Much of western Ukraine, including Volhynia as well as
eastern Poland and western Russia, lay within the area of the Russian Empire known
as the Pale of Settlement. Russia
established this area in 1791 to provide areas of inhabitation for the Empire’s
Jewish population who were not desired in the major urban centers of Moscow,
St. Petersburg, or Russia proper, since the Jewish peoples were more highly
educated and culturally sophisticated than the native Russians. Jewish citizens during this time period did
not possess rights to unrestrictedly live anywhere they chose as did some other
ethnic groups. Jewish people in Ukraine
were permitted to leave the Pale only under certain circumstances but could not
live in Sevastopol or in certain areas within the Pale where Cossacks resided
(Sevastopol and the Cossacks were both important militarily to the Russian
Empire and the Russians didn’t want the Jews to compromise the integrity of the
military). Jewish peoples were required
to live in urban areas and were even periodically expelled from small towns and
villages (these expulsions were called pogroms). Exceptions were made for well-established
merchants and artisans as well as those individuals possessed of higher
education or who were retired from the military. Russian Jewish population increased from 1.6
million in 1820 to 5.6 million in 1910.
At times, Jews in Russia paid higher taxes and were prohibited from
leasing land, running taverns, or receiving higher education. After 1882, Jeww were restricted to urban
areas only, resulting in overcrowding and limited economic opportunities. As the cities in Volhynia lay within the Pale
of Settlement, and Jews were largely prohibited from living on the land, the
Jewish population in all Volhynian cities was very high.
For an interesting fictional account of Jewish life in the
early 20th Century Pale of Settlement, see Fiddler on the Roof or other tales by Sholem Aleichem.
Two waves of severe pogroms
were perpetrated in the Pale; one in the 1880s and one in the early 1900s. This is not to say, however, that pogroms didn’t occur in other places and
at other times, but these were the two most severe waves. In the spring of 1881, after fear and
confusion swept the country on the heels of the assassination of Tsar Alexander
II, severe pogroms broke out in south
and eastern Ukraine. Jews were seen as
scapegoats for some forms of revolutionary unruest and severe violence took
place in Kiev and Odessa. Later, Warsaw
also saw violence. The Russian
government officially opposed the violence which saw several hundred Jews
killed, but the local governor-generals seemed to do little to stop the
movements. The violence subsided, but
1881 became a turning point for Russian Jews.
Afterwards, Jews were further limited in their social and political
options, and many Jews became sympathizers of other radical revolutionaries who
were disillusioned with the Tsar’s government.
The second wave of pogroms
came as a result of revolutionary agitation associated with the Russian
Revolution of 1905. Looking for a way to
divert the general population’s attention away from the Tsar, the government
gave various bodies free reign to persecute Jews. Riots broke out as early as 1903 and
continued through 1906. Again, several
hundred Jews were killed in areas throughout Ukraine and Russia. Affected towns in Ukraine and Volhynia
included Melitopol, Odessa, Ekaterinoslav, Kiev, Zhytomyr and Rovno. As a result, some Jews took to organizing
their own self-defence units while other sought refuge abroad and emigrated out
of Russia.
The Pale of Settlement in Russia:
Jews in Volhynia during the 19th Century were prevalent in the larger towns and cities. In Ostrog and Zaslaw Counties, the cities of Ostrog, Zaslaw, and Slavuta, as well as the local volost seats, Cunev and Pluzhnoe, had large Jewish populations. Jews may have also occupied certain small villages too, such as Pivneva Gora. These Jews spoke Yiddish and were largely involved in commerce. They lended money, owned and operated factories and stores in the cities, and traded manufactured goods for raw materials with the peasants of the countryside. The Russian government, as well as other European governments at the time, officially disliked Jews and generally treated them poorly. Therefore the prevailing attitude toward them throughout the countryside was one of disdain. The Jews were tolerated, but not accepted. Add to this the fact that they were involved in commerce and were commonly seen as swindlers and cheats and the resulting public perception was a very poor one. Unfortunately, my German ancestors also had a poor opinion of their Jewish neighbors. In memoirs and remembrances, unkind statements have been made regarding Jews. Several ancestors including my great grandfather Andreas Ratzlaff, had at least a working knowledge of the Yiddish language so that they could deal with Jewish shop-owners or traders.
