The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/soviet-jews/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Mon, 15 Jun 2026 02:03:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png Soviet Jews | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/soviet-jews/ 32 32 The semi-true story of two Soviet Jews sent abroad by Stalin to fundraise during WWII https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-semi-true-story-of-two-soviet-jews-sent-abroad-by-stalin-to-fundraise-during-wwii/ Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:40:25 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3555515 Avner Landes discusses his new book 'The Delegation,' an account of the adventures - and dark fates - of an actor and poet sent to raise money from coreligionists in the West

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]]> To mark 80 years to Germany’s surrender, a war photographer chronicles Jewish WWII veterans https://www.timesofisrael.com/to-mark-80-years-to-germanys-surrender-a-war-photographer-chronicles-jewish-wwii-veterans/ Thu, 08 May 2025 05:18:14 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3510384 As Victory in Europe Day is celebrated on May 8, the stories of those who fought in the Red Army for freedom are captured in photos and interviews on the battles against Axis forces

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]]> In Georgia, a 23-year-old maintains a venerable synagogue, the last remnant of his community https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-georgia-a-23-year-old-maintains-a-venerable-synagogue-the-last-remnant-of-his-community/ Fri, 18 Apr 2025 05:23:14 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3512016 Soviet repression caused most Georgian Jews to flee, leaving behind a 2,500-year-old history whose memory is beginning to fade. In his village, one young man seeks to preserve it

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]]> ‘How the Soviet Jew Was Made’: A tale of wandering, oppression, language and lore https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-soviet-jew-was-made-a-tale-of-wandering-oppression-language-and-lore/ Sat, 11 Feb 2023 06:56:41 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2891000 In his award-winning book, Prof. Sasha Senderovich mixes a rich, centuries-old body of Yiddish folklore with early 20th-century events to define a notoriously nebulous Jewish group

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]]> FBI memo: Bay Area Soviet Jewry protest leaders secretly sought Jews for Jesus’ help https://www.timesofisrael.com/fbi-memo-bay-area-soviet-jewry-protest-leaders-secretly-sought-jews-for-jesus-help/ Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:17:21 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2945118 Freedom of information request yields stunning revelation that leadership recruited the well-organized but widely loathed proselytizing group to help organize and bolster crowds

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]]> Chinese censors ban the printing of Hasidic woman’s memoir for a US publisher https://www.timesofisrael.com/chinese-censors-ban-the-printing-of-hasidic-womans-memoir-for-a-us-publisher/ Sun, 09 Oct 2022 00:03:35 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2847783 Citing 'anti-Communist' content, authorities won't let locals print 'The Queen of Cleveland,' Shula Kazen's story of surviving the Iron Curtain, even though it would be sold abroad

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]]> Relics of a USSR both maddening and sweet emerge in blockbuster Jewish memoir https://www.timesofisrael.com/relics-of-a-ussr-both-maddening-and-sweet-emerge-in-blockbuster-jewish-memoir/ Mon, 25 Jul 2022 22:43:48 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2801552 Yelena Lembersky's 'Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour' is a surprisingly even-handed tale of escape from the Iron Curtain with her grandfather's famous Babyn Yar massacre paintings

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]]> Inside the international campaign to save Kyrgyzstan’s only Jewish school https://www.timesofisrael.com/inside-the-international-campaign-to-save-kyrgyzstans-only-jewish-school/ Wed, 06 Jul 2022 01:06:14 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2788592 When Pri Etz Haim-Ort was served an eviction notice, a Jewish leader got Israel, the EU, US and others to pressure local authorities to come to the aid of the tiny community

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]]> A brave voice from Russia: Dr. A on the national mood, his work, the loss of freedom https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-brave-voice-from-russia-dr-a-on-the-national-mood-his-work-the-loss-of-freedom/ Fri, 25 Mar 2022 23:39:27 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2730797 Speaking to ToI despite the threat of prison time for criticizing Russia, a Jewish physician discusses life, medicine, and the future, in a country yet to internalize its isolation

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]]> Israel has opened its arms to Ukrainian immigrants. But will they have equal rights? https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-has-opened-its-arms-to-ukrainian-immigrants-but-will-they-have-equal-rights/ Fri, 18 Mar 2022 05:40:36 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2725882 Many new immigrants expected to join the ranks of those with 'no religion,' leaving them unable to be married in Israel; rabbinate suspicion of Jewish status will only grow sharper

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]]> Tel Aviv’s 1st Russian-speaking congregation says ‘da’ to young progressives https://www.timesofisrael.com/tel-avivs-1st-russian-speaking-congregation-says-da-to-young-progressives/ Fri, 03 Sep 2021 07:49:53 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2610275 Cutting-edge and open-minded, Jewish Point challenges clichés that Israelis from former Soviet states don't embrace spirituality, as it celebrates its ribbon cutting this week

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]]> Why Jews in former Soviet Union eat most matzah per capita https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-jews-in-former-soviet-union-eat-most-matzah-per-capita/ Fri, 26 Mar 2021 20:18:47 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2514125 In Azerbaijan people consume 2.7 pounds per person, in Russia 2.4 pounds -- dwarfing the average consumption of unleavened bread cracker among most Jews

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]]> For many Jews from FSU, New Year’s Eve always involves a Christmas-style tree https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-jews-from-former-ussr-new-years-eve-always-involves-a-christmas-style-tree/ Wed, 30 Dec 2020 04:16:28 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2458475 Many Jewish people who left the Soviet Union maintain the 'yolka' tree tradition, celebrating the secular symbol connected to Novy God, or the Russian New Year

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]]> USSR engineer made space flight possible despite facing virulent anti-Semitism https://www.timesofisrael.com/ussr-engineer-made-space-flight-possible-despite-facing-virulent-anti-semitism/ Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:39:12 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2438583 Anatoliy Daron, who recently died in US at 94, fled two Nazi massacres, lost his job in the Doctors' Plot, then, while living in a cramped shared flat, invented Sputnik's engine

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]]> Belarus Holocaust survivor won’t waver after hefty fine for flying protest flag https://www.timesofisrael.com/belarus-holocaust-survivor-wont-waver-after-hefty-fine-for-flying-protest-flag/ Fri, 18 Dec 2020 04:16:23 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2450468 87-year-old Elizaveta Yakovlevna Bursova, who survived WWII hiding in the Urals and later became a sharpshooter for her country's military: 'This symbol unites our whole society'

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