Abstract This essay examines late 20 th -century Soviet Jewish intellectuals’ views on exile and identity. Using the theory of ‘minor literature,’ I study representative cases of authors who felt deterritorialized in the USSR and decided upon (1) internal exile; (2) immigration to Germany; or (3) immigration to Israel. Influenced by traditional Russian intelligentsia attitudes, Soviet Jews also alluded to theories of Jewish exile to defend their decisions. In all cases, encounters with a complex reality either subverted or modified the theoretical basis for choices.
Stefani Hoffman (Mon,) studied this question.