Student: Where did you live in the USSR? City or Country?
Mr. K: City
Student: What year did you escape from USSR ?
Mr. K: 1958
Student: How old were you when you escaped?
Mr.K: 9 years old
Student: Why, personally, did you leave the USSR ?
Mr.K: Lack of Personal
Freedom, Religious Freedom, Civil Rights, and an excessive
amount of Racism and the threat of the Civil Authorities.
Student: We often hear stories regarding religious suppression in the
USSR and that USSR was an atheistic
state. Was there a general "request" from the government that you practice atheism? If Russia was atheist, was the discrimination same
between jews and other religious
minorities or were jews especially discriminated against and if so then why ?
Mr.K:
Any and All Religions were Outlawed except for Catholicism. They
turned all the Chuches, Mosques, and other places of religious
meetings into Museums. The reason they did not
outlaw Catholicism was because they did not want to antagonize
the
western European nations, and their own neighbors, who were
predominantly Catholic. All the other religious minorities, who
accounted for most of the Soviet population, were
antagonized,
persecuted, and had descriptions on their passports to say that
they
were Jews, Nastiks, Baptists, and other religious groups so that they
would be treated accordingly.
Student: Was there discrimination from both citizens and government ? How did this effect your daily life ?
Mr.K:
Yes, the kids who were my neighbors would destroy my property. I would
not have any toys to play with because they would break them
or steal them. I had a bike that my father bought me, it
was made with hard rubber tires, which required no air. I really did not
like that bike because it was very difficult to ride it and you could
not stop pedaling; you would have to keep pedaling for the
bike to move. I was trying to get my neighborhood kids to steal the bike but
they would take it for a ride and bring it back but they would
never try to wreck it. I will never forget that bike. Before we
left Soviet Union, I left it in the middle of my living room, and
I was very happy to get rid of it.
Student: How did your parents manage the financial position if
there was this much
discrimination ?
Mr. K: Well, my father was a
Barber, and my mother was a Cosmetologist. They were earning the most for their occupation,
and it was just enough to keep us happy. Since discrimination was a part of their life too, we could not live a rich life.
Student: What did you think of Police or Civil Authorities ?
Mr. K: They were serving the state. They had their share in killing a lot of innocent people.
Student: Was there always a threat for life ? To What ext?
Mr. K: To be honest, there was
no threat for life from the criminals. The police did a very good job
in keeping the criminals away. When you have a criminal ruling the
country, you cannot have competition with other criminals.
Student: What level of schooling did you go through ? How was it like ?
Did they change the history of Russia
regarding WW I or WW II ? What was
the general feeling toward US and W. Europe ?
Mr. K: When I lived in USSR, I
studied until 3rd Grade. I lived in Poland for 6 years, I got
educated till 9th grade there. Then I moved here, and got my high
school and
college degrees. The Soviet teachers were very well educated. We
were taught foreign languages, in addition to Russian. We were taught
German and French. However, when it came to history, we were only
taught Soviet propaganda. We only learned the Soviet side of the great
wars. When the topic of US and Western Europe arose, we were told
that America still had slavery, and that industrialists were ruling
that country, and that they were trying to take over the world. They
told us we should be ignorant toward their propaganda about freedom and
that democracy in general was evil.
Student: Was there National Pride that could be seen in everyone ?
Mr. K: Yes, definitely. The
soviet army was the largest in the world. The soldiers were educated
laborers, and brainwashed too. They were told that they would be
helping the state, and everyone had to help the state. The Russian
Soldiers were only holding shovels, not shotguns, before they became
soldiers. Russia experienced bloodshed like no other country and it faced the largest number of
casualties in World War II, and it stood through a lot of events. So people loved their
state.
Student: To what extent was Propaganda used to influence people ?
Mr. K: A lot of propaganda was
used to convince people about the foreign stands, and other domestic
issues. But most of the time, the people did not need to be convinced,
because if they disagreed, they would disappear.
Student: How was the health care and social security in the USSR and other domestic issues?
Mr. K: We had no social
security. The state owned everything. As far as health care was
concerned, the Doctor's training was excellent. But, the availability
of drugs and technology was very little. So there was only a 50-50
chance of survival to the people who got sick. In Soviet Union, you
could seldom move from one house to another. If you lived in an Apartment, that was your
permanent house, and you paid rent to the state, even though it was
yours. People could seldom move to a new place because everything was
owned by the state, and one could not move into the apartment without
the government's permission. Because of corruption, it was very
difficult to get an apartment permission. Many old people died in that manner in their
houses because they were not able to move to an apartment and they
could not get a permission because they were not able to pay the bribes
required.
Student: What can you tell us about Present Day Russia ? How has it improved
since the decline of the Soviet Union ? Can Democracy exist ?
Mr. K: Democracy cannot exist
in Russia because then, Russia cannot exist. Russia has only been
successful when it has had oppressive leaders, who killed an enormous amount of
people. Right now, Putin has been restricting a lot of freedom for the
people, because of the Chechnya issue. The Chechnya issue is that it
was a country some time in the early 1200s. But in 1211, it was
occupied by Ivan, and has ever since been a part of the Russia.
Now, they want their own country. But Chechnya is located inside of
Russia, so Putin does not want a separate country within his country. That is
why he has been showing severe hostility toward the Chechnyan Terrorists. It
is a natural response.Would you want a country within yours?
No. But Russia has certainly improved since the fall of the
soviet union, but it will take 50 or 100 years before Russia catches up with the rest of the world. [Laughs]
Mr. K [discussing the
religious reasons behind soviet union's fall]: The reason Soviet Union
failed is because it did not allow Religion. That is why Poland was
successful as Poland was free because of religion. Behind religion,
there
usually is money involved, and the Soviet leaders did not
recognize it,
so it contributed significantly to the fall of the Soviet Union. This
is also the reason why America is flourishing today.