This is the first issue of the new open access academic Judaic-Slavic Journal, dedicated to the study of the history and culture of East European Jews. A publication of

this kind in Russian has long been needed, given the present growth of academic

research in the fields of history, literature, arts, anthropology, and other related

disciplines in Europe, Israel, and North America. Tens of books and hundreds of

articles are published every year, and dissertations are defended in different languages. Despite the significant progress that has been made in recent years in the

field of academic Jewish studies in Russia, it is still considered a marginal field in

that country. The rich and diverse materials that have been accumulated by scholars

in Russia call for a methodological apparatus that goes beyond the framework of the

traditional descriptive positivist approach.

The goal of our publication is to foster the further development of Jewish studies in Russia within the contemporary scholarly mainstream and to support and

expand the dialogue between Russian scholars and their colleagues abroad. We encourage submissions that combine a thorough knowledge of primary sources with

interpretation using current analytical methods. We hope that our journal will be of

interest not only to specialists in Jewish studies but also to a broader community of

scholars in the humanities and social sciences in Russia and abroad.

Along with new research papers, which will make up the core content of the

journal, we will publish short articles, archival documents, reviews and reports about

academic events. We are planning to publish thematic blocks of articles prepared by

invited editors. All papers will undergo double-blind peer review by two reviewers

and will be accepted only after their approval. We are grateful to our colleagues from

Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Lithuania, Poland and the Unites States who

have agreed to join our Editorial Board, and we look forward to their active participation in the preparation of future issues.