Free Republic

I am white. I am Jewish. I am an immigrant. I am a Russian American. But until recently I haven’t focused so much on those parts of my identity. I’ve always thought of myself simply as a normal, unhyphenated American. Ever since I arrived here, along with my mother and grandmother, from Russia in 1976 at age 7, I have been eager to assimilate. And I’ve done a pretty good job of it. I don’t have any accent, and I haven’t written much about my origins — which, at any rate, don’t have much to do with my job, which...

Time magazine has named Russian president Vladimir Putin its "person of the year." What did people in Philadelphia's Russian community think about that? "No politics -- no!" Many people like this woman were refusing to answer questions about Putin being named person of the year by Time. Another woman said only that she is this country now and would like to talk about American politics. She thinks Hillary Clinton will be the next president. Still another Russian immigrant to Philadelphia, Oxana, has been in this country for about two years. She didn't care very much about the distinction that Putin...

In the last few months, the growing conflict between Sacramento's Slavic Christians and its politically savvy gay community has erupted on campuses, at school board hearings, and on the grounds of the Capitol. Russian-speaking hecklers lined the march of this year's gay pride parade downtown. At least 15 Slavic students were suspended in April for wearing shirts proclaiming, "Homosexuality is sin." This spring, Slavic Christians packed board meetings in three local school districts to make their position clear: Being gay is not OK. Even more offensive to them is the increasingly strong push by gay leaders to bring acceptance of...

Since he arrived in Brooklyn as a refugee from Ukraine seven years ago, Boris Khrapunskiy, a 97-year-old widower, has subsisted on federal and state disability payments, as elderly or disabled poor people in New York State have done for the past 60 years. But in June, to his shock, he received a letter from the government saying his benefits would be cut off until he became a United States citizen. The action was the result of a 1996 decision by Congress to eliminate Supplemental Security Income, or S.S.I., for most immigrants who entered the country after Aug. 22 of that...

Last Updated: Sunday, 12 September, 2004, 12:13 GMT 13:13 UK Religious revivalAlaska sees renewal of faith in Russian Orthodox churchReligious legacy lives on in Alaska By Martha Dixon BBC, Alaska The Russian Orthodox church in Alaska is claiming a resurgence in a faith that most people predicted would die out. When Russia sold Alaska to America for $7.2m in 1867 it left little trace on the state - except its religion.Orthodox Church is a durable legacy of Alaska's Russian past A new cathedral is being built in Anchorage "I have eight children and 36 grandchildren and they've all been baptised...

Birman to represent California at RNC UCD alum one of 343 state delegates at Republican National Convention By ANGELA PANG Born in the Soviet Union, UCD alumnus Igor Birman immigrated to the United States as a refugee with his family when he was 11 years old. His passion and enthusiasm for American politics sprouted from a life-altering experience. "Life in the Soviet Union with its dictatorship, in contrast with the liberty of United States, has really opened my eyes to what a free country is all about," Birman said. "I want to do my utmost to make sure that the...

Tatiana Menaker is a Russian émigré who knows first-hand about persecution and indoctrination. She was a journalist in her native Russia, and she came to America in 1986, a divorcee with two small children and only $90 in her pocket. A Jewish refusenik against the old Soviet Communist regime, she continued as a journalist writing for the Russian-Jewish community. Later, she bought a small tour van and began giving tours of San Francisco to supplement her income. Three years ago she enrolled at San Francisco State University to better her English. To her dismay, she found the same anti-Semitism and...

<p>Adam Bondaruk leads the service at Bethany Slavic Missionary Church, which he built into the nation's largest Slavic Pentecostal congregation.</p> <p>Allegations of sexism, bigotry, domestic abuse, welfare fraud, misuse of church finances, infidelity and more are running rampant in Sacramento's no-holds-barred Russian-language media.</p>

The calls came pouring into the state's Department of Children and Family Services on Monday from families looking to adopt a Russian youngster whose mother is being charged with killing her 6-year-old brother. "It's just one of those stories that has touched the hearts of people all over the area," said Jill Manuel, spokeswoman for the Chicago DCFS office. "It is such a heartbreaking story." Police said the mother, Irma Pavlis, shook, struck and beat Alex M. Pavlis to death Thursday, only a month after adopting the boy and girl from Russia. Bail for Pavlis was set at $3 million...

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee -- A 104-year-old Russian immigrant realized a dream by becoming a U.S. citizen -- one of the oldest immigrants ever to take the oath. The naturalization ceremony Wednesday was held at a hospital where Shlema Livshits is being treated for a heart condition. "It is beyond belief to be here this day, to see my great-grandfather become a citizen," said 22-year-old Vladislav Merkulov, a University of Tennessee student who became a U.S. citizen two years ago. Nurses joined dignitaries, immigration officials and Livshits' family as U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan administered the oath of citizenship to Livshits from...

Natia Samkharadze doesn't recall ever thinking about money when she was growing up in Soviet Georgia. Housing was subsidized, education and medical care were free, and lifelong employment was guaranteed -- so paying for things wasn't a big concern. Now an Atlanta resident, the 30-year-old insurance agent and mother of two says she and other immigrants from formerly Communist countries are, like the rest of us, intensely interested in financial matters. Few immigrant groups would seem as ill-suited to American-style capitalism as those from formerly Communist countries where words like "entrepreneur" and "speculator" were insults. But Atlanta has become home...