01:29For news purposes only. Onscreen RGAKFD logo must remain visible and intact. No access news agencies
Archive footage filmed in 1934 features Jamaican-born US toolmaker Robert Robinson at the start of his 44-year life in the USSR.
Robinson can be seen shaking hands with colleagues at Moscow's ball-bearing factory, as well as participating in a City Council meeting.
"No one [in the USA] gave me a hand because I'm a Negro," Robinson claimed. "In the US, I could get nothing but cheap, menial work."
He arrived in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) to work at a tractor plant after being offered a one-year contract, which paid more than a job at Detroit's Ford Motor Company.
Robinson hit the headlines shortly after, when he was racially assaulted by two white US co-workers. While expecting to be blame due to his experiences in the US, he was gratified when his assailants were arrested and deported.
After the completion of his contract in June 1932, Robinson had planned to return to the US. However, he decided to get a job at the Moscow ball-bearing plant, and in December 1934 was elected a deputy on Moscow City Council.
"I have been living in the USSR for four years, working at the ball-bearing factory named after Comrade [Lazar] Kaganovich. A few days ago, I was once again convinced of the trust and respect I enjoy at my factory," Robinson said soon after his election.
According to Robinson's memoirs, he did attempt to leave the country a number of times. In 1974, he was granted a vacation visa to visit Uganda, where he appealed for asylum. He was allowed to re-enter the US in 1986, where he regained citizenship.
However, during his life in the USSR, he stated that he believed he had 'found his homeland'.
This archive footage is released as part of the '100 Key Events in Russia in the 20th and 21st Centuries', a project with the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive (rgakfd.ru).
'I found my homeland in the USSR' - Black US toolmaker on life in Soviet Moscow *ARCHIVE*
Archive footage filmed in 1934 features Jamaican-born US toolmaker Robert Robinson at the start of his 44-year life in the USSR.
Robinson can be seen shaking hands with colleagues at Moscow's ball-bearing factory, as well as participating in a City Council meeting.
"No one [in the USA] gave me a hand because I'm a Negro," Robinson claimed. "In the US, I could get nothing but cheap, menial work."
He arrived in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) to work at a tractor plant after being offered a one-year contract, which paid more than a job at Detroit's Ford Motor Company.
Robinson hit the headlines shortly after, when he was racially assaulted by two white US co-workers. While expecting to be blame due to his experiences in the US, he was gratified when his assailants were arrested and deported.
After the completion of his contract in June 1932, Robinson had planned to return to the US. However, he decided to get a job at the Moscow ball-bearing plant, and in December 1934 was elected a deputy on Moscow City Council.
"I have been living in the USSR for four years, working at the ball-bearing factory named after Comrade [Lazar] Kaganovich. A few days ago, I was once again convinced of the trust and respect I enjoy at my factory," Robinson said soon after his election.
According to Robinson's memoirs, he did attempt to leave the country a number of times. In 1974, he was granted a vacation visa to visit Uganda, where he appealed for asylum. He was allowed to re-enter the US in 1986, where he regained citizenship.
However, during his life in the USSR, he stated that he believed he had 'found his homeland'.
This archive footage is released as part of the '100 Key Events in Russia in the 20th and 21st Centuries', a project with the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive (rgakfd.ru).
For news purposes only. Onscreen RGAKFD logo must remain visible and intact. No access news agencies
Archive footage filmed in 1934 features Jamaican-born US toolmaker Robert Robinson at the start of his 44-year life in the USSR.
Robinson can be seen shaking hands with colleagues at Moscow's ball-bearing factory, as well as participating in a City Council meeting.
"No one [in the USA] gave me a hand because I'm a Negro," Robinson claimed. "In the US, I could get nothing but cheap, menial work."
He arrived in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) to work at a tractor plant after being offered a one-year contract, which paid more than a job at Detroit's Ford Motor Company.
Robinson hit the headlines shortly after, when he was racially assaulted by two white US co-workers. While expecting to be blame due to his experiences in the US, he was gratified when his assailants were arrested and deported.
After the completion of his contract in June 1932, Robinson had planned to return to the US. However, he decided to get a job at the Moscow ball-bearing plant, and in December 1934 was elected a deputy on Moscow City Council.
"I have been living in the USSR for four years, working at the ball-bearing factory named after Comrade [Lazar] Kaganovich. A few days ago, I was once again convinced of the trust and respect I enjoy at my factory," Robinson said soon after his election.
According to Robinson's memoirs, he did attempt to leave the country a number of times. In 1974, he was granted a vacation visa to visit Uganda, where he appealed for asylum. He was allowed to re-enter the US in 1986, where he regained citizenship.
However, during his life in the USSR, he stated that he believed he had 'found his homeland'.
This archive footage is released as part of the '100 Key Events in Russia in the 20th and 21st Centuries', a project with the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive (rgakfd.ru).