The "Lost Neighbors": Contacts between Jewish and Belarusian Intellectuals in the in the Late Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries

The talk is devoted to the relations between Belarusian and Jewish intellectuals during the rise of the Belarusian national movement in the late 19th - early 20th century. The talk provides examples of the influence of Jews on the development of Belarusian national revival. The author analyzes materials published in Belarusian newspapers "Naša Dolya" (1906), "Naša Niva" (1906-1915) and "Krynitsa" (1917-1939). The author demonstrates how the newspapers condemned anti-Semitism and gave an objective picture of the legal and economic situation of Jews in Belarus and Lithuania. The author concludes that the leaders of the Belarusian national movement regarded the Jews as an integral part of the ethnic and cultural landscape of Belarus, and as allies in the political struggle.