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Frontiers of Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms in Revolutionary Ukraine, Belarus, and Western Russia, 1918–1922
Swedish Defence University.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesisAlternative title
Våldets gränser : Antijudiska pogromer i det revolutionära Ukraina, Belarus och västra Ryssland, 1918–1922 (Swedish)
Abstract [en]

This thesis examines how identity constructions and group boundaries framed anti-Jewish violence on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and Western Russia between 1918 and 1922. It explores how group cohesion was formed through exclusionary practices, how symbolic labelling and physical violence worked together to define social boundaries, and how scarcity and institutional collapse restructured moral norms. The study finds that antisemitic violence was shaped less by ideological consistency than by pragmatic and performative responses to insecurity. Pogroms served as moments of group formation and functioned as rituals through which perpetrators asserted belonging and social dominance. By interpreting official reports and eyewitness accounts, this thesis shows how accusations—of Bolshevism, profiteering, or betrayal—provided moral cover for anti-Jewish violence that was both opportunistic and expressive. It also documents how some Jews attempted to evade persecution through identity concealment or reliance on community ties, and how others were rescued or betrayed by neighbours, which reflects the fluidity of group boundaries. This study contributes to war studies and genocide research by showing how identity was not only a background condition for violence, but an outcome shaped through it. It argues that violence should be understood as both a product of structural collapse and a tool for reordering society—materially, morally, and symbolically.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 76
Keywords [en]
pogroms, ethnic violence, civil conflict, antisemitism, social identity, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, revolution, Jewish history
Keywords [sv]
pogromer, etniskt våld, inbördeskrig, antisemitism, social identitet, Ryssland, Ukraina, Belarus, revolution, judisk historia
National Category
History
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-13886OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-13886DiVA, id: diva2:1971566
Subject / course
Militärhistoria
Educational program
Masterprogram i krig, kultur och samhälle
Uppsok
Social and Behavioural Science, Law
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-06-18 Created: 2025-06-17 Last updated: 2025-09-29Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-cite-them-right
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
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  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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  • asciidoc
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