Like Dr. Gertsik (“Becoming an Analyst under the Soviets,” TAP 32/2), I was born in Soviet Russia. I too had conversations with friends who remained there, in which they advised me “not to overestimate the danger, past or present.” This left me bewildered, since the vivid memory of that danger woke me up at nights for the first five years of my life here. The emotional intensity of those nightmares can only be matched by the joy of the never-immediate-enough realization that I was safely in America.
Unlike Dr. Gertsik, I had no knowledge of psychoanalysis in Russia, despite the fact that I came from a family of two physicians and lived in Leningrad. When I read his awe-inspiring account of the life of Sergei Agrachev, I was humbled by the courage and vision of his colleague and friend. I was, however, puzzled by his description of the impact of the dichotomy between matters social and personal (or obschestvennye and lichnye, as the old vernacular went).
In my experience, placing the social over the personal, as demanded by the state, far from being a key to survival, was a maddening incongruity. Yes, those were the slogans to which we had to proclaim our loyalty. (Remember the chilling story of Pavlik Morozov, a boy who became a hero by betraying his father to the authorities, thus condemning him to death? Was it Oedipus, Soviet-style?) Once one outgrew the need for slogans — a freedom that came to me and most of my friends at about age 15 — all that dichotomy provided was added turmoil, since we were required to feel the way that we knew we did not. It would take volumes to describe the long journey toward being able to make a distinction between a compromise in voiced allegiances versus that in emotions. Without any exposure to psychoanalysis, this was a thorny road indeed.
Unfortunately, thousands emerged from this task disenchanted and demoralized, the effects of which we see daily in the news from Russia. All the more respect is due Sergei Agrachev, who extended his vision and wisdom to help others under conditions that both Dr. Gertsik and I know were perilous. Thank you for sharing this vivid account of the life of an inspiring man.
Svetlana Bonner