The October 1905 pogroms and the Russian authorities
This article analyzes the October 1905 pogroms in the Russian Empire. It explores the reasons for the pogroms, the perpetrators, the victims, and the consequences for the Jewish population. The article shows the differences and peculiarities of the pogroms, which occurred in the cities and shtetls, rural areas, on the railroads, and in the ports. The article also explores the attitude and involvement of the higher and local authorities, police, and troops in the pogroms. Historians continue to debate whether these pogroms occurred spontaneously or were organized by the Tsarist authorities. This article provides considerable evidence that the October 1905 pogroms were not a spontaneous reaction of conservatives to the revolutionary events, but rather was the policy of the Russian government directed toward the suppression of the revolutionary movement.
From Nationalism to National Indifference: Binary Logic and Sense of Time
Abstract The vast body of inquiry into nationalism has traditionally seen Europe as a main center for the emergence of nationalism, but scholars of “national indifference” have countered with the idea that nationalism may not matter much at all as a motive for most people. The concept of national indifference calls into question the power of nationalism as a motive for action and the mass appeal of nationalism. Studies of national indifference have constructed an alternative non-national narrative, but face particular challenges accounting for major themes and episodes of discrimination and violence. At its core, national indifference paradoxically both rejects and accepts binary notions of identity and incorporates binary assumptions about motives. It is tempting to resolve the contest between parallel accounts of pervasive, powerful nationalism and national indifference by choosing a victor, but this contrast between models shows the fluidity and dynamism of nationalism. The debate between the now classic accounts of nationalism and the alternative of national indifference points to the importance of often overlooked variables: frames and sense of time.
The revolution of 1905 in Odessa : blood on the steps
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Odessa on the Eve of 1905: The Russian El Dorado? 2. Workers in Odessa on the Eve of 1905 3. Labor Organizations and Politics before 1905 4. First Stirrings: The WorkersO Movement from January to May 5. First Confrontation: Popular Unrest in May and June 6. Breathing Spell and Renewed Confrontation 7. Politics and Pogrom 8. Final Confrontation Conclusion Appendix Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Photographs follow pages 23 and 167