Yakov Borisovich Sherman, 48
Chairman
Regional Federation
of Trade Unions

When I was a boy, we were ashamed to admit we were Jewish. We laughed at our grandmothers when they went to synagogue, because we didn't believe in god. We believed in communism, in Lenin.

People ask me why I keep this portrait of Lenin on my wall. I tell them that if I knew it would make the situation here better to take it down, I would. But taking down a picture won't change anything. Besides, people are looking for portraits like these; they pay good money for them. And if the communists come back into power, my office will already be ready.

Many of my friends ask me why I don't go to Israel. Israel is a wonderful place, of course. The weather is good, they have plenty of good food. But to be happy you can't just satisfy your stomach, you have to satisfy your heart as well. And my heart is here, in Russia.

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