Media

Last month, I was invited to present before the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles.

My presentation was called: The Trotskys, the Bronsteins and the Kievskys: A Search for Identity in Russian-Jewish History. The talk focused on the lives of the “Bronsteins” – the average Jew of the Russian Empire, the “Trotskys” – the more integrated / Russified Jews that created the revolution, and the “Kievskys” – the resulting mix of Trotsky and Bronstein that would become the Jews of the Soviet Union.

Here, in the first of two excerpts from that evening, I explain the danger of what I call the Rus-holme Syndrome and why we may call ourselves Jews, ex-Soviet Jews, Russian Jews, Ukrainian Jews… but never “Russian.”

It was a pleasure to speak about the history of my family and the Jewish people to a group interested and dedicated to the topic.  Many of the members themselves are researching their own old-world roots, although their families largely came in the late 1800s and early 1900s, just as the pogroms and revolutionary movements were escalating. If you’re at all interested in your Jewish roots, I strongly encourage you to visit the JGSLA website, check out their resources and attend an event.

To donate and help support this project, visit our Support Page.

In this new excerpt from our in-depth interview (read my recap of the interview here), famed civil rights attorney, Harvard law professor, author and political commentator Alan Dershowitz demonstrates the anti-Semitism inherent to Ukrainian culture for hundreds of years and still represented today — just by pulling Ukrainian currency out of his wallet.

You can watch all of our audio and video clips, as well as browse photos on the Media page.

Alex Litvak is an up-and-coming Hollywood screenwriter (Predators, The Three Musketeers). Like me, Alex was born in the former Soviet Union. Unlike me, his family wasn’t allowed to leave until after an 11 year battle with emigration.

We sat down to discuss our experiences as Jews from the Soviet Union; dealing with Soviet anti-Semitism, American integration, and the differences and surprising similarities growing up a “Russian” in Reagan-era United States and as a “refusenik” in Soviet Russia.

Here are some highlights from our conversation. Enjoy, comment and please consider SUPPORTING this project.

Alex’s new film The Three Musketeers, starring fellow Soviet ex-pat Milla Jovovich, opens nationwide this Friday (Oct. 21, 2011).

One of the driving forces behind this documentary project has been my desire to understand who I am, and to feel a part of something greater than an isolated individual in the United States. I feel fortunate that I am not alone in searching for these answers, or in believing that the quest is important not just for me, but for an entire generation of ex-Soviet emigres.

Recently, thanks to the hard work of Jenny Gitkis-Vainstein, the JAFI representative in Los Angeles, a new program has been established to address the same issues that I have been dealing with — creating a sense of identity and community in the Russian-speaking Jewish population in Los Angeles.  With the partnership of JAFI, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, Jenny has created the “Russian Jewish Community Leadership Program,” of which I am a proud participant.

If you can, please support this documentary project through a tax-deductible donation!

You can browse through all of our videos and photos on the Media page.

We’re deep into the fundraising portion of production, and our latest venture is to start this IndieGoGo campaign! For those of you who don’t know, IndieGoGo is a crowdfunding website that lets us reach out to all the people that might be interested in helping fund the film. Even better, we get to offer exclusive goodies to those people that choose to help us by donating some of their hard earned money. Plus, since we have fiscal sponsorship, all your donations are tax deductible!

Head over to our IndieGoGo page now to see our pitch video, check out the perks we’re offering, and donate!

I began this documentary process by interviewing my grandmother, going back 2+ generations to the Russian Revolution, because I wanted to know where I come from and how that shapes my identity.  I’ve answered most of the questions I had about the past and the present, but I also wanted to know about the future.  What effects, if any, have been passed down to the next generation?

Since I don’t have my own children yet, I turned to my niece and nephew to provide a perspective on growing up Jewish as part of the first wave of Jews descended from Soviet Russia, but born in America.

Also, they’re really cute.

Watch all of our clips and browse photos on the Media page.

In the course of working on (indeed the impetus behind creating) this documentary, I have learned a great deal about my own history and that of the Jewish people of the former Russian Empire, about the hardships faced and successes earned.  The goal has always been to share this knowledge.  Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do just that.

Working with the organization BINA (a “Jewish TED for Los Angeles”), I had the privilege of presenting a talk titled “Don’t Call Me Russian | The History of a Nationality.”  It’s now available for streaming on the BINA website, and youtube, and I am pleased to share it here.

In the United States, the majority of Jews consider themselves Jewish by religion and their family’s country of origin (American / Israeli / Russian, etc.) their nationality. This is not the case for the Jews of the former Soviet Union — Jews who fought for their equality for over 100 years, helping to create one and to bring down two empires in the process, but losing most of their culture and religion along the way.

BINA is building an amazing community in Los Angeles that I am proud to be involved in.  You can find this and more talks on the BINA website.

In this new excerpt from our in depth interview (read my recap of the interview here), famed civil rights attorney, Harvard law professor, author and political commentator, Alan Dershowitz explains the Soviet Union’s policy of deniable anti-Semitism and legal branding of Jews.

You can watch all of our audio and video clips, as well as browse photos on the Media page.

Last month, I sat down with 3-time title winning boxer, Dmitry Salita to discuss his experience emigrating from Ukraine and making a career as an observant Jew.

It was a unique interview with someone who clearly defies many of the stereotypes that have been applied to Jewish people for years.

In this excerpt, Dmitry and I discussed famous Ukrainian activist Ze’ev Jabotinsky and his connection to Salita as a boxer and a Jew.

Watch all of our clips and browse photos on the Media page.

In this excerpt from our in depth interview (you can read my recap of the interview here), famed civil rights attorney, Harvard law professor, author and political commentator, Alan Dershowitz discusses  the topic of Jewish survival during the Russian Empire and its reflection on Jewish culture.

Is it better to be accepted than a part of your culture? What brings people together better than hardship? Can Jewish culture thrive in equality?

You can watch all of our audio and video clips, as well as browse photos on the Media page.

Last month, I sat down with 3-time title winning and Golden Gloves boxer, Dmitry Salita to discuss his experience emigrating from Ukraine and pursuing his passion to be a professional boxer while maintaining his beliefs as an observant Jew.

In this excerpt, Dmitry and I discuss Russian-Jewish identity in Soviet times and today, and how he feels representing the Jewish people when he boxes.

Watch all of our clips and browse photos on the Media page.

In this first excerpt from our in depth interview (read my recap of the interview here), famed civil rights attorney, Harvard law professor, author and political commentator, Alan Dershowitz and I discuss the origins of a decades-old saying, and its impact on Jewish identity. Even in this brief segment, Prof. Dershowitz quickly cuts through some common notions — including my own — and raises some important questions.

Can a Jew ever be anything other than a Jew, regardless of how they see themselves? Were the Jews who participated in the revolution fighting for a just cause, or just deluding themselves into thinking they could make a country based on equality out of a historically anti-Semitic nation?

On Wednesday, June 1, I was excited to be a guest on The Liami Lawrence Show on RadioKolAmerica to talk about this project, my identity as a former-Soviet-Jew growing up in the U.S., the Russian Revolution, the Russian mob and the state of post-Soviet Jewry.

It was my first radio interview and, admittedly, in my passion for the subject, I tried to give too much context to every question and answer.  That aside, it was a fun experience and now you can download the entire LiAmi Lawrence Show podcast, or listen to just my interview right here:

Boris's Radio Kol America interview

With principal photography nearly completed, we have entered the post-production and fund-raising stage of the project and so we are very excited to share with you a 10-minute concept reel we’ve assembled. This visual introduction to the stories and themes of “Cycles and Revolutions” offers views from professors, religious figures, and historians, as well as a glimpse into the very personal journey that serves as the heart of the film.

We love your comments and suggestions, and most of all, please spread the word.

Here is just a small sample of the photos taken during our trip across Ukraine, Russia, and into the depths of Siberia, searching for the place of my father’s birth and remnants of Jewish culture.

Click through to view the gallery.