Russian Pogroms: The
Forgotten Terrors
Anti-semetic pogroms ravaged Russia’s landscape in
the early 19th century, stretching well into the 20th century. They devastated the Jewish
community, massacring hundreds of thousands. But what were these riots, somehow
lost throughout history? Today, we delve into the forgotten terrors of Russian
pogroms.
Pogrom is a Russian word meaning ‘‘to wreak havoc, to demolish
violently”.
Jews were first recorded as living permanently in Russia in 1018,
in Kiev. This was a time when Jews enjoyed the same economic rights as other
citizens, though their luck could vary in the next century, depending on the
ruler. In the 1500s, the Byzantine Church convinced many to restrict Jewish
presence and over the years, many tsars ordered Jews to convert to Christianity
or simply exiled them.
When a record number of Jews flooded Russia, including 500,000 in
1791 alone, a Pale of Settlement was created to deal with the foreign population
that was as a general rule feared and hated by Russians. In 1812 the Pale was
finalized, an area where most Jews were forced to live, but suffered from
economic restrictions and additional taxes. They still lived among Russians, who
were often uneducated and taught to blindly hate the
Jews.
Tsar Nicholas I made an attempt at destroying Jewish life by
forcing boys to serve in the military for 25 years as early as age 12. He often
kidnapped these children or forced towns to give them up. Christian schools
were built to forcibly assimilate all young Jews and prohibited them from
wearing traditional Jewish attire.
But some of the worst atrocities were yet to come. The Russian
pogroms were to begin, and it all started with the murder of one
man.
Tsar Alexander II
was a kind and just emperor, who brought back peace to a nation distraught by
war and improved conditions for peasants. He was known for having liberated the
serfs, who were practically slaves; from cruel land owners, as well as
re-establishing some equality between the rich and the poor. Most of all,
Alexander’s reign resulted in better lives for the Jews, though pressure forced
him to continue attempts at assimilation through Christian schools. The Jewish
population doubled, reaching 5 million. Despite his competence, he had survived
four assassination attempts, two by the Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), a
group of radical revolutionaries that hoped to begin a social
movement.
It is Sunday, March the 13th, 1881. As with every Sunday, tsar Alexander II travels to the military
roll call in his closed carriage. Crowds line the pavement, among them a young
member of the People’s Will. He throws a bomb at the passing carriage. It
detonates, wounding the driver and civilians, but Alexander is unharmed. As the
tsar is hastily ushered away another bomb is thrown by a second man, also of the
People’s Will. It lands at Alexander’s
feet.
His legs are gone; his abdomen ripped apart, his face mutilated.
He dies soon after. One of the greatest ironies was that the plans to have an
elected government, or Duma, put in place, one of Alexander’s final ideas, was
to be released the very next day. This would have given the revolutionaries what
they wanted and perhaps prevent the pogroms from ever happening. Instead, it
takes nearly 25 years for the reform to
resurface.
After the assassination, sparks fly as many blame Jews for the
murder. Today, some say that the government helped spread these rumors, but more
commonly it is said that businesses that were competing or indebted to Jewish
money lenders created the anti-semetic uproar. Jews lose the right to own land,
settle in villages and attend schools.
A pogrom is defined as ‘an organized massacre, originating with
the Jews in Russia’. The first significant pogroms begin to take place, in which
peasants seek ‘retaliation’ for the killing of their leader. Thousands of Jewish
homes are destroyed, families are reduced to poverty and massive numbers of
Jewish men, women and children are injured in 166 towns. The worst pogroms of
that year occurred in Kiev and Odessa, where the first pogroms had taken place
60 years ago. During these pogrom attacks the rioters raped jews and looted
their property. They destroyed businesses and
homes.
Pogroms could be organized and encouraged by the government, but
they were barbaric, crazed and out of control. Although authorities would
sometimes attempt to put an end to the rioting, police forces would mostly look
the other way or sometimes even aid the
attackers
Alexander III, the late Tsar’s son, takes over. He is harsh,
focusing the anger of the masses on the Jews. The economy and living conditions
are crumbling and the Jews are already resented by much of the Russian
population. It was very easy to use the Jews as a scapegoat. Also he wanted to
distract the population from the real problem: the
government.
As the country regains some stability, the number of pogroms
decreases. This takes 4 years to accomplish, from 1881 to 1884. During this
time, only two Jews were killed, but nothing could prepare them for what was to
come.
Alexander III dies in 1894, and his son, Nicholas II becomes the
new tsar of Russia. His reign brought further violence to the jewish
population.
1903 brought an unprecedented wave of pogroms to Russia. The
government tries to stop a revolution by allowing mobs to wreak havoc on the
Jews. They would organize pogroms by riling up civilians, mostly peasants, and
stood by as riots destroyed jewish residencies and
businesses.
One of the biggest examples of this is in
Kishinev, April 6-7th,
where 45 Jews are murdered and 1,300 homes are destroyed. The root of this
pogrom was anti-semetic newspapers bombarding the population with headlines such
as ‘Death to the Jews!’ and ‘Crusade Against the Hated Race!’. These papers
claimed that Jews were behind the murder of a young boy, which gave Russian a
reason to rally.
Also in 1903, a
book called ‘’The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was published and anti
semetic propaganda flourished. The book was distributed by the Russian secret
police to civilians. It explained how every hundred years, a group of jewish
leaders, called the Elders of Zion, prepared a meeting to discuss how they were
to control the world in the next century. Obviously these were false documents,
however many Russians took this as proof that the Jews were evil, thus
justifying the pogroms.
These events ended in 1906, after an unsuccessful revolution in
1905. After the revolution attempt, over 600 pogroms swept the nation, an
anti-semetic assault like Russia has never seen. Russians would begin by
protesting against the tsar, but soon their anger would be directed at the Jews
instead. It did not help that to keep the masses fixated elsewhere, the
government labeled the Jews as the revolutionaries that had attempted to
overthrow authority. The pogroms of 1905 and 1906 left nearly one thousand dead
and many thousand gravely wounded.
But the worst wave of pogroms was yet to
hit.
In 1917, the Russian government is overthrown by revolutionaries
in a very short amount of time. The workers strike against poor living
conditions and too little food, flooding the streets. Soon, their cries for more
bread turn to a request for the removal of their emperor. They demand freedom
from poverty and the World War I, or death. The tsar sends out soldiers and
police officers, but even previously loyal followers turn against their leader,
leaving Nicolas II defenseless. He, along with much of his family, is
murdered.
Once the government is dismantled, chaos reigns. Pogroms are
started in towns near the frontline, by drunk or angry soldiers. The massive
amounts of disorder means that crowds cannot be regulated, so pogroms are
carried out easily and without intervention. The Russian population once again
needs somewhere to vent their anger, and once again the Jews are easy targets,
still blamed for many of the country’s
problems.
The consequences of the massacre are incomprehensible. 1,236
pogroms occur between 1917 and 1921, 887 of them considered major. In a single
attack, over 1,700 Jews are brutally murdered within a few hours. In total, the
number of Jews killed is estimated at 100,000, but some believe it may be as
high as 250,000. Several times that are wounded. 300,000
children are left orphaned. The homes and businesses destroyed are innumerable,
often thought to be over a million. The pogroms were poorly recorded; the dead
and wounded Jews not of much importance to the
rioters.
Jewish self-defense groups begin to form in an attempt to protect
the population from the atrocities they face. But they often fail to withstand
military units or armed bands, especially those in small towns. One of the most
successful Jewish groups is made in Odessa and is known as ‘The Jewish Militia
for War Against Pogroms’, preventing many pogroms from ever taking
place.
This devastating assault finally calms down in 1921, after five
years of murder, rape, destruction and thievery. The age of the pogroms comes to
an end, in Russia at least, though the Jewish population has greatly
changed.
An estimated 2.5 million Jews emigrated from Russia between 1881
and 1921. Nearly 2 million make their destination the United States of America,
which finds the sudden burst in Jewish immigrants overwhelming. In response to
this explosion of foreigners, the US made it increasingly difficult for Jews to
come into the country, and immigration was nearly impossible during the final
two waves of pogroms.
After WWII, the persecution of Jews continued in Russia, and
those who remained distinctly Jewish were sent to jail, exiled to gulags, or
executed. Jewish items, such as the Torah, had to be smuggled into the country.
Even though Russia still wanted an end to the Jews, emigration was forbidden
for many years.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, conditions have vastly
improved for the Jews living in Russia, but the population is dwindling ever
since emigration became legal. A Jewish revitalization effort has begun in
recent years, hoping to bring back the Jewish culture to Russia in a positive
way.
Whatever we do, we must not forget the massacres that occurred
during the pogroms. We must not forget the Jews that lost their homes, their
families, their lives in these violent riots. We must not forget how these
events were caused, or the devastating consequences they left in their wake. We
must not let the Russian pogroms become another terror, buried in
time.
Forgotten Terrors
Anti-semetic pogroms ravaged Russia’s landscape in
the early 19th century, stretching well into the 20th century. They devastated the Jewish
community, massacring hundreds of thousands. But what were these riots, somehow
lost throughout history? Today, we delve into the forgotten terrors of Russian
pogroms.
Pogrom is a Russian word meaning ‘‘to wreak havoc, to demolish
violently”.
Jews were first recorded as living permanently in Russia in 1018,
in Kiev. This was a time when Jews enjoyed the same economic rights as other
citizens, though their luck could vary in the next century, depending on the
ruler. In the 1500s, the Byzantine Church convinced many to restrict Jewish
presence and over the years, many tsars ordered Jews to convert to Christianity
or simply exiled them.
When a record number of Jews flooded Russia, including 500,000 in
1791 alone, a Pale of Settlement was created to deal with the foreign population
that was as a general rule feared and hated by Russians. In 1812 the Pale was
finalized, an area where most Jews were forced to live, but suffered from
economic restrictions and additional taxes. They still lived among Russians, who
were often uneducated and taught to blindly hate the
Jews.
Tsar Nicholas I made an attempt at destroying Jewish life by
forcing boys to serve in the military for 25 years as early as age 12. He often
kidnapped these children or forced towns to give them up. Christian schools
were built to forcibly assimilate all young Jews and prohibited them from
wearing traditional Jewish attire.
But some of the worst atrocities were yet to come. The Russian
pogroms were to begin, and it all started with the murder of one
man.
Tsar Alexander II
was a kind and just emperor, who brought back peace to a nation distraught by
war and improved conditions for peasants. He was known for having liberated the
serfs, who were practically slaves; from cruel land owners, as well as
re-establishing some equality between the rich and the poor. Most of all,
Alexander’s reign resulted in better lives for the Jews, though pressure forced
him to continue attempts at assimilation through Christian schools. The Jewish
population doubled, reaching 5 million. Despite his competence, he had survived
four assassination attempts, two by the Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), a
group of radical revolutionaries that hoped to begin a social
movement.
It is Sunday, March the 13th, 1881. As with every Sunday, tsar Alexander II travels to the military
roll call in his closed carriage. Crowds line the pavement, among them a young
member of the People’s Will. He throws a bomb at the passing carriage. It
detonates, wounding the driver and civilians, but Alexander is unharmed. As the
tsar is hastily ushered away another bomb is thrown by a second man, also of the
People’s Will. It lands at Alexander’s
feet.
His legs are gone; his abdomen ripped apart, his face mutilated.
He dies soon after. One of the greatest ironies was that the plans to have an
elected government, or Duma, put in place, one of Alexander’s final ideas, was
to be released the very next day. This would have given the revolutionaries what
they wanted and perhaps prevent the pogroms from ever happening. Instead, it
takes nearly 25 years for the reform to
resurface.
After the assassination, sparks fly as many blame Jews for the
murder. Today, some say that the government helped spread these rumors, but more
commonly it is said that businesses that were competing or indebted to Jewish
money lenders created the anti-semetic uproar. Jews lose the right to own land,
settle in villages and attend schools.
A pogrom is defined as ‘an organized massacre, originating with
the Jews in Russia’. The first significant pogroms begin to take place, in which
peasants seek ‘retaliation’ for the killing of their leader. Thousands of Jewish
homes are destroyed, families are reduced to poverty and massive numbers of
Jewish men, women and children are injured in 166 towns. The worst pogroms of
that year occurred in Kiev and Odessa, where the first pogroms had taken place
60 years ago. During these pogrom attacks the rioters raped jews and looted
their property. They destroyed businesses and
homes.
Pogroms could be organized and encouraged by the government, but
they were barbaric, crazed and out of control. Although authorities would
sometimes attempt to put an end to the rioting, police forces would mostly look
the other way or sometimes even aid the
attackers
Alexander III, the late Tsar’s son, takes over. He is harsh,
focusing the anger of the masses on the Jews. The economy and living conditions
are crumbling and the Jews are already resented by much of the Russian
population. It was very easy to use the Jews as a scapegoat. Also he wanted to
distract the population from the real problem: the
government.
As the country regains some stability, the number of pogroms
decreases. This takes 4 years to accomplish, from 1881 to 1884. During this
time, only two Jews were killed, but nothing could prepare them for what was to
come.
Alexander III dies in 1894, and his son, Nicholas II becomes the
new tsar of Russia. His reign brought further violence to the jewish
population.
1903 brought an unprecedented wave of pogroms to Russia. The
government tries to stop a revolution by allowing mobs to wreak havoc on the
Jews. They would organize pogroms by riling up civilians, mostly peasants, and
stood by as riots destroyed jewish residencies and
businesses.
One of the biggest examples of this is in
Kishinev, April 6-7th,
where 45 Jews are murdered and 1,300 homes are destroyed. The root of this
pogrom was anti-semetic newspapers bombarding the population with headlines such
as ‘Death to the Jews!’ and ‘Crusade Against the Hated Race!’. These papers
claimed that Jews were behind the murder of a young boy, which gave Russian a
reason to rally.
Also in 1903, a
book called ‘’The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was published and anti
semetic propaganda flourished. The book was distributed by the Russian secret
police to civilians. It explained how every hundred years, a group of jewish
leaders, called the Elders of Zion, prepared a meeting to discuss how they were
to control the world in the next century. Obviously these were false documents,
however many Russians took this as proof that the Jews were evil, thus
justifying the pogroms.
These events ended in 1906, after an unsuccessful revolution in
1905. After the revolution attempt, over 600 pogroms swept the nation, an
anti-semetic assault like Russia has never seen. Russians would begin by
protesting against the tsar, but soon their anger would be directed at the Jews
instead. It did not help that to keep the masses fixated elsewhere, the
government labeled the Jews as the revolutionaries that had attempted to
overthrow authority. The pogroms of 1905 and 1906 left nearly one thousand dead
and many thousand gravely wounded.
But the worst wave of pogroms was yet to
hit.
In 1917, the Russian government is overthrown by revolutionaries
in a very short amount of time. The workers strike against poor living
conditions and too little food, flooding the streets. Soon, their cries for more
bread turn to a request for the removal of their emperor. They demand freedom
from poverty and the World War I, or death. The tsar sends out soldiers and
police officers, but even previously loyal followers turn against their leader,
leaving Nicolas II defenseless. He, along with much of his family, is
murdered.
Once the government is dismantled, chaos reigns. Pogroms are
started in towns near the frontline, by drunk or angry soldiers. The massive
amounts of disorder means that crowds cannot be regulated, so pogroms are
carried out easily and without intervention. The Russian population once again
needs somewhere to vent their anger, and once again the Jews are easy targets,
still blamed for many of the country’s
problems.
The consequences of the massacre are incomprehensible. 1,236
pogroms occur between 1917 and 1921, 887 of them considered major. In a single
attack, over 1,700 Jews are brutally murdered within a few hours. In total, the
number of Jews killed is estimated at 100,000, but some believe it may be as
high as 250,000. Several times that are wounded. 300,000
children are left orphaned. The homes and businesses destroyed are innumerable,
often thought to be over a million. The pogroms were poorly recorded; the dead
and wounded Jews not of much importance to the
rioters.
Jewish self-defense groups begin to form in an attempt to protect
the population from the atrocities they face. But they often fail to withstand
military units or armed bands, especially those in small towns. One of the most
successful Jewish groups is made in Odessa and is known as ‘The Jewish Militia
for War Against Pogroms’, preventing many pogroms from ever taking
place.
This devastating assault finally calms down in 1921, after five
years of murder, rape, destruction and thievery. The age of the pogroms comes to
an end, in Russia at least, though the Jewish population has greatly
changed.
An estimated 2.5 million Jews emigrated from Russia between 1881
and 1921. Nearly 2 million make their destination the United States of America,
which finds the sudden burst in Jewish immigrants overwhelming. In response to
this explosion of foreigners, the US made it increasingly difficult for Jews to
come into the country, and immigration was nearly impossible during the final
two waves of pogroms.
After WWII, the persecution of Jews continued in Russia, and
those who remained distinctly Jewish were sent to jail, exiled to gulags, or
executed. Jewish items, such as the Torah, had to be smuggled into the country.
Even though Russia still wanted an end to the Jews, emigration was forbidden
for many years.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, conditions have vastly
improved for the Jews living in Russia, but the population is dwindling ever
since emigration became legal. A Jewish revitalization effort has begun in
recent years, hoping to bring back the Jewish culture to Russia in a positive
way.
Whatever we do, we must not forget the massacres that occurred
during the pogroms. We must not forget the Jews that lost their homes, their
families, their lives in these violent riots. We must not forget how these
events were caused, or the devastating consequences they left in their wake. We
must not let the Russian pogroms become another terror, buried in
time.