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REIGN OF THE SOVEREIGN EMPEROR NICOLAS I
1830 yr.
207. -- April 15. Highest approved provision [standing order] of the Committee of
Ministers, announced [presented] to the Senate by the Minister of Internal Affairs. --
About the postponement of expulsion of the Jews, who own real estate, from Kiev.
Mr. General-Adjutant Benkendorff, in relation to September 3, 1829, reported to the Head of
the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, that during the visit of the Gosudar’ the Emperor [of Russia] to the
city of Kiev, the local Jews there had filed the-most-loyal-[subjects’] petition to His Majesty, in
accordance with the decree of December 2, 1827 *), about the resettlement of them from Kiev – before
[till] the offsetting for them the lands [allotment of lands] in Chernigov Governorate; and that this
petition, received by The Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery was forwarded
to the Jewish Committee, which believes that the satisfaction [fulfillment] of this [petition] depends
on the local information and explanations from the Province’s Administration, and the allotment of
lands in the Chernihiv Province, requested by the Jews, cannot be agreed with the regulations adopted
in the new Charter about the transfer of Jews from one Governorate to another.
In the context of this position of Mr. General-Adjutant Benkendorff,
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*) See No. 165, p. 217.
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it was ordered to the Civil Governor of Kiev to deliver to the Ministry of Internal Affairs an
information about the local situation and his explanations on its regard, and on the requested by the
Kiev Jews postponement of their resettlement from the city of Kiev; to which the Governor reported
that -in fulfillment of the Highest Decree, which was sent to the name of the former Military Governor
of Kiev, Lieutenant-General Zheltukhin, on December 2, 1827, all and any Jews [formerly] assigned to
the city of Kiev were re-registered in other cities, open for their constant stay, and those [Jews] who did
not have immovable property, as well as those who have lived in this city without being registered in it,
have been deported from there within the appointed time,there are still remaining [in Kiev] only the
Jews who have real estate -until the end of the two-year period, determined for their expulsion, that is,
until December 2, 1829; and meanwhile, in the year of 1828 the elders of the Jewish Committee of
Kiev, merchants Berner and Görner, troubled His Imperial Majesty with the-most-loyal-[subjects’]
petition about allowance for the Jews of Kiev to retain residence in this city or get permission for them
to settle on the left bank of the Lybid River; but according to the Journal of the Committee of
Ministers, which was held on November 3, as was brought to the Highest attention, this petition [of the
Jewish Committee] was left without recognition; and the Jews of Kiev - not many of them took much
advantage of the Highest [Highly] granted to them freedom to sell their houses, lands, shops and other
real estate in the course of two years; since trade is currently in decline, which has a sensitive effect on
the purchasing of houses in cities, and on noticeable shortage of money, in the continuation of this
period out of the number of 70 Jewish houses, being in the city of Kiev, hardly were sold only 4;
If we to begin selling them [properties] at public auctions, then in such a case the price [cost] will be
determined vastly by the bidders, not by the owners themselves, which can not be beneficial for
thesepeople: inasmuch as the bidders, having in mind their own benefit, and knowing about the definite
predetermination of the foregoing real estate to [go under the hammer] be sold at a public auction,
will not fail to seek ways for the acquisition of these at the lowest prices, through which Jews can incur
sensitive and unavoidable losses in their possessions, and disorder/losses of capital [??].
For these reasons, the Civic Governor of Kiev, found/supposed that the request of the Jews,
about the delay of their resettlement out of Kiev, deserved a fair respect; but such condescension could
be rendered only by the Jews who still have immovable property in Kiev, in order to provide them with
an opportunity to sell it, with less loss for them, and he thought they would be given a respite for the
period from one to two years.
The Military Governor of Kiev, Mr. Lieutenant-General Knyazhnin the 2nd, with whom I was
communicating regarding this issue, informed me that if the present subject is to be reviewed from the
point/position, as it was examined at the initial considerations - about expelling all Jews in general
from Kiev, - then a permission for them to stay in this city any longer, under the pretense of sale of
their immovable property, in a strict sense/thought, could not have been placed/given under the force of
the Highest Decree of December 2, 1827, Moreover, a great part of the Jews always and everywhere
tries to exercise/involve themselves in unauthorized deals, and if we take these into consideration, in
the present
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situation/fate of the Jewish settlers: then justice requires to respect their concerns in order to preserve in
some way the property that they own; thus Mr. Military Governor, becoming convinced in the
necessity to grant the Jews, who have residence in Kiev, a postponement during which they could,
without any pressure, sell their property at some favorable prices, presumes: to give them
postponement till the 1 of February 1831, so then all the Jews, who currently own in Kiev houses,
lands, shops and other immovable property, would finally by all means sell it by this deadline/time; if
any of them will not fulfill this order by February 1, 1831: then the Government should immediately
proceed to an appraisal and sale through public bidding, for which to set a deadline till May 1 of the
same year; After that, they [the Jews] should not have permanent living in Kiev under strict liability;
During the period of this delay, the aforementioned Jews can engage in crafts/deals in Kiev on that
basis, as explained in item 8 of the Highest Decree of December 2, 1827.
Based on the endorsement/affirmation of the Military Governor of Kiev, about the necessity to
allow postponement of the deportation from Kiev of Jews who have immovable property, till February
1, 1831, and presuming to approve it so that, by the end of this grace period, the expulsion of Jews
from Kiev will be completed without any indulgence, and immovable property of theirs, remaining
possibly still unsold after that time, will become a subject of assessment and public sale through the
Province Administration, according to the proposition of Mr. Military Governor, - I presented this to
the Committee of the Ministers, which by the means of the Journal of April 15th, and awarded with the
Highest approval of His Imperial Majesty, sentenced the following: Affirm/validate my conclusion
presented and explained in this report.
On such Highly approved provision of the Committee of the Ministers, and having notified
about it Mr. Military Governor of Kiev, and in order to insure the proper execution of this, I considered
it my duty to report about it all to the Governing Senate (V.P. S. 3., vol. V, No. 3.609).
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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