In this talk, author and Boston College professor Maxim D. Shrayer will discuss the history of the refusenik movement in the former USSR, share personal testimony, and read excerpts from his acclaimed memoir Leaving Russia: A Jewish Story.

Shrayer is a bilingual author and a professor at Boston College. A former refusenik, he was born in Moscow and emigrated in 1987. He is a recipient of a National Jewish Book Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His recent books include A Russian Immigrant: Three Novellas and Immigrant Baggage, a memoir. Shrayer’s new collection of poetry, Kinship, was published in 2024. His works have been translated into 13 languages. For more information, visit www.shrayer.com