Culver City,
California
Russian Speaking Jewry Collection
From 1989 to 1993, it is estimated that about 1.4 million Jews left the Soviet Union in one of the largest mass emigration movements in world history. Some made the decision to leave because of blatant persecution. Others, though they were doing well socioeconomically, sought to leave behind stereotypes and anti-Semitism. Those who left established new communities in Israel, the United States, Germany, and an expanding Russian-speaking Jewish diaspora. And then there were those who could not leave. Every person who applied to leave the Soviet Union risked losing employment, privileges, connection with friends and family, and social status. Jews whose requests to leave were refused earned the label “Refusenik.”
The Refusenik Movement became one of the pivotal political and cultural movements of the last half of the 20th century. Today, significant collections relating to this history are scattered, at risk of being lost, or inaccessible because they are uncatalogued and have not been digitized. As a result, scholars, specialists, and researchers are lacking important sources of information, and the collective memory of Refuseniks and Soviet Jewish émigrés is being forgotten.
The Soviet Jewry Archives will preserve the history of the Soviet Jewish experience and make it accessible to present and future generations to learn from.
The cataloging and digitization of this collection was made possible by the support of Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.
Subcollections
Showing search results 1-15 of 25
Showing search results 1-15 of 25
