But for many years Fuchs had been, along with a number of other top mathematicians, trying to alleviate the effect of the discrimination against Jewish students by privately teaching young talented kids who were denied entry to MGU.
As part of those efforts, Fuchs was involved in what became known as “Jewish People’s University,” an unofficial evening school, where he and his colleagues gave courses of lectures to students. Some of those lectures had even been held at Kerosinka, although this was before my time.
The school had been organized by a courageous woman, Bella Muchnik Subbotovskaya, who was its heart and soul. Unfortunately, the KGB got on the case, alarmed that there were unauthorized gatherings of Jewish people. She was eventually called to the KGB and interrogated. Soon after that interview, she was killed by a truck under suspicious circumstances, which led many people to suspect that this was in fact a cold-blooded murder. Without her at the helm, the school collapsed.
from the book Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality by Edward Frenkel
quote found here
#moscow #mgu #jews #university #kgb #ussr #love #math #interview #murder #school #cccp #ссср #internationalism #bella-muchnik-subbotovskaya #love-and-math
Yes, that’s true. I have been in Armenia during the communist’s rule, 35-40 years ago, for 15 days. It’s hard to compare that Armenia with today’s Armenia. I was limited that time. We were given a car with accompaniment - five men were watching for everything we were doing. They were showing us what they wanted to show. Everywhere we went, they were already prepared to meet us. Headmens were expecting us and greeting with vodka, etc. I wasn’t allowed to make photos of old houses, old villages. One time I was arrested when I was taking a photograph of the beggar. I was obsessed with beggars, poors that time. I was making photos of poor, wretched, blind, outcast. In Armenia at the market I was asked why I am doing it. I have explained that I have no bad intentions, and then some other men explained them that I am under the protection of the government.
For me, who came from Paris, that Armenia was a very strange country. I have seen at the market some people with one flower in hands. I was explained that indeed, they were selling that one flower. For instance, they have a one bush of roses at home, and it bloomed, so they cut one flower and go to market to sell it. I was very strange to me. Here, in France, it was ok to just throw out one flower. But there one flower was a luxury. Host of the house where I was staying, took one orange (it was also luxury in Soviet times) and told me: “this is from Moscow”. There were 5 people around the table, so he cut the orange to 5 slices and put one slice to the plate of each of us. In that small amount orange seems to be more tasty. I had an impression that country is very poor.
This time when I came, there was everything. It was possible to think that you are in a French city. A lot of construction work. Many people at streets. Many many people. I can see that everything moves forward.
“I like to be sad” - intervew with Jean Jansem (in Russian)
#ссср #cccp #ussr #Armenia #Jansem #armenian-painters #art #kgb #history #Yerevan #Paris #Hovhannes-Semerdjian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJCczbSF-B8
I don’t think there was ever anything wrong in living in #USSR and distributing #SamIzdat. Something wrong in distributing SamIzdat through the #KGB.
via https://spyurk.am/posts/97914
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