This List of Jews contains individuals who, in accordance with Wikipedia's verifiability and no original research policies, have been identified as Jews by reliable sources. The following is a list of Jews born in the territory of the former Russian Empire. It is geographically defined, so it also includes people born after the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1922 and its successor the Soviet Union in 1991.
A few years before the Holocaust, the Jewish population of the Soviet Union (excluding Western Ukraine and the Baltic states that were not part of the Soviet Union then) stood at over 5 million, most of whom were Ashkenazic as opposed to Sephardic, with some Karaite minorities. It is estimated that more than half died directly as a result of the Holocaust.
Politics and military
Politicians Georgy Arbatov, Soviet politician, academic and political advisor Aizik Aronchik, attempted to assassinate the Tsar Alexander IIAronchik, Aizik Borisovich on Brokhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia in 16 volumes, Moscow 1908-1913 Dimitri Bogrov, Soviet politician Anatoly Chubais, Deputy Prime Minister, now Chairman of UES Mikhail Fradkov, Russian Prime Minister (half-Jewish): "Russian Jew named prime minister … If approved, Fradkov would be the first identified Jew to serve as Russia's prime minister". Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine (2016–2019) Adolph Joffe, Bolshevik diplomatAlbert S. Lindemann. Esau's Tears: Modern Anti-Semitism and the Rise of the Jews, Cambridge University Press, 1997, (pbk), p.430 Lazar Kaganovich, First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union and one of the principal architects of the Ukrainian famine. Lev Kamenev, Bolshevik leader (Jewish father) Maxim Litvinov, Soviet ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs Julius Martov, Menshevik leader Mikhail Mishustin, incumbent Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, Deputy Prime Minister Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group private military company. Led a rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin (Jewish father) Yevgeny Primakov, Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. Karl Radek, Soviet politician Yevgeny Roizman, deputy of the Russian State Duma, mayor of Yekaterinburg (Jewish father) Grigory Sokolnikov, Bolshevik politician Vladimir Solovyov, Russian TV presenter and propagandist Yakov Sverdlov, Bolshevik leader, the first head of state of the Russian SFSR Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik politician, the founder of the Red Army"Trotsky was born of Jewish parents in the S Ukraine." "Trotsky, Leon" , The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001–05."His father was a prosperous Jewish farmer. After attending a Jewish primary school, Trotsky became a student at a state school in the city of Odesa (Odessa) in 1888..." "Leon Trotsky", Encarta, 2007. Archived 2009-10-31. Moisei Uritsky, Soviet politician Leonid Volkov, Russian opposition leader. Alexei Navalny's campaign manager Genrikh Yagoda, head of Secret Police in the Stalin era (1934–1936)Zvi Gitelman. A Century of Ambivalence: The Jews of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1881 to the Present, 2nd expanded edition, Indiana University Press, 1988, 2001, Yakov Yurovsky, Bolshevik commander, was in charge of imprisonment and execution of Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and his family (under Vladimir Lenin's orders) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine Grigory Zinoviev, Soviet politicianEncyclopædia Britannica: Zinovyev was born to lower middle-class Jewish parents" Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician; leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR); Vice-chairman of the State Duma; member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe"Zhirinovsky admits Jewish roots BBC News
Israeli politicians Menachem Begin, Israeli Prime Minister, Nobel Prize (1978) Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, second President of Israel (1952–63) Shmuel Dayan, Zionist activist, Israeli politician Levi Eshkol, Israeli Prime Minister (1963–69) Ephraim Katzir, fourth President of Israel (1973–78) Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs (2006–2008) Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister (1969–74) Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli Prime Minister (1983–84, 1986–92) Natan Sharansky, Israeli politician Moshe Sharett, Israeli Prime Minister (1954–55) Zalman Shazar, third President of Israel (1963–73) Chaim Weizmann, first President of Israel (1949–52)
Israeli military persons Yaakov Dori, first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (1948–1949); President of Technion. Ze'ev Jabotinsky, founder of British Jewish Legion Haim Laskov, fifth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1958–1961) Yitzhak Sadeh, Palmach commander and one of the IDF founders Joseph Trumpeldor, founder of British Jewish Legion and early pioneer-settler in Israel (born in Pyatigorsk) Tzvi Tzur, sixth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1961–1964)
Soviet soldiers and revolutionaries Osip Aptekman, revolutionary Pavel Axelrod, Menshevik, Marxist revolutionary Yevno Azef, revolutionary Tuvia Bielski, Belarusian partisan Yakov Blumkin, Soviet spy Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Soviet Front Commander, WWII Fedor Dan, revolutionary Leo Deutsch, revolutionary"Deutsch, Leo" Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 5 David Dragunsky, Soviet tank brigade commander, WWII Raya Dunayevskaya, founder of Marxist humanism in the U.S. Hesya Helfman, revolutionary Grigory Gershuni, revolutionary Moshe Gildenman, known as Dyadya ("Uncle") Misha, partisan commander Mordechai Schlein, partisan and violinist. Grigory Goldenberg, revolutionary Olga Kameneva, Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician (sister of Leon Trotsky) Walter Krivitsky, Soviet spy Semyon Krivoshein, Soviet mechanized corps commander, WWII
Rodion Malinovsky, Soviet front commander, WWII, Minister of Defence (Jewish origin is disputed) Mark Natanson, revolutionary Alexander Parvus, revolutionary Grigoriy Plaskov, Soviet artillery lieutenant Sidney Reilly (born Shlomo Rosenblum), Ukrainian-born adventurer and Secret Intelligence Service agentAndrew Cook, M: Mi5's First Spymaster (Revealing History), 2004, Tempus Publishing, . Theodore Rothstein, Russian-British communist Pinhas Rutenberg, Zionist, Social revolutionary Israel and Manya Shochat, founders of the Hashomer movement Moisei Uritsky, communist revolutionary Volin (Vsevolod Eikhenbaum), leading Russian Anarchist. Senior member of Nestor Makhno's movement (1918–1921) V. Volodarsky, communist revolutionary Iona Yakir, Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II
Others Murray Bookchin, important American anarchist Michael Dorfman, Russian-Israeli essayist and human rights activist David Dubinsky, American labor leader Yisroel ben Eliezer (The Baal Shem Tov), rabbi, founder of Hasidic Judaism Shlomo Ganzfried, rabbi Fanny Kaplan, would-be assassin of Lenin Nathan Mileikowsky, Zionist political activist, rabbi and writer Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism Boris Volynov, Soviet astronaut; the first Jew in space (Jewish mother)
Business figures
Roman Abramovich, businessman, former owner of Chelsea F.C. Pyotr Aven, businessman Leon Bagrit, pioneer of automation Bernhard Baron, cigarette maker and philanthropist Boris Berezovsky, businessman, politician Zino Davidoff (born Sussele-Meier Davidoff), former tobacco manufacturer, known as "King of Cigars" Bernard Delfont, impresarioEast End history, London history, End End of London, Bernard Delfont, london vacation, Lew Grade, Spitalfields Mikhail Fridman, businessman Arcadi Gaydamak, owner of Portsmouth F.C., AJ Auxerre, and Bnei Sakhnin F.C. Leslie Grade, executive Lew Grade, impresario, Chairman of ATV from 1962 Vladimir Gusinsky, exile, former media tycoon Boris Khait, businessman and vice-president of the Russian Jewish Congress German Khan, businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, businessman, politician (Jewish father) Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Ukrainian businessman Max Levchin (born Maksymilian Levchin), co-founder of PayPal Morris Markin, founder of Checker Cab Michael Marks, co-founder of Marks & Spencer Alexander Mashkevitch, businessmanUnion of Councils for Soviet Jews: Jews of Former Soviet Countries Create International Council Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Leonid Mikhelson, businessman, CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek Yuri Milner, entrepreneur, venture capitalist Boris Mints, co-founder of Otkritie FC Bank Vadim Moshkovich, businessman, founder of Rusagro Leonid Nevzlin, businessmanNevzlin Mikhail Prokhorov, businessman Ida Rosenthal, founder of Maidenform Brassieres Arkady Rotenberg, businessman, Vladimir Putin's childhoods friend Boris Rotenberg, businessman, Vladimir Putin's childhood friend David Sarnoff (born Schwirnofsky), former head of RCA Viktor Vekselberg, businessman (Jewish father) Leo Wainstein, textile industrialist Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, founders of Warner Bros.Harry Warner Sergey Brin, is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google. Jan Koum, is an American billionaire businessman and computer programmer.
Scientists
Natural scientists Anatole Abragam, physicist Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, physicist, Nobel Prize (2003) Zhores Alferov, physicist, Nobel Prize (2000) Aleksander Akhiezer, physicist
Semen Altshuler, physicist Lev Artsimovich, physicist (Jewish mother) Varvara Brilliant-Lerman, plant physiologist Matvei Bronstein, theoretical physicist
Gersh Budker, nuclear physicistThe Russian Scientist Today – William Shelton Ilya Frank, physicist, Nobel Prize (1958)The Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry, Biographies A-I, edited by Herman Branover (Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ, 1998, pp. 351–352) Yakov Frenkel, physicist
Vitaly Ginzburg, physicist, Nobel Prize (2003)Russian Jew wins physics Nobel – JTA, Jewish & Israel News
Emanuel Goldberg (1881–1970), pioneered Microdots and microfilm retrieval technology Alexander Gorodnitsky, geologist and oceanographer, Soviet and Russian bard and poet Vladimir Gribov, physicist
Mikhail Gurevich, co-founder of the Mikoyan Gurevich (MiG) aircraft design bureauThe Jewish Quarterly Waldemar Haffkine, biologist, vaccine against cholera and plagueUnknown Boris Hessen, physicist Naum Idelson, astronomer Abram Ioffe, nuclear scientist
Vladimir Keilis-Borok, physicist Isaak Khalatnikov, physicist Yuli Khariton, physicist
Semyon Kosberg, engineer Lev Landau, physicist, Nobel Prize (1962)Family Lines Sketched in the Portrait of Lev Landau – Physics Today February 2004 Grigory Landsberg, physicist Semyon Lavochkin, engineer Veniamin Levich, electrochemistLevich
Evgeny Lifshitz, physicist Leonid Mandelstam, physicist Alexander Migdal, physicist Arkady Migdal, physicist
Lev Pitaevskii, physicist Boris Podolsky, physicist Alexander Polyakov, physicist Isaak Pomeranchuk, physicist
Grigory Abramovich Shajn, astronomer Mikhail Shifman, physicist Iosif Shklovsky, astrophysicist, astronomer, biologist Alexander Tropsha, chemist
Vladimir Veksler, physicist Alexander Vilenkin, cosmologist
Selman Waksman, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1952) Grigoriy Yablonsky, chemical engineer Sorojon Yusufova, geologist Yakov Zel'dovich, astrophysicist
Mathematicians Georgy Adelson-Velsky, mathematicianАшдод: лента ежедневных событий Naum Akhiezer, mathematician Vladimir Arnold, mathematician : "Following is a list of Jewish or Israeli recipients of Turing Prize, Fields Medal and other Mathematical Prizes to date:" Accessed 8 Apr 2007 Grigory Barenblatt, mathematician
Joseph Bernstein, mathematician
Alexander Brudno, mathematician Chudnovsky brothers, amateur mathematicians Vladimir Drinfeld, mathematician, Fields Medal (1990) Eugene Dynkin, mathematician