Minsk, Belarus
Moved in 1989
Moved in 1989
I was born in the early 1980s in Minsk. Now it is Belarus, back then it was the Soviet republic of Belarus.
My parents are both electrical engineers. Then my family moved to Israel. And in Israel, we lived until the late 1990s. After this adventure continued, we migrated to Canada. And in the end, I moved to America to study a decade ago and stayed in America. So I grew up a little in Belarus under the Soviet regime, a little in Israel, in Canada, and now I live in America.
What did I love doing as a child? I loved riding a bike, I was interested in physics, things like construction sets, I was interested in math a little. Quite technical orientation.
I was lucky, I studied at good universities. When we arrived in Israel, my parents put me in a fairly good private secondary and high school. Then I ended up in a good private school in Canada, and a good university in Canada called Waterloo. And then in the US, I studied at Cornell, there is a good program in mathematics. So I got a good technical and mathematical education.
I worked for many years in the academy, in research laboratories. Now I work in high-tech related to medicine, in healthcare.
My parents are both electrical engineers. Then my family moved to Israel. And in Israel, we lived until the late 1990s. After this adventure continued, we migrated to Canada. And in the end, I moved to America to study a decade ago and stayed in America. So I grew up a little in Belarus under the Soviet regime, a little in Israel, in Canada, and now I live in America.
What did I love doing as a child? I loved riding a bike, I was interested in physics, things like construction sets, I was interested in math a little. Quite technical orientation.
I was lucky, I studied at good universities. When we arrived in Israel, my parents put me in a fairly good private secondary and high school. Then I ended up in a good private school in Canada, and a good university in Canada called Waterloo. And then in the US, I studied at Cornell, there is a good program in mathematics. So I got a good technical and mathematical education.
I worked for many years in the academy, in research laboratories. Now I work in high-tech related to medicine, in healthcare.
Sasha about the move and what he kept
I came to the US in 2006, which is 14 years now. I came to study. This was my 3rd migration. We were migrating gradually. We kept taking most of our things with us.
Did we know we were leaving for good? Yes, when we left, we were the so-called traitors to our homeland. As far as I understand, the border guard took your Soviet passport from you when crossing the Soviet border. And you were further free people. In the full sense of the word. We didn’t cry over the Soviet system much. Especially after Chernobyl.
We had relatives in Israel and also in the USA. When we went to Israel they undoubtedly helped with easy landing. Our relatives rented an apartment for us, we settled with them for a couple of days and then moved to our apartment. This was undoubtedly very helpful. Making out paperwork in a foreign country when you come without really knowing the language is an adventure. So, undoubtedly, the relatives provided tremendous assistance at that moment.
Did we know we were leaving for good? Yes, when we left, we were the so-called traitors to our homeland. As far as I understand, the border guard took your Soviet passport from you when crossing the Soviet border. And you were further free people. In the full sense of the word. We didn’t cry over the Soviet system much. Especially after Chernobyl.
We had relatives in Israel and also in the USA. When we went to Israel they undoubtedly helped with easy landing. Our relatives rented an apartment for us, we settled with them for a couple of days and then moved to our apartment. This was undoubtedly very helpful. Making out paperwork in a foreign country when you come without really knowing the language is an adventure. So, undoubtedly, the relatives provided tremendous assistance at that moment.
We took a lot of essentials. We thought that Israel since the country is in the desert, there will be no paper in Israel. We took a large number of blank notebooks. It turned out that everything was fine with paper in Israel.
We took a box with things, these were some practical things, essential things, we took books and a painting too. We took the best from what was on the shelf. Travel library books, for example. A lot of books. My parents are engineers, so they got their technical books. So, we took what was the most valuable from all sides: useful and interesting.
Does one need to store such keepsakes now? Undoubtedly. As far as I understand, they don't paint like that. Contemporary artists get a different education, maybe a different inspiration, so this is a unique work.
We took a box with things, these were some practical things, essential things, we took books and a painting too. We took the best from what was on the shelf. Travel library books, for example. A lot of books. My parents are engineers, so they got their technical books. So, we took what was the most valuable from all sides: useful and interesting.
Does one need to store such keepsakes now? Undoubtedly. As far as I understand, they don't paint like that. Contemporary artists get a different education, maybe a different inspiration, so this is a unique work.
