MAREK, PESACH

MAREK, PESACH (Piotr; 1862–1920), historian of Russian Jews and Yiddish folklorist. After completing his law studies at the University of Moscow, Marek was among the founders of the Benei Zion society of the Moscow Zionists in 1884. Among his studies published in the journal voskhod were articles on Jewish printing in Russia (1888), on the history of Moscow's Jews (1893, 1895, 1896), and on the Jewish Community Council of Belorussia (1903). His most important contribution was Di Yidishe Folkslider in Rusland ("Yiddish Folk Songs in Russia," 1901), which he compiled with saul ginsburg . This volume laid the foundation for later studies in the field. Marek's sketches for a history of Jewish education in Russia, published in 1909, embraced the period from 1844 to 1873 and dealt with both traditional and secular systems of education. Marek also wrote for Russian-Jewish historical periodicals and was a contributor to the Russian Jewish encyclopedia. Due to the famine he moved to Volsk, Saratov district, and there he finalized his two works "The History of Religious Struggle" in two volumes, and "The History of the Jewish Intelligentsia in Russia." -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rejzen, Leksikon, 2 (1927), 338–42; LNYL, 5 (1963), 504–5. (Yehuda Slutsky)