History of the Jews in Russia

Russian Jews
  • יהדות רוסיה (Hebrew)
  • Русские евреи (Russian)
  • רוסישע ייִדן (Yiddish)
The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow, the largest Jewish museum in Russia.
Regions with significant populations
Israel1,200,000[1]
United States350,000[2]
Germany178,500[3]
Russia83,896 according to the 2021 census[4]
Australia10,000–11,000[5]
Languages
Hebrew, Russian, Yiddish
Religion
Judaism (31%), Jewish atheism (27%),[6] Non-religious (25%), Christianity (17%)[7][8]
Related ethnic groups
Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Ukrainian Jews, Belarusian Jews, Lithuanian Jews, Latvian Jews, Czech Jews, Hungarian Jews, Polish Jews, Slovak Jews, Jews in Siberia, Serbian Jews, Romanian Jews, Turkish Jews, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, Georgian Jews, Mountain Jews, Bukharan Jews, American Jews

The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest population of Jews in the world.[9] Within these territories, the primarily Ashkenazi Jewish communities of many different areas flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of antisemitic discriminatory policies and persecution, including violent pogroms.

Many analysts have noted a "renaissance" in the Jewish community inside Russia since the beginning of the 21st century;[10] however, the Russian Jewish population has experienced precipitous decline since the dissolution of the USSR which continues to this day, although it is still among the largest in Europe.[11]

  1. ^ "Monthly Bulletin of Statistics". Cbs.gov.il. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  2. ^ Kliger, Sam (June 14, 2004). "Russian Jews in America: Status, Identity and Integration" (PDF). AJCRussian.org. The American Jewish Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  3. ^ "German Jews more than victims, community head says". Jewish Journal. January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "All-Russian population census 2020". rosstat.gov.ru. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Gruzman, Emmanuel (May 12, 2018). "Russian-speaking Jews in Australia: more difficulties at first but more satisfied at last". plus61j.net.au. May 12, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Arena – Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia Archived December 6, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Sreda.org
  7. ^ Arena – Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia. Sreda.org
  8. ^ 2012 Survey Maps Archived March 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "Table of Ratios of Jewish to Total Population in the Principal Countries and Cities of the World". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  10. ^ Renaissance of Jewish life in Russia November 23, 2001, By John Daniszewski, Chicago Tribune
  11. ^ "Jews". Pew Research Center. December 18, 2012. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2021.