Tracing the evolving nature of popular and official beliefs about the
purported nature of the Jews from the 18th century onwards, Russia and
the Jewish Question explores how perceptions of Jews in late Imperial
Russia and the Soviet Union shaped the regimes' policies toward them.
In so doing Robert Weinberg provides a fruitful lens through which to
investigate the social, economic, political, and cultural developments
of modern Russia. Here, Weinberg reveals that the 'Jewish Question'
– and, by extension anti-Semitism – emerged at the end of the 18th
century when the partitions of Poland made hundreds of thousands of
Jews subjects of the Russian crown. He skillfully argues the phrase
itself implies the singular nature of Jews as a group of people whose
religion, culture, and occupational make-up prevent them from fitting
into predominantly Christian societies. The book then expounds how
other characteristics were associated with the group over time: in
particular, debates about rights of citizenship, the impact of
industrialization, the emergence of the nation-state, and the
proliferation of new political ideologies and movements contributed to
the changing nature of the 'Jewish Question'. Its content may have not
remained static, but its purpose consistently questions whether or not
Jews pose a threat to the stability and well-being of the societies in
which they live and this, in a specifically Russian context, is what
Weinberg examines so expertly.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781350129177
Publisert
2024
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury Academic
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter