Jewish Odesa: Negotiating Identities and Traditions in Contemporary Ukraine - Paperback

by Marina Sapritsky-Nahum (Author)

Jewish Odesa: Negotiating Identities and Traditions in Contemporary Ukraine explores the rich Jewish history and contemporary Jewish life in Ukraine's port city of Odesa. Long considered both a uniquely cosmopolitan and Jewish place, Odesa's Jewish character has shifted as ethnic and cultural identities have dramatically changed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine.

Drawing on extensive field research, Marina Sapritsky-Nahum examines how the role of Russian language and culture, alongside lingering memories of the Soviet era, have been critically re-evaluated, leading to new forms of expression for Odesa's Jewish community within the broader Ukrainian national context.

Jewish Odesa reveals how a city once famous for its progressive and secular Jewish traditions has been shaped by migration and altered by competing projects of Jewish revival. Russia's war in Ukraine has further challenged Jewish communal life while simultaneously fostering a deeper sense of Ukrainian-Jewish belonging.

Author Biography

Marina Sapritsky-Nahum is a social anthropologist based in London, UK. She is Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London. She is also affiliated with the European Center for Jewish Music in Hannover, where she is currently conducting research on Ukrainian Jewish cultural heritage and writing more broadly about the effects of war on Jewish life in Ukraine.