The Jewish role in the Russian Revolution of 1917 is a topic that often stirs controversy and is frequently overlooked by modern historians. Some historians ignore Jewish involvement entirely, while others swing to the opposite extreme, portraying Bolshevism as a Jewish conspiracy for world domination. In this article, I aim to demonstrate that Russian Jews indeed played a crucial role in the revolution—an undeniable fact that shouldn’t be controversial. However, I will also argue that their involvement was neither sinister nor conspiratorial. Instead, Jewish revolutionaries were driven by a genuine desire for equality and emancipation in a deeply unequal Tsarist Russia, as I shall show. Thus, the claim that Jews dominated the early Soviet regime and revolution should not be viewed as anti-semitic; rather, it is a testament to the remarkable achievements of Russian Jewry given the context they lived.
Early Revolutionary Activities and Jewish Involvement
Before the revolution of 1917, Jewish involvement in revolutionary activities was already significant. This involvement resulted from the harsh socio-political conditions faced by Jews in Tsarist Russia, including widespread anti-Semitism, severe restrictions, and violent pogroms: Jews for instance were forced to live in the “Pale of Settlement” and denied access to key cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg. These oppressive conditions drove many Jews towards radical ideologies that promised equality, emancipation and opportunity. Vladimir Lenin himself, in a lecture on the 1905 revolution delivered in Zurich, acknowledged the considerable participation of Jews, stating, "the Jews provided a particularly high percentage (compared with the total Jewish population) of leaders of the revolutionary movement".1 This strong involvement was motivated by a profound desire for change among Jews, who faced severe restrictions under Tsarist rule, including limited access to education and professional careers.
The Encyclopedia Judaica (an authoritative Jewish Encyclopedia) elaborates on this point, noting, "The Communist movement and ideology played an important part in Jewish life, particularly in the 1920s, 1930s, and during and after World War II… [And] Individual Jews played an important role in the early stages of Bolshevism and the Soviet regime". The brutal actions of the White Army during the Russian Civil War, targeting Jews with pogroms, further pushed Jewish youth into the ranks of the Bolshevik regime. The Encyclopedia Judaica comments, "[White Army pogroms] drove the bulk of Russian Jewish youth into the ranks of the Bolshevik regime". This historical context of oppression, combined with the Bolsheviks' promise of an egalitarian society, created a powerful incentive for Jewish participation in the revolutionary cause. It it for this reason that Jewish involvement in the Bolshevik Revolution should not be seen as a pernicious Jewish plot to dominate the world, but rather as a noble effort by Jews to gain equality and liberty. Can you blame Jews for seeking equality?
Jewish Prominence in the Bolshevik Leadership
Jewish involvement in the early Soviet government has been known to be very significant. Russian President Vladimir Putin once remarked that the first Soviet government was predominantly Jewish, with “80-85 percent” of its members being Jewish (Times of Israel, 2013).2 Similarly, Winston Churchill, in his 1920 article "Zionism versus Bolshevism," emphasized the prominent role played by Jews in the Bolshevik leadership. He wrote, "There is no need to exaggerate the part played in the creation of Bolshevism and in the actual bringing about of the Russian Revolution by these international and for the most part atheistical Jews. It is certainly a very great one; it probably outweighs all others. With the notable exception of Lenin, the majority of the leading figures are Jews…In the Soviet institutions the predominance of Jews is even more astonishing".3
The Encyclopaedia Judaica provides further details on the Jewish composition of key Bolshevik bodies. For example, the Politburo - the highest organ of the government - elected on October 23, 1917, included four Jews among its seven members: Leon Trotsky, Lev Kamenev, Grigory Zinoviev, and Yakov Sverdlov.4 The Military Revolutionary Committee, responsible for preparing the coup, was led by Trotsky and included two Jews among its five members: Moisei Uritsky and Adolph Joffe. These influential positions highlight the significant level of Jewish involvement in the Bolshevik leadership.5
Jewish figures such as Leon Trotsky, Yakov Sverdlov, and Grigory Zinoviev were central to the Bolshevik revolution. Trotsky, as the architect of the Red Army, was crucial to the military success of the Bolsheviks. Sverdlov, as the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, played a key role in consolidating the Bolshevik regime administratively. According to the Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, "Half of the top contenders in the Central Committee of the Communist Party to take power after Lenin’s health declined in 1922 – Lev Kamenev, Trotsky and Zinoviev – were Jewish. Yakov Sverdlov, the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee from November 1917 to his death in 1919, was Jewish".6 These individuals were not just participants but pivotal figures shaping the early Soviet state.
The Jerusalem Post also notes the prominence of Jews in the revolutionary leadership, observing that "as Lenin lay dying, Jews occupied many leading positions, though they made up only a small percentage of the country’s population… Almost all the Mensheviks were Jews. Even among the Bolsheviks, there were many Jews among the leaders".7 Antti Hackzell, the Finnish charge d'affaires to the USSR and a future Prime Minister, provided one of the early observations about Jewish involvement in the Soviet apparatus. Hackzell, who worked closely with the Soviet Union, asserted that "Jews controlled the state spying and terror apparatus" in the 1920s.8
The Jerusalem Post also highlights that many of Lenin's deputies were Jews, such as “Lev Kamenev (originally Rozenfeld) and Grigory Zinoviev (born Hirsch Apfelbaum) and his treasurer Grigori Sokolnikov (Girsh Yankelevich Brilliant) were all Jews, as were Karl Radek (Sobelsohn), co-writer of the Soviet Constitution, Maxim Litvinov (Meir Henoch Wallach-Finkelstein), foreign minister of the USSR until his removal so Stalin could pact with Hitler.”9
The Times of Israel reports that Jews also played a crucial role in Stalin's terror apparatus. "A lot of people do not realize that there were Jews in Stalin’s secret police," said Brent, an expert on the subject. He added, "This is something that really needs to be talked about. Some of these individuals had fathers who were rabbis in the shtetls." Genrikh Yagoda, the NKVD chief, was Jewish, and Isaac Steinberg, the first minister of justice in Soviet Russia, was a religious Jew. The arrest of renowned Jewish author Isaac Babel was orchestrated by a Jew. Brent remarked, "Everybody [in Stalin’s Russia] was a victim and a victimizer. This is a hard thing for the Jews to understand. They can’t stand the idea of being more than innocent victims".10
The perception of Jews as central to the Bolshevik Revolution was widespread. Newspapers around the world often portrayed Jews as the architects of the revolution, especially given their significant representation in the Petrograd Soviet Bureau and the Bolshevik Central Committee. Historical records indicate that "almost half of the members of the Petrograd Soviet Bureau in April 1917 were Jews." By October, "five out of the twelve members of the Bolshevik Central Committee were Jews".11
“Bolshevism without a mask”. A German propaganda poster depicting Bolshevism as a Jewish conspiracy in disguise
Jewish revolutionaries were not only prominent in Russia but also played significant roles in other countries. Rosa Luxemburg led a failed revolution in Germany in 1919 before being "caught, clubbed, shot dead and dumped in a canal." Bela Kun, originally Kohn, led a short-lived communist coup in Hungary, and Ana Pauker, initially a Hebrew teacher named Hannah Rabinsohn, "effectively ran the country for Stalin" in Romania. In Czechoslovakia, Rudolf Slansky was a powerful figure before his public trial and execution, and in Poland, Hilary Minc and Jakub Berman were instrumental in the country's transition to communism. The Jerusalem Post concludes, "The revolution, in short, was so crowded with Jews that one had to wonder whether ‘the Jews’ were inherently revolutionary".12
Financial Backing of the Revolution
The financing of the Bolshevik Revolution has also been a topic of significant interest. Various sources, including the Heritage History, suggest that Jewish financiers, particularly from the United States and Germany, played a significant role in funding the revolution. The New York Journal-American reported that Jacob Schiff, an American Jewish banker, invested millions in support of the Bolsheviks. According to the report, "Today it is estimated by Jacob's grandson, John Schiff, that the old man [Jacob Schiff] sank about 20,000,000 dollars [equivalent to 634 million USD today] for the final triumph of Bolshevism in Russia".13
These financial contributions were not limited to Schiff. German banker Max Warburg and other international financiers reportedly supported Bolshevik leaders like Trotsky. General Alexander Nechvolodov and White Russian General Arsene de Goulevitch also corroborated the involvement of Jewish financiers in the revolution, indicating a complex network of international support that facilitated the Bolshevik victory. General Nechvolodov wrote, "In April 1917, Jacob Schiff [American Jew] publicly declared that it was thanks to his financial support that the revolution in Russia had succeeded…In the spring of the same year, Schiff commenced to subsidize Trotsky... Simultaneously Trotsky and Co. were also being subsidized by Max Warburg and Olaf Aschberg of the Nye Banken of Stockholm”.14
This financial support has led to speculation about the broader motivations behind such contributions. According to Forbes, "Schiff spent millions to overthrow the Czar and more millions to overthrow Kerensky. He was sending money to Russia long after the true character of the Bolsheviks was known to the world. Schiff raised $10 million, supposedly for Jewish war relief in Russia, but later events revealed it to be a good business investment".15 The involvement of international Jewish financiers has thus been both praised as support for revolutionary ideals and criticized as part of a broader conspiracy.
Conclusion
The involvement of Jews in the Russian Revolution and early Soviet government illustrates a multifaceted historical narrative. Jews played significant roles, from leadership positions in the Bolshevik movement to being active participants in revolutionary activities, driven by a desire for change and emancipation from oppressive Tsarist laws. This role has contributed to anti-semitic conspiracy theories which lay on Jews to this day, which is a gross mis-understanding of the true motivations of many Russian Jews - a desire for reform.
‘Trotsky And the Jews’ by Joseph Nedava [published in The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1971]
https://www.timesofisrael.com/putin-first-soviet-government-was-mostly-jewish/amp/
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-06-20/ty-article/1st-soviet-govt-was-80-jewish-says-putin/0000017f-ed86-d639-af7f-edd7977a0000
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zionism_versus_Bolshevism
https://jewishcurrents.org/churchill-and-the-jews
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union#Early_years:_1919%E2%80%931934
Encyclopedia Judaica http://www.jevzajcg.me/enciklopedia/Encyclopaedia%20Judaica,%20v.%2004%20(Blu-Cof).pdf
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/was-the-russian-revolution-jewish-514323#google_vignette
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/was-the-russian-revolution-jewish-514323#google_vignette
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Bolshevism
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/was-the-russian-revolution-jewish-514323#google_vignette
https://www.timesofisrael.com/100-years-on-international-conferences-debate-jewish-role-in-russian-revolution/amp/
https://discover.hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/The-role-of-Jews-in-the-1917-Russian-revolution
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/was-the-russian-revolution-jewish-514323#google_vignette
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=allen&book=none&story=bankroll
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=allen&book=none&story=bankroll
Forbes’ “Men who are making America”. Pages 334-5 https://ia802709.us.archive.org/11/items/menwhoaremakinga00for/menwhoaremakinga00for.pdf Pages 334-5
A very interesting article Andrew. The most surprising fact is the major financial contribution made by some wealthy American Jews to the Bolshevik cause. Exactly what was motivating that is not immediately apparent to me - it seems a very strange marriage between capitalists and communists, even if they share a religious/ethnic identity with many members of the Bolshevik revolution. It could be worth drilling further on that.