The interests of Yevgeny Mikhailovich Berkovich are very broad. For many years he was engaged in the exact sciences, and in the 2000s, the talent of a publicist and editor woke up in him. The love of history helped him create his own website, on the basis of which two successful projects appeared - a magazine and an almanac.
In Russia
Eugene Berkovich was born in 1946 in Irkutsk. Soon the family moved to Moscow, where the first half of the biography of Eugene passed. In 1968, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Moscow, and then graduate school, received a Ph.D. The graduate was engaged in scientific work, even in 1985 he received the medal "For Labor Valor". In 1995, Berkovich moved to Germany, where he lives and works to this day. There he continued his education and received a doctorate.
In Germany
The last two decades, Berkovich has been living in the German city of Hanover. It was not difficult for a scientist to find work in another country. Even in Moscow, he was enthusiastically engaged in computer science, mathematics and business. Therefore, he quickly found application for his interests and abroad and continued his successful career. This continued until Eugene once decided to try himself as a historian and publicist. Today, this field of activity has become dominant for Berkovich. He not only writes and publishes books and articles, but also edits online publications on Jewish history.
Books
It all started with a collection of notes on Jewish history. The book saw the light at the same time in the publishing houses of Moscow and Hanover. The collection was a success, and Eugene was accepted into the American guild of journalists writing in Russian. But even today, an experienced publicist does not consider himself a professional journalist, but rather an amateur and amateur, although the search for curious facts and patterns of historical processes has become the main occupation of his life. Eugene loves to repeat that "mathematics is more than a profession and it is impossible to be a former mathematician." As for history and journalism, he just likes to share interesting information with readers, the journalist is very pleased with their genuine interest in his work.
Berkovich does not set as his main task a systematic exposition of historical material. His notes provide an occasion for reflection and, gathered together, resemble a bizarre mosaic. The readers' interest was aroused by his series “The Revolution in Physics and the Fates of Heroes” and the book “The Banality of Good”, which tells about the rescue of Jews by Italian fascists. In contrast to the history of the Holocaust, in which there are 3 groups of people: criminals, victims and spectators, she identified another small group - heroes. Among the righteous were civilians and German officers. Historians still argue whether there was a direct written or oral order of Hitler to exterminate the Jews, because direct evidence of this has not been found so far.
To date, 6 collections have been released from the pen of Yevgeny Mikhailovich. His last works are dedicated to the great physicists Thomas Mann and Albert Einstein in the focus of history.
Network Journal and Almanac
Berkovich's literary activity was not limited to the creation of books. Already after the release of the debut collection, Notes on Jewish History, a network magazine with the same name appeared. The site has dedicated its work to Jewish history and culture. Its creation helped Eugene realize his long-standing dream to combine all the notes on the Internet. Since Eugene did not have network experience, help came from Asya Etnova and Vitaly Vovnoboy. The Israelis graciously allocated a novice publicist a section in their Russian-language publication on Jewish culture. Articles published on the site instantly found a response from the readership. Letters began to arrive, conversations began, and a whole section appeared to discuss articles.
There were many articles, they were published in a stream, and this seemed to Berkovich ineffective. He considered their publications on topics in the form of a collection more attractive. The idea of creating a network publication was embodied in 2001, when the first issue of the journal "Notes on Jewish History" was published. Today the magazine consists of 15 headings of the most diverse subjects, and its archive contains more than 5 thousand articles telling about Jewish culture and history. Their authors are hundreds of lovers and connoisseurs of Jewish traditions. The magazine took a high place in the popularity rating and was recommended as an educational resource of RUDN University.
A year later, the Jewish Antiquity almanac appeared on the network portal. It comes in electronic and paper versions. A guest book and forums have been created for discussion and exchange of information. Invaluable support in creating the site was provided by colleagues of Berkovich, many of them helped in its design disinterestedly.
At different times, Berkovich’s articles on Jewish history, science and literature were published by the magazines New World, Banner, Neva, Lechim, Literaturnaya Gazeta and other publications of Russia. Ukraine, Israel, Germany and the USA. Eugene Mikhailovich authored the script for the documentary "Questions to God", which tells about the victims of the Holocaust.
