Refusenik (Hebrew: מסורב, transliterated: mesorav); or Otkaznik (Russian: отказник, from "отказ", i.e., "refusal") was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc. The term refusenik derived from the "refusal", handed down to a prospective emigrant from the Soviet authorities. Over time, "refusenik" has entered colloquial English usage for any type of protestor. “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... Soviet redirects here. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc. ...

A large number of Soviet Jews applied for exit visas to leave the Soviet Union, especially in the period following the 1967 Six-Day War. While some were allowed to leave, many were refused permission to emigrate, either instantly or their case could languish for years in the OVIR (ОВиР, "Отдел Виз и Регистрации", "Otdel Viz i Registratsii"), the MVD department responsible for provisioning of exit visas. In many instances, the reason was given that these persons had been given access at some point in their careers to information vital to Soviet national security and could not now be allowed to leave.^[1] An entry visa valid in all Schengen treaty countries A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Saudi Arabia Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ... Modern emblem of Russian MVD Russian Gendarme officers in the 1860s The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del (MVD) (Министерство внутренних дел) was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the imperial Russia, later USSR, and still bears the same name in the Russian Federation. ... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ...

January 10, 1973. Soviet authorities break up a demonstration of Jewish refuseniks in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the right to emigrate to Israel

During the Cold War, Soviet Jews were presumed a security liability or possible traitors^{[citation needed]}. To apply for an exit visa, the applicants (and sometimes their entire families) often had to quit their jobs, which in turn would make them vulnerable to charges of social parasitism, a criminal offense.^[1] Image File history File links 19730110_Soviet_refuseniks_demonstrate_at_MVD.jpg‎ January 10, 1973. ... Image File history File links 19730110_Soviet_refuseniks_demonstrate_at_MVD.jpg‎ January 10, 1973. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The Nazi propaganda poster titled New People reads: This person suffering from hereditary defects costs the people 60,000 Reichmarks during his lifetime. ...

Many Jews encountered institutional antisemitism which blocked their opportunities for advancement^{[citation needed]}. Some government sectors were almost entirely off-limits to Jews^{[citation needed]}. In addition, Soviet restrictions on religious education and expression prevented Jews from engaging in Jewish cultural and religious life. While these restrictions led many Jews to seek to emigrate^{[citation needed]}, requesting an exit visa was itself seen as an act of betrayal by Soviet authorities. Thus, prospective emigrants requested permission to emigrate at great risk, knowing that an official refusal would often be accompanied by dismissal from work and other forms of social ostracism and economic pressure. Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · The Holocaust · Armenian Genocide · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Blood libel · Black Legend Pedophobia · Ephebiphobia Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Ku Klux Klan National Party (South Africa) American Nazi Party Kahanism · Supremacism Anti...

A leading proponent and spokesman of the refusenik movement during the 1970s was Natan Sharansky. Sharansky's involvement with the Moscow Helsinki Monitoring Group helped to establish the struggle for emigration rights within the greater context of the human rights movement in the USSR. His arrest (on charges of espionage and treason) and trial contributed to international support for the refusenik cause. Natan Sharansky (Hebrew: נתן שרנסקי, Russian: Натан Борисович Щаранский; born January 20, 1948) is a notable former Soviet anticommunist, Zionist, Israeli politician and writer. ...

Refuseniks included Jews who were desiring to emigrate on religious grounds and Jews seeking to emigrate to Israel for national/Zionist aspirations and relatively secular Jews desired to escape an undercurrent of the state-sponsored anti-Semitism. Also, large numbers of Volga Germans attempted to leave for Germany, Armenians to join their diaspora, Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, and other ethnic and religious groups tried to escape persecutions or desired to seek a better life. Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... Volga German pioneer family commemorative statue in Victoria, Kansas, USA. The Volga Germans (German: or Russlanddeutsche) were ethnic Germans living near the Volga River in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south, maintaining German culture, language, traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutheranism, Reformed and Roman Catholicism... The term: diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά – a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a broad collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions which are found among conservative Protestant Christians. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

The coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s and his policies of glasnost and perestroika, as well as a desire for better relations with the West led to major changes. Most refuseniks were then allowed to emigrate. With the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the decade, the term "otkaznik" largely passed into history. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ), surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; born March 2, 1931) is a Russian politician. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964–1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. ...

See also

• Aliyah from the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states
• The collapse of the Soviet Union and emigration to Israel
• Refusenik (disambiguation)
• Defection
• Lishkat Hakesher
• Jackson-Vanik amendment
• Balseros, Cuban citizens who are not allowed to migrate legally and cross to Florida in improvised boats.

Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. ... The word refusenik entered English language as a part of the Cold War lexicon to refer to those who were refused certain human rights, notably forbidden to emigrate. ... In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. ... Lishkat Hakesher or The Israeli Liaison Office, codenamed Nativ (נתיב-path), is an Israeli liasion organization that maintained contact with Jews living in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. ... According to the 1974 Trade act, the Jackson-Vanik amendment, named for its major co-sponsors, Sen. ... Balseros (Rafters) is a 2002 documentary co-directed by Carles Bosch and Josep Maria Domènech about Cubans leaving during the Periodo Especial in 1994 when Fidel Castro opened up Cuba’s coastal borders to those who wished to leave the country. ...

References