Where did the Pale of settlement start and end?
Pale of Settlement. The Third Partition of Poland, gobbling up the remainder of Poland, followed in 1795, bringing under Catherine's rule Lithuania, western Belorussia; and the Vol'hynia region of the northwestern Ukraine and of course even more Jews to be bottled up in the Pale.
Where did the Jews live in the Pale of settlement?
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.
What was the Pale of settlement in Russia?
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 do I view the development of the Pale of settlement?
To view the development of the Pale of Settlement click various map "layers" [check boxes] in the Toggle layers menu following a layer at a time from top to bottom.
What were the boundaries of the Pale of Settlement?
The Pale of Settlement included all of modern-day Belarus, Lithuania and Moldova, much of Ukraine and east-central Poland, and relatively small parts of Latvia and what is now the western Russian Federation.
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.
How did Jews get to the pale?
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).
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 did Minsk used to be called?
Early history By 980, the area was incorporated into the early medieval Principality of Polotsk, one of the earliest East Slavic principalities of Kievan Rus'. Minsk was first mentioned in the name form Měneskъ (Мѣнескъ) in the Primary Chronicle for the year 1067 in association with the Battle on the River Nemiga.
What country was Minsk in?
BelarusMinsk, city, capital of Belarus, and administrative centre of Minsk oblast (region). The city lies along the Svisloch River.
When was Dublin called the Pale?
“The Pale” in Ireland (so named after the late 14th century) was established at the time of Henry II's expedition (1171–72) and consisted of the territories conquered by England, where English settlements and rule were most…
What is Pale in Old English?
Noun. pale (plural pales) A wooden stake; a picket. quotations ▼ (archaic) Fence made from wooden stake; palisade.
What is the Pale Skyrim?
The Pale is one of the nine Holds of Skyrim. It is one of the four oldest holds in Skyrim, known collectively as Old Holds. Its unique shape resembles that of a boot. Its coat of arms is a four pointed star. The Capital City of The Pale is Dawnstar.
How big was Ireland's Pale?
In 1430 a grant of £10 was offered by King Henry VI to anyone who would build 'a castle or tower sufficiently embattled and fortified' – according to certain dimensions, in the Pale, within the next ten years. The dimensions were given as a minimum of 29 feet in length, 16 feet in breadth and 40ft in height.
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.
Which provinces were excluded from the Pale?
In 1835 the provinces of Astrakhan and the northern Caucasus were excluded from the Pale. In 1843 Nicholas I ordered the expulsion of the Jews from a strip of 50 versts (about 33 mi.) in width extending along the border with Prussia and Austria.
When was the province of Astrakhan added to the Pale of Settlement?
In 1799 *Courland was added to 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, ...
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 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 movement was the primary focus of the Pale?
The impetus came from a very important movement within Judaism called the Mussar Movement (“Morality Movement”).
Where did Jews live in Eastern Europe?
The Pale consisted of 25 provinces that included Ukraine, Lithuania, Belorussia, Crimea, and part of Poland (which had been partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772).
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.
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.
What was the western side of Poland?
The western side of what had formally been Poland was absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This western half of Poland (which contained important Jewish communities such as those located in Galicia) contained a smaller, but not insignificant, number of Jews. The physical and economic situation of these Jews of the eastern Austro-Hungarian Empire was generally much better than their fellow Jews living in western end of Czarist Russia.
Did caring for each other escape the notice of non-Jews?
This caring for each other did not escape the notice of non-Jews.
Where did pogroms occur?
Pogroms became frequent in cities both inside and outside the Pale , and were generally felt to be condoned by the state. Many of the Jews living east of the Pale were from time to time forced to return there, particularly in 1891. According to Czarist Russia's only census, in 1897, all but 300,000 of 5,000,000 Jews lived within the confines of the Pale.
Where were the Jewish Enlightenment movements born?
Many of the most important Jewish thinkers of the modern age were born in those cities. In Kyiv and Odesa, for example, the Jewish Enlightenment movement; (known as the Haskalah, found some of its earliest support. These cities were also the home of such famous Yiddish and Hebrew writers as Sholom Aliechem (1859-1916), I.L. Peretz (1852-1915), and Mendele Mocher Seforim (1835-1917) as well as important Zionist figures such as Leo Pinsker (1821-1891), Ahad Ha-Am (1856-1927), and Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940). The Haskalah movement also took hold in west central Ukraine where, for example, Khotyn's Jewish population grew after Bessarabia became part of Russia in 1812. By mid-century, it had become a center for Haskalah and even had a private school for girls.
What happened to the Jews after Alexander II?
After the assassination of Alexander II, however, the old restrictions were reimposed, and persecution of Jews continued until the February Revolution in 1917. In 1882 Jews in the Pale were barred from villages and thq ownership of agricultural land. Government-sanctioned pogroms against Jewish communities, during which Jews were beaten or killed and their personal property destroyed, were particularly brutal. The pogroms were led by the Black Hundreds, an officially sanctioned reactionary group composed largely of civil servants.
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”).
Where did Jews live in Eastern Europe?
The Pale consisted of 25 provinces that included Ukraine, Lithuania, Belorussia, Crimea, and part of Poland (which had been partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772).
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.
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.
What was the western side of Poland?
The western side of what had formally been Poland was absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This western half of Poland (which contained important Jewish communities such as those located in Galicia) contained a smaller, but not insignificant, number of Jews. The physical and economic situation of these Jews of the eastern Austro-Hungarian Empire was generally much better than their fellow Jews living in western end of Czarist Russia.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Where do Jews live?
Jews have lived and still continue to live in the governments of Warsaw, Kalisz, Kielce (Kyelstzk), Lomza (Lomzha), Lublin, Piotrkow. Plock, Radom, Suwalki, and Siedlec (Syedletz); but these are not included in the Pale. Formerly they were considered almost as a separate world. Until 1862 the Jews of these governments were forbidden to reside in the Pale; and, on the other hand, the Jews of the Pale had not the right to reside in any of these (Polish) 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
- The principles underpinning the Pale emerged in 1790 when members of the merchant class in Moscow protested to the municipal government against an influx of Jewish merchants from the provinces of Belorussia, which had been annexed from Polandin 1772. The Jews’ “well-known fraud and lies” made competition with them impossible, the Moscow merchants c...
Modifications of The Pale
- As definitively constituted in 1835, regulations permitted only short, temporary sojourns outside 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 Fi…
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 sought. One of the most impor…
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. Russian liberals were generally opposed to exceptional legislation and favored a degree of Jewish emancipation. Yet t…