COSSACKS

The painting which greets you on my entry page is called Zaporozhian Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan painted in 1891 by Elias Repin. It is located in the St. Petersburg Art Gallery in Russia.

Why did I select this picture for my web site?

One reason is sentimental. A copy of this painting was owned by my parents and I remember always being impressed by the strength, independence, and humor of the characters. Also, looking at this picture reminds me that I need to find the time to revisit the classic works of Dostoevsky and Gogol that I read in my Cornell days.

Another more serious reason is to express my gratitude to an individual Cossack I never met. My parents are immigrants. After World War II they were living in a refugee camp in Germany (then called displaced persons camps). Their future was uncertain. Their ability to relocate to the United States was unclear, and they faced possible repatriation back to the Ukraine. As Alexander Solzhenitzyn has described in his writings, this was not a pleasant option. Fortunately, a Cossack who had emigrated to New York offered to sponsor any Cossack who wanted to emigrate. As my father's family were Kuban Cossacks; my family was able to enter the United States and I was born in New York instead of ???. The opportunity this individual gave my family is a debt which cannot be repaid. The Repin painting to me honors this individual and my parents.