Note Taking XII - Russian Nationalism and Anti-Semitism

Shlapentokh, Dmitry. “The Fate of Jews in Post-Soviet Russia” The World & I 15, 4 (2000): 279. 19 Feb. 2007 < index="14&did="52028160&SrchMode="1&sid="13&Fmt="3&VInst="PROD&VType="PQD&RQT="309&VName="PQD&TS="1170111555&clientId="9268">.

Summary:

This article is about the future of the Jewish community in Russia. It tackles the issue of how Russian nationalism and communism responds to the Jewish community, the conflict of civilization and what the Russian Nazi organizations promoted. This article has tons of relevant information for my research even though it is a bit outdated. It does not take into account the political context since Putin’s arrival but most elements in this article still apply even to this day.

Pieces of information:

- Russian neo-Nazi groups openly promote the extermination of Jews, it is not a hidden agenda.
- Eurasianism: a new nationalistic approach in Russia. It asks for an alliance of all the nations in Eurasia, Jews and non-Jews alike, even Chechens. But this nationalism is aimed against Americans and American Jews which are seen as “opportunistic”.

Quotations:

“The rise of Russian nationalism leads to an increase of anti-Semitism.”

“The public’s response to these speeches indicates that anti-Semitic sentiments are growing among the populace, who increasingly believe that a strong nationalist, authoritarian government is indeed the answer to the country’s problems.”

“Throughout the Soviet reign, anti-Semitism was an accepted fact of life in Russia.”

“The rise of anti-Western feelings in general and anti-Semitic feelings in particular can be attributed to the economic problems that have followed the transformation of the country after the collapse of the Soviet regime. And the hardships have increased since the collapse of the ruble in 1998 and the beginning of the war in the Caucasus. Anti-Semitic feelings are quite common in the country's political discourse, and numerous proNazi publications circulate freely in Russian cities, including in downtown Moscow. Indeed, it is widely assumed among the Russian public that Boris Berezovsky, the Jewish tycoon, is behind the new Chechen attacks and even some of the terrorist attacks. Moreover, statements such as Makashov's were all too common among those members of the political elite who set themselves against the still mostly pro-Western Yeltsin regime.”