• Fifteen years later

Fifteen years ago, in August 1995, the very first issue of this magazine was published: The People of the Book in the World of Books. In order to commemorate this anniversary, the editorial board has asked all the magazine’s regular contributors to review the past fifteen years of Jewish cultural development in their specific spheres of interest. Here, the magazine publishes the first responses in this series, with more to come in forthcoming issues.

In his provocative essay, poet and literary critic Valery Shubinsky analyzes the current situation of what he calls “the Jewish segment of modern Russian literature,” and uses the risky metaphor of “Jewish flavor” to define it. Historian Boris Frezinsky reviews some recently published memoirs about the years of Stalin’s anti-Semitic campaign in the Soviet Union. He strongly criticizes the publishers for simply reproducing the memoirists’ errors and excess baggage without adding any comments. Historian Alexander Ivanov discusses the formation of the visual image of the traditional Jewish shtetl through old photos, post cards, and other objects published in books and periodicals over the last fifteen years. Ethnographer, philologist, and translator Valery Dymshits writes about the state of Jewish book publishing in Russia today, and about the problems of translating multilingual Jewish literature into the Russian language. Historian Maxim Meltsin presents his views on the development of academic Jewish studies in Russia during the post-Soviet period.

Together, these articles present a compelling and controversial picture of modern Jewish culture in Russia, its accomplishments and challenges.

• Jewish Calendar of Significant Dates: September–October 2010

• Bibliography: 30 New Books