Kiev, Jewish Metropolis: A History, 1859}}}1914 [Paperback]

Populated by urbane Jewish merchants and professionals as well as new arrivals from the shtetl, imperial Kiev was acclaimed for its opportunities for education, culture, employment, and entrepreneurship but cursed for the often pitiless persecution of its Jews.Kiev, Jewish Metropolislimns the history of Kiev Jewry from the official readmission of Jews to the city in 1859 to the outbreak of World War I. It explores the Jewish community's politics, its leadership struggles, socioeconomic and demographic shifts, religious and cultural sensibilities, and relations with the city's Christian population. Drawing on archival documents, the local press, memoirs, and belles lettres, Natan M. Meir shows Kiev's Jews at work, at leisure, in the synagogue, and engaged in the activities of myriad Jewish organizations and philanthropies.

Populated by wealthy Jewish merchants and professionals as well as artisans, petty traders, and numerous other former shtetl dwellers barely able to make a living, Kiev was known for its opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship, but notorious for frequent persecution of its Jews. Meir (Judaic studies, Portland State Univ.) documents and analyzes a complex history of Kiev Jewry. Part 1 explores the first decades of the mass Jewish migration to the city, while the second (major) part covers the crucial years 1881-1914, when Jewish Kiev was consolidated. The author explores the Jewish community's politics, leadership struggles, socioeconomic and demographic changes, religious and cultural sensibilities, and relations with the city's Christian population. Drawing on archival documents, the local press, and memoirs, Meir shows Kiev's Jews at work, at leisure, in the synagogue, and engaged in the activities of various Jewish organizations and philanthropies. The author attempted to and succeeded in doing two things: producing 'a history of late-imperial Kiev Jewry and an evaluation of the development of Jewish life l#Ç