Larisa Gershtein


Larisa Gershtein was a Soviet-born Israeli activist, singer and politician. She served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. She founded the Bulat Okudzhava Foundation in Israel and was Chairman of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy and Human Rights.

Early life and education

Larisa Gershtein was born on 20 August 1951. Her father was Joseph Abramovich Gershtein, a Kyrgyz Soviet documentary film director. Her mother's family was exiled to the Kyrgyz SSR in 1940 from Western Ukraine. In 1952, the family moved to Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, and in 1961 to Leningrad.
Gershtein graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute, then repatriated to Israel with her parents in 1975. For some time, she worked at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. In 1990, she married Eduard Kuznetsov. She worked with her husband at Radio Liberty.

Career

Gershtein served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem from December 1993 to February 2003. She adhered to right-wing political views and was opposed to compromise in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since the late 1970s she has performed songs by Bulat Okudzhava at concerts. In 1978, she made a tour of the United States. She performed songs in seven languages: Russian, Hebrew, English, Spanish, Yiddish, Judaeo-Spanish and Romani. She also translated Okudzhava's songs into Hebrew.

Death

Gershtein died on 9 December 2023, at the age of 72.