Jews and Revolution in Nineteenth-Century Russia (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies)

Jews And Revolution In Nineteenth Century Russia Is A Comprehensive Study Of The Participation Of Jewish People In The Russian Revolutionary Movement Of The Nineteenth Century. Approaching The Subject From Various Angles--cultural, Sociological, Psychological And Political--it Examines When And Why Jews Joined The Russian Revolution, The Importance Of Their Contribution, And The Extent To Which Their Roles Were Determined By Their Jewishness. The Book Offers A New Perspective On A Jewish Community In The Grip Of Modernity, And A New Understanding Of Those Who Sought Their Salvation In Revolution. Ch. 10 (pp. 206-229), "The Pogroms of 1881-1882, " describes the reaction of both non-Jewish and Jewish narodniki (members of the revolutionary parties Narodnaya Volya and Chornyi Peredel) to the first wave of pogroms in southern Russia. The reactions of the non-Jewish narodniki were complex and not simply antisemitic, despite the fact that some of them shared in the stereotype of the Jews as exploiters of the peasants. Having idealized the peasantry, and expecting that the outburst would grow into a revolution, the narodniki voiced approval of the pogroms. However, both Jewish and non-Jewish narodniki were shocked by the blatantly antisemitic proclamation "To the Ukrainian People" issued by Gerasim Romanenko and tried to suppress it. Many Jewish narodniki retained their loyalty to the revolutionary movement despite its reluctance to deplore the pogroms. They were disappointed that the pogroms did not grow into a revolution and that they were motivated by sheer antisemitism. Many Jewish narodniki tried hard to reconcile their "Jewish loyalty" with "revolutionary dedication" and internationalism. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism) Jews and Revolution in Nineteenth-Century Russia is a carefully researched study of 100 years of Russian-Jewish revolutionary history, exploring the origins and characteristics of Jewish participation in Russian revolutionary politics between 1790 and 1890. Focusing sharply on Jewish motivations and the qualities of Russian Jewish activists, it drastically reverses the traditional historiographical trend of de-Judaising and minimising the role of Jews who joined Russian revolutionary circles, especially during the movement's Populist phase of the 1870s and 1880s. By the same token, it challenges many clichés and assumptions which have governed conventional wisdom on the radical behaviour of so-called assimilationist 'non-Jewish Jews'. This revisionist approach restores a neglected yet important group of Jews to their rightful place in the historical experience of the Jewish people in Russia Contents Preface Introduction: The beginnings of Russian-Jewish radicalism, 1790-1868 Part 1: The Chaikovskii circles: Jewish radicals in the formative stage of revolutionary Populism, 1868-1875 2 Jewish student activists in St Petersburg 3 Chaikovskyist Jews in Moscow, Odessa, and Kiev 4 The rebellious Jewish youth of Vilna 5 Socialist Jews and Russian Populism Part 2: The Land and Freedom Party: Jews and the politicization of revolutionary Populism, 1875-1879 6 Jewish ‘generals of revolution’ 7 The heresy of political terrorism Part 3: The Party of the People’s Will: Jewish terrorists of socialist conviction, 1879-1887 8 Motives of revolution 9 Technicians of terrorism 10 The pogroms of 1881-1882 11 Epigones and pioneers 12 Conclusion: Haskalah and the socialist promise of salvation Appendix Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index In his autobiography, the Yiddish poet and song-writer Eliakum Zunser relates the story of the arrest of Arkadii Finkelshtein and members of his Vilna socialist circle in 1872.