The Jews of Moscow, Kiev, and Minsk : identity, antisemitism, emigration

The persecution and flight of Jews from the former Soviet Union have been in the news for 25 years yet surprisingly little exact information is available on them. Various parties have offered widely differing assessments of how many Jews live in the region, how persecuted they are, how strongly they identify as Jews, their prospects for cultural revival, how likely it is that those who remain will soon leave, and the probable destinations of those who emigrate. This book sheds light on all these questions. It is based on the first survey of a large, representative sample of CIS Jews, conducted in 1993 in Moscow, Kiev and Minsk by acknowledged Western and Russian experts. Many of its findings are surprising. It is the definitive sociological study of Jews in the Slavic republics of the CIS to date. The Jews of the former Soviet Union have always been the subject of intense controversy. In the past 25 years, especially, they have been the source of considerable speculation. How many of them are there? How strongly do they identify themselves as Jews? How do they perceive antisemitism in their countries? Will they leave or will they stay? If they leave, where will they go? The issues swirling around the Jews in the republics now known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have sparked debate because the status of these Jews has deep policy implications for Russia, Israel, the United States, and other countries. Too little fact has informed this debate, and even less theory. Until very recently, surveys of the actual intentions, perceptions, motivations, and fears of Jews in the region were out of the question. For obvious reasons, this has all changed. This volume is the first based on an on-site survey of Jews in the CIS. In addition to providing data on the Jews of Moscow, Kiev, and Minsk - who collectively account for over a quarter of all Jews residing in the three Slavic republics of the CIS - the author places the survey results in their social and historical contexts. He explains why ethnic distinctiveness persisted and even became accentuated in the Soviet era and also describes the position of Jews in Soviet and post-Soviet society and some of the dilemmas they face. This book will be crucial reading for anyone interested not only in the general situation of the Jews of the former Soviet Union but in their actual perceptions, worldviews, and plans for the future Front Matter....Pages i-xvi The Scope of the Study....Pages 1-5 The Jews in Soviet and Post-Soviet Society....Pages 6-18 Identity....Pages 19-37 Antisemitism....Pages 38-65 Emigration....Pages 66-93 Between East and West....Pages 94-104 Back Matter....Pages 105-142