The Challenge of Glasnost:Ogonek'sHandling of Russian Antisemitism

Abstract

When antisemites call me a Jew, I never deny it. My feeling is that if Jews are persecuted in my country, then I too am a Jew. In fact, I am not Jewish. But as long as Jews are persecuted, I will never refuse to be a Jew.Vitalii Korotich, chief editor ofOgonekRevolutions devour their children; Nationalism eats its parents.Jack Gallagher, late Professor of Imperial History, Cambridge UniversityAmerican citizens have had over two hundred years to judge the differences between liberty and license, but for Russians freedom of expression is a new, heady, unsettling experience. Glasnost has not only permitted them to print liberal, democratic sentiments, but opened up a Pandora's Box of suppressed anger and frustration at what many Russians consider the systematic destruction of their culture during the Soviet period. An ugly side to this eruption of patriotic outrage has resulted in the public expression of violent hostility to the tiny fraction (less than 1%) of the Soviet population who are Jewish. It is in this context thatOgonek'ssophisticated handling of certain unsavory aspects of the Russian nationalist movement deserves special attention. Under the guidance of its chief editor, Vitalii Korotich, the weekly magazine has not limited its coverage to such neo-Nazi organizations as Pamyat (Memory) and “Otechestvo” (Fatherland), but focussed attention also on the important role in fomenting antisemitism being played by certain prominent members of an immensely important but little known organization, the Russian Republic Writers' Union.Ogonekhas handled both sources of antisemitism with the traditional weapons of democratic pluralism: exposure to public scrutiny, and deflation through satire and ridicule.