to hate her but I am certainly jealous.

OP, I am sorry if I sounded seriously offended. You seem like a really nice person. But I've heard similar things from Russians here and wanted to clarify. But maybe I don't have all the facts where asylum seekers are concerned. I thought that door had closed back in 91.

No problem, and thanks Apparently it has not closed...maybe its the same ppl who send their kids to JCC for free?
I also know for a fact that some Azerbaijani people go that route (but for them it may be true, don't know much about their current regime...)

[Anonymous]

OP, all this talk about free JCC camps reminds me of the old joke where Rabinovich calls the "Pamyat" (Russian nationalist group) headquarters and asks: "Is it true that Jews have sold out Russia?" "Yes," comes the terse reply. "Well then," inquires Rabinovich, "where is my take?"

[Anonymous]

Op do russians have anything against Romanians? I asked a guy once if he was Russian and I thought he was going to hit me he was so mad. Red faced, veins popping out, screaming that he was Romanian.
Why the hatred? Is there something about the history?

[Anonymous]

I nominate Herring Under a Fur Coat as the most repulsive thing I've ever eaten. I was forced to try this by a Russian friend in grad school at her New Year's celebration. The memory still haunts me, 15 years later.

[Anonymous]

Tell me about the tsar?
Are there still people who remember him?

[Anonymous]

8:42 here again. It occurs to me that the version I had also included hard boiled eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a problem with Jews?

I don't, some Russians do, but not much anymore - there are Chechens to hate now

this is OP again. Actually, I have one problem with Jews Many of them claimed to be truly oppressed in the Soviet Russia, so came to the US seeking asylum and got their green cards in a snap. It is also easy for them to bring their parents here. Well, there was no life threatening oppression. Discrimination - yes, prejudice- yes. But not to the point of seeking and getting asylum. why do I care? because I have to work my butt off to stay in this country...

I'm the one who asked you that question because I am a "Russian" Jew (Russian-speaking, from Ukraine, actually). Certainly I wasn't tortured regularly (beaten a few times here and there, yes, both by the police as well as punk kids), and there are many around the world more deserving, objectively, of refugee status (you say asylum but it's refugee status). I did come here as a refugee. As you say, there was not usually life threatening oppression (though I do have relatives who died because they're Jewish, for all kinds of reasons, including Jews being used in chemicals "research" by the military), but there was life-long hard core discrimination. Naturally it is thanks to lobbying in the US by Jewish groups that got us here and I am grateful for it. And it's benefitted the US enormously--my family and our friends/relatives brought very needed skills into the country, especially in hard sciences. Hello, Sergey Brin, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op do russians have anything against Romanians? I asked a guy once if he was Russian and I thought he was going to hit me he was so mad. Red faced, veins popping out, screaming that he was Romanian.
Why the hatred? Is there something about the history?

Not the OP but do you really know nothing at all about 20th century history? Nothing about by a Romanian would be offended by being confused for a Russian? The Romanian language is more like Italian than Russian, it's a different culture, and Romania was pulled into a horrific existence with some of the worst dictators thanks to the USSR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you think of Putin?

I don't like him, but I think he did some good things for Russia. Like renegotiating oil contracts with Western companies. However, generally all he cares about is him and his clique, and he is ruining the country...

Wow! you are so frank it is refreshing. If you are posting from Russia though, I am afraid for you. I don't want you to be disappeared! Once when I was single and living in an apt building near the Cathedral I had a plot of land in that gardening commune off of New Mexico. My neighboring plot was tilled by a Russian national (the russky embassy is just up the street.) Well, after working the soil, planting, building little structures there with my fellow gardeners for half the summer, I struck up a conversation with my Russian neighbor. She was pleasant and casual and we exchanged names and I told her where I lived. (this was pre-internet era.) Well, later in the summer my brother travelled to Russia with his girlfriend and conducted some business there with a russian company. My gardening neighbor and I were just chatting and then with a very curious look just asked me how my brother liked his time in Russia...I was stunned into silence, until I just stammered an answer--but it was really scary. She had tracked me through some diplomat channel and she wanted me to know it. Just saying. Putin (Big Brother) sees and hears all!!

She's not posting from Russia. She's here on a 'dependant' visa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many Jewish Russians send their kids to private Jewish schools for free, collect free clothes and food from the JCC, send their kids to camp for free, not pay synagogue membership or contribute anything towards cover charges for events if they can afford to wear name brand clothes?
Oh and why do they celebrate Christmas if they're Jewish?

Russian Jew here. I, nor any of my relatives or friends, have never gotten handouts--from the Jewish community or elsewhere. We were given a loan by a Jewish refugee resettlement organization so that we could pay for the airfare to get out of Russia and come to the US. It took my parents almost 10 years to pay back and the terms were not that great, though we were grateful because it was the only way for us to get out.

As for the Christmas question, that's a Soviet culture thing. I'm in my 30s and I still celebrate New Years in what looks like a Christmas-like way. We buy a tree, decorate it, Grandfather Frost (basically Santa) brings presents. In the Soviet Union there was no Christmas--Christians, like Jews, couldn't celebrate such holidays. The traditions remained and Xmas became New Years, basically. Everyone celebrated New Years like Xmas--Jews, Muslims. I have a close Muslim friend from a former Soviet Republic and though I'm Jewish and she's Muslim and we grew up over a thousand miles apart, we both have shockingly similar cultural backgrounds. We celebrate holidays the same way, grew up singing thes ame songs, etc. I still do New Years like "christmas", though to me it really is just New Years. We're somewhat observant Jews, my kids have been raised Jewish, and yet I still keep this funny thing from my childhood. I don't see it in DC but it's very common in the Russian Jewish communities in NY and NJ.