Overview

In this first examination of Lenin’s genealogical and political connections to East European Jews, Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern reveals the broad cultural meanings of indisputable evidence that Lenin’s maternal grandfather was a Jew. He examines why and how Lenin’s Jewish relatives converted to Christianity, explains how Lenin’s vision of Russian Marxism shaped his identity, and explores Lenin’s treatment of party colleagues of Jewish origin and the Jewish Question in Europe. Petrovsky-Shtern also uncovers the continuous efforts of the Soviet communists to suppress Lenin’s Jewishness and the no less persistent attempts of Russian extremists to portray Lenin as a Jew. In this fascinating book, Petrovsky-Shtern expands our understanding not only of Lenin, but also of Russian and Soviet handling of the Jewish Question.

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9780300152104

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Reviews

. . . . excellent book, which is written with great wit and energy and is a simply a pleasure to read. --Michael C./i>--Michael C. Hickey H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews

. . . this fascinating interpretive story of the formation, transformation, and independent life of the phantom of a Jewish Lenin makes an important contribution in the field of Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet studies. --Dina Zisserman-Brodsky, The Russian Review --Dina Zisserman-Brodsky The Russian Review

Author Information

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern is associate professor of history and director of the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies at Northwestern University. His previous books include The Anti-Imperial Choice: The Making of the Ukrainian Jew (Yale). He lives in Chicago.

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