George Beres - An Independent View: Legacy of Oleg Kripkov

By George Beres
For the Beacon

It was natural for the late Oleg Kripkov to keep a low profile, which kept few from knowing he was a Springfield resident. It came naturally because Oleg spent most of his 52 years in Russia when it was the center of the repressive USSR, where addresses for some were secretive. His residence in Springfield the past year was just east of the Gateway shopping complex. When he died in an auto accident, Dec. 19, it took from us a rare person who tried to be a bridge of understanding between two long-warring nations, Russia and the United States. He had a close personal perspective on both, having migrated to the U.S. in the early 1990s, after spending most of his first 35 years in Rostov-on-Don south of Moscow.

It’s not surprising that a great sense of loss is felt by his colleagues at the University of Oregon, where he taught Russian history. What astonishes me is the widespread depth of feeling that I’d not seen before except in the death of a major national figure. It was reflected in comments shared on the internet. Said one: “The impact of Oleg’s life transcends time and space, making all who knew him better. A spirit like his never leaves.” Another: “Oleg was a gifted and deeply energized force of nature, and I don’t expect to see another like him. His life was a great gift to all who knew him.”

I got to know Oleg only in the last year of his life when we shared occasional meals and discussions on life and politics. The emotional response of others to his premature death at 52 caused me to want to learn more about Kripkov the man. I discussed with others what made him a man valued by so many, and one not to be forgotten.

He and his wife, Yelaina, were immigrants from Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall. They eventually joined the UO faculty, where Yelaina is Russian language coordinator. They were preparing to teach together courses on Masterpieces of Russian Culture and on Sexuality and Feminism in Russia.

It was not an easy climb to full acceptance in academia for this child of a Russian ghetto. He was raised by his mother after his father left the family, and at this time of year would reminisce about his hauling buckets of water from the neighborhood well during frigid Russian winters.

He brought his wife, mother and daughter (now 28) to the U.S., settling first in Tulsa, Okla. A student of piano, he managed to survive at the outset by playing the bayan, a Russian accordion, in Polish, German and Italian restaurants. He learned English from scratch, and eventually earned college degrees, including a doctorate from the University of Kansas, going on to teach Russian history, language and culture.

His struggles for seeking world peace with justice never diminished from the years when he was under surveillance by the KGB (the USSR’s equivalent of the CIA). As his students gained from him an intimate understanding of Russia, they also valued his faith in the healing character of humanism, reflected in his support of environmental groups and his involvement in anti-war actions in the U.S.

In 2003, he joined Oregon’s Bill of Rights Defense Committee at the state capitol in Salem to oppose the USA Patriot Act. A fellow demonstrator remembers Oleg saying: “The Patriot Act goes even beyond Stalin’s wildest dreams.” This had impact on his fellows, coming from a man who had fled the Soviet Union after defying that restrictive government by advocating for democratic reform.

As a boy in the USSR, Kripkov learned the folly of dictatorship. Later in the U.S., he saw the same folly from what he recognized as democracy deserted by many of its citizens. “The Cold War,” he told me, “was a calamity produced by failed and self-serving leadership in the USSR, as well as in the United States.”

He would have agreed that even a full lifespan would have been too short to achieve his aims of a just world peace. Those who knew of his courageous honesty echo the belief of one of his colleagues: “Because of Oleg, many of us hesitate less, and truly live our beliefs more.”

A memorial service will be Jan. 12, 6 to 8 p.m., at Core Star Cultural Center, 439 W. Second, Eugene.