The Pete Quiñones Show Reading Solzhenitsyn's '200 Years Together' w/ Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson - Episodes 1-10
Sep 15, 2025
Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson, a researcher and former professor with expertise in Russian history, dives deep into Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's '200 Years Together.' They discuss the complex economic interactions between Jewish merchants and Russian society in the 18th century, the political dynamics of Jewish communities under various Russian regimes, and the intricate historical narratives that shaped Jewish identity. Key topics include the rise of Jewish influence in trade, the socio-economic impact of expulsion decrees, and the historical struggles faced by Jewish populations amidst evolving societal structures.
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Khazaria's Long Shadow
- Solzhenitsyn frames Khazaria and medieval Jewish-commercial elites as foundational to later Jewish economic behavior in Eastern Europe.
- Matthew Raphael Johnson stresses Khazar strategic-commercial role created a usurious middleman mentality that shaped later Jewish groups.
Riots Were Against Unpaid Usury
- Early anti-usury riots in Kievan Rus arose from exploitative lending and debt bondage by moneylenders.
- Johnson explains these uprisings as agrarian revolt against unearned income rather than proto-feudal class struggle.
Judaizing Heresy Targeted Elites
- The Judaizing heresy in Novgorod fused Kabbalah, magic, and anti-Christian doctrines to destabilize church elites.
- Johnson argues it was an organized, cell-based movement aimed at elite conversion and political influence, later condemned by synods.
