Investor Presentaiton
attempts to gain entry, he was accepted unofficially.88 Unfortunately, Kaganovich's classroom
education ended when he was thirteen and he transitioned to being a blacksmith's apprentice for
.89 Nevertheless, his memoirs exhibit his strong desire for a better education and
financial reasons.
his drive towards self-education when other avenues of schooling failed.⁹0
Despite receiving only a few years of official education, Kaganovich was devoted to
learning and self-study. He was particularly fond of Russian literature, and would occasionally
read stories, poems, and "Nekrasov, Gogol, Tolstoy, and more” to others."1 Additionally, he
mentions how he "independently read the available individual works of Pushkin, Lermontov,
Nekrasov, L. Tolstoy, and Turgenev” and notes that "of all the general subjects, I was still most
interested in history - Russian and universal."92 The traits of self-education, dedication to
learning Russian, and studying Russian literature were necessary aspects of the "conversion to
the Pushkin faith" that Slezkine describes.93
Becoming a Bolshevik
In addition to transitioning from traditional beliefs to new ideologies, young
revolutionaries also moved to cities, formed self-education groups, and worked in certain jobs;
the mental transition came with a clear lifestyle change. Situations varied from person to person
but there was a definitive trend of leaving the family home, taking up urban work in factories and
workshops, joining unions, learning under a mentor, and studying and organizing revolutionary
88 Ibid, 39.
89 Rees, Iron Lazar, 4.
90 Kaganovich, Pamiatnye zapiski, 44, 51.
91 Ibid, 7.
92 Ibid, 40.
93 Slezkine, The Jewish Century, 127.
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