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Pg. 138
REIGN OF THE SOVEREIGN EMPEROR ALEXANDER I.
     1825 yr.
125. -- June 30
th
. From the Senate, according to the Highest Approved
Proposition of the Committee of Ministers. --
About banning the Jews from settling in the Astrakhan Province and the Caucasus
Region.
The Governing Senate listened to the presentation of the Minister of Finance, in which he
presented copies of the notes submitted by him, the Minister, to the Committee of Messrs.
Ministers on May 26
th
, 1824 as well as from the notes of this Committee’s Journals, issued on the
31
st
 of December and April 11
th
 of this year [of 1825], about banning Jews from settling in the
Astrakhan Province and the Caucasus Region. In the attached copies it was explained:
1) in the notes by the Minister of Finance: on the occasion of a petition by Essel Rezakov, a
Jewish burger/tradesman [mieszczanin] from the city of Orsha - to transfer him together with his
family in the Caucasus Gubernia into the Georgiyevsk burgers [bourgeoisie], arose out a
question: weather Jews in general can be allowed to establish themselves in the Caucasus
Gubernia/Region with registration into local social estates? Prior to the accession of the new
regions from Poland by the Russian Empire, Jews were not only forbidden to permanently
establish themselves within its borders, but even strict procedures/measures were deployed to
expel abroad those of them, who were settling for temporary domicile under pretenses of trade
business, or marketing deals. Within many legalizations on this subject, there was a decree of
1742 *) prohibiting Jews to come even to trade-fairs for merchant industries, so that they would
not be allowed to enter under any circumstances into either Great Russia’s nor Little Russia’s
[Velikorossiya and Malorossiya] Gubernias. Afterwards, with the gradual expansion of the
Russian Empire, the Jews though were allowed to stay where they had established their
settlements by regulations of the previous Governments, however, the Great Russia’s Gubernias
still remained closed for them; though, in the years of 1794 and 1799 **) they were granted
rights to register themselves into the merchants and burgers societies, and according to these
positions operate industries in the Gubernias of Minsk, Mogilev, Kіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,іev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,ev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,
Iziaslav, Bratslav, Polotsk, Novgorod-Siverskyi and Courland, and in Taurida Oblast/Region. In
1804, a new Provision was issued regarding Jews ***), in which it was decided in paragraphs:
13-th: farmers [Zemledeltsy] of Jewish origin, as well as manufacturers, artisans, merchants and
burgers in the Gubernіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,as of: Lithuania, Belorussia, Malorossiya, Kіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,іev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,ev, Minsk, Volhynia,
Podolsk, Astrakhan, Caucasus, Ekaterinoslav, Kіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,herson and Taurida Oblast, can get into their
possession through purchase the non-inhabited/vacant lands, sell them, pledge, gift/donate and
bequeath as inheritance - in all areas mentioned in the decree of December 12
th
, 1802 ****). 17-
th: those of the Jews, who won’t be capable either to obtain their own lands, nor rent/lease from
the landlords, can move to the state lands in Gubernias of: Lithuania, Minsk, Volhynia, Podolsk,

Astrakhan, Caucasus, Ekaterinoslav, Kіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,herson and Taurida Oblast; for those who have withdrawn
from these Provincial provinces, for this purpose, in some of these Gubernias for all interested,
for the first time there should be set aside/allotted up to 30.0 Dessiatins of land
i
.
     139
20-th: In the Gubernias, where they are permitted to settle, Jews are allowed to establish all kinds
of factories on the same basis and with the same freedom as given to all citizens of Russia. 21-st:
In the case of starting the factories which are needed the most, such as manufacturing: cloth,
linen, leather and other goods of this kind, the Government, after an appropriate
verification/certification, can provide to Jews a special encouragement by lending them the
necessary sum of money and allotting the land. For this purpose, in each of the Gubernias,
annexed from Poland, there will be annually assigned a capital of up to 20,000 rubles, in order
that from this capital the loans would be made, at the discretion of the Governor of a Gubernia
and by his co-operation with the Minister of Internal Affairs and to those Jews, who would like
to start the most useful and necessary factories, these loans would be issued without demanding a
collateral for such loan, but confining only to the guarantees from other trustworthy Jews. Also,
for a special encouragement of Jews to start factories, those of them who will be engaged in
factory productions, would have to pay the same duty/fee since the time, when accurate reports
of such factorial works will be collected in each city. It is allowed for Jews to start factories on
the lands of the landlords, according to voluntary conditions. 23-rd: In all aforesaid Gubernias,
artisans from the Jews are allowed to exercise in all trades, which are not prohibited by law, and
no craft-management or guild Administration under any pretense should impede them from
doing so; Wherein, they are given the freedom to register into guilds, if that does not go against
special privileges granted to certain cities. 25-th: If the [Jewish] artisans in any of these
Gubernias cannot find enough work and means to support themselves, they should send an
appeal to the Governor who will refer it to the Minister of the Interior Affairs. In addition, there
will be assigned ways for them to establish their industries in the sparsely populated Gubernias
of: Ekaterinoslav, Kіev, Chernigov, Ekaterinoslav,herson, Taurida, Astrakhan and Caucasus. 26-th: Any kind of internal and
external trade is allowed for the Jews in the aforementioned provinces, on the exact basis of the
City Regulations and subsequent laws. 28-th: For their commercial affairs, for improvement in
the arts, or for the display of special skills in craftsmanship and factories, the[Jewish]
manufacturers, craftsmen, artists and merchants will be allowed to come for a certain period of
time into the inner Gubernias, and even into the capital-cities, but in no other way as according
to the Governors’ passports, and monthly registrations of them should be delivered to the
Minister of Internal Affairs. These Jews, arriving on temporary basis, as well as their wives and
their children must wear German clothes without any distinction from others [townsfolk]; in the
event that they use their [traditional] clothes, they should not be tolerated and they must
immediately be sent away by the Police. Thus, with the issuance of this ruling, the Jews were
granted a new right to acquire farm-lands in the Gubernias of Astrakhan and of the Caucasus,
although mainly for settling there as agricultural workers on the properties of landlords and state
lands, but for the philistine and merchant industries there were mainly opened for them those
Gubernias annexed from Poland, where from the treasury special money was assigned for the
help of them in the establishment of new factories; although in the Governorates of Astrakhan

and the Caucasus, the right to establish production industries was given to them only when there
was a shortage of funds for basic maintenance needs in the other Gubernias, and in no other way
as by permission in each particular case from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
 140
From this, one may see that by impeding the movement of the Jews into these Gubernias the
Government never intended to foster their permanent settlement there and if they were allowed
to reside there for the arable farming: then probably only because these Gubernias, having been
significantly less populated then others, had no other means of cultivating their lands;
meanwhile, it is impossible not to take into consideration here that the Jews, as it is known by
experience, alienated themselves from farming and therein could not bring much benefit to these
regions; on the other hand, the settlement of these people, who are avoiding whenever possible to
comply with the State regulations, if those do not correspond with their advantage, into those
Gubernias which by their location are open for foreign trade, without a doubt, would cause
detriment to the Customs’ fees collections and communal/public credits, and would lead to the
undermining of the local merchants. Respecting the fact that the Government had taken the
strongest measures to eradicate Jews from the Gubernias of Great Russia, and that as seen from
the Ministries’ intelligence, in present time in the Caucasus and Astrakhan regions, there is not a
single Jew on a payroll,  -the Minister of Finance considers as the most useful: to completely
forbid them [Jews] any permanent settlement in these regions, revoking even a grant to their
rights to buy lands there, or settle on landlords’ and state lands, so that henceforth the Jews
would be allowed for temporary residence in Gubernias of Astrakhan and Caucasus in no other
way but by the same regulations commonly accepted throughout the Great Russia, that is, on the
exact basis of paragraph 28 of the Provision [Polozheniye] of the year of 1804. 2) In the
note/extract from the Journal of the Committee of Ministers: at the session on January 31
st
, there
was heard out the note by the Minister of Finance from the 28
th
 of May, 1824, №. 3,616
(according to the Department of Taxation and Collections/Duties), which was entered into the
Journal of the Committee under the issued №. 190, about the prohibition for Jews to settle in the
Astrakhan Gubernia and Caucasus Region. Taking under consideration the fact that in the
Caucasus Region and the Astrakhan Governorate, till the present time, there is not a single Jew
registered on a payroll, and that their [Jews] settlement in this region can be harmful in
particular, considering expansion of the Asiatic trade, the Committee supposes that, according to
the report presented by the Minister of Finance, it would be necessary to forbid a permanent
settlement of the Jews in that region, though since this right was granted to them by the Highest
Approved Provision of the year of 1804 and at the present time there is a special Committee [of
Jewish Affairs] established for the purpose of compiling general regulations about Jews, then the
presented circumstance should be redirected to this Committee for review; and until the
publication of the new Provision about Jews, the movement of the Jews there for permanent
settlement should be stopped, after requesting for that, the Highest Approval. On the session of
the 11
th
 of April, it was announced to the Committee that the Sovereign Emperor gave His

Approval of the proposition to the Committee. The Committee has determined: to report with an
excerpt from the Journal about that [decision] to the Minister of Finance for its execution. It was
ordered: due to this, the Highest Approved Provision of the Committee of Messrs. Ministers, to
prescribe by decrees for its proper execution to the Astrakhan Provincial Government and the
Treasury Chamber, to the Caucasus Regional Government and the Treasury Chamber there, as
well as to other Provincial Governments and Treasury Chambers in all those Gubernias in which
a permanent residence is permitted for the Jews and by such decrees to inform the Chief
Governor of Astrakhan Gubernia and the Caucasus Region, the Chief Governor of the Spiritual
Affairs of the Foreign Confessions, the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Minister
of Finance; and send the information to all Departments of the Governing Senate. (P.P.S.Z., vol.
XL, № 30,404)
      *) See № 23, p. 17.
    **) See №№ 43 and 55, pp. 37 and 46.
  ***) See № 59, p. 53.
****) See Attachment. № 13

i. A Dessiatin or Desyatina (Russian: десятина) is an archaic land measurement used in tsarist Russia. ) is an archaic land measurement used in tsarist Russia. 
A dessiatin is equal to 2400 square sazhens and is approximately equivalent to 2.702 English acres or 
10,926.512 square meters. – from Wikipedia 
Translation by Anastasia Savenko-Moore and Rick Moore, Eugene OR. Funded by the 
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture NYC, http://mfjc.org/.
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