Growing Up in Moscow: Memories of a Soviet Girlhood

I purchased this book out of curiosity. How could someone named Cathy Young have grown up in the Soviet Union? Well, it turns out that she was born Ekatarina Jung and her name was adapted to American tastes. The book gave a very vivid picture of a young Jewish girl/adolescent encountering the growing intrusion of the Soviet system into every aspect of her moral/intellectual life. Young gives vivid examples of the moral compromises she was compelled to make to prevent severe reprisals on herself or her family. Young never spares herself from criticism of actions she felt compelled to make. It was obvious from the text that the Jung family were not observant Jews. There was no difficulty in consuming pork products and no attempt to develop a distinct Jewish identity. The book's statement that the vast majority of Soviet Jews would have been delighted to become the most loyal of Soviet citizens, if only the system would allow them, is telling. The Jung family enjoyed a comfortable life by Soviet standards. The decision for the family to emigrate came with difficulty. Only the increasing intrusion of the state into their private life pushed them to take the decision to emigrate. I read Young's account of her childhood with growing admiration. She became well versed in Russian literature as well as from many foreign sources. Some of these works were banned and the family took considerable risk in keeping them in their apartment. Young was able to become fluent in English, German, and French as well as her native tongue. Apparently, she was able to master any subject that caught her interest. While in Rome awaiting her visa to emigrate to the United States, Young picked up a considerable understanding of Italian as well. Young found a spiritual home in America very quickly. She quickly lost contact with her old friends remaining in the Soviet Union. She was able to master English so well that she has no noticable accent. She was able to find employment and graduate from Rutgers University after a very short time in this country. She is now a successful freelance writer. This book was published before the fall of the Soviet Union, so some of its content is dated. Still, the slow relapse of Russian society into totalitarianism shows that these currents run deep in the national character. Reading this book gives a very illuminating glimpse into that character.

It is a shame this book went out of print so quickly. The author was a fresh, naive immigrant at the time, with perhaps a tendency to engage in a cliche or two but with a very witty turn of phrase. She acknowledged upfront the fact that her experience in Moscow--one that included a nanny, summers at a dacha and in Latvia, and a father with an important job with Melodiya who seemed very wise to the ways of politics--differed from those of the average schoolgirl. Those caveats aside, Young (Jung in her native Russian) engages us in a story of a girl growing up as a Jew in Brezhnev's Russia, to some extent aware of the differences in politics amongst adults around her, to some extent just being a kid, ironically learning and performing in her appartment for Mama and Papa "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Lloyd-Weber's "Jesus Christ Superstar." As she discusses her life in a special English school for which she qualified from first grade to tenth, when she emmigrated, the anecdotes she tells of herself and other children are amazing both for their similarity to Western primary and secondary educational experiences, and their differences. One of the more horrific scenes schoolchildren (not the author) become involved in has to do with a hockey game, at night, where many Western tourists are attending. Kids would know that Westerners would have gum, candy, and other treats to hand out, and would, in gestures highly embarrrassing to the Soviet heirarchy, not wanting their populace to have a third world sheen, grab, beg, and run for such treasures. Apparently to stop this from happening, when the hockey game let out and the children were waiting as expected, all lights on the outside of the arena and parking lot were turned off. Deathly screams were heard, but as Young states, it's difficult to know whether anyone was hurt or died because it was never covered in the media. (Young also notes that she felt much safer walking around in New York at night in 1988 than Moscow; the reason people thought there was "no crime" under communism was that it simply didn't get written about. Everyone knew someone who had been mugged, raped, shot, or so forth.) Many of Young's other stories of school are much more idyllic, learning about the history of Russian literature and poetry, learning about those who went against the system as well as those who were held up as Soviet models. There are the descriptions of the ceremony surrounding school: flowers brought for the teacher on the first of September, the first, second and third graders in their Octoberist scarves, pinned with a tiny gold picture of the baby Vladimir Lenin, the older children in their red and white Pioneer uniforms. Each dual desk accomodated one boy and one girl. Young, flirty female teachers the boys oggled at, and old grouchy teachers. An air raid drill with real air raid masks. Sprinkle in some great Soviet jokes, a few more anecdotes concerning home, travel, relationships between K

I was lent this book by a friend who grew up in Soviet Russia. The author has done a magnificent job of illustrating what life was like under the communist regime. Soviet Moscow seen through the vivid memories of a young girl is a fascinating and sometimes disturbing place.I enjoyed the opportunity to be taken inside a different culture and shown around by such a masterful writer. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in first hand accounts of Soviet Russia or biographies that illustrate a different lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A friend lent me this book to give me a feel of what her childhood was like. It paints a vivid picture of Soviet Russia seen through the eyes of a young girl. It was a fascinating and insightful read that taught me a great deal about a very different way of life.I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Soviet Russia or who likes to read biographies that illustrate a different culture to their own. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Well written and astute, Katya Jung (Cathy Young) did an outstanding job of capturing life in the former Soviet Union in the 70's and 80's.