Russians, Jews, and the Pogroms of 1881–1882

Comprehensive new history of the anti-Jewish pogrom crisis in the Russian Empire of 1881–2 by a leading authority in the field.

John Doyle Klier (Author)

9780521895484, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 March 2011

518 pages, 20 b/w illus. 2 maps
23.4 x 15.9 x 2.8 cm, 0.95 kg

'Anti-Jewish violence was no novelty in the Russian Empire of the nineteenth century, but the extraordinary surge of attacks that broke out in 1881–82 became a watershed, both for imperial policy and for the Jewish response. Though these events seem to anticipate disorders and brutality of later decades, John Klier argues that they were distinctive, warranting attention on their own terms. He meticulously reviews primary and secondary sources to produce a comprehensive chronicle and critique both of the pogroms and of the reactions they provoked.' Robert E. Johnson, Canadian Journal of History

Anti-Jewish pogroms rocked the Russian Empire in 1881–2, plunging both the Jewish community and the imperial authorities into crisis. Focusing on a wide range of responses to the pogroms, this book offers the most comprehensive, balanced, and complex study of the crisis to date. It presents a nuanced account of the diversity of Jewish political reactions and introduces a wealth of new sources covering Russian and other non-Jewish reactions to these events. Seeking to answer the question of what caused the pogroms' outbreak and spread, the book provides a fuller picture of how officials at every level responded to the national emergency and irrevocably lays to rest the myth that the authorities instigated or tolerated the pogroms. This is essential reading not only for Russian and Jewish historians but also for those interested in the study of ethnic violence more generally.

Part I. Introduction: the Russian Empire and its Jews
1. The pogroms of 1881–2
2. What was a pogrom?
Part II: 3. Confronting the pogroms
4. Russian society views the pogroms
5. The crystallization of prejudice
6. Prejudice into policy
7. The pogroms as foreign policy crisis
Part III: 8. Jewish responses to the pogroms
9. The Jewish press and the emigration crisis
10. Politics without prophecy
11. The pogroms as humanitarian crisis
Epilogue: legends of the pogroms.

Subject Areas: Jewish studies [JFSR1], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]