Zionism in Jewish communities of North Caucasus at the beginning of the 20th century: ideas and practice

The article describes practical realisation of Zionism ideology in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century by the example of Jewish (Ashkenazic) communities of North Caucasus. The success of Zionists’ work in provincial Jewish communities of the Russian Empire depended on many factors. The official rhetoric of Zionism worked out at the congresses was refracted, faced some local situations, and acquired new meanings that responded to the problems of the community in the country. In this view, the study of Zionism in a separate space is useful in various spheres of domestic life in the country of the empire. The main sources that shed light on the emergence and incarnation of the Zionist movement in North Caucasus and reflected internal communal life are letters from Zionists addressed to M. Usyshkin, a member of the executive committee of the World Zionist Organization responsible for Zionist activity in southern Russia