Nosenko-Shtein E. E. "Pass on this to your children, and their children to the next generation": Cultural memory of Russian Jews in our days, Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2013, 576 p.

The book by E. E. Nosenko-Stein is a comprehensive study of the phenomenon of cultural memory. A recognized expert in the ethnography and social anthropology of Russian Jews and the author of numerous studies, the author summarizes the results of his many years of work and finds out how factors such as religion, traditions, family, education, community organizations, the State of Israel, and anti-Semitism affect the transmission of Jewish cultural experience and cultural information from generation to generation among people different ages in modern Russia. The author seeks to answer the question: what connects different groups within the framework of non-governmental organizations?-

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what is the general concept of a "Jewish community" in Russia? And is it possible, even with reservations, to call this connecting factor cultural memory? If so, what are the characteristics of this cultural memory across generations? This is also interesting for understanding a more general problem - the peculiarities of the religious component of Jewish identity in post-Soviet countries.

The work has a clear structure that allows the reader to navigate the variety of topics covered. The book is disciplinarily located at the intersection of anthropology and sociology. It is provided with a large appendix consisting of full texts of interviews, tables with statistics, as well as articles on similar topics that are not included in the main text of the book. The work is based on the author's own field materials collected from 1999 to 2010 in various Russian cities (227 in-depth interviews), while quantitative methods (questionnaire survey) were used in combination with qualitative ones for verification purposes. For comparative analysis, data from other studies on similar topics were used (mainly articles on individual aspects); statistical data were also actively used - materials from all-Union and All-Russian population censuses and data from sample censuses, data from Jewish organizations, as well as materials from the press and Internet resources; all this made it possible to cover a large range of issues and consider They are presented in a diachronic key, using data from the Soviet period and the 90s of the XX century. This generalizing study has almost no analogues in relation to modern Russian Jews.

The introduction presents the basic concepts and specifies different approaches to the concepts of cultural (collective and historical) memory in general and cultural memory among Jews in particular. After analyzing the works of modern researchers on this topic and relying on their own research, the author draws a conclusion that is crucial for the book: the problem of collective memory among modern Jews is poorly understood, and researchers cannot agree on what constitutes its content. This is due to the crisis of Jewish identity. Today, the issues of community heterogeneity and the "blurring" of the identity of Russian Jews have been actively discussed and are being discussed at conferences devoted to the study of Russian Jews, and within Jewish organizations themselves. In Russia, this crisis expresses-

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The problem is that after the Second World War, the secular Soviet version of Jewish culture and identity began to prevail, and now Jews have a very blurred ethno-cultural identity. They are an extremely heterogeneous community in which only the memory of the past holds it together. But at the same time, the memory itself is multiple, which creates additional complexity.

The first chapter is devoted to the study of the problem of Jewish identity in general in modern science. The chapter provides a relatively brief but valuable overview of how the old Jewish identity (associated with Judaism) has been replaced by a host of new ones in the United States and Western Europe; it examines various contemporary approaches - adherence to traditional religious values and the Jewish way of life, Jewish origin, attitudes towards the State of Israel, etc. In fact, when Jewish culture, identity and memory began to be considered separately from Judaism, they lost their support, the author believes, and the search for such support has been going on in various directions since then, and this is typical especially for the United States and Israel, and in recent decades - for Russia, where along with other post-Soviet countries, the search for such support has been but the process of identity disintegration has gone particularly far.

In the part devoted to Soviet Jewry, the author examines the processes of assimilation and acculturation, the loss of ties with Judaism and the identity culture based on it. Based on his long-term research, the author concludes: today, " different groups of people of Jewish origin in Russia, despite the disintegration of religious tradition and the isolation of most of them from the initial knowledge of Jewish culture, are united by self-identification based on historical memory, memories of some key events of the recent past, faith in a common origin, a mythological homeland - Israel, as well as - in some cases - on the awareness of the community of destinies " (p. 54). In general, Russian Jews can be considered as an ethno-cultural community, very diverse and not connected by common interests, common religion, common institutions or culture; it is united by a common origin and, to a certain extent, historical memory. According to the results of surveys, respondents put self-awareness (self-identification)in the first place as a necessary sign of Jewishness, in addition, its carriers are united by a sign of origin. That is

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ethnic principle and self-identification are considered important for belonging to Jewry among respondents.

In previous works, the author proposed a typology of self-identification for people born in mixed marriages; in this study, it is refined and covers people born in mono-ethnic and mixed marriages. The typology of self-identification is as follows: East Ashkenazi type (traditional ethno-cultural self-identification); "Russian" ("non-Jewish") type; "negative" type; "ambivalent" or "dual" type (it can be considered a kind of "hybrid" self-identification); the "new Jewish" type. The trend noted by the author is of interest: the "new Jewish" type of self-identification is characteristic of young people, it differs from the original Jewish identity that existed in the Soviet period. These people are seriously interested in Judaism, and sometimes follow some of its precepts (p. 68).

The second chapter shows how the choice of denomination affects the nature of cultural self-identification of people of Jewish origin in modern Russia, how adherence to a particular religion-not only Judaism, but also Christianity-is related to the peculiarities of preserving the cultural memory of these people. The author believes that faith is not a foundation for Jewish cultural memory in Russia: Today, it contributes little to its preservation and transmission, and this applies to both Judaism and religion in general, including Christianity. The prerequisites and causes of this phenomenon have been studied, but in connection with cultural memory, the author of the monograph presents them in detail in his work for a more complete review.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the process of Jews gaining civil and political rights in Western Europe was accompanied by their secularization and departure from Judaism. In the Russian Empire, Jews were a discriminated (ethno -) confessional minority, and most of them adhered to Judaism in various versions. However, in the 1920s, the departure of the majority of Soviet Jews from Judaism accelerated dramatically, and they easily assimilated the anti-religious propaganda of the first two decades of the Soviet era, perhaps taking it as a "payment" for their acquisition of civil rights. But not everything is so simple - the crisis of Judaism and the culture based on it in the Russian Empire began, according to the author, long before the February and October Revolution.-

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Russian revolution (p. 83). As a result, the phenomenon that has almost no analogues in other Jewish diasporas turned out to be almost completely "cut off" from Judaism during the Soviet era.

In post-Soviet Russia, the socio-cultural environment has changed dramatically again, and this has led to profound transformations. If we consider these transformations in the context of modern contradictory trends - the decline of traditional collective identities and, at the same time," bursts "of ethnic and religious "revival", while personal identification comes to the fore - we can conclude that in the minds of respondents, Judaism and Jewishness are poorly connected with each other; knowledge of the basics of Judaism and compliance with the Law of Judaism are traditions are not of primary importance.

On the pages of the book, respondents ' statements about meeting Shabbat, observing Kashrut, circumcision, and holidays are given. This cross-section of opinions allows you to better understand the situation. There are quite a few statistics here. Let us cite some data: "22% of respondents identified themselves with Judaism, but 1.4 % fully consider themselves religious Jews, and with some reservations - 11.6 %. Another 23.2 % believe that they are minimally religious Jews, and almost 61 % do not consider themselves religious Jews at all" (p. 94). At the same time, adherence to Judaism is usually not a consequence of family upbringing, since the mechanism of natural transmission of cultural memory does not work. More often, this is the result of a conscious choice or even a kind of experiment, an attempt to create a support for their new Jewish identity. It is possible to compare the departure from Judaism in the Soviet era with the departure from Orthodoxy, but the author, relying on literature, comes to the conclusion that the first phenomenon was more widespread. Accordingly, the "Jewish renaissance" differs from the "Orthodox Renaissance", although, of course, both processes have common features. "Judaism is purposefully "taught", especially to young people (which, in general, is quite natural and traditional). But such training does not take place in the family and synagogue, as it once did, but in religious and-much more often - secular Jewish organizations" (p.97). However, it is not yet clear whether the increased interest in Judaism among this relatively small segment of informants is a result of youth fashion or a reflection of the trend towards a "real revival".

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Another interesting and ambiguous phenomenon is also touched upon: Jewish Christians (usually Orthodox) and the formation of a"Jewish Christian identity". Some of these people, while consciously accepting Christianity, continue to retain their Jewish identity. At the same time, other Jews, as a rule, also perceive this group as Jews, although they are ambiguous about them. For the surrounding non-Jewish population, they also continue to be Jews, meaning that the principle of origin remains dominant in the case of both internal and external identification. In an effort to identify the causes of this phenomenon, the author studies its historical, social and cultural context in the Soviet era. Judging by the observations based on numerous interviews with informants and analysis of Internet sites, the surge of interest in Orthodoxy among Russian Jews is now on the wane; it can be assumed that one of the reasons is the growing awareness of Jewish traditions and culture proper. This proves that "both religions - and religion in general-were an external phenomenon for them, and not part of their self-identification, especially Jewish self-identification" (p.118).

The same chapter also examines the attitude of Russian Jews to various forms of" personal " (implicit) religion and secular worldview. Russian Jews, as an extremely divided and heterogeneous community, have not yet developed their own model of " secular Judaism." Nevertheless, over the last 15 years or so - the period of the "Jewish renaissance" - there has been a tendency, so far rather weak, to construct a "set" of beliefs and practices that largely copies "imported" models (p.144); especially among young people. Examples of symbols and practices of Russian "secular Judaism" are given, as well as its comparison with examples in the United States and Israel. A "personal religion" is becoming more widespread - more comfortable than Christianity and Judaism, which presuppose discipline, knowledge of a minimum set of rules and texts, and more or less strict adherence to certain practices (p.158). Let me give you one more important quote: "The search for" pillars " of personal identification, as well as collective identity among Russian Jews, goes in different directions. And its traditional symbol - Judaism-is not too "popular"here. This is especially true

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descendants of mixed marriages, who often do not identify with Jews at all or identify with Jewry solely "because of" anti-Semitism. The deep deformation of Jewish cultural memory is a direct consequence of this low demand. It is not surprising that various Jewish organizations seek to correct this distortion. It is clearly premature to say that "secular Judaism" has been constructed in Russia, which numerous Jewish organizations are actively engaged in creating, but such attempts are being made " (p. 157, 158). Numerous quotes from respondents ' interviews, which sometimes contain whole life stories, help us better understand all the above questions and their social context.

The third chapter is devoted to the role of the State of Israel in the cultural memory of Russian Jews. Based on concrete examples from interviews with people of different ages and social groups, the author comes to the conclusion that the connection with Israel can be traced more on an emotional rather than cognitive level, and it is more declared than internally motivated. "This is also the peculiarity of the collective memory of Russian Jews, in which Israel [ ... ].. it does not take the first place " (p. 191), that is, it is not a symbol that supports cultural memory. This is due to the peculiarities of Soviet Jewish culture. A long break with the religious tradition in which the Land of Israel was a central place led to the destruction of the myth of home, the myth of return, and the entire mythology of the exile in general. This, in turn, was the main reason why Israel ceased to be an important symbol of ethnic identity for many Jews of the former USSR (p. 197). Mass emigration in the 1990s and the high expectations and subsequent disappointments associated with it also did not contribute to Israel being perceived as a historical homeland, where one should definitely strive. This was also influenced by the possibility of freely visiting Israel and leaving there for permanent residence at any time. It turns out that, despite all the partial attitude to this state, it is not perceived as the motherland. There is simply a collective memory of the country where distant ancestors lived - usually without a sacred component. But at the same time, there was an understanding that you can "live a Jewish life" without leaving Russia;

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the overwhelming majority of respondents consider it their homeland. In this section, it seems to us, it would be possible to pay more attention to the factor of kinship and friendship ties between Russian Jews and Israelis in the general context of the formation of transnational diasporas in the global world. Representatives of various types of self - identification cite instability in the Russian economy and society, hopes to realize their potential abroad, and much less often anti-Semitic sentiments in Russia as reasons that may encourage emigration.

The fourth chapter deals with the problem of anti-Semitism in the context of collective and historical memory: "anti-Semitism is not just one of the most significant (sometimes the only significant) ethnoforming factors contributing to the mobilization of even a very soundly sleeping Jewish identity. It also has a strong influence on the character of collective Jewish memory, giving it a special flavor " (p. 249, 250). Memories of recent manifestations of anti-Semitism, whether it is the campaigns of the Stalinist period, the state anti-Semitism of the stagnation period, or the everyday anti-Semitism of the Perestroika period, continue to be transmitted. Accordingly, anti-Semitism in Russia will continue to support Jewish identity for a long time, as well as affect the nature of the cultural memory of Russian Jews. Of particular interest in this chapter is also a brief analytical review of the concept of "anti-Semitism" with reference to the situation in various countries (from France to Australia and New Zealand) and with an analysis of several examples from Russian Internet resources; also interesting are fragments of in-depth interviews that vividly illustrate the trends noted in the text.

A separate chapter is devoted to people with East Ashkenazi (traditional ethno-cultural) self-identification. This type is typical for older (70+) people who grew up in a traditional Jewish environment; Judaism was almost completely "deleted" from their identity during the Soviet era, but it could still remain part of their familiar world. These people are called "Keepers" by the author of the monograph, as they preserve the residual elements of traditional East Ashkenazi culture (in its Yiddish and Russian versions). E. E. Nosenko-Stein notes a significant gap in the transmission of cultural experience from generation to generation in the Jewish environment: a place of "generational meetings", where it is transmitted

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cultural memory, now not a family or a synagogue, but community centers and a library act. And "the attempt to' save memories 'is made not so much by fixing them by professionals, but by 'constructing' a new Russian Jew with a different memory than that of his predecessors " (p.286). As an example, many informants saw for the first time in a community center (and not in a family where holidays are not celebrated and traditions are not observed, and this is especially true for descendants of mixed marriages) how to light Saturday candles. However, in the community centers, the "scenarios" are developed according to the standard Israeli model, and there is almost no Eastern Ashkenazi element in them. In addition, attempts are being made to construct a " secular Jewish identity." It is possible to transfer information "through a generation ago" - from grandchildren to grandparents. The article examines the fascination with religion or secular Judaism among young people. In general, it can be noted that "there are more people in whose families Jewish customs are currently observed, while the number of those in whose families no national traditions are observed is somewhat reduced" (p. 280, 281).

This chapter also contains important sections on attitudes to Judaism and the Yiddish language of the older generation. In addition, an interesting and paradoxical fact is mentioned: baptism in some cases can serve as a mobilizing factor-the awakening of the sleeping Jewish identity (p. 260). This problem is briefly mentioned here; it seems to us that it deserves a separate special study.

The final, sixth, chapter examines the places where Jewish cultural memory is created in Russia. Here we analyze in more detail the points already mentioned in the previous chapters, the topics of the Jewish family, friendships, and children's education. It turns out that family and family values play a much smaller role for Jewish self-identification compared to the activities of Jewish organizations that provide "a certain amount of knowledge about history and tradition" (p.316), contributing to the creation of friendships and Jewish families. This is especially true in the absence of the Jewish family as a "guardian of traditions" and in the context of the crisis of Jewish educational and upbringing structures.

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Approximately 1/10 of people of Jewish origin in Russia actively participate in Jewish community life (p. 316), but despite the limited number of participants, it is Jewish organizations - centers, interest clubs, various programs with their own events - that are increasingly becoming places of memory where cultural experience is preserved and transmitted. This is all the more relevant given that the majority of Russian Jews have little knowledge of Jewish traditions, history, Judaism and the culture based on it. It turns out that the preservation of Jewry as a cultural "unit" in Russia is possible precisely because of such organizations. It should be noted that their contribution to the formation and maintenance of Jewish identity has already been analyzed in various studies, and this trend is confirmed in the peer-reviewed monograph Nosenko-Stein.

Gradually, as we read, we begin to understand that people of Jewish origin in Russia today are an extremely heterogeneous, "thin" community, which is united neither by common interests, nor by a common religion, nor by common institutions, nor by a common culture. This, on the one hand, creates problems for the preservation of collective memory. On the other hand, historical memory is the only thing that unites Russian Jews (p.322), since it is more stable and easier to fix. As we can see, the deep crisis of Jewish identity and collective memory has not only disrupted the transmission of cultural information from generation to generation. The very understanding of what exactly needs to be preserved and transmitted has disappeared - more precisely, each group has its own understanding. One can see attempts to construct a new Jewish identity and a new memory, in which there is no place for the legacy of the "Guardians". What exactly people of Jewish origin want to remember today has very little in common with the memory of the" Guardians", and the newly created historical memory has not yet become their cultural property. At the same time, the memory of the "Guardians", having inherited many external features of Jewish culture, including language or some customs, did not preserve the rich centuries-old traditions of Judaism. And the collective memory of young people - the" new Jews "- exists as if in parallel with the memory of the"Guardians". The past of Eastern European Jewry, which could have become the "golden fund", did not become it, did not turn into the very cultural one

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tradition, the transmission of which is the mechanism of transmission of cultural memory. At the same time, it should be noted that attempts to "create a secular Jewish identity, a Christian Jewish identity, and a negative Jewish identity (based only on negative Jewish experience) are still unproductive, because they do not rely on a powerful layer of cultural memory" (p.323).

Time will tell how successful the project of creating a new Jewish cultural memory in Russia will be. Here, the author noticed a very interesting trend - indeed, in recent years, Jewish youth organizations have been discussing how to correctly combine standard Israeli models and elements of the culture of Eastern European and Russian Jewry in the construction of identity.

In our opinion, the work would benefit if, in addition to a theoretical understanding of the material, it provided a more detailed and concrete description of the so - called "material" side of identity-social practices adopted in modern Jewish community centers in connection with the modern reinterpretation of the traditions of Judaism. For example, how exactly does the Shabbat meeting take place in specific Jewish organizations, what topics do seminars take place in different cities, and how has all this changed in the last 15 years? All this is shown in the paper, but rather briefly.

In general, the monograph is a broad cross-section and multi-faceted analysis of various aspects of Jewish life in modern Russia. Drawing on an extensive bibliography (from classical works of sociologists to modern research) and on his own experience in studying Russian Jewish communities, the author touches on some poorly studied aspects of Jewish communities in Russia. The researcher's attention is also focused on controversial but very relevant issues, which have an ambiguous attitude within Jewish communities and are widely discussed by Jews themselves; the author gives these issues a theoretical understanding and offers his own assessments. Thanks to its extensive appendices with interview texts and statistics, the work can also be considered a factual source on the history and sociology of Russian Jews in the post-Soviet period.

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