Although the door was open for Jewish immigration, it was an incredibly difficult and lengthy process. There were many legal and social restraints in place. Family reunion was the only valid reason to leave; anything else would be considered treason. A split in society was created: those who had intense nationalism and believed leaving was a betrayal, and those who were jealous that they themselves could not leave.
In order to leave, one had to obtain an invitation from a relative in Israel called a vysov. Immigration from the Soviet Union before this point was nearly impossible. Thus, many people did not have relatives to call for them. Instead, people would create fictitious relatives in order to get the invitation.
Next, Jews had to go through the Visa Office of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (OVIR) and fill out questionnaires which asked intimate questions such as the names of all relatives. In addition, social character references were necessary, as well as permission from family members and schools. This step proved to be one of great difficulty.
Many coworkers did not give permission, as they thought leaving was an act of treason, or were jealous that they themselves could not leave. Family members feared for their own social positions and jobs if they granted permission. Children also had to get permission from their schools or universities in order to immigrate, oftentimes leading to their expulsion or humiliation. Such a thing happened to Mrs. Rimma Babot-Goldberg, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1980 from Riga, Latvia, later settling in the Seagate section of Brooklyn. She attempted to abandon her allegiance to the komsomol party so she could immigrate. The Komsomol Party, short for the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League was a division of the communist party for people aged 14-28. In order to get a job in the Soviet Union, one had to be part of the komsomol party. Mrs. Babot-Goldberg recalls:
“They told me okay, no problem. It’s going to be done at one of the assemblies. What they actually did is, they took the largest assembly hall, not even in the school, it was like at a factory, put every single student from the whole college, it was around 4-5 thousand students, put me in front on the stage and asked me questions, first one being, why are you leaving the country? And being 17, I decided to answer, my parents are leaving and I’m leaving with them. They asked were I was going, and I said Israel. I remember receiving a lot of boos from the Russians but the Latvians seemed excited. When the school officials saw that there was no way of me saying anything else, they cancelled my komsomol membership. I said thank you very much and left.”
Although there was a procedure in place for leaving, many feared attempting to do so. Those rejected faced intense persecution. They would most likely lose their jobs without future hope of employment, be spied on, have their friends or family be spied on, be jailed, or be sent to a mental institution. These unfortunate individuals were given the nickname refuseniks.
If someone managed to complete the steps and was given permission to emigrate, he or she would would be issued an exit permit costing 360 rubles. Would-be emigrants also had to pay 500 rubles for “rejecting their citizenship,” and 40 rubles to attain an application. For each person, the total to emigrate was 900 rubles. However, the average salary was a mere 185 rubles a month. Many immigrants took loans out to pay the fees. Mrs. Babot-Goldberg’s husband took many years to pay off his family’s immigration loans. Hopeful immigrants would have their Soviet citizenship revoked, leaving them stateless. Jews then had to go to the Netherland’s embassy in Moscow to obtain an Israeli visa and Austrian transit visa from the Austrian Embassy. This had to be done within thirty days because exit permits were only valid for that length of time. Vienna served as an intermediary destination between the Soviet Union and Israel.
The primary method of transportation was the railroad system. It was extremely difficult to travel this way as Soviet soldiers would search people’s belongings at the border and take whatever they pleased.
Once in Vienna, immigrants were greeted by Jewish organizations for various countries. Immigration to Israel was encouraged, but, those who were adamant against Israel were helped to relocate elsewhere. When choosing where to go, many, like Mrs. Babot-Goldberg, went to the place they considered to have the most opportunity. Immigrants were transferred to Italy, where they waited six to eight months while their immigration paperwork was being processed.
