Goldstein Case

The czars of Russia

All of the czars were anti-Semitic. They each issued many harsh decrees against the Jews.

The Jews were not welcomed into Russia; Czar Ivan IV said that it’s not at our convenience to have Jews in Russia. There were only few Jews living in Russia proper. In Poland and Lithuania, which were both part of Russia then, there were one million Jews. By the year 1815, there were over one and a half million Jews under the Russian czars rules. Most of the Jews living in Russia, lived in the west of the country; the czar despised the jew and wanted to find a way to resolve his country’s “Jewish problem”.

In the year 1795 Czar Paul I, established the Pale of settlement. The pale of settlement was twenty five or so provinces which included most of Poland, Lithuania, white Russia, and Ukraine, that Jews were allowed to live and do business. If they wanted to go out of the settlement they had to have a special permit. The life in the settlement was very tough for the Jews. Most Jews were poor, having jobs as water carriers, and wood choppers, and tavern managers just to put food on the table a few times a week. He was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, and remained overshadowed by his mother for much of his life. Paul's reign lasted for only five years, until he was assassinated by conspirators. His most important achievement was the adoption of the laws of succession to the Russian throne that lasted until the end of Romanov dynasty and Russian Empire.

In the year 1801, Czar Alexander I came to power, he made life more difficult in the settlement by issuing a decree that Jews were to live only in the cities of the settlement area, and no longer in the towns and villages making living space more difficult and cramped. He also issued a law that prohibited all Jews from selling alcohol, a traditional occupation for Jews. Finally he said