On the mantel in Alex and Yelena Glikman’s cozy Albany home are wooden Russian dolls, the kind that open up and reveal other, smaller dolls inside.
They are reminders of where the Russian Jewish couple came from, reminders that they are separated from what Yelena still calls her “motherland.”
When the Glikmans emigrated from Moscow in 1989, their son George, then 3, adapted quickly to his new country, so quickly he began to lose his native language.
“It’s a problem of all immigrants,” Yelena said recently. “They try to live in the new culture, but they forget the old culture.”
When George first started to lose his Russian, Yelena tried teaching him, but George was having none of it. Determined that her son retain his native language, Yelena started the Russian School of Berkeley two years ago.
The school, which began with five students in the Glikmans’ home, today has 15 students ranging from 7 to 12 years old. It now is located at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.
For three hours every Sunday, students learn Russian language, culture and history. They perform in musical theater productions and even learn Greek mythology — all in Russian.
Yelena modeled the school on a cultural club she knew in Moscow, but her version focuses more on language. The school is divided into two classes, based on knowledge of Russian. Tuition is determined by what people can give.
“Some people give money, some give labor and some give knowledge,” said Alex, who himself volunteers and sometimes substitute teaches at the school.
George, who is now 11, converses comfortably with his Russian-speaking grandparents. He also studies Spanish at the Sierra School in El Cerrito.
“Spanish and English are very alike,” George said. “Russian is totally different.”
Though Alex and Yelena speak Russian at home, George, like many of his peers at the Russian School, responds in English.
Karina Melkonian, another student, came to the United States four years ago from Pushchino, near Moscow. Today, the 9-year-old girl wears a stylish rainbow hat and speaks English with a slight Russian accent. She welcomes the challenge of learning Russian.
“Russian school is harder than regular school but it’s more exciting,” she said.
Though most of Glikman’s students are Jewish, only a small emphasis is placed on Jewish history and culture.
For religious instruction, George attends Congregation Beth El in Berkeley, where he gets the Jewish education his parents were denied in Russia.
“In Russia we didn’t know the Jewish religion because there you cannot learn it,” Yelena said.
Her husband said Americans have a hard time understanding what it was like for Jews in Russia, who had “Jew” stamped on their passports.
“It caused problems getting jobs, into universities. If you tried to learn Hebrew you were a Zionist, which was equal to fascism.”
A professional musician, Alex needed special permission from the authorities to study ancient Hebrew music.
In his eyes, Russian and Jewish culture are not always easy to separate.
“The Jewish contribution to Russian culture is deep,” Alex said. “Jews gave their own spirit to Russian culture. Not religiously, but as a nation.”
Julia Serper, who directs the school’s musical theater productions, describes the school as another community where immigrant children can feel welcome.
“It’s very important for them to make friends when they first get here and they’re confused with the two languages,” said Serper, an immigrant whose 8-year-old son attends the school.
For the Glikmans, it’s important that the school, which struggles with funding, continues to exist.
The school welcomes contributions to help pay for teacher salaries, textbooks, rent and insurance.
“It’s good to have people who know more than one language, one culture,” Alex said. “It makes them more human.”