Jews of the Caucasus: multiple entanglements and migration routes
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Abstract
This special section explores the experiences of cohabitation and transnational migration routes of Jews from the Caucasus through the lens of anthropology, sociology, and social history. Focusing on underrepresented Jewish groups from Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the North Caucasus (Russian Federation), it suggests an innovative view on Jewish studies, the study of the Caucasus and Post-Soviet migration studies. The contributions challenge dominant narratives that subsume diverse Jewish identities from Georgia, Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus under the label “Russian Jews” and instead foreground the multi-layered entanglements of Jewish life in and beyond the Caucasus – as locals, minorities, and migrants in multi-religious and multi-ethnic settings. The special section papers reveal how Soviet secularism, post-Soviet nationalism, and global Jewish discourses intersect with local memory, of living together, religious practice, and belonging. By situating Caucasus Jews in broader debates on diversity, migration, and coloniality, this section calls for a rethinking Jewish studies beyond the taken-for granted binary formulas of Ashkenazi/Mizrahi or European/Non European frameworks.
Topics
Main Topic: Other Mountain Jews Diaspora Diaspora Relations Russian-Speaking Jews Russian Emigration Aliyah Jewish Identity National Identity
Genre
Geographic Coverage
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Volume/Issue
24(2)
Page Number / Article Number
557-569
DOI
Link
Link to article including link to pdf, Jews of the Caucasus: multiple entanglements and migration routes
Bibliographic Information
Jews of the Caucasus: multiple entanglements and migration routes. 2025: 557-569. https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.1080/14725886.2025.2518673
