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Revival of Jewish life started during perestroika, and the development trend remained even after the breakup of the USSR. Different Jewish communities emerged. People got a chance to go to the synagogue and adhere to Jewish traditions openly. The books written by Jewish writers and poets are published now. Movies about Jewish life appeared. Jewish papers and magazines were issued. The attitude towards Jews changed. Before, people were embarrassed to say the word Jew trying to speak it in sotto, and the word wasn’t even heard on radio or television. Now people talk about it calmly and naturally. Then the passports were changed, and the new ones appeared without a line on ‘nationality’ [see Item 5] [49], and there anti-Semitism was in the wane. How will Jews and Russians be defined now? Before, the documents of the Jews were put aside when they entered university. Now it is more difficult to do that. The most important thing is that people aren’t trying to conceal that they are Jews, and I think this is a real determiner that the society has changed its attitude towards Jews.
Period
Location
Russia
Interview
marina sineokaya