how big was the pale of settlement

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What were the origins of the Pale of settlement?

Beginnings of the Pale. The Pale was first established in 1791, when the White-Russian Jews, who had passed under Russian rule (1772) at the first partition of Poland, were forbidden to join merchant or artisan gilds in governments other than those of White Russia.

What was the Pale of settlement in Russia?

With the liquidation of the Sich and the annexation of the Crimean khanate in 1783, the sparsely settled southern lands (named Novorossiya, or New Russia) …western regions known as the Pale of Settlement ever since the partitions of Poland (in the 1790s) had brought large numbers of Jews under Russian rule.

What happened to the Jews of the Pale of settlement?

In some periods, special dispensations were given for Jews to live in the major imperial cities, but these were tenuous, and several thousand Jews were expelled to the Pale from Moscow as late as 1891. The extremely restrictive decrees and recurrent pogroms led to much emigration from the Pale, mainly to the United States and Western Europe.

What was life like in the Pale of settlement?

Furthermore, it composed about 20% of the territory of European Russia and largely corresponded to historical lands of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Cossack Hetmanate, and the Ottoman Empire (with Crimean Khanate and Principality of Moldavia ). Life in the Pale for many was economically bleak.

Why did they call it the Pale of Settlement?

It is this definition of pale from which the phrase “beyond the pale” is derived. In imperial Russia, what came to be called the Pale of Settlement (Cherta Osedlosti) came into being as a result of the introduction of large numbers of Jews into the Russian sphere after the three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, 1795).

Was Minsk part of the Pale of Settlement?

In 1835 Minsk was officially included into the Pale of Settlement, which later led to a rise in Jewish population. Throughout the 19th century the city grew and significantly improved.

What does shtetl mean in Yiddish?

townBut according to Shandler, a professor in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers: “In Yiddish, shtetl simply means 'town' – anywhere, at any time, inhabited by anyone. In popular usage, it has acquired all kinds of connotations, especially as the word moves into other languages.”

What's a Shadchan?

Definition of shadchan : a Jewish marriage broker or matchmaker.

What did they eat in the shtetl?

The excellent nutrition naturally available in two dietary staples, rye bread and sauerkraut, served to ward off many a disease. The favorite accompaniment to baked or boiled potatoes was herring, which was also the preferred food to be eaten with bread. In Lithuania, herring was a national dish.

What does Goyish mean?

A person who is not Jewish. [Yiddish, from Hebrew gôy, Jew ignorant of the Jewish religion, non-Jew; see gwy in Semitic roots.] goy′ish adj.

Was Minsk ever part of the Ukraine?

From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union....Minsk.Minsk Мінск · МинскFirst mentioned1067Government• ChairmanVladimir KukharevArea21 more rows

When was Minsk part of Russia?

It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Today our tour stops over the city of Minsk.

Why did they say Minsk was in Russia in friends?

David says that now he lives in Minsk, Russia, but Minsk is the capital of Belarus - which is a different country west of Russia.

What is Minsk known for?

Minsk isn't just concrete This has made Minsk famous for its Soviet architecture, with big concrete buildings and wide avenues, and many hail Minsk as the most perfect example of a Soviet city, even claiming that the isolated dictatorship is frozen in time.

What was the Pale of Settlement?

Cherta [ postoyannoy yevreyskoy] osedlosti ) was a territory within the borders of czarist Russia wherein the residence of Jews was legally authorized. Limits for the area in which Jewish settlement was permissible in Russia came into being when Russia was confronted with the necessity of adjusting to a Jewish element within its borders, from which Jews had been excluded since the end of the 15 th century. These limitations were consonant with the general conception of freedom of movement of persons which then applied. At the time, most of the inhabitants of Russia, not only the serfs but also townsmen and merchants, were deprived of freedom of movement and confined to their places of residence.

When was the Pale of Settlement abolished?

After the Revolution of February 1917 the provisional government abolished the Pale of Settlement among the rest of the anti-Jewish restrictions. The Pale covered an area of about 1 million sq. km. (386,100 sq. mi.) from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

What law did not apply to the Vistula region?

However, they were disappointed when these alleviations came to a complete halt after 1881, as part of the general reaction in Russia at this period. The "Temporary ( *May ) Laws" of 1881 prohibited any new settlement by Jews outside towns and townlets in the Pale of Settlement (this law did not apply to the Vistula Region).

What language did the Jews speak in the Pale of Settlement?

The language spoken by the Jews in the Pale of Settlement was Yiddish (according to the census of 1897 by 99% of the Jews). Most Jewish children received a Jewish education in the ḥeder and the yeshivah. Jewish literature and newspapers in Yiddish , Hebrew, Russian, and Polish circulated in many thousands of copies.

What was the original motion to expel Jews from Russia?

The extreme Right retorted with a counter-motion "to expel the Jews from Russia"; the original motion was voted upon in February 1911 and transferred to the commission for personal freedom, where it fell into oblivion and was no longer mentioned in plenary session of the Duma.

What rights did the peasants have?

The peasants were granted the right of demanding the expulsion of the Jews who lived among them. These decrees were bound up with intensified administrative pressure, brutality by local authorities, and the systematic acceptance of bribery on the part of the lower administrative ranks.

How many Jews were there in Russia in 1897?

According to the census of 1897, 4,899,300 Jews lived there, forming 94% of the total Jewish population of Russia and c. 11.6% of the general population of this area. The largest of the other nations living within the area of the Pale were the Ukrainian, Polish, Belorussian, Russian, Lithuanian, Moldavian (mostly in Bessarabia), and German.

What is the pale of settlement?

Pale of Settlement. The territories of the Russian Empire in which Jews were permitted permanent settlement. Although large in size (approximately 472,590 square miles or 1,224,008 sq km), and containing areas of dynamic economic growth, the Pale (known in Russian as cherta postoiannogo zhitel’stva evreev; the English word pale was borrowed ...

When was the Pale of Settlement abolished?

The Pale of Settlement, and all other exceptional legislation applicable to Russian Jewry, was formally abolished by the Russian Provisional Government; its disbanding occurred on 20 March (new style, 2 April) 1917.

What were the restrictions on the Pale?

During the reign of Emperor Alexander II (1855–1881), the restrictions of the Pale were relaxed for categories of Jews deemed economically productive, or fulfilling the official agenda of Jewish acculturation into Russian society. These privileged groups included merchants of the First Guild (1859), holders of academic degrees (1861), and some military veterans (1862). The most significant alteration came in 1865, when the regime permitted Jewish master craft workers to leave the Pale, a provision that potentially applied to one-fifth of the Jewish population therein. The burdensome bureaucratic regulations that accompanied this enactment ensured that the number of Jews who could take advantage of it was relatively low.

What was the public debate on the pale?

With the rise of the Russian periodical press in the second half of the nineteenth century, and a growing public debate on the “Jewish Question,” the status of the Pale attracted widespread attention. This debate failed to follow precise ideological divisions.

What was the impact of the pale?

Impact of the Pale. The Pale in general, and the May Laws in particular, have generally been considered chief contributors to the impoverishment of Russian Jewry at the end of the nineteenth century.

Where were Jews banned from the Pale?

For the first half of the nineteenth century, Jews were banned from the cities of Kiev, Nikolaev, and Sevastopol. Jews were not allowed to live in peasant villages in Mogilev or Vitebsk provinces, or in villages inhabited by Cossacks or state peasants in Chernigov and Poltava provinces. As a measure against smuggling, Jews were barred from new settlement in villages within a 50-verst zone (about 33 mi. or 53 km) from the empire’s western frontiers. On the other hand, Jews of all social estates were allowed free movement within the Pale, a right not enjoyed by non-Jewish members of the largest class of urban dwellers, the meshchanstvo (burghers).

Where did Jews live in 1835?

(YIVO) Statutes of 1804 and 1835 delineated the provinces in which Jews were specifically allowed to reside: the Lithuanian provinces of Vilna, Kovno, and Grodno; the Belorussian provinces of Minsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev; the Ukrainian provinces of Volhynia, Podolia, Kiev, ...

What is the pale of settlement?

The Pale of Settlement was a term used by the Russian Empire. It meant the borders in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed (from 1791 to 1917). Beyond these places, Jewish residency, permanent or temporary, was mostly forbidden.

When did the Pale end?

The end of the enforcement and formal demarcation of the Pale coincided with the beginning of World War I in 1914 and then ultimately, the fall of the Russian Empire in the February and October Revolutions of 1917.

What were the consequences of the pale?

One consequence of the Pale was a tendency to restrict marriage by Jews, not just to other Jews, but often in practice to those who attended the same synagogue. The effects are similar to those of the Royal Families of Europe, who eventually showed the genetic effects of inbreeding even though the marriages were legal and in other ways quite appropriate. Just as in European royalty, the communities behind the Pale, and now in normal life, show a higher percentage of deleterious genetic defects than the wider population. This is because the parents were, unknowingly, to some extent consanguineous (related).

What was the motivation for the Pale?

Historians argue that the motivations for its creation were mainly economic and nationalist in nature.

Where did the word "pale" come from?

The old English term pale is got from the Latin word palus, a stake, and so extended to mean the area enclosed by a fence or boundary.

What is the Pale of Settlement?

Cherta [ postoyannoy yevreyskoy ] osedlosti ), territory within the borders of czarist Russia wherein the residence of Jews was legally authorized. Limits for the area in which Jewish settlement was permissible in Russia came into being when Russia was confronted with the necessity of adjusting to a Jewish element within its borders, from which Jews had been excluded since the end of the 15 th century. These limitations were consonant with the general conception of freedom of movement of persons which then applied. At the time, most of the inhabitants of Russia, not only the serfs but also townsmen and merchants, were deprived of freedom of movement and confined to their places of residence.

What provinces were included in the Pale of Settlement?

In the "Jewish Statute" promulgated in 1804, the province of Astrakhan and the whole of the northern Caucasus were added to the regions open to Jews. In 1812, upon its annexation, *Bessarabia was also included. The "Kingdom of Poland," incorporated into Russia in 1815, which included ten provinces that later became known as the "Vistula Region," was not officially included within the Pale of Settlement, and until 1868 the transit of Jews through it to the Lithuanian and Ukrainian provinces was prohibited by law. In practice, however, the provinces of the Vistula Region were generally included within the Pale of Settlement.

What was the Pale of Russia?

The Pale covered an area of about 1 million sq. km. (386,100 sq. mi.) from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. According to the census of 1897, 4,899,300 Jews lived there, forming 94% of the total Jewish population of Russia and c. 11.6% of the general population of this area. The largest of the other nations living within the area of the Pale were the Ukrainian, Polish, Belorussian, Russian, Lithuanian, Moldavian (mostly in Bessarabia), and German. These (with the exception of the Germans) were essentially concentrated in their own territorial regions, where they formed the majority of the population. The Jews were a minority in every province (from 17.5% in the province of Grodno to 3.8% in the province of Taurida); 82% of the Jews lived in the towns and townlets of the Pale and their concentration in these was prominent: They formed 36.9% of the urban population, and in nine provinces they formed the majority of the urban population (province of Minsk – 58.8%; Grodno – 57.7%; Mogilev – 52.4%; etc.). In the townlets and many small towns all the inhabitants or the overwhelming majority were Jews. The 10 largest communities were *Warsaw (219,149 persons); *Odessa (138,915); *Lodz (98,677); *Vilna (64,000); *Kishinev (50,237); *Minsk (47,562); *Bialystok (41,900); *Berdichev (41,617); Yekaterinoslav ( *Dnepropetrovsk; 40,009); *Vitebsk (34,470), and *Kiev 31,800.

How was the pale accomplished?

This was accomplished both by anti-Jewish enactments on the part of the government and by the growing impatience of Jewish society and liberal public opinion with these disabilities.

What was the purpose of the partition of Poland?

After the first partition of Poland in 1772, when masses of Jews living within the former country came under Russian rule, it was decided (1791) to permit the presence of the Jews not only in their former regions of residence , but also in the new areas which had then been annexed from Turkey on the Black Sea shore, in whose rapid colonization the Russian government was interested. On the other hand, Jewish merchants were prohibited from trading in the provinces of inner Russia. These decrees were intended to serve the national and economic interests of the state by preventing competition of the Jewish with Russian merchants and encouraging settlement in the desolate steppes of southern Russia; after a time these formed the provinces of *Kherson, *Dnepropetrovsk (Yekaterinoslav), and Taurida ( *Crimea ). The Russian government also sought thus to reduce the excess of Jews in the branches of commerce and innkeeping within the territory annexed from Poland. In 1794 the earlier decree was ratified and applied to the regions which had been annexed with the second partition of Poland (1793) also – the provinces of *Minsk, *Volhynia, and *Podolia – as well as to the region to the east of the River Dnieper (the provinces of *Chernigov and *Poltava ).

What was the Pale of Settlement?

The Pale of Settlement, ca. 1855. Originally formed in 1791 by Russia’s Catherine II, the Pale of Settlement was a region designated for Jews. For political, economic, and religious reasons, very few Jews were allowed to live elsewhere. The area mostly falls within today’s Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and Moldova. At the end of the nineteenth century, close to 95 percent of the 5.3 million Jews in the Russian Empire lived in the Pale of Settlement. In early 1917, the Pale of Settlement was abolished, permitting Jews to live where they wished in the former Russian Empire. This region continued to be a center of Jewish communal life until World War II.

How many Jews lived in the Pale of Settlement?

At the end of the nineteenth century, close to 95 percent of the 5.3 million Jews in the Russian Empire lived in the Pale of Settlement. In early 1917, the Pale of Settlement was abolished, permitting Jews to live where they wished in the former Russian Empire. This region continued to be a center of Jewish communal life until World War II.

What movement was the primary focus of the Pale?

The impetus came from a very important movement within Judaism called the Mussar Movement (“Morality Movement”).

Why did Lilienthal leave the Czar?

Within a decade, Lilienthal’s schools closed for lack of faculty and students, though Lilienthal’s defenders claim that he left because he realized that the Czar’s “benign intent” was to convert Jews to Christianity. He migrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he headed up a Reform congregation.

Why did Rabbi Salanter confront the entire community in the synagogue?

He confronted the entire community in the synagogue regarding the matter in order to win justice for the widow.

When was the Volozhin Yeshiva reopened?

It was closed by the Czarist government in 1879 and was reopened in 1881. While the Volozhin Yeshiva was able to yield to some of the demands of the Czarist government, the demand that all faculty members have diplomas from recognized Russian educational institutions in order to teach “Russian language and culture” was not acceptable. And so, the yeshiva was closed in 1892 by Russian inspectors and its students exiled.

Did caring for each other escape the notice of non-Jews?

This caring for each other did not escape the notice of non-Jews.

When was the pale established?

Beginnings of the Pale. The Pale was first established in 1791, when the White-Russian Jews, who had passed under Russian rule (1772) at the first partition of Poland, were forbidden to join merchant or artisan gilds in governments other than those of White Russia. As a favor to the Jews, Catherine II.

Which city was excluded from the Pale?

Under Alexander III. the city of Taganrog, the district of Rostov, and the city of Yalta (1893) were excluded from the Pale, which was still further narrowed during his reign by the so-called "Temporary Regulations" (1882), which have now remained in force for more than twenty years.

Why did the Pale government exist?

The fundamental official motive for this limitation is ostensibly the protection of the less enlightened Russian people against the economic enslavement that might be imposed upon them by the Jews. But the exceptions made by the government were directly calculated to develop the economic activity of the Jewish population; hence it may be assumed that by the establishment of the Pale it was really intended to remove the religious influence of the Jews over the Russians. Accordingly, the Pale included, besides the Polish governments, the South-Russian governments, where the Greek-Orthodox element did not form a considerable portion of the mixed population. With the successive partitions of Poland the Pale was enlarged by the addition of governments wherein Jews lived in great numbers. In 1794 it included those of Minsk, Izyaslav, Bratzlav, Polotzk, Moghilef, Kiev, Chernigov, Novgorod-Syeversk, and Yekaterinoslav, and the territory of Taurida. To these were soon added the Lithuanian governments of Wilna and Grodno; and in 1799 the Pale was further augmented by the addition of Courland. In 1804 Jews were given access to the governments of Astrakhan and Caucasia; but at the end of the reign of Alexander I. and in the reign of Nicholas I. the extent of the Pale was diminished. Thus in 1835 the governments of Astrakhan and Caucasia were no longer included. At the same time the Jews were forbidden to reside in certain places within the Pale itself, e.g., in the military ports of Sebastopol and Nikolaief (Nikolayev), and in Kiev; in the villages of the governments of Moghilef (Mohilev) and Vitebsk; and on crown lands and in the Cossack villages of the governments of Chernigov and Poltava. Aside from this, the Jews were forbidden to settle anew in the fifty-verst boundary zone. About this time also Jews were expelled from the villages and hamlets of certain governments.

How long can Jews stay in the pale?

In general, Jews may leave the Pale for a period of six weeks, with an extension to eight weeks, in connection with legal matters, or in order to take possession of property inherited by them, or for commercial purposes, or to submit bids on contracts for work to be done within the Pale.

When were Jewish farmers allowed to settle in Siberia?

In Siberia Jewish farmers were assigned certain districts in 1835, in the governments of Tobolsk and Omsk; but in 1837 not only was the further settlement of such farmers prohibited, but provision was made for diminishing the number of those already settled there.

Who was allowed to remain in Siberia?

Only criminals and their sons of eighteen years of age or upward were allowed to remain in the districts in question. In the reign of Alexander II. the right of Jews to register in Siberian communities was revoked. Only those Jews who had been sent to Siberia for some crime, and their children, were excepted.

Did the Jewish people stay in villages?

By the provisions of the new law Jews were forbidden to settle anew outside of towns and townlets; and only those Jews were allowed to remain in the villages who had already lived there for many years. Yet the general conditions of the times led to the expulsion also of those who had the legal right toreside in villages. The senate was overwhelmed with complaints, and repeatedly declared that certain expulsions were illegal, explaining, for instance, that the removal of a Jew from one house to another in the same village could not be considered sufficient cause for his expulsion from the village itself; and that a Jew who had left a village for a term of service in the army did not thereby lose the right at the conclusion of such service to return to his old residence. The local authorities, however, continued and still continue to expel the outlawed Jews. In the reign of Alexander III. the Jews were energetically removed from the fifty-verst boundary zone, where they had again settled during the milder reign of Alexander II. Recently the law prohibiting Jews from living in the boundary zone was abolished; and the Pale was correspondingly augmented.

What is the Pale of Settlement in Russia?

A portion of Russia in which Jews are allowed to reside. Unlike other Russian subjects, the Jewish inhabitants do not generally possess the natural right of every citizen to live unrestrictedly in any place in the empire. Furthermore, they are permitted to leave the Pale of Settlement—that is, to move to another place for permanent or for temporary residence—only under certain conditions defined by law.

When was the Pale established?

The Pale was first established in 1791, when the White-Russian Jews, who had passed under Russian rule (1772) at the first partition of Poland, were forbidden to join merchant or artisan gilds in governments other than those of White Russia. As a favor to the Jews, Catherine II. extended at the same time their right of citizenship to the viceregency of Yekaterinoslav and the territory of Taurida. Since that time this regulation has been constantly in force, though the limits of the Pale have been modified from time to time.

How long can a merchant stay in the Pale?

Merchants of the first gild: The law of 1859 permits Jews who have been registered for a period of five years as merchants of such gild within the Pale to register also in the gilds of any place outside the Pale, and to establish themselves in such places with their families and a certain number of servants. But when a merchant who has been a member of the gild for less than ten years ceases to be a member of it, he must, even when possessing real property, move back to the Pale within two years. Only continuous membership in the first gild for a period of ten years secures to the merchant the right to remain without the Pale after leaving the gild. A special exception is made in the city of Moscow. A Jew may become a member of the Moscow merchant gild only by permission of the minister of finance and the governor-general of Moscow; and the right of residence in Moscow is withdrawn on resignation from the gild.

Why did the Pale government exist?

The fundamental official motive for this limitation is ostensibly the protection of the less enlightened Russian people against the economic enslavement that might be imposed upon them by the Jews. But the exceptions made by the government were directly calculated to develop the economic activity of the Jewish population; hence it may be assumed that by the establishment of the Pale it was really intended to remove the religious influence of the Jews over the Russians. Accordingly, the Pale included, besides the Polish governments, the South-Russian governments, where the Greek-Orthodox element did not form a considerable portion of the mixed population. With the successive partitions of Poland the Pale was enlarged by the addition of governments wherein Jews lived in great numbers. In 1794 it included those of Minsk, Izyaslav, Bratzlav, Polotzk, Moghilef, Kiev, Chernigov, Novgorod-Syeversk, and Yekaterinoslav, and the territory of Taurida. To these were soon added the Lithuanian governments of Wilna and Grodno; and in 1799 the Pale was further augmented by the addition of Courland. In 1804 Jews were given access to the governments of Astrakhan and Caucasia; but at the end of the reign of Alexander I. and in the reign of Nicholas I. the extent of the Pale was diminished. Thus in 1835 the governments of Astrakhan and Caucasia were no longer included. At the same time the Jews were forbidden to reside in certain places within the Pale itself, e.g., in the military ports of Sebastopol and Nikolaief (Nikolayev), and in Kiev; in the villages of the governments of Moghilef (Mohilev) and Vitebsk; and on crown lands and in the Cossack villages of the governments of Chernigov and Poltava. Aside from this, the Jews were forbidden to settle anew in the fifty-verst boundary zone. About this time also Jews were expelled from the villages and hamlets of certain governments.

What is the right of residence in Siberia?

In Turkestan the right of residence is granted to those Jews only whose forefathers have lived there from time immemorial. In Siberia Jewish farmers were assigned certain districts in 1835, in the governments of Tobolsk and Omsk; but in 1837 not only was the further settlement of such farmers prohibited, but provision was made for diminishing the number of those already settled there. Only criminals and their sons of eighteen years of age or upward were allowed to remain in the districts in question. In the reign of Alexander II. the right of Jews to register in Siberian communities was revoked. Only those Jews who had been sent to Siberia for some crime, and their children, were excepted.

Origins of The Pale

Modifications of The Pale

Impact of The Pale

• The Pale in general, and the May Laws in particular, have generally been considered chief contributors to the impoverishment of Russian Jewry at the end of the nineteenth century. Yet given the size of the Pale (more than twice the size of contemporary France), and the economic opportunities within its borders, additional causes should also be soug...

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Public Debate on The Pale