Jewish Politics in the Russian Empire and the Pogroms

When it comes to historic anti-Jewish incidents, the European countries, in which the first ghetto is formed, in which the mass murder and deportations of Jews were experienced, are the first thing that comes to our mind. Also, in Russia, where many Jews emigrated as a result of the division of Poland’s territory in the second half of the XVIII century, there was hostility against Jews. Indeed, the ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Imperial Russia was one of the largest Jewish ghettos. At the end of the 20th century, the 5 million Jews in the Russian Empire lived in the Pale of Settlement. There were several violent attacks against Jews in Russia in the late 19th century. The first pogrom in Russian history occured in Kiev in 1113. The assassination of Tsar Alexander II became a major turning point in anti-Jewish events. Shortly after the assassination a wave of pogroms spread throughout the Russian Empire. As a result of the constant pogroms, many Jews emigrated from the Russia Empire. This paper will describe the Russian government policy toward Jews, then will discuss the pogroms in Imperial Russia and why did pogroms happen