Download or view the original PDF version of this file

The following article appeared in the Brockhaus-Efron Jewish Encyclopedia from 1908-1913. The
writer is reporting on the ability of Jews to transit in and out of the Pale of Settlement, ie. to and from
Russia’s interior provinces and also in and out of the Empire. The text is offered here via translation by
Google and has had minimal edits applied for readability. A link to the original is found at the bottom.
Original title:            Вид на жительство в России
     Vid na zhitel'stvo v Rossii
     Residence permit in Russia
Until the publication of the “Regulations on Residence Permits” in 1894, it was called a
passport. The general rules on passports and residence permits were applied and are applied to Jews
with significant exemptions related to the system of restrictions on the right of residence and
movement. According to the Code of Laws of 1857, Jews received passports from the dumas
1
,
magistrates and town halls of those cities to which they were assigned. Those who were on the
recruitment queue were not issued passports. On the passports it was stated that they are in effect only
in the places determined for the permanent residence of the Jews (a feature of Jewish residency).
Jewish merchants and clerks who went to the inner provinces for certain periods were given notices
with the inscription that "if the owner of the document does not appear after the deadline, then he/she
will be considered as a vagabond." When moving from one place to another within the Pale, the Jew
was obliged to submit to the district court a testimony from the Duma or the town hall that he had paid
the appropriate tax. For young Jewish artisans aged 15 to 20, city councils could issue passports for
absenteeism in internal gubernias (ie. outside the Pale) without families for improvement
(apprenticeship) in crafts for no more than two years, pending the testimony of 3 Christian masters
about their trustworthiness. Those who arrived in the capitals and internal provinces without
identification or with expired papers were subject to criminal liability. When issuing foreign passports
to Jews, the law compelled them to declare their allegiance when leaving for foreign lands. For an
absence without a notice abroad, Jews were to be excluded forever from citizenship with the
prohibition of returning to the empire. For Jews of foreign nationality as well as former Russian
nationals who left without permission from Russia, the issuance of cordon testimonies that permitted
them to live in Russia for 9 months was prohibited. Only certain categories of foreign Jews seeking to
immigrate (invited by the Russian government to serve as rabbis and doctors, or factory managers,
invited by Jewish manufacturers or craftsmen), were allowed to enter Russia according to cordon
testimonies for permanent residency. Other foreign Jews were allowed into Russia only for a temporary
1Councils

stay within the residency stipulations of passports of Russian missions and consulates, and for visits to
internal provinces with the special permission of the Minister of the Interior. These rules with small
changes were in force until 1894. Under the current statute on passports, special rules on residence
permits for Jews who are Russian subjects are set forth (ed. 1903) in Articles 67-75 chapter four, and
for foreign Jews, in Article 230 and in note 2 to article 134. These rules are as follows: In the residence
permits of the Jews, their affiliations are necessarily signified, whereas for persons of all other
confessions affiliations are noted only in the case of the owner’s illiteracy, as well as in passing
certificates of persons under police surveillance. For Jews who do not have the right of universal
residence, on the documentation is the corresponding inscription. In the residence permits of Jews who,
by marital status, received a first-class privilege on serving conscription, a special note is not made on
that. Whereas with certain persons of other confessions such a mark is made. Police authorities in areas
that are outside the Pale of Settlement are granted to verify the right of residence of every Jew who
arrives, even if he enjoys the right of universal residence. Having ascertained the cash of a Jew who
does not possess the freedom of widespread residence, the right of temporary stay and all other
conditions established by law for permanent or temporary stay outside of the Pale of Settlement, the
police tie a special ticket with the date indicated. A Jew who has been out of the Pale of Settlement
without any wherewithal, or with an overdue or inadequate status, is taken to a place of permanent
residence and is held responsible there (according to Article 61 of the Constitution. The Penalty of
1906 can punish one monetarily with a penalty up to 15 kopeks for each day, but in general no more
than 10 rubles. But for unauthorized stay in the area in which one’s residence is without the permission
of the police is prohibited and is punishable under Article 63. with arrest of up to 3 months or a
monetary penalty of up to 300 rubles, like persons who, by virtue of a court sentence, are supervised by
the police or expelled for being a beggar, if they have left the place of residence assigned to them. For
Jews, who enjoy the right of universal residence or who have received a temporary stay outside the
residence line, for absenteeism or living without identification or with an expired or inappropriate ID,
the general rules of Articles 29-31.The set of rules for the Jews shows that they specify for the Jews not
only with an identity card, but also proof of the right to be absent from the Pale. With regard to the
procedure for issuing ID’s to the Jews, no exemptions have been established. Foreign Jews, who come
to the places of the Pale, receive from the governor of that province where they arrived, annual
passports with the mark that they have validity only in places designated for the permanent residence of
the Jews. Upon expiration of a one-year term, they are obliged to ask for a new passport from the
governor of the province within which they will be, at the expiration date. Foreign Jews who wish to
visit trade or factory districts, which are outside the Pale, who are not bankers or do not stand at the

head of major trading houses, should receive for each visit the special permission of the Minister of the
Interior. Passport Arrivals of bankers and heads of trading houses in all areas of the empire are issued
certificates by embassies and consulates on a common basis with other foreigners. Upon expiration of a
one-year term, they are obliged to ask for a new passport from the governor of the province within
which they will be at the expiration date. 
This article can be found in its original Russian version here: 
https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/ЕЭБЕ/Вид_на_жительство_в_России
Author’s bio: Grigory Samoilovich Voltke
https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/ЕЭБЕ/Вольтке,_Григорий_Самойлович