Introduction

There is an institutionalized tradition in the related historiography which states the existence of a systemic antisemitism in the Soviet Union, and later on in other Communist states. When The Internationale was replaced with the new Soviet anthem written in 1944, it was the final step of a two decade-long process that turned the originally revolutionary, and, significantly, international regime into an inter-national empire claiming its place under the sun in a new world order. Hannah Arendt’s impact on the formation of the concept on the allegedly systemic Soviet (Communist) antisemitism can hardly be overestimated. But in fact, in an inter-ethnic empire, ascendant Soviet Jewish nationalism, and the newly raised issue of the “Jewish question” could have been only two out of many national issues. Hannah Arendt’s impact on the formation of the concept on the allegedly systemic Soviet (Communist) antisemitism can hardly be overestimated.