Jim's Story

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Jim grew up in Riga, Latvia, when it was part of the  Soviet Union. There was no freedom of speech, religion or travel. Latvia was run under a centralized planned economy, also known as a command economy. It was commonly known that the KGB spied on everyone and that the government was paranoid about foreign spies and its citizens escaping to the West for freedom. 

He says that travel abroad was almost impossible.   People were thrown in prison for things as trivial as making political jokes about the government. Because the State owned all the businesses and private enterprise was forbidden, it was illegal to start a business. His own grandfather was imprisoned for doing this.  

Rationed goods 

He also felt the real effects of a command economy. “There were shortages of basic goods all the time,” he says. “People had to wait in long lines for many daily staples like meat, if it was available, and toilet paper.  Store shelves were either empty or filled with products no one wanted. Popular items, like blue jeans, had to be smuggled in from the West and could only be bought on the black market for a lot of money.” 

Allowed to leave 

In 1979 when he was 11, his family was allowed to immigrate to the United States. This was made possible through the passage of the Jackson–Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, which allowed many Jews in Soviet Bloc counties to emigrate. 

"Jews were discriminated against in every facet of Soviet society," Jim says. "So, when it became possible they voted with their feet."

Source:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jackson-vanik-agreement