Does the Country Gain or Lose from the Exodus of Jews? The Discussion in Russian Society

In 1986 popular writer Viktor Astafev wrote a letter to historian Natan Eidel’man, accusing Jews of hostility to Russia. This provoked a strong response from Aleksandr Isakov, a Samizdat author. Jews should take a copy of Astaf’ev’s letter to OVIR and demand permission to leave the country, he suggested sardonically. Following the customary question of the OVIR official, ‘How is it, Citizen Rabinovich, you want to leave your homeland?’, show him the copy of Astaf’ev’s letter, saying, ‘I’m not needed here’. ¹