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Aleksey Belinskey- Bolshevik Party Begins to Form in Russia
The Bolshevik Party begins to stir trouble within Russia, lead by their leader Vladimir Lenin. The ideas of the Bolsheviks seem like they may work out well for us.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bolshevik -
Aleksey Belinskey- Bolshevik Revolt/October Revolt
After the Bolshevik Revolution, despite the promises of the Bolshevik party, our lives have gotten much worse. We are constantly persecuted for our only slightly different beliefs in Lutheranism as opposed to the Eastern Orthodox. We are shunned by our neighbors and store owners and our only source of food is that which we make and what our close friends give us. -
Aleksey Belinskey- We plan to flee Russia
It's been a very long time and our lives have only gotten worse since the revolution. We still have food to eat but it barely fills us. My father calls us all to the table to discuss possibly fleeing Russia to America. He tells us that there we won't be discriminated against for our beliefs and that we will have more opportunities there than anywhere else. -
Aleksey Belinskey- We put our plan into action
After a while of having the idea of leaving Russia in the back of our mind. I finally spoke up at dinner with the help of my sister for leaving Russia. We had heard a great deal of amazing things about America and that since the war, it had been thriving. We spoke of the education available to the public in America and how we could get an education. We all began to save what little money we could by doing odd jobs for those that would let us or from what dad didn't have to spend on food. -
Aleksey Belinskey- Me and my family flee towards Port Arthur to find passage to America
After the results and condition of the Bolshevik revolution kept growing into a worsening state for us, the amount of persecution we faced drove us to find safety and a better economy in the U.S. Somehow we eat better in Japanese owned land than we did at home. There is much less stress mostly because we aren't constantly harassed for our beliefs by government officials and neighbors who were once our friends. -
Aleksey Belinskey- How we got out of Angel Island
After waiting to be interviewed to see if we could enter the U.S., everyone in my family began to wonder what we would do for work in America. After about an hour we were all told to enter another room, where we were all tested if we qualified and were sworn into American citizenship which was followed by great happiness. -
Aleksey Belinskey- We finish our voyage from Port Arthur and arrive at Angel Island
At Angel Island, we are processed with the rest of the Russian immigrants and told to stay put in a large room. When we got there we didn't know how long we were going to have to stay, but the days went by without us being processed. If my count is correct we stayed there for one and a half month. -
Aleksey Belinskey- Finding our place in America
With the little money we saved before our departure, we found a small apartment in San Pablo. My mom and sister both found work in a factory making and repairing clothing, while my father and I began work in one of the many factories, a little farther away but we were taken by bus. I felt bad for my father because when we lived in Russia, he was a very successful banker who worked very hard to get where he was, all just to throw it away so our family could be safe. -
Aleksey Belinskey- We were all alone in the new country
In America, there was nobody that we knew from our previous life, no family and no friends. We did meet some other immigrants from Russia also fleeing persecution as they were Jewish and had it much harder than us. We often spoke to them about how different our lives were than they were in Russia. The food here was so much different but that didn't stop us from making dishes close to our heart. People were so much nicer and the town was much more active and less dreary. -
Aleksey Belinskey- The Red Scare and the Palmer Raids
Over the radio, we had been hearing news of Russian immigrants being rounded up in the Eastern part of the country in New York. Eventually we saw that multiple of our friends that we had met from Russia had been interrogated and some had been taken into holding. Luckily our family was overlooked due to our religion and because of our reasons for leaving. After the interrogation we experienced some racism from our neighbors and friends due to the current fear of the Bolshevik Party and socialism. -
Aleksey Belinskey- Things began to get better
My father had always been good at math and an extremely hard worker. He began to move up in the factory that we both worked at and was eventually promoted into a banker. He moved up very high in the company despite the recent Red Scare which put a lot of stress on our family. He made enough for both me and my sister to quit our jobs and focus on our education so that we may be successful in our new home.