Gene Gutnik, the father of high school sophomore Maxim Gutnik, who was born in the Soviet Union after World War II devastated the economy, recalls standing in line outside during the freezing cold of a brutal Russian winter for food. The 12-year-old would stand in line for more than an hour hoping for a piece of bread.
“Looking back at my family history, for as long as I can remember, we’ve had to go through a lot of hardship,” Jean said. “And ‘a lot of hardship’ is no exaggeration. Both of my grandfathers had to go to fight in World War II. It seems like a big historical event in the history books, but if you look at it from another perspective, the casualties in the Soviet Union were one in 10. Every family suffered losses, and that’s what made it especially tragic for Russians.”
In the late 1990s, Gene and his wife had Maxim’s older brother, Dima Gutnik. At the time, Gene and his wife were already juggling work as software engineers with university, but they didn’t have enough money to support their family. So Gene took on a third and fourth job unloading trucks at night. Perhaps due to the harsh winter conditions or the lateness of the night, Gene’s facial nerves became inflamed and part of his face became paralyzed. Recalling how, in his early 20s, doctors told him it was uncertain whether he would ever return to normal, Gene sees the situation as an indication of the extent to which he and other Russian parents were willing to sacrifice to ensure their families had what they needed.
“My grandparents, my parents, my generation,” Jean said, “we all had such hard times, but at the same time, we all tried not to lose our families, because again, the children are the most important thing. We think about how to help them, how to teach them, so they can be better, more socially-adjusted people. I’m so grateful for my parents and my grandparents.”
Despite the difficulties, Dima has mostly good memories of his time in Russia. He has trouble remembering specific events from his childhood, but the farm on which he grew up makes the biggest impression on him. Dima recalls growing up at a “dacha,” a kind of small farm. According to Dima, many families had a house in the city so they could go to work, and also a house in the countryside.
“I remember my parents taking me there all the time when I was little, and I remember seeing chickens roaming the yard and cats climbing the fence posts,” Dima says. “If you went to the back of the farm, there were always geese. They were always very aggressive and I was always scared of them as a child. There was a swampy lake with frogs jumping around. I wasn’t a good kid. I would shoot them with a BB gun, but… [the farm] It was very peaceful.”
When Dima was about 5 years old, Gene and his family emigrated to the U.S. For Gene, one of the main reasons for the move was the worsening economic situation in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but he was also attracted by the job opportunities in computer engineering in the U.S.
“Computers are everywhere now, but I fell in love with them when they weren’t so common,” Jean says. “They were very rare back then. I think it was 1986 or 1987. I read a lot of books – Russian books, American books, all kinds of books – and I thought Silicon Valley was really interesting. If you wanted to be a software engineer and work with computers, that was the place to be. So deep down, I wanted to go there to see it for myself.”
Dima, a native Russian speaker, remembers starting kindergarten only speaking Russian while the other students spoke English. Because of this, Jean feels that Maxim had a slightly smoother transition into school than Dima, who had to participate in an English as a Second Language program at an early age. But despite their efforts to adapt to their new environment, the Gutniks also maintained strong ties to their cultural roots.
Dima cites the traditional folk tales he grew up with as a particular influence, such as “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin-Zmey”, “Dobrynya and the Dragon” and “Ilya Muromets and Solovei Razboinik”. He believes these stories were a source of inspiration and made him a braver person.
Dima added that his family continues to adhere to traditional values and customs. Actions such as always removing shoes and hats when entering a building and always bringing a gift when visiting someone’s house stem from his family’s Russian heritage. In particular, he points out a unique tradition of not giving people anything that could be perceived as a weapon.
“My father loves to collect knives and has a lot of beautiful ones,” Dima says, “different steels, American manufacturers, all of them are amazing. I can’t give him a knife, but there’s a little loophole: if I give him a knife, he gives me a dollar back, and it’s as if he bought the knife from me.”
Although Jean acknowledges that integrating into American culture was not an easy experience, she appreciates the uniqueness of the United States as a country built on immigrants from many different cultures. Jean says that most of the people she met were very tolerant and accepted people for who they are, rather than judging them based on stereotypes.
“Being part of two cultures, the United States and Russia, I find it interesting how similar the people are,” Jean said. “They’re both very big countries, very multicultural, and sometimes we see this rivalry not because we’re so different, but because we’re so similar. It’s an interesting fact. The way people think, how they like to think big and go global, and even how they fight for what’s right and what’s wrong, are surprisingly similar.”
Jean blends parts of American culture with Russian culture, such as celebrating Christmas in conjunction with the Russian holiday “New Year.” Christmas is a traditional American holiday of Christian origin, but Jean leads her family in incorporating the spirit of Russian New Year. Jean explains that Christmas is an inclusive holiday that does not require devout adherence to a particular religion, but was created to bring together the diverse people of Russia.
“We celebrate New Year’s a little bit more than we do Christmas, so Maxim is a lucky boy because sometimes he only has to give two presents,” Jean says. “So he wants to be part of the current culture, but he also wants to celebrate New Year’s, which I think is a great idea, because if your friends are from another culture or another religious group, they might not celebrate Christmas or they don’t have Christian roots. New Year’s is completely non-political, non-religious. It’s just a holiday.”
Jean considers Dima and Maxim’s traditions an important part of their upbringing, and part of that includes teaching them the history of their family. Maxim grew up learning about the exploits of his grandparents and great-grandparents, as well as his family’s origins in Russia. According to Maxim, his family is likely the descendants of people who fled serfdom in Russia and joined the Cossacks (a military class).
Jean added that their family likely came from the Kuban and Terek Cossack groups. He recalled the story of how his great-grandfather was persuaded to emigrate from the southern countryside to the big city where his grandfather was born. His grandfather eventually became a professor of physics and electronics, while his grandfather served as a colonel on the Soviet Union’s eastern border in World War II and later in Korea. Jean’s parents – Maxim’s grandparents – also enlisted in the military.
“My grandparents originally lived in the southern city of Taganrog on the Black Sea coast, but then moved to a nearby town in the north called Murom, where they lived a different lifestyle,” Maxim said. “It was like a military camp, not well maintained, so my father told me how he had to crawl through 10 feet of snow every day to get to school, how it was always cold, and how military trucks were bringing food and supplies to the people there.”
Maxim’s family continues to treasure heirlooms passed down from their ancestors, and Jean especially treasures three items left by Maxim’s great-grandfather from his time as an officer in the Russian army.
“One was a medal that was awarded during World War II, and it was very significant,” Jean said. “The second was, if you look back at Russian history, soldiers are supposed to carry swords. It’s cool, but it’s not very practical, right? So the Russian military said, ‘Okay, why don’t we make a mini sword? Like a dagger, right?’ That way, we can keep with the tradition of restricting swords to high-ranking officers, but make them more useful. So what he gave us was a little dagger-like sword that’s part of the uniform of high-ranking officers.”
The third item was a military handbook, which describes the history of various battles and military tactics. Written in Russian, the book represents a piece of Maxim’s family history, and he read it with the help of his father. Maxim added that he inherited a Soviet military cap from his grandfather, and that his grandparents still have traditional Cossack swords and hats.
As he observes Maxim’s growing interest in Russian history, Jean proudly recites Winston Churchill’s famous words, “A nation that forgets its past has no future.”Jean encourages all individuals, regardless of origin, to look to their ancestors and ask themselves to be just as good, if not better, than previous generations.
Gene shares his experiences as a Russian immigrant in America, emphasizing that while cultures and experiences differ from country to country, people themselves are not so different. He urges people to value other cultures and not just learn one side of history. Gene states that humanity has the potential to achieve more technological advancements, but is held back by constant conflict.
“We can achieve a lot more if all of humanity works together instead of fighting each other,” Jean said. “I think this is crucial for the long term of humanity because a lot of the resources we use are not easily replenished. This is an opportunity to go outside of the planet and find something new. I would really like to see a future where people from Russia, the U.S., China, India and Africa work together and aren’t trying to do business at the expense of others.”
