ABOUT THIS BOOK

In this pathbreaking study, I. Michael Aronson offers a closely argued and many-faceted reinterpretation of Russian anti-Semitism and tsarist nationalities policy. He examines, and refutes, the widely held belief that the anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia in 1881 were a result of a conspiracy supported by the tsarist government or circles close to it, investigating claims and counterclaims about what happened during that fateful year and guiding the reader through a maze of events and decades of subsequent interpretations.

Although the pogroms are treated within the context of Russian history, Aronson's analysis has significance for Jewish studies as well. When the Russian government adopted reactionary and repressive policies, Jews began to seek new solutions to the problems that plagued them: massive numbers emigrated to the United States; other turned to revolutionary socialism; still others were attracted to Zionism and supported the creation of the state of Israel.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

I. Michael Aronson (Ph.D., Northwestern University) is a professional writer and translator in Israel.

REVIEWS

“Aronson's work to date is the most sophisticated refutation of the thesis of a government conspiracy behind the pogroms and, as such, is a welcome addition to the historiography on imperial Russian and Jewish history.”
—Slavic Review

“A revisionist work in the best sense of the word. [It] should become the standard treatment of the pogroms of 1881-1882 in any language.”
—John Klier

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

List of Tables and Maps

Acknowledgments

Note on Dates

Introduction

I. The Historical Background

1. The Russian Context

2. The Jews in 1881

3. The Coming of the Pogroms

II. The Government

4. The Press, the Government, and the Pogroms

5. Rumors, Handbills, and Posters

6. Mysterious Messengers and Great Russian Raiders

7. The Geographical Pattern and Socioeconomic Factors

8. Action and Inaction in Defense of the Jews

9. Punishing the Rioters

10. The Aims of the "Conspirators"

III. Reactionaries and Revolutionaries

11. The Holy Brotherhood

12. The Revolutionary Socialists

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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