About the Project

Refuseniks & Activists is a multi-partner initiative that presents a digital archive reflecting the global impact of the Free Soviet Jewry Movement.​

The Free Soviet Jewry Movement has largely been forgotten outside of communities of activists, Refuseniks, and their direct descendants. To ensure that this important history is not lost, a group of experts, participants, scholars and archivists, spearheaded by the Blavatnik Archive have come together to document the history of the Movement and aggregate resources from institutions around the world. Partner institutions include the American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, Central Archive of the Jewish People, National Library of Israel, Vanderbilt University, and the Wende Museum. Though decades have passed since the international efforts to free Soviet Jews concluded in 1991, the participation of individuals and institutions to preserve the history through this project mirrors the mobilization of broad coalitions that was central to the movement’s success.


The new digital platform is available to everyone, from scholars and students to members of the public, without restriction. Each participating organization deposits digital assets from their collections to ensure uninterrupted access to this rich history. By employing a pioneering digital infrastructure, collections are searchable across topics, individuals, organizations, and events. The project also features scholarly interpretations of the sources and movement as a whole. Together, this initiative helps to tell a more complete story of the Free Soviet Jewry Movement using resources from the United States, Israel, Europe, and the former Soviet Union.


The goal of Refuseniks and Activists is to preserve and make accessible collections from around the world (organizational, governmental, individual) in one digital place, helping to shine a light on human rights, immigration, the Cold War, and modern Jewish history.

Holdings


Here is a snapshot of the types of materials to be found across our partner collections:​


Written


  • Letters of Refuseniks, including Natan Sharansky’s correspondence form Soviet prison
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Leaflets
  • Reports of US activists who travelled to the Soviet Union
  • Samizdat – underground, illegal zines produced in the Soviet Union


Audio & Video


  • Jerry Goodman’s Radio Show on Soviet Jewry
  • Interviews with Soviet Dissidents
  • Arrival Interviews with Refuseniks in the US and Israel
  • Oral History Interviews with participants in the Movement


Visual


  • Photographs of protests, candid shots and portraits of participants
  • Graphic art produced to promote the Soviet Jewry movement

Long-Term Vision


The goal of Refuseniks and Activists is to preserve and make accessible collections from around the world relevant Soviet Jewish emigration during the Cold War, enabling new discoveries in subjects such as human rights, immigration, modern Jewish history, and international politics. We will continue to collect primary sources, catalog, optimize user access, and present analysis and interpretations, for the foreseeable future.

We are in constant dialog with new potential partners and contributors, targeting the following collections relevant to Refuseniks & Activists:


  • Institutional papers and artifacts of grass root, regional, national, and international organizations
  • Individual records of activists, former Refuseniks and prisoners of conscious, including testimonies, photographs, personal correspondence, and artifacts
  • Radio and other media coverage recordings
  • Activist and dissident art work
  • Underground published and unpublished work
  • Official documents including exit application filing and processing
  • Individual legal case files of prisoners of conscious and Refuseniks
  • Government policy papers, including Jackson-Vanik Amendment

“The Soviet Jewry movement enabled the migration of hundreds of thousands of Jews, including my family, to escape widespread intolerance in the Soviet Union. The Blavatnik Archive is proud to partner with the National Library of Israel, the Center for Jewish History and the American Jewish Historical Society, and the Wende Museum to preserve this important history for future generations. I invite other institutions and people to join us in this endeavor.”​

Alex Blavatnik


“This initiative spotlights the power of individuals to change the world. The movement for the release of Soviet Jewry was probably the most successful 'joint venture' of the Jewish people since the creation of the Jewish state. It is a testimony of our strength when we are working together. It is important that one of the human rights successes is not banished to history. That is why I’m welcoming the initiative of the Blavatnik Archive in bringing together collections near and far to tell the stories of individuals who fought for the future of the Jewish people.​”

Natan Sharansky