In contrast, 'Irina' could not remember what Russia was like. Her parents were Jewish, and also had a great deal of difficulty immigrating to America. Irina was so young at the time she could hardly remember the experience of living in the Soviet Union. Her parents raised her in a Russian-speaking household at first, but after entering public school, she soon acquired English and it became her primary language. She spoke without any accent, unlike Martina, although she said her Russian-Jewish heritage was an important part of her life. Because her parents lived in an area with many other Russian immigrants, she had been exposed to the culture for most of her existence, and because she could not remember some of 'the bad times,' she had mostly positive feelings about being Russian, although she could not imagine living in Russia, she said. Her parents had experienced persecution as Jews, but...
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