Editing Refusenik (section)

== Refusenik as a word ==
Although 'refusenik' originally had a precise meaning{{snd}} those denied exit from the Soviet Union{{snd}} its meaning has sometimes diverged away from this sense. It began to be used to mean "outsider" for groups other than [[Russian Jews]] and later to mean "those who refuse" rather than its original sense of "those who are refused". Over time, "refusenik" has entered colloquial English for a person who refuses to do something, especially by way of protest.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary (online). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2012-06-08.</ref>{{nonspecific|date=February 2025}}

In 1992, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] referred to himself as the first political "refusenik of Russia", after buildings of the [[The Gorbachev Foundation|Gorbachev Foundation]] were taken by the Russian government and the country's [[Constitutional Court of Russia|high court]] requested that Gorbachev would be forbidden from leaving the country.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Erlanger|first=Steven|date=1992-10-08|title=Yeltsin Transfers Gorbachev Foundation Property|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/08/world/yeltsin-transfers-gorbachev-foundation-property.html|access-date=2021-12-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

It is occasionally used in the UK to mean "ones who refuse to comply",<ref>{{cite web|title=Refusenik|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refusenik|work=Merriam Webster Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Refusenik|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/refusenik|work=Collins Dictionary}}</ref> and in the U.S.,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-french-open-21.html | title=A Saga Between Tries, Novak Djokovic Again Aims for His 21st Slam | newspaper=The New York Times | date=23 May 2022 | last1=Streeter | first1=Kurt }}</ref> with many people who use it being unaware of the word's origins. However, the original meaning is preserved and used in parallel, particularly in Israeli and Jewish articles about the historical events from which it emerged.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/russian-refusenik-and-her-filmmaker-daughter-recount-operation-wedding/ | title=Soviet refusenik and her filmmaker daughter recount 'Operation Wedding' | work= Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle | first=Adam |last=Reinherz| date=26 June 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/once-heroes-of-us-jewry-soviet-refuseniks-are-largely-forgotten-not-for-long/ | title=Once heroes of US Jewry, Soviet Refuseniks are largely forgotten. Not for long | work=The Times of Israel | first=Renee |last=Ghert-Zand}}</ref>