(Jewish Group) The roots of Russian anti-Semitism

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Anti-Semitism, with the slurs and stereotypes that stem from it, is not a new concept. From the middle ages to present day, the types of anti-Semitism have changed dramatically, but it is no less prevalent today than it was 1,000 years ago. Likewise, Russia and the countries that made up the Former Soviet Union, are no exception to this.

However, in modern-day Russia, anti-Semitism is something that is really prevalent in everyday life. Recently, President Vladimir Putin suggested in a speech that Jews could have been the ones who manipulated the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He also stated that the election interference could have been done by Ukrainians or Tatars, or people with a Russian citizenship. His apparent insinuation that a Russian Jew is not really Russian sparked particular outrage amongst Jewish groups, reminding people of Russia’s long and notorious history with anti-Semitism.

History has shown that anti-Semitism has been a big part of the Russian-Jewish experience, and has affected many generations of Jews living within the Russian Empire.

“Some scholars today argue that anti-Semitism is as old as human history, and as the Jewish people, but it’s quite clear that in different times, anti-Semitism meant different things,” said Queen’s University Jewish history professor Vassili Schedrin. Though the prejudice against Jews has been around for centuries, the term “anti-Semitism” only became popular in 1879, when it was coined by German agitator Wilhelm Marr.

According to Schedrin, anti-Semitism during the middle ages was based more on the religion itself, often referred to as “judeo-phobia.” Jews typically lived separately from the rest of society, and were very isolated. In medieval times, Jews lived in exile, or diaspora, and formed closed autonomous communities and as a result, outsiders were suspicious of this group of people because of their different behaviour.

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