Padi 8^THE NEWS-WoVei^bif 1989"
From Here to the Soviet Union — Part III
By Patty Gorelick
Aunt Bella survived the Tzar’s
pogroms, Stalin’s purges, and
the Holocaust to marry and have
a son and daughter, Wolfe and
Sopha. Although Aunt Bella
died in 1985, we looked forward
to meeting Wolfe and Sopha,
two first cousins we hadn’t
known existed. Michael told us
that Wolfe and Gary (Sopha’s
husband) were both members of
the Communist Party. I knew we
would have many questions to
ask them the next evening when
we were invited to their home
for dinner. These thoughts
flashed through my mind as I
lay on my narrow bed bathed
by the warm night air of June
in Moscow.
In the hotel dining room the
next morning, we consumed our
usual breakfast of eggs, cheese,
bread, jam and coffee. Our
appetite satisfied, we took off for
a walk around the center of
Moscow but were disappointed
to learn that the Kremlin was
closed. The Soviet government
is nervous. The discontent of the
Soviet citizens is almost palpable
and while the historic first Soviet
Congress was meeting, the sold
iers on Red Square prevented
people from entering.
Throughout our trip wherever
television sets were available, in
hotel lobbies, department stores,
or relatives’ apartments, people
were tuned in to the live broad
casts from the Kremlin of the
congressional meetings. The
avid viewers brought to mind
our own countrymen watching
the Iran/Contra investigations.
Realizing entrance to the
Kremlin was unattainable, we
walked to the other side of Red
Square to visit GUM, the fa
mous Moscow department
store. The facade of the 19th
century limestone building was
quite elaborate with tall, narrow
arched windows and doors.
These are surmounted with a
generous display of dentil mold
ings. The interior is composed
of three separate wings joined by
arched pedestrian bridges
adorned with fanciful wrought
iron balustrades. Not only is the
building unlike any department
store I have ever seen, but so is
Exterior of GUM department store.
The Gorelick fmmily recently traveled to the Soviet Union to meet their Russian relatives for the
first time. This is Part HI of a series of articles concerning that trip.
the displaying and selling of the
merchandise. There are separate
booths for each type of merchan
dise; a booth for ribbons, for
lingerie, for blouses, for socks,
etc. In most cases the items for
sale were hanging on the walls
or standing on shelves behind
counters. In order to purchase
something, one had to stand in
line for a salesperson to write the
order slip, then take the order
slip to another line to pay a
cashier, and then return to the
original line to pick up the
purchase. The quality of the
merchandise was poor, the de
sign outdated, and the prices
were high. In spite of this, the
store was crowded with
shoppers, many of whom were
in line trying to make their
purchases. This is the only game
in town!
Out on the street again, we
walked through the crowds. On
the way back to the hotel we
took pictures of “the weigher.”
This entrepreneurial person sits
on a high stool next to a doctor’s
scale in the middle of the street
and weighs people. A line of
customers were waiting to pay
their kopek and be weighed. It
occurred to me that one member
of my family (whose name will
go unmentioned) would not
allow her weight to be taken
publicly if the weigher paid her.
Other curious sights on the
streets were public drink ma
chines. One puts a coin in the
machine and juice flows out into
a glass standing under the spigot.
After finishing the drink, the
glass is returned to the spigot for
the next brave customer who is
undaunted by the germs on the
public glass.
We were now on our way to
the Pushkin Museum to see the
Van Gogh exhibit. As we walked
through the streets, we were
constantly being approached by
teen age boys to trade with them.
They wanted our American
clothing and in return would
give us Soviet t-shirts, military
clothing or watches. They also
were eager to change money for
us. The official Soviet rate of
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Inside GUM, shoppers on pedestrian bridges connecting wings of building on
second and third floors.
Merchandise displayed in GUM. Pbotos/P. Gorelick
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exchange in June was $1.65 for
one ruble. However, the street
rate was 8-10 rubles for $1. We
had read and were warned be
fore we came on the trip not to
trade money on the street. For
the first three days we complied
with the warnings. However, the
black market traders were so
flagrant and so numerous that
we believed the police were not
enforcing the ban against trad
ing money. And, after our In
tourist guides said “Why not?”
we wondered if we should give
it a try.
The Van Gogh exhibit turned
out to be excellent and everyone
in our family enjoyed the time
spent there. As we were viewing
the paintings, one incident oc
curred that was most enlighten
ing. Our cousin Michael pointed
out a painting of Ahashueros
and Esther that he particularly
liked. We mentioned to him that
it was from the story of Purim.
“What is Purim?” he asked. We
had to explain since he had never
heard of this Jewish holiday.
Slowly I began to comprehend
the fact that the younger mem
bers of our Russian family had
not been given any Jewish ed
ucation. I felt a deep sense of
loss for them. Not only were they
deprived of the materials things
in life, but they had also been
robbed of the precious spiritual
and cultural Jewish heritage
which was rightfully theirs. In
addition to the Jews, the remain
ing Soviet people have also been
deprived of their rich heritage
and traditions. The discontent
that is surfacing today is being
expressed by the protests of
many ethnic groups demanding
the right to speak their ancestral
languages, use their separate
currency and practice their
traditional beliefs.
Nineteenth century and early
20th century Russia had been at
the forefront of European cul
ture. In literature: Tolstoy,
Dostogevsky and Chekov; in
music; Mussorgky, Rumsky-
Korsakov and Tchaikovsky; in
dance: Diaghilev, Balanchine,
Pavlova and Nyinsky, are just
a sampling of the brilliant stars
that lit the world from Russia.
All this abruptly ended with the
entrenchment of the future So
viet government.
We were seeing firsthand a
country frozen in time as we
walked back to our hotel and
passed the many magnificent
19th century buildings whose
facades were in different stages
of decline through years of
neglect. The food stores that
once housed food fit for the most
discriminating gourmet now
held barren she lives except for
the simplest utilitarian items.
Other shops had merchandiK of
the poorest quality. Just as the
buildings were decaying before
our eyes, Soviet culture had
withered and all but died. The
best of the Soviet Union today
appears to be in what remains
intact of pre-1917 Russia. Even
the people themselves have been
stunted by the government’s
domination of their lives. All
assertiveness, initiative and in
centive have been squelched by
the ruling powers. From what we
observed, their economy ap
peared in shambles. There were
no fruits or vegetables even in
the midst of summer. I had the
impression of being in an ex
tremely poor country that could
not do much to improve the lives
of its citizens.
The understandable paranoia
of the Soviet Union (due to a
violent history of frequent inva
sive attacks) has led them down
the road to economic ruin. At
what appears to the 11th hour.
See FAMILY next page
SINCE 1883, IT HAS BEEN OUR PRIVILEGE TO
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John B. Tallent, III
Vice President
500 Providence Road
332-7133