ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the construction of the ethnic identity of several different generations of Leningrad Jews, as a microcosm of the changes that have taken place in Russian society in terms of the private/public division of social life. It represents a response to the debate in Russian sociology about the 'borrowing' and applying of Western concepts and theoretical models in studies of Russian (Soviet) society. The chapter argues that the usefulness of (Western) sociological models and concepts for Russian studies can only be tested empirically. The public/private distinction in the Soviet Union involved a rigid boundary. The reforms that commenced in the second half of the 1980s resulted in the gradual attenuation of the Soviet private-public sphere. Ethnic discourse underwent crucial change. Awareness and discussion of ethnicity passed from the private-public sphere into the public as restrictions on the content of public discussion disappeared completely.
