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Being both Jewish and Slavic in America hasn’t always been simple — but sharing stories and culture is helping me make sense of who I am

JL;DR SUMMARY Growing up nestled between Jewish and Slavic identities, Vick Volovnyk explores their complex intersection within the context of historical and ongoing political tensions. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentityDiasporaSoviet UnionCultural IdentityLanguageRussia Ukraine ConflictHunter College High SchoolMulticulturalismSlavic HeritageSlavic Culture Club

Places mentioned

Brooklyn, New York, United States
"I grew up speaking Russian to my family at home, on the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at the Italian grocery store in Tottenville, Staten Island."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"I grew up speaking Russian to my family at home, on the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at the Italian grocery store in Tottenville, Staten Island."
Odesa, Odeshchyna, Ukraine
"They didnt know my Ukrainian-Jewish background as the child of Odesan immigrants (while Odessa is the Russian spelling, Odesa is officially used in Ukraine)."
Kharkiv, Kharkivshchyna, Ukraine
"Before the full-scale invasion, most Ukrainians were bilingual and Russian remained widely used in cities like Odesa and Kharkiv, not as a marker of loyalty to Russia but simply as a legacy of Soviet policy and urban life."
Kyiv, Ukraine
"Many Jews in Ukraine are reclaiming an identity as Ukrainian Jews, blending language, religion and nationality into shared Ukrainian-Jewish solidarity, such as those from Kyivs Simcha Chabad Jewish community."
New York City, New York, United States
"I grew up speaking Russian to my family at home, on the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at the Italian grocery store in Tottenville, Staten Island."
Washington DC, United States
"Nellie Fouksman, Leah Mordehai, Sabine Brook and Yaraslava K visit Capitol Hill in support of a bipartisan resolution calling for the return of abducted Ukrainian children and accountability for those responsible, Washington, D.C ,. Oct. 28.2025. (American Coalition for Ukraine)"
Staten Island, New York, United States
"I grew up speaking Russian to my family at home, on the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at the Italian grocery store in Tottenville, Staten Island."
San Francisco, California, United States
"That curiosity led me to Slavic Voice 4 Ukraine, an international newspaper and advocacy project founded in August 2025 by Leah Mordehai and Nellie Fouksman in San Francisco,."

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Retrieved 2025-12-31 05:31:10 UTC
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