(2 of 2)
Those returning are hardly representative of the majority of Soviet emigres who have settled in the West. During the 1970s, some 400,000 Soviet citizens, / most of them Jews, left their homeland, primarily for the U.S. or Israel. "The majority adjusted," said Mira Wolf, executive director of the Russian Immigrant Adjustment and Service Center. "They have happy families here and jobs," added Wolf, whose center is in a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood that is home to more than 12,000 Soviet families. She feared that the current focus on the trickle of returnees will divert attention from the "thousands who want to come here and to Israel." The Soviets last week imposed a new set of regulations on emigration that U.S. officials say could result in the tightest clampdown on emigration in nearly two decades.
When they were not talking to the Soviet press last week, the emigres tended to cite personal reasons for their return. Many felt isolated from American society and frustrated by their rudimentary command of English. Some Soviet professionals found themselves driving cabs or performing menial tasks. Others were attracted home by siren calls from Moscow. "There will be a big change in status for some," said Alex Goldfarb, a Soviet-born assistant professor of microbiology at Columbia University, whose father recently joined him in New York City. The younger Goldfarb said that returning emigres would be able to buy elite apartments with their U.S. dollars. Officials have guaranteed them jobs and promised that any emigres who wish may later return to the West. Such solicitude may have been spurred by the embarrassing case of the four-member Gonta family, which returned to Moscow last fall after a ten- year U.S. sojourn. Three days later, the Gontas changed their minds and went right back to New Jersey.
Even if special treatment is denied them, the emigres seem determined to make the best of their new lives. "A lot of people make a mistake in thinking they can run away from problems," said Lidya Klever. The children of some returnees appeared particularly stoic. Said Olga Sinyavina, 15, who spent the past nine years in New York City: "Yeah, it will be difficult at first, but I'll get used to it."
Moscow's newfound concern for its wayward citizens could have unforeseen consequences. By welcoming the emigres back, the Kremlin has eliminated one of the strongest deterrents to applying to leave the country: the utter finality of emigration. With that policy changing, more Soviet citizens may be eager to gamble on the West. Now, if the experience proves disappointing, the Soviet safety net may still be there to catch them.