Isidor Levin

Isidor Levin (Latvian: Izidors Levins; September 20, 1919 – July 24, 2018) was a Latvian Jewish-born Soviet/Estonian folklorist, narrative researcher, theologian, and Professor Emeritus at the St. Petersburg Institute of Religion and Philosophy.

Later he studied Comparative Folklore with Walter Anderson and Oskar Loorits, graduating in 1941.

During the Nazi occupation, Levin, who was Jewish, was hidden by his teacher Uku Masing.

In 1967 he obtained a PhD at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

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.