Let My People Go

Chapter One: Denied

  The dark rainy day of September 3rd, 1977 was uncomfortable. As Alexander Feinstein of five Seraya Street was coming up the steps to his work he felt a bitterness that he could not explain. Once inside, his colleague Petya Petrov called to him:

      “Hi!”, and to himself (in a whisper) said: “The Jew has come. Alexander did not reply, but just sighed.

Alexander worked in an engineering company. His company signed contracts with the Soviet Navy. They made all kinds of weapons, and spying equipment for Navy ships. That day, his boss called him over. Alexander was shivering with fear, even though his boss was usually nice to him. Alexander knew this was going to be a very serious talk, and he knew precisely what it was going to be about.

As he walked into Leonid Vladimirovich’s cozy office, he was wondering how his boss was going to start the conversation.

      “Hello, Alexander!”Said Leonid.

      “Greetings Leonid Vladimirovich!” Replied Alexander.

      “How are you doing my friend?”

      “Surviving.”

      “What about you, Leonid?”

      “I’m doing well, thank you! Would you like some coffee or tea?”

      “No, thank you.”

      “Just a second, I’ll make myself some coffee and get right to the point.

Once Leonid finished making his coffee, he sat down in a chair opposite Alexander.

      “So, started Leonid, you’re planning to leave, huh?”

      “What do you mean?” Asked Alexander with surprise.

      “I Mean are you planning to leave this country?”

      “Oh, yes, I am but. . .”

      “Listen, why do you need to leave such a perfectly good country?”

      “But you know how it is; the Jews here are always being harassed and discriminated against. Every Jew who lives in Russia feels left out.”

      “But you’ll have nothing in another country, not a penny”

      “I’ll survive, don’t worry.”

      “If you’re really planning on doing this, then before the KGB arrests you, and involves me, I need to let you go.”

      “Couldn’t you have me work here a little while longer?”

      “I’m afraid that cannot be.”

      “I’m not going to have enough money to feed my family.”

      “I guess that’s your choice to leave, and you have to deal with the consequences.”

      “Ok, when should I leave?”

      “Take your last pay check and leave now, bye!”

      “Bye.”

      Alexander’s walk home was sad. He was mainly thinking about how we would not have enough money. He also remembered about how if his wife also would lose her job, they would be called “parasites”, and could be arrested by the KGB.

The smell of borscht and baked bread welcomed Alexander into his cozy little apartment. Alexander’s wife Zhenya was in the kitchen cooking dinner. She was humming “Papirosen” an old song in Yiddish a language spoken by European Jews.

      “Hello,” Alexander said to Zhenya.

      “Hi! How was your day at work today?”

      “Um. . . I’ve got some good news and some really bad news,” Alexander said.

      “Start with the bad news.”

      “Ok Leonid, my boss, fired me from work.

      “Why?”

      “He doesn’t want to get involved in our visa business.”

      “So what’s the good news?”

      “The people at work will no longer be bothering me.”

      “Oh . . . ok. Come sit down and eat, David is waiting for you,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Chapter Two: A Friend in Trouble

      As soon as Alexander sat down to eat, the phone rang. Alexander went to answer it.

      “Yes, hello who is this?”

      “This is Anatoly Sharansky. Do you remember me?”

      “Yes, of course.” Answered Alexander.

      “Listen, I can’t talk for long. I have been arrested. I’m calling you from the prison phone which only officers are allowed to use. If they found out that I called you, I may get in big trouble.”

      “Why were you arrested?”

      “I was falsely accused of spying for the U.S.A.”

      “Ok, what do you need?”

      “I need to send a message to my family. Somehow my home phone number isn’t working from this phone.

      “What do you want me to say to them?”

      “Say that I’m in Lefortovo prison because the KGB arrested me, and that they shouldn’t come try to visit me.”

      “Ok bye!” Alexander said.

      “Bye.”

The moment Alexander finished speaking with Anatoly, he started dialing Avital Sharansky, Anatoly’s wife.

      “Yes, hi who is this?” Asked Avital.

      “This is Alexander Feinstein. Do you remember me?”

      “Yes, yes I do!”

      “Anatoliy just called me. He wants me to say to you, that the KGB arrested him and that he’s in Lefortovo prison. He also wants me to tell you that you shouldn’t try visiting him.”

      “Um . . . Ok.” Avital was starting to cry. She quickly said “Thank You.”, and put down the phone.

When Alexander put down the phone, he went right back to the table. His son, David and his wife were waiting for him, sitting very quietly.

      “What happened?” Zhenya asked.

      “Anatoliy Sharansky got arrested.”

      “Why?”

      “He got falsely accused of spying for the United States.”

      “You never know what to expect of this country.” Zhenya said.”

      “Yes that is right.” Alexander replied with a sigh.

      “So my son,” Alexander said, how was school today?”

      “Not very good, kids are making fun of me.”

      “What are they saying?” Zhenya asked.

      “They’re saying that I and all Jews are stupid, and that I should go to another school for “stupid Jews”.

      “Did you say anything back to them?” Alexander asked.

      “No, I was afraid to.”

      “Don’t listen to them,” his father said. “You’re probably smarter than all of them.”

Chapter Three: Trouble Knocking at the Door

      Late that night, somebody knocked at the door. David went up to the door and whispered:

      “Who’s there?”

      “Open the door!” A voice boomed. David opened the door. A tall man with broad shoulders came in.

      “Call your parents!” He shouted. David went and called his parents. They were already sleeping so he had to wake them up. They sleepily walked into the room.

      “What’s the matter?” They asked.

      “Hello, I am Aleksey, I am the chief of the KGB.”

      “Hello.” Alexander said, his teeth trembling.

      “I want to speak with you in regard to your job loss. The KGB has become aware that you both have not been working for the past day.”

      “Yes I did not have time to find a job yet.” Replied Alexander.

      “This is not an excuse!” Yelled Aleksey.

      “What should I do then?”

      “You have to find a job by tonight!”

      “But how...”

      “No talking back!” Interrupted Aleksey. “Go to the city building and they will give you a job.”

      “Ok.” Replied Alexander.

      “Bye.” Aleksey said.

      “Bye.”



Chapter Four: Night Work



      As soon as Aleksey left, Alexander went outside, and walked to the Metro. The Metro system in Moscow was very comfortable. It was easy to get anywhere in the city quickly. He took the Metro two stops to the center of the city. There, a big brown six story building stood.

The night was a warm one. There was no rain. It was a perfect night to walk around a park, or sit on a bench and enjoy the night sky. Alexander walked up the steps of the city building thinking about which job he was going to get. In the hall, there were signs for different department. There were: Department of Water and Sewage, Department of Traffic Control, Department of Work, and Department of Manufacturing. The Department of Work was on the fifth story. Alexander took the elevator to the fifth story. When the elevator door opened, a big man walked in without letting Alexander out. Alexander thought to himself: This person does not have any manners.

Once Alexander walked out of the elevator, he walked to the secretary’s desk. A woman grumpily mumbled:

      “What do you need?”

      “I need to get a city job.” Alexander replied.

      “Did you lose your job?” The secretary asked.

      “Yes, this is correct.”

      “Which company did you work for?”

      “I worked for Navasystems.” Alexander replied.

      “Ok, I have found a perfect job for you. You will be working on guarding the city bank: Mosbank.”

      “Ok, When should I start?”

      “Right now! Here are your work documents. Goodbye and good luck!

      “What are my hours?” Alexander asked.

      “Your hours are on your documents, now go!”

Alexander saw, as soon as he saw the papers the secretary gave to him, that he was going to be working from nine o’ clock at night, until seven o’ clock in the morning.

Alexander walked out of the city building with a headache. He was already late for his “job”. He was supposed to let his family know that he had gotten a job, and that he would work from nine o’ clock at night, until seven o’ clock in the morning. He knew he had to go quickly. To get home, and then get to his job in a short amount of time was very difficult. He had no choice. He started walking back towards the metro.

The ride home took twenty minutes. Alexander had a short talk with his wife, but it seemed to him like hours. After that the ride to his “work” if you could call it that, was seventeen minutes. When Alexander walked out of the Metro, he immediately saw a huge skyscraper with a huge sign on it: “Mosbank”.

Alexander jogged towards the bank. He had to get there fast! He was already five hours late to his job. At last, he walked up the steps of the bank. After a long talk with the guard, he was shown in the vault where he was going to work as a guard. Alexander spent a long boring night holding a stick that apparently he would have to use in case a robber tried to get into the vault.

Alexander only woke up the next afternoon, because he was extremely tired from the previous night’s work. He went to check if any mail had come. There was one letter in his mailbox. Alexander opened the letter. There was a stamp from the federal government. It was unusual to receive a letter from the government. Alexander was afraid to read the letter, but he knew he had to. This is what the letter said:







Dear Alexander and Zhenya Feinstein,

Based on your work with a company with ties to the Navy, your visa to Israel has been denied. The government is not willing to let people that may spill secrets outside of this country.

Sincerely,

Afanasy Dimitrovich

Head of Foreign Affairs