History of the Jews in Russia

The history of the Jews in Russia goes back to the beginnings of the Russian state. At one time, the Russian Empire had the largest number of Jews in the world. The Jewish communities there, mostly Ashkenazi Jewish people, helped shape many important traditions in Judaism.

These communities grew and thrived, but they also had difficult times. They faced unfair rules and were sometimes treated badly, including during violent events known as pogroms.

In recent years, Jewish life in Russia has renewed since the start of the 21st century. Even so, the number of Jews in Russia has decreased since the dissolution of the USSR, though it remains one of the largest groups in Europe.

Overview and background

The largest group of Russian Jews are Ashkenazi Jews, but the community also includes many others such as Mountain Jews, Sephardi Jews, Georgian Jews, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, and Bukharan Jews.

Jewish people have lived in Russia since the 7th to 14th centuries. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Jewish people in Kiev, now in Ukraine, lived in a special area. In 1471, Jewish people were first recorded in Muscovite Russia. From the 1700s, under Catherine II, Jewish people could only live in a specific area called the Pale of Settlement. In the 1880s, unfair treatments and violent events led many Jewish people to leave Russia, with over two million moving to the United States and Palestine between 1880 and 1920.

During World War I, the February and October Revolutions, and the Russian Civil War, unfair treatments happened. In the 1920s, the new government supported Jewish culture, creating Yiddish schools and newspapers. However, in the 1930s, strict rules were introduced, and many Jewish people faced hard times. During World War Two, many Jewish soldiers served bravely, and sadly, many Jewish people suffered during the Holocaust under Nazi rule. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, many Jewish people from the Soviet Union moved to countries like the United States, Israel, Germany, Canada, and Australia. Today, Russia still has a large Jewish community, and in 2012, a big museum about Jewish history opened in Moscow.

History

The history of the Jews in Russia goes back to the very start of the Russian state. At one time, the Russian Empire had the largest group of Jews in the world. In these areas, Jewish communities grew and created many traditions. However, they also had times with unfair rules and trouble.

In the early days, Jewish people lived near the northern coast of the Black Sea. Later, during the time of Kievan Rus', Jews lived in separate parts of cities like Kiev. Over time, many Jews moved to places that later became part of the Russian Empire.

During the Russian Empire, Jewish people faced many restrictions and unfair treatments. They had to live in certain areas and had limited rights. Even with these challenges, Jewish communities kept growing and adding to the culture and history of Russia.

Jewish emigration from Russia, 1880–1928
Destination	Number
Australia	5,000
Canada	70,000
Europe	240,000
Palestine	45,000
South Africa	45,000
South America	111,000
United States	1,749,000

Historical demographics

The Jewish population was one part of the overall population in several areas during different years. This includes groups such as Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Bukharan Jews, Krymchaks, and Tats.

Jewish population in each SSR and former SSR by year (using 1989 SSR borders)^[a]
SSR	1897	1926	1939	1959	1970	1979	1989	1999-2001	2009-2011	2019-2022
Russian SFSR/Russia	250,000	539,037	891,147	880,443	816,668	713,399	570,467	233,439	159,348	83,896
Ukrainian SSR/Ukraine	2,680,000	2,720,000	2,700,000^[c]	840,446	777,406	634,420	487,555	106,600	71,500	45,000
Byelorussian SSR/Belarus			690,000^[c]	150,090	148,027	135,539	112,031	24,300	12,926	13,705
Uzbek SSR/Uzbekistan		37,896	50,676	94,488	103,058	100,067	95,104	40,000	15,000	9,865
Azerbaijan SSR/Azerbaijan		59,768	41,245	46,091	49,057	44,345	41,072	8,916	9,084	9,500
Latvian SSR/Latvia		95,675^[b]	95,600	36,604	36,686	28,338	22,925	9,600	6,454	8,094
Kazakh SSR/Kazakhstan		3,548	19,240	28,085	27,676	23,601	20,104	6,823	3,578	2,500
Lithuanian SSR/Lithuania			263,000	24,683	23,566	14,703	12,398	4,007	3,050	2,256^[e]
Estonian SSR/Estonia			4,309	5,439	5,290	4,993	4,653	2,003	1,738	1,852
Moldavian SSR/Moldova			250,000	95,107	98,072	80,124	65,836	5,500	3,628	1,597^[d]
Georgian SSR/Georgia		30,389	42,300	51,582	55,382	28,298	24,795	2,333	2,000	1,405^[f]
Kirghiz SSR/Kyrgyzstan		318	1,895	8,607	7,677	6,836	6,005	1,571	604	433
Turkmen SSR/Turkmenistan		2,045	3,037	4,102	3,530	2,866	2,509	1,000	700	200
Armenian SSR/Armenia		335	512	1,042	1,049	962	747	109	127	150
Tajik SSR/Tajikistan		275	5,166	12,435	14,627	14,697	14,580	197	36	25
Soviet Union/Former Soviet Union	5,250,000	2,672,499	3,028,538	2,279,277	2,166,026	1,830,317	1,479,732	460,000	280,678	180,478

Historical Russian Jewish population
Year	Pop.	±%
1897	250,000	—
1926	539,037	+115.6%
1939	891,147	+65.3%
1959	880,443	−1.2%
1970	816,668	−7.2%
1979	713,399	−12.6%
1989	570,467	−20.0%
2002	233,439	−59.1%
2010	159,348	−31.7%
2021	83,896	−47.4%
Source: The Jewish population data includes Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Bukharan Jews (from Central Asia), Krymchaks (all per the 1959 Soviet census), and Tats.

Jewish population in each SSR and former SSR by year (using 1989 SSR borders) as a percent of the total population^[a]
SSR	% 1926	% 1939	% 1959	% 1970	% 1979	% 1989	% 2002	% 2010
Russian SFSR/Russia	0.58%	0.81%	0.75%	0.63%	0.52%	0.39%	0.18%	0.11%
Ukrainian SSR/Ukraine		6.55%^[c]	2.01%	1.65%	1.28%	0.95%	0.20%	0.16%
Byelorussian SSR/Belarus		6.55%^[c]	1.86%	1.64%	1.42%	1.10%	0.24%	0.14%
Moldavian SSR/Moldova		3.30%	2.75%	2.03%	1.52%	0.13%	0.11%	0.06%
Estonian SSR/Estonia		0.38%	0.45%	0.39%	0.34%	0.30%	0.14%	0.13%
Latvian SSR/Latvia	5.19%^[b]	4.79%	1.75%	1.55%	1.13%	0.86%	0.40%	0.31%
Lithuanian SSR/Lithuania		9.13%	0.91%	0.75%	0.43%	0.34%	0.10%	0.10%
Georgian SSR/Georgia	1.15%	1.19%	1.28%	1.18%	0.57%	0.46%	0.10%	0.08%
Armenian SSR/Armenia	0.04%	0.04%	0.06%	0.04%	0.03%	0.02%
Azerbaijan SSR/Azerbaijan	2.58%	1.29%	1.25%	0.96%	0.74%	0.58%	0.10%	0.10%
Turkmen SSR/Turkmenistan	0.20%	0.24%	0.27%	0.16%	0.10%	0.07%	0.01%
Uzbek SSR/Uzbekistan	0.80%	0.81%	1.17%	0.86%	0.65%	0.48%	0.02%	0.02%
Tajik SSR/Tajikistan	0.03%	0.35%	0.63%	0.50%	0.39%	0.29%
Kirghiz SSR/Kyrgyzstan	0.03%	0.13%	0.42%	0.26%	0.20%	0.14%	0.02%	0.01%
Kazakh SSR/Kazakhstan	0.06%	0.31%	0.30%	0.22%	0.16%	0.12%	0.03%	0.02%
Soviet Union/Former Soviet Union	1.80%	1.80%	1.09%	0.90%	0.70%	0.52%	0.16%	0.10%

Russian Jewish aliyah and immigration to countries outside Israel

Israel

Main articles: Russian Jews in Israel, Russian immigration to Israel in the 1970s, Russian immigration to Israel in the 1990s, and Jackson–Vanik amendment

Many Russian Jews now live in Israel. In 2011, about 15% of Israel’s people came from Russia. Most moved there in the 1990s. The number of babies born each year in Israel has grown, partly because of families who moved from Russia. Many Russian Jews in Israel practice their faith, while others follow different religions.

United States

The United States has many Russian Jews. About 350,000 Russian Jews live there, and with families, this number is around 700,000. Many famous people in the U.S. come from Russian Jewish families, such as writers, scientists, and actors.

Large Russian Jewish communities live in places like Brooklyn in New York City, areas near Philadelphia, and West Hollywood, California.

Germany

Germany has a large Russian Jewish community. About 119,000 Russian Jews live there, and with families, this number is around 250,000. Many moved to Germany between 1991 and 2006.

Canada

Canada is home to around 30,000 Russian Jews, with many living in cities like Montreal and Toronto.

Australia

In Australia, about 10,000 to 11,000 Jews came from the former Soviet Union. Many moved there in the 1970s and 1990s.

Finland

Since 1990, hundreds of Russian Jews have moved to Finland. This has helped grow the Jewish community there.

Other countries

Small groups of Russian Jews live in countries like Austria, Belgium, Britain, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Their presence has helped Jewish communities in these places grow.

Year	TFR
2000	1.544
1999	1.612
1998	1.632
1997	1.723
1996	1.743
1995	1.731
1994	1.756
1993	1.707
1992	1.604
1991	1.398
1990	1.390

Russian Prime Ministers of Jewish origin

Some leaders of Russia have been of Jewish background. These include Sergey Kiriyenko, who served as Prime Minister in 1998, Yevgeny Primakov from 1998 to 1999, Mikhail Fradkov from 2004 to 2007, and Mikhail Mishustin, who has been Prime Minister since 2020.