An Essay at Demasquing Persecution

Abstract

The paper gives a comparative analysis of the two books by René Girard, recently published in Russian, with the work by a well-known Russian historian Daniel Khvolson (1819–1911). The latter played the de facto defender role in the infamous “Saratov case” in which he managed to prove the absurdity and unfairness of the accusations brought in court against the Jewish defendants. It is highly interesting to trace down not only the scapegoat motive in both authors but, still more, the way their texts are structured: this may give a hint at an answer to the question why the problem of persecution remains today as urgent as ever, despite Girard's own conclusions in favour of the opposite view.