ABSTRACT
Soviet Jews are known to have strongly identified with the USSR, the policies of the CPSU and communist ideology. Since 1985 four factors, which have emerged against the backdrop of the new political and economic situation, have changed the conditions of Jewish life. The first factor is the upsurge of anti-Jewish activity: the accusation of the 'national-patriots' that the Jews aided and abetted the Bolsheviks; in exploitation of the 'Jewish card' in the struggle against the democratic movement in the CIS; in increasing anti-Jewish propaganda in the press; and in anti-Jewish slogans displayed at mass demonstrations. The second factor is the normalization of relations between the CIS member-states and Israel: the declarations by the governments of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus of their commitment to their Jewish populations; promulgation of the Entry and Exit Law providing for unobstructed emigration; and the massive emigration of Jews in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The third factor is the impact of marketoriented economic reforms: the dramatic slackening of centralized state regulation, greater economic freedom for industry, and the emergence of the private sector. The final factor is political instability.
