The Jews in Russia and Poland

Shimon Dubnov's The Jews in Russia and Poland is a foundational multi-volume history written in the early 20th century that sought to chronicle Jewish life across the Russian Empire and the lands of Poland.

Dubnov emphasized the causes of Jewish decline under Tsarist rule and analyzed cultural, religious, and social developments before modern upheavals.

His work was influential for subsequent historians and for Jewish self-understanding in the pre-Soviet and interwar periods.

Polonsky explicitly references Dubnov and titles his own work in homage, positioning his synthesis as both continuation and reassessment in light of new archival materials.

Dubnov remains an important source for scholars studying pre-revolutionary Eastern European Jewish history.