Jews in modern Russia continue to be one of the largest ethnic groups, although they are poorly represented within their national-territorial formation ( Jewish Autonomous Region ). Russian Jews have a long and complex history , closely intertwined with the Jewish diasporas of other countries ( Ukraine , Poland and others). As a result of mass emigration to Israel , the United States and other countries during the economic difficulties of the late XX century, the number of Jews in Russia decreased from 570.5 thousand in the 1989 census to 233.6 thousand in the 2002 census and to 157.8 thousand. according to the 2010 census [1] . Moreover, it is estimated that up to 20 thousand people did not indicate their belonging to Jewish nationality. In addition, there is a partial assimilation of Jews in the Russian-speaking environment. Most Jews in Russia are classified by origin as Ashkenazi , although in the XX century the majority switched to Russian . Mountain Jews are also present in Russia. And yet, despite a sharp decline in the number of Jews, Russia continues to be a country with the largest Jewish population in the CIS .
Current Trends
The number of Jews in Russia during the post-Soviet period decreased by 2/3 (from more than half a million to 230 thousand) due to emigration and demographic aging, which is a record among all the peoples of Russia [2] . At present, the Jewish population of Russia is experiencing a period of demographic decline and collapse like the rest of the countries of the former USSR [3] . According to the forecast of the American Jewish Committee , made in 2000, after 30 years, 23 thousand Jews will remain in Russia, after 50 years - 2-3 thousand, and after 80 years the Jewish community will completely disappear [4] . Between 1989 and 2010, the number of Jews in Russia decreased from 570.5 thousand to 157.8 thousand ( Demoscope Weekly data indicate 200 thousand Jews in 2010) [5] .
By the beginning of the 21st century, the rather pessimistic demographic situation among Russian Jews had improved: there was a return flow from Israel, and the fertility of Russian Jews was also growing continuously (1979-2015) [6] , although the birth rate in the Jewish environment continues to be the lowest of all nations Of Russia. It is interesting that provincial Russian Jewry is relatively young (according to the 2010 census, the proportion of people aged 65 years and older among provincial Jews was 38%) due to the lower intensity of outflows abroad compared to capital Jewry. The proportion of people aged 65 years and older, by contrast, is maximum (46%) among St. Petersburg Jews . It is curious that thanks to the influx of Mountain Jews and other non-Tashkent groups, Moscow Jewry has been significantly rejuvenated in recent years, and the proportion of Moscow Jews under the age of 15 has reached (6.3%), while in St. Petersburg it is almost half (3.4%) [7] .
Subethnic groups
Most Russian Jews belong to the Ashkenazi (European) group and have Russian as their mother tongue. However, in Dagestan and in large cities there are also Mountain Jews [7] , Taty close to them, as well as Georgian Jews . In Crimea, small communities of Karaites and Krymchaks are preserved.
Notes
- ↑ The number of Jews is declining, the resettlement is changing
- ↑ Valery Tishkov, Valery Stepanov. Russian census in the ethnic dimension // Demoscope Weekly . - April 19 - May 2, 2004. - No. 155-156 .
- ↑ Mark Toltz. The Post-Soviet Jewish Diaspora: Recent Estimates. The new geography of former Soviet Jewry . - Demoscope Weekly , February 6-19 , 2012. - No. 497-498 .
- ↑ After a hundred years, not a single Jew will remain in Russia
- ↑ Mark Toltz. Jews in the post-Soviet space: new demographic data . - Demoscope Weekly , August 22 - September 4, 2016. - No. 693–694 .
- ↑ Interethnic differences in fertility in Russia: long-term trends
- ↑ 1 2 Rapid aging continues, but there is an exception - Azerbaijan