Robert Robinson (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Robinson was a Jamaican-born mechanical engineer and toolmaker. In 1930, he was offered a one year contract by the Ford Motor Company to work in the Soviet Union
and was then refused an exit visa until 1974.
, he grew up in Cuba
. He and his mother were abandoned by his father when he was six. His mother was born in Dominica
and, in the employment of a young doctor, she followed the physician to Jamaica.Robert Robinson (with Jonathon Slevin). Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside the Soviet Union. Acropolis Books, 1988.
In 1927, a Russian delegation visited the Ford Motor Company, where Robinson worked as a toolmaker. The delegation leader asked him and others if they wanted to work under a one year contract in the Soviet Union. The pay would be far greater. They were promised free rent in a grand apartment, maid service, and a car. At 23, Robinson was adventurous and accepted. He went 1930 to the Soviet Union
during the Great Depression
from a combination of lack of jobs in the United States, race problems and the search of better opportunities. Despite his original intent to find employment and earn an engineering degree in the USSR (both goals he accomplished), and then later leave the Soviet Union, Robinson was unable to leave for 44 years.
He worked in Moscow's
First State Ball Bearing Factory as a toolmaker. He survived Stalin's
purges
, famine and the German invasion of Russia, Hitler's army arrested only 44 miles from Moscow. During the Eastern Front (World War II)
, he almost died from starvation, having as meals six or seven leaves of cabbage soaked in lukewarm water. Since the 1950s, he had annually applied for a vacation visa abroad and each time, it was denied.
His book, Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside The Soviet Union, reveals some of his acquaintances as Henry Smith
, a journalist; Wayland Rudd, an actor; Robert Ross, a Soviet Propagandist from Montana
; Henry Scott, a dancer from New York City
; Coretta Arle-Titz, actress and music professor; John Sutton
, an agronomist; George Tynes, also an agronomist; and Lovett Whiteman, an English teacher. Langston Hughes
and Paul Robeson
were interested in the Soviet experiment and made trips to the USSR, where Robert Robinson met them. They became friends. Robinson asked Paul Robeson to help him escape the Soviet Union. Robeson declined to do so as it would harm his relations with the Soviet leadership.
Through the influence of two Ugandan ambassadors, Robinson was granted permission to visit Uganda
in 1974. He bought a round trip ticket so not to arouse suspicion and once there he appealed for refuge, which was temporarily granted by Idi Amin
. In 1976, Robinson married Zylpha Mapp, an African American professor who was working at a university in Uganda. Through the efforts of Ugandan officials, and U.S. Information Service officer William B. Davis, he was eventually allowed to re-enter the United States and re-gained United States Citizenship. He remained there until his death in 1994. Following his return to America he gave interviews about his insights into Soviet life from the inside, and was also featured in the Detroit Free Press. He was honored by the Ford Motor Company
, 60 years after he began his work there. He moved to Washington, D.C.
with his wife.
He died of cancer in 1994. Among those attending the funeral were his wife, William B. Davis, and Mathias Lubega, former Ugandan ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was then refused an exit visa until 1974.
Life
Born in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, he grew up in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He and his mother were abandoned by his father when he was six. His mother was born in Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
and, in the employment of a young doctor, she followed the physician to Jamaica.Robert Robinson (with Jonathon Slevin). Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside the Soviet Union. Acropolis Books, 1988.
In 1927, a Russian delegation visited the Ford Motor Company, where Robinson worked as a toolmaker. The delegation leader asked him and others if they wanted to work under a one year contract in the Soviet Union. The pay would be far greater. They were promised free rent in a grand apartment, maid service, and a car. At 23, Robinson was adventurous and accepted. He went 1930 to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
from a combination of lack of jobs in the United States, race problems and the search of better opportunities. Despite his original intent to find employment and earn an engineering degree in the USSR (both goals he accomplished), and then later leave the Soviet Union, Robinson was unable to leave for 44 years.
He worked in Moscow's
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
First State Ball Bearing Factory as a toolmaker. He survived Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
purges
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, famine and the German invasion of Russia, Hitler's army arrested only 44 miles from Moscow. During the Eastern Front (World War II)
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, he almost died from starvation, having as meals six or seven leaves of cabbage soaked in lukewarm water. Since the 1950s, he had annually applied for a vacation visa abroad and each time, it was denied.
His book, Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside The Soviet Union, reveals some of his acquaintances as Henry Smith
Henry Smith
Henry Smith may refer to:*Henry Smith , English Puritan preacher*Henry Smith , English politician and jurist*Henry Smith , Governor of Rhode Island...
, a journalist; Wayland Rudd, an actor; Robert Ross, a Soviet Propagandist from Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
; Henry Scott, a dancer from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; Coretta Arle-Titz, actress and music professor; John Sutton
John Sutton
John Sutton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League competition. He primarily played at lock or centre but is now a five eighth....
, an agronomist; George Tynes, also an agronomist; and Lovett Whiteman, an English teacher. Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
and Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
were interested in the Soviet experiment and made trips to the USSR, where Robert Robinson met them. They became friends. Robinson asked Paul Robeson to help him escape the Soviet Union. Robeson declined to do so as it would harm his relations with the Soviet leadership.
Through the influence of two Ugandan ambassadors, Robinson was granted permission to visit Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
in 1974. He bought a round trip ticket so not to arouse suspicion and once there he appealed for refuge, which was temporarily granted by Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
. In 1976, Robinson married Zylpha Mapp, an African American professor who was working at a university in Uganda. Through the efforts of Ugandan officials, and U.S. Information Service officer William B. Davis, he was eventually allowed to re-enter the United States and re-gained United States Citizenship. He remained there until his death in 1994. Following his return to America he gave interviews about his insights into Soviet life from the inside, and was also featured in the Detroit Free Press. He was honored by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, 60 years after he began his work there. He moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with his wife.
He died of cancer in 1994. Among those attending the funeral were his wife, William B. Davis, and Mathias Lubega, former Ugandan ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Further reading
- Robert Robinson (with Jonathon Slevin). Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside the Soviet Union. Acropolis Books, 1988.
- Tim Tzouliadis. The Forsaken: From the Great Depression to the Gulags - Hope and Betrayal in Stalin's Russia. Little, Brown, 2009.