The Roots magazine #2 begins with the section Articles. Researches. In the section Anatoly Avrus (Saratov) in his article Participation of the Jews in the Revolutionary Movement in Russia (XIX - February, 1917) presents analytical review of the penetrating of the revolutionary ideas in the Jewish masses and its wide spread, beginning with the period of Nikolay I up to the February revolution. The author provides a lot of facts and materials, which illustrate participation of the Jews in the RSDRP, Bund, terrorist and anarchist organizations. In the article there are characteristics given to such activists as Y.O. Tsederbaum (L. Martov), L.D. Bronshtein (L. Trotsky) M. Natanson, G. Gershuni, etc.
The article by Edward Felberg (Samara) The Law and the Fate deals with the comparative analyses of the punishment of the thief, as it is written in Torah and Russkaya Pravda- the earliest Russian law. The author assumes, that originally this law was taken from the Torah, however there are a lot of differences and parallels. The author shows how the difference of the juridical systems created the differences between the fates, moral and ethical norms of the Jewish and Russian peoples.
In the article Gaps, Outsiders and Jewry in the Soviet Culture Vladimir Sokolenko (Saratov) deals with the phenomena of so called social Jew, which means that in the society person is considered a Jew, because of his characteristic features, although he is not a Jew by birth. Also the author describes particular case of the phenomena, when social Jew was created according the demographic feature. The author discusses features of the social Jew, first of all this figure is characterizes by the high social conciseness, and he proves that on his example.
In the section The History of our Days there are two works. One of them - Synagogues and Prayer Houses of the Communities of the Central Russia and Volga Region - was composed by the representatives of Joint in the Region. From this article one can learn material and facts about the condition of the prayer houses and synagogues in the cities Astrakhan, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kazan, Nizhni Novgorod, Orel, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tula, Ulyanovsk and Yaroslavl.
The article by Yevgeniya Davydova (Yaroslavl) Jewish Community of Yaroslavl is devoted to the past and today life of the Jewish community of Yaroslavl. The process of renaissance of the Jewish communal life began in 1989. The community has already reclaimed the building of the synagogue, which is now under restoration. In this building there are charity volunteer organization Chesed Rachel, which is working with the senior citizens, Sunday school, library and cafe, where young people get together. The work of the other Jewish organizations and their leaders are also described in the article.
The section Lectures includes materials, which were presented in the City Lecture Clubs of Jewish Culture. The lecture of Sergey Kaztov (Samara) Jewish Song Traditions is devoted to Jewish song motives. The article tells about the sources of the Jewish music, the first musical instruments, Jewish religious music, synagogue zmires, folk songs, art of klezmers, about the role of the Jewish music in the world culture, about the Jewish motives in the creativity of the famous composers of our time (S. Prokofev, D. Shostakovich).
The lecture by Yury Lerner (Volgograd) Holocaust - the Most Tragic Turning Point of the Jewish History is devoted to the most tragic period in the life of the Jewish people and all progressive mankind. According the data of the German archives, in 1939-45, about 6,000,000 Jews were destroyed, what was about 72% of European Jewry. To fulfill this terrible action, Germans made anti-Semitism the cornerstone of the ideology of fascism. The author tells about the anti-Jewish laws of the Third Reich, about the crystal night, about the creation of ghettos and concentration camps, about the mass massacres of the Jews, just because they were Jews. The author also presents material, which provides information about the heroic struggle of the Jews. The Jewish wisdom, glory, blood and lives were given for the struggle with fascism.
In the section Memoirs and Documents the extracts from the unpublished book by Sergey Berkner (Voronezh) Reminiscences of the Ghetto Prisoner are presented. The author describes the terror of the Fascists in the Byalostok Ghetto, about the organization of the resistance to the Germans. In 1942-1943 many of the participants in the ghetto resistance took part in partisan movement.
Boris Pudalov (Nizhni Novgorod) in his article The Night in June in Kanovino tells about the pogrom in Nizhni Novgorod in 1884.
The article by Zalman Libinzon (Nizhni Novgorod) About Mark Shagal tells about the life and creativity of the great artist. The author is not art historian, so he writes as one, admired by Shagals talent, and interested in his creativity.
In the section Archives there is continued publication of the material The History of the Synagogue in Orel with Semyon Avgustevichs commentaries.