�Petersburg Judaica� Center

[Emily Finer]

I'd like to bring this underreported aspect of the EUSP's closure to the
attention of Seelangers on behalf of the "Petersburg Judaica" center:

The closing of the European University will have the most serious negative
consequences not only for Russian Humanities and education as a whole, but
also for its youngest branch – Jewish Studies. In order to promote formerly
underrepresented or absent branches of scholarship, EUSP created the
Interdepartmental Center “Petersburg Judaica.” Nowadays this is the only
specialized graduate school in Jewish studies in Russia. The “Petersburg
Judaica” Center has been sealed off together with the EUSP.

Depending on their dissertation topic, students of “Petersburg Judaica”
Center are simultaneously enrolled at other departments of the University
(Ethnology, History, Sociology). Classes at the Center are open not only to
its own students, but to all EUSP students. “Petersburg Judaica” is heavily
engaged in research work as well, primarily in field research in the former
shtetls of Ukraine and Byelorussia. From 2007, students from the USA also
participated in our field research program. In 2008 it was planned to expand
the number of foreign participants further, and to establish a permanent
summer exchange program targeted at foreign students with a serious interest
in Jewish or Slavic studies who wish to acquire fieldwork skills and collect
materials relevant to their research. “Petersburg Judaica” has become a
place where students from Russia have the opportunity to attend lectures
delivered by the outstanding specialists in Jewish studies, e.g. D. Roskies,
J. Klier (b.m.), M. Krutikov, G. Estraikh, V. Chernin, H. Murav, M. Alpert,
and others.

“Petersburg Judaica” has organized over 10 exhibitions on various topics
related to Jewish culture, history, and art in the EUSP exhibition hall.
These exhibition are always attended by inhabitants and guests of
St.Petersburg; in other words, EUSP “Jewish” exhibitions have become an
integral part of the city’s cultural life, as well as a constant and
important element in the life of its Jewish community. “Petersburg Judaica”
has organized a number of concerts, public lectures, and literary events in
the European University. By this means, EUSP has become an important place
on the “Jewish map” of St. Petersburg. 

Presently the classroom and the office of “Petersburg Judaica” are sealed
off: not only is the Center prevented from teaching classes, it cannot
prepare new exhibitions or conduct research work. 

One of “Petersburg Judaica”’s upcoming events in 2008 was to be the
international conference “In Search of Jewish History,” dedicated to the
100th anniversary of the Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Society. Among
the organizers of the conference are the International Center for Russian
and East European Jewish Studies (Moscow) and other research institutions.
The history of this Society is closely associated with the names of such
outstanding personalities in Jewish scholarship as S. Dubnov, M. Vinaver, S.
Tsinberg, A. Harkavy, S. An-sky, etc. This conference was supposed to take
place in the European University. As is known, the Jewish Historical and
Ethnographic Society, which was the most important center of Jewish Studies
in Russia and in the world as a whole, was closed in 1929 on the order of
the ruling power. While the Interdepartmental Center “Petersburg Judaica,”
considers itself an heir to this Society, it does not, nevertheless, wish to
share its fate. 

We ask everybody who is not indifferent to the future of Jewish education
and culture to help the European University to resume its activity. To make
this possible, the present-day hazardous situation should become a matter of
wide-range open public discussion. We hope that the information about the
current situation at the European University will appear in newspapers,
including Jewish ones. We hope that public discussion and response will
encourage Russian authorities to pay attention to the current difficulties
of the University and to take the necessary measures to resolve the problem.
To help the European University and “Petersburg Judaica” Center one can,
among other things, send letters to the addresses listed at the end of this
letter (through regular mail or fax). 

>From the Research fellows, professors, graduates and students of the
Interdepartmental Center “Petersburg Judaica,” European University at
St.Petersburg. 

 
S. Amosova
M. Bendent			 
M. Bruk 				 
Prof. V. Dymshits 
A. Emirova 
N. Evseenko 
V. Fedchenko 
O. Gabe	O. Minkina 
D. Gidon				
A. Ivanov 
Prof. V. Kel’ner 	
Prof. M. Khakkarainen 
Prof. A. Kushkova 
Prof. A. Lvov 
S. Nikolaeva 
O. Shaiduk 
Prof. A. Sokolova 
Ya. Voitenko 	
S. Yampolskaya
 
		 

SANKT-PETERSBURG GOVERNOR 
V.I. MATVIENKO 
FAX (812) 576-76-41 
E-mail: ukog at gov.spb.ru 
ADDRESS: 191060, SANKT-PETERSBURG, SMOLNY 

MINISTER OF EDUCATION OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION 
A.A. FURSENKO
FAX +7 (495) 629-0891
ADDRESS: 125993, MOSCOW, GSP-3, TVERSKAIA, 11 

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