Kiev, Jewish Metropolis: A History, 1859-1914 (The Modern Jewish Experience)
"Meir's book provides a broad history of Jewish Kiev in the half-century between the loosening of residence restrictions and the outbreak of the First World War, and gives an exceptionally rich portrait of the complex and changing nature of Kiev's Jewish community." —Revolutionary Russia"This study... represents an important addition to the historiography of Russian Jewry in that it addresses a notable gap in the literature: the Jewish population of late imperial Kiev.... Meir’s portrait of Kievan Jewry and its institutional formation is a thoroughly researched study that considers multiple perspectives, namely those of a diverse Jewish community, its competing political leaders, the tsarist government, and provincial and municipal administrators." —East European Jewish Affairs"A multidimensional and panoramic picture of Jewish communal life in late Tsarist Kiev. The book is meticulously researched, eminently readable, and rich in detail." —Jeffrey Veidlinger, author of Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire"Natan Meir’s meticulous new history of Kiev Jewry in the modern period, is an assiduous work of conventional scholarship. Meir provides a thorough, lucid and ultimately heartrending account of the noble successes of Kiev’s Jews in building a solid Jewish community." —Forward, May 25, 2011"Meir has given us a penetrating study. His style of writing is clear and interesting. He knows how to tell a story, arouse curiosity, and sustain interest, a quality that so many academic studies lack. The book merits translation into Hebrew. It is a significant contribution to the historiography of East European Jewry." —Jewish History"The author attempted to and succeeded in doing two things: producing 'a history of late-imperial Kiev Jewry and an evaluation of the developent of Jewish life in a Russian city under the last three tsars'.... Recommended." —Choice, April 2011Populated by wealthy Jewish merchants and professionals as well as artisans, petty traders, and numerous other former shtetl dwellers barely able to make a living, Kiev was known for its opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship, but notorious for frequent persecution of its Jews. Meir (Judaic studies, Portland State Univ.) documents and analyzes a complex history of Kiev Jewry. Part 1 explores the first decades of the mass Jewish migration to the city, while the second (major) part covers the crucial years 1881-1914, when Jewish Kiev was consolidated. The author explores the Jewish community's politics, leadership struggles, socioeconomic and demographic changes, religious and cultural sensibilities, and relations with the city's Christian population. Drawing on archival documents, the local press, and memoirs, Meir shows Kiev's Jews at work, at leisure, in the synagogue, and engaged in the activities of various Jewish organizations and philanthropies. The author attempted to and succeeded in doing two things: producing 'a history of late-imperial Kiev Jewry and an evaluation of the development of Jewish life in a Russian city under the last three tsars.' Summing Up: Recommended. All levels except two-year technical program students. -- ChoiceS. Kan, Dartmouth College, April 2011"The best books in Russian-Jewish history of recent years continue to question the myths and to look at the facts anew with the help of archival materials and other rare sources. Natan Meir's book does exactly this.... As he demonstrates in this book, Natan Meir is a careful and innovative scholar." —SEER"Kiev, Jewish Metropolis... is a rich social, cultural, and institutional history of Jewish life in one of its most important and hitherto least understood urban centers." —The Journal of Modern History"Without any doubt this is a very important first monograph on the history of Jews in Kiev, which reveals many new aspects of Jewish life in the city and in the Tsarist Empire and brings one of the largest Jewish communities in Russia into the scholarly orbit." —Shofar"Kiev, Jewish Metropolis is a welcome addition to our knowledge of an important city that, [Meir] correctly points out, has remained surprisingly underresearched." —Slavic Review, Vol. 70.3, Fall 2011