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Euroasian Jewish News
EAJC Secretary General, Professor Michael Chlenov, FJNCA Director General Evgenia Mihaileva, and RSUH Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies Director, demographer Mark Kupovetsky
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EAJC Secretary General Participates in Population Census Press Conference
18.10.2010 On the 18th of October, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Secretary General, Professor Michael Chlenov, took part in the RIANovosti Press Conference. The topic of the conference was "Are Jews the disappearing ethnicity of Russia? What will the all-Russian population census Show?" Professor Chlenov was there in his official capacity as the Vice President of the Federal Jewish National Cultural Autonomy (FJNCA). The FNJCA is a leading EAJC partner in Russia, and EAJC President Alexander Mashkevich leads the FJNCA Board of Guardians. FJNCA Director General Evgenia Mihaileva and the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies Director, demographer Mark Kupovetsky also participated in the press conference.
The topic of the press conference was brought forward by the fact that according to the official data, the Jewish population of Russia has been decreasing. According to the 1989 census, approximately 600 thousand Jews had lived in Russia then, while the 2002 census showed a mere 230 thousand. The numbers beg the question: will the pessimistic prognosis of the demographers – that the 2010 census will allow the Jews to be called "the disappearing ethnos of Russia" – come true? This question drew significant interest of the press. Quite a few journalists came to hear the answer, including agents from Interfax, Reuters, and France-Presse. Mark Kupovetsky made a prognosis that the Jewish community will fall to 200 thousand, give or take ten percent. And these ten perccent will show how many Jews are not afraid to call themselves Jewish.
All of the participants of the press conference agreed with the opinion of the EAJC Secretary General that, despite a dramatic drop in numbers, the Jewish community of Russia remains one of the largest in the world, and continues to play a significant role in the world Jewish diaspora.
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