Language:
English
Year of publication:
1991
Titel der Quelle:
Foreign Affairs
Angaben zur Quelle:
70,2 (1991) 141-159
Keywords:
Antisemitism
Abstract:
Discusses Gorbachev's policy of "glasnost" (openness) which has allowed suppressed antisemitic instincts to reappear, and "perestroika" (economic restructuring) which has opened entrepreneurial opportunities which many Soviet citizens view with distrust and identify with Jews. Four main themes recur in contemporary Soviet antisemitism: Jewish disloyalty to the Soviet Union (and to Russia); Jewish domination of elite positions; Jewish privilege (e.g. the right to emigrate, which in turn proves Jewish disloyalty and ingratitude); and Jews as the root of all of society's ills. Describes antisemitism amongst Russian nationalist writers and intellectuals (e.g. Nicolai Petro, Nina Andreevna, Igor Shafarevich), and in Pamyat. Despite the improvement of Soviet relations with Israel, "anti-Zionism" is still used to mask antisemitism. Soviet Jews today fear grass-roots antisemitism, and that the central government may have neither the will nor the ability to intervene against antisemitic attacks. Posits three alternative scenarios for the future, given the obvious failure of "perestroika" and Gorbachev's retreat to more conservative positions in 1991.
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