Bücher von Elena Marushiakova

In their centuries-old history, the Roma (formerly known as Gypsies) experienced many difficult moments and cruel trials from their arrival in Europe until now. The history of the Roma in the USSR is no exception in this respect. Along with affirmative state policy towards them (at least until the end of the 1930s), they also fell victim to the massive political repressions of that time. In this book, the Roma victims of these repressions are made visible and the scale of the repressions against them is discussed. The authors describe the political repression of Roma not as an isolated historical phenomenon explicitly aimed at the Roma as a separate ethnic community but understand the events as a component of the mass terror and brutal against all Soviet citizens. In this way, the history of the Roma is inscribed in the general history of the USSR.

The book presents the life, visions and activities of the nascent Roma civic elite who initiated the movement for Roma civic emancipation. The book Roma Portraits in History, in the form of individual portraits, presents the life trajectory, visions and specific actions put forward by the nascent Roma elite and its leading representatives concerning the present and future of their community. The book is based on a rich source base of key original archival documents, in multiple languages, including Romani language, discovered in countries across the region of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, all of which showcase 'Roma elite' visions and action. To fulfil the general picture case studies of representatives from Spain and the US are also included.

This ground-breaking book is an impressively extensive collection of primary historical sources in various languages that reflect the history of the Roma (formerly referred to as 'Gypsies' in local languages). The selection of the included materials reflects the authentic voice of the Roma them - selves, and presents their visions and the specific goals pursued by the Roma civic emancipation movement. The source materials are published in original and translated in English, and are accompanied by explanatory notes and summarising comments discussing the specific historical realities and their interrelation to the Romani emancipatory movement in Central and Eastern Europe, thus presenting a comprehensive picture of the historical processes.Romani Studies (2022), 32 (1)"The exhaustive analyses of the sources, summarisation after each chapter and generally for the whole book, and the entangled historical approach used in the reviewed monograph will definitely change the paradigms in Romani studies. For the first time here we see a new approach to the study of Roma history being offered [...]"(Julieta Rotaru)