The Paradox of Perestroika: Ethnic Turmoil and Anti‐Semitism

A specter is haunting Soviet society. The specter is the economic, cultural and political turmoil that a writer in the government newspaper Izvestiia likens to “a fever … that weakens perestroika … and deafens the leadership to the voices that cry out in alarm to prevent disorder and anarchy.” As democracy and diversity sweep through much of Eastern Europe, the Soviet behemoth is mired in ethnic upheavals and nationalist upsurges. Such is the nature of the troubles in this era of glasnost that extremist groups with names like Fidelity, Renewal, Fatherland and Memory, all xenophobic and ostensibly devoting themselves to the preservation of historic buildings, churches and monuments, combating drunkenness or reviving Russian folksinging, are waging a rearguard action, deploring Western‐style freedoms and advocating anti‐Semitism. The actions of these groups cause Soviet Jews to think about a modern exodus.