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Solomon Mikhoels

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	Solomon Mikhoels
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	Topics Solomon Mikhoels Topic Home Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ; ( - January 12/13, 1948) was a SovietSoviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... JewJew Jews are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people , an ethno-religious group descended from th... ish actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Yiddish Theater. Mikhoels was murdered on the orders of Stalin and his body was run over to create the impression of a traffic accident. Biography Born Shloyme Vovsi in Dvinsk (now DaugavpilsDaugavpils Overview Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia. ... , LatviaLatvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in Eastern Europe.... ), Mikhoels studied law in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg Saint Petersburg listen is a city located in northwestern Russia on the delta of the Neva River at the east end of the Gulf... , but left school in 1918 to join Alexander Granovsky's Jewish Theater Workshop, which was attempting to create a national Jewish theater in Russia based on the Yiddish languageFacts About Yiddish language Yiddish is a nonterritorial Germanic language spoken throughout the world and written with the Hebrew alphabet.... . Two years later, in 1920, the workshop moved to MoscowMoscow Moscow is the capital of Russia and the country's principal political, economic, financial, educational, and transportation... , where it established the Moscow State Jewish Theater. This was in keeping with Lenin's policy on nationalities, which encouraged them to pursue and develop their own cultures under the aegis of the Soviet state. Theatrical career Mikhoels, who showed outstanding talent, was the company's leading actor and, as of 1928, its director. He played in several memorable roles, including Tevye in an adaptation of Sholom AleichemSholom Aleichem Sholom Aleichem was a popular humorist and Russian Jewish author of Yiddish literature, including novels, short stories, and... 's comic short stories about Tevye the MilkmanTevye Tevye is the protagonist of several of Sholom Aleichem's stories, originally written in Yiddish and first published in 1894... (which were adapted for an American audience as Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof *Fiddler on the Roof* is regarded as one of the most famous stage and film musicals.... ) as well as in many original works, such as Bar Kochba, and translations. Perhaps his most noted role was as King LearKing Lear *King Lear* is generally regarded as one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.... in a Yiddish translation of the play by William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as w... . These plays were ostensibly supportive of the Soviet state; however, historian Jeffrey Veidlinger has argued that closer readings suggest they actually contained veiled critiques of StalinJoseph Stalin Overview Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin , alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin, was the de facto leader and dictator of ... 's regime and assertions of Jewish national identity. It is now believed that the Ukrainian director Les KurbasLes Kurbas Les Kurbas is considered by many to be the most important Ukrainian theater director of the twentieth century.... contributed to the original King Lear production after he was ousted from his Berezil theater in 1934. He seems to have had a lasting influence on Mikhoel's directing style. Anti-fascist activities and assassination By the mid-1930s, Mikhoels' career was threatened because of his association with other leading intelligentsiaFacts About Intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and ... , who were victims of Stalin's purgesGreat Purge The Great Purge is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by J... . Mikhoels actively supported Stalin against HitlerAdolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Fhrer of Germany from 1934 until his death.... , and in 1942, he was made chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist CommitteeJewish Anti-Fascist Committee The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was formed in Kuibyshev in April 1942 with the official support of the Soviet authorities.... . In this capacity, he travelled around the world, meeting with Jewish communities to encourage them to support the Soviet Union in its war against Nazi GermanyNazi Germany Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, refers to Germany in the years 1933 to 1945, when it was governed by the National So... . While this was useful to Stalin during World War IIWorld War II World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers ,... , after the war, Stalin opposed contacts between Soviet Jews and Jewish communities in non-Communist countries, which he deemed as "bourgeoisieBourgeoisie Bourgeoisie in modern use refers to the ruling class in a capitalist society. ... ." The Jewish State Theater was closed and the members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested - all except for two were eventually executed in the purges shortly before Stalin's death. Mikhoels was the most visible of the intellectual Jewish leadership, and a show trial would have cast aspersions on Stalin's rule. Thus in January of 1948, he was assassinated on Stalin's personal orders in MinskMinsk Overview Minsk , is the capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers.... ; his death was masked as a car crash. Mikhoels received a state funeral. According to documents unearthed by the historian Gennady Kostyrchenko, the organizers of the assassination were L.M. Tsanava and S. Ogoltsov, and the "direct" murderers were Lebedev, Kruglov and Shubnikov . Mikhoels' cousin Miron Vovsi was Stalin's personal physician. He was arrested during the Doctors' plotDoctors' plot The Doctors' plot was an alleged conspiracy to eliminate the leadership of the Soviet Union by means of Jewish doctors poiso... affair but released after Stalin's death in 1953, as was his son-in-law, the composer Mieczyslaw WeinbergMieczyslaw Weinberg Mieczyslaw Weinberg was an important Soviet composer of Polish-Jewish origin. ... . In 1983, Mikhoel's daughtre, Natalia Vovsi-Mikoels, wrote a biography of her father in Hebrew: My Father Shlomo Mikhoels: The Life and Death of a Jewish Actor. Commemoration A large international cultural center in Moscow is named after him. External links