Isidor Levin ( lv, Izidors Levins; September 20, 1919 – July 24, 2018) was a

Latvian Jew The history of the Jews in Latvia dates back to the first Jewish colony established in Piltene in 1571. Jews contributed to Latvia's development until the Northern War (1700–1721), which decimated Latvia's population.R. O. G. Urch. Latvi ...

ish-born

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n folklorist, narrative researcher, theologian, and Professor Emeritus at the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Institute of Religion and Philosophy. Levin was an internationally recognized folklorist, who supported the study of

Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...

and helped Estonian researchers continue their work during the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

. He was born in

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in September 1919. Levin moved from

in 1937 to study at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

in the area of Judaic and Semitic studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Jewish Studies. Later he studied Comparative Folklore with Walter Anderson and

Oskar Loorits Oskar Loorits ( – 12 December 1961) was an Estonian folklorist.Felix J. Oinas, ''Loorits, Oskar'', Encyclopedia of the fairy tale Vol 8 (1996), pages 1193-1195. Life Loorits was born in Suure-Kõpu Parish, Viljandi County. He initially studie ...

, graduating in 1941. During the Nazi occupation, Levin, who was Jewish, was hidden by his teacher Uku Masing. From 1952 to 1955 he studied Russian language and literature at the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute. The following year he became a lecturer in German folklore at the Leningrad Institute of Germanic Studies. In 1967 he obtained a PhD at the

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (russian: Институт востоковедения Российской Академии Наук), formerly Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, ...

in Moscow. Levin was one of the founding members of the

International Society for Folk Narrative Research International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ISFNR) and was an honorary member of the Folklore Fellows. He latterly donated his personal library to the University of Tartu and in 2001 was awarded the Order of the White Star, 4th Class, by then-president

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian independ ...

. He died in July 2018 at the age of 98.Isidor Levin obituary
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Recognition

* 2001

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

(Class IV) * 2012 Granted Estonian citizenship for meritorious service in support of Estonian culture

References

1919 births 2018 deaths Estonian Jews Latvian Jews Russian Jews University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Soviet folklorists People from Daugavpils {{Estonia-academic-bio-stub