BLOCH, IVAN

(1836-1901)

   Russian pacifist, financier and writer. Born in Radom, Poland, he became a banker and was involved in the construction and operation of the Russian railway system. As a pacifist, he published a study of war; this multi-volume work helped convince Tsar Nicholas II to convene the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. Although he converted to Calvinism, he was concerned with Russian Jewry and campaigned on their behalf. A friend of Theodor Herzl, he introduced him to important Russian authorities.