Alex Frishberg

I was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 9, 1963. Like many other Jewish families at the time, we left the Soviet Union in 1974 because of rabid antisemitism. For example, only 1.5% of medical school students could be Jewish (3% for engineers). The hazing in the military was notorious, especially for Jews. To put it simply: if you were Jewish, you were a second-class citizen.

We travelled through Vienna and Rome, and after five months on the road, we landed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1975. We didn't know anything about St. Louis, except that Mark Twain came from there (not exactly true, because he came from Hannibal, Missouri). Still, this lovely Midwestern town became our new home.

In a few years, my parents passed all the exams to qualify to practice medicine in the U.S. (they were both psychiatrists). It was an extraordinary accomplishment, especially considering that they had to learn regular English and medical English (more akin to Latin). Then came internship, residency, and all the challenges that entailed for a middle-aged couple from Kyiv.
It was in St. Louis that I received a B.A. in English language and literature from University of Missouri and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law. In 1988 I moved to W...

Alex Frishberg was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 9, 1963. His family emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri (USA) in 1975, where he received a B.A. in English language and literature from University of Missouri and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law. Prior to relocating to Ukraine in October, 1991, Mr. Frishberg practiced at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, D.C. He currently lives in Kyiv, despite the war with russia.