David Berman

David Samuelovich Berman was a resident of Smidovich in the Soviet Jewish Autonomous Oblast. He lost his wife Natasha not long before Vasili Yasevich arrived in the village. In late 1951, Berman, knowing of Yasevich's reputation for honesty, sold Yasevich the opium left over after Natasha passed away. Yasevich, realizing how depressed Berman still was, paid Berman more for the opium than Berman had paid in the first place. Despite Berman's protestations, Yasevich insisted.