List of Jews from the Soviet Union

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This page is a list of Jews.
For more on who is considered Jewish, see Who is a Jew?.
List of Jews by
country
Europe
Eastern Europe | North Europe
South-East Europe
West Europe
Americas
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Rest of World
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Arab World | Asia | Israel*
(*most are Jewish)

The Jewish presence in the lands of Tsarist Russia (predominantly Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) and the Soviet Union dates back to the 7th century, when a group of Khazar tribes united, settled, and converted en masse to Judaism. A few years before the Shoah, the Jewish population of the Soviet lands (excluding the Baltic states) stood at over 5 million, most of whom were Ashkenazic as opposed to Sephardic, with some Karaite minorities. It is estimated that over half died directly as a result of the Shoah. Many more emigrated to Israel, USA and Germany, though Russia and the Ukraine still have among the larger Jewish populations in the world today (440,000 Russia, 300,000 Ukraine). The following is a list of people with significant Jewish heritage from the Soviet Union lands. It is geographically defined, so it includes people born before the creation of the Soviet Union in 1917 and people who became prominent subsequent to its break-up in 1990.

(Note: Baltic, East European and Asian Jews are on different lists.)

Contents

[edit] Historical figures

[edit] Politicians

[edit] Soldiers and Revolutionaries

[edit] Other

[edit] Business figures

[edit] Oligarchs

[edit] Entrepreneurs

[edit] Scientists

[edit] Natural scientists

[edit] Mathematicians

[edit] Social scientists

[edit] Cultural figures

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Performing and Fine Artists

[edit] Writers and poets

[edit] Sport figures

[edit] Chess

[edit] Other sports

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Jewish News Weekly, "Former foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who is partly Jewish, said the current surge of anti-Semitism has prompted him to join the recently created group" (i.e. the Moscow Jewish Community). Accessed 30 October 2006.
  2. ^ [1] "Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Mischa Elman... were all Jews, too"
  3. ^ [2] "Anthony Federov: I'm like half Christian, half Jewish. I'm like a mix."
  4. ^ Gingold - [3] "His teacher was Joseph Gingold, and as Bell fondly recalled him, "He was a Russian Jewish violinist..."
  5. ^ [4] "Ukrainian Jewish singer is country's star" [5] "A Ukrainian Jewish woman, Tanya Liberman, who performs under the name Tina Karol, came in seventh."
  6. ^ [6] "This year, preparations for the Rosh ha-Shana involved people from all walks of the Moscow Jewish community. The capital’s foremost restaurants and caterers provided food and beverages for the reception, evidently trying to impress the guests with the quality of their specialties. Taking part in the entertainment program, called “Together for 200 Years,” were Iosif Kobzon, Mikhail Zhvanetsky, Maxim Dunaevsky and Andrei Makarevich"
  7. ^ Spektor - [7] "Regina Spektor, the Brooklyn-based, classically trained Jewish émigré whose family fled the Soviet Union for the Brooklyn when she was nine."
  8. ^ Jewish News Weekly: "One of the country's best-known entertainers has become president (of the Moscow Jewish Community). Comedian Gennady Khazanov, known as "Russia's Bob Hope," said he understood only recently the importance of being personally involved in the Jewish community. ... Last week, after the synagogue stabbing, Khazanov made several television appearances as president of the organization. Sporting a white silk kippah -- something he had rarely done before -- the comedian focused public attention on the incident. Khazanov isn't the only public figure who has been prompted by the stabbing incident to come out of the Jewish closet." Accessed 30 Oct 2006.
  9. ^ Kunis explains at [8]: "I'm pretty Jewish I gotta say. I was never raised Jewish but all my friends are and I have the quirks of a Jewish person. I go 'oy' and people are like 'oh you're very Jewish'. And when I'm in New York, I become super-Jew. All of a sudden I talk like a Jew from Long Island out of nowhere. Once in my new york, I'm super Jewish. I'm in L.A. and I'm like a California surfer girl... my parents raised me Jewish as much as they could and came to America. I love my religion. I think it's a beautiful religion but I took parts of it that I want for myself. I don't need to go to temple. I will, but I don't need to."
  10. ^ Branson Missouri News Article: "Smirnoff, birth name Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, was born in a Jewish family in Odessa, Ukraine". Accessed 30 Oct 2006.

[edit] External links

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