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Pg. 241
REIGN OF THE SOVEREIGN EMPEROR NICHOLAS I
1829 yr.
190. -- May 24
th
. The Senate Decree, with the explanation of the Highest
approved Provision of the Committee of the Ministers.
About the means of reducing the number of Jews in Courland and Livonia
The Governing Senate listened to the report of Mr. Minister of Internal Affairs, that after
the report/presentation of Mr. Minister of Finance on behalf of the loyal subjects’ – merchantry
and craftsmen of the city of Mitau (Mitava)
1
– who plead to limit in this city the number of Jews
who in 1797 were assigned to this city together with their families and by the December-27
th-
1827 Journal (of documents) which received the Highest vouchsafe by His Imperial Majesty, the
Committee of Messrs. Ministers entrusted (instructed): to delegate to Marquis Paulucci
2
,
General-Governor of Livonia, Estland,
3
Kurland and Pskov to present his plan for reduction of
the number of Jews in Kurland and Livonia, which could be examined by the Jewish Committee.
At the same time, about such provision of the Committee of the Messrs. Ministers, the Head of
the Ministry of the Internal Affairs informed Mr. General-Governor Marquis Paulucci, who, in
this case, reported back to him: A) about Jews in the Livonia Governorate, In Livonia Jews live
only in Riga and in the miasteczko Schlock.
4
Otherwise than Schlock they cannot be recorded in
any other place, and cannot be reassigned from any other Guberniya-a (Regions, Governorates).
According to this situation, the number of Jews in Livonia can be increased only by newborns
from the locals; thus Mr. General-Governor Marquis Paulucci, in accordance with the Livonia
Province Governorate, does not recognize the necessity of such reduction [of Jews] in Livonia.
B) about Jews in the Courland Governorate. In 1799, when Jews were entitled a right of
permanent residence in Courland*), their number extended to 3.070 souls; In 1827, their
reckoning was already considered to be 4 ,965, and after the All-Merciful Manifesto of 1826 **)
another 1,155 souls appeared. According to the explanation of the Courland Province
Governorate, such multiplication occurs only from the newcomers, who received from their
Kurland relatives the testimonies/evidence of the same with them origin. The local authorities
have already conducted a survey regarding verity or falseness of such testimonies, but such
disquisition turned out to be useless, because Jews do not have metric books. In the present case,
the Courland Province Government considers it necessary to pay attention not only to the
reduction of the recorded/registered Jews, but also to the termination of the multiplication of
them by means of a new registry, and to achieve this goal, it supposes to exile to Siberia for
resettlement: a) those Jews who have really no definite industry, those leading an
impermanent/unstable lifestyle, engaged in intermediary dealership (factoring?) and distribution
of goods. b) those Jews who happened to be improperly recorded/registered, or excluded from
the income-salary, if they won’t be able to present appropriate certificates of approval of their
occupation from the communities in those Gubernias in which Jews are allowed to remain
permanently, as to consent to their acceptance; but there should be allowed to stay the Jews who
belong to guilds, own houses, are engaged in handcrafts and in active service.
*) See № 55, page 46.
**) See № 147, pаге 180.
242
Finally, the Provincial Government supposes to entrust such matter to special Committees,
which are being appointed in each city. Mr. General-Governor Marquis Paulucci, supposing to
establish such Committees in 5 cities, adds that all Jews, even those who have been recorded, but
who undoubtedly belong to other Governorates, must be sent away to the regions of their
permanent registration, and Jews of unknown origins and unregistered, must permanently settle
if they have means of subsistence, according to the Manifesto of 1826; but that all those who do
not have these means and are not engaged in any craft, should be exiled to Siberia for settlement.
Such attitude/position of the Mr. General-Governor Marquis Paulucci was proposed by him, the
Minister of Internal Affairs, for the consideration to the Jewish Committee, which responded
with the follow-up report explaining: in 1764, on the occasion of the Manifesto (December 4
th
) of
1762 *) about calling/inviting foreigners for settlements in South Russia, though excluding Jews
from this summons/call, 20 of these people came to Riga. As the local Administration supposed,
since no injunction to that was received from the Government, these Jews have remained to this
day living in Riga. The number of Jews in the Livonian Governorate increased with by
transferring of the suburb of Schlock, in which Jews lived from Courland to this (Livonian)
Governorate. Nowadays, according to the report (in 1828, on the occasion of the [military
service] recruitment) about the Jews from the Livonian Provincial Prosecutor, up to 256 souls of
them are living in Riga and Schlock. According to the special rules/bylaws existing in Livonia,
the Jews, who are moving to other Gubernias for subsistence, and Jewish women, marrying Jews
who have residency in other Gubernias, are excluded from Livonia. Jews in Courland, before its
annexation to Russia, not only did not have any civil rights, but even the right of indwelling. In
this position, they were until the report of the Governing Senate, Highly Approved on March
14
th
, 1799 **), in which they received the right to engage in the petty industries on the basis of
the City Regulation/Bylaws; and for this matter, they were required to come to the city, and
declaring their crafts/trades, register themselves in communities/guilds, receive annual passports
from the Magistrate or other Courts in order to stay freely and work in their crafts and industries,
as well as establish them in the provincial and provincial cities of Kagals/Kahals; and those
(Jews) who did not want to stay, were given the freedom to move out (leave abroad). After/When
followed (was issued) the Provision of 1804 (December 9
th
)*** about Jews, in which Courland
was not mentioned, then the Administration of this Province, comprehending this provision
within local bylaws/rights, accepted only permissible by them regulations of this provision, and
this disposition was approved by a Decree of the Governing Senate on December 1
st
1806 [then],
the number of Jews in Courland increased, according to the survey records between 1799 and
1817 from 3070 to 4445, and on the recall of this Governorate’s Authorities, after the Manifesto
of 1826, appeared another 1155 souls. At the very foundation of the Jewish Committee among its
responsibilities, it was precisely stated, that they were assigned to mean the reduction of the
Jews in general in the [Russian] State and in particular in those areas where they have not yet
spread too much.
*) See № 26, page 22.
**) See № 55, page 46.
***) See № 59, page 53.
243
In the rules for the New Charter, the [Jewish] Committee did not overlook such measures/codes,
possible to perform/execute, and at the same time, fair and even useful for Jews themselves.
While reviewing the matters related to the reduction of the numbers of Jews in Livonia and
Courland, the Jewish Committee was comprehending the laws and general presupposed
regulations of the New Charter, with convention of the local Provincial Authorities, and
upholding the existing in Livonia rulings/provisions, presented the following
reasoning/argumentation about the Jews: 1) The Jews, in time of the last census according to
their revision-tales
5
submitted by them to the Courland State Chamber of Records and recorded
there, are recognized as residents of Courland. 2) Each family of such Jews obtains from the
Magistrate of that city, to which it is attributed, a certificate of its right of residence in Courland.
3) Jews cannot move into Courland from other Governorates for the sake of permanent
residence. 4) The Jews, who once moved into another Governorate (Gubernia) out of Courland,
never can return to it for permanent residency. 5) Marriage of a non-resident Jew to a Jewish
woman from a family of Courland, does not give him the right to settle in Courland. 6) A Jewish
woman from a family of Courland, who, after marrying a Jew from another Governorate, follows
him (her husband), loses her right to reside in Courland, 7) Jews, who have not been recorded in
a proper way during the last census/revision in Courland and therefore not having according to
the rule 2 their Certificates, are not recognized as residents and must leave/move out: a) foreign
citizens - on the basis of decrees of July 30
th
, 1824 and August 27
th
, 1825 – [must go] abroad *),
b) Polish [Jews], on the basis of the Highest Approved provision of the Committee of Messrs.
Ministers from October 26
th
, 1828**) - to the Kingdom of Poland and) citizens of Russia – to
those towns and settlements (miasteczko-s), to which they turn out to belong according to
revision-tallies. 8) The Jews who are not recorded/registered anywhere and declared themselves
registered in Courland after the Manifesto of August 22
nd
, 1826, should be attributed/registered
according to the decree of February 28
th
, 1819 ***) in one of the Governorates open for the
permanent residency of Jews, to those communities, to which they will be found belonging by
kinship. 9) Those Jews, who pronounced themselves registered [unproperly/untimely], who
don’t have kingship/relatives in other Governorates, on the basis of the Highest Approved notion
of the State Council, from October 30
th
, 1827****) - are given a six-month term to find/locate a
community, which would agree to accept/adopt them. 10) If among them there are also Jews who
own real estate, then based on the same Highest Approved notion of the State Council they are
given a two-years term for the sale of that [property], and if they do not sell it, it should be sold
for their benefit at public auctions. 11) If a conscription is announced, prior to the deadline
appointed for the location of a new community, then such Jews should predominantly be sent to
the recruits.
*) See №№ 118 and 127, pages 126 and 152.
**) See 183, page 233. The number/date here is not shown correctly; this decree was published
by the Senate on December 28
th
, 1828. Note by the Publisher.
***) See № 93, page 98.
****) See № 162, page 213.
244
12) If Jews, under the 8
th
and 9
th
rules, within the assigned for them term will not find/locate for
themselves a new community, then on the basis of the same Highest Approved notion of the
State Council, those who are found fit/capable should be sent to military service, and those who
are unable/unfit – exiled to Siberia for settlement. 13) All Jews who have not declared
themselves after the Manifesto of August 22
nd
, 1826, and were not recorded anywhere, are also
considered “state”/capital (propisnyje)
6
and if capable/fit, should be sent into military service,
and those unable/unfit - to Siberia for settlement. Agreeing on his side to such
reasoning/assumptions on the part of the Jewish Committee, he – the Minister of Internal Affairs
– reported about all that to the Committee of Messrs. Ministers, which, by means of the Journal
of last April 2
nd
, granted with the Highest Approval by His Imperial Majesty, directed: То
approve all this proposition by Jewish Committee explained in the presentation. About such
provision of the Committee of Messrs. Ministers, honored with the Highest Approval of His
Imperial Majesty, after notifying about it the General-Governor of Livonia, Estland, Kurland and
Pskov, Marquis Paulucci, for its proper execution, report about it [orderly] to the Governing
Senate. It was ordered: about the aforesaid Highest Approved provision of the Committee of
Messrs. Ministers, to ensure its prominence throughout Livonian and Courland Governorates, as
well as for its proper execution by local Provincial Administration (Government) and State
Chambers (Treasury) – to instruct by decrees, by which for information and its orderly execution
in case of necessity also notify all other Provincial Administrations and State Chambers of those
Governorates (Gubernia-s/Provinces) where Jews are allowed to settle, as well as notify all
Messrs. Ministers, Military General-Governors, General-Governors and other Provincial
Heads/Administrators, and let know of that all Departments of the Governing Senate. (V.P.C.
3., Vol. IV, No. 2,884).
___________________
1.Mitava/Jelgava - Russ. Мита
ава, Germ. Mitau - a city in central Latvia about 41
kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Riga. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of
Courland and Semigallia (1578-1795) and the administrative center of the Courland
Governorate (1795-1918).
2.Born in Modena - Filipp Osipovich Paulucci (1779-1849) – was in French and Russian
military service; Adjutant General, General-Governor.
3.Estland - Эстля
андия - Estlándiya — the historical name of the northern part of Estonia,
Governorate of Estonia.
4.Schlock - (Latvian - Sloka; before 1917 Шлок, German - Schlock) – now a part of the
city of Jurmala, 33 km from Riga, on the bank of the Lielupe, in a place where the river
approximately two kilometers from the sea turns east, forming the Jurmala Peninsula.
Unlike the rest of the Riga seaside, Schlock was formed and developed as an industrial
city. Throughout the whole territory of Jurmala Schlock, it is the oldest settlement that
received the rights of a town - miasteczko as early as 1785, and the status of a city in
1878.
5.Revision-tale – Revizskaya Skazka – Revision-Legend – documents reflecting the results
of surveying of the tax-paying population of the Russian Empire in the 18th - 1st half of
the 19th centuries, conducted with the purpose of a “head-tax” taxation of the population.
Revision-tales were lists of names of the population, indicating the name, patronymic and
surname (if any) of the head/owner of the household, his age, names and surnames of
family members indicating their age, and relation to the head of the family.
6.“прописные евреи” – unproperly registered Jews (or other people), could be
understood as “state”/capital people, and as such – under complete disposal of the state,
government authorities…
Translation by Anastasia SavenkoMoore and Rick Moore, Eugene OR.
Funded by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture NYC, http://mfjc.org/.
Copyright easteurotopo.org 2019.
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