Kudos to your father, Ilya. This is a wonderful, timeless story of perseverance and human desire. The characteristics and settings change, but the spirit is always the same.
Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
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Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#32I come from a former Soviet Republic and from everything my dad tells me an image emerges - an image of a land where you could do everything,but you always had to bribe the right people, otherwise they wouldn't do anything. Or they would,but it would take them half a year to process the application.
My uncle actually studied at the University of Warsaw and was the best student in his year, while doing engineering. He wanted to go on a foreign placement in the UK, which was a very rare opportunity to see some world. So he applied,studied hard, and fulfilled all the requirements. Only to be told a week before going that sorry but he can't go, because the son of the State Secretary is going instead. He had to complain to some very high-positioned officials to be allowed to go next year, but not without being threatened to be kicked out of academia for life first.
Funny thing is, that I am currently studying at the same university in the UK my uncle did his placement 40 years ago. Feeling quite proud of that.
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#33Posted last time[1] one of these stories came around, comment applicable here: As a preamble there most definitely existed anti-semitism in Soviet Union. I am a Russian living in the US with Jewish family in Russia. This is a throw away account. With that said, stories of anti-semitism told by Russian Jews in US should not be taken at face value. These folks are subject to a very strong selection bias. Most of them c…
So, how big a problem is antisemitism in Russia, in your opinion?
It's huge. It permeates all levels of the society. There are jokes, stereotypes and anecdotes that are essentially part of the culture. Most (if not all) of the people have at some point been subjected to them, and even if they are not antisemitic, they are certainly aware of the singling out of Jews.
This dates back to the days of the USSR, but the prejudice is not limited to Jews anymore. Chechens, Georgians, Tajiks, Ukrainians, etc. (even ethnicities indigenious to parts of Russia) -- all of them can be routinely discriminated against based on looks and/or name.
What has changed, though, is that the bulk of discrimination has shifted from the state to the people. E.g. folks are not discriminated against when trying to get into a college, but can be singled out on the street.
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#34Forgive me: This is both a comment on the content and in the process I mentioned something I made recently. I don't want any more users right now. I have a bucket for links called "Mythbusting" on this service I made named Scrooty. I called the bucket "Mythbusting" not as a reference to the TV show but rather for a particular category of content. I often run into misconceptions and tropes that bother me. One of those…
You might want to add Shin Dong-hyuk's first-hand account of life in a North Korean prison camp. Slavery, starvation, torture, rape, and murder are the norm, and given that it's illegal to be related to someone in prison, a ridiculous percentage of the country's population is enslaved in these prisons. The DPRK's human rights violations go well beyond the oft-cited starvation of the populace.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57556662/north-korean-...
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#35Posted last time[1] one of these stories came around, comment applicable here: As a preamble there most definitely existed anti-semitism in Soviet Union. I am a Russian living in the US with Jewish family in Russia. This is a throw away account. With that said, stories of anti-semitism told by Russian Jews in US should not be taken at face value. These folks are subject to a very strong selection bias. Most of them c…
they have interest in maintaining the story
As far as the comparison with others, including other ethnic groups as well as individuals: indeed, Jews were far from the only target, and often were targeted not as Jews specifically. Several (more than 20) ethnic groups suffered much worse under the Soviet system than the Jews did. However, when we talk specifically about college admissions, Jews were targeted as such, and in this aspect they (I guess I should say we) suffered more. Here too Jews were not the only targeted group (or in many cases not the only non-privileged group) but it was much more widespread against the Jews, and I would say more cynical as well.
When in the US I am asked if the stories about Jewish persecution in the USSR are true, I usually say "the short answer is yes but the correct answer is yes but". In addition to the above, I usually also point out that this is almost nothing compared to, say, the way the Nazis persecuted Jews, and all of the families that were targeted by the Soviet system were (directly or indirectly) also targeted by the Nazi system, and here the Soviet system takes a very distant second. Not such a great achievement, of course.
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#36What's interesting is that according to several narratives from those close to the central committee under Stalin, anti-semitic policies in the Soviet Union started from geo-political maneuvering rather than any inherent personal sense of racism.
Sudoplatov, an NKVD agent who worked for Beria, wrote in his memoirs that the original Soviet post-war plans were actually to establish a Jewish republic in the Crimea, with the hope that they would be able to use it in order to get money for Soviet post-war reconstruction from Jewish organizations around the world.
When they failed to gain world traction with the idea, and were cut off from British/American planning of the alternative (Palestine), Stalin moved to a policy of anti-Semitism (the "Doctor's Plot" and a campaign against "Rootless Cosmopolitanism") so that the Arab world would turn to him instead (in their dissatisfaction with the plans for Israel).
One passage from Sudoplatov's memoirs:
"Stalin and his close aides were interested in the Jewish issue mainly to exploit it politically, either for use in a power struggle or for consolidating their power. That's how the flirtation with anti-Semitism started in high party echelons...Stalin's efforts after the war were focused on extending Soviet hegemony, first over the countries of Eastern Europe bordering the Soviet Union and then everywhere he was in competition with British interests. He foresaw that the Arab states would turn to the Soviet Union when they were frustrated by British and American support for Israel. The Arabs would appreciate the anti-Zionist trends in Soviet foreign policy...I was told by Vetrov, Molotov's Assistant, what Stalin said: 'Let's agree to the establishment of Israel. This will be a pain in the ass for the Arab states and will make them turn their backs on the British. In the long run it will totally undermine British influence in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq.'"
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#37I think the US unofficial quotas against Asians are somewhat similar to the Soviet ones against Jews, though not so spitefully motivated. Essentially, it boils down to "We don't want our own kids to have to compete on even terms with these hard-working, incredibly studious outsiders."
I think this issue is a bit overstated — though certainly true to some extent. The most prominent case I've seen made here focuses on PSAT scores and a few other categories which (a) aren't necessarily indicative of success and (b) are biased towards some ethnic groups which prioritize standardized tests. The PSAT in particular is an odd one, since it is mostly irrelevant for any applications -- most Asian-American groups wildly outperform everyone else on the PSAT, but the gap is much narrower on the SAT, which has greater relevance for college admissions, and thus sees more preparation from across ethnic groups.
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#38Posted last time[1] one of these stories came around, comment applicable here: As a preamble there most definitely existed anti-semitism in Soviet Union. I am a Russian living in the US with Jewish family in Russia. This is a throw away account. With that said, stories of anti-semitism told by Russian Jews in US should not be taken at face value. These folks are subject to a very strong selection bias. Most of them c…
Regarding immigration: I don't know if there was much selection bias as we were in the immigration queue for 10 years before being selected. The Anti-Defamation League told Bill Clinton that the situation in Russia was getting worse (1996), and he increased the annual quota of Russian Jews allowed to enter the US. Regarding the second point: we have no more relatives in Russia, so the narrative is not meant to help a…
The original comment was meant for another article with a similar premise did not mean to impinge your credibility specifically.
Regarding the second point, it is perfectly illustrated in your first point. The narrative of antisemitism in Russia was used by the Anti-Defamation League to petition for increasing immigration quota.
About the Jewish Problems List, yes I have seen it, and have serious issues with it. I also have serious issues with oral exams as done in Russia. Both the Jewish Problem List and oral exams are big topics and should be separate discussions.
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#39What's interesting is that according to several narratives from those close to the central committee under Stalin, anti-semitic policies in the Soviet Union started from geo-political maneuvering rather than any inherent personal sense of racism. Sudoplatov, an NKVD agent who worked for Beria, wrote in his memoirs that the original Soviet post-war plans were actually to establish a Jewish republic in the Crimea , wit…
On that note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Autonomous_Oblast
Re: Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)
#40Posted last time[1] one of these stories came around, comment applicable here: As a preamble there most definitely existed anti-semitism in Soviet Union. I am a Russian living in the US with Jewish family in Russia. This is a throw away account. With that said, stories of anti-semitism told by Russian Jews in US should not be taken at face value. These folks are subject to a very strong selection bias. Most of them c…
So, how big a problem is antisemitism in Russia, in your opinion?
Ha, what an interesting disagreement! One of the commentators said "it's huge", and I was just about to say that it is generally less than it used to be and has more of the legendary than practical status. Things can easily change back to what they used to be, but currently they seem to be okay. However, I need to mention that I have not lived in that country for 20 years now, and although have been visiting often, sometimes more than once a year, my view is not of the one who has to make a living there. I may not notice some undercurrents.