美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia's biggest talents flee to Israel, seeking freedom from Putin's repression

Russia's biggest talents flee to Israel, seeking freedom from Putin's repression¹

Transcript²

TEL AVIV — Some of Russia's biggest artistic³ talents have immigrated⁴ to Israel this year, finding a safe place to rebuild their careers and voice their conscience about their country's war in Ukraine.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it has cracked down on even the slightest opposition⁵ to the war, forced thousands of citizens to enlist⁶ to fight and drawn⁷ tough sanctions from the West. All this has prompted many Russians to flee.

More than 28,000 Russian nationals have acquired Israeli citizenship⁸ since the war began, according to Israeli government figures. They include a pop superstar, a top photojournalist and many other creatives in art, theater, film, music and dance.

"Staying behind the Iron Curtain was incredibly scary," Russian artist Victor Melamed says, comparing Russia's current isolation⁹ to the Soviet¹⁰ Union during the Cold War.

Melamed, whose portraits have appeared in the New Yorker magazine, fled to Israel in June. He says: "I want to be a person of the world."

Russians are relocating mostly to Turkey, Kazakhstan and Georgia. But Israel offers one big advantage: Those with at least one Jewish grandparent can get Israeli citizenship for themselves and their close family.

"When the war started, I think, like, everybody literally¹¹ remembered their Jewish grandma," says Liza Rozovsky, a Russian-born Israeli journalist tracking Russian celebrity¹² arrivals for the Haaretz newspaper.

Israel defines itself as a refuge for Jews, which is why it's already home to 1 million Russian-speakers who fled the crumbling¹³ Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Some Ukrainian immigrants in Israel wish the Russian newcomers would stay in Russia to protest their leadership, despite the risks. "They're trying to run away," says Ilona Stavytska, 33, a Ukrainian-born barista in Tel Aviv.

But Russian exiles say their protest is more effective here. "Go protest in Moscow. I will support you. I will say, 'Oh, look, this person is protesting.' Then I will send you letters to jail," says Maxim¹⁴ Katz, 37, a Russian YouTube blogger and former opposition politician who escaped to Israel and publishes anti-war videos to audiences in Russia.

Here are three Russian artists who escaped to Israel this year and still grapple with the country they left behind.

A Russian jazz label migrates to Israel

What a difference a year has made for jazz producer Evgenii Petrushanskii. Last year, his record label in Russia, Rainy Days Records, produced a jazz album which got nominated for a Grammy. This year, the record label has gone silent.

"I don't feel it's the right time now to release music as a Russian label," Petrushanskii, 36, says at a Tel Aviv coffee shop. "For the ethical¹⁵ reasons, I stopped."

Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, he left St. Petersburg for Tel Aviv, claiming Israeli citizenship based on his father's Jewish roots.

"It's impossible to release a record in Russia so it goes to the foreign audience," Petrushanskii says. "A majority of music aggregators who release music toward the platforms like Apple Music, Spotify — they're not working. They're not presenting in Russia anymore."

Now he's re-registering his record label in Israel, hoping to release new records of Russian artists next year.

A Russian choreographer¹⁶ is not looking back

Polina Mitryashina, 28, worked at one of the world's leading dance institutions, Russia's Mariinsky Theater. Then when the war broke out, her dancers began to vanish.

"Now they're in Oslo," she says. "They left Russia too."

Mitryashina attended a recent networking event at the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, which brought 100 Russian and Ukrainian artists in film, music, art and dance — new immigrants like her — to meet veteran Israeli artistic directors and try to rebuild their careers in Israel.

"Sometimes I'm angry [at] the people who stay ... and continue to work for the big companies, and continue to make money" in Russia, she says. "I am like, 'Are you crazy? You, you're like a sponsor of the war.'"

A portrait artist draws Ukrainian war victims

Artist Victor Melamed, 45, moved his family to a quiet Tel Aviv suburb to keep his teenage boys out of a potential Russian military draft — though they will likely be drafted into the Israeli army.

"I have no romantic visions of, you know, Israel's policies," he says. "The Israeli army is an institution that cares for every person they have ... as opposed to the Russian army."

Each morning he draws a black-and-white portrait of a Ukrainian civilian¹⁷ killed in a Russian attack, and posts it on Instagram. He says it's his way of pinching himself, not to get too comfortable in his new home in Israel.

"This time is very demanding. We need to grow up," he says. "We cannot afford to stay the same."

1 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

13 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

14 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

15 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

16 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。