While in the former Soviet Union, Fellowship partners visited the home of 91-year-old Boris in Kazakhstan. Despite enduring the Nazi invasion as a child, losing many family members, and facing constant anti-Semitism after the war, Boris and his story remind us just how powerful ambition can be.
Today, Boris lives alone and faces numerous health challenges. He survived a heart attack and also suffers from reduced lung capacity due to COVID-19, failing vision and hearing, and several other health issues. Yet Boris has never allowed the hatred that shaped his childhood and devastated his family to define or rule him.
Boris and his family are originally from Ukraine. He was only six and a half years old when the Nazis invaded. His mother managed to evacuate him to Russia while his father went to the front—a decision Boris says saved his life. Everyone who could not escape was killed. Boris’ grandmother stayed behind, fearing she would be a burden. She froze to death in a wooden barn, while the rest of the community was taken to a nearby tractor factory and murdered. His paternal grandparents were also killed by the Nazis in Ukraine. More than 20 of Boris’ relatives went to fight in the war and never returned.
After the war, Boris and his mother returned to their hometown of Kharkiv, where countless Jews had been murdered. Jews had become a minority in the region and faced constant anti-Semitism—and Boris was no exception. At school, he was a gold-star student, but teachers warned him that his work would be rejected no matter how brilliant it was. As a child, Boris became interested in botany, infectious diseases, and vaccines through the many books he read.
By high school, he was studying microbiology and was invited to a national student science conference. The institute’s director used anti-Semitic slurs and tried to prevent him from attending. Despite this, Boris gave his presentation, which was praised as “the future of microbiology” and won first place. Seven departments recommended him for postgraduate studies, but the same director blocked every opportunity he had. Instead, Boris moved to Kazakhstan and built a career in microbiology. He became the founder of the country’s first immune diagnostics laboratory. Today, former students still seek out his advice.
Now, Boris struggles to survive on a small pension. His refrigerator is filled with different medicines, leaving little room for food. He takes medications for his heart, lungs, kidneys, and other health problems. The support he receives from The Fellowship is essential, helping him purchase groceries and other necessities.
He says, “Each Jew is responsible for all other Jews. This is true whether a Jew is religious or not. A huge thank you. I wish them (Christian donors) a long and happy life.”