“Russians never give but only take.” “They walk into public and religious institutions with their arms stretched and their palms open and demand: "Give me!"
These myths about the insatiability and stinginess of immigrants from the former Soviet Union-Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) prove to be no less credible than the myths about the omnipotent "Russian Mafia" and the irresistible appeal of the promiscuous Russian blonds. However, like all myths, these also have some basis in reality. It is not easy for former Soviet citizens to quench their thirst for a normal, satisfying life in the midst of a consumer society; it is not easy to forget the reigning disorder in the Soviet Union, the empty counters in the stores, the infinitely long lines, the miserly wages and common sayings like, "If you’re given something, take it!"
It is also not easy to get used to the American cult of charity or to the Jewish tradition of Tzedaka (charitable giving), from which Soviet Jews were cut off from for so painfully long. The official Soviet version of things was that there were no paupers in the Soviet Union, therefore handouts were not necessary; meanwhile, state-run media portrayed philanthropists from Western capitalist countries as fat cats who simply did not know what to do with all the money they made from exploiting their workers.
Furthermore, émigrés from the Soviet Union have a hard time overcoming their distrust of large bureaucratic machinery, which many charitable and nonprofit organizations have become. For them, the heads of these organizations have come to resemble the Soviet-era’s "people’s servants," servants who lived more luxuriously and had more privileges than the people they were supposedly serving. All too often we hear stories of how large portions of the contributions are squandered on the ever-ballooning bureaucratic apparatus of these organizations, or worse, simply disappear without a trace.
Nevertheless, in spite of the myths existing about Russians, and in spite of their own Soviet-born complexes, Russian immigrants actively contribute to charitable organizations. Moreover, contributions are made not only by the young Americanized community members or the well-off, but also by the elderly, the poor, and even by some who rely on government assistance.
But exactly how charitable are Russian immigrants? How generous are they? What causes and projects do they support? And finally: Is the Russian immigrants’ distrust of large organizations and their leaders justified? We posed these questions to some politicians, philanthropists, journalists, and public workers.
Carl Kruger, New York State Senator
The Russian community is especially generous when it comes to charity. I’ve observed this community give money to religious institutions and also to large charitable institutions that have a proven record of getting the contributions to the needy.
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., New York City Councilmember, District 47:
Many Russian immigrants slowly begin to understand that giving to charitable causes is not only morally satisfying, but is also concretely beneficial. For example, the Brighton Beach Ballet Company gave several free performances, to which local schoolchildren were invited. As a result, many area children and adolescents were introduced and exposed to the art of ballet, while the Brighton Beach Ballet Company became even better known.
On Thanksgiving Day our office, as usual, helped those who could not properly celebrate this holiday on their own. We supplied residents of Coney Island and Brighton Beach with food, including the traditional turkey. Mark Davidovich enthusiastically helped us on that day; he is a Democrat from our region and, so far, the only Russian immigrant elected to city government.
I also want to note the noble activity of Be Proud, an organization that sends packages with food and other necessities to Russian immigrant soldiers in Iraq.
Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General:
Russian immigrants’ distrust of charitable and nonprofit organizations is not completely unjustified. We always urge donors to gather the maximum amount of information about the organizations which will receive their donations. In the past, there have been cases of abuses, but usually limited to small, unknown organizations that wanted to cash in on tragic events.
The idea of organized charity is not a contradiction. Charitable institutions offer support to people who find themselves in hopeless situations. This could be a family whose house burned down, or thousands of children in Southeast Asia orphaned as a result of the recent tsunami. I am confident that charitable institutions provide the necessary aid to people and to communities both in New York and the rest of the world, sending such as food, providing housing and medicine, and by helping destroyed communities to rebuild themselves.
We are monitoring closely the activities of charitable institutions and we call on New Yorkers, including the Russian community, to donate wisely their hard-earned money.
