Mark Tolts
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Current Position: Senior Research Associate (ret.), Division of Jewish Demography and Statistics, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (email: mtolts@huji.ac.il)
Areas of Specialization: Demographic Statistics; Ethnicity; Family Demography; Migration; Historical Demography and History of Demography
Subjects of Study: Demography of the FSU, especially of (ex-) Soviet Jewry; Demography of Jews in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe; Demography of the Contemporary Russian-Speaking Jewish Diaspora; Soviet/FSU Censuses; Demographic Thought of the Russian Emigration (1920s -1950s)
Selected English language publications/papers (for Russian language publications, see: Публикации на русском языке)
“Emigration from Russia to Israel: Flow Dynamics and Its Components in 1990-2023,” Demographic Review, 2023, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 52-68.
“Russian Jewry in the Post-Soviet Era: Socio-Demographic Transformation,” E. Lederhendler (ed.), Becoming Post-Communist: Jews and the New Political Cultures of Russia and Eastern Europe (Studies in Contemporary Jewry, Vol. 33). New York: Oxford University Press, 2023, pp. 121-138.
Annual estimates of Jewish population in Russia and Ukraine, 1989 - 2023 (Dataset). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, 2023.
Jews in Ukraine, by Region, 1989 and 2001 (Dataset). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, 2022.
"The Results of the 1939 Soviet Census: Two Problems of Adequacy," Demographic Review. English Selection, 2020, Vol. 7, pp. 121-134.
“A Half Century of Jewish Emigration from the Former Soviet Union,” M. Denisenko, S. Strozza and M. Light (eds.), Migration from the Newly Independent States. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2020, pp. 323-344.
“A Forgotten Forerunner of Demographic Transition Theory: A Commentary,” Population and Development Review, 2019, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 421-424.
“A Half Century of Jewish Emigration from the Former Soviet Union: Demographic Aspects,” Paper presented at the seminar on Russian and Eurasian Jewry, Harvard University, 20 November 2019.
“Post-Soviet Jewish Demographic Dynamics: An Analysis of Recent Data,” S. DellaPergola and U. Rebhun (eds.), Jewish Population and Identity: Concept and Reality. Dordrecht: Springer, 2018, pp. 213-229.
“Alexander Kulischer on the Demographic Future of Russia,” Demographic Review. English Selection, 2017, Vol. 4, pp. 133-150.
“Demography of the Contemporary Russian-Speaking Jewish Diaspora,” Z. Gitelman (ed.), The New Jewish Diaspora: Russian-Speaking Immigrants in the United States, Israel, and Germany. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2016, pp. 23-40.
“Demographic Transformations among Ex-Soviet Migrants in Israel,” E. Lederhendler and U. Rebhun (eds.), Research in Jewish Demography and Identity. Boston, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2015, pp. 146-168.
“An Unnoticed Contribution to Demographic Transition Theory,” Demographic Review. English Selection, 2015, Vol. 2, pp. 62-81 (with A.G. Vishnevsky).
"Jewish Demography: From the Soviet Past to the Post-Soviet Present," M. Beizer (ed.), History of the Jews in Russia: From the Revolution of 1917 to the Fall of the Soviet Union. Jerusalem: The Zalman Shazar Center for Jewish History, 2015, pp. 315-337 [in Hebrew].
“Sources for the Demographic Study of the Jews in the Former Soviet Union,” U. Rebhun (ed.), The Social Scientific Study of Jewry: Sources, Approaches, Debates (Studies in Contemporary Jewry, Vol. 27). New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 160-177.
“The Jews in Georgia in the Late Soviet Period: A Demographic Profile,” G. Akhiezer, R. Enoch and S. Weinstein (eds.), Studies in Caucasian, Georgian, and Bukharan Jewry: Historical, Sociological, and Cultural Aspects. Ariel University, Institute for Research of Jewish Communities of the Caucasus and Central Asia, 2014, pp. 102-116.
“A Demographer in Spite of Himself: The Migrant’s Destiny of Miron Kantorowicz (Myron K. Gordon),” Paper presented at an academic seminar at the Institute of Demography of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 13 November 2012 [Revised as of 5 October 2014].
“Demography of the Contemporary Russian-Speaking Jewish Diaspora,” Paper presented at the conference on the contemporary Russian-speaking Jewish Diaspora, Harvard University, 13-15 November 2011.
“Population since World War I [up to the 21st Century]," The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe / Online Edition, 2010.
“Migration since World War I [up to the 21st Century]," ibid.
“Mixed Marriage and Post-Soviet Aliyah,” S. Reinharz and S. DellaPergola (eds.), Jewish Intermarriage Around the World. New Brunswick, USA and London, UK: Transaction Publishers, 2009, pp. 89-104; for internet version, see: The round-table discussion on intermarriage (marriage between Jews and non-Jews) at Brandeis University, 17-18 December 2003.
“Post-Soviet Aliyah and Jewish Demographic Transformation” Paper presented at the 15th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, 2-6 August 2009.
“The Demographic Profile of the Bukharan Jews in the Late Soviet Period,” I. Baldauf, M. Gammer and T. Loy (eds.), Bukharan Jews in the 20th Century: History, Experience and Narration. Wiesbaden: Reichert-Verlag, 2008, pp. 77-90.
“Demography of North Caucasian Jewry: A Note on Population Dynamics and Shifting Identity,” M. Gammer (ed.), Ethno-Nationalism, Islam and the State in the Caucasus: Post-Soviet Disorder. London and New York: Routledge, 2008, pp. 212-224.
“Population since World War I [up to the 21st Century],” G.D. Hundert (ed.), The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008, pp. 1429-1434.
“Migration since World War I [up to the 21st Century],” ibid, pp. 1434-1440.
"Population Trends in the Russian Federation: Reflections on the Legacy of Soviet Censorship and Distortions of Demographic Statistics," Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2008, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 87–98.
“The Jews in the Three Post-Soviet Slavic Countries: Selected Population Trends,” W. Moskovich and L. Finberg (eds.), Jews and Slavs, Vol. 19. Jerusalem and Kiev: Hebrew University; [Ukrainian] Institute of Jewish Studies, 2008, pp. 200-208.
“Post-Soviet Jewish Demography, 1989-2004,” Z. Gitelman and Y. Ro’i (eds.), Revolution, Repression and Revival: The Soviet Jewish Experience. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, pp. 283-311.
“After the Exodus: Post-Soviet Jewry in the Contemporary World,” V.A. Iontsev (ed.), International Migration: Economics and Politics. Moscow: Lomonosov University of Moscow, 2006, pp. 62-70.
"Contemporary Trends in Family Formation among the Jews in Russia,” Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe, 2006, No. 2 (57), pp. 5-23.
“Demography: Jewish Women in the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and other Successor States,” P. Hyman and D. Ofer (eds.), Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Jerusalem: Shalvi Publishing; Jewish Publication Society of America. CD-ROM edition, 2006; for internet version, see: Jewish Women's Archive.
“Ethnic Composition of Kazakhstan on the Eve of the Second World War: Re-Evaluation of the 1939 Soviet Census Results,” Central Asian Survey, 2006, Vol. 25, No. 1-2, pp. 143-148.
“Extra-Marital Conceptions in Contemporary Russia’s Fertility,” Research Note Prepared for the European Population Conference, Liverpool, UK, 21-24 June 2006 (with O. Antonova and E. Andreev).
“Contemporary Jewish Diaspora in Global Context: Human Development Correlates of Population Trends,” Israel Studies, 2005, Vol. 10, No.1, pp. 61-95 (with S. DellaPergola and U. Rebhun).
“Demographic Trends Among the Jews in the Three Post-Soviet Slavic Republics,” Paper presented at the 14th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, 31 July - 4 August 2005.
“Demographische Trends unter den Juden der ehemaligen Sowjetunion” (Demographic Trends among the Jews of the Former Soviet Union), Menora: Jahrbuch für deutsch-jüdische Geschichte 2004. Band 15. Berlin/Vienna: Philo, 2005, S. 15-44; for internet version in English, see: "Demographic Trends among the Jews of the Former Soviet Union," Paper presented at the International Conference in Honor of Professor Mordechai Altshuler on Soviet and Post-Soviet Jewry, Jerusalem, 28-30 December 2003.
“The Post-Soviet Jewish Population in Russia and the World,” Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe, 2004, No. 1 (52), pp. 37-63.
“Mass Aliyah and Jewish Emigration from Russia: Dynamics and Factors,” East European Jewish Affairs, 2003, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 71-96.
“Demography of the Jews in the Former Soviet Union: Yesterday and Today,” Z. Gitelman with M. Glants and M.I. Goldman (eds.), Jewish Life After the USSR. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2003, pp. 173-206.
“Aliya from the Russian Federation: An Analysis of Recent Data,” Jews in Eastern Europe, 2002, No. 1-2 (47-48), pp. 5-23.
“Statistical Analysis of Aliyah and Jewish Emigration from Russia,” V.A. Iontsev (ed.), The World in the Mirror of International Migration. Moscow: Lomonosov University of Moscow, 2002, pp. 172-186.
“The Failure of Demographic Statistics: A Soviet Response to Population Troubles,” Paper presented at the IUSSP XXIVth General Population Conference, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil, 18-24 August 2001 [Revised as of 12 July 2012].
“Jewish Demography of the Former Soviet Union,” S. DellaPergola and J. Even (eds.), Papers in Jewish Demography 1997. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 2001, pp. 109-139.
“The Post-Soviet Jewish Emigration,” Paper presented at the European Population Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 7-9 June 2001.
“Jewish Population of the Russian Federation, 1989-1999,” W. Moskovich (ed.), Jews and Slavs, Vol. 9. Jerusalem and Vienna: Hebrew University and University of Vienna, 2001, pp. 305-323 [Hebrew translation published in: The Jews of the Former Soviet Union in Israel and in the Diaspora, 2002, Vol. 5 (20-21), pp. 307-324].
“Russian Jewish Migration in the Post-Soviet Era,” Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 2000, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 183-199.
“Jews in the Russian Federation: A Decade of Demographic Decline,” Jews in Eastern Europe, 1999, No. 3 (40), pp. 5-36.
“Jews in Russia: A Century of Demographic Dynamics,” Paper presented at the conference “Population of Russia in the 20th Century” (Moscow, 21–22 December 1998) [partly published in: Diasporas, 1999, No. 1, pp. 180-198].
“Yiddish in the Former Soviet Union Since 1959: A Statistical-Demographic Analysis,” Paper Presented at the Conference “Yiddish in the Contemporary World”, University of Oxford, 19-21 April 1998 (Revised as of 4 May 2012) [partly published in: G. Estraikh and M. Krutikov (eds.), Yiddish in the Contemporary World. Oxford: European Humanities Research Centre, University of Oxford, 1999, pp. 133-146].
“Recent Jewish Emigration and Population Decline in Russia,” Jews in Eastern Europe, 1998, No. 1 (35), pp. 5-24.
“Demographic Trends Among the Jews in the Three Slavic Republics of the Former USSR: A Comparative Analysis,” S. DellaPergola and J. Even (eds.), Papers in Jewish Demography 1993. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1997, pp. 147-175.
“The Interrelationship between Emigration and the Socio-Demographic Profile of Russian Jewry,” N. Lewin-Epstein, Y. Ro’i and P. Ritterband (eds.), Russian Jews on Three Continents. London: Frank Cass, 1997, pp. 147-176.
“Ethnicity, Religion and Demographic Change in Russia: Russians, Tatars and Jews,” Evolution or Revolution in European Population (European Population Conference, Milano 1995), Vol. 2. Milan: EAPS and IUSSP, 1996, pp. 165-179.
World and Regional Jewish Population Projections: Russian Republic, 1994-2019 (Interim Report). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, 1996 (with S. DellaPergola and U. Rebhun).
“The Jewish Population of Russia, 1989-1995,” Jews in Eastern Europe, 1996, No. 3 (31), pp. 5-19.
“Modernization of Demographic Behaviour in the Muslim Republics of the Former USSR,” Y. Ro’i (ed.), Muslim Eurasia: Conflicting Legacies. London: Frank Cass, 1995, pp. 231-253.
“The Soviet Censuses of 1937 and 1939: Some Problems of Data Evaluation,” Paper presented at the International Conference on Soviet Population in the 1920s and 1930s, Toronto, 27-29 January 1995 [Revised as of 30 May 2009].
“Trends in Soviet Jewish Demography since the Second World War,” Y. Ro’i (ed.), Jews and Jewish Life in Russia and the Soviet Union. London: Frank Cass, 1995, pp. 365-382.
“Figures that Came in from the Cold,” Jews in Eastern Europe, 1994, No. 3 (25), pp. 79-84.
“Changes in the Composition of the Jewish Population of the USSR: Aging and the Marriage Market," Yahadut Zemanenu, 1994, Vol. 9, pp. 243-258 [in Hebrew]; for internet version in English, see: Ibid., Paper presented at the Third Canada-CIS Academic Dialogue on Jewish Themes, Jerusalem, 22-25 December 1992.
“Jews in the Russian Republic since the Second World War: The Dynamics of Demographic Erosion,” International Population Conference, Montreal 1993, Vol. 3. Liège: IUSSP, 1993, pp. 99-111.
“Some Basic Trends in Soviet Jewish Demography,” U.O. Schmelz and S. DellaPergola (eds.), Papers in Jewish Demography 1989. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1993, pp. 237-243
“The Balance of Births and Deaths among Soviet Jewry,” Jews and Jewish Topics in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1992, No. 2 (18), pp. 13-26.
“Jewish Marriages in the USSR: A Demographic Analysis,” East European Jewish Affairs, 1992, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 3-19.
"Marriage in the USSR: Past and Present," Paper presented at the USA – USSR Population Symposium, Washington, D.C., 18-20 March 1991.
Demographic Tables. Moscow: UN Fund for Population Activities and Lomonosov University of Moscow, 1986. – 97 pp. (with L.E. Darsky) [for updated version in Russian, see: Дарский Л.Е., Тольц М.С. Демографические таблицы / Под ред. и с предисл. М.Б. Денисенко. М.: МАКС Пресс, 2013. – 104 с.].
"A Description of Some Components of the Birthrate in a Large City," Soviet Sociology (New York), 1975, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 51-62.