The main object of research of the current article is the weekly “Nash kray” [Our Land] published in Russian in 1914. Though the newspaper was in circulation for a very short time – one and a half months (from July 2nd till August 15th), there are at least two reasons for looking more closely into this episode. Firstly, the appearance of this newspaper was not accidental – it was part of quite consistent attempts of certain Lithuanian Jewish intellectuals, above all Uriya Kacenelenbogen, to encourage peaceful coexistence among various nations living in the country, firstly the Jews and the Lithuanians. The second reason is related with the choice of the Russian language.
In the current article, the following issues are addressed: first, when and how the Russian language was introduced on the “Jewish street” and in the villages of ethnic Lithuania; second, to what extent the Russian language was spread in the Jewish and Lithuanian communities; third, Kacenelenbogen’s previous (and very brief later) attempts to encourage the mutual rapprochement of Jews and Lithuanians; fourth, the contents, addressee and reception of the newspaper “Nash kray”.
At the end of the article, the project conceived by Kacenelenbogen and his peers is compared with other attempts to conquer nationalisms in Lithuania and to achieve agreement among various nations.
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