Interview with Irina Melekhina, March 9, 2019

Interview Summary

Irena Melekhina recounts her experiences growing up in the USSR, earning a degree in dentistry, and then seeking refugee status along with her husband prior to immigrating to the United States in 1991. She recalls a sense of being brainwashed by the Soviet government, yet still feeling a loss at the collapse of the Soviet Union. She and her husband and 2 month old child arrived in New York City in August 1991, just as the August Coup was taking place in the USSR. The interview recounts these early years of adjusting to life in the United States, resettling in Philadelphia for better job opportunities, and raising their family in Northeast Philadelphia. Toward the end of the interview, Irina shares a series of photographs and memorabilia from the Soviet Union.

Interview Keyword

Soviet Union Dental schools Russian-Americans Refugee status Kiev, Ukraine Crimea, Russia Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Jewish ethnicity Russia Assimilation Religion Jews--Identity. Physicians Military education Traditional dance Republic of Crimea Kiev (Ukraine : Oblast)

Interview LC Subject

Childhood Occupations Employment Education Immigrants Communism Moscow (Russia) Dentists New York (N.Y.) Philadelphia (Pa.) Families Emigration and immigration

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.