Russia and the Origins of Twentieth‐century Antisemitism

In seeking explanations for the origins of modern antisemitism, historians have often dwelt extensively on the developments in anti‐Jewish discourse in nineteenth‐century Imperial Germany and the Hapsburg Empire. The role played by the Tsarist Empire – darkest, backward Russia – has frequently been overlooked or underplayed. Until the past decade or so, antisemitism in the dying days of Tsarism was often characterised as little different from its medieval predecessor. Recent interpretations have shed new light on changes in antisemitism in Russia in the late nineteenth century. Much like the apparently unchangeable Tsarist state, a multitude of internal and external influences gradually altered the nature of Russian antisemitic discourse, which – in the years after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution – would have profound consequences for the rest of Europe.