Author: d.minchuk

Thanks for a great semester! I stepped out of my comfort zone with this class and learned a ton from it. Have a happy holidays!

For the final installment of my immigration series, I was hoping to film a few of my first-gen American friends. My friend group is full of first-generation Americans and I would do a video interview series with them to talk about their experiences growing up in America with immigrant parents and how that affects their perspective. I myself am a Belarussian-American, and in the friend group we have representation from Azerbaijan, Hungary, Puerto Rico/Ukraine, Ukraine, and Belarus. The video series would be shot in different settings and will be mindful of COVID safety measures.

Host Intro

TRACK: NYC is home to hundreds of thousands of Russian-Jewish immigrants, and is a major hub for the Jewish diaspora. As with many ethnic groups in the Big Apple, communities have formed that became home to a concentration of particular groups of people. As a Russian-Jewish immigrant, it may make sense to settle down in Brighton Beach, where one would feel comfortably surrounded by people with similar backgrounds. Some people, however, prefer to take on a different path when landing in America. Denis Minchuk sat down with his mother to learn more about her story.

AMBI:*Keyboard Typing/Work Station Sounds* 

TRACK: My mother, Anzhelika, sits at her work station in the home office. It was nearly 30 years ago that she left Belarus and came here at 22 years old with my 20 year old father, a two year old baby in my brother Yuriy, her parents, and her maternal grandparents who were holocaust survivors. They settled in Dyker Heights as opposed to more thoroughly Russian Brighton Beach. She says there were a number of reasons they decided to leave.

Act: Anzhelika: “the biggest one of them was of course that throughout the years the country suffered with big Anti-Semitism. Me being raised in a Jewish family and then married to a non-Jewish person created bigger problems for us, raising a child from a mixed marriage. More issues were coming with the breakup of the Soviet Union, when the economic conditions were absolutely horrible and raising kids was impossible. 

TRACK: But it all started in 1986 with [the] Chernobyl catastrophe.

ACT: I was living in Belarus in the 30Km zone, and that’s why the first conversations of leaving the country started.

Track: The process of getting to America wasn’t easy or quick.

Act: *Airplane sound*  Anzhelika: From the start of the process to us landing at JFK it was two years approximately. We started filling out the papers when our child was not born, when we came here our child was two years old. 

TRACK: They experienced some serious culture shock when they first arrived.

ACT: The first couple of days were absolutely shocking to us. We didn’t know English, we didn’t have money, we didn’t have anything with us except the family and a kid.

TRACK: The first year in America was the toughest year of their lives. 

ACT: Anzhelika: We obviously reached out for advice to whomever we could, getting the best advice honestly helped us to understand how to become Americans in this country. So the decision was made to go and get an American college education.

TRACK: Raising children with dual identities was a delicate balance. 

ACT: Anzhelika:. I still wanted to bring home country values to the kids, definitely bilingual education. They both started learning Russian first then English. We are all bilingual and I believe it helps, so I can’t really say that they are Russian vs. American. They are American kids and so are we American parents but with a little bit of culture left to make certain decisions maybe a little different.

ACT: *Russian grocery store advertisement playing*

TRACK: We do our grocery shopping in this Russian grocery store in Sheepshead Bay. If you didn’t know where you were, you could easily be in Odessa. But it was important for my parents not to take the easy way when they moved here. 

ACT: Anzhelika: We knew if we moved into a Russian community we would not be able to do it as successfully as we have done. Well reason number one, again we were young and we wanted to know the country, we wanted to become true Americans. Citizenship was our number one priority.

TRACK: For my grandparents, the experience was much different. They had more experience being Jewish in the Soviet Union, and no reason to stay behind while their daughter left to a better land. She said being Jewish in Belarus was difficult.

ACT: Sofia’s voice plays in Russian with my translation: It was bad. They called us yids, insulted us. We were able to get work but moving up and getting promoted was difficult.

TRACK: But she says she’s never  experienced anything of the sort in America.

ACT: Sofia’s voice plays in Russian with my translation: In America I haven’t seen any of that. We went to school to learn the language, two or three different schools. I found work quickly. My parents were old but they got SSI right away and everything was okay mostly. We had nostalgia at first, that first year.

TRACK: When asked if she feels like an American now, she gave a resounding yes. My mother seconded that thought.

ACT: Anzhelika: We feel at home. Seriously, after 28 years, we basically spent more of our lives here than back in Belarus. We do feel at home, and I believe we are successful, both us and the kids who are getting great education here. Professionally, financially, I think we are doing great.

TRACK: Now with my older brother Yuriy having a child of his own, the roots grow deeper in America, and a second generation of Americans in our family will begin to grow. Reporting for Baruch College, I’m Denis Minchuk in Brooklyn.

Radio Script First Draft

Track: *Keyboard Typing/Work Station Sounds* My mother, Anzhelika, sits at her work station in the home office, now nearing 30 years since she moved her family to America. After diving into the Russian community of South Brooklyn in my previous story, I decided to learn more about why my family settled in Dyker Heights as opposed to Brighton Beach. Growing up, I knew that there was a different view point that my parents held, but I decided to sit down with my mother and her mother as well to ask a few questions about their experiences. Coming here at 22 years old with my 20 year old father, a two year old baby in my brother Yuriy, her parents, and maternal grandparents who were holocaust survivors, to build a new life could not have been easy. I began by asking what the deciding factor was that lead to her and her family leaving the Soviet Union.

Act: Anzhelika: “Well there were multiple reasons, the biggest one of them was of course that throughout the years the country suffered with big Anti-semitism. Me being raised in a Jewish family and then married to a non-Jewish person created bigger problems for us, raising a child from a mixed marriage. More issues were coming with the breakup of the Soviet Union, when the economic conditions were absolutely horrible and raising kids was impossible. But it all started in 1986 with [the] Chernobyl catastrophe. I was living in Belarus in the 30Km zone, and that’s why the first conversations of leaving the country started.

Track: The process of getting to America wasn’t easy or quick.

Act: *Airplane sound*  Anzhelika: So the process was not easy, from the start of the process to us landing at JFK it was two years approximately. We started filling out the papers when our child was not born, when we came here our child was two years old. It took a while, bunch of paper work, a lot of checks, including medical procedures. After the vetting process was completed we came after two years. The immigration story is a long story but the first couple of days were absolutely shocking to us. We didn’t know English, we didn’t have money, we didn’t have anything with us except the family and a kid.

Track: She went on to state that the first year in America was the toughest year of their lives. I asked what they decided to do as a couple to start settling in and figuring out what to do.

Act: Anzhelika: We obviously reached out for advice to whomever we could, getting the best advice honestly helped us to understand how to become Americans in this country. So the decision was made to go and get an American college education.

Track: As the trajectory of their lives changed, I wondered how they approached raising American kids and acknowledging their new American lives.

Act: Anzhelika: Well, honestly, I did not approach it differently. I still wanted to bring home country values to the kids, definitely bilingual education. They both started learning Russian first then English. We are all bilingual and I believe it helps, so I cant really say that they are Russian vs. American. They are American kids and so are we American parents but with a little bit of culture left to make certain decisions maybe a little different.

Track: This felt like a perfect opportunity to ask the question about the neighborhood in which I grew up, and why they decided to avoid Brighton Beach.

Act: *Russian grocery store advertisement playing* Anzhelika: Well reason number one, again we were young and we wanted to know the country, we wanted to become true Americans. Citizenship was our number one priority. Since we went to college, I guess we got accustomed to American culture sooner than other people who did not approach the education from American institutions. Honestly, we didn’t have Russian television, Russian newspapers, we wanted to learn the language as soon as possible. We knew if we moved into a Russian community we would not be able to do it as successfully as we have done.

Track: For my grandparents, the experience was much different. They had more experience being Jewish in the Soviet Union, and no reason to stay behind while their daughter left to a better land. I asked my grandmother what it was like being a Jew in Belarus.

Act: Sofia’s voice plays in Russian with my translation: It was bad. They called us kikes, insulted us. We were able to get work but moving up and getting promoted was difficult.

Track: I asked her if she had experienced anything of the sort in America.

Act: Sofia’s voice plays in Russian with my translation: In America I haven’t seen any of that. We went to school to learn the language, two or three different schools. Getting work wasn’t hard, I found a job quickly. Basically as soon as I wanted to I got hired. Your grandpa too, he basically worked from Day 1. My parents were old but they got SSI right away and everything was okay mostly, it was hard obviously but it was okay. Not knowing the language was hard, but it’s okay. We had nostalgia at first, that first year.

Track: When asked if she feels like an American now, she gave a resounding yes. My mother seconded that thought.

Act: Anzhelika: We feel at home. Seriously, after 28 years, we basically spent more of our lives here than back in Belarus. We do feel at home, and I believe we are successful, both us and the kids who are getting great education here. Professionally, financially, I think we are doing great.

Track: While our past is unforgettable, and we will always hold on to that bit of our culture, my parents feel every bit as American as I do having been born here. It has been an eventful few decades, but the roots have dug deep and we can only move forward from here. Reporting for Baruch College, I’m Denis Minchuk.

 

Here is my first attempt at audio editing:

Host Intro: In a conversation about coping with loss, my girlfriend Elizabeth offered some interesting perspective on pets, particularly dogs.

Act: Elizabeth: The biggest loss I’ve ever experienced was definitely when both of my dogs died in 2019. Both of them were a bit unexpected and they happened within months of each other. My youngest dog was twelve and my oldest dog was fifteen, and losing them both within six months was the most difficult loss I’ve experienced.

Track: Considering the short transition, I wondered why they got two new dogs so quickly. *Natural Key Sound*

Act: Elizabeth: The fact that you come home and it’s just empty and quiet when it used to be filled with so much life and noise and happiness in the form of dogs. I have, they’re both a year-and-a-half, so I have two dogs, one of them if a Pomeranian-husky mix. She is twenty-five pounds almost. Another one is a Yorkie, a teacup Yorkie, so she is like six pounds and also a year-and-a-half.

Track: *Dog barking* I asked how she felt about moving on so quickly and bringing in two new family members after having just lost her two previous Yorkies.

Act: Elizabeth: Initially I completely refused, but once she (the Yorkie) was brought home I obviously fell in love with her so she’s just another source of happiness now instead of a source of pain.

Track: However, she certainly feels a bit differently about her future outlook.

Act: Elizabeth: I definitely would like to own a dog once I have a family but having that responsibility when I’m on my own is something that I’m not going to take upon myself. Eventually when I have kids, I definitely would like a dog.

Track: I decided to get her thoughts on the role of pets during quarantine and whether she feels that dogs helped our mental state.

Act: Elizabeth: I think so for sure, especially for me, because I had something to look forward to every day which was just walking them twice a day. When you’re holed up in your room, those twenty minute walks are definitely a highlight of your day.

Track: *Playful dog growling* It is clear that domesticated animals serve a larger role than we may think in our daily lives. Reporting for Baruch College, I’m Denis Minchuk.

I have submitted the audio via email, as the blog does not have room for media uploads at the moment.

For my radio project I will be doing a podcast with my mother about our family’s path to America. With the recent uptick in COVID cases in the zip codes surrounding my area, I am uncomfortable with interviewing someone that is not related to me. We will go into what made my mother want to leave the Soviet Union, and then she will give an account of what it took to get here and what they went through to get to where they are today. I look forward to sharing this story with everyone because I find it very inspiring and it drives me every day. I also believe that her story can help shine a light on America that hasn’t been prevalent in a while. I have had difficulty being a good patriot these past few years and in general it seems that there hasn’t been much pride attached to Americans recently, but this story certainly reminds me of what others see in the this country.

For my Photoville assignment, my girlfriend and I visited Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday, the 3rd of October. There were plenty of people out that day who came to enjoy the exhibits on display. The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful scene. We checked out a few exhibits while passing through, and you’ll find some pictures attached of the layout. It was a great experience that I had previously not known about at all. Unfortunately, at this time it seems that we have exceeded the media upload limit so as soon as I can post some pictures of it, I will. It was a great day and the exhibits were very stimulating.

 

Within five minutes of taking pictures of the scenes on Emmons Avenue, the owner of Emmons Palace approached my partner and I.

“May I ask what exactly you think you’re taking pictures of?”

I answered that I was doing a project for school, but bent the truth a bit to sound friendlier than I was. His litmus test for whether I can be trusted? “Ti govorish po Russki?” Do I speak Russian. I answered in Russian and he responded with, “You know with what has been going on I can’t trust anyone, they fine me $1000 for every stupid mask below the nose, these idiots. Have a good night, son.”

They know to be on high alert because they know they’re breaking the law, but if you’re one of us then you can be trusted, because no member of this community would ever in their right minds expose anyone of their own. Make of that what you will.

Little Odessa is a predominantly Russian-speaking community of Soviet immigrants and refugees in the Brighton and Sheepshead Bay neighborhoods of South Brooklyn. While many of these people came to build a new life and escape what was well known to be an oppressive regime, the political culture of the community has changed over time to resemble that same conservative nature of the place from which they came.

The development and growth of this community began with the “third-wave” of immigrants, mostly Russian-Jews that settled in Brighton Beach during the 70’s. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the “fourth-wave” of immigrants and refugees of the Soviet regime came to the New York Metropolitan area and gravitated towards Brighton Beach as it was now seen as a hub for Russian immigrants.

There are currently over 1.6 Million Russian-Americans in the Tri-State area, 600,000 of which live in NYC, among which 220,000 are Russian-Jews.

According to the last census, Brighton beach is comprised of 87% European/Asian residents, hailing from countries like Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, etc. Over time, with the help of social aid, many members of the community found their footing in America.

The community has grown exponentially, with new Russian-owned restaurants and businesses dotted all over Brighton, Coney Island Avenue, Ocean Avenue, and Emmons Avenue. As families worked their way into the middle class, attitudes changed, and so did their opinions on social welfare, taxes, and racial inequality.

Russian people have always been blunt and opinionated, and they do not hold back, even in public. In an overheard conversation while taking pictures, two frustrated locals deliberated in their native tongue on a boardwalk bench. Loosely translated, one sentiment went something like this:

“Deblasio, this idiot, takes our tax money and gives it to these drug addicts and lazy [racial slur] who go and break windows and burn cars. God willing Trump wins and teaches these people a lesson.”

While some locals are vocal, others are much quieter about their beliefs, even if they are not much different from the above comments. The Russian community is overwhelmingly in support of Donald Trump, as they share his viewpoints on immigration, social welfare, and of course Israel.

What had used to be a community of immigrants and refugees trying to make a new life with the help of the government, has become a community of far-right individuals with serious disdain for the tax system and immigrants.

The Russian community of South Brooklyn has seemingly forgotten the days when they were the ones in need. Since then, many residents have taken advantage of certain loopholes available to them.

Some affluent business owners still live in Section 8 housing and have their senior parents buying groceries with food stamps, all while driving six-figure vehicles and wearing the latest luxury brands. Those, however, are just the things that one can see in public. There have been many stories about illegal activities and abuses of loopholes to come out of Brighton and Sheepshead bay in recent years.

 

In the past few decades alone there have been a dozen stories and major busts of no-fault insurance scams, car insurance scams, credit card scams, tax fraud, health insurance fraud, medical supply fraud, and more. Businessmen have found ways to commit all sorts of white-collar crimes to climb the social ranks of the community.

Once one finds success, they can move out to Mill Basin into a massive mansion, or perhaps stay local and move to Manhattan Beach. With hustling being so prevalent, it is evident as to why the politics of the community have gravitated towards someone like Trump and the conservative party.

The general attitude of the community has led to it becoming a microcosm of conservative soviet thinking. The government is the obstacle in the way of your success and laws are made to inconvenience you and push forth a particular ideology. This belief has rooted itself in the people and they feel a disdain for authority. They see Trump as a symbol of rebellion from the politicians that came before him.

I spoke with an anonymous source close to me who lives near Brighton and lived most of their life in the Soviet Union to try and understand the change in thinking. When I asked why they are all of a sudden against social aid, their response was, “The people receiving the aid now are lazy and do not try to find work or climb up in any way. They keep finding ways to stay on welfare and continue to collect it and it comes at the cost of our tax money. We worked hard to leave welfare.”

I asked why they thought that people were actively trying to stay on welfare as opposed to not being able to find better jobs, and if they thought that maybe racial injustices may be at play with regards to finding better work and better education.

“The race card is always brought up, we are sick of it. We did not even speak the language when we came here and we came with nothing, you think we were able to find work and get into schools because we are white?”

I responded with yes, and proceed to ask about the members of the Russian community that currently take advantage of certain social aid by lying about their income.

“I don’t agree with that either, but you can’t blame them for trying to avoid this bull***t.”

Regardless of whether members of the community are guilty of taking advantage of certain loopholes or not, they certainly have nothing against others doing it because they sympathize with them on the matter.

This year, that lack of respect for authority and regulations has shown quite clearly with the pandemic. Russian TV stations have been spreading propaganda and downplaying the virus since the beginning, and local residents have eaten it up.

While most Russian businesses have been toeing the line as to what is and is not appropriate under COVID regulations, some have been blatantly breaking the law. Their main defense for doing as they please? The BLM protests. “You see what they’re doing in the streets? And I can’t go out to eat?,” exclaimed an acquaintance.

It is this view that has led to some restaurants secretly feeding customers indoors and other restaurants cramming the outdoor space as much as they can. A close friend of mine attended a birthday dinner in one such establishment that was leading customers in through the kitchen, he described the scene of people smoking indoors as to not tip off the cops across the street at the 61st precinct.

“It was ridiculous, I didn’t even eat. I just sat in my mask and ended up leaving early. It was wild.”

People in Sheepshead Bay have been itching to go out since quarantine started, so that is exactly what they did. Brighton and Sheepshead Bay has become its own little city with its own rules. Going out on the town on a Saturday night looks almost no different than last year.

While the tone of this piece may be negative in general and certainly critical of the community, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay are still a beautiful part of NYC culture and have a rich history.

The term “All” cannot apply to any topic, not all members of this community share the same sentiments. Good apples, however, do not make up for bad ones, and the hypocrisy of the community is still a very pressing issue.

The story of Little Odessa is still a happy one, a beautiful one, and an important one. Love is about both showing affection, and delivering criticism for the purpose of betterment.

The community has grown like a flower since the 70s, but there are still imperfections that can be ironed out with time. Luckily, time is something that Little Odessa has plenty of, because it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.