The Image of America on the Pages of the Russian-Jewish Journal Voskhod (1881-1906) By Anastasiia Strakhova Submitted to Central European University Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Supervisor: Carsten Wilke Second Reader: Michael Miller CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2013 Statement of Copyright Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. CEU eTD Collection i Abstract The Russian-Jewish press signalized attempts of the Jewish elites to come closer to the Russian people, which was also in the agenda of the monthly Voskhod [The Sunrise] (1881-1906) when it started to be published. Voskhod was destined to become a sort of paradigmatic example in studying the Jewish publishing in Russia. The language of publications and comparatively high price for the subscription determined the elitist status of Voskhod‟s readership. Its editors, first Adolf Landau (1881-1899) and then Maxim Syrkin (1899-1906), managed to fight harsh censorship and “save” Voskhod, when other Jewish periodicals in Russian were shut down. Being the only Jewish paper in Russian for fifteen years (1885-1899) Voskhod had to accommodate the majority of existing among Jewish intelligentsia views. The aim of the present thesis is to study the image of America portrayed on the pages of the monthly Voskhod (1881-1906) and to examine attitudes towards emigration to America presented there. Studying relevant articles I reached the conclusion that it presented rather practical and opportunistic view on emigration, neither explicitly opposing it nor encouraging resettlement. This view challenges previous works, where authors associated assimilationist theories of Landau with the paper itself. CEU eTD Collection ii Acknowledgements I am devoting this thesis to my mother and grandfather. Without their support I would not be able to come here to study. I would really like to thank my supervisor Carsten Wilke, second reader Michael L. Miller and academic writing instructor Robin Bellers. This thesis is not only my brainchild but the product of their guidance. Without their help I would not be able to accomplish such multilayered research. I am also very grateful to Alfred Rieber for his suggestions, which helped to shape my topic as it is now. I also want to thank the Jewish Studies project for providing me with the research travel grant enabling me to go to Saint Petersburg and work with the archival materials. Without this trip my thesis would be thirty pages shorter. I would like to say thank you to my wonderful neighbor Yuliya Pleshakova for waking me up every time I was afraid to be late for classes. Also I am grateful to my dear friends Daria Pus, Daniel Hartmann and Olga Petrova. I would go crazy if I would not be able to complain to you every time I thought that I might not finish my thesis on time. And thank you, my exceptional friends-historians, who graduated last year. You made my first year at CEU an unforgettable experience. I am grateful to the History Department for accepting me for two years of the Master‟s program and not just one. This time allowed me to develop my topic sufficiently, that by the end I really fell in love with it. I want to say many thanks to the program coordinator Aniko Molnar. You taught me how to be cheerful no matter what and became CEU eTD Collection real mother to all of us. One page is not enough to name all people whom I want to thank. So, I would like to express gratitude to all people who were with me during these two years. You shaped my personality and made me a better person one way or another. iii Table of Contents Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... 11 1.1. Diaspora Studies, Transnationalism and America as a „Thirdspace‟......................... 11 1.2. Press as an Archive ................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 2: Voskhod, the Lonely Herald of the Russian-Jewish Intelligentsia, and Its American Correspondents .................................................................................................. 24 2.1. Jewish Community in the Capital City of Saint Petersburg ...................................... 24 2.2. History of Voskhod and Its Readership .................................................................... 26 2.3. The Personalities of the Authors Writing about America ......................................... 35 Chapter 3: Image of America I: Adolf Landau Presents a Wide Range of Opinions, 1881- 1899 .................................................................................................................................. 40 3.1. A Double Disillusion: Neither Russia, Nor America Treats Jews as Equals, 1881- 1891............................................................................................................................... 42 3.1.1. False Hopes for Emancipation in the Russian Empire Drive Poor Jews to America ..................................................................................................................... 42 3.1.2. The Second Disappointment: the Way to America and the First Encounter with the New Country ........................................................................................................ 45 3.1.3. Adjustment to the New Conditions of Life and Polemics against the Charitable Organizations ............................................................................................................ 47 3.1.4. Attempts to Draw the Conclusions from the Emigration Experience ................. 51 3.2. Self-Censorship and the Attempts to Draw a Realistic Image of America, 1891-1899 ...................................................................................................................................... 52 3.2.1. On the way to America ..................................................................................... 53 3.2.2. The Jewish Ghetto in New York ........................................................................ 54 3.2.3. Streets of the Ghetto and its Dwellers ............................................................... 57 3.2.4. Decline in the Religious Observance ................................................................ 58 3.2.5. The Ability to Work and Succeed ...................................................................... 60 3.2.6. Emigrant Culture.............................................................................................. 63 3.2.7. Polemics about the Question if Emigration Should Continue ............................ 65 Chapter 4: Image of America II: Maxim Syrkin and the Praise of Emigration, 1899-1906 . 70 4.1. Reasons for Emigration: Drawing Conclusions........................................................ 71 4.2. The New York Cityscape and Its Economy ............................................................. 72 CEU eTD Collection 4.3. Overcrowding in New York as Necessary Evils ...................................................... 76 4.4. The Potential of Jews to Become Agricultural Workers ........................................... 78 4.5. The Role of the Jewish Intelligentsia ....................................................................... 79 4.6. Heterogeneity of the Jewish Population in America ................................................. 81 4.7. Nostalgic Feelings for Russia .................................................................................. 85 4.8. There Are No Real Obstacles for Emigration: America Opens Its Door Wide ......... 87 iv 4.9. The Poor as the Better Candidates for Emigration than the Rich .............................. 90 Chapter 5: Voskhod‟s Complicated „Romance‟ with Censorship: Emigration as one of the Safest Topics to Write about .............................................................................................. 94 5.1. The period of Trials and Errors: Adolf Landau Tests the Ground of the Relations with Censorship ..................................................................................................................... 97 5.2. The Period of a Relatively Peaceful Existence: Landau Learns how to Avoid the Censorship Attacks ...................................................................................................... 107 5.3. New People, Old Problems: Voskhod and Censorship after Landau‟s Resignation . 115 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 128 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 133 CEU eTD Collection v Introduction Since the Babylonian exile and until the creation of the State of Israel, throughout their long history, Jews were people on the move, migrants, who transcended cultural boundaries and opened a transnational space. Since their large scale immigration to the New