Two Babushkas

Masha Gessen's last memory of Russia was the crowd of red-eyed relatives gathered at the airport in Moscow in 1981 to wave goodbye forever to her fourteen-year-old self, her brother and her parents. Unwilling to have their children grow up bearing the weight of the same anti-Semitism that they and their parents had, Masha's mother and father were emigrating to America. But Russia was Masha's home, and ten years later she returned to a changed country, and to her two grandmothers.

With intelligence and humour, Masha Gessen unfolds the tale of these two women: both Eastern European Jews who lived through Polish and Russian anti-Semitism, the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Stalin years and who bore unceasing intimidation and fear in very different ways but with similar courage, resourcefulness, and sheer chutzpah.

Two Babushkas offers a deeply personal narrative, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the enduring power of family ties against a backdrop of historical upheaval.