In the late 19th century, the Russian Empire was home to the largest Jewish population, but violent pogroms led to massive emigration to escape persecution.

Natan Sharansky, a former refusenik and political figure, shares his experiences of imprisonment and ultimate release from the Soviet Union, focusing on the importance of freedom and identity.

In Paul Goldberg's novel "The Dissident," set in 1970s Moscow, a couple falls in love and gets married amidst a backdrop of a groundbreaking human rights organization and axe-murders.

The author reflects on the negative treatment of Russian identity in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Putin's regime.

The article discusses the significant historical event of the Soviet refusenik movement, where Soviet Jews were refused permission to emigrate, leading to their persecution and struggle for freedom, ultimately resulting in a triumphant exodus of 1.5 million Jews.

The text recounts the author's experiences traveling to the Soviet Union in 1974 to support refuseniks and advocate for Jewish rights, including encounters with prominent figures like Anatoly Sharansky.

Fifty years ago, the Soviet Zionist movement, known in America as the refuseniks movement, sparked a significant resurgence of Jewish identity when 18 religious Jewish families from Georgia appealed to Israel and the United Nations in 1969 to facilitate their emigration to Israel.

The Letter of the Eighteen, written by 18 religious Jewish families in the Soviet republic of Georgia in 1969, was a bold plea to emigrate to Israel rooted in Jewish peoplehood and connection to the land.

During the Cold War, Soviet Jews and dissidents used Christmas trees as a form of resistance against Communist oppression, which included a ban on religious holidays and a war on Christmas.

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss the Unit 8200 'refuseniks' exposing Israeli intelligence practices, questioning if they were justified and why there is opposition from the moderate left.

The book "Let My People Go" by Gal Beckerman chronicles the struggle for Soviet Jewry from the 1960s to the early 1990s, detailing how individuals like Natan Sharansky, with support from Jews worldwide and non-Jewish allies, fought against Soviet oppression to secure the freedom of Soviet Jews.