USSR

On this day: Communist Bulgaria downs El Al flight 402, killing all 58 people onboard

On this day in 1955, Bulgarian MiG fighters brought down El Al Flight 402, killing all 58 people aboard and setting off a Cold War dispute over responsibility and justice.

 El Al Flight 402 - The Lockheed Constellation registered as 4X-AKC, pictured here in 1950.
 FILE PHOTO: Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 2, 2022.

Protests shake Iran: The US must choose its next move wisely - opinion

SOVIET WRITER-JOURNALIST Ilya Ehrenburg with Soviet soldiers, 1942. His daughter found a copy of the manuscript or ‘black book’ in her father’s archive in 1967. ‘The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry’ was published in Kiev in 1991.

Roots of the Holocaust: Fascist barbarism and vicious 1920s anti-Bolshevik propaganda - book review

 NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV (R) and Leonid Brezhnev wave from Lenin’s Tomb in Moscow after announcing that Khrushchev was resigning as first secretary of the Communist Party and Brezhnev was taking over the role, 1964.

The enigma of Nikita Khrushchev: Unravelling the Soviet leader's views on Israel, Zionism


Jerusalem art exhibit showcases 2 top Russian-born Israeli artists

Both artists were under threat from the Soviet government at the time in their Jewish subject matter and the fact that their art did not conform to the official art of the day – Social Realism.

 Yosef Ostrovsky’s ‘Jewish cycle’ series includes portraits of Jewish musicians of the shtetl, craftsmen and sages – and topical paintings based on motifs of the Torah and Tanach.

Jerusalem Highlights October 21-27

What's new to do in Israel's capital?

 ‘CUPBOARD’ BY Sveta Dorosheva; see at 'Baggage' opening, Oct. 27.

Simhat Torah: Russian-Jewish stories about the holiday - excerpt

Rabbi Jonathan Porath didn’t make countless trips to Russia. He counted them – 175 trips from 1965 through 2019. The following is an excerpt from his book centered primarily on Simhat Torah.

 ANNOUNCEMENT OF ‘Hanukkah in Siberia’ winter festival in Tumen, Siberia, December 1995.

How to stay Jewish thanks to Zionism

Only after the Six Day War in 1967 did I become a proud Zionist. And through Zionism, I discovered the power of Jewish history, culture and tradition, and later in prison, religion. 

 PRISONER OF Zion Natan Sharansky with his mother after his release from the Soviet Union. He landed in Israel on February 11, 1986.

'Putin': Understanding the rise, mind, mentality of Russia's leader - review

This excellent book goes a long way toward understanding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s worldview and goes goes a long way toward helping the reader understand the Moscow regime.

 RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last month.

'A Visit to Moscow': An otherworldly story of escaping antisemitism - review

In A Visit to Moscow, Yevgenia Nayberg’s drawings create a striking backdrop to Olswanger’s text. Her palette changes according to the story, adding to the effect of the words.

 CLEANING A vandalized tomb reading ‘Death to Jews!’ at a Jewish cemetery near Moscow, 1998. The book describes experiencing and escaping antisemitism during the Soviet Union era.

A eulogy to a freedom fighter - opinion

Yury Pavlovich Fedorov spent nearly two decades in Soviet labor camps, for defending the right of Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel – except he wasn’t even Jewish.

 Yury Fedorov: ‘In the Soviet Union, once you were a dissident, you were always a dissident.’

Ukraine War: Help Putin save face, recognize Russian WW2 victory - opinion

Perhaps the solution to peace, or at least a key part of it, means finally publicly accepting the reality of how the war against Germany was won.

 WHEN THE Soviet Union dissolved, Vladimir Putin called it ‘the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.’

What nuclear weapons does Russia have in its arsenal? - explainer

Russia is estimated to have around 6,000 nuclear weapons in its possession, and Putin is threatening to use them. But what exactly are these weapons, and what can all of them do?

 Visitors look at a Soviet-era SS-18 SATAN intercontinental ballistic missile at the Strategic Missile Forces museum near Pervomaysk, some 300 km (186 miles) south of Kyiv, August 22, 2011

Letters to the Editor September 12, 2022: The chaos of fighting terrorists

Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.

 Letters