Anti-Semitism was a major feature of both late Tsarist and Stalinist as well as neo-Stalinist
Russian politics. What does this legacy entail for the emergence of post-Soviet politics? What
are the sources ideologies permutations and expressions of anti-Semitism in recent Russian
political life? Who are the main protagonists and what is their impact on society? This book
shows that anti-Semitism is alive and well in contemporary Russia in general and in her
political life in particular. The study focuses on anti-Semitism in political groups mass
media and religious organizations from the break-up of the Soviet Union until shortly before
the elections to the fourth post-Soviet State Duma which saw the entry of a major new
nationalist grouping Rodina (Motherland) into the Russian parliament. The author analyzes
various justifications for anti-Semitism its manifestations and its ups and downs during this
period. The book chronicles Russian federal and regional elections which served as a reality
check for the ultra-nationalists. Several sections are devoted to the role of anti-Semitism in
political associations including marginal neo-Nazi groups mainstream nationalist parties and
the successor organizations of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. A special section
covers the financial sources for post-Soviet anti-Semitic publications. The author considers
anti-Semitism within a wider context of religious and ethnic intolerance in Russian society.
Likhachev as a result compiles a Who is Who of Russian political anti-Semitism. His book will
serve as a reliable compendium and obligatory starting point for future research on post-Soviet
xenophobia and ultra-nationalist politics.
