On
October 12 many people gathered in the Library Literature Club of the
Republican Jewish Library. Guests were listening to Irena Krichevskaya's
story about Jewish women in the Kremlin. An incitement to the discussion
was the edition of Larissa Vassilyeva's book "Kremlin Wives".
In early XX century many Jewish girls took part in the revolution,
went underground or were exiled. They worked together with Russian men
and made families with them. As a result by 1917 many revolutionary leaders
were married to Jewish girls.
A special attention in Irena's story was given to the wife
of marshal Klim Voroshilov - Ekaterina Davidovna (Golda Gopner
from Mardarovka settlement), the wife of Lazar Kaganovich -
Mariya Markovna, and one of the most prominent women in Kremlin -
Polina Zhemtchuzhnaya, the wife of Vyacheslav Molotov.
Larissa Vassilyeva believes that all Kremlin women irrespective
of their ethnicity were hostages of men's power. Being a daughter of a
famous tank designer, Larissa knows Kremlin life not only from one-sided
newspaper articles. She visited the Kremlin after the war and talked to
many of its people.
"Kremlin Wives" is a solid reasonable documentary
publicistic research. The author's main idea is that Kremlin women could
not possibly become real co-rulers in the men's world.
The guests' vivid interest proved that we chose a right topic
for discussion. Kremlin wives are one of the most alluring mysteries of
the XX century. Jewish women in Kremlin are the most mysterious mystery.
But in spite of many years of equivocal silence, courageous daughters
of the Jewish people are with us again. The community reveres their memory.
Eugenia Karyakina
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