Tag #151813 - Interview #84041 (Yacob Hollander)

When in the late 1980s perestroika [17] began in the USSR, I didn’t believe Gorbachev [18] at once. I was used to not trust anything initiated by the Soviet power, but later I believed that it was true. We sensed freedom. There were articles published in magazines and newspapers disclosing the facts that people never knew. The ‘iron curtain’ [19], separating the USSR from the rest of the world fell. It was allowed to correspond with relatives and friends abroad and invite them to visit. Suppression of religion stopped. People could openly go to synagogues and churches without fearing oppression. The rebirth of the Jewish life began. Jewish authors were published and Jewish plays were staged. Of course, Gorbachev’s initiatives met confrontation with not only state officials, but also common people who were used to living in a closed society without glasnost and freedom. It turned out that there were people who believed that it was right and that Gorbachev allowed the situation to get out of hand and that the people needed a ‘firm hand’. I applied for permission to visit my sister and obtained it though 15 years after my release from jail were not over yet. This convinced me better than anything else that there were changes to better.