The Journey From Russian Roulette

 

 Arpenik Petrossian, now 74, lives alone in the comfort of her home caring for her young grandchildren. She lives in Glendale, California, but was born in the village of Yayji, Armenia in 1932. Her family moved to the city of Yerevan when she was seven. There, she grew up, and ended up facing the reality of a suppressive government. At age fifty five, she was forced to work in a factory producing tools to help support her family. She then escaped the harsh reality that was the Soviet Union, and came to America to find a better life for her children. Now, she enjoys watching soap operas and listening to music. She says that it was all worth it, just to see her children growing up in a great country.

 

We were taught in the ways of the Soviets, and our views of laws in the country were good. Maybe our parents’ views were different, but we wouldn’t know. We were born in the Soviet Union around 1932, at that time, we were taught to walk around singing the names of our leaders, yes, we had no right to do other wise, and we were scared, to ever say anything negative towards our leaders. I wouldn’t go against their word because it was wrong; we had to listen to them. Moscow regulated Armenia. It was very different from here. I lived under a God supposedly. Whatever he says was law, and I mean that. If you didn’t agree, you were killed or thrown out of the country. It was horrible. The laws over there were not like they were here. Over there, you do something Stalin didn’t like, and Stalin says what will happen to you. Stalin was everywhere, you couldn’t escape it. He was right, all the time. If you didn’t like it, it didn’t matter. He was the law. His police killed innocent people, only because they thought he was wrong. It was not fair over there.

 

      

The There were not that many radios and we had no television. The welfare there will barely buy you bread to eat in a month. We made our own bread. With that kind of work, we lived and ate by our own hand. We weren’t very rich but we lived. At thirty years old I worked at several stores and other places around the city, I got paid, it was enough. They paid me very little, though. It was only about 150 rubles. My husband and I could only afford to feed our family, and not much more. One pair of jeans over there is 200 rubles. We had to work one month to get one pair of pants! (Chuckles) As we got older, it got harder; I had to work just so my family could survive. I was in my fifties working in a factory!

 

The rights you had in the Soviet Union were little. They would see you differently over there if you believed in another religion. It was very different from here. You couldn’t even believe in Christ. They didn’t let us go to Church. When we went to church over there, they said “Oh” you have to be part of the Communist party. The Party didn’t accept everyone, and only the ones who were part of the party could get the good jobs, and then the others were left to clean the streets.

 

Voting was a joke. It is not like here, where you vote and it actually matters. It was a show over there. It was all decided. We went, put the name on the paper, but we all knew it was for show. The candidates already came picked out secretly by the government. The voting process was a joke. The candidates didn’t represent themselves. One in a thousand went to a meeting, you know, met with the executives and had a debate. That was, for example in the 1960’s. Before that time there was even nothing like that. They wouldn’t come out with signs saying, “Come let’s vote for him, let’s vote for this person!” There was no such thing. The whole thing was a set up. It not like over here where they have debates all the time.

 

They didn’t treat you right over there. I went out of the country to give a better life to my children. I wanted better for them. Here, they would suffer like I did. I chose to leave the government because it was too hard to live over there. They treat me better here. In the Soviet Union, they would suffer like I did.

 

They didn’t treat you right over there. I went out of the country to give a better life to my children. I wanted better for them. Here, they would suffer like I did. I chose to leave the government because it was too hard to live over there. They treat me better here. In the Soviet Union, they would suffer like I did.

 

On the airplane here I was so nervous I couldn’t sit. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know how America was going to be like.

 

When I came to America I felt alien, completely alien, that the best I can describe it. Everything was different, the people, the cars, the cities. It was new to me. It was worth it though. Haik, look at this. (She smiles). I wouldn’t be living like this if I was still living there. I couldn’t afford the lights and the heat and the television. I came here, and it was all worth it. The journey was worth it. I don’t regret anything.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Interviewed by Haik Manukian