The Rise of Ilya Yegudin: An Exemplary Jew in Soviet Agriculture

Abstract

ABSTRACT As opposed to the close attention accorded to various aspects of Jewish emigration from the USSR, there has been remarkably little scholarly analysis of Jews who felt comfortable, congenial, and secure in Soviet society. In reality, thousands of Jews belonged to the elite of a local, regional, or national level, or even played some roles at all the levels. In Crimea, the collective farm chairman Ilya Yegudin was the most visible representative in a cohort of well-placed and well-connected Jews. Relying on literary and other sources, this article looks into Yegudin's story of social mobility throughout most of the Soviet period, against a backdrop of Jews’ agricultural involvement in Crimea.