Еврейская молодежь в постсоветских странах

Pisarevskaya D., Khanin Vladimir (Ze’ev), Epstein Alek D.

Post-Soviet Jewish Youth: Ethnic Identity, Community Life and Connections with Israel

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Москва, 2013, 196 p.

This book, which is in fact the first comprehensive academic monograph on the post-Soviet Jewish youth, is based on empirical data collected in the course of eight studies conducted in five post-Soviet countries (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Latvia) from 2004 to 2012 using various soci-ology and social anthropology research methods. The book covers a wide range of issues: ethnic identity, religious and cultural aspirations of those young people and their attitude towards the State of Israel, as well as effec-tiveness of educational programs that have an impact on socio-cultural pro-cesses among youth. The monograph features forty tables that resume the most important results of the research. Besides an extensive introduction and a conclusion, the book includes eight chapters and a separate section on methodology. The first chapter deals with various approaches used to explore Jewish identity in the post-Soviet countries. The second chapter ex-plores content and patterns of Russian-Jewish identity. The third chapter is focused on the respondents’ attitude toward religion. The fourth chapter dis-plays the results of the research concerning young people’s involvement in the activities offered by various Jewish organizations. The fifth chapter deals with issues concerning Jewish education. Issues related to the memory of the Holocaust among the Jewish youth in Russia and Ukraine is analysed in the sixth chapter. Russian-speaking Jewish youth’s attitude towards the State of Israel is discussed in the seventh chapter. The eighth chapter, that logically follows and completes the previous one, provides a more thorough analysis of students’ participation in long term educational programs in Israel. The research data presented in the book helps better understand values and interests of the post-Soviet Jewish youth. This data also provides some meaningful insights into the work of various organizations, which are trying to attract Russian-speaking young adults of Jewish origin and their parents. This research is essential for the further research and understanding of contemporary Jewish Diasporas. The book may be of interest to sociologists, ethnologists, anthropologists, culture experts, and specialists in Jewish studies, as well as for a wide readership interested in the problems of modern Jewry.