Leonid Finberg

It is impossible to talk about the modern Ukrainian publishing sector and Jewish studies without mentioning Leonid Finberg, one of the key figures in these fields. Mr. Finberg, born in 1948, is a sociologist, public activist, editor-in-chief of the Dukh i Litera Publishing House, director of the Center for the Studies of History and Culture of East European Jewry at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and member of the Executive Board at PEN Ukraine. In the 1970s, he graduated from Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and worked in various engineering positions in the institutes of the Ministry of Energy for 30 years. In the late 1980s, he gradually moved to the humanities, joining the editorial board of the journal Philosophical and Sociological Thought and organizing several expert sociological studies. In 1996–2000, Mr. Finberg headed the Ivan L. Rudnytsky Interdisciplinary Humanitarian Seminar in Kyiv and was a guest lecturer at multiple universities. He taught the courses "Ukrainian Political History of the 20th Century" and "Social and Economic Problems of Post-Communist Ukraine" at the University of Geneva and "Jewish Civilization" at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s MA program in 1997–2000.

Mr. Finberg co-founded the Dukh i Litera Publishing House, which is focused on philosophical, cultural, and theological texts. Launched in 1992 as an offshoot of several research centers at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, it publishes the eponymous interdisciplinary journal and Yehupets (jointly with the Center for Jewish Studies). Mr. Finberg has been involved with Yehupets since 1995, first as an editorial board member and later as a deputy chief editor and chief editor. Dukh i Litera publishes the best Ukrainian and foreign classics and the latest research in philosophy, history, cultural studies, social sciences, art history, etc. A significant part of its portfolio is Christian and Judaic literature.

Mr. Finberg also steers the Center for the Studies of History and Culture of Eastern European Jewry at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Established in November 2006, it follows the principle of combining research and educational activities. Thanks to the tireless work of the team, and Mr. Finberg in particular, the Center is now a leading institution in studying the history of Jews in the territory of modern Ukraine. It organizes research conferences, seminars, and readings on Jewish studies, promoting academic contacts between specialists in this field and researchers in Ukraine and abroad.

In 2007, Mr. Finberg was awarded the Order of the Yi journal for "publishing the largest series of philosophical, religious, and intellectual texts in Ukraine and organizing a constructive intellectual Ukrainian-Jewish dialogue." He is also a recipient of the Silver Cross of Merit from Poland (2013), the Antonovych Foundation Award "For Contribution to Ukrainian Culture," and the Stanisław Vincenz Award (2020). Mr. Finberg lives and works in Kyiv.