Jewish Underground Culture in the Soviet Union.

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/ReportChapter in book/Anthology/ReportContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

This chapter examines the phenomenon of the Jewish underground art and literature within a broader social and communicative context of late Soviet unofficial culture. It traces back artifacts originating in the refuseniks’ movement to the everyday practices of that movement’s protagonists. Because Jewish unofficial artistic activities and circles often came about because of communication within the highly heterogeneous underground scene, they also absorbed various non-Jewish cultural traditions and diverse cultural influences. Their limited access to Jewish sources, as well as the high degree of Soviet Jews’ assimilation was responsible for the indirect and eclectic nature of this Jewish rediscovery of tradition. The chapter also discusses how the battle for the return to Israel led to the emergence of new topographical concepts in so-called exodus literature. The attractive utopia of Israel reflected ex negativo the eschatological temporality of the Soviet empire and its phantasms of paradise on earth.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Soviet Underground Culture (1932-1990)
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press, Oxford
Number of pages21
ISBN (electronic) 9780197508244
ISBN (print)9780197508213
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85202586400

Keywords

Keywords

  • Belarus, Central Asia, Culture, Handbook, Leningrad, Moscow, Russia, Samizdat, Soviet, Ukraine, Underground, nonconformist circle