Jews in Petersburg

The reader can easily imagine the excursion group in the streets of Leningrad. "City Museum ", " outdoor museum " - these definitions almost any excursion begins the story of the former capital of the Russian Empire. Sightseers admire renowned ensembles , proud monuments, historic buildings . They hear the names of people who were the glory of Russian history.

In 1982, legally , and then, until 1987, went underground in Leningrad excursion groups of five or six Jews. These trippers almost admired ensembles areas , rarely went out to the expanses of the Neva and the tour guide did not tell them about any Pushkin period , nor about the architect Rastrelli , nor about Rossi . Excursions crossed areas of Kolomna , Sands went on Vasilevsky Island, visited the Jewish cemetery of the Transfiguration . Guided them through the city by this book . And he told me about the Jews who lived in St. Petersburg.

Note that the very fact of the appearance of these " Jewish " discover evidence of changes in the consciousness of Soviet (in this case , Leningrad ) Jews. They suddenly became curious to know what 's in this house placed typography " Jewish Encyclopedia " , and here lived Baron Gunzburg . This meant that they had at least skimmed " Jewish Encyclopedia " and at least heard the name of Baron Gunzburg . This meant , of course, that they have an interest in Judaism .

The texts of these excursions treated as articles were published first in the Jewish samizdat journal "LEA " (" Leningrad Jewish Almanac" ) . When they had enough to make the book , the author sent the manuscript to the "New World" and " Sovetish Geimland ." "New World " is not even replied, " Sovetish Geimland " politely refused . Denied cooperation Leningrad "Intourist" and Museum of the History of Leningrad. Copyright immigrated to Israel in 1987. And here he published his book .

Excursions Michael Beizer , who also led in Leningrad illegal circle of Jewish history, and his articles on Jewish history, published in samizdat , and have this kind of development as the emergence of the study of Israel Tayar ( S.Yantovskogo ) " Synagogue - the defeated , but unconquered " ( the book is published by publishing house " Library Alia " in 1987) , Greenberg's work on the graves of the tzaddikim , album M.Ryvkina A.Frenkelya and the monuments to the victims of the Holocaust , M.Kupovetskoy articles about Jews in Moscow, Riga articles about Jews and other works.

This book tells about the districts of the city , where Jews settled primarily about Jewish charitable , cultural and educational organizations , about the Jewish high schools and publishing houses of Jewish libraries and collections of the wealthy Jews , about Jews , intellectuals , about the relationship between the Jewish community , about jews famous noted in handbooks and encyclopedias, and about jews neznamenityh who had the columns statistical summaries , and that was and what happened to the jews living in the capital of the Russian Empire - who legally , and some illegally.

Their whole life , all the events that happened to them , written in the margins of history of St. Petersburg. They lived in St. Petersburg , but as it was not. Some authorities tolerated for wealth or a suitable career , and other accommodation in the capital in different periods and sometimes looked condescendingly , and sometimes without any leniency. Occasionally chronicler noted in his writings for the sake of loyalty to their presence realism described picturesque sake, and often stigmatized among other social ills .

Activities of the Jews living in Petersburg impacted in those cases only when the Jews participated in Russian life as a talented and successful members of their professions , their classes , that is, as scientists and industrialists, artists and musicians , lawyers and bankers. On the life of St. Petersburg and the city's appearance did not affect the Jews and the Jewish community was , as I said, marginal. That's why we could not speak about the "Jewish Petersburg " ( it was not) , or on the " Jews of St. Petersburg" ( such as, in accordance with the laws did not exist , the Jews could live in St. Petersburg " provided that ... " ) . And because the book is named as named - "Jews in St. Petersburg" , the beginning of the century the city's population twenty thousand Jews .

Because it has the shape of a historical study guide material it is " by area and the streets ." But the book is constructed in chronological order : one of the first chapters describes the Jews who lived in the eighteenth century, and the last chapter discusses the urban Jewish cemetery.

And , like any scientific research, extensive reference book is supplied with the unit , including - statistical tables and analysis of these tables and annexes containing celebrities , lists of periodicals , political, cultural, educational and other organizations , religious and charitable institutions, educational institutions etc. and even a list of Jewish restaurants, cafeterias and shops.

Talking about a " Jewish " city sights or some Jewish activist , the author can not remember that now interests of Soviet Jews . So, for example , in the story of Peter and Paul Fortress , where he was kept under arrest founder of Chabad movement, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi , he feels the need to briefly introduce the reader to the history of Hasidism , he finds the place and time to talk about Zionism , the political struggle between the Bund and the autonomists , on the Haskalah , the Jewish and of Russian - Jewish press , the history of Russian anti-Semitism and the history of Jewish immigration and the like. This educational genre - a genre of conversation with the reader - gives the book a special intonation.

The reader may meet with lamentations website : "sorry, we do not have reliable information about it." And where in the Soviet Union they can get these reliable information about the Jews? Jewish libraries, archives and educational institutions were ruined and destroyed, and the history of the Jews (especially pre-and post-revolutionary ) where nobody has for nearly half a century.

Here is just right to talk about the painstaking work of the historian in the Soviet Union . Because the sources of information for the study were (except for the "Jewish Encyclopedia" ) old address books and yearbooks, guides and scattered accidentally fallen into the hands , non Jewish journals , occasional references in random books , sometimes - private archives and eyewitness accounts . On the basis of information obtained from private archives miraculously survived and from eyewitnesses witnesses , written , for example, essays on Katsenelenbogene about Ravrebe , a Jewish school, about the museum on Vasilevsky Island ; , a description of the Jewish cemetery .

Reading this book not only acquainted with the history of Jewish life in St. Petersburg. Before him will be held reflectively whole history of the Jews in Russia in late eighteenth- early twentieth centuries. He read about how millions of Jews became Russian subjects and how the Russian Empire reacted to the appearance of his new subjects Jews. The reader learns about maskilim ( followers educational movement Haskalah ) and Hasidim , get acquainted with the process of separation of the Jewish society of the late nineteenth - early twentieth centuries , can gain a lot of interesting facts about the Jewish political parties, as well as the participation of Jews in the Russian revolutionary movement.

About how organized Jewish community in St. Petersburg, also explained in detail in this book. Describes and analyzes the structure of the community , which, in principle , was exactly the same as in Warsaw , Odessa, Medzhibozh , Berdichev or in Cairo, Damascus, Berlin - with the same synagogues and chapels , charities , schools, raising funds for the poor and the like , so that the name of " Jewish social life." Later she was physically destroyed, but remained spiritually called " Jewish solidarity ." In this sense, the Jewish community in St. Petersburg and was marginal in relation to world Jewry .

The reader of the book will stand by those who made ​​the glory of the Jews in Russia : the poet Yehuda Leib Gordon , a public figure G. Baron Ginzburg , O. Gruzenberg lawyer , industrialist Polyakov , artist M. Maimon , the Lubavitcher Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi , educators I. Eyzenbet and Z. Kisselgof historian Sh.Dubnov and many others whose names should be known and also to those who have never visited the city in which they lived. Because the activities of the Jews who lived in St. Petersburg, was not limited to the St. Petersburg community. What they were doing was important for all Jews in Russia, and , stretching over time , their work has proved useful for the whole world Jewry.

Here's an example : all over the world ( and , of course, Israel ) there are vocational schools ORT high level of teaching and training. Sometimes even the students of these schools do not know what "ORT " means " Society spread Handicrafts and Agricultural Work among the Jews of Russia" , it was founded in St. Petersburg S.S.Polyakovym .

Marginality of the Jewish population lived in the imperial capital , was marked and topographically . Very few had homes in the central part of the Admiralty . Almost no one lived in a million. Wealthy bought houses and apartments in the Foundry parts. But most Jews selilos on the outskirts, in remote suburbs.

Outskirts of the city was then Sands area where S. Ginzburg , P.Marek and J. Engel created the Society for Jewish Folk Music . They collected the Jewish folk music , published books , organized concerts of Jewish music . Society contributed creativity of Jewish composers , was the initiator of theoretical research on ancient and modern Jewish music.

In the same area functioned Jewish Literary Society , which had the aim of the study and the development of literature in Hebrew, Russian and go , organizing interviews , readings, publication of books , magazines and newspapers . On the 5th line of Vasilevsky Island Jewish Society placed the Encouragement of Arts , and the Editorial Board "Dawn" - on Commerce Street . In the area of ​​the Officers of the street where they lived minor officials , students , artisans, housed a synagogue, a Jewish educational and charitable institutions .

Therefore, the reader should not be surprised that the tour guide - the author takes him away from the finest ensembles and buildings away from the proud of the former capital of the Russian Empire - by Sands, Kolomna , on Vasilevsky Island - on the outskirts, in the suburbs , where they lived in Petersburg Jews - the glory and pride of the Jews in Russia .

Ya Tsigelman

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glory and pride of Russian Jews. Ya.Tsigelman

from the author

CHAPTER ONE . Kolomna

Jewish Encyclopedia . - The story of the Jews in St. Petersburg. - Journal " Sunrise " . - Haskalah . - St. Petersburg Conservatory . - Jewish gymnasium Eyzenbeta . - " News " Joseph Notovitch . - Artist Moses Maimon . - Publishing and book warehouse "East" . - Journal " Dawn ." - Newspaper " Ha melits ." - Petersburg synagogue . - School of OPE . - Yehuda Leib Gordon. - Journal " Ha Kedem ." - Society of Lovers of the Hebrew language . - Isaac Marcon. - The Jewish Colonization Association . - Social benefits for the poor Jews. - Oscar Gruzenberg - Beilis case .

 

CHAPTER TWO . ADMIRALTY PART

- Restaurant " Donon ." - Case Pinchas Dashevskiy . - Burning and Leybova Voznytsky . - I.A.Vavelberg . - Babel and Uritzky . - S.S.Polyakov . - Government Senate . - Baron Horace Gunzburg . - Society for the Promotion of Enlightenment among the Jews in Russia. - Society hygienic cheap apartments in the Jewish population . - Fight various ideological trends in Jewish public life in the early twentieth century.

 

CHAPTER THREE . VASILIEVSKY ISLAND

- Peter and Paul Fortress . - Academy of Sciences . - St. Petersburg University . - Academy of Fine Arts . - Library L.P.Fridlyanda . - Publisher "Kadima" . - Higher Women ( Bestuzhevskie ) courses . - Jewish school. - Z.A.Kisselgof . - S.M.Dubnov .

 

CHAPTER FOUR . HOUSE AT THE FIFTH LINE

- Almshouse . - Exchange of Oriental Studies. - Yehiel Ravrebe . - Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Society . - Jewish Society for the Encouragement of Arts. - Opening of the Jewish Museum . - S.A.An -sky . - The Jewish Museum in the twenties .

 

CHAPTER FIVE . FOUNDRY AND SANDS

- O.E.Mandelshtam . - Lieberman . - Activities of the OPE in the early centuries . - Society of handicraft and agricultural labor among the Jews of Russia. - Fyodor Dostoevsky and the Jews . - Society for delivering primary education to Jewish children . - Petrograd Jewish teacher's society. - Graduate Institute of Jewish knowledge. - Library OPE . - Society for the Preservation of Jewish population health . - Society for the settlement of Jewish emigration. - "New Era" . - The Jewish Theatre Company . - GOSET . - Jewish schools and clubs. - Russian Society for the Study of Jewish life. - S.M.Marshak . - The Lubavitcher Rebbe . - S.Ya.Nadson . - M.M.Vinaver . - Jewish national school in the twenties . - State Duma . - Society for Scientific Jewish publications . - Society for Jewish Folk Music . - Jewish literary society. - Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Society . - Bund in St. Petersburg.

 

CHAPTER SIX . Jewish cemetery

- What is a Jewish cemetery ? - The first Jewish burial in St. Petersburg. - Transfiguration Cemetery. - Synagogue Cemetery . - D.T.Katsenelenbogen . - A Ya.Garkavi . - M.L.Maymon . - L.I.Katsenelson . - L.Ya.Shternberg . - M.M.Antokolsky . - A.M.Varshavsky . - A.A.Ashansky . - Vault family Polyakovs . - Monument G.E.Gintsburgu . - V.K.Slutskaya . - M.I.Kulisher . - Monument to victims of fascism. - L.A.Lubanov . - G.I.Dembo . - Other Jewish necropolis of Leningrad and its suburbs .