Description
Book SynopsisAn examination of Lenin's genealogical and political connections to East European Jews. It reveals the broad cultural meanings of indisputable evidence that Lenin's maternal grandfather was a Jew. It also examines why and how Lenin's Jewish relatives converted to Christianity, and explains how Lenin's vision of Russian Marxism shaped his identity.
Trade Review“[Petrovsky-Shtern is] keenly aware of the way that, in today's Russia, Jews continue to be blamed… he tries to set the record straight by proving that, in the key case of Lenin, there was nothing Jewish about the man.”--Ruth Wisse, JewishIdeasDaily.com
-- Ruth Wisse * JewishIdeasDaily.com *
“This slim volume is fascinating, as the author skillfully reveals the archival evidence about Lenin’s family origins and describes the fate of the evidence and those who had the temerity to try to reveal it against the wishes of the Soviet leadership, from Stalin to Gorbachev.”—Jewish Book World
* Jewish Book World *
“Concise and to the point, this book is for anyone interested in Lenin, the formative years of the Soviet Union, and the impact anti-Semitism had, and continues to have, on Russian history.”—Joseph Segre, The Canadian Jewish News
-- Joseph Segre * The Canadian Jewish News *
“. . . . excellent book, which is written with great wit and energy and is a simply a pleasure to read.”—Michael C. Hickey, H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews
-- Michael C. Hickey * H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews *
". . . this fascinating interpretive story of the formation, transformation, and independent life of the phantom of a Jewish Lenin makes an important contribution in the field of Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet studies."—Dina Zisserman-Brodsky,
The Russian Review -- Dina Zisserman-Brodsky * The Russian Review *
"This slim volume, which can be read in one sitting, debunks the myths and should be the last word on the subject."—Eugene M. Avrutin,
Slavic Review -- Eugene M. Avrutin * Slavic Review *
