List of Jews born in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union

This List of Jews contains individuals who, in accordance with Wikipedia's verifiability and no original research policies, have been identified as Jews by reliable sources.

The following is a list of Jews born in the territory of the former Russian Empire. It is geographically defined, so it also includes people born after the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1922 and its successor the Soviet Union in 1991.

A few years before the Holocaust, the Jewish population of the Soviet Union (excluding Western Ukraine and the Baltic states that were not part of the Soviet Union then) stood at over 5 million, most of whom were Ashkenazic as opposed to Sephardic, with some Karaite minorities. It is estimated that more than half died directly as a result of the Holocaust.

Politics and military

Politicians

Georgy Arbatov, Soviet politician, academic and political advisor
Aizik Aronchik, attempted to assassinate the Tsar Alexander II
Dimitri Bogrov, Soviet politician
Anatoly Chubais, Deputy Prime Minister, now Chairman of UES
Mikhail Fradkov, Russian Prime Minister (half-Jewish)
Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine (2016–2019)
Adolph Joffe, Bolshevik diplomat
Lazar Kaganovich, First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union and one of the principal architects of the Ukrainian famine.
Lev Kamenev, Bolshevik leader (Jewish father)
Maxim Litvinov, Soviet ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Julius Martov, Menshevik leader
Mikhail Mishustin, incumbent Prime Minister
Boris Nemtsov, Deputy Prime Minister
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group private military company. Led a rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin (Jewish father)
Yevgeny Primakov, Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999.
Karl Radek, Soviet politician
Yevgeny Roizman, deputy of the Russian State Duma, mayor of Yekaterinburg (Jewish father)
Grigory Sokolnikov, Bolshevik politician
Vladimir Solovyov, Russian TV presenter and propagandist
Yakov Sverdlov, Bolshevik leader, the first head of state of the Russian SFSR
Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik politician, the founder of the Red Army
Moisei Uritsky, Soviet politician
Leonid Volkov, Russian opposition leader. Alexei Navalny's campaign manager
Genrikh Yagoda, head of Secret Police in the Stalin era (1934–1936)
Yakov Yurovsky, Bolshevik commander, was in charge of imprisonment and execution of Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and his family (under Vladimir Lenin's orders)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Grigory Zinoviev, Soviet politician
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician; leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR); Vice-chairman of the State Duma; member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe"

Israeli politicians

Menachem Begin, Israeli Prime Minister, Nobel Prize (1978)
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, second President of Israel (1952–63)
Shmuel Dayan, Zionist activist, Israeli politician
Levi Eshkol, Israeli Prime Minister (1963–69)
Ephraim Katzir, fourth President of Israel (1973–78)
Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs (2006–2008)
Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister (1969–74)
Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli Prime Minister (1983–84, 1986–92)
Natan Sharansky, Israeli politician
Moshe Sharett, Israeli Prime Minister (1954–55)
Zalman Shazar, third President of Israel (1963–73)
Chaim Weizmann, first President of Israel (1949–52)

Israeli military persons

Yaakov Dori, first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (1948–1949); President of Technion.
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, founder of British Jewish Legion
Haim Laskov, fifth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1958–1961)
Yitzhak Sadeh, Palmach commander and one of the IDF founders
Joseph Trumpeldor, founder of British Jewish Legion and early pioneer-settler in Israel (born in Pyatigorsk)
Tzvi Tzur, sixth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1961–1964)

Soviet soldiers and revolutionaries

Osip Aptekman, revolutionary
Pavel Axelrod, Menshevik, Marxist revolutionary
Yevno Azef, revolutionary
Tuvia Bielski, Belarusian partisan
Yakov Blumkin, Soviet spy
Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Soviet Front Commander, WWII
Fedor Dan, revolutionary
Leo Deutsch, revolutionary
David Dragunsky, Soviet tank brigade commander, WWII
Raya Dunayevskaya, founder of Marxist humanism in the U.S.
Hesya Helfman, revolutionary
Grigory Gershuni, revolutionary
Moshe Gildenman, known as Dyadya ("Uncle") Misha, partisan commander
Mordechai Schlein, partisan and violinist.Tzvi (2020-08-17). . Aish.com.
Grigory Goldenberg, revolutionary
Olga Kameneva, Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician (sister of Leon Trotsky)
Walter Krivitsky, Soviet spy
Semyon Krivoshein, Soviet mechanized corps commander, WWII
Rodion Malinovsky, Soviet front commander, WWII, Minister of Defence (Jewish origin is disputed)
Mark Natanson, revolutionary
Alexander Parvus, revolutionary
Grigoriy Plaskov, Soviet artillery lieutenant
Sidney Reilly (born Shlomo Rosenblum), Ukrainian-born adventurer and Secret Intelligence Service agent
Theodore Rothstein, Russian-British communist
Pinhas Rutenberg, Zionist, Social revolutionary
Israel and Manya Shochat, founders of the Hashomer movement
Moisei Uritsky, communist revolutionary
Volin (Vsevolod Eikhenbaum), leading Russian Anarchist. Senior member of Nestor Makhno's movement (1918–1921)
V. Volodarsky, communist revolutionary
Iona Yakir, Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II

Others

Murray Bookchin, important American anarchist
Michael Dorfman, Russian-Israeli essayist and human rights activist
David Dubinsky, American labor leader
Yisroel ben Eliezer (The Baal Shem Tov), rabbi, founder of Hasidic Judaism
Shlomo Ganzfried, rabbi
Fanny Kaplan, would-be assassin of Lenin
Nathan Mileikowsky, Zionist political activist, rabbi and writer
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism
Boris Volynov, Soviet astronaut; the first Jew in space (Jewish mother)

Business figures

Roman Abramovich, businessman, former owner of Chelsea F.C.
Pyotr Aven, businessman
Leon Bagrit, pioneer of automation
Bernhard Baron, cigarette maker and philanthropist
Boris Berezovsky, businessman, politician
Zino Davidoff (born Sussele-Meier Davidoff), former tobacco manufacturer, known as "King of Cigars"
Bernard Delfont, impresario
Mikhail Fridman, businessman
Arcadi Gaydamak, owner of Portsmouth F.C., AJ Auxerre, and Bnei Sakhnin F.C.
Leslie Grade, executive
Lew Grade, impresario, Chairman of ATV from 1962
Vladimir Gusinsky, exile, former media tycoon
Boris Khait, businessman and vice-president of the Russian Jewish Congress
German Khan, businessman
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, businessman, politician (Jewish father)
Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Ukrainian businessman
Max Levchin (born Maksymilian Levchin), co-founder of PayPal
Morris Markin, founder of Checker Cab
Michael Marks, co-founder of Marks & Spencer
Alexander Mashkevitch, businessman
Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Leonid Mikhelson, businessman, CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek
Yuri Milner, entrepreneur, venture capitalist
Boris Mints, co-founder of Otkritie FC Bank
Vadim Moshkovich, businessman, founder of Rusagro
Leonid Nevzlin, businessman
Mikhail Prokhorov, businessman
Ida Rosenthal, founder of Maidenform Brassieres
Arkady Rotenberg, businessman, Vladimir Putin's childhoods friend
Boris Rotenberg, businessman, Vladimir Putin's childhood friend
David Sarnoff (born Schwirnofsky), former head of RCA
Viktor Vekselberg, businessman (Jewish father)
Leo Wainstein, textile industrialist
Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, founders of Warner Bros.[circular reference]
Sergey Brin, is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google.
Jan Koum, is an American billionaire businessman and computer programmer.

Scientists

Natural scientists

Anatole Abragam, physicist
Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, physicist, Nobel Prize (2003)
Zhores Alferov, physicist, Nobel Prize (2000)
Aleksander Akhiezer, physicist
Semen Altshuler, physicist
Lev Artsimovich, physicist (Jewish mother)
Varvara Brilliant-Lerman, plant physiologist
Matvei Bronstein, theoretical physicist
Gersh Budker, nuclear physicist
Ilya Frank, physicist, Nobel Prize (1958)
Yakov Frenkel, physicist
Vitaly Ginzburg, physicist, Nobel Prize (2003)
Emanuel Goldberg (1881–1970), pioneered Microdots and microfilm retrieval technology
Alexander Gorodnitsky, geologist and oceanographer, Soviet and Russian bard and poet
Vladimir Gribov, physicist
Mikhail Gurevich, co-founder of the Mikoyan Gurevich (MiG) aircraft design bureau
Waldemar Haffkine, biologist, vaccine against cholera and plague
Boris Hessen, physicist
Naum Idelson, astronomer
Abram Ioffe, nuclear scientist
Vladimir Keilis-Borok, physicist
Isaak Khalatnikov, physicist
Yuli Khariton, physicist
Semyon Kosberg, engineer
Lev Landau, physicist, Nobel Prize (1962)
Grigory Landsberg, physicist
Semyon Lavochkin, engineer
Veniamin Levich, electrochemist
Evgeny Lifshitz, physicist
Leonid Mandelstam, physicist
Alexander Migdal, physicist
Arkady Migdal, physicist
Lev Pitaevskii, physicist
Boris Podolsky, physicist
Alexander Polyakov, physicist
Isaak Pomeranchuk, physicist
Grigory Abramovich Shajn, astronomer
Mikhail Shifman, physicist
Iosif Shklovsky, astrophysicist, astronomer, biologist
Alexander Tropsha, chemist
Vladimir Veksler, physicist
Alexander Vilenkin, cosmologist
Selman Waksman, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1952)
Grigoriy Yablonsky, chemical engineer
Sorojon Yusufova, geologist
Yakov Zel'dovich, astrophysicist

Mathematicians

Georgy Adelson-Velsky, mathematician
Naum Akhiezer, mathematician
Vladimir Arnold, mathematician
Grigory Barenblatt, mathematician
Joseph Bernstein, mathematician
Alexander Brudno, mathematician
Chudnovsky brothers, amateur mathematicians
Vladimir Drinfeld, mathematician, Fields Medal (1990)
Eugene Dynkin, mathematician
Paul Sophus Epstein, mathematician
Felix Gantmacher, mathematician
Israel Gelfand, mathematician
Alexander Gelfond, mathematician
Semyon Aranovich Gershgorin, mathematician
Victor Kac, mathematician
David Kazhdan, mathematician
Aleksandr Khinchin, mathematician
Mark Krasnoselsky, mathematician
Mark Krein, mathematician,
Alexander Kronrod, mathematician
Yevgeniy Landis, mathematician
Solomon Lefschetz, mathematician
Vladimir Levenshtein, mathematician
Leonid Levin, mathematician, computational complexity theory
Jacob Levitzki, Ukrainian-Israeli mathematician
Grigory Margulis, mathematician, Fields Medal (1978)
David Milman, mathematician
Hermann Minkowski, mathematician
Mark Naimark, mathematician
Grigori Perelman, mathematician
Vladimir Rokhlin, mathematician
Jakob Rosanes, mathematician
Lev Schnirelmann, mathematician
Zvi Hermann Schapira, mathematician
Moses Schönfinkel, logician
Samuil Shatunovsky, mathematician
Yakov G. Sinai, applied mathematician
Boris Tsirelson, mathematician
Pavel Urysohn, mathematician
Boris Weisfeiler, mathematician
Victor Zalgaller, mathematician
Oscar Zariski, mathematician
Efim Zelmanov, mathematician, Fields Medal (1994)

Social scientists and philosophers

Urie Bronfenbrenner, developmental psychologist
Solomon Buber, Hebraist
Ariel Durant, historian
Boris Eichenbaum, historian
Mikhail Epstein, literary theorist
Moshe Feldenkrais, inventor of the Feldenkrais method
Alexander Gerschenkron, economic historian
Jean Gottmann, geographer
Lazar Gulkowitsch, Jewish Studies scholar
Abraham Harkavy, historian
Zellig Harris, linguist
Roman Jakobson, Russian/American linguist
Naum Krasner, economist
Leonid Hurwicz, economist, Nobel Prize (2007)
Simon Kuznets, economist, Nobel Prize (1971)
Juri Lotman, prominent semiotician and historian of culture
Seymour Lubetzky, cataloging theorist
Jacob Marschak, economist
Alexander Luria, neuropsychologist
Benzion Netanyahu, encyclopedist, historian and father of Benjamin Netanyahu
Alexander Nove, economist
Jacob Rabinow, inventor
Ayn Rand, philosopher
Anatol Rapoport, game theorist
Dietmar Rosenthal, linguist
Leonid Roshal, pediatrician, negotiator
Isaak Russman, historian
Max Seligsohn, Orientalist
Lev Shestov, philosopher
Elye Spivak, linguist

Medical scientists and physicians

Isaac Andreyevich Chatzkin, physician
Yevsey Gindes, pediatrician
Gavriil Ilizarov, orthopaedic surgeon
Isaac Trachtenberg, hygienist
Mikhail Varshavski, family medicine physician and YouTuber, known online as Doctor Mike

Cultural figures

Fine artists

Michael Matusevitch (1929–2007), painter
Eugene Abeshaus, painter
Meer Akselrod, painter
Benish Mininberg, painter
Nathan Altman, painter and stage designer from Vinnytsia
Boris Anisfeld, painter, theatre
Mark Antokolsky, sculptor
Boris Aronson, painter and designer
Isaak Asknaziy, painter
Mordechai Avniel, painter
Léon Bakst, painter and costume designer
Abraham Berline, painter
Eugène Berman, painter
Leonid Berman, painter
Mikhail Bernshtein, painter
Isaak Brodskiy, painter
Marc Chagall, painter from Vitebsk
Bella Chagall, wife of Marc Chagall
Joseph Chaikov, sculptor
Ilya Chashnik, painter
Nudie Cohn, fashion designer
Sonia Delaunay, painter
Robert Falk, painter
Naum Gabo, sculptor
Moisei Ginzburg, architect
Michail Grobman, painter
Michel Kikoine, painter
Boris Iofan, architect
Ilya Kabakov, conceptual artist (Jewish father)
Komar and Melamid, art-duo
Jacob Kramer, painter
Pinchus Kremegne, painter
Jankieĺ Kruhier[be], painter
Morris Lapidus, architect
Felix Lembersky painter
Isaac Levitan, painter
El Lissitzky, designer
Louise Nevelson, sculptor
Ernst Neizvestny, sculptor
Solomon Nikritin, painter
Jules Olitski, painter
Leonid Pasternak, painter
Antoine Pevsner, sculptor
Issachar Rybak, painter from Yelizavetgrad
Semion Rotnitsky, painter
David Shterenberg, painter from Zhitomir
Chaïm Soutine, painter from Minsk
Raphael Soyer, American painter
Israel Tsvaygenbaum, Russian-American painter
Joseph Tepper, painter
Vladimir Weisberg, painter
Josephinne Yaroshevich, painter
Lazar Yazgur, painter
Valentin Yudashkin, fashion designer
Ossip Zadkine, sculptor (Jewish father)
Saveliy Moiseyevich Zeydenberg, painter

Musicians

Sophia Agranovich, pianist
Leonid Agutin, singer-songwriter
Joseph Achron, composer
Modest Altschuler, cellist, conductor, and composer
Lera Auerbach, composer/pianist
Vladimir Ashkenazi, pianist (Jewish father)
Sidor Belarsky, operatic vocalist and music educator
Nina Brodskaya, singer
Yefim Bronfman, pianist
Simon Barere, pianist
Rudolf Barshai, conductor
Dimitri Bashkirow, pianist
Yuri Bashmet, violist
Irving Berlin composer and lyricist
Lazar Berman, pianist
Mark Bernes, singer and actor
Matvei Blanter, composer, author of Katyusha
Shura Cherkassky, pianist
Vladimir Dashkevich, composer, wrote music for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Bella Davidovich, pianist
Issay Dobrowen, pianist and composer
Larisa Dolina, singer
Isaak Dunayevsky, composer
Mischa Elman, violinist
Mark Ermler, conductor m I
Anthony Fedorov, singer, American Idol finalist
Samuil Feinberg, composer
Mikhaïl Faerman, pianist
Vladimir Feltsman, pianist
Veniamin Fleishman, composer
Yakov Flier, pianist
Yan Frenkel, composer
Grigory Frid, songwriter
Artur Friedheim, composer
Kirill Gerstein, pianist
Josef Gingold (1909–1995) violinist
Grigory Ginsburg, pianist
Emil Gilels, pianist
Grigory Ginzburg, conductor
Mark Gorenstein, conductor
Emil Gorovets, singer
Maria Grinberg, pianist
Natalia Gutman, cellist
Tamara Gverdtsiteli, singer
Jascha Heifetz, violinist
Mordechai Hershman, chazzan
Jascha Horenstein, conductor
Vladimir Horowitz, pianist
Aleksey Igudesman, violinist
Oleg Kagan, violinist
Ilya Kaler, violinist
Tina Karol, singer
Boris Khaykin, conductor
Evgeny Kissin, pianist
Alexander Knaifel, composer
Joseph Kobzon, singer
Leonid Kogan, violinist
Mikhail Kopelman, violinist
Yakov Kreizberg, conductor
Maya Kristalinskaya, singer
Igor Krutoy, composer, pianist
Josef Lhévinne, pianist
Alexander Lokshin, composer (Jewish father)
Arthur Lourié, composer
Andrey Makarevich, singer-songwriter
Oleg Maisenberg, pianist
Samuel Maykapar, composer/pianist
Nathan Milstein, violinist
Lolita Milyavskaya, singer (Jewish father)
Shlomo Mintz, violinist
Boris Moiseev, dancer, showmaker
Benno Moiseiwitsch, pianist
Larisa Mondrus, singer
Alexander Mordukhovich, composer
Vadim Mulerman, singer
David Oistrakh, violinist
Igor Oistrakh, violinist (Jewish father)
Leo Ornstein, composer
Gregor Piatigorsky, cellist
Pokrass brothers, composers
Mikhael Rauchverger, pianist and composer
Viktor Reznikov, composer, singer
Alexander Rosenbaum, singer-songwriter
Anton Rubinstein, pianist/composer
Nikolai Rubinstein, pianist/composer
Samuil Samosud, conductor
Alfred Schnittke, composer (Jewish father)
Eduard Schmieder, conductor
Joseph Schillinger, composer, music theorist, and composition teacher
Vladimir Shainsky, composer
Daniil Shafran, cellist
Mihail Shufutinskiy, singer, music producer
Leo Sirota, pianist
Regina Spektor, singer-songwriter and pianist
Isaac Stern, violinist
Yevgeny Sudbin, pianist
Mikhail Tanich, songwriter
Alexander Tsfasman, jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger
Sophie Tucker, singer
Lyubov Uspenskaya, singer (Jewish father)
Leonid Utyosov, singer and actor
Anzhelika Varum, singer Aida Vedishcheva, singer
Maxim Vengerov, violinist
Alexander Veprik, composer
DJ Vlad, DJ, producer, interviewer, journalist, and YouTuber
Maria Yudina, pianist
Yakov Zak, pianist
Zedd, Russian-German DJ
Inna Zhvanetskaya, composer
Efrem Zimbalist, Russian-born American violinist

Performing artists

Jacob Adler, actor
Anatoly Adoskin, actor (Jewish father)
Alexander Alov, film director and screenwriter
Lev Arnshtam, film director
Dmitry Astrakhan, film director and actor
Abram Avdalimov, stage actor and theatre director
Leonid Bronevoy, actor
Elina Bystritskaya, actress
Grigori Chukhrai, film director and screenwriter, father of Pavel Chukhrai
Pavel Chukhrai, film director and screenwriter, son of Grigori Chukhrai
Maya Deren, filmmaker
Lev Dodin, theater director
Mark Donskoi, film director
Aleksandr Druz, longest-running contestant on the What? Where? When? game show. "Magister of the Game"
Boris Efimov, cartoonist
Sergei Eisenstein, film director (Jewish father)
Fridrikh Ermler, film director, actor, and screenwriter
Vladimir Etush, actor
Semyon Farada, actor
Aleksandr Faintsimmer, cinematographer
Maxim Galkin, comedian
Valentin Gaft, actor
Oleg Gazmanov, singer
Zinovy Gerdt, actor
Aleksei German, cinematographer
Vitaliy Ginzburg, director
Alexander Goldstein, director
Abraham Goldfaden (1840–1908), playwright and theatre director
Yuli Gusman, director
Alexander Gutman, director
Roman Izyaev, stage actor and theatre director
Roman Abelevich Kachanov, animator
Aleksei Kapler, film artist
Roman Karmen, documentary filmmaker
Roman Kartsev, comedian
Boris Kaufman, cinematographer
Mikhail Kaufman, cinematographer
Yevgeny Khaldei, photographer
Gennady Khazanov, comedian
Iosif Kheifits, film director
Ilya Khrzhanovsky, film director
Yefim Kopelyan, actor
Mikhail Kozakov, actor
Grigori Kozintsev, theater and film director
Savely Kramarov, actor
Mila Kunis, actress
Yuri Levitan, radio announcer
Anatole Litvak, director
Solomon Mikhoels, actor and director
Andrei Mironov, actor and singer, Jewish father
Alexander Mitta, film director
Julius Nathanson, actor
Alla Nazimova, actress
Vladimir Naumov, director
Yuri Norstein, animator
Klara Novikova (born Herzer), comedian
Ilya Oleynikov (Klyaver), comedic actor
Maya Plisetskaya, ballerina
Iosif Prut, playwright
Yuli Raizman, film director and screenwriter
Elena Ralph, model
Faina Ranevskaya, actress
Arkady Raikin, comedian
Konstantin Raikin, actor and theatre director
Mikhail Romm, film director, scriptwriter, and educator (Jewish father)
Abram Room, film director
Grigori Roshal, film director and screenwriter
Hanna Rovina, actress
Ida Rubinstein, dancer
Lev Shekhtman, theater director and actor
Alexander Schirwindt, actor, director and screenwriter
Mikhail Schweitzer, screenwriter
Yefim Shifrin, comedian
Viktor Shenderovich, humorist
Esfir Shub, editor, director, and writer of documentary films
Yakov Smirnoff, American comedian
Lee Strasberg, acting teacher
Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born American animation director
Leonid Trauberg, film director, scriptwriter, and educator
Ivan Urgant, actor, comedian, host of the Evening Urgant television show
Dziga Vertov, documentary film director and film theoretician
Vladimir Vinokur, comedian (Jewish father)
Leonid Yakubovich, actor, host of the Pole Chudes television show
Leonid Yarmolnik, actor
Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American film/television actor
Sergei Yursky, actor
Sergei Yutkevich, film director and screenwriter

Writers and poets

Grigory Adamov, writer
M. Ageyev, novelist
David Aizman, writer and playwright
Vasily Aksyonov, writer (Jewish mother)
Sholom Aleichem, Yiddish-language writer
Semyon Altov (born Altshuller), writer, comedian
Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer
Daniil Atnilov, poet
Hizgil Avshalumov, novelist, poet and playwright
Isaac Babel, writer
Eduard Bagritsky, poet
Grigory Baklanov, novelist
Mishi Bakhshiev, writer and poet
Devorah Baron, writer
Agniya Barto, writer
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Hebrew-language writer
Isaac Dov Berkowitz, writer
Hayyim Nahman Bialik, poet
Rachel Bluwstein, poet
Yosef Haim Brenner, Hebrew-language writer
Osip Brik, author
Joseph Brodsky, Russian-language poet, Nobel Prize (1987)
Sasha Cherny, poet
Korney Chukovsky, writer (Jewish father)
Manuvakh Dadashev, poet
Yuli Daniel, writer
Michael Dorfman, journalist and essayist
Sergei Dovlatov, journalist and writer (Jewish father)
David Edelstadt, Yiddish-language anarchist poet
Ilya Ehrenburg, writer
Natan Eidelman, writer
Alter Esselin, poet, carpenter
Alexander Galich, playwright poet
Vladimir Galperin, journalist and writer, literature professor
Boris Gavrilov, poet
Mikhail Gavrilov, writer and poet
Masha Gessen, writer and journalist
Asher Hirsch Ginsberg (Ahad Ha'Am), Hebrew-language writer
Lydia Ginzburg, writer
Yevgenia Ginzburg, writer
Jacob Gordin, American playwright
Leon Gordon, writer
Grigori Gorin, playwright and writer
Vasily Grossman, writer
Igor Guberman, writer
Peretz Hirshbein, playwright
Ilya Ilf, writer
Vera Inber, poet
Sergey Izgiyayev, poet
Lev Kassil, writer
Veniamin Kaverin, writer (Jewish father)[citation needed]
Arkady Khait, satirist and playwright (Хайт, Аркадий Иосифович[ru])
A.M. Klein, poet
Pavel Kogan, poet
Lev Kopelev, author and dissident
Lazar Lagin, writer
H. Leivick, dramatist
Clarice Lispector, writer that settled in Brazil fleeing from Ukraine Civil's War
Benedikt Livshits, writer
Nadezhda Mandelstam, writer
Osip Mandelstam, poet
Samuil Marshak, poet
Yunna Morits, poet
Semen Nadson, poet (Jewish father)
Seva Novgorodsev, musician and journalist (Jewish father)
Grigoriy Oster, author and scriptwriter
Yeremey Parnov, writer
Boris Pasternak, writer, Nobel Prize (1958)
Yakov Perelman, writer
Elizaveta Polonskaya, translator, poet
Vladimir Posner, writer
David Pinski, writer
Lev Razgon, writer, gulag inmate for 17 years
Yevgeny Rein, poet
Ayn Rand, writer (born Alisa Rosenbaum)
Ilya Reznik, poet and songwriter
Anatoli Rybakov, writer
David Samoylov, poet
Genrikh Sapgir, poet
Natalya Sats, playwright (Jewish father)
Zoya Semenduyeva, poet
Mendele Mocher Sforim, founder of modern Yiddish and modern Hebrew literature
Viktor Shklovsky, writer and critic (Jewish father)
Ilia Shtemler, writer
Gary Shteyngart (Steinhart), writer
Yulian Semyonov, writer
Elena Shirman, poet
Boris Slutsky, war-time poet
Mikhail Slonimsky, writer (Jewish father)
Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, science fiction writers (Jewish father)
Mikhail Svetlov, poet
Leon Talmi, journalist, killed on the Night of the Murdered Poets
Shaul Tchernichovsky, poet and translator
Yuri Tynyanov, writer
Vladimir Voinovich, writer
Vladimir Vysotsky, poet, singer, actor (Jewish father)
Semen Yushkevich, writer and playwright
Boris Zakhoder, children's poet and writer
Mikhail Zhvanetsky, writer and comedian
Zinovy Zinik, writer
Valentin Zorin, Soviet and Russian political commentator, journalist, author, screenwriter and television presenter.

Religious figures

Israel Isaac Kahanovitch, Orthodox Jewish rabbi
Raïssa Maritain, Catholic writer and philosopher
Alexander Men, Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, Biblical scholar and writer.
Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1877 to 1884

Sport figures

Chess

Lev Alburt
Yuri Averbakh
Alexander Beliavsky
Ossip Bernstein
Benjamin Blumenfeld
Isaac Boleslavsky
Mikhail Botvinnik, World Champion
David Bronstein, World Championship challenger
Mikhail Tal
Maxim Dlugy
Iossif Dorfman
Mark Dvoretsky
Louis Eisenberg
Yakov Estrin
Alexander Evensohn
Salo Flohr
Semen Furman
Boris Gelfand
Efim Geller
Eduard Gufeld
Boris Gulko
Dmitry Gurevich
Ilya Gurevich
Mikhail Gurevich
Nicolai Jasnogrodsky
Gregory Kaidanov
Ilya Kan
Garry Kasparov, World Champion
Alexander Khalifman, FIDE World Champion
Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Viktor Korchnoi, World Championship challenger
Ljuba Kristol
Alla Kushnir, Women's World Championship challenger
Anatoly Lein
Konstantin Lerner
Grigory Levenfish
Irina Levitina
Vladimir Liberzon
Andor Lilienthal
Moishe Lowtzky
Vladimir Malaniuk
Sam Palatnik
Ernest Pogosyants
Iosif Pogrebyssky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Psakhis
Abram Rabinovich
Ilya Rabinovich
Leonid Shamkovich
Ilya Smirin
Gennadi Sosonko
Leonid Stein
Peter Svidler
Mark Taimanov
Boris Verlinsky
Yakov Vilner
Leonid Yudasin

Boxing

Yuri Foreman, Belarusian-born Israeli US middleweight and World Boxing Association champion super welterweight
Louis Kaplan ("Kid Kaplan"), Russian-born US, world champion featherweight, Hall of Fame
Shamil Sabirov, Russia, Olympic champion light flyweight

Canoeing

Leonid Geishtor, USSR (Belarus), sprint canoer, Olympic champion (Canadian pairs 1,000-meter)
Michael Kolganov, Soviet (Uzbek)-born Israeli, sprint canoer, world champion, Olympic bronze (K-1 500-meter)
Naum Prokupets, Moldovan-born Soviet, sprint canoer, Olympic bronze (C-2 1,000-meter), gold (C-2 10,000-meter) at ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

Fencing

Yury Gelman (born 1955), Ukrainian-born American Olympic fencing coach
Vadim Gutzeit, Ukraine (saber), Olympic champion
Grigory Kriss, Soviet (épée), Olympic champion, 2x silver
Maria Mazina, Russia (épée), Olympic champion, bronze
Mark Midler, Soviet (foil), 2x Olympic champion
Mark Rakita, Soviet (saber), 2x Olympic champion, 2x silver
Yakov Rylsky, Soviet (saber), Olympic champion
Sergey Sharikov, Russia (saber), 2x Olympic champion, silver, bronze
David Tyshler, Soviet (saber), Olympic bronze
Eduard Vinokurov, Russia (saber), 2x Olympic champion, silver
Iosif Vitebskiy, Soviet (épée), Olympic silver, 10x national champion

Figure skating

Ilya Averbukh, Russia, ice dancer, Olympic silver
Oksana Baiul, Ukraine, figure skater, Olympic gold, world champion
Alexei Beletski, Ukrainian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian
Sasha Cohen, figure skater (U.S. National Champion and silver medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics)
Aleksandr Gorelik, Soviet, pair skater, Olympic silver, World Championship 2x silver, bronze
Natalia Gudina, Ukrainian-born Israeli, figure skater, Olympian
Gennadi Karponossov, Russia, ice dancer and coach, Olympic gold, World Championship 2x gold, silver, 2x bronze
Michael Shmerkin, Soviet-born Israeli, figure skater
Irina Slutskaya, Russia, figure skater, Olympic silver, bronze, World Championship 2x gold, 3x silver, bronze
Maxim Staviski, Russian-born Bulgarian, ice dancer, World Championship gold, silver, bronze
Alexandra Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian
Roman Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian

Football (American)

Joe Magidsohn, Russia, halfback
Igor Olshansky, Ukraine, defensive lineman (Miami Dolphins)

Gymnastics

Evgeny (or Yevgeny) Babich, Soviet, Olympic champion, world and European champion, 2x runner-up
Yanina Batyrchina, Russia, Olympic silver (rhythmic gymnastics)
Maria Gorokhovskaya, USSR, Olympic 2x champion (all-around individual exercises, team combined exercises), 5x silver (vault, asymmetrical bars, balance beam, floor exercises, team exercises with portable apparatus)
Natalia Laschenova, USSR, Olympic champion (team)
Tatiana Lysenko, Soviet/Ukrainian, 2x Olympic champion (balance beam, team combined exercises), bronze (horse vault)
Mikhail Perelman, USSR, Olympic champion (team combined exercises)
Vladimir Portnoi, USSR, Olympic silver (team combined exercises) and bronze (long horse vault)
Yulia Raskina, Belarus, Olympic silver (rhythmic gymnastics)
Alexander Shatilov, Uzbekistan/Israel, world bronze (artistic gymnast; floor exercises)
Yelena Shushunova, USSR, Olympic 2x champion (all-around, team), silver (balance beam), bronze (uneven bars)

Ice hockey

Max Birbraer, Russian from Kazakhstan; lived and played in Israel; 1st Israeli drafted by NHL team (New Jersey Devils)
Vitaly Davydov, Soviet, defenseman, 3x Olympic champion, world and European champion 1963–71, runner-up
Alfred Kuchevsky, Soviet, Olympic champion, bronze
Yuri Lyapkin, Soviet, defenceman, Olympic champion
Yuri Moiseev, Soviet, Olympic champion, world champion
Vladimir Myshkin, Soviet, goaltender, Olympic champion, silver
Ian Rubin, Ukraine/Australia, Russia national team
Yevgeni Zimin, Soviet, Olympic champion 1968–72, world and European champion 1968–69, 1971
Viktor Zinger, Soviet, Olympic champion; world champion 1965–69

Judo

Ārons Bogoļubovs, USSR, Olympic bronze (lightweight)

Rugby league

Ian Rubin, Ukraine/Australia, Russia national team

Sailing

Valentyn Mankin, Soviet/Ukraine, only sailor in Olympic history to win gold medals in three different classes (yachting: finn class, tempest class, and star class), silver (yachting, tempest class)

Shooting

Lev Vainshtein, USSR (Russia), 3x team world champion (25 m and 50 m pistol) and Olympic bronze medalist (300 m rifle)

Soccer (association football)

Leonid Buryak, USSR/Ukraine, midfielder, Olympic bronze
Yakov Ehrlich, Russia, striker
Andriy Oberemko, Ukraine, midfielder (Illichivets and U21 national team)
Boris Razinsky, USSR/Russia, goalkeeper/striker, Olympic champion, manager
Boris Borisovich Rotenberg, Russia/Finland/Israel, defender
Mordechai Spiegler, Soviet Union/Israel, striker (Israel national team), manager

Speed skating

Rafayel Grach, USSR, Olympic silver (500-meter), bronze (500-meter)

Swimming

Vadim Alexeev, Kazakhstan-born Israeli, breaststroke
Semyon Belits-Geiman, USSR, Olympic silver (400-m freestyle relay) and bronze (800-m freestyle relay); world record in men's 800-m freestyle
Lenny Krayzelburg, Ukrainian-born US, 4x Olympic champion (100-m backstroke, 200-m backstroke, twice 4x100-m medley relay); 3x world champion (100-m and 200-m backstroke, 4×100-m medley) and 2x silver (4×100-m medley, 50-m backstroke); 3 world records (50-, 100-, and 200-m backstroke)

Table tennis

Marina Kravchenko, Ukrainian-born Israeli, Soviet and Israel national teams

Tennis

Anna Smashnova (born 1976), Belarus-born Israeli tennis player

Track and field

Aleksandr Averbukh, Russian-born Israeli, 2002 and 2006 European champion (pole vault)
Maria Leontyavna Itkina, USSR, sprinter, world records (400-m & 220-yards, and 800-m relay)
Svetlana Krachevskaya, USSR, shot put, Olympic silver
Vera Krepkina, USSR, Olympic champion (long jump), world records (100-m dash and 4x100-m)
Faina Melnik, Ukrainian-born USSR, 11 world records; Olympic discus throw champion
Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, Ukraine, sprinter, world 100-m and 200-m champion
Irina Press, USSR, 2x Olympic champion (80-m hurdles and pentathlon)
Tamara Press, USSR, 6 world records (shot put and discus); 3x Olympic champion (2x shot put and discus) and silver (discus)

Volleyball

Nelly Abramova, USSR, Olympic silver
Larisa Bergen, USSR, Olympic silver
Yefim Chulak, USSR, Olympic silver, bronze
Nataliya Kushnir, USSR, Olympic silver
Yevgeny Lapinsky, USSR, Olympic champion, bronze
Georgy Mondzolevsky, USSR, 2x Olympic champion, 2x world champion
Vladimir Patkin, USSR, Olympic silver, bronze
Yuriy Venherovsky, USSR, Olympic champion

Water polo

Boris Goikhman, USSR, goalkeeper, Olympic silver, bronze
Nikolai Melnikov, USSR, Olympic champion

Weightlifting

Moisei Kas’ianik, Ukrainian-born USSR, world champion
Grigory Novak, Soviet, Olympic silver (middle-heavyweight); world champion
Rudolf Plyukfelder, Soviet, Olympic champion, 2x world champion (light heavyweight)
David Rigert, Kazakh-born USSR, Olympic champion, 5x world champion (light-heavyweight and heavyweight), 68 world records
Igor Rybak, Ukrainian-born USSR, Olympic champion (lightweight)
Valery Shary, Byelorussian-born USSR, Olympic champion (light-heavyweight)

Wrestling

Grigorii Gamarnik, USSR, world champion (Greco-Roman lightweight), world championship silver
Samuel Gerson, Ukrainian-born US, Olympic silver (freestyle featherweight)
Boris Maksovich Gurevich, Soviet, Olympic champion (Greco-Roman flyweight), 2x world champion
Boris Michail Gurevitsch, USSR, Olympic champion (freestyle middleweight), 2x world champion
Oleg Karavaev, USSR, Olympic champion (Greco-Roman bantamweight), 2x world champion
Yakov Punkin, Soviet, Olympic champion (Greco-Roman featherweight)
David Rudman, USSR, world championship bronze

Other sports

Elena Altshul, Women's World Draughts Champion
Nikolay Epstein, Soviet hockey coach
Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet basketball coach
Andriy Oberemko, footballer
Grigory Surkis, chairman of the Football Federation of Ukraine