The widely read Soviet weekly, Ogonyok, today published, in Russian translation, two stories from. Sholem Aleichem’s work, “Menachem Mendl,” it was reported here from Moscow. This is believed to be the first time any stories with specifically Jewish themes have ever been published in the magazine, which has a national circulation of 2,000,000. The publication of the stories is believed to be intended to counteract charges abroad of discrimination against Jews in the Soviet Union.
“Menachem Mendl” is written mainly in the form of letters between Menachem Mendl, an inept jack of all trades, and his wife, Sheyne Sheyndl. The stories are set in the United States and Poland.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
