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Russian Jews weigh emigration amid deepening economic crisis
LEV KRICHEVSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
MOSCOW - Irina Meerzon knows that she is in financial trouble. The retired accountant's pension, which had been the equivalent of $60 per month as recently as mid-August, is now worth roughly $20 as a result of the ruble's free fall.
"I always had to count every penny," the 74-year-old woman says, "but now I'm on the verge of poverty."
Roman Libin, 34, who published a small advertising magazine for furniture wholesalers, says he had to go out of business last week because "no one needs now what I've been doing for the last four years."
Like other Russians, Jews here are watching with dismay as the country endures yet another period of chaos - perhaps the most serious crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But mindful of what has historically happened here when Russia has faced economic and political uncertainty, Russian Jews are watching the unfolding events with more uncertainty and fear than their neighbors. With an increasing number of Jews concerned about a possible outbreak of anti-Semitism, another exodus of Russian Jews appears to be possible, and the crisis is already threatening the Russian Jewish communal structure that has been set up since the fall of communism.
In mid-August, the Russian government stopped trying to prop up the ruble. In less than two months, the currency, which was relatively stable during the past two years, plunged by about 300 percent. And as is usually the case when inflation skyrockets, consumers have been especially hard-hit.
In the fallout that ensued, the young, reformist Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko was ousted, and the country's Parliament has moved slowly to agree on a new candidate for the premiership. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl about the ongoing deterioration of the health and mental competence of President Boris Yeltsin. All of which has Russian Jews, in particular, feeling anxious.
"There are two dangers that we Jews feel today," said Tankred Golenpolsky, a prominent Jewish leader and publisher of the Moscow-based Evreyskaya Gazeta, a weekly Jewish newspaper. The first, Golenpolsky said, is the impoverishment that Russian Jews are experiencing along with other Russians. But there's another worry that is specific to Russia's Jewish community.
"The second danger is typical for every crisis in Russia," said Golenpolsky. "When they are looking for someone to blame for the situation, they will turn to the Jews."
Some Jews appear to be taking no chances. Sources at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow said last week there has been a flurry of inquiries in recent days about immigration visas.
Yuri Teitelbaum, a Jewish activist in Krasnodar, said most of those who have been emigrating from the southern Russian region were either pensioners or younger Jews. Now, he said, Jews worried about providing for and protecting their families are likely to consider leaving Russia.
Libin, the former magazine publisher, fits this profile. He said he did not think about leaving the country until several weeks ago. "Now I seriously ponder this opportunity because in the current situation I will soon have no money to support my wife and kid," he said.
Though there has not been an increase in the number of actual emigrants, some are predicting that emigration - to Israel and to Germany -could sky rocket if things continue to deteriorate.
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