Abstract:

Language: Russian

Memoirs of the prominent historian, publicist and public figure Semion Markovich Dubnov (1860-1941) constitute an encyclopedia of Jewish life in Russia.

Simon Dubnov constructed his memoirs from the diaries that he kept throughout his life; these reflect the rich panorama of events from the second half of nineteenth century into the early decades of the twentieth century. Dubnow was an active participant, and a witness, to the crucial events of the era, such as the decline of the Jewish enlightenment in Eastern Europe, the emergence and development of Zionism and other political movements, the 1905 and 1917 revolutions and the Russian Civil War. Dubnov lived and worked in centers of Jewish life like Odessa, Vilna and St. Petersburg during years of dramatic changes in the life of the Jewish people. He included in this memoir vivid portrayals of his friends and colleagues, among them writers like Sholem Aleichem, Bialik, Frug, Leskov, Volyn, as well as public figures like Vinaver, Gruzenberg, Landau, Sliozberg and many others.

The first two parts of the memoir deal with scientific, social and political life of Russia and Russian Jewry. The third part provides insight into the life of ​​Russian-Jewish immigrants in Europe, where Dubnov resided from 1922-1933. This new edition of Dubnov's memoir not only contains a new preface, but significantly supplemented and revised biographical and bibliographical commentaries.