Some people are meant to put everything on the line. They are willing to risk losing what they have or what they’ve created for themselves in order to go somewhere they could have more, create more, and be more. Immigration is exactly this: leaving behind what you had because you think you can have more. Yana was one of these people who thought she could have more, have a future, and she was absolutely right.

Yana Gaykov grew up in Leningrad, (now known as St. Petersburg) through the Communist regime. Although in history people struggled to survive in the Soviet Union, this was not the case for Yana. She was fortunate to grow up in a family that was very well connected, thanks to her father. “Being a shoemaker, he provided a service. Providing a service was the most important thing in Russia because people needed you.” Through her father’s work, he established connections with others that provided a service: bakers, butchers, electricians. People would help him and provide him goods and in return, he would fix their shoes.  In addition, Yana’s mother was a seamstress, she too provided a service. When there were no clothes in the stores, people would flock to her to get some decent clothing. As a result of her parent’s hard work, Yana was much luckier than others. She did not have to wait in lines for hours in hopes of receiving bread or other goods, she got it instantly, fresh, and sometimes at discounted prices. When she was growing up, she was never hungry or in need.

Although she grew up in a well-off family, she always knew she would leave her home to raise her children. Not leave her home to a city over, but fly to the other side of the world; fly to America. So, she got married in 1988, applied for immigration in 1989, and had her first son in 1990. With all of this going on, Yana forgot about her application. “We sent the application to the American Embassy right after getting married and we just forgot about that. The answer found us two years later. I filled out a bunch of paperwork then went to Moscow for an interview and they took us.”

Since Yana was 6 years old, she knew she was going to immigrate to a new country. “My family had been talking about it with me since I was 6 years old. We always knew we belonged somewhere else.” The reason she was accepted for immigration was because she is Jewish. Being Jewish, Yana had to deal with a lot of Anti-Semitic treatment, so much so that she was not allowed into college.

“Revolution was made by Jews with the money from Jews, said by Henry Ford. All Kikes regardless of their age, gender and wealth must leave the Russian Empire immediately. President Putin are you with Russians or with Jews.”

Russia was not accepting of other religions, specifically the Jewish faith. At the time, people were poor, hungry, and had nothing. People were upset with how the government was handling everything (both politically and socially) and needed somebody to blame. “They needed a scapegoat, it was the easiest way to deal with your problems.” In order to get into the College of Psychology in Leningrad, Yana had to get a 4 and 5 on two of her standardized subject exams. “I knew I got a 5 on my math exam, but when I got the grade back, it was as if I failed.” When she went in to discuss her grades with the professor, she realized all of her answered were written over and changed to wrong ones. “One of the administrators looked at me and said to my face: what were you expecting coming here with a family name like that?” Because of this, she had to go to a different college and major in economics. She had so little interest in this that she never pursued it as a career. Yana did not want to live in a country like this one since she was a little girl, and the country kept showing her why she needed to leave.

Yana began to understand the gravity of her decision when she was saying goodbye to her friends. Since it was the early 1990s, technology was surprisingly primitive. “We were saying goodbye to each other as if it was a funeral, I didn’t know when I would see any of them again.” Because there were no cellphones, messaging systems, or really any computers, it was as if Yana was disappearing off the face of the Earth. When would be the next time they see each other? Would they ever see each other? Was this it? She spent her monthly salary —$300— on her landline phone bill because of how frequently she would call her friends and family back in Russia. Once she arrived at John F. Kennedy airport, that’s when it hit her: what is she going to do? “I’m with two idiots and a two year old child in a new country, cannot speak a word of English, and I don’t know anything.”

Yana and her family moved into a one bedroom apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens. “All we had was $1500, and we used it all on our apartment.” Although she didn’t know anybody, she was able to meet people in her building and neighborhood that helped ease the challenge of immigrating. “Most of the people there immigrated recently. We were helping each other out, if anybody learned about anything they would broadcast it. Our friend would show us where to shop, which doctor to go to, things like that.” Yana may have not felt a community from her neighborhood, but she did feel it from her building. It created a comfortable place for people of very similar backgrounds and challenges to come together and help one another.

When coming to America, Yana had to face many adjustments. A surprising adjustment for Yana was the weather. “We came in the beginning of December. When we left Moscow it was -20℃ and when we came to New York it was +10℃ and it was sunny and beautiful blue skies.” In Russia, the weather (especially in the winter) is brutal. Temperatures go sub zero and without proper clothing, you could not survive. So, coming to New York City and seeing bright blue skies was a much needed change. Although this was definitely an easier adjustment, there were challenges Yana had to face, one of them being language. Since she had a 3 year old son at the time who was also learning english, she learned alongside him. “There were magnets on our fridge for Ilya but Mikhail and I would use it to learn.” In addition to this, she would learn english by reading a book and translating it page by page. “That sucked. But I also watched TV with subtitles.” Although she put in a lot of time and work, it paid off because she was able to get a job even with her limited understanding of english.

Coming to America gave many opportunities to Yana. It allowed her to raise a family and pursue her passion of Social Work. She would never have been able to have and raise three children in Russia because in the 1990s, Russia was experiencing the collapse of Communism. “There was no order, police did not do anything. It was really scary there.” Coming to America offered her an opportunity to raise a family. In regards to social work, she was able to go to college at Adelphi University and get her masters in Psychology, later allowing her to get a job in Social Work. She has been working for Visiting Nurse Service of New York for 8 years and counting.

New York City has offered so many opportunities to Yana, but New York State is what really feels like home for her. “I love the city for its cultural things, museums, theatres, and the food… you can’t find so many different types of food anywhere else.” Although New York City is a capital for cultural diversity, Yana loves New York State for its geographical diversity. “I love New York State. You have mountains upstate and beautiful lakes, rivers, and nature.” Together, it offers a world that Yana has come to love even through the difficulties she faced while immigrating. For Yana, her New York is beautiful.