Isaac Babel, famed Russian Jewish writer, whose where about remained a mystery since 1938, is no longer alive, it was revealed in the latest issue of the Soviet publication “Literaturnaya Gazeta” which has just arrived in New York.
The literary newspaper announced that a committee had been named to study Mr. Babel’s literary legacy and publish a collection of his works, but did not indicate how Mr. Babel died. It has been suspected that he was killed in a purge of writers. There are no references to him in the major Soviet encyclopedias or in smaller biographical anthologies.
Born in Odessa 62 years ago of a Jewish merchant family, Mr. Babel wrote on Jewish themes, but only in the Russian language. His most famous work is a collection of short stories entitled “Red Cavalry,” which tells of his experiences with Budenny’s cavalry during the Russian Revolution and the subsequent civil war.
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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.
