From: verbit@brauer.harvard.edu (Mikhail S. Verbitsky)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: Communism as a Russian guilt (racist concepti
Date: 22 Dec 92 09:39:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc3.1992Dec22.043928.18777
Organization: Sozialistische Patienten Kollektiv

In article <kosinov.724976519@ceg.uiuc.edu> kosinov@ceg.uiuc.edu (Greg Kosinovsky) writes:

>  It is, indeed, very silly to compare Astafiev and Zhabotinsky (it's an
>insult to Zhabotinsky). However, Jewish nationalists I had in mind were people
>like the great Jewish poet Bialik, who was not guilty of any Russophobia, and
>yet not published, while anti-Semites like "derevenschiky" had no problems
>whatsoever.

	Both assertions are wrong; derevenshchiks have had much
	more problems with censure than, say, Anatolii Rybakov.
	And I read Byalik in Bryusov's translation, in Soviet
	book printed circa 1970.


>  Can Mr. Borodin, or anybody else point out ANY contempory writings about Jewish
>life that were published at that time? In fact, the only Jewish writers of ANY
>time who were published in USSR at that time were Sholom Aleihem, who wrote 
>about the pre- Revolutionary Jewish "shtetl", and German-Jewish Socialist Leon
>Feicht-Wanger who wrote about the Jewish persecution by the "bad guys" -- from
>Ferdinand and Isabella to Hitler.

	Also wrong: Kvitko, Markish were pretty well available.
	And much more. How was the guy who wrote "Zelionaya Kareta"
	called? BTW, Aleksandr Kanevskii is a very good writer.
	Arkadii L'vov also got published before he emigrated.
	Not bad for 0.8%)

>  Now, Aleihem and Feicht-Wanger were great writers (especially the former), but
>hardly the A-Z of Jewish literature.

	Sholom-Aleihem is probably the most important Yiddish
	writer, and he got printer very well. How you claim that

">  The suppression of Jewish culture was deliberate and nearly
>absolute." ?

	I'd say that this is a case of hypocrisy

>One of the
>intended consequences of this suppression was symbolized by a 1979 article in
>my hometown newspaper Vecherni Minsk by one of the "Official designated anti-
>Semites" of the USSR, a fellow named Begun. His thesis was that Jews were such
>low creatures, that through all their years of wandering on this earth they 
>produced no significant art, and the only literature of consequence they 
>contributed was that of Sholom Aleihem. The interesting thing is, of course, that
>even the better read of the public could hardly argue with that -- what counter-
>examples did they have available?

	Yes, Begun was a pretty swell guy (like Shefarevich).
	Anyway, they both were oppressed, at least Begun claimed
	that he is persecuted by KGB. About Shafarevich you know.

>  No one denies that Russians, like other nationalities in the xUSSR, were
>thoroughly raped by the commies. My original point was that while some 
>cultures, such as the jewish one were thorougly suppressed, as were pro-democracy
>dissidents, communists  left more of the Russian culture intact than that
>of most others simply because of its size and pre-eminance, and, in fact,
>encouraged, rather than suppressed, some of the more base aspects of Russian 
>nationalism, and tried to channel them towards their cause ('Soyuz nerushimy 
>respublic svobodnih sozdala naveky velikaya Rus ...'). 

	The saying "I was raped more heavily that thou"
	is of extremely bad tone. Contemporary Russian
	writers who lived outside of USSR were banned,
	as were Jewish ones; dissidents too. All others
	were tolerated as far as their loyality went.
	Monarchists and anticommunistic nationalists
	(as, say, neo-Nazi) were considered most disloyal,
	and otkazniks - less. Period.

	Misha.