Anna Narinskaya

Journalist and curator Anna Narinskaya is preparing her second non-fiction book at the intersection of cultural studies and memoirs. The project explores the dual identity of post-war Soviet Jews in the 1960s–80s, balancing their loyalty to "Jewishness" and their devotion to Russian culture. Soviet Jews, marked as such in passports, faced state-sponsored antisemitism. Narinskaya’s father, poet Anatoly Naiman, born in 1936, embraced his Jewish identity despite the challenges it posed. Anatoly Naiman's case is representative of Soviet Jewish intelligentsia, characterized by a simultaneous commitment to Jewish heritage and deep involvement in Russian culture. Despite converting to Orthodox Christianity in 1973, he remained an advocate of Russian culture, even when it displayed antisemitism. The author intends to define this "dual identity" through intellectual practices, particularly the study and assimilation of Russian literature, which provided a means of self-identification and assimilation for Soviet Jews. The subject is personally relevant due to Narinskaya's recent exile from Russia, where Putin's regime manipulates Russian culture for aggressive purposes. The project builds upon existing research, including interviews with Anatoly Naiman, and connecting personal history with sociocultural analysis.

This Fellowship is part of the Progressive Int. Initiative.