THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
INSTITUTE OF SLAVIC STUDIES
STATE ARCHIVE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Managing editor Milyakova L.B.
Responsible compilers: Zyuzina I.A., Milyakova L.B. with the participation of Sereda V.T. (Ukraine, European part of Russia), Rosenblat E.S., Yelenskoy I.E. (Belarus)

The collection is the first attempt to present a consolidated corpus of previously unpublished documents on pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and the European part of Russia, stored in the State Archives of the Russian Federation. These documents characterize the psychosocial climate of the Civil War, help to understand the origins of the pogrom violence of 1918-1922. They specify the features of pogroms in the regions, determine the involvement of various forces and strata in pogroms, reflect the policy of the Bolsheviks on the issue of pogroms, and so on. The main array of documents is of a unique nature, representing the materials of surveys of the Jewish population about the pogroms conducted during the Civil War. These materials are supplemented by reports, letters from Jewish public organizations and documents from Soviet authorities.

© L. Milyakova, compilation, introductory article, comments, 2007.
© I. Zyuzina, compilation, archeographical preface, comments, 2007.
© E. Rosenblat, I. Yelenskaya, compilation, historical and geographical reference, comments, 2007.
© State Archive of the Russian Federation, 2007.
© Russian Political Encyclopedia, 2007.

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• Mass character of pogroms.
• Ideologization of pogroms.
• Organizations that collected materials about the pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and Soviet Russia.
• Organizations that collected materials about the pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and Soviet Russia.
• HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE.
• ARCHEOGRAPHICAL PREFACE.
• I. UKRAINE.
• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.

INTRODUCTION

This publication of documents is devoted to such an aspect of the Civil War as ethnic violence. One form of ethnic violence during the Russian Civil War 1918-1922 was pogroms of the Jewish population of the western part of the former Russian Empire – Ukraine, Belarus and the European part of Russia [1] The compilers of the collection take into account that Ukraine and Belarus were not state entities in the Russian Empire.

The pogroms became an integral part of the military-political, economic, social and other conflicts that characterized the Civil War as a whole and determined its differences in individual regions. However, pogroms as a form of ethnic violence should be seen mainly in the context of the deformation and degradation of new state and social structures that were just beginning to take shape in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia at that time, the collapse of the moral norms of the population – the processes that manifested themselves in the First World War and continued on an unprecedented scale during the Civil War.

After the collapse of the empire and the formation of Soviet Russia, the declaration of independence of Ukraine and Belarus [2] Part of the territory of Belarus was occupied by Poland in 1919. Under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty (1921), the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were included in Poland. (where attempts were made to build national states), their territories became the arena of the struggle for power of various military and political forces, including external ones. At the same time, the armed forces of the opposing sides – with the exception of the Polish troops and partly the White Army – had the character of irregular armies, the vast majority of which consisted of yesterday’s peasants, and their units that obeyed rather the authority of the closest commander than the highest-level leadership. At the same time, these regions, primarily Ukraine, were seized by a powerful peasant movement, which, along with the slogans of the struggle for land, was infected with a kind of peasant anarchism and opposed the new authorities that tried to establish themselves in the regions: be it the Central Rada, the regime of P. Skoropadsky , Directory of S. Petliura or Soviet power and the reign of General A. Denikin, as was the case in the Ukrainian lands. In this way, in Ukraine and Belarus, the violence of state armed structures (troops of the Directory – the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR), Polish troops, units of the Red Army), as well as military units representing officially registered movements (White Army, units of St. Balakhovich-Savinkov ), intersected at the point of Jewish pogroms with peasant rebellion, intensified by the First World War and the Civil War.

In the European part of Soviet Russia, pogroms were a rare occurrence, which is to a certain extent due to the peculiarities of the settlement of the Jewish population in the former empire – its comparative smallness in comparison with the Ukrainian and Belarusian regions, the relative remoteness of the Russian hinterland from the theater of hostilities of the past World War with its demoralizing influence. , as well as with the tough anti-pogrom position of the Bolsheviks [3] See doc. No. 302-305, 316-319, 320-321, 323, etc.. The participants in pogroms in Russia, as a rule, were: from above – armed formations in the form of separate parts of the White Army, and from below – the urban plebs.

As a result, despite the presence of some signs of political, social, economic and other obvious or imaginary contradictions, the attitude towards the Jewish population among all these forces was determined by the relapses of barbarism, archaic tradition and, as a result, the “friend or foe” model of behavior well known to ethnologists, when against “outsiders” (in the degrading Russian society, engulfed by the Civil War [4] See also the well-known sociologist P. Sorokin for a description of the degradation processes that took place in Russian society during the Civil War. In his article of 1922, he speaks of “the change in the properties of the population” and, following this, the structure of society itself under the influence of the First World War and, in particular, the Civil War. See: Sorokin P.A. The influence of war on the composition of the population, its properties and social organization // The Economist. 1922. No. 1. S. 101-102; Reprinted: Sorokin P.A. Hunger is a factor. M., 2003. S. 540-579., Jews were referred to as “them”), hostile attitude intensified, up to the use of the most extreme forms of violence.

Even contemporaries understood that the problem of pogrom violence could not be comprehended solely with the help of official communications, as was the case with the pogroms of the 1880s and 1905-1907. That is why Jewish public organizations of various persuasions, the Jewish communities of the largest cities (mainly in Ukraine) turned to accounts of the victims and eyewitnesses of the pogroms – the testimonies of ordinary people. All these organizations were surprisingly diverse in their methods of collecting materials: they used surveys of accounts which were supplemented by various types of questionnaires, statistics, photographing the consequences of the pogroms, reports and messages from representatives from the scene, observations and direct interpretations of situations that developed after the pogroms. The collected materials made up an extensive collection of pogroms. The numerous surveys included in it represent one of the first oral history projects related to the topic of ethnic violence. During the course of the Civil War, this collection of documents was constantly replenished with official materials from the authorities operating in the regions, primarily Soviet bodies directly involved in helping the affected population, and turned into a unique collection of documents on ethnic violence.

The documents included in this collection allow us to come to an understanding of the psychosocial climate of the Civil War and thereby understand the origins of the pogrom violence of 1918-1922. [5] The lower time frame of the pogroms of this period is the spring-winter of 1917-1918. (See: Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and pogroms in Ukraine. 1917-1918 Berlin., 1923. S. 17-63). Information about these pogroms is contained in the archives of Ukraine. They reveal the phenomenon of pogroms, the features and nature of pogroms in certain regions, explain the emergence of new myths that replaced the slanders of the 19th century, and also testify to the motivations for the participation of various military-political and social forces and strata in them, clarify the circle of performers, etc.

The dramatic history of the pogroms of the Civil War has repeatedly attracted the attention of historians, mainly immediately after its completion [6] The most important works on the topic appeared in the 1920s and 1930s. Their authors were directly involved in collecting materials about the pogroms, in creating “pogrom archives”, and were also sent by such a Jewish organization as the All-Russian Public Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and Natural Disasters to the regions to compile relevant collections. The books published later were collections of documents, documentary journalism, and historical research with extensive documentary appendices. In the 1930s researchers who immigrated from Russia to Europe found support for the publication of books about the pogroms with great difficulty. See: Gusev-Orenburgsky S.I. A book about Jewish pogroms in Ukraine in 1919. Ed. and an afterword by M. Gorky. Petrograd. 1921; He is. “The Crimson Book”: Pogroms of 1919-1920. in Ukraine. Harbin, 1922; Materials about anti-Jewish pogroms. Ser. 1: Pogroms in Belarus. Issue 1: Pogroms perpetrated by the White Poles (Introduction, art. Z. Mindlin. M., 1922; Ostrovsky Z.S. Jewish pogroms in 1918-1921 M., 1926; Kheifets I.Ya. World reaction and Jewish pogroms Ukraine, Vol. 3. Kharkiv, 1926; Cherikover, I.M. Anti-Semitism and pogroms in Ukraine, 1917-1918 / Introductory article, S.M. Dubnov, Berlin, 1923; Shekhtman, I.B. Pogroms of the Volunteer Army in Ukraine (On the history of anti-Semitism in Ukraine. 1919-1920) / Introductory article by I.M. Cherikover, edited by N.Yu. Gergel and I.M. Cherikover, Berlin, 1932; Pogroms in Ukraine (Period of the Volunteer Army), Berlin, 1924; Heifetz E. The Slaughter of the Jews in the Ukraine in 1919. New York, 1921; Gergel N. Di pogromen in Ukraine in di yorn 1918-1921 // Schriften für Oekonomik und Statistik, Berlin, TI 1928, pp. 106-113 (Reprinted in: Gergel N. The Pogroms in the Ukraine in 1918-1921 // YIVO Annual of Jewish Social Science, Vol. 6. 1951); Letschinsky, Y. La Situation économique des Juis depuis la Guerre Mondiale, Paris, 1934. Shechtman I. The Pogroms of the Ukraine under the Ukrainian Governments (1917-1921). London, 1927 (French, Paris, 1927). The main work of I. Cherikower was written in Yiddish and went out of print after his death (Tcherikower I. Di Ukrainer pogromen in yor 1919. New York, 1965). . For many decades, the “pogrom archives” were closed in the USSR, and in the West this topic was closed in the 1930s. ousted from public consciousness, and then was obscured by the need to comprehend the great ethnic terror – the Holocaust: only after studying it, it was possible to proceed to the analysis of intermediate forms of violence, which were the pogroms of the Civil War. In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in this topic in historical science [7] In the 1990s a new stage in the development of the theme has begun. An important work to preserve the tradition in its study was the collection published in the West: “Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Violence in Modern Russian History” / Eds. by J. Klier and Sh. Lambroza. Cambridge, 1992. It should highlight an article about the pogroms of the White movement (Kenez R. Pogroms and White Ideology in the Russian Civil War. P. 292-332) and a historiographic essay, including the problems of pogroms in 1917-1921. (Greenbaum A. Bibliographical Essay. P. 373-386). A significant step in the development of the topic was H. Abramson’s monograph on the pogroms in Ukraine in 1917-1920, made on the materials of the Kiev archives (Abramson H. A Prayer for the Government. Ukrainians and Jews in Revolutionary Times. 1917-1920. Cambr. ( Mass.), 1999.
In the same 1990s. after the formation of independent Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in these countries, there have been different trends in the approach to the topic. In Ukraine, this was reflected in the discussion around a number of personalities of the Ukrainian national movement, primarily S. Petlyura (Hunchak T. Petlyura and Jews. Kiev, 1993; Yekelchik S. The tragic side of the Ukrainian revolution: Symon Petlyura and Jewish pogroms in Ukraine (1917- 1920) // Symon Petlyura and the Ukrainian National Revolution, Kyiv, 1995, pp. 165-217; the first publication of documents appeared, however, not of an academic nature (Sergiychuk V. Pogromy in Ukraine: 1914-1920. From piece stereotypes to harsh truth, prishovuvana in radian archives. Kiev, 1998).
In Belarus, attention is also paid to individual personalities of the Civil War, mainly St. Bulak-Balakhovich (Litvin A.M. General Bulak-Balakhovich. // Sons and stepsons of Belarus Minsk, 1996; Rozenblat E., Yelenskaya I. The discussion about S. Bulak-Balakhovich continues. // Berasceysk khranograph. Issue 3. Brest , 2002. P. 391-398.; Pogroms in individual cities are considered (Chernyakevich A.I. Pinsk execution as a harbinger of the Holocaust (about the tragic events of the spring of 1919) // Diaspora. 2004. No. 4. P. 164-186. In Russia, the problem of pogroms is an integral part of the study of the Civil War and the revolution, primarily the policy of the Bolsheviks in its course.We should highlight the works directly related to the topic of pogroms of the First Cavalry Army (Genis V.L. The First Cavalry Army: Behind the Scenes of Glory // Questions history. 1994. No. 12), the personnel policy of the Bolsheviks in Ukraine (Pavlyuchenkov S.P. The Jewish question in the revolution, or the reasons for the defeat of the Bolsheviks in Ukraine in 1919// Pavlyuchenkov S.P. War communism in Russia: power and masses. M., 1997. S. 251-263), as well as the role of Jews in the revolution and the Civil War (Budnitsky O.V. Russian Jews between Reds and Whites. M., 2005).
Of fundamental importance for understanding the psychosocial climate of the Civil War is the appearance of works by Russian scientists that raise questions about the practice of violence, including violence of an ethnic nature (Buldakov V.P. Krasnaya Smoot. M., 1997); about the nature of peasant rebellion in Russia during these years (Akulshin P.V., Pylkin V.A. Rebellious plowman. Peasant movement in the Ryazan and Tambov provinces in 1918-1921 Ryazan, 2000; Telitsin V.P. “Senseless and merciless ?.. The Phenomenon of Peasant Rebellion in 1917-1921. M. 2003.
. At the same time, there is an increasing need to expand the documentary base for research in this area .

The task of this publication is to introduce into scientific circulation a significant array of documentary materials about the pogroms of 1918-1922.

Mass character of pogroms.

The pogroms of 1918-1922 had no analogues in previous European history in terms of the huge territorial coverage, the high density of their distribution, the number of victims and participants, the variety of methods of violence used, which in some cases turned into actions of army units to cleanse the territory of the Jewish population, as well as the appearance of cases of their ideological justification.

The well-known philosopher and political scientist H. Arendt when characterizing the totalitarian violence of the 20th century singled out such features as mass character, ideologization and technologization of the destruction of victims [8] Arendt H. Origins of totalitarianism. M., 1996.. From this point of view, the pogroms of the Civil War represent a transitional form from the religiously motivated acts of ethnic violence of the 19th and early 20th centuries localized in space and time in Europe to those mass manifestations of it in the 20th century about which Arendt writes.

The documents published in the collection show that the pogroms in 1918-1922. took place in all Ukrainian and Belarusian provinces of the former Russian Empire, and in a number of regions of the European part of Russia (taking into account the territorial division that had developed at that time). A distinctive feature of the pogroms of this period was that they went beyond the geographic boundaries in which the pogroms of the 1880s and 1905-1907 took place; the territory directly covered by the pogroms increased: their new scale corresponded to the grandeur of the Civil War.

A distinctive feature of the pogroms of the XIX century. (according to the typology, the pogroms of 1905-1907 can also be attributed to them) in comparison with the pogroms of the Civil War was their short duration and transience. At the same time, a characteristic feature of the pogroms of 1918-1922. was, according to a contemporary of the events and one of the first publishers of documents, the writer S. Gusev-Orenburgsky, their continuity: “It was a continuous disaster”, when “a city or town was in a state of pogrom for weeks or months, or when a given place was in turn crushed by each enemy side entering it alternately … ” [9] Gusev-Orenburgsky S. A book about Jewish pogroms in Ukraine in 1919. S. 6, 13.. Famous Jewish historians S. Dubnov and I. Cherikover used the term “pogrom movement” in their description [10] Introduction. Ostjüdisches Historisches Archiv // Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and Pogroms in Ukraine. C. 1.

In turn, the events in Belarus were characterized by contemporaries as “an epic of pogroms” [11] Mindlin Z. Pogroms in Belarus // Materials on anti-Jewish pogroms. Pogroms in Belarus. Issue. 1. Pogroms perpetrated by the White Poles. C. 3.. There, the pogroms were not distributed as densely over time as in Ukraine, but were conditionally (for the sake of convenience) divided into three stages: the period of “continuous pogroms” referred to the Polish occupation of 1919-1920, mainly at the time of the retreat of the Polish army [12] There. pp. 3-12.; an “epidemic” of looting, massacres and violence characterized the period of invasion in October-November 1920 into the territory of Soviet Belarus from Poland by detachments of S. Bulak-Balakhovich – B. Savinkov; “rampant banditry of a pogrom nature” referred to the period of 1921. [13] See: Rosenblat E.S. The main stages and localization of pogroms in Belarus. 1918-1922 // Brest geographical spring. T. 6. Issue. 1-2. Brest, 2006.

One of the indicators of the mass nature of the pogroms of the Civil War was the density of their distribution over the area. The pogroms of this period covered almost all types of settlements and localities, transport routes: provincial, county, volost cities; towns, villages, agricultural colonies, settlements at railway stations; the railways themselves, river transport; forests, fields, roads, on the sides of which the Jews hid and along which their exodus from the pogromed places took place. However, a characteristic feature of the pogroms of this period, in contrast to the 19th century, was their predominantly rural character.

In all these places, the pogroms were directed not only against the Jewish population itself, but also against their places of residence: apartments with all their contents, Jewish quarters, shtetls themselves, etc. plundered, ruined, and then completely or partially burned. So, for example, the Yustingrad (Sokolovka) metro station in the Kiev province was burned in 1919 with all Jewish property: 400 houses owned by Jews, 140 shops, a steam mill, 6 tanneries, 3 seltzer water plants, a savings and loan partnership, 6 synagogues, 2 public baths [14] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 51.. A similar fate befell the village of Stepantsy, Kanevsky district, Kiev province, where (according to a questionnaire for 1921) some of the Jewish houses were burned down, and some were so “ruined” that they could not be restored; the remains of housing were taken away by local peasants: “even the doors from the stoves, windows, doors were taken out, the gates were carried away, everything was destroyed” [15] There. L. 34..

In the martyrology of the lost towns in Ukraine, such as the city of Kublich in the Podolsk province (Petliura pogroms in March 1919), the earlier mentioned Yustingrad in Kiev province (peasant pogroms and pogroms of White units), etc., the liquidation of which was accompanied by a kind of ritual and at the same time purely practical actions : after the complete burning of the towns, their territories were plowed up [16] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 51.. Such information – about how the habitats of the Jewish population, along with the inhabitants, became victims of pogroms – can be quoted for pages.

As for Belarus, the nature of the actions of various forces in relation to Jewish property and places of residence of the population during the three periods of pogroms in the region was distinguished by certain features. Thus, during the occupation of Belorussia in 1919-1920, mainly during the retreat of the Polish troops in the summer of 1920, Jewish property was plundered and taken away, and then towns and cities were set on fire and the rest was destroyed. And this is with a small number of those killed because the troops used the tactics of “selective repression” (see the murder of the Gekler family in the city of Bobruisk [17] See doc. No. 213.). All this served the purpose, on the one hand, to keep the Jewish population of the occupied regions in fear, when withsrawing to leave devastation in the places where the potential “enemy” was located, and on the other hand, to extinguish any possibility of discontent in the troops operating in foreign territory, giving them free hand for robbery. In addition, the actions of the Polish troops can be partly explained by the lack of sufficient control over them by the commanders.

During the invasion of Belarus from Poland, detachments of St. Bulak-Balakhovich – B. Savinkov in the fall of 1920, the occupation of cities was accompanied by two or three days of “unheard of robberies”, the destruction of Jewish property, massacres and rapes. Only under such conditions did the Balakhovites agree to take part in hostilities [18] Boris Savinkov at the Lubyanka: Documents. M., 2001. S. 442-443; GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 51..

The peculiarities of banditry in Belarus in 1921 include its pogrom character, when numerous gangs (participants in anti-Soviet rebellions, remnants of Balakhovich’s detachments, deserters, criminal elements, etc.) with the broad participation of the local peasantry destroyed Jewish property and the Jews themselves, robbed and burned their property [19] See: Rosenblat E.S. The main stages and localization of pogroms in Belarus… The local peasantry more and more actively joined the perpetrated pogroms.

As a result, the acts of vandalism that went hand in hand with the killings in Belarus – and to a greater extent in Ukraine – grew into the destruction of the very places of traditional residence of the Jewish population. As a result, the very possibility of further residence of Jews in these areas was eliminated, and they were “squeezed out” from these territories, fleeing to large county towns that were better controlled by the regional authorities, or, as happened in Ukraine, fled to places where there existed a system of Jewish self-defense.

Another feature of the pogroms of 1918-1922, which gave them a massive character, was the large number of their perpetrators. The evidence from the sccounts of the pogroms presented in the collection allows us to look at the issues of violence “from the inside” and take a fresh look at the problem of identifying the perpetrators of the pogroms, to conduct their witness identification. Being “inside” the pogrom, eyewitnesses do not use class categories to describe them – “Petliurists”, “Whites”, “Reds” (although this also happens), but indicate specific perpetrators – certain platoons, companies, battalions, regiments and etc., first of all – in the army of the UNR, then – in the White, Red and Polish armies and formations of St. Bulak-Balakhovich – B. Savinkov. As a result, the documents of the collection confirm the thesis of the irregular nature of most of the armed forces and movements that participated in the Civil War, i.e. their lack of permanent organization, service and training; testify to the processes of degradation that deeply affected them (mass looting, arbitrariness, banditry, etc.), as happened, for example, with units of the UPR army, the White Army. In addition, most of the armed forces and movements were created on the basis of the broad involvement of the local peasantry, as well as the Cossacks (among both the Whites and the Reds) and the North Caucasian peoples, who demonstrated their traditional stereotypes of behavior in the conditions of such a “wrong” war as the Civil War. For most of these forces, the nature of the actions in relation to the Jewish population was formed during the war on the basis of ethnic stereotypes that existed in their region, district, environment. The last description also applies to the Poznań formations of the Polish Army.

In Ukraine, in addition to various army units, the atamanism inflicted enormous damage to the Jewish population. It included chieftains who had official mandates and the support of the leadership of the UNR in the creation of armed detachments. The most rebellious of them left the army, preferring to act autonomously and interacting as necessary with the UNR troops or other authorities [20] Soldatenko V.F. Ukrainian revolution. Kiev, 1999. S. 738-739.
A characteristic feature of the atamanism was the establishment of control of partisan commanders over various regions of Ukraine (as a rule, gravitating towards their native places). So, in 1920 they controlled vast territories of Ukraine: for example, Trypilsky, Chernobyl, Zhytomyr, Tarashchansky regions; the regions of Uman, Skvira, Pogrebishcha, Radomysl and others were under the rule of various atamans [21] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 4-5.. Members of the powerful peasant uprising of March-August 1919, led by Grigoriev, who put forward anti-Semitic slogans, and, to a lesser extent, the peasant movement led by Makhno, which unfolded in areas with a relatively low density of the Jewish population, also took an active part in the pogroms, while Makhno himself strove to maintain its international character [22] However, as evidenced by the materials of the collection, when moving into regions of Ukraine with a higher density of the Jewish population, they also took an active part in the pogroms.. Commanders (self-proclaimed atamans) and members of numerous small partisan detachments who were part of the Ukrainian peasant movement, ordinary bandits and broad masses of the peasantry, were also active participants in the pogroms.

In Belarus, along with formations of Polish troops and units of St. Bulak-Balakhovich, whose movement, due to the weakness of the Belarusian national forces, relied on the support of Poland, the peasantry took part in the pogroms (from the end of 1920); numerous deserters who, after the collapse of the western front as a result of the Red Army’s offensive against Warsaw in the summer of 1920, became members of bandit formations, insurgent detachments, etc.

As for Russia, in some areas of its European part pre-pogrom moods were ripening, excesses were observed in a number of cities and villages, and in their raid on the rear of the Red Army in 1919, General Mamontov’s cavalry staged pogroms in a number of areas. Under the conditions of the Civil War, which were complicated in Ukraine by attempts to build a national state, all these forces clashed, changed their positions, entered into temporary coalitions with former opponents, lost power or gained it. Common to them was (albeit to varying degrees) participation in Jewish pogroms, manifestations of anti-Semitism.

The documents of the collection allow us to raise the question of the motivations for participation in the pogroms of various forces, which were of a complex systemic nature, and especially dwell on the motivations of the peasantry. Since 1917, a pogrom atmosphere had been thickening in the regions, rooted at the beginning of the century: “the pogrom hung in the air.” Under the conditions of the Civil War, the perception of Jews as “alien”, “exploiters” intensified. The growth of the national consciousness of the Ukrainian, Polish and, to a lesser extent, Belarusian peoples, which was spurred on by the collapse of the Russian Empire and the formation of nation-states, had as a negative effect the spread of crude nationalism and activated its extreme form – anti-Semitism (periodic outbursts of which were observed mainly in Ukraine since the beginning of the century).

The main carrier of such sentiments was the peasantry, whose social movement, primarily in Ukraine, was closely connected with the growth of national consciousness [23] Graziosi A. Bolsheviks and peasants in Ukraine. 1918-1919 years. M., 1997. S. 32.; Doroshenko D. History of Ukraine. 1917-1923. T. 1. Uzhgorod, 1932. S. 198; Margolin AD From a Political Diary. New York, 1946. P. 24.. The peasantry took an active part in the pogroms during the Civil War (in Russia, in the addresses of the peasantry, pogrom slogans were not typical and were not the basis of the programs of peasant movements) [24] This is mainly about the emergence of an anti-Semitic appeal during one of the most powerful peasant uprisings on the territory of Soviet Russia during the Civil War, which was called the “forklift”. In February-March 1920, the uprising swept the Kazan, Samara and Ufa provinces. It was the reaction of the peasantry to the food policy of the Bolsheviks. See: Soviet village through the eyes of the Cheka-OGPU
-NKVD: Documents and materials. T. 1. 1918-1922. M., 2000. S. 755.. A significant role in the motives of the peasantry’s appeal against cities and towns in Ukraine, and later, from the summer of 1920, in Belarus, was attributed to economic factors. Although the countryside during the Civil War was supplied with goods better than the city, the war nevertheless created in the countryside a shortage of essentials (salt, kerosene, sugar, textiles, nails, etc.), i.e. goods that were under the control of Jewish merchants in cities and towns [25] Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and Pogroms in Ukraine. 1917-1918. P. 23. See doc. No. 10.. Commodity shortage inevitably led to the growth of speculation.

As for the village itself, the destruction of its traditional economic structure began during the First World War, in which the Jewish population occupied its niche, continued (although documents still show the presence of a shortened set of “Jewish trades ” – tailors, carpenters, saddlers and etc. [26] Jewish tribune. December 14, 1921); there was an acute need to provide for the Jewish families, which were usually large. All this forced the Jewish population, as well as part of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peasantry, to engage primarily in intermediary activities, small trade.

This turned the Jewish population into a potential object of robbery and expropriation of Jewish property (household items, housing, etc.) in favor of the peasantry. In addition, the policy pursued by the Bolsheviks, among whom there were many Jews at the grassroots level, was the policy in the countryside (surplus appraisal, the organization of state farms), the participation of representatives of the Jewish population in the establishment of Soviet power in the regions was also blamed by the peasant masses on all Jews [27] Pavlyuchenkov S.A. War Communism in Russia: Power and the Masses. M., 1997. S. 251-263. See also: GA RF F. R-1318. Op. 24. D. 17. L. 115-116; F. R-1339. Op. 1.D. 423. L. 34..

At the same time, the long-term participation of the peasantry in hostilities on the side of various forces in the regions alienated it from everyday productive labor and turned it into a rural population, which easily mobilized itself or was mobilized by someone for any destructive actions, which eventually became one of the decisive factors of pogroms.

As a result, taking into account all rational and pseudo-rational explanations for the occurrence of pogroms, the researcher eventually inevitably faces the mystery of the pogrom phenomenon (it is also the phenomenon of a pogrom mob). An explanation of the mechanism of the emergence of pogroms is impossible without taking into account the psychology of the crowd and its motivation, in this case in a situation of increased ethnic intolerance and violence. German historian H.-D. Loewe pointed out that when analyzing the pogroms in the Russian Empire, it is almost impossible to determine the degree of responsibility of someone for pulling the “trigger” of the pogrom [28] Lowe H.D. The Tzar and Jews. Chur, Switzerland, 1993. P. 207.. This fully applies to the pogroms of the Civil War, as it concerns the actions of the crowd during the pogrom. As pogroms turned into a “pogrom movement,” their individual features, characteristic of pogroms in the 19th and early 20th centuries, disappeared. (this statement does not apply to one of the largest pogroms of 1919 in the city of Proskurov in Ukraine, which will be discussed below). Only the documents of this collection preserve the individuality of the pogroms – they are full of human details, details of pogroms. In reality, under the conditions of
“massification” of pogroms, one pogrom differed from another in the number of victims, the nature of the participants and the geography of its implementation. Thus, speaking of the pogrom, the researcher has in mind the pogrom mob and its actions. When looking for decisive motives for gathering peasants and townsfolk into a crowd for participation in pogroms, it should be borne in mind that the main condition was the permissiveness of the power vacuum (power is “a man with a gun”), and during the pogroms themselves, the participants were driven by the psychopathology of the crowd, when extreme forms of behavior became the norm.

For various reasons, Ukraine became the main arena of the pogrom movement. The peak of the pogroms in it came in 1919, when the troops of the UNR, White and Red, clashed in the struggle for power, and a powerful peasant movement unfolded. According to some estimates, in the Kiev province, on average, there were from 500 or more killed per pogromed point, in Volyn and Podolsk – from 100 to 500 dead, in Chernigov, Poltava, Kharkov and Ekaterinoslav provinces – up to 100 dead [29] Abramson N.A. A Prayer for the Government. P. 139.. In this regard, the problem arises of determining the number of victims of the pogroms of the Civil War both in Ukraine and in other regions.

The almost complete lack of study of this problem led to an arbitrary definition in historiography of data on the number of victims of pogroms. They vary from 35,000 to 150,000-200,000 dead and go back to historiographic estimates of the 1920s-1930s. [30] In the historiography of the 1920-1930s. the following figures are given: S. Gusev-Orenburgsky, having summed up the random, according to him, data available in the Russian Red Cross Society in Ukraine and having received the number of 35 thousand killed in Ukraine by the middle of 1920, substantiated the incompleteness of these data and considered a convincing figure of 100 thousand dead (Gusev-Orenburgsky S. Pogroms in Ukraine in 1919, p. 14.). I. Heifetz in an early publication of documents on pogroms (1921) cites the figure of 120 thousand killed in Ukraine (Heifetz E. The Slaughter of the Jews in the Ukraine in 1919. P. 180). H. Gergel, one of the first involved in the statistics of pogroms, considered a reliable figure of 50-60 thousand dead in Ukraine. Taking into account the glaring incompleteness of the data, he considered it possible to double or even triple it. (Gergel N. The Pogroms in the Ukraine in 1918-1921 // YIVO Annual of Jewish Social Science. Vol. 6. New York, 1951. P. 245-248). The same opinion was shared in the 1930s. I. Cherikover (Di Ukraineer pogromen in yor 1919. New York, 1965. P. 333-349). The direct victims of the pogroms included the dead and wounded, etc. At the same time, a number of victim categories directly affected by the pogroms were practically not subjected to accurate accounting or completely fell out of sight of authorized Jewish public organizations and Soviet authorities (This fact was taken into account by the first historiographers). These categories included those who died months later from wounds; those who died in attacks on trains, in burnings in synagogues, in drownings on steamboats; killed while traveling from one locality to another; victims of attacks among the refugee mass when leaving the towns, etc. The most reliable information about the number of the dead could be provided by the Jewish funeral brotherhoods (which were also subjected to destruction), but, naturally, most of the above categories of the dead were not subject to accounting.

The category of unreported victims of pogroms also includes tens, and most likely hundreds of thousands of cripples, including mentally ill; victims of violence (documents show that there were several times more of them than the number of those killed in each individual settlement, but the exact number of them was not disclosed due to ethical considerations). In addition, to the unaccounted victims, one should add those who died from the devastation that arose as a result of the pogroms: loss of housing, vital supplies (clothing, food, etc.), crowding in places of old and new residence, unsanitary conditions that led to inevitable outbreaks of infectious diseases [31] See doc. No. 90.

At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the conditions of the Civil War – the lack of transport, the inability to ensure the safety of the commissioners themselves, the cut off of a number of provinces, volosts as a result of hostilities from the main centers of information collection (Kiev, Kharkov, Gomel, Minsk, Moscow) did not give opportunities to examine some of the pogromed places and take into account the victims in full.

So, for example, in 1920, the authorized representatives of the largest organization that was involved in helping and collecting information about pogroms – the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed under the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in Ukraine, were not available for examination in 1920,including the western parts of the Volyn and Podolsk provinces, the southern part of Kherson provinces, etc. [32] Gusev-Orenburgsky, who was sent by Moscow to Ukraine (GA RF. F. R-1235. Op. 55. D. 2. L. 90) and collaborated with the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine, emphasized this fact. See: Gusev-Orenburgsky S. A book about Jewish pogroms in Ukraine. S. 14.

With this in mind, we will try to present preliminary data on the number of victims of pogroms, which were collected by various organizations during the Civil War, and show the methodology of their calculations.

Some of the information on this issue was summarized by the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Nationalities of the RSFSR for the Soviet delegation at the Genoa Conference (April 10 – May 19, 1922), where Soviet Russia planned to raise the issue of compensation for damages for pogroms by the Entente countries, making them responsible for supporting the forces, involved in pogroms during the Civil War. To collect materials, the regional branches of the Evobshchestkom were mobilized, and in the spring and summer of 1921 they conducted appropriate surveys, questionnaires, etc. We also used the data of the People’s Commissariats of Social Security of the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR and the materials available in the information bureau of the Jewish Department.

So, according to the certificate of the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of National Affairs of the RSFSR dated March 28, 1922, the number of those killed in pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (according to data for 1921) reached a total of 100,194 people: this figure was made up of officially submitted information about 33,398 killed, which accounted for, according to the People’s Commissariat for National Affairs, only a third of those actually killed in the pogroms. The situation was the same with the count of the wounded in the pogroms: 9942 people were officially registered, but in reality, according to the same logic, there should have been three times as many, i.e. 29826 people [33] GA RF. F. R-1235. Op. 2. D. 6. L. 21.
(as the materials of the collection show, the number of wounded can be considered extremely low).

According to other estimates, which are given in the report of the deputy head of the Jewish Department, Z. Mindlin, the killed were 10% of the 500,000 refugees in Ukraine and Belarus. Given the Soviet authorities’ lack of complete information about pogrom casualties, he was guided by the same logic—in this case, doubling the available data on pogrom victims. “And if so,” he concluded, “then the number of victims is at least 50 thousand, but probably it reaches 100 thousand people.” Preparing all these data for the Genoa Conference, Mindlin supported his conclusions with the results of the calculations of a prominent Jewish demographer of that period, Y. Leshchinsky, in whose opinion “the number of those killed reached 150 thousand.” [34] There. F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 761. L. 121.
At the same time, up to 125,000 people were killed in pogroms in Ukraine, and 25,000 in Belarus. [35] There. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 470. L. 5.
Calculations of the scale of losses reflect a general shock before an incomprehensible experience that caused contemporaries to fear for the future of interethnic dialogue in the region [36] Dubnov S. The Third Gaidamachina // Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and Pogroms in Ukraine. pp. 9-15.

The calculations by the Evobshchestkom of the number of deaths in pogroms were based on the results of a survey of the refugee masses in a number of Ukrainian cities that were conducted in 1921. The collection of information about physical and material losses during the pogroms was aimed primarily at identifying the necessary amount of assistance to the victims. Based on the comparison of the number of examined refugees in each of these places with the number of deaths accounted for by their families, the researchers were able to obtain an average percentage of victims of pogroms from the entire refugee mass – it was 10%. So, for example, in Kharkov 2260 refugees numbered 150 family members who died in the pogroms, and 100 members who died after them (11%). In Uman, 7722 refugees accounted for 802 deaths in their families (more than 10%). Approximately the same percentage in Odessa: 12037 refugees, 1194 were killed in their families, etc. [37] GA RF. F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 761. L. 121.
At the same time, the well-known principle, according to which “first of all, the most able-bodied age strata of the population die in the course of hostilities in the army”, [38] Sorokin P.A. cited this pattern, based on the statistics of casualties in the First World War. See: Sorokin P.A. The influence of the war on the composition of the population, its properties and social organization. // Economist. S. 90.
fully applied to the deaths in pogroms of the civilian Jewish population. According to the same estimates of the Evobshchestkom, up to 75% of the dead in the pogroms were men aged 15 to 50 years [39] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 470. L. 5.

The confirmation of these conclusions, as well as an attempt to identify any patterns in human losses during the pogroms, were the results of a survey by the Kyiv commission of the Evobshchestkom (summer 1921) of the town of Pechara, Bratslav district in Ukraine. During the pogrom, which took place in the town on June 12, 1919, 19 people were among the 133 dead. aged 1 to 15 years; 8 victims – aged 16-20; 75 people — from 21 to 55 years; 19 killed – from 56 to 69 years, and 17 dead – from 70 years and above [40] See doc. No. 46.

The collectors of the “pogrom archives” also made attempts to determine the percentage of participants in the pogroms, mainly in Ukraine. According to the calculations of one of them, N. Gergel (Department for Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine, then – Ostjüdiches Historisches Archiv), 39.9% of the total number of pogroms fell on the troops of the Directory, 24.8% – on various partisan detachments and gangs, 17.2% – on military formations of the White Army, on the Red Army – 8.6% of pogroms, on the detachments of Ataman Grigoriev – 4.2%, on the Polish Army – 2.6%, on other participants – 2.7% [41] See: Gergel N. Di pogromen in Ukraine in di yorn 1918-1921. S. 240. See discussion of H. Gergel’s calculations by Canadian researcher X. Abramson: Abramson H. Jewish Representation in the Independent Ukrainian Governments of 1917-1920 // Slavic Review. No. 3. Vol. 50. 1991. P. 547-548

Ideologization of pogroms.

The ideologization of pogroms is the new element that fits them into the well-known forms of violence of the 20th century. This causes historians to strive to determine their place and compare them with other manifestations of ethnic violence in the 20th century.

In the context of the collapse of traditional landmarks and the decline of legitimate power in the regions, the population was seized with that anxiety, the signs of which are well known to historians dealing with periods of crisis. This anxiety and tension found expression in the search for a real or imaginary threat, which seemed to pose a danger to the very existence of the population. The conditions of the Civil War gave rise to the most irrational rumors that gave seemingly convincing explanations for incomprehensible things, pointing to the source of the danger that allegedly threatened society. Only taking into account what has been said, it is possible to approach the issue of the appearance of the myth about the “Jewish commune”, the slogans “beat the Yids and the communists”, “beat the Yids, down with the commune” which were widespread since 1919 in Ukraine [42] See, for example, questionnaires for Shpikov, Bratslav (Ukraine): GA RF F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 39-40, 43.
. These slogans had their own concrete historical background, illustrating the evolution of the conflict: from the appearance of rumors to the “recognition” by the population of the source of danger (to which the Jews were attributed) [43] At the “stage of rumors” in the Ukrainian villages in 1918, they said (after the first acquaintance with the Bolsheviks) that the Jews “want to ride on horseback, they want to tie us in a bear”; under Hetman Skoropadsky and in the presence of the Austro-German troops, the Jews were accused of “bringing the Nazis, stink like two fingers with them.” In 1919, when bandits asked if there were communists in the shtetl, the answer was: “We have a shtetl with Jewish communists outside.” See: GA RF F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 18. L. 51., and then to the “necessity” to eliminate the source of danger, which was reflected in the formation of various types of slogans: “beat the Jews and communists”, “beat the Jews, down with the commune”, etc. [44] There. L. 1, 40, 43.
In 1919-1921. similar slogans arose both in Belarus and in Russia. They were a common element of popular ideology, providing a motive for the actions of the pogromists and at the same time “appointing” the Jewish population responsible for “everything” that happened in the regions during the Civil War.

The next element in the ideologization of violence during these years was singled out by the Israeli scholar A. Greenbaum in his article on the historiography of the pogroms. “In some respects,” writes Greenbaum of the Civil War pogroms, “especially since the killings were sometimes carried out as a kind of “national duty”, without the usual robberies – they are comparable to the Holocaust … ”[45] Greenbaum A. Bibliographical essay // J. Klier and Sh. Lambroza, eds. Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Violence in Modem Russian History. Cambr., 1992. P. 380.

Such cases during the war were rare: the pogrom, as a rule, was accompanied by robbery. However, the documents also depict pogroms typical of Ukraine, where part of the soldiers only robbed during the pogrom, while the other part only killed the Jewish population, explaining this fact by “higher” considerations. In one of the most bloody pogroms in the city of Proskurov, Podolsk province. (February 1919) the commander of the Zaporizhzhya Cossack brigade named after. S. Petlyura of the Ukrainian Republican Army, ataman I. Semesenko suggested that his soldiers consider the pogrom as a “national duty”: before it began, he made a speech stating that “the most dangerous enemies of the Ukrainian people and Cossacks are the Jews, who must be killed to save Ukraine and themselves”. In addition, “he demanded from the Cossacks that they would fulfill their sacred duty and slaughter the Jewish population, but at the same time they must also swear that they would not rob the Jewish property” (in 3.5 hours [46] See doc. No. 15. about 1650 Jews, including children of different ages, including infants) [47] Modern historiography cites the following figures for those killed in the Proskurov-Filshtinsky pogrom: in the city of Proskurov, there were 1,650 of them. (1,200 killed and 300 who died of wounds later), and in the town of Filshtin, where Semesenko’s Cossacks went after the pogrom in Proskurov, 485 dead. See: Ukraine // Brief Jewish Encyclopedia. T. 8. S. 1221. Gilerson, in a report published in the collection, counts over 1,500 people in the Proskurov pogrom. killed, and in Filshtinsky – 600 victims (485 people were killed during the pogrom and over 100 died of wounds later).

The fact that the motivation of the pogroms by “national duty” on the part of the UNR command staff was not uncommon is evidenced by the pogrom in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. In 1919. Colonel N. Palienko, who had been sent to the city before the pogrom, declared that “Ukraine is surrounded on all sides by enemies”, by which he meant the Jews, Poles, Russians, Bolsheviks, Romanians, Don and Entente, that “the Bolshevik movement is a doing of the hands of the Jews, that “it won’t work for them (i.e., the Jews), that he was invited by the Directory to restore order in Zhytomyr, punish the city, and that punishment and purge will be carried out with unswerving severity” [48] See doc. No. 10.

The question arises whether the appearance of elements of the ideologization of ethnic violence has not led to any qualitative changes in its forms and content. The events in the city of Proskurov, which can be regarded as indicative from this point of view, were not the result of spontaneous violence, characteristic of the actions of the crowd in the pogroms of the Civil War [49] Regarding the interpretation of the concept of “violence”, see: Dal V. Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. T.II. St. Petersburg; M., 1881. S. 468; Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language. M., 1981. S. 344.
. In fact, elements of ethnic terror were present in the Proskurov massacre. How does one concept differ from another? In modern dictionaries of the Russian language, according to one of the definitions, terror is defined as “brutal, mass reprisal by an enemy army against civilians in the territory it occupies” [50] Dictionary of the modern Russian literary language. T. 15. M., 1963. S. 367. According to another definition, it is “physical violence, up to physical destruction, in relation to political enemies” [51] Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language. S. 344.. Both definitions, complementing each other, make it possible to see the difference between these forms of violence: between the spontaneous violence of a crowd, a limited group of persons, an individual, and organized, planned violence against one’s opponents or those who are considered as such, aimed at far-reaching goals, which are characteristic of terror.

In the case of pogroms, both in the spontaneous actions of the crowd and in premeditated actions, as was the case in the actions of military units under the command of Semesenko, Palienko, one of the protagonists, namely the victim, turned out to be unchanged: it became the Jewish population.

Naturally, the conditions of the Civil War gave rise to the most diverse forms and methods of ethnic violence: from intimidation, robbery to the most extreme – extermination and terror. At the same time, there were practically no forms of violence in their “pure” form: all of them simultaneously or alternately coexisted with each other in each of the pogroms, and the characteristic features of the extreme of these forms also repeatedly appear on the pages of documents.

The appearance of elements of ideologization in such pogroms as Zhytomyr and Proskurov could not but cause a certain modification in the content of the violence used. The justification of the pogrom as a struggle for the “national idea”, which was offered to their Cossacks by atamans Semesenko and Palienko, gave them a kind of indulgence, freeing them from responsibility for committing terror against the civilian population. It is not for nothing that those who survived the Proskurov terror recall the unemotional efficiency with which the acts of “destruction” were carried out in Proskurov, their inexorable mechanistic nature [52] See doc. No. 15., i.e. that ideal perpetrator of terror, towards whom totalitarian violence gravitates, appeared already in the course of the pogroms. At the same time, terror acted as a tool for achieving the named super-task: the liberation of the territory from elements that were perceived by part of the Ukrainian society of that period as an obstacle to building a truly national state [53] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 417. L. 172..

The danger of such examples was that they influenced broad social strata, putting forward behavioral patterns, pushing the vacillating strata to pogroms, rooting in all strata of society the opinion that pogroms might be legal, and thereby preparing this society to accept ethnic violence.

Naturally, technologization in the form that H. Arendt studied and which is characteristic of the totalitarian stage of violence (the creation of “factories” for the destruction of people with complex technology, trained personnel [54] Arendt H. The origins of totalitarianism. S. 577.), could not be present in the pogroms of the Civil War. At the same time, the mass nature of violence and the appearance of elements of its ideologization became characteristic features of the pogrom movement of this period. The materials of the collection provide an opportunity to restore the missing link in the evolution of ethnic violence in the 20th century and, moreover, to understand “from what rubbish” of the First World War and the Civil War arose that society that became ready for the acceptance of the totalitarian violence of the 20th century.

Organizations that collected materials about the pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and Soviet Russia.

The collection could be just another work on the topic of the Civil War if the documents included in it were not unique in their character. They are part of one of the world’s largest archival collections on the history of the 1918-1922 pogroms and thus – on one of the few periods of ethnic violence of the 20th century provided with mass sources.

The core of the collection is one of the earliest collections of documents on oral history of the “pre-tape recorder period” – numerous recordings of stories, reports of victims and witnesses of pogroms that took place during the Civil War [55] For more information on the periodization of oral history studies, see one of the most famous British experts in this field: Thompson P. Voice of the Past. Oral history. M., 2003. S. 35-87. Unfortunately, Thompson is not familiar with the collection of oral history of the pogroms, kept in the State Archives of the Russian Federation. The collection of these documents was mainly carried out by Jewish public organizations of various kinds.

Despite the fact that pogroms on the territory of the former Russian Empire took place already in 1917-1918, no targeted work to collect documentary evidence of the growth of these forms of violence was carried out in that period in any of the three regions. Fragmentary information about pogroms and anti-Jewish excesses after the formation of independent states in Ukraine and Belarus was stored in their power structures. In addition, in Ukraine, the information about pogroms was recorded by the Jewish communities of the largest cities (Kiev, Zhytomyr, etc.) and branches of old all-Russian Jewish public organizations, such as the Kiev Society for Assistance to the Jewish Population Affected by Combat Actions (KOPE), the Union of Jewish Warriors, the Kiev Committee of the Society for the Preservation of the Health of the Jewish Population (OSE), and others. Messages describing anti-Jewish excesses became known primarily through the press, mainly the Jewish press[56] In the Russian-language Jewish periodicals, published in 1917-1918, one should single out such publications as “Jewish Life” (M.); “Jewish Tribune” (Pg.); “Jewish Week” (Pg.), “Dawn” (Pg.); in the Yiddish periodical “Togblat” (Pg.), as well as Soviet publications – “The Life of Nationalities” (M.); “News of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee” (M.); “Petrogradskaya Pravda” (Pg.); in Yiddish periodicals in Ukraine: Volkszeitung, Dos Naye Lebn, Naye Zeit (Kyiv), etc.; in Belarus – “Der id”, “Der Vecker” (Minsk).

Systematic work on the collection of documentary evidence of the pogroms began in 1919. It acquired its most developed forms in Ukraine. The emergence of a mass pogrom movement in the region at the beginning of this year led to the creation in Kiev of a number of new specialized Jewish public organizations, which, in addition to providing assistance to the victims, set as their goal – first spontaneously, and then purposefully – the collection of documentary evidence of the pogroms. The most important of these organizations were the Central Committee (CC) for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms, the Editorial Board for Collecting and Publishing Materials on Pogroms in Ukraine, the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed within the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in Ukraine, etc.

The first organization that appeared at the end of January 1919, was the Central Committee for Assistance to the Victims of the Pogroms [57] This organization is known as the Central Jewish Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms, the Central Committee for Assistance to the Pogromed., around which practically all Jewish parties (Bund, Poalei Zion, the Jewish Social Democratic Party, etc.) and public organizations of Ukraine united at that time (Kultur-Liga, KOPE, OZE, etc.). Thus, the well-known Kyiv and not only Kyiv public and political figures, the intelligentsia were centered around the Central Committee.

“The tasks of the Committee included only the matter of assistance,” wrote its member, historian I.M. Cherikover, but already from the first months his archives accumulated such rich factual material about the pogrom events that the idea arose of its immediate publication” [58] Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and pogroms in Ukraine… S. 1-2.
In April 1919, at the suggestion of the Kyiv publishing house “Jüdischer Volksverlag”, the Presidium of the Central Committee decided to prepare a book based on the collected materials. An organization such as the Jewish National Council, which was the executive body of the Provisional Jewish National Assembly, agreed to participate in the preparation of the book and supplement it with documents on the pogroms of 1917-1918. [59] Same.
Materials for the future book were constantly replenished thanks to surveys that were conducted among the refugee masses, mainly by the Kiev branch of the Central Committee (in the summer of 1919 there were 15-20 thousand Jewish refugees in Kiev) [60] GA RF. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 65. L. 12.
Survey materials were accumulated in the legal bureau and the information department of the Central Committee in Kyiv. For work in the provinces, an institution of commissioners and a correspondent network were created: some were sent to the provinces to provide humanitarian assistance and conduct surveys, collect information, others acted in specific places, participating in the distribution of humanitarian aid, and suppling the Central Committee with the materials received. At the same time, the Central Committee actively used the manpower resources of the OZE, KOPE and the Jewish Public Committee for Relief of War Victims (EKOPO).

The Central Committee applied the principles of a scientific approach to interviewing the victims and witnesses of the pogroms, which were subsequently used by other Jewish organizations involved in the surveys. Thus, a distinctive feature of the surveys was their maximum approximation to the time of the events: they were carried out in hot pursuit, a month or months after the events. About the same pogrom, the employees of the Central Committee tried to interview various categories of victims and witnesses, to create a most complete and reliable picture of events. Interviews of victims and witnesses were carried out according to the original scheme which must have been unfortunately lost.

When talking to the victims and witnesses about the pogroms, the Central Committee officials took into account the therapeutic effect of questioning, the effect of which is now known to specialists in oral history. The opportunity to speak out and overcome the traumatic experience of the pogroms, and in some cases to comprehend it, contained the potential for the victims to gain “stability” in the chaos of the Civil War and an impulse to continue life [61] GA RF. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 65. L. 5-5v.

It was under the leadership of the Central Committee that a public investigation of the first and second Zhitomir pogroms took place.

The Committee survived two splits which were initiated by the left-wing forces in its composition. After the first of them – in May 1919 – during the period of the presence of Soviet power in Kiev, the Central Committee switched to a semi-legal position [62] There. L. 9 about., its financial possibilities narrowed, and staff reductions took place [63] There. L. 8-9 v.; L. 17-18. Under these conditions, as is clear from the correspondence of the Central Committee staff with the EKOPO members in Moscow, the work on the book on the pogroms was difficult, but collecting of materials by the commissioners continued [64] There. L. 18. After the second conflict in its ranks in May 1920, the committee ceased to exist.

During the period of the first crisis in the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms, on the initiative and with the participation of its founders in Kiev, at the end of May 1919, a new organization was created – the Editorial Board for collecting and publishing materials on pogroms in Ukraine. The editorial board took over the publishing plans of the Central Committee, expanding them: it saw its task in writing a series of fundamental works on the pogroms in which historical analysis was to coexist with the publication of systematic collections of documents. It was planned to involve Kiev journalists, publicists, scientists known at that time, such as I. Cherikover, N. Stif, Y. Leshchinsky, N. Gergel [65] The editorial board planned to publish a number of books on the pogroms of the Civil War period: Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and pogroms in Ukraine in 1917-1918; He is. Pogroms of 1919 (the period of S. Petliura and the uprising of ataman Grigoriev); Shekhtman I.I. Pogroms of the Volunteer Army in Ukraine; N. Stif. Rebel massacres. 1920 in Ukraine; Leshchinsky Ya. Consequences of pogroms. Statistical and economic research; Gergel N. Brief description of all registered pogroms. Lists of pogromed points, nominal lists of those killed; Materials on the history of Jewish self-defense. The editorial board also intended to publish documents on the pogroms in Belarus, pincos of individual towns and other works. See: Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and pogroms… P. 3.

The publications were to be based on the materials collected by the Editorial Board of the archive. By agreement with other Jewish public organizations and communities, their materials were transferred to the Editorial Board. In addition, the staff of the Editorial Board continued to conduct interviews with the victims and witnesses of the pogroms (due to lack of manpower and resources, mainly among the refugees in Kyiv). Gradually, the work on creating an archive became a priority for the Editorial Board.

One of the founding fathers of the Editorial Board and the curator of a huge editorial collection of documents was the historian Ilya (Elia) Mikhailovich Cherikover (1881, Poltava – 1943, New York). He came from a wealthy merchant family. He graduated from a school in the city of Odessa as an external student. Like many people from the Jewish environment of that time, Cherikover paid tribute to revolutionary devotions: he alternately entered the Zionist-socialist circle, joined the circles of Russian social democracy, and, already being a student at St. Petersburg University he was arrested for active participation in revolutionary activities and did time in prison in 1905 -1906, then he became enchanted with Menshevism (being under the supervision of the Okhranka all this period).

The first years of his formation as a specialist in Jewish history were associated with St. Petersburg. Here in 1905-1909 he spoke in the Russian-language Jewish press on the participation of Jews in the revolutionary movement in Russia, the legal status of Jews, on the problems of the Russian-Jewish relations, etc. In 1909-1911, Cherikover participated as one of the leading authors in the 16-volume “Jewish Encyclopedia” (where he was invited by the editor-in-chief of the publication, Baron D.G. Gintsburg) with articles on the history, culture, education of Jews in Russia, about outstanding Jewish figures, etc., and in 1911-1914 he was one of the editors of the Bulletin of the Society for the Propagation of Education among Jews in Russia (OPE), the journal of the oldest Jewish public organization.

In Cherikover’s first fundamental historical work entitled “History of the Society for the Propagation of Education among Jews in Russia. 1863-1913″ he considered the fifty-year history of the OPE as part of the social life of Russian Jewry. At the same time, he made extensive use of non-state archives: the personal archive of Baron Gunzburg and the archive of the Society itself [66] Cherikover I. The history of society for the dissemination of enlightenment among Jews in Russia. 1863-1913. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1913. S. IX.

With the outbreak of World War I, Cherikover left for the United States, where he collaborated with a number of American Yiddish newspapers, as well as with the St. Petersburg liberal Russian-language weekly Jewish Week. Under the influence of the February Revolution in Russia in the summer of 1917 he returned to Kiev and, being a supporter of Jewish autonomy in Ukraine, participated in the work of such a semi-public body as the Jewish National Council – the very one whose employees initiated the emergence of the Central Committee for helping the pogromed, and then the Editorial Board.

The archive of the Editorial Board,in the formation of which Cherikover was directly involved , was constantly replenished during the years of the Civil War with the archives of such organizations as the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms, the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the Russian Red Cross Society in Ukraine, the Kiev Society for Assistance to the Jewish Population Affected by War Conditions ( KOPE), the Moscow Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to War Victims (EKOPO), the League of Combat with Anti-Semitism (Kiev), a number of Jewish communities, mainly the Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov communities, etc. Along with this, some materials of Soviet institutions and pro-Bolshevik Jewish organizations, such as the People’s Commissariat for Social Security of the Ukrainian SSR, the Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to the Pogromed (Evobshchestkom) [67] Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and Pogroms… P. 3.

The huge archival funds of the Editorial Board, formed by 1920, under the conditions of the establishment of Soviet power in Ukraine, were taken abroad to Germany, where they continued to be replenished. In Berlin, after organizational changes, the Editorial Board received the name Ostjüdiches Historisches Archiv, which took over the preparation and publication of the previously planned material [68] Only a part of the planned books about the pogroms saw the light of day. See the historiographical comments on this Introduction.

When participating in the creation of the archive, Cherikover wrote two works at the same time: Anti-Semitism and Pogroms in Ukraine. 1917-1918 (Berlin, 1923; Russian and Yiddish) and in the 1930s. – Pogroms in Ukraine in 1919 (NY, 1965; Yiddish). In his books he examines the pogroms in the context of political changes in Ukraine in the period of 1917-1919.

In 1925, in Vilna, Cherikover became one of the initiators of the creation of the Institute of Jewish Studies (IVO). In addition, Cherikover took an active part in the preparation of the defense during the trial of S. Schwarzbard, who had killed S. Petlyura (Paris, 1926-1927); he provided materials for the court on the so-called “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” (Bern, 1934-1935); participated in the defense of D. Frankfurter, who had killed the leader of the Swiss Nazis in 1936.

The part of the Cherikover archive that was located in Vilna was apparently lost during the Second World War, another part was moved from Berlin to Paris with great difficulty, and in 1942 was transferred to New York, where Cherikover lived since 1940. This archive is known in scientific circles as the “Cherikover collection”; it is currently kept in the Institute for Jewish Research in New York, whose historical department Cherikover organized and in which he worked, putting the archive in order and becoming the initiator, one of the authors and editor of a fundamental study on the history of the Jewish labor movement in the United States (New York). York, vol. 2, 1943-1945) [69] Cherikover I.M. // Brief Jewish Encyclopedia. Jerusalem. 2001. T. 9. S. 1155-1156; Marek J. In memory of I.M. Cherikover // Jewish World. New York, 1944. S. 428-433 (Reprinted: Jewish World. Collection 1944. M.; Minsk. 2001). Tcherikower Elias // Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem. 1971 Vol. 15. P. 876; obituary. Tcherikower Elias Mrs // The New York Times. July 9, 1963

The State Archive of the Russian Federation (GA RF) contains a part of the Cherikover archive that was collected before 1921.

The collection of materials about the pogroms in Ukraine was also carried out by Soviet authorities and organizations oriented towards it. This applied to various structures under the People’s Commissariat of Social Security of the Ukrainian SSR, but primarily to the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed of the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in Ukraine. From mid-June 1919, the Department was headed by I.Ya. Kheifets, who was sent by Moscow to revise the activities of the RRCS in Ukraine. In the conditions of the weakness of the Soviet power in the provinces and its complete absence in the front line, it was the old structures of the RRCS that made it possible for new cadres to begin work in most areas affected by the pogroms [70] GA RF. F. P-3341. Op. 2. D. 502. L. 3.

Some of the employees of the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of the Pogroms moved to the department created under the RRCS, as a result, work on surveys of the affected population continued in this organization. The presence of a wide and well-trained organizational network enabled the department to quickly form a large array of materials about the pogroms. [71] The list of materials collected by the Department (August 1919) includes reports and testimonies of commissioners on pogroms in the Volyn province. (Zhytomyr, Kamenny Brod, Dombrovitsa, Ksavrov, Teofipol, Chernyakhov, Yanushpol, etc.); Podolsky lips. (Litin, Yanov, Oborin, Trostyanets, Balta, Brailov, Kalinovka, Gaysin, Zhmerinka, Khmilnik, Shenderov, Teplik, Kody

In the department, the main focus was on the surveys used both by the Central Committee for Assistance to the Victims of Pogroms and by the Cherikover group and that made it possible to trace the existence / survival of a person in the conditions of pogroms. The conduct of interviews – these short stories of witnesses and victims recorded by the Department’s employees – was subordinated to the goal of “investigating, that is, establishing the real nature of the events and the conditions in which they occurred” [72] Heifetz E. Op. cit. P.1.

When collecting materials, various organizational forms were used – these are, first of all, direct interviews with witnesses and victims through trips to the province; surveys through special bureaus created in Kyiv and Ekaterinoslav – in places where most of the refugees were concentrated; sending “persons with a fundamental legal education” to the places of the largest pogroms who replenished the available materials with new ones and checked the reliability of previously collected evidence, etc. In the Kiev bureau of the RRCS, the collected materials were classified, while documents that were unreliable from the point of view of the employees of the information bureau were sifted out [73] Ibid. P. II. One of the results of this work was a collection of documents on the pogroms which was published in New York in English, with an extensive analytical introduction by I.Ya. Heifetz. The collection includes part of the materials collected by the Department.

With the strengthening of the positions of Soviet power in Ukraine, divisions of a new public organization appeared in the region, the central structures of which were in Moscow – the All-Russian Public Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and Natural Disasters – Evobshchestkom (also known as Vseevobshchestkom, Evobkom; 1920-1924). The impetus for its creation was the initiative of the American Jewish Joint Committee (Joint) which offered to provide assistance to the Jews of Russia who had suffered from the pogroms. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b), after having discussed this proposal on June 18, 1920, decided to allow the organization of assistance committees “provided that the majority of them are communists” [74] Lifshits Yu. Jewish charity in Ukraine in the first years of Soviet power. (Activities of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Jews Affected by Pogroms) // Jewish Charity on the Territory of the Former USSR. SPb., 1998. S. 125.. The Russian Evobshchestkom (as well as the Ukrainian and Belarusian committees) included, in addition to Jewish political parties and Jewish public organizations (such as EKOPO, ORT, Kultur-Liga), representatives of Soviet authorities – the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the RCP (b) and the Jewish Commissariat of the People’s Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR [75] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 1. L. 1-2.

Organizationally, Ukraine was divided by the Evobshchestkom into three territorial entities, headed by district commissions (district commissions) – these were the Kiev regional commission of the Evobshchestkom (June 1920), the All-Ukrainian Jewish Public Committee (Vseukrevobshchestkom) with a center in Kharkov (August 1920) and the Odessa District Commission of the Evobshchestkom (September 1920). In its turn, for work in the subordinate provinces, the district commissions appointed provincial commissions and commissioners who had the right to independently appoint commissioners and correspondents in counties and settlements to carry out work in specific localities, including collecting materials on pogroms [76] There. L. 11
To work in the provincial commissions, as well as in the three regional centers, local branches of Jewish public organizations were widely involved: EKOPO, OZE, ORT, as well as former correspondents of the Central Committee for Help to the Pogromed.

The structure of national committees in Ukraine provided for the work of informational and statistical departments that collected information about pogroms and supervised the survey of the affected population. As a result, various documents about the pogroms accumulated in the Ukrainian divisions of the Evobshchestkom. In terms of diversity, they surpassed similar collections of predecessor organizations.

To determine the scale of human and material losses at the sites of pogroms and the amount of assistance required, Ukrainian district commissions collected statistical information about pogroms [77] See doc. No. 46; The summary statistical tables of the Kiev Commission of the Evobshchestkom, including information on geography, dates, the number of deaths, perpetrators of pogroms, are incomplete: they contain data relating only to a number (and not all) of the provinces of Ukraine; the same applies to the list of pogroms recorded in them, and so on. See: GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 442. L. 44-46. and conducted various kinds of questionnaires [78] See doc. No. 148, 157, 189-197.
; analytical reports on the results of sociological surveys of the refugee mass which served the same purpose [79] See doc. No. 198.; reports of commissioners on the situation of the Jewish population and assistance measures [80] See doc. No. 135, 140, 149, 154, 178, 199, 201.; compiling lists of the dead, lists of settlements affected by pogroms; provincial annual/monthly reports with information about geography, losses and perpetrators of pogroms [81] See, for example: GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 442. L. 1-3, 4-14, 70-76; D. 415. L. 169-174v.; provincial /local information reports about pogroms [82] See, for example: GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 442. L. 50-66; D. 415. L. 175-183v.; D. 424. L. 9-27, 119-119v., 120-128., etc. In addition, the Ukrainian district commissions continued the tradition of collecting records of the stories of the victims and witnesses of the pogroms [83] See doc. No. 14, 45, 72, 78, 87, 110, 118, 142, 152. 153, 183.

In 1920, by order of the Moscow Evobshchestkom, these documents were supplemented with similar materials from the predecessors of the Evobshchestkom – the above mentioned Jewish public organizations. The archives they collected came under the jurisdiction of the Kyiv Commission, and then, as necessary, were sent to Moscow.

As for Belarus, like in Ukraine, until 1919 there was no purposeful work to collect documentary evidence of acts of violence against the Jewish population of Belarus. A few reports describing anti-Jewish excesses in the winter and summer of 1918 appeared in the press.

Systematic work for investigating the circumstances of anti-Jewish actions on the territory of Belarus began in 1919 under pressure from the world community which was alarmed by reports of pogroms in the Belarusian territories occupied by Polish troops. In 1919, at the Peace Conference in Paris, a demand was put forward to investigate the situation of the Jews in Poland and the territories of Belarus occupied by it, in particular, to verify the news about the pogroms that had taken place. In this regard, a commission headed by Senator G. Morgenthau was sent to Poland from the USA, to conduct an inspection trip in these territories from July 13 to September 13, 1919. The commission conducted an investigation in the cities of Kielce, Lvov, Pinsk, Lida, Czestochowa and other settlements. As a result of the work, the reports of its members G. Morgenthau, E. Jadwin and G. Johnson were published [84] See also: The Jews in Poland: official reports on the American and British Investigating Mission. Chicago. 1920. For the history of the issue, see: Lifschuts L. The pogroms in Poland of 1918-1919 // The Morgenthau Committee and the American State Department (in Hebrew) // Zion. Vol. XXIII-XXIV. Mos. 1-2/Jerusalem, 1958.were published.

Following it, Great Britain sent Sir S. Samuel, the president of the Council of Representatives of British Jews, on a similar mission. The Samuel Commission was in Poland from September 18 to December 6, 1919. The translation of S. Samuel’s report on the results of the commission’s work was prepared by the Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on the instructions of the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR G.V. Chicherin for the Soviet delegation at the peace talks in Riga [85] For history, see: Davies N. Great Britain and the Polish Jews, 1918-1920 // Journal of Contemporary History. 1973. No. 2. P. 199-142; Golczewski F. Polnish-judische bezienhugen 1881-1922. Weisbaden. 1981..

During 1919-1922, the Soviet side did not create a unified centralized system for collecting information about pogroms in Belarus. Despite the fact that the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat for National Affairs (NKN) of the RSFSR was supposed to extend its activities to Ukraine and Belarus, this could not be fully implemented, since, according to the regulation on the NKN, its influence should not have extended to independent republics. As a result, several various Soviet state bodies and public organizations were formed in Belarus, which were engaged in providing assistance to the population affected by the pogroms and at the same time, collecting data on the circumstances and consequences of the pogroms. Thus, instead of the Jewish department of the ICH in the region, the post of Commissioner for National Minorities under the CEC of the BSSR was established, and the Evotdel Department of the RSFSR constantly supervised this department in the republic [86] Six years of the policy of Soviet power and the People’s Commissariat of Nationalities. S. 134..

For the same purposes, the Evotdel of the NKN of the RSFSR used the apparatus of the Commissariat for Social Security (NKSO) of the BSSR. In addition, on the territory of Belarus, which was included in the RSFSR, the People’s Commissariat for Health of the RSFSR and the People’s Commissariat for Health of the RSFSR, in addition to providing various kinds of assistance to the victims, collected information about pogroms and the situation of refugees. Additional information about the situation in Belarus was contained in the numerous appeals of the Jewish population to the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR, the Council of People’s Commissars of the BSSR, the RVSR, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

The need to collect materials for the Soviet delegation at the Genoa Conference led (by order from Moscow) to formation of the Central Commission for assessing the losses caused by the actions of the Polish army and the occupation authorities to the state, private individuals and institutions on the territory of the BSSR (January 21, 1922). Within its framework, there were 6 county and 116 volost commissions. The Central Commission ceased its activities in August 1922.

The absence of a full-scale representation of the Jewish Department of the RSFSR NKN in Belarus compelled it to use the apparatus of the old Jewish public organizations in order to provide assistance to the affected population and collect information about pogroms – the Jewish Committee for Assistance to Victims of War and Pogroms (EKOPO), OZE, ORT [87] , and then, [87] Documents on the history and culture of Jews in the archives of Belarus: Guide. M., 2003. S. 237-238. then after the formation in July 1920 of the Jewish Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms (Evobshchestkom), materials about the pogroms were accumulated in its informational structures. The Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom was organized in August 1920, but actually began its work in December of the same year. The commission carried out work through commissioners in Bobruisk, Borisov, Igumen, Minsk, Mozyr and Slutsk districts [88] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 1. L. 76.

Along with this, after the liberation of the territory of Belarus from the Polish occupation, the Soviet state structures formed a number of commissions of inquiry, one of the tasks of which was to collect testimonies about the pogroms and determine the material and human losses as a result of the presence of the Polish army in the Belarusian regions. These materials were collected on the instructions of the RSFSR People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs and the Jewish Department of the RSFSR NKN to represent the Soviet delegation at the peace talks in Riga. Thus, according to the order of the commander of the Western Front dated July 5, 1920, a Commission was formed to assist the population affected by the invasion of the Belopolsky (White Polish) troops.

From June 12 to August 5, 1920, the Commission for the Registration and Investigation of Pogroms and All Kinds of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of Polish Troops under the Bobruisk Revolutionary Committee (also known as the Bobruisk Commission for Investigating Polish Atrocities) also operated. In addition, on August 17, 1920, a Commission was established under the Revolutionary Committee of the Republic to provide assistance to the population affected by the White Poles.

In Soviet Russia, a complementary system of state authorities and Jewish public organizations controlled by the Bolsheviks was created, in which documents accumulated and with the help of which materials on anti-Jewish excesses and pogroms were tracked, collected and published. In the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers’, Peasants’ and Red Army Deputies (VTsIK), in the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR (SNK RSFSR), the People’s Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR (People’s Commissariat of Nationalities of the RSFSR), the People’s Commissariat for Social Security of the RSFSR (NKSO RSFSR), etc. concentrated documents that dealt with the problems of state policy on the issue of pogroms, including its development, ideological justification, on the regular measures of the Soviet government in the fight against these phenomena, the international aspect of pogroms, etc. [89] See doc. No. 96-99, 111-112, 132-133, 135, 141-147. GA RF. F. R-1235. Op. 19. D. 5. L. 42-44; F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 561. L. 369; F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 552. L. 3; D. 554. L. 239; D. 761. L. 147; F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 445. L. 67; F. R-1235. Op. 140. D. 77. L. 62; L. 103; F. R-1318
In addition, a large collection of materials was formed on the history of contractual relations between the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (Joint) and the RSFSR on the creation of the Evobshchestkom [90] GA RF. F. R-130. Op. 5. D. 118. L. 92; D. 93. L. 33v.; D. 91. L. 91 rev.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Ukraine and Belarus, all these materials were supplemented by documents on the interaction of Moscow with the authorities of the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR, mainly in matters of assistance to the population of the republics affected by the pogroms; refugee issues; self-defense; the fight against banditry in their territories, from which the Jewish population suffered, etc. [91] There. F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 795. L. 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14-18v., 22, 36-37v., 38, 49v.

The main Soviet structure, which was entrusted with the tasks of implementing state policy on the issue of pogroms, was the Temporary Commissariat for Jewish Affairs under the NKN RSFSR (also known as the Jewish Commissariat), created on January 20, 1918 and renamed in 1921 the Jewish Department (Evotdel ) [92] Report of the People’s Commissariat for Nationalities for 1921. M., 1921. S. 44.. With the advent of the Evobshchestkom in the summer of 1920, it became necessary to constantly inform the Joint and other Western organizations (which expressed a desire to help and did help the Jewish population of Russia) about measures for providing assistance to the population affected by the pogroms and about their current needs.

These functions were performed by the Informational Bureau of the Jewish Commissariat. It was given the task of “collecting, systematizing and processing” materials on the situation of the Jewish population in the RSFSR, including pogroms [93] There. S. 48.. In December 1920, a decision was taken to centralize all statistical and informational activities (which had previously been dispersed in the regional divisions of the Evobshchestkom and the NKN) in the Informational Bureau, which provided for the participation of representatives from the Evobshchestkom in its work and the development of joint plans for information support of the subject of pogroms both in the West and in the country [94] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 1. L. 47.. These plans included: supplying foreign Jewish organizations with reports,  statistical data on pogroms that had taken place earlier in the regions, on the situation in the country and the amount of assistance needed; providing the Soviet authorities (the Revolutionary Military Council, the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR) with up-to-date information on the subject; providing the foreign press with relevant information; publication of materials about the pogroms in the Soviet press and the Evotdel-Evobshchestkom publishing house [95] There. L. 45-47; The policy of the Soviet government on the national question for three years. 1917-XI 1920. M., 1920. S. 48.
. This publishing house planned to publish a series of collections of documents: “Jewish pogroms in Belarus” [96] The book was published under the title: Materials on anti-Jewish pogroms. Ser. 1. Pogroms in Belarus. Pogroms perpetrated by the White Poles / Entry. Art. Z. Mindlin. M., 1922., “Ukrainian pogroms” (in numerous editions), as well as collections of documents about pogroms in individual cities – Kiev, Zhitomir, Fastov, Proskurov, Cherkassy, Belaya Churches; “Childrens’ stories about pogroms”, photo albums, etc. [97] GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 469. L. 1-5.

The Jewish public organization Evobshchestkom, formed to distribute assistance provided by the Joint to the Russian population affected by the pogroms, was called upon to complement the activities of the Soviet authorities. According to its leadership, it carried out assistance in those areas where “Soviet power was still weak or absent.” At the same time, the Evobshchestkom sought to coordinate its actions with the work of the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR, the People’s Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR, and the People’s Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR [98] There. D. 10. L. 3-5.

The main work of the Evobshchestkom was concentrated in the field of social security of the affected population: financial, economic and medical assistance, employment, first aid in the restoration of housing,etc. [99] There. D. 1. L. 43.
All these tasks, together with the need of the Evobshcheskom and Jewish Department for informational and ideological base for actions providing relief  contributed to the formation of an extensive collection of materials of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms of the Civil War. This collection contains traditional materials of the Soviet authorities (decrees, resolutions, accounts, reports, correspondence of people’s commissariats, materials of legal proceedings, etc.); documents of pre-Communist Jewish public organizations, most of which are documents on oral history – these are surveys of victims and witnesses of pogroms, reports of commissioners, etc.; the last group of documents is joined by materials collected by the Evobshchestkom itself (including its Ukrainian and Belarusian divisions) and the old Jewish organizations cooperating with it – EKOPO, OZE, ORT.

The Moscow Evobshchestkom was the head unit in the matter of receiving and distributing funds that went through the Joint for the affected population of Ukraine and Belarus. The Russian organization was in charge of the Volga region, Gomel and Vitebsk provinces (which were part of the RSFSR at that time), as well as Jewish refugees from Ukraine who were in the European part of Russia [100] There. D. 14. L. 5.

Certain difficulties existed in the interaction of the Evobshchestkom with its Kharkiv division, the Vseukrevobshchestkom, which initially concentrated control over the development of research plans and cost estimates for all Ukrainian divisions. At the All-Russian meeting of the Evobshchestkom in July 1921 in Moscow, a decision was made to equalize the status of all district commissions and their direct accountability to Moscow [101] There. D. 16. L. 41.

In February 1921, as a result of a political conflict, the old pre-revolutionary Jewish organizations – OZE, ORT, EKOPO – left the Evobshchestkom. However, by the decision of Moscow, relations with them were not interrupted and their professional staff was involved in solving certain problems [102] Lifshitz Y. Jewish charity … S. 135. In organizational terms, the Evobshchestkom later tried to provide humanitarian assistance, bypassing the Joint and setting up its own representative offices in the USA and Germany, which could not but complicate the provision of assistance to the Jewish population.

By 1922, with the end of the Civil War, the attention of the Soviet state to the collection of materials about the pogroms of this period of the Civil War weakened, and the excesses and murders of Jews that continued in Ukraine and Belarus were qualified as banditry and hooliganism. [103] GA RF. F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 795. L. 9, 13, 22, 31, 43-43v.

* * *

More than 80 years have passed since the end of the Civil War in Russia, the creation of the “collection of pogroms” by I.M. Cherikover and the formation of the entire collection of materials on the pogroms, the most significant part of which are interviews of the victims and eyewitnesses of the events. A similar experience of conducting mass surveys on the subject of ethnic violence, which the 20th century repeatedly encountered, with such a degree of approximation in time of events, has not been repeated by researchers.

However, interest in oral evidence as a new type of source for studying the lives of ordinary people is extremely relevant at the present time. Such materials challenge generally accepted historical myths, the authoritarian historical tradition: in our case, they allow us to refuse to consider the subject of pogroms exclusively in the context of political history and provide an opportunity to analyze pogrom violence at personal level, at the level of those people who experienced it (suffered, survived).

The multiplicity of surveys conducted – by the number of respondents, by the number of pogroms, the presence of selection elements (by gender, age, profession, public authority) make it possible to weave an extremely dense historical canvas to show the practice of ethnic violence. At the same time, victims and witnesses, complementing each other, collectively write their own history. The official documents of the authorities operating in the regions during the Civil War contained in the collection supplement and verify the victims’ “own history”.

Historians working on the reconstruction of such a significant event as the Civil War have yet to determine the relationship and distance between the “big” history they are dealing with and the “own history” told by the victims and witnesses of the pogroms of 1918-1922.

L.B. Milyakova.

HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE.

Until 1917, Belarus and Ukraine did not have statehood. After the February Revolution, the process of self-determination of peoples began on the territory of the former Russian Empire. Often proclaimed nation-states existed de jure, not de facto, their borders were only declared. In some cases, the establishment of state borders was associated with the political situation and conditioned by the system of international treaties.

On March 17, 1917, the Central Rada was created in Ukraine, which declared on June 28, 1917 the General Secretariat as the highest executive authority in Ukraine. After negotiations between the Provisional Government and the Central Rada in Petrograd, on August 17, 1917, the “Temporary Instruction to the General Secretariat of the Provisional Government” was adopted, according to which the power of the General Secretariat extended to 5 provinces: Kiev, Volyn, Podolsk, Poltava and Chernigov (apart from Mglinsky, Surazhsky, Starodubsky and Novozybkovsky counties). The “Instruction” officially recognized Ukraine as a national-territorial unit within Russia.

At the same time, in June 1917, the Western Region was created on the Belarusian lands with the center in Minsk as a temporary association of the northwestern provinces with the aim of centralizing the leadership of local Soviets. After the October Revolution, the Western Region acquired the status of a separate administrative-territorial unit within the RSFSR and included the Vilna, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Minsk provinces. In connection with the occupation of Minsk by German troops, the capital of the Western region was moved to the city of Smolensk, and in April 1918 the Smolensk province was included in the region. In September 1918, the Western Region was renamed the Western Commune (the center is the city of Smolensk), Smolensk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Minsk and Vilna provinces were fixed in its composition.

After the October Revolution, the Central Rada III Universal on November 20 proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) as part of Russia. The UNR was proclaimed within ethnic boundaries on the territory of 9 provinces: Kyiv, Podolsk, Volyn, Poltava, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Yekaterinoslav and Taurida (excluding Crimea).

On December 25, 1917 in Kharkov, the First All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets proclaimed Ukraine a republic of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies and recognized it as a federal part of the Russian Republic. The congress declared all resolutions of the Central Council invalid, elected the Central Executive Committee and formed the first Soviet government of Ukraine – the People’s Secretariat. In state documents of the period of the Civil War, the Soviet Ukrainian state was called the Soviet Ukrainian Republic, the Ukrainian Workers ‘and Peasants’ Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Federative Soviet Republic.

On January 24, 1918, the Central Council in the IV Universal proclaimed the independence of the UNR. On January 26-27, 1918, a peace treaty was signed between the UNR, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, according to which not only those territories that were defined in the III Universal, but also the Kholmshchina, as well as part of the Belarusian territories were recognized as the UNR – Brest region, Pinsk region and Gomel region. According to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, the border between the UNR and Austria-Hungary was restored along the pre-war border of Russia and Austria-Hungary, with the provision that a mixed commission with the participation of the Poles has the right to change the border line “on the basis of the ethnographic situation and the desire of the population.” According to the Treaty of Brest, the UNR also included the Rostov, Taganrog and Shakhtinsky districts, Podlyashye, parts of the Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev provinces. (Beresteisky, Kobrinsky and Pruzhany, Drogichinsky, Kosovsky, Luninets, Pinsk, Stolin, Mozyr, Rechitsa, Gomel counties). The western part of Belarus (most of the lands of the Grodno province and part of the Vilna province with the city of Vilna) went to Germany and was called New East Prussia. The central part of Belorussia is the Minsk province, part of the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces – were considered temporarily occupied territory (the future of these areas was to be determined by Germany and Austria-Hungary). Only the eastern regions of Belarus remained in the RSFSR. The RSFSR recognized the independence of the UNR and was supposed to withdraw troops from its territory. The western border of Soviet Russia was established along the line Riga-Dvinsk-Druya-Drisvyaty-Mikhalishki-Dzevilishki-Dokudovo-r. Neman-r. Zelvyanka – Pruzhany – Vidoml.

On March 17-19, 1918 in Ekaterinoslav, the 2nd All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets approved the ratification of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and declared Ukraine an independent Soviet Republic.

On March 25, 1918, the Rada of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BNR), which was proclaimed on March 9, 1918, issued the III Statutory Charter, in which it proclaimed the Belarusian People’s Republic an independent state. It was declared that the BNR covers all territories where the Belarusian population resides and prevails: Mogilev region, Belarusian parts of Minsk region, Grodno region (including Grodno, Bialystok, etc.), Vilna region, Vitebsk region, Smolensk region, Chernihiv region and border parts of neighboring provinces inhabited by Belarusians. The government of the BPR could not provide border delimitation with the neighboring states and organize a border service, so de facto the borders of the BPR did not exist.

The continuation of the Civil War in Ukraine and the failure of the UNR troops led the Central Rada to turn to Germany for support. On April 29, 1918, the German authorities created a government headed by Hetman P.P. Skoropadsky, and instead of the abolished Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Ukrainian state was proclaimed.

On August 8, 1918, the Ukrainian state recognized the Republic of the Great Don Army as a sovereign state and ceded to it the Rostov, Taganrog and Shakhtinsky districts, counting on its support in the fight against the Bolsheviks. The Ukrainian state expressed territorial claims to the Crimea. In addition, plans to expand the territory of the Ukrainian state also affected the Kuban.

Kholmshchyna and Podlyashye, defined by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as Ukrainian lands, were occupied by the troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

On November 1, 1918, in Lvov, on the territory of Western Ukraine (Eastern Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia), which was part of Austria-Hungary, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (ZUHP) was proclaimed.

On December 14, 1918, Hetman Skoropadsky abdicated, and the Ukrainian People’s Republic was restored. Power passed to the Ukrainian Directory (chairman – V.K. Vinnichenko, army commander – S. Petlyura).

On January 22, 1919, an act of reunification of the UNR and ZUHP into a united Ukraine was proclaimed.

On January 1, 1919, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed with the capital in Minsk, which included Vitebsk, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk provinces, Belarusian districts of the Vilna and Kovno provinces and western districts of the Smolensk province. In connection with the aggravation of the international situation, already on January 16, 1919, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) recognized the need to transfer Smolensk, Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces from the BSSR to the RSFSR (in April 1919 Mogilev province was transformed into Gomel province.). Thus, the territory of the BSSR was outlined within the boundaries of the Minsk and Grodno provinces.

In February 1919, in connection with the beginning of the offensive of the Polish troops on the territory of the Vilna, Minsk, parts of the Kovno, Grodno and Suvalkovsky provinces the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belarus (SSRLiB or Litbel for short) was proclaimed with its capital in Vilna. In the course of defining the borders with the RSFSR, the Central Executive Committee and the Litbel government agreed to transfer the Desna district of the Vilna province and the Rechitsa district of the Minsk province to the RSFSR. Litbel was a buffer state formation created in connection with the preparation of Poland for a war with Soviet Russia. By mid-July 1919, Polish troops occupied about ¾ of the territory of Belarus and Lithuania.

On April 21, 1920, the Ukrainian Directory signed the Warsaw Agreement (military-political union) with Poland, according to which the Ukrainian government recognized the inclusion into Poland of Eastern Galicia, Western Volhynia and part of Polissya (Vladimir-Volynsky, Kovelsky, Rivne, Dubnovsky, Ostrozhsky, Kremenets counties ). After the end of the Soviet-Polish war and the liberation of the territory of Ukraine by the Red Army, the borders of the Ukrainian SSR were finally defined. It included the entire Kiev, Poltava, Podolsk, Kharkov, Kherson and Ekaterinoslav provinces, the Chernihiv province (without the four northern counties), the Volyn province without the western part, which became part of Poland, the Taurida province without the Crimean peninsula, part of the Don Army Region ( On December 28, 1920, under an agreement between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR, the Taganrog and Shakhty districts joined Ukraine).

After the Red Army liberated the territory of Belarus on July 31, 1920, the “Declaration of the Independence of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus” was adopted (later the name “Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic” was accepted), Litbel ceased to exist. Belarusian statehood was restored as part of Minsk (without the Rechitsa district) and a number of districts of the Vilna and Grodno provinces. (Borisov, Bobruisk, Baranovichi, Vileika, Disna, Igumen, Minsk, Mozyr, Novogrudok, Pinsk, Slutsk, Volkovysk, Pruzhany, Slonim, Brest-Litovsk, Sokol, Nesvizh, Kobrin counties). On August 11, 1920, the Dvina, Rezhitsa and Lutsinsky districts from the Vitebsk province of the RSFSR were transfered to Latvia. In the autumn of 1920 Grodno and Vilna provinces were again occupied by Polish troops.

According to the Riga Peace Treaty on March 18, 1921, Grodno, almost half of the Minsk province, the Belarusian counties of the Vilna province, Kholmshchina, Podlasha, the western parts of Polissya and Volhynia, the so-called Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, were transferred to Poland. In the middle of March 1923, Galicia (Lviv, Ternopil, Stanislav lands) was transferred to Poland [104] After the outbreak of World War II, the western Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, which were part of Poland under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty, were annexed to the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR..

After the signing of the Riga peace treaty, 6 counties of the former Minsk province remained in the BSSR: Bobruisk, Borisov, Igumen (since 1923 Chervensky), Mozyr, Minsk and Slutsk. In March 1924, as a result of the enlargement of the BSSR, a number of districts of the Vitebsk, Gomel and Smolensk provinces, where the population was predominantly Belarusian, were returned to the republic from the RSFSR. From the Vitebsk province – Orsha, Vitebsk, Gorodok, Drissen, Lepel, Polotsk, Sennes and Surazh districts were transferred; from the Gomel province. – Bykhovsky, Klimovichsky, Mogilev, Rogachevsky, Chaussky and Cherikovsky countie, from the Smolensk province – Goretsky and part of the Mstislavsky district. The Velizh, Nevel and Sebezh districts of the Vitebsk province remained part of the RSFSR, as well as Surazhsky, Lalinsky and Starobudsky districts of the Gomel province. In December 1926, the second enlargement of the BSSR took place – the Gomel province as part of the RSFSR was abolished, the Gomel and Rechitsa districts were annexed to the BSSR.

In 1924, the issue of the border between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR was revised: the Taganrog and Shakhtinsky districts were returned to the RSFSR, and the Putivl district of the Kursk province was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR.

Because in the period of 1917-1922, repeated territorial and administrative changes took place and the process of forming the borders of the union republics stretched out for several decades, the published documents are grouped into sections based on the modern outline of the borders of the independent states of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

E.S. Rosenblat

I.E. Elenskaya

ARCHEOGRAPHICAL PREFACE.

This collection is a scientific and thematic publication of archival documents, which comprehensively reflects the most important problems associated with such a form of ethnic violence as pogroms during the Civil War in Ukraine, Belarus, and the European part of Russia. In addition, the collection includes materials closely related to the topics of Jewish self-defense, of assistance to the victims from various organizational structures, o the position of the Bolsheviks in relation to pogroms, etc. At the same time, the compilers acquaint scholars with an extensive collection – unusually diverse in terms of types of documents – that was created during the Civil War. It includes one of the early collections of materials on oral history (interviews with the victims and witnesses of the pogroms, etc.), as well as documents collected in the course of the work of Jewish public organizations to provide assistance to the population affected by the pogroms. The collection is complemented by materials of an organizational and administrative nature – decrees, resolutions, orders of the authorities operating in the regions.

The chronological framework of the book covers the period from 1918 – the deployment of the Civil War and the pogrom movement in three regions – until 1922 – the end of the Civil War in the regions, the decline in pogroms and the preservation of their sporadic nature.

The collection includes documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation, most of which were found in 6 funds and are published for the first time. 2 documents are taken from the funds of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (No. 147, 148). The publication includes 364 documents.

The massive declassification of documents from the Soviet period that took place in the first half of the 1990s significantly expanded the source base on the history of pogroms in Russia, including the pogroms of the first years of Soviet power. The vast majority of the documents included in the collection are concentrated in the funds of Jewish public organizations: first of all, the Central Committee of the All-Russian Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and Natural Disasters (Evobshchestkom; F. R-1339), as well as the Jewish Society for Assistance to Victims of Wars and Pogroms (EVPO; F. R-9538). The materials of the Evobshchestkom fund were transferred in 1946-1962. from the TsGAOR of the Ukrainian SSR to the Party Archive of the Ukrainian branch of IMELS under the Central Committee of the CPSU and to the TsGAOR of the USSR, as well as from the TsGVIA of the USSR to the TsGAOR of the USSR. Part of the fund was transferred from the TsGAOR of the USSR to the TsPA IMEL under the Central Committee of the CPSU. In preparation for publication, the materials of the collection underwent historical and archeographic reconstruction: most of the documents lacked some of the heading elements (either the type of document, or the author, address, date).

The compilers of the collection used the directive documentation of the funds of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR (F. R-130), the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers’  Peasants’ and Red Army Deputies (F. R-1235), the People’s Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR (F. P-1318) , Plenipotentiary Commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for Combating Banditry on the Western Front (R-6990). In addition, materials from the fund of the Central Committee of the Russian Red Cross Society (Central Committee of the Russian Red Cross; F. R-3341) were used. The inclusion in the publication of materials from the funds of the Council of People’s Commissars, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the People’s Commissariat of Nationalities and the Plenipotentiary Commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee made it possible to trace the development and implementation of the Bolshevik policy on the issue of combating and preventing pogroms in Russia.

All documents of the collection are grouped into three sections according to the geographical principle. The basis for the division of documents according to geographical belonging to a particular region is given in the historical and geographical reference, which is a structural part of this collection.

The first section includes documents on the history of the pogroms and the situation of the Jewish population in Ukraine in 1918 – 1922, the second section includes materials relating to Belarus, the third section – to the European part of Russia.

When selecting materials for the collection, the compilers proceeded from certain principles:

1) the collection is built according to the chronology of events – this required replenishment with press materials from the period of 1918 (information about the pogroms of the end of 1917-1918 is included in the content of a number of documents: No. 5, 11, 19, 25, 30, 48, etc.) ;

2) documents in sections are arranged in chronological sequence of events. In most documents (this applies to public organizations) there is no creation date.

3) the collection includes documents that make it possible to clarify the geographical and territorial scope of the pogroms; the documents are presented in all types of settlements and localities; the documents representing the entire spectrum of socio-political forces and strata, armed forces and movements that participated in the pogroms; selected documents relating to both the largest and smaller scale pogroms.

The archeographic preparation of documents was carried out in accordance with the “Rules for Publishing Historical Documents in the USSR” (M., 1990).

Most documents are published in full. The extracts contain only documents that, along with the necessary information, contain information that is repetitive or not related to the topic of the collection. If the document is published in an extract, then its title begins with the word “From”, and each omitted part of the document is marked with a dot and specified in textual notes.

The texts of published documents are printed with the preservation of their stylistic features, but in accordance with the rules of modern spelling and punctuation. A number of documents retain the spelling and style of the original.

Text errors that do not have a semantic meaning (omissions, spelling errors, misprints, etc.) are corrected in the text without reservations. Words and parts of words omitted in the text of documents and restored by the compilers are enclosed in square brackets. In cases where it is not possible to restore a gap in the text, these places are marked with dots enclosed in angle brackets and are specified in textual notes. Incomprehensible places in the text that could not be restored or corrected were left unchanged with a clause in the textual notes: “So in the text.” Rare abbreviations are disclosed without reservation. The bulk of abbreviations and abbreviated words is explained in the list of abbreviations. The texts of the telegrams are reproduced with the completion of the missing conjunctions and prepositions. In the text of documents, underlining and capitalization are preserved in cases where they carry a special semantic load.

The beginning and end of large parts of the text, crossed out or underlined in the process of working on the document, are indicated by angle brackets and specified in textual notes. Excerpts from documents are reproduced without reservation.

Textual notes also indicate discrepancies in numerical data, cross-references to published documents, notes on the document itself, the absence or location of documentary annexes mentioned in the text, and the location of marks.

In most cases, documents are given author’s titles. Common abbreviations were used in the titles. The place of creation of the document, if it is reliably established, was indicated in the lower left corner of the title. If there is no date on the document, it is established by the complier, which, together with the method of establishing dating, is specified in a footnote. The dates in the collection are indicated according to the new style.

Document signatures are preserved. If it is impossible to read the signature in the textual note, the clause “Signature is illegible” is given. The certification inscriptions on the documents are reproduced.

The text of each document is accompanied by a legend, which indicates the archive, letter and number of the fund, inventory, files and sheets, as well as the authenticity or copy number of the document. The default reproduction method is typewritten, all other reproduction methods were stipulated without fail.

The collection of documents is provided with the following scientific reference apparatus: an introductory article, a historical and geographical reference, textual notes, comments, a list of abbreviations, nominal and geographical indexes, content.

Text notes are located below the line and are numbered with asterisks. Scientific comments, which included nominal comments, are marked with Arabic numerals and placed at the end of the book.

The name index contains the names of all persons mentioned in the texts of documents, as well as their discrepancies.

Geographical names are given in accordance with their spelling and administrative-territorial affiliation for the period of their mention in documents. The geographic index contains discrepancies found in the text of documents.

Geographical index was prepared by I.E. Yelenskaya, name index – by I.A. Zyuzina and I.E. Yelenskaya, list of abbreviations – by I.A. Zyuzina; reproduction of photographs and maps – by A.A. Litvin.

A number of documents and comments on them were provided by the Russian researcher L. Genis.

I.A. Zyuzin.

The participants in the publication express their deep gratitude for the help and assistance in the work to the Director of the State Archives of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Historical Sciences, prof. S.V. Mironenko and Deputy Director of the Archive, Doctor of History. V.A. Kozlov, Director of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of History K.V. Nikiforov.

The compilers of the collection also express their gratitude to organizations and individuals for their support throughout the work on the book – prof. I. Bartal (Jerusalem), M. Grinberg and I.D. Ablina (Gesharim / Bridges of Culture Publishing House, Jerusalem-Moscow), who were among the first to approve of the concept of the collection; workers of the Center “Sefer” Ph.D. V.V. Mochalova, Ph.D. R.M. Kashtanov, L.A. and S.M. Chulkov, who created opportunities for fruitful cooperation in the field of Jewish studies; head of the. “I. Myanovsky Fund”, prof. V. Findeisen (Warsaw), the founder of the Democracy Foundation, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the late A.N. Yakovlev, Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies, Ph.D. OK. Finberg (Kyiv).

The compilers would also like to thank the mentors, colleagues and friends to whom have repeatedly turned for help and advice: Ph.D. I.V. Sozina (magazine “Questions of History”), the late prof. Yu.A. Levada (“Levada Center”), as well as A.D. Weissman, L.V. Khrenov, M.D. Kovalev, Ph.D. A.G. Levinson, Ph.D. A.B. Hoffman, I.L. Belenky, V.D. Indenbaum, Dr. L. Phifer (USA).

I. UKRAINE.

• No. 1. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” [1] Jewish week. Published since May 24, 1915 (M.; Pg.). Editor E.L. Davidson, I.S. Zeligman. Since April 1917, editor L.A. Sev. Among the authors: Shmi (M.L. Trivus), G.A. Kleinman, I. Rotberg. Close to the Jewish People’s Group, it reflected liberal tendencies among the Jewish intelligentsia. about the growth of pogrom sentiments in Ukraine. January 18, 1918
• No. 2. Message from the weekly “Jewish Week” with a call for financial assistance to Jewish self-defense squads in the city of Odessa and the province. January 18, 1918
• No. 3. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom incidents in Ukraine. January 31, 1918
• No. 4. Appeal of the Jews of Odessa, holders of the St. George Order, with a call for the creation of national military units to protect against pogroms. January 31, 1918
• No. 5. From an article in the newspaper “Unzer Togblat” about the events in the city of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. March 1918
• August 4, 1921
• No. 6. A record of an eyewitness story Samuil (surname not identified) by a representative of the Kiev Commission of the Evobshchestkom [15] The Kiev regional commission of the Evobshchestkom is one of the regional divisions of the Evobshchestkom in Ukraine. Organized in July 1920 in Kyiv… Liquidated in 1924. about a pogrom in the town of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. March 1918
• No. 7. Request by the representative of the Zionist faction in the Lesser Rada of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) [16] Malaya Rada – an organ of the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR), created in April 1917… It included deputies from the political factions of the UCR, the Presidium of the Central Republic, councils of workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ deputies, and representatives of national minorities. M. Grossman [17] Grossman Meer (1888-1964), Zionist activist and journalist… During World War II, in the USA. to the Ministers of Military and Internal Affairs [18] After the reorganization of the cabinet of V. Golubovich in March 1918 in the Rada of People’s Ministers of the UCR, M. Tkachenko became the Minister of Internal Affairs, and O. Zhukovsky became the Minister of War. about violence against Jews. April 16, 1918
• No. 8. Report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom in the city of Novgorod-Severskii, Chernigov province. in April 1918 [23] At the same time, materials about the pogroms in the city of Novgorod-Seversky were published in the Jewish newspaper Togblat.
• No. 9. Announcement of the military commandant’s office of the town of Belaya Tserkov, Kyiv province on the responsibility of the Jewish population for agitation against the German authorities
• No. 10. From the conclusion of the commission of inquiry on the case of the pogrom by military units of the UNR in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. in January 1919
• Not earlier than July 28, 1919 [107] Dated according to the content of the document.
• No. 11. Consolidated report of an employee of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in Ukraine [40] In the twentieth of June 1919, under the auspices of the Russian Red Cross Society in Ukraine, a Department for Assistance to the Pogromed was formed. Chairman I.Ya. Heifetz; then – a former employee of the Ministry of Jewish Affairs under the Government of the UNR N.Yu. Gergel. The employees of the Department were A.D. Yuditsky, I.G. Tsifrinovich, I.S. Braude, G.I. Rabinovich and others. The committee existed until the beginning of 1921.A.I. Gillerson [41] Gilerson Arnold Isidorovich (1864-?) – lawyer. Born in Vitebsk. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Novorossiysk University (Odessa, 1886). Until 1917, he was prosecuted, including in court, for protesting against Jewish pogroms. In 1908 he was brought to trial for speaking about the Jewish pogrom in Bialystok and sentenced to imprisonment. Collaborated with the Kyiv Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and the Department for Assistance to the Pogrom victims under the ROCK in Ukraine.about the pogrom in the city of Ovruch, Volyn Province. and at the Korosten station by detachments “The Regiment of Death” [42] “The Chicken of Death” – 1) armed formations of volunteers in Ukraine, created in 1917 to fight the Bolsheviks; 2) the name of the rebel detachment under the command of Ataman E. Angel, who acted against the Bolshevik and White Guard troops in 1918-1919. in Ukraine, mainly in the Chernihiv province., Kozyr-Zyrki [43] Kozyr-Zyrka Oles – regimental ataman of the UNR army. Born in Yekaterinoslav Province. in a wealthy peasant family. Until 1917 he served in the tsarist army. Joined the Ukrainian units (Kostya-Gordienko cavalry regiment) during their formation. He served in the ranks of the Sich Riflemen; as a commander of a hundreds of partisans participated in the uprising against Hetman P. Skoropadsky; in the battles near Kiev he formed a regiment (1st cavalry partisan regiment). He was sent by the Directory to the city of Ovruch, where a pogrom took place under his leadership. S. Petliura tried to bring him to justice. Kozyr-Zyrka managed to escape to Romania, then to Galicia. Since the autumn of 1919, his fate has been unknown.and others in December 1918 – January 1919.
• No. 12. Notes from the newspaper “Narodnoye Slovo” about the events in the city of Rovno, Volyn Province on January 1919 January 16, 1919
• No. 13. Appeal of the Central Committee (CC) [56] The Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms (January 1919, Kiev) is a Jewish public organization to provide assistance to victims of pogroms, as well as to collect materials about pogrom events. Practically all Jewish parties and organizations of that time (COPE, Kultur-Liga, OZE, National Secretariat, etc.) participated in its work. Chairman – Attorney at Law S.B. Ratner. Grinfeld, Limanovsky, Aizenberg, Kolker, M.L. Goldstein, F. Lander. In 1919 and again in 1920, splits occurred in the organization between the Zionists and the left wing; in 1920 it ceased to exist (the certificate was compiled based on the materials of the State Archives of the Russian Federation).of assistance to the victims of the pogroms to the Jewish population of Kiev on the organization of assistance.
• Not earlier than January 1919 [129] It dates back to the time of the formation of the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms.
• No. 14. Record of the story of the witness P.L. Pilyavsky by a representative of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Jews Affected by Pogroms (Vseukrevobshchestkom) about the attack of peasants on a Jewish miller at the station Devladovo, Yekaterinoslav province. January 21, 1919
• No. 15. Report of representative of Department for help to the pogromed of RRCO  A.I. Gilerson about the pogroms organized by the military units of the UNR army in the town of Proskurov [57] The Jewish Bulletin (September 1922, No. 5-6) responded to the four-year anniversary of the pogrom in the city of Proskurov with an article by one of its editors, I.A. Kleinman “Nightmare silhouette (Ataman Semesenko)”. The author of the article gives a description of the pogrom, which was given in the Polish newspaper “Rzecz Pospolita” (which also responded to this event) by the writer Tadeusz Opiola, interspersing them with his additions: the bulk of Semesenka entered the Jewish quarter. Going from house to house, on the order of the ataman, she slaughtered three thousand Jews. They beat them with rifle butts so as not to waste charges, they did their job in deathly silence and, as it were, in a hallucination: “Rizali, keep it secret!” Then, with the same calmness, the Jewish corpses were taken to the Jewish cemetery, and the Semesenko gang gloomily watched how they were all buried in one common grave ”(I.A. Kleinman). “One Russian priest came out with a cross to meet the blood-splattered mass of fellows. He was chopped up with checkers, and all night lay spread out in a cross across the street … The next day, the widow of the murdered priest came to him (Semesenko).
• No. 16. Extract from the registration journal of the Jewish city hospital about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the town of Proskurov, Podolsk province. in February 1919 7 August 1921
• No. 17. Extract from the registration journal of the dressing station No. 3 about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the city of Proskurov, Podolsk province. in February 1919
• No. 18. Report of the newspaper “Life of Nationalities” on the publication of the Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR on the inadmissibility of inciting ethnic hatred.
• No. 19. Telegram from the Chief Ataman of the UNR S. Petlyura to the authorities of the republic about the support of the population of the Ukrainian army.
•   (rough translation from Ukrainian)
• No. 20. Draft memorandum of the chief of militia of the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. I.V. Abbarius to the leadership of the UNR on ensuring security in the city.
• Not earlier than January 10 – not later than March 1919 [151] Dated according to the content of the document. Created in the period between the first and second Zhytomyr pogroms.
• No. 21. Report of Representative Ya.B. Livshits about the pogrom in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn Province. March 22-26, 1919 [70] After the first Zhytomyr pogrom (January 1919), a Jewish delegation from the city of Zhytomyr turned to the UCR Ministry for Jewish Affairs with a request to help the victims of the pogrom. The Ukrainian government allocated 2 million hryvnias to help the victims of the pogrom. (Robitnicha newspaper. 25 September 1919.) After the second pogrom (March 1919), the Zhytomyr deputation tried to get an audience with the Head Ataman S. Petliura, which was denied. A public investigative commission was formed to investigate the circumstances of the pogrom. As is clear from a letter to EKOPO in Moscow dated August 11, 1919, from F. Lander, one of the leaders of the Kiev Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of the Pogroms, it was the Central Committee that initiated the investigation (one of its representatives, Ya. B. Livshits, joined the commission of inquiry ). “I take this opportunity to send you extremely important material from the commission of inquiry on the Zhytomyr pogroms,” Lander wrote. — The material is very valuable in many respects. It, of course, must be made public both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, and so on. But at the same time, it is extremely important that it be indicated that this enormous work was carried out for six months (ie, an objective examination), on the initiative and forces (material, etc.) of the Central Jewish Committee. The Zhytomyr leaders are even asking us to publish this in a separate pamphlet, but since we only received this material yesterday, the presidium should discuss this issue earlier, and then, for some reasons, it would probably be inconvenient to do it now. (GA RF. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 63. L. 11-11v.)

No. 1. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” [1] Jewish week. Published since May 24, 1915 (M.; Pg.). Editor E.L. Davidson, I.S. Zeligman. Since April 1917, editor L.A. Sev. Among the authors: Shmi (M.L. Trivus), G.A. Kleinman, I. Rotberg. Close to the Jewish People’s Group, it reflected liberal tendencies among the Jewish intelligentsia.
about the growth of pogrom sentiments in Ukraine. January 18, 1918

Letter from Kyiv “Along the old ways”.

In your Russia – in Russia, over which the autocrats from the Smolny Institute seized power, anarchy reigns; in the heart of this Russia, in Petrograd, drunken pogroms are going on, incessant shooting is going on in the streets, there is a wild orgy of bandits who have lost their human form, draping themselves in togas of “super-socialists”, waging a struggle against the bourgeoisie.

You, according to newspaper reports, are discussing a project for an “improved” “machine” that shortens a person by exactly one head. Our Ukraine is a kind of happy oasis, where the oppression of Lenin-Trotsky is not felt [2] Trotsky (Bronstein) Lev Davidovich (1879-1940) – a political and statesman, an active participant in the revolutionary movement in Russia, a social democrat from 1896, until the summer of 1917 – a Menshevik, then until 1925 one of the leaders of the RCP (b). Leader of the opposition, arrested in 1927 and then expelled from the USSR. Killed in Mexico. Author of memoirs “My Life”., where the formidable “ultimatums” of your rulers cause only laughter… We, glory to the Almighty, do not live in your “Leninist Russia” , but in the Ukrainian People’s Republic [3] Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) – the name of the Ukrainian state in 1917-1920. It was proclaimed on November 7 (20), 1917. Its government – the General Secretariat (the executive body of the Central Rada) was headed by V.K. Vinnichenko, Secretary (Minister) for Military Affairs S.V. Petliura. The First All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets (Kharkov, December 1917) outlawed the Central Rada and proclaimed Ukraine a Socialist Soviet Republic on December 12 (25). The offensive of the Red Army began on the territory of Ukraine. Under these conditions, the Central Rada on January 11 (24), 1918 declared the independence of the UNR. In April 1918, the Central Rada was dispersed by the Austro-Hungarians and Germans and power was transferred to Hetman P. Skoropadsky, and the Ukrainian State was proclaimed instead of the UNR. In December 1918, the regime of the Austro-German occupation was replaced by the regime of the Ukrainian Directory of S. Petliura and V. Vinnichenko. On January 22, 1919, the territory of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic became part of the UNR. In January-February 1919, the Red Army took the years. Kharkov, Poltava, Yekaterinoslav, Kyiv, in March-April – gg. Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa, Sevastopol and Simferopol. By the autumn of 1919, a significant part of Ukraine was captured by Denikin’s troops, and by the end of the year, as a result of the counter-offensive of the Red Army, the cities were again occupied by it. Kharkov, Kyiv (December 16), Odessa (February 7, 1920). An attempt by the Petliura troops with the help of Yu. Pilsudsky to restore the power of the UNR in Ukraine during the Soviet-Polish war of 1920 failed (despite the temporary liberation of Kyiv). With the end of the war, the UNR government continued to exist in exile.,to which the power of your people’s commissars does not extend… [4] On January 26, 1918, the Red Guard took the city of Kyiv. The correspondence was written in the end of December and received by the editors with some delay

Here in Ukraine, on the territory of which the III Universal [5] III Universal (fundamental law) – November 7, 1917 – proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic in a federation with Russia; declared broad democratic freedoms and social rights, including national-personal autonomy for national minorities. The law was passed on January 9, 1918. proclaimed full constitutional guarantees recognizing the right of all “national minorities” not only to national self-determination, but also to personal autonomy, the social Arcadia, which you only dream of, is already implemented, and we are on the threshold of a social upheaval unprecedented in the history of peoples. Such an abundance of freedom, guarantees, constitutions, such a mass of inviolability and such an infinite number of democratic principles – and at the same time such a rich pogrom chronicle, such an abundance of pogroms that are being prepared, have already taken place and for some reason have not taken place in all cities, towns,  and villages of the vast Ukrainian Republic, in which moaning and crying, cries for help, robberies, murders and violence, armed pogroms and just pogroms do not stop. On the one hand, at the parade, under revolutionary and national banners, solemn vows are proclaimed with high, unfading slogans about freedom, equality and fraternity, about the peaceful coexistence of peoples who were oppressed together, who suffered together from the autocratic regime, and on the other hand, cynically pogromist agitation, anti-Semitic persecution, destroyed houses and shops of Jews, cities and towns set on fire and plundered, armed gangs in gray overcoats and ordinary peasant wear, cracking down on the unarmed, defenseless Jewish population, who fully embodies both the “bourgeois”, and the socialists, and the perpetrators devastation. A solemn promise before the whole of Ukraine to take decisive measures to combat anarchy and pogroms, awareness of the importance for strengthening the new Ukrainian system, establishing order on the territory of the republic, eradicating ethnic hatred, and an orgy of robberies, murders and violence, unprecedented even in the history of Ukraine, reminiscent of dark pages Khmelnychyna and Uman massacre.

The pogrom disease positively affected all the corners and remote places of Ukraine, which has turned into some kind of “vale of lamentation.” The news coming from there is full of despair and a terrible awareness of the complete helplessness, defenselessness and abandonment of the inhabitants of remote localities, more out of habit than from the consciousness of expediency, who hasten to report their sores to the Center. Sad news is coming from Skvira, from Kanev, Boguslav, Tarashcha, Belaya Tserkov, Stavisch, Rodomysl, Chigirin, Uman, Zvenigorodka – from everywhere where the working Jewish masses live and tremble for their lives, where the gray soldier’s overcoat reigns limitlessly, in which they now dress up every scoundrel, every professional pogromist, where the slogans dominate: “Down with the bourgeoisie! The bourgeois have drunk enough of our blood!” and where the word “bourgeois” is identified with another old Russian word, on which pogromists always speculate – “Yid”.

Some of these reports are of particular interest as a characterization of the moods of certain social groups under the new social order in Ukraine, as well as a characterization of those local figures who took power in Ukraine. From this point of view, the message about the pogrom in the city of Skvira, Kyiv Province, deserves special attention. There, according to a report received by the General Secretariat [6] The General Secretariat (GS) of the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR) – the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) – the executive body (established after the proclamation of the First Universal on June 15, 1917). Took over the executive functions of the UCR Committee. The personal and numerical composition of the GS changed. At the head of the GS (with the exception of a few days in 1917) was Vinnichenko. The first composition of the SG included V. Vinnichenko (head, secretary of internal affairs), B. Martos (secretary for land issues), S. Petlyura (secretary for military affairs), V. Sadovsky (secretary for judicial issues), I. Steshenko ( Secretary for Education), S. Efremov (Secretary for Foreign Affairs), P. Khristyuk (Secretary), M. Stasyuk (Secretary for Food Problems), X. Baranovsky (Secretary for Financial Affairs). In the II Universal, it was recorded, by prior agreement with the Provisional Government, that the GS is the highest body of local power in Ukraine. After the Second Universal, the Central Rada expanded the composition of the State Council by creating general secretariats of roads, post offices and telegraphs, labor, trade and industry, introducing the positions of controller general, representative of the State Council to the Provisional Government and two assistant secretaries of interethnic affairs. Then, in negotiations with the Provisional Government, it proposed to truncate the competence of the State Council, turning it into an intermediate authority between the Provisional Government and local governments, which led to a crisis at the 6th session of the UCR (August 5, 1917) and the resignation of V. Vinnichenko’s cabinet. With the advent of a new cabinet, also headed by Vinnichenko (the first meeting on September 3, 1917), the GC became an active instrument of the UCR policy: political, economic, military and international issues were discussed. After the October Revolution of 1917, the UCR and the GS were proclaimed the authorities in Ukraine. The composition of the GS was expanded through the creation of ministries: military, judiciary, food issues, labor, trade and industry, road, post and telegraph. The last cabinet was approved by the UCR on November 1, 1917. With the proclamation of the UNR, the GS performed the functions of the government. After the proclamation of the IV Universal (January 11, 1918), the GS was reorganized into the Rada of People’s Ministries of the UNR. The Jewish parties included M. Rafes (Bund), then A. Zolotarev (also from the Bund) and a member of the United Jewish Socialist Workers’ Party (Fareinigte) M. Zilberfarb – First Vice-Secretary for Jewish Affairs Gen. secretariat for national affairs., the pogrom began with the destruction of Jewish houses and shops in the center of the city, with some Jews severely beaten; there were also cases of murder, obviously, of those Jews who either defended themselves or defended their property from the pogromists. With epic calmness, the official report points to the suspicious role in the Skvira pogrom of a certain member of the county zemstvo council, who at the right time, when there was a pogrom on the streets of the city and violence against the unarmed civilian population was carried out, was not at home, although a few minutes before “the zemstvo man” was seen in the hotel, and it was known that he was at home and did not leave Skvira anywhere at all either that day or the next. No less interesting is the attitude of the local militia which is subordinate to the city administration and supported by city funds. The police behaved in exactly the same way as the tsarist police behaved in pre-revolutionary times: not only showing criminal “neutrality”, but in many cases they took a direct active part in the pogrom, which, with such an attitude on the part of those in power, took on a fierce character.

Under the same external conditions, with the same humane and cordial attitude on the part of the local “revolutionary” authorities, a pogrom took place near Kiev itself – in the town of Makarov, where the criminal inaction of the authorities was also stated along with obvious connivance, sometimes reaching incitement on the part of lower authorities. The same was revealed in the city of Kanev, Kyiv Province, from where telegrams full of despair and hopeless grief were sent to the General Secretariat, reports of a pogrom accompanied by shooting. Throughout the evening and throughout the night, in all parts of the small town, there was continuous shooting, which brought an indescribable panic to the inhabitants of a quiet, usually peaceful and remote town. There was disorderly shooting in the streets, and to the music of rifles, shops and houses were smashed in the central part of the city, which was inhabited mainly by Jews.

And what measures were taken by the highest regional body of the Ukrainian People’s Republic?

It must be admitted that in this respect everything continues to remain exactly the same as it happened in the most cruel times of the tsarist regime: commissars and specially authorized persons are sent to investigate the causes of the pogroms that after the robbers and the loot have fled, after the destroyed cities begin to come to recover and forget what they have experienced. The investigation begins already when there are no main actors and only the least guilty can be taken to the investigation.

History, in particular the history of Jewish pogroms in Ukraine, repeats itself: the riots do not stop even after all the promises of peace and order, and after the third Universal and all the constitutional blessings contained in them, the life and property of the Jewish population of the Ukrainian Republic is still not secured from attacks and plunder.

The late Buki ben Yogli [7] Buki ben Yogli – pseudonym, real name Katzenelson Yehuda Leib Binyamin (Lev Izrailevich; 1846-1917) – doctor, writer, scientist… After visiting Palestine, he advocated the development of Jewish agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel. after the first pogroms in the 1880s once wrote in one of his satires:

- What is it? They say “riots”. So why, one wonders, don’t they establish order? If this is the order, then why are they beating us?

1. Rotberg.

Jewish Week. No. 1-2. 1918. January 18. pp. 23-25.

No. 2. Message from the weekly “Jewish Week” with a call for financial assistance to Jewish self-defense squads in the city of Odessa and the province. January 18, 1918

In the “Od[essky] sheet” we find the following letter to the editor:

Honorable Mr. Editor!

The Jewish tenants of the Rossiya insurance company (Deribasovskaya st., No. 10), welcoming the initiative of one of the houses on Novorybnaya st., also decided to impose on themselves a monthly 5% tax on the rent for the maintenance of “Jewish combat squads [8] One of the Odessa Jewish self-defense squads arose already in August 1917… and was finally liquidated under the Whites in August 1919. for fight against pogroms and anarchy in Odessa and the provinces” – for as long as these squads exist.

At the same time, we, the tenants, are perplexed as to why public organizations and parties have not yet established a joint committee for the financial support of Jewish squads.

The maintenance of combat squads requires only 15 to 30 thousand rubles per month. If all Jewish tenants and room-tenants in the city followed our example, then this, according to some calculations, would give more than 250 thousand rubles per month. In every Odessa house there are 1 or 2 Jews who will collect 5% of the deductions from the residents and willingly take them to the above-mentioned committee.

But this is only possible if the Jewish public figures finally wake up from hibernation and perform before the people a holy, fraternal deed that brooks no delay.

Jewish Week. No. 1-2. 1918. January 18. pp. 22-23.

No. 3. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom incidents in Ukraine. January 31, 1918

The headquarters of the Jewish military squads in Odessa sent a detachment to the village of Rashkov, Podolsk province, from where a delegate of the Jewish community arrived, who made a statement to the squad that pogrom agitation was being carried out in this place.

From the town of Dubossary, Kherson province. the head of the detachment, warrant officer Geld, arrived with a message that order had now been introduced in Dubossary, where a detachment of the squad had gone to localize the Jewish pogrom order has been restored. The detachment is still in Dubossary, due to the fact that the Jewish community asked them to stay there for some more time [9] The Ukrainian press reported in connection with the pogroms: “They are telegraphing from Dubossary about the grandiose pogrom that began on January 3rd… The population is praying for help ”(Kyiv thought. 1918. January 9)..

A detachment of 50 people was sent by the Jewish combat squad to combat pogroms to Krivoye Ozero from where alarming information was received. A detachment of the same size is leaving for Rashkov in the neare time.

In Odessa, as reported by “Odessa News”, visiting delegates from various towns and villages, especially from Podolsk Guberniya, come to the Jewish fighting squad for the “fight against pogroms” to ask for sending a detachment as these areas are threatened by a Jewish pogrom.

The same detachment received information about the alarming situation in Chechelnik and Rybnitsa. There have already been pogroms in the last city 3 times. The detachments sent  squads: to Chechelnik – consisting of 35 people and to Rybnitsa – consisting of 50 people. Instructors are also sent by the detachment to Golta, Olviopol and Bogopol to organize a combat unit there.

From the town of Kodyma, Od[esskiye] Novosti[osti] reports: the dark forces, carrying out pogroms in the surrounding towns, were preparing to visit us too. The local peasants, having learned about this, convened a gathering, at which they condemned the pogroms in the sharpest form and recognized them as acts that dishonor honest citizens, after which they unanimously decided: to defend the Jewish population from the pogrom with their breasts. The unit of the 8th Army stationed here passed the same resolution [10] The 8th Army (1914-1918) was part of the Southwestern and Romanian fronts… in the summer offensives of the Southwestern Front (1916-1917). passed the same resolution. Peasants, soldiers and workers, having chosen 20 people from their midst, instructed them to maintain order.

A cable was sent from Kyiv to Vechernyaya Zvezda: a message has been received from Fastov that a gang of hooligans tried to perpetrate a Jewish pogrom. In the market, dark elements called on the peasants to beat the Jews, accusing them of seizing power in the Kyiv province. The local Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies hastily organized detachments of the Red Guards, who managed to liquidate the pogrom that had already begun.

In Kiev, according to the “Evening Star”, dark personalities managed to take advantage of the murder of Metropolitan Vladimir [11] Vladimir (1848-1918) – Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga… killed near the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. and kindle national passions in Podol. In a densely populated Jewish area, hooligans called for the beating of Jews, accusing them of killing the cleric. A large crowd had already gathered around these pogromists, with the intention to immediately begin beating the Jews and destroying their apartments which had survived the last devastation during the days of the Civil War. This became known to the Military Revolutionary Committee, which immediately sent large detachments of soldiers and Red Guards there. The latter managed to detain the instigators of the pogrom.

Jewish Week. No. 3-4. 1918. January 31. S. 28.

No. 4. Appeal of the Jews of Odessa, holders of the St. George Order, with a call for the creation of national military units to protect against pogroms. January 31, 1918

The people, rich in creative forces, strong in spirit, who gave the world many famous scientists, lived for centuries under the yoke of slavery and lack of rights. For centuries, the Jews were subjected to all sorts of attacks, absurd accusations were raised against them, without any basis, they were persecuted, humiliated. The people were silent!

Patiently and meekly, they waited for the hour of liberation, waited and hoped that for them, tired and frozen, the sun would shine and would warm them with its rays. The people lost many of their best sons: some died in prisons, others fell victims of lawlessness. War has come. Russia demanded all its citizens to defend it, and the Jews, persecuted everywhere, oppressed everywhere, went to pay their debt to their homeland that did not give them anything. In the mass of soldiers, Jews, being separate units, lived some kind of isolated life. The feats accomplished by individuals were not taken into account, because it was said that Russian soldiers performed the same feats in regiments. Anti-Semitism never reached such colossal proportions: the Jews were accused of espionage, of treason (all these accusations were refuted by the commissions of inquiry), and all sorts of fables were raised. The people were silent. They lived in hope for a better future! It came, it came suddenly! The bright rays of freedom also shone over the suffering people.

At the present time, when each nation is striving for self-determination, when each nation is separated into separate parts, we Jews must remain indifferent to the process of separation. All nations stood out: Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles, Georgians and others, and only we are still overboard!

Freedom has brought us new trends, new feelings, new thoughts, but it has not changed people morally. Not only has the antagonism between nations not disappeared, but, on the contrary, it has intensified even more, and imagine the position of our brothers who will be interspersed in different national regiments. They will live some kind of isolated life, since each nation has its own aspirations and interests. Freedom has brought us a whole series of pogroms, which we, fragmented Jews, find it impossible to fight against. If we have our own regiments, which at the right moment will stand up for the defense of their brothers, then, of course, pogroms, as a spontaneous phenomenon, will disappear. The mere consciousness that such regiments exist will be quite sufficient to stop the thugs from attacking. The Jews of St. George decoration in Odessa at one of their meetings decided to start forming national units; they filed applications (which were joined by the Odessa department of the All-Russian Union of Jewish Warriors [12] The All-Russian Union of Jewish Warriors (September 1917) aimed at protecting Jewish military personnel… he was absorbed by the structures of this organization.) to the head of the Odessa district, General Elchaninov [13] Elchaninov Georgy Ivanovich (1871-?) – participant in the First World War… On July 15, 1918 he was appointed commander of the 2nd cavalry brigade of the 4th cavalry division. and the military commissar, Lieutenant Colonel Poplavko, who reacted very benignly and sympathetically to the submitted applications and telegraphed to General Secretariat. To support the petition, a delegation left for Kyiv.

With this letter, the organization of Jews – holders of St. George decoration and sympathizers for the formation of national units – appeals to all Jewish soldiers to organize themselves in separate groups and prepare for the transition to their national units.

We ask all magazines and newspapers to reprint this.

Accept assurances of highest respect, etc.

Chairman: Semyon Leibovich.

Secretary: Bibikman.

Odessa, Remeslennaya, 32, apt. 5.

Jewish Week. No. 3. 1918. January 31. S. 30.

No. 5. From an article in the newspaper “Unzer Togblat” about the events in the city of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. March 1918

 April 19, 1918

Pogrom in Glukhovo [14] Information about the pogroms in Ukraine and in the front line periodically appeared in the Bolshevik press: “The Life of Nationalities”, “Di Varkhait” (in Yiddish), in the Zionist organ “Dawn” in 1918. Data on the participation of the Red Army in them in the spring of that year – in the years Glukhov (see: Jewish Week. June 1, 1918. No. 15. S. 9-Yu), Novgorod-Seversky (Ibid. May 18, 1918. No. 11-12 S. 15-16) were perceived by the Jewish communities of Russia as an alarming signal increased pogrom danger. So, for example, in a telegram from the Achinsk Jewish community dated May 5, 1918, sent to the Council of People’s Commissars, it was reported: “… having learned from the press about the brutal pogroms against our brothers in a number of cities of the Russian Soviet Republic, especially Glukhov, we protest against the admitted the arbitrariness of the rioters. We demand that the Council of People’s Commissars take energetic measures [to] prevent further pogroms and allow Jewish self-defense in the localities; who contributed to the pogroms to bring to the people’s court ”(GA RF. F. R-1318. Op. 1. D. 561. L. 187). About the pogrom in the city of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. and the neighboring Bude metro station (near the Ozerovo station) is reported in the article “Under the Pogrom Nightmare”, compiled on the basis of the testimony of one of the eyewitnesses (Jewish Week. 1918. June 1. No. 15. P. 9-12).
Further events in the city of Glukhov found a response in the diaries of the famous Jewish historian S.M. Dubnova: “April 7 [1918]… Today I read a more accurate report about the pogrom in Glukhov: several hundred killed and mutilated Jews. The second Chisinau, and the authorities hushed up the pogrom, as Plehve once did: for the Bolsheviks, this is only a minor episode of the “Civil War”. See: Dubnov S.M. The book of life. Memories and reflections. Materials for the history of my time. SPb., 1998. S. 403, 405.
“April 15… In the evening. Now I have read new information about the massacre in Glukhov. Jews were killed and robbed by the Red Army and peasants from the surrounding area. Excited, I inserted a few more angry lines into the article I had just written about the death of Russia … ”(Dubnov S.M. Decree. Op.).

Victim’s story.

… After the defeat of the Kyiv Central Rada and the spread of Bolshevik power in Ukraine, the Glukhov Bolsheviks also seized power. The Soviet of Workers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, headed by commissars, of whom one, Vlasov, was a village kulak, became the master of the city; the other, Pilchenko, a man with a criminal record, was convicted as a counterfeiter…

Relations between Ukrainians and Jews have always been good…

On February 18 (OS) in Glukhov they learned that the Baturinsky regiment, which had been stationed there before the war, was returning to the city from the front. The regiment was Ukrainized and stood on the side of the Central Rada, which ordered Glukhov to be cleared of the Bolsheviks. This was enough for the Bolshevik Soviet with its commissars and the Red Guard to hastily leave the city. Power again passed to the Ukrainian General Secretariat.

…But it didn’t last long. Already 4 days later, on February 21, a rumor spread that the Bolsheviks were again marching on Glukhov – the Roslavl partisan unit of the Red Army – and with them many peasants from the surrounding villages, who even earlier were well armed and inclined to Bolshevism. The city was alarmed; they sent intelligence and in general began to prepare for war, each in his own way: the Jews settled in the basements.

On February 19, in the morning, outside the city, not far from the station, a real battle began between the Glukhov militia and the Baturinsky regiment, on the one hand, and the Bolshevik partisan soldiers and peasants, on the other. The latter had machine guns and even cannons, with which they bombarded the station and the city. It is quite clear that the defenders of Glukhov could not hold out against such forces for long, moreover, the soldiers of the Baturinsky regiment in the middle of the battle threw down their weapons and went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and declared that the Glukhov Jews bribed them to fight against the Bolsheviks. The officers of the regiment remained in the ranks of the militia and, together with the latter, vigorously defended the city. But a handful of people were soon dispersed, and the Bolsheviks occupied the city, over which shells still continued to burst.

Armed partisans and peasants scattered around the city, among whom were thieves, women and children; the peasants arrived with empty carts. Separate groups began to go around the houses and asked:

Where do Jews live here?

… Entering the house and not finding anyone there, they set off through the attics, cellars, sheds and other hidden places where the Jews hid. In many houses, Christian servants pointed out where the Jews had hidden. The bandits were drunk.

When they found Jews in a basement or some other place, they demanded that they hand over the weapons that they supposedly had, and since, of course, there were no weapons, they were arrested and taken to the Soviet. But they were not brought to the Soviet, and on the way they were either shot or killed. In many places, this was done quite simply: whole families were taken out into the yard, put in a row and shot …

When some Jews, with mortal fear in their eyes, tried to find out from the drunken bandits why they were killing, what the guilt was, the soldiers briefly answered: “We were ordered to massacre all the Jews.”

… One family was taken out into the yard and fired at. Two sons fell dead, the mother was wounded, the rest ran into the apartment and hid. A few minutes later, another gang entered and shot the rest. At the same time, they tried with bayonets – did they really die and shot under the bed in case someone hid there … The soldiers also walked around the barns and stuck bayonets in the hay to find out if anyone was hidden there. Many, indeed, hid in the hay and were thus stabbed to death. It is possible that there are many dead bodies in the haystacks.

[106] Descriptions of individual episodes of the pogroms have been omitted.

Unser Togblat. 1918. April 19. Published: Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and Pogroms in Ukraine. 1917-1918 Berlin, 1923. S. 287.

No. 6. A record of an eyewitness story Samuil (surname not identified) by a representative of the Kiev Commission of the Evobshchestkom [15] The Kiev regional commission of the Evobshchestkom is one of the regional divisions of the Evobshchestkom in Ukraine. Organized in July 1920 in Kyiv… Liquidated in 1924.
about a pogrom in the town of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. March 1918

August 4, 1921

Bloody Thursday.

On February 22, 1918, at 4 pm, after a strong fight that forced us to sit in the cellar, we were finally able to enter the house without any threat to us. An hour later, 3 armed people [entered] our house and demanded money, saying, otherwise we will shoot you all. Papa gave them some of the money that we had in the house, and, seeing his cigarettes, which were lying in the chest of drawers, they took them away and left, immediately a few more people came in after them, without saying a word, put me and my father against the wall but requests and prayer saved us. It began to get dark, we decided to go down to the neighbors, as we decided that there were fewer dangers below, where about forty people had already gathered. Father was sick and he felt stuffy downstairs, so decided to go upstairs to the house. A few minutes later, 8 people on horseback entered the yard and went upstairs to father. Seeing this, I also went upstairs. When I entered, I saw a terrible picture: my father was standing against the wall, and one of them was loading a rifle for a shot. I rushed to him, turning the rifle in the other direction, and the fired bullet flew out the window. The angered robber started beating me with his gun butt. At that moment, my sister ran up in the direction of the scream. One of the robbers called everyone for a meeting. After a minute of discussion, they went out and announced: “Women, come out,” my sister did not want to go out, because she guessed what they wanted to do with us, but the robber forced her out of the room, and they put me and my father against the wall. I understood what this kind of reception was for, and began to run away, shouting to my father to run away too. But before I had time to open the door to the next [room], someone behind me shouted: “Stop, you dirty kike! I’ll kill you!” I stopped, but before I had time to look back, the robber drew his saber and wanted to hit me on the head, but I managed to put my hands up, and he hit me on the right arm, and, inflicted three more minor wounds, one on the head, the other – on the leg and the third – on the left hand, after which I managed to escape to the bottom. At that time, my sister was standing in the next room, she wanted to get to them, several times she ran into the rooms, but the robbers threatened that if she still entered that room, they would also kill her, but, finally, she ran in and shouted if  you kill dad, then kill me. This played into their hands and they killed her with a blow to the head with a saber. Father was probably killed by them with a bayonet strike in the heart or did from a heart rupture, because there was no blood around him. After the robbers left, my mother ran upstairs, ran up to my father, grabbed him by the head, but he only had time to open his eyes and now, choking, he died. The night was agonizing. The pain was desperate, it was not possible to turn from one side to the other, it was impossible to scream, because the robbers walked around all the time, and then they would hear a human voice. They would certainly come in and do what they craved. It was not possible to dress the wounds, because it was announced: whoever saves the Jews will pay the price himself. The next morning, several carts drove into the yard and took everything that there was from the house. Two of those who had stopped by came downstairs to me and began to ask a neighbor what kind of patient this was. When the neighbor told them everything, one announced that it was necessary to finish me off, but the neighbor began to ask them not to touch me, then one announced: “Don’t touch him, he will die on his own.” Two days later, thanks to the hard work of an old woman, I was sent to the infirmary, where I was told that my arm had to be amputated. At first I did not agree, but when the doctor explained that it could get worse and that the rest of the arm could be affected, I agreed. Later, the doctor told me that if I had been immediately transferred to the infirmary, my arm would have been saved, the bone would have healed, because it was young (I was 17 at the time). I also had to go through a lot in the infirmary, because. robbers came there, threatening death.

I am currently in need of a prosthesis (artificial hand), which I have already gone for and which I could not get, because. I am being expelled from the “League of Saints”, and enrolled in the 3rd queue, where you have to wait at least 2 years.

Samuel (surname illegible).

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 446. L. 76. Copy.

No. 7. Request by the representative of the Zionist faction in the Lesser Rada of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) [16] Malaya Rada – an organ of the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR), created in April 1917… It included deputies from the political factions of the UCR, the Presidium of the Central Republic, councils of workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ deputies, and representatives of national minorities.
M. Grossman [17] Grossman Meer (1888-1964), Zionist activist and journalist… During World War II, in the USA. to the Ministers of Military and Internal Affairs [18] After the reorganization of the cabinet of V. Golubovich in March 1918 in the Rada of People’s Ministers of the UCR, M. Tkachenko became the Minister of Internal Affairs, and O. Zhukovsky became the Minister of War. about violence against Jews. April 16, 1918

Evening session on 16 (3) April.

Starting from April 1, at the station of the Kiev-Poltava line, robberies, violence and murders are continuously taking place, which are carried out both by echelons of passing troops, calling themselves haidamaks [19] Gaidamaks were members of the Ukrainian military formations of 1917-1920… in February 1918 became part of the Ukrainian regular army., and by local groups of “Vilna Cossacks” [20] Vilna Cossacks (Ukrainian) – free Cossacks… A significant part of the Cossacks entered various units of the UNR army.. Outrages and unjustifiable cruelties are carried out mainly on the Jewish population, and quite often soldiers calling themselves haidamaks drag innocent Jews into the cars, beat them there with whips, and then throw them out of the car. Eyewitnesses of these bloody massacres, as well as persons who suffered from them, arrive in Kyiv dailyand deliver materials and factual data about the ongoing events to the Zionist faction. The reported facts are simultaneously confirmed by reports from both the Kyiv and provincial press. So, on April 8 at st. Ramadan soldiers publicly flogged a Jewish passenger for addressing somebody as “comrade”. At the same station, the Jew Yakov Goldber was beaten and robbed. For protesting against violence and mockery, passengers Tsybulsky from Kyiv and Kantor from Kremenchug were also beaten and flogged. According to local residents, in the area of St. Ramadan, to this day, the uncleaned corpses of the killed and strangled, mainly Jews, are found, some of which are buried by the station watchman Dyrda. Arrests and beatings take place at the stations closest to Ramadan, moreover, both the commandant of station Ramadan Duzenkevich and other commanding officials do not take any measures to protect the population. The second center of violence and murder is station Grebyonka which is dominated by a gang of soldiers who call themselves Free Cossacks. A few days ago, they arrested 9 people in one of the hotels, who were later found dead. On Tuesday, April 9, passenger Meer Janich was detained at the same station, dragged into commandant’s office, beaten and robbed, and then forced to sign a statement that he had no claims. The Kiev resident Niveld also reports about the robbery and beatings. On February 7, the so-called vilny Cossacks of the city of Mirgorod whipped a local rabbi, a 60-year-old man, who had been summoned to the commandant’s office for explanations. All these facts are only separate reports of numerous similar cases of violence and killings. The population is finally terrorized, and stations Ramadan and Grebyonka are declared a dangerous zone, which Jews are not recommended to enter. Further: after the passage of the military train, which departed from Kyiv on April 2, between st. Baryshkovskaya and Berezan two corpses were found, and between the station. Pereyaslavsky and Yagotin – three corpses. On April 4 a wagon arrived at station Baryshkovka, in which, as it turned out later, there were five corpses of Jews strangled with belts and ropes, terribly mutilated and, obviously, thrown out of the wagon onto the railway track, since both legs were cut off from one of them. Residents of Baryshkovka paid attention to the fact that on April 4, a soldier of the commandant’s office came to the local rabbi with a package from Ataman Gerasimenko. The contents remain a mystery to this day, but two days after the rabbi was visited by the police chief, at night, despite the onset of Saturday, 15 Jews were busy digging graves in the cemetery. Two days later, on April 7, at two o’clock in the morning, a light and movement of a group of people were seen in the Jewish cemetery. As it turned out later, 5 corpses of unknown Jews were secretly buried there, brought in a special wagon from Yagotin. There is no doubt that the secret burial, carried out without prior drawing up of a protocol, taking photographs and presenting a medical certificate of death, was carried out at the insistence of local authorities who, for unkown reason, wished to hide the fact of the murder of 5 Jews.

Violence, murders and robberies, the victims of which are mainly the Jewish population, occurring with the connivance of the authorities, have become chronic and return the Jewish population to the powerless times of tsarism. Life freezes. Trust in the authorities is falling every day, and at the same time, extreme discontent and anger is growing in all sections of the population. The above facts are not isolated, but characterize the general situation not only in Poltava province, but also in Chernigov.

On the basis of the foregoing, the interpellents ask the minister of military and internal affairs [21] The inquiry of the Zionist faction in Malaya Rada on April 16, 1918… Let the Minister of the Interior remember that just as it is impossible to carry socialism on the edge of bayonets, so it is also impossible to build a state on blood.:

1. Are the ministers of military and internal affairs aware of the incessant lynching, violence and robbery perpetrated by gangs and detachments of people dressed in military uniforms, calling themselves Haidamaks or Vilny Cossacks, mainly against the Jewish population?
2. Do the ministers know that on the night of April 7-8 in the town of Baryshkivka of the Poltava province 5 mutilated human corpses were buried secretly, without the protocol of the judicial investigator or other authorities, and also without presenting a medical certificate of death?
3. If it is known, what measures have been taken for the immediate and severe punishment of the perpetrators and the prevention in the future of such offenses and violence, which are completely unacceptable on the territory of a democratic people’s republic?

Mr. Schatz (Jewish Socialist Labor Party) adds a second similar interpellation to this interpellation [22] The United Jewish Socialist Workers’ Party (Fareinigte) was formed in 1917… party member M. Zilbelfarb became Vice-Secretary for Jewish Affairs of the General Secretariat for National Affairs..

“Before,” the interpellent says, “the policemen changed into civilian clothes to participate in pogroms, and now near the stations Ramadan and Grebyonka violence is done by people dressed in the military dress of the People’s Republic.

A number of facts are given about violence and murders in the town of Gogolev, Oster [sky] district; in the town of Brusilov, Radom [Yslskogo] district; the police chief imposed an indemnity of 50 thousand rubles, and added that he was “authorized to flog and beat for order.” In the town of Korsun, Skvirsky district, a contribution of 2 thousand rubles was imposed. On the next day, the chairman of the Korsun council received a demand from the commissar through the head of the local police that the Jewish population of the town should deliver to the Cossacks in large quantities boots, shirts, hats with a red top. In Radomysl, a contribution of 100 thousand rubles was imposed. (80 thousand rubles were contributed); at st.Grebyonka, starting from the first days of March – violence, robbery, murder among the Jewish population.

“It is necessary,” says Mr. Schatz, “to purge the apparatus of the Republic of bad elements and rid the Jewish population of medieval horrors… Where there is national-personal autonomy, human life must be preserved in order to be able to realize this autonomy…

The request is accepted and sent to the ministers of military and internal affairs, as well as to the minister of Jewish affairs.

Kiev Thought. 1918. 18 (5) April.

No. 8. Report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom in the city of Novgorod-Severskii, Chernigov province. in April 1918 [23] At the same time, materials about the pogroms in the city of Novgorod-Seversky were published in the Jewish newspaper Togblat.

 June 15, 1918

Kievskaya Mysl [24] “Kyiv thought” – a daily Russian-language newspaper in Kyiv (1906-1918). She opposed the independence of Ukraine.in its May 25 issue reports:

The Ministry of Jewish Affairs received the following news from Novgorod-Seversk from the Relief Committee:

The population of Novgorod-Seversk was terrorized by the Bolshevik authorities for two months. Contributions and searches were a common occurrence; the Jews felt this nightmarish power most of all. So, for example, a gang of Red Guards under the leadership of Beregti demanded from the Jews that they immediately contribute 750 thousand rubles. Only because of the lack of banknotes, the Red Guards were satisfied with the amount of 230 thousand rubles, contributed by the Jews on the next day.

On April 1, a group of Bolsheviks staged a pogrom. A self-defense unit, in which officers and soldiers took part, came out against them, but this self-defensewas too weak and had to retreat. On April 6, a gang of Red Guards and sailors surrounded the city and within a few hours smashed the entire Jewish population. There are also victims – 62 Jews were killed, 14 people were seriously injured. The same gang on their way robbed Jews in the surrounding villages, leaving 16 corpses behind.

Local peasants also took part in the destruction and even murders. The perpetrators have yet to be punished. There is a lack of proper local authority. Meanwhile, the pogroms have not yet stopped. The Jewish population of Novgorod-Seversky became impoverished, the losses exceeded a million. The affected population was mostly poor, the villains left many widows and orphans.

In addition, during the panic, many refugees arrived there from the surrounding villages and they were also left without any means of subsistence. Director of the General Chancellery of the Ministry of Jewish Affairs N. Gergel [25] Gergel N. (? -1931) – Director of the Department of General Affairs in the Jewish Ministry in the government of the Central Rada, as well as under Hetman P. Skoropadsky until it was closed (1917 – July 1918); in 1919-1920 He was a member of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine. Emigrated to Germany; member of the Committee for the Protection of Schwarzbart, established in Germany in 1926. Moved to Eretz Israel. brought this to the attention of the Minister of the Interior, who immediately sent a telegraphic order to the provincial headman to take the most energetic measures to stop the riots both in Novgorod-Seversk and throughout the county. The Ministry of Justice has been handed over the investigation of the case and it was charged with bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Jewish week. 1918. June 15. No. 16-17. S. 23

No. 9. Announcement of the military commandant’s office of the town of Belaya Tserkov, Kyiv province on the responsibility of the Jewish population for agitation against the German authorities

 July 18, 1918

Belaya Tserkov

(The original is in German and Russian).

Announcement.

It has come to the attention of the commandant’s office that the majority of the Jewish population, especially the majority of Jewish traders in the market and on their trips to the villages, are agitating in the most shameful way against the Ukrainian government and the German authorities and are trying to convince the peasants that the Germans want to take away all the bread from the peasants after the harvest, without paying for it.

This is a dishonorable lie. On the contrary, the German military authorities are trying to the best of their ability to provide each peasant with the necessary means so that he would calmly and peacefully follow his hard-working vocation. For the bread required of them by the German troops, the peasant will be paid accuratelly, in cash. The German military authorities want peace, order, and especially to ensure that everyone openly and undisturbed by his neighbor could cultivate his land and practice his trade.

The German commandant’s office is aware of a number of similar Jewish violators of peaceful life. It will persecute these dangerous individuals without condescension, and it points out that these dangerous individuals, because of such actions, are subjected to the most severe punishment if they try to tear the zealous people away from their normal agricultural activities.

County elders and volost foremen are asked to immediately and immediately report here the names of these harmful elements in order to subject them to the most severe punishments.

Whoever, like these Jewish merchants, will agitate against the Ukrainian government and against the German military power in Ukraine, will threatens the food, regular peaceful life and work of the Ukrainian people.

German district commandant Nikisch von Roseneck, colonel [26] In connection with the announcement of the German commandant’s office dated July 18, 1919, a delegation from the local city council of the Jewish community petitioned the commandant’s office to suspend posting this announcement. The representative of the commandant’s office resolutely refused this request, stating that “the announcement will, on the contrary, be distributed in large numbers of copies, because” the Jews are the most pernicious agitators against the Germans “(…) The representative of the Austrian command in Verkhnedneprovsk, Yekaterinoslav Province, went even further, posted the following order: “I forbid the local residents of the Jewish faith to enter into any relations with my soldiers, talk with them, walk, etc.” Violation of the order is punishable for the first time by flogging, the second time by execution ”(Cherikover I. Anti-Semitism and pogroms in Ukraine. 1917-1918. Berlin, 1923. P. 58)..

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 423. L. 30. Copy.

No. 10. From the conclusion of the commission of inquiry on the case of the pogrom by military units of the UNR in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. in January 1919

Not earlier than July 28, 1919 [107] Dated according to the content of the document.

The investigative commission on the pogrom began its activity even under the Directory and acted on the basis of a special order approved by the Directory on March 3, 1919, and according to the order, the commission included: representatives of the Zhytomyr City Duma – a member of the district court V.V. Polynev and attorney of law [S.S.] Gorelin; assisstant of the mayor S.V. Ivanitsky; district court prosecutor A.P. Sakovich; member of the district court G.The. Rublevsky; representative of the provincial zemstvo, Justice of Peace P.T. Redko; representative of the county zemstvo L.P. Buynitsky; representative of the commandant’s office D. Marchevsky; investigator for critical cases P.B. Solovyov; Commissioner of the Central Committee for Assistance to Pogrom Victims Ya.B. Livshits; representatives of the Zhytomyr Jewish community – Doctor of Medicine Ya.O. Rosenblat and a gymnasium teacher, a candidate for judicial office I.Ya. Spielberg, representative of the Council of Trade Unions, head of the labor exchange B.B. Kimelblat, representative of the Trade and Industrial Union A.O. Oksman, assistants of the prosecutor M.A. Katz and N.F. Karasev and attorneys od law I.N. Ratner and P.V. Pevzner. During the period from [...] [108] A gap in the text. March to August 1, the following persons left the commission: S.V. Ivanitsky, A. Sakovich, A.O. Oksman, D. Marchevsky and A.N. Buinitsky, and they were replaced by: Attorney of Law, speaker of the City Duma M.D. Skokovsky, Attorney of Law […]onitsky [109] So in the document; surname is not printed in full., Member of the Board of the Union of Metal Workers S.S. Begun, gymnasium teacher, assistant attorney of law I.I. Zhidlovsky and the representative of the Trade and Industrial Union G.K. Lichterman.

The commission of inquiry on the case of the first and second pogroms in the city of Zhytomyr [110] There is no text in the document about the first Zhytomyr pogrom., having examined the material collected on the present case in meetings on July 16, 24, 26 and 28, 1919, came to the following conclusion:

I.

The last months of 1918 the political and social life of the city of Zhytomyr proceeded in special, exceptional conditions. Whereas before that Zhytomyr experienced war, revolution and subsequent political upheavals without much upheaval, since November the uprising of Petliura [27] Petliura Symon Vasilievich (1879-1926) – a major Ukrainian socio-political and statesman. Born in the suburbs of the city of Poltava. From an old Cossack and priestly family. He studied at the theological seminary. From 1900 he was a member of the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party (in 1905 it was reorganized into the Ukrainian Social Democratic Labor Party). Under the threat of arrest, he went to the Kuban, worked as a teacher, archivist. Edited a number of Ukrainian magazines. During the First World War, he was the head of the Ukrainian Military Committee of the Western Front. Leading figure of the Ukrainian national revolution: in 1917 – member of the Ukrainian Central Rada, Secretary General for Military Affairs (resigned in November). During the reign of P. Skoropadsky, he acted with anti-Hetman actions, was imprisoned. In November 1918-1920 he was in the composition and at the head of the Directorate of the UNR; Head ataman of the UNR army. After 1920, in exile, he continued to act as head of the UNR. In 1926 he was killed in Paris by S. Schwarzbart.
and Vinnichenko [28] Vinnichenko Vladimir Kirillovich (1880-1951) – a major Ukrainian statesman and politician, writer. Since 1907 – a member of the Ukrainian SD. labor party. In March 1917, among the organizers of the Central Rada; was the deputy its chairman, the chairman and the General Secretary (Minister of the Interior of the General Secretariat). In November 1917 – January 1918 – Chairman and Secretary for Internal Affairs of the expanded General Secretariat of the UNR. In August 1918, chairman of the Ukrainian National Union; November 1918 – February 1919 – Head of the Ukrainian Directory (resigned due to disagreement with the political orientation towards the Entente). In exile. Created a foreign group of the Ukrainian Communist Party. At the beginning of 1920, he negotiated a return to Ukraine and work in the Bolshevik authorities, setting the condition for granting independence to Ukraine. He returned abroad, spoke with sharp criticism of the Soviet regime, settled in France, and was mainly engaged in literary activities. During the German occupation of France, he was in a concentration camp, died near Cannes. against the hetman’s power has created a completely different situation in the city – knocking city life out of the normal rut – situation. Petlyura’s call to overthrow the hetman was met with great sympathy, enthusiasm and active support from the rural population surrounding the city. The most painful and urgent for the latter is the land issue – and after the universals of the Central Rada on the transfer of all land to the working people [29] November 7, 1917 (III Universal) proclaimed the destruction of the right of ownership to landowners, appanages, monasteries, church and other lands. It was stated that the land should go without redemption to those who cultivate it. Finally, the Land Law was to be decided by the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly. On January 18, 1918, the Law on Land was issued, which was based on the idea of nationalization and socialization of land. On January 31, 1918, the Central Rada issued a law according to which large estates were confiscated and distributed among small and landless peasants. At the same time, private ownership of land was abolished, land was withdrawn from the sphere of commodity-money relations and proclaimed public property. The presented law caused dissatisfaction with large owners, part of the middle peasants and the German command. With the establishment of the power of Hetman P. Skoropadsky, it was announced that the ownership of land, the preservation of large farms to ensure the export of bread, were preserved. The parceling of large farms and the transfer of land to peasants for ransom were planned. On June 14, 1918, a law on the purchase and sale of land was issued: owners could freely sell land and forest land, but an individual or legal entity could acquire no more than 25 acres of land. On July 8, 1918, the hetman approved a law on the organization of the fight against ruin in agriculture, which meant the forcible involvement of peasants in urgent agricultural work, as well as responsibility for actions that hinder the organization of agricultural work aimed at destroying crops, etc. On July 15, 1918, a new law was issued on the transfer of the grain harvest to the disposal of the state in order to eliminate the food crisis in Ukraine. During the period of the Directory, on January 8, 1919, the Law on Land was approved, the provisions of which were similar to the laws of the Central Rada. It secured the abolition of private ownership of land, forests and subsoil and their transfer to state ownership. Each household was assigned a plot of 15 acres of land with the right to be inherited. The minimum norm for landless peasants was 5 acres. The implementation of the land law was hampered by military operations on the territory of Ukraine, the weakness of the local government apparatus, and the inconsistency of by-laws with the agrarian law.
did not receive a desirable solution for the villagers by the fall. The Hetman’s government, although it promised to resolve the issue of land in the near future, in fact, until the end of its existence, not only did not give the villagers real evidence of the fulfillment of this promise, but, on the contrary, by restoring private ownership of land and recognizing the landowners’ right to receive losses [111] So in the document; meaning profit (ukr.) – income., as a result, caused numerous misunderstandings between the landowners and the villagers in the village. The demands of some landowners met opposition from the villagers caused agitation in the village, which turned into bitterness after the repressions of the so-called “punitive” detachments of the Hetman’s Varta [112] Police, units to restore order (Ukrainian). that were acting with the support of the German troops occupying Ukraine.

In mid-December, the troops of the Directory occupied Zhytomyr without much resistance, and by the end of December the latter was filled with a mass of armed peasant rebels, including seven to seven and a half thousand that were mobilized s short time before from nearby areas, who were in the process of a spontaneous upsurge and had just finished the overthrow of unwanted power and were insufficiently disciplined, trusting no one, easily aroused and amenable to the most opposite influences.

Despite the formation of regiments, named according to the place of their formation – “Zhytomyr”, “Levkovsky”, “Chernyakhovsky”, all these armed masses did not have a proper military organization: some of these armed masses – regiments such as Zhitomir – were controlled by an elected committee, others had commanders. Neither the elected committees nor the commanding staff of the regiments enjoyed sufficient authority and trust among the soldiers. Moreover, there was no real power and authority in the civil administration. As a result, the city actually found itself at the mercy of an undisciplined and unorganized mass of armed people, who immediately put the life of Zhytomyr, which had also experienced serious food difficulties, in extremely difficult conditions. Soldiers began to carry out a number of unauthorized searches, robberies and arrests in the city under the guise of requisition. The regiment quartered in Vrangelevka was especially active in this respect.

All these actions were at first directed against the former landowners and persons related to them, and the detainees were usually taken to Vrangelevka and there subjected to beatings and lynching. Then began the systematic disarmament of the city militia and its cavalry reserve which was arrested in its entirety under the pretext that its ranks participated in punitive expeditions, while in reality most of them had nothing to do with punitive detachments. Repeated appeals of city self-government to the highest authorities with requests to take measures to stop the anarchist actions of the army masses did not lead decisively to any results due to the indicated impotence of the authorities. The city government itself had to send a delegation to Wrangelevka to negotiate with the soldiers of the Zhytomyr regiment, and the delegation eventually managed to convince the soldiers to allow a specially created commission of inquiry to consider the validity of these arrests, thanks to which many of the detainees were saved from the lynching that threatened them.

Attempts by the high command to pacify Zhytomyr by sending military units to perform combat missions were unsuccessful, and orders to this end remained without execution. The general order for the demobilization of certain ages also had no results. Only with the approach of the Christmas holidays some of the soldiers began to go home, while the majority continued to remain in the city.

As for the political mood of the army masses concentrated in Zhytomyr that were unanimous in their desire to overthrow the hetman’s government and satisfy their main pressing issue – to get land, in everything else they were far from being a homogeneous element. On the one hand, the soldiers were easily imbued with Bolshevik slogans, and among the military units there were even those who, in contrast to the official name of the troops of the Directory “republican”, called themselves “revolutionary”. On the other hand, some military units easily succumbed to anti-Semitic agitation, both under pressure from the commanding staff and under the influence of provocative elements of the local population who sought to incite the dark mass of soldiers and the uneducated masses of the urban bourgeoisie, who for the most part did not take any part in the political life of the country, on the Jews, in order, on the one hand, to set the crude force that had gone unleashed [and direct it] along the line of least resistance, and on the other hand, to achieve the triumph of their Black Hundred ideas (testimony of the former mayor A.F. Pivetsky, a member of the city council A. Ya. Shura, speaker of the City Duma M. D. Skokovsky, chairman of the provincial zemstvo council S. M. Podgorsky, member of the liquidation commission of the provincial zemstvo A. M. Levchanovsky, siege commandant K. G. Vozny, etc.; v. 1 , sheets 15-17, 33-35, 54-56, 78-95, 100-107, 113-133 and 138-141) [113] There are no investigative documents in the case..

II.

Agitation against the Jews was made easier due to the fact that anti-Semitic mood had existed in Zhytomyr for a long time and that Volyn had long been one of the most right-wing provinces, in which the Black Hundreds made themselves very noticeable, which was clearly manifested, by the way, during the elections to the State Duma, to which Volyn sent exclusively right-wing deputies. The main reasons that nourished and increased the rise of anti-Semitism and the Black Hundreds in Volhynia, and in particular in Zhytomyr, should be attributed to: 1) the diversity of its population atd its various economic interests; 2) the marginal and xenophobic policy of the government before the revolution of 1917 which waged a certain struggle against the Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish elements; 3) the involvement in the political struggle of the clergy, who, by  their highest representatives and leaders of the Pochaev Lavra [30] Pochaev Lavra is an Orthodox monastery in the city of Pochaev… At present, it is an Orthodox male monastery., led ultra-right anti-Semitic, anti-Polish and anti-Ukrainian agitation in the region, not stopping at interfering in elections to representative institutions and participating in such political organizations as the Union of the Russian people [31] The Union of the Russian People is a Black Hundred organization in Russia… The Union broke up into several organizations.; 4) the specific selection for the same borderline policy of representatives of the local administration, which was assigned certain political tasks and which was almost completely infected with anti-Semitism; 5) the extremely low cultural level of the Volyn peasantry, which is explained, among other things, by the absence of zemstvos in Volhynia for many years; 6) concentration on the outskirts of the city of uneducated bourgers; 7) the almost complete absence of the factory proletariat; and, finally, 8 ) the almost complete absence of intelligentsia in Zhytomyr in the true sense of the word (testimony of assistant city head I.P. Voronitsyn, S.M. Podgorsky, Dr. Rosenblat and A.M. Levchanovsky; vol. 1, sheets 108, 68-73, 78-85 and 100-107).

The war of 1914-1917 and the Civil War that followed it created, in addition to these causes, a number of others, which had as their consequence an even greater strengthening of national antagonism and anti-Semitism, especially since anti-Semitic elements used the war and the phenomena caused by it for new anti-Semitic agitation. The pre-revolutionary tsarist government, suffering setbacks at the front and seeking to blame someone for these failures at the front for fear of an explosion of popular indignation, tried with all its might to prove that the cause of the failures must be sought in the behavior of the Jews. By distributing circulars and questionnaires drawn up in a tendentious spirit, and by oral propaganda of some representatives of the commanding staff of the army, it systematically instilled in the army, including units operating on the Volyn-Galician front, the belief that Jews who were involved in carrying out the hardships of military service along with all other citizens, were an unreliable element, almost treacherous, that they should be driven away from everywhere. This systematic propaganda had as its immediate result that some border towns of Galicia [32] Galicia is a historical part of Western Ukraine; since the autumn of 1918, it became part of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic (ZUHP) and, according to the act of January 22, 1919, proclaimed accession to the Ukrainian People’s Republic, by August 1919 it actually became part of Poland (until September 1939). with a significant percentage of the Jewish population were subjected to pogroms with the obvious connivance of the command staff, and this, in turn, inspired the ignorant elements of the army, especially the natives of the culturally backward Volyn province the idea that the Jews can and even should be smashed (testimony of Y.O. Rosenblat and A.M. Levchanovsky; vol. 1, l. 68-73, 100-107).

The February Revolution put an end to this anti-Semitic policy of the tsarist government. But soon hard days came again for the Jews. The fierce political struggle caused by the revolution in Ukraine turned into a struggle on a national basis – into a struggle against the “Muscovites”, i.e. Great Russians, Poles and Jews. The immediate result of this was an explosion of chauvinism and an extreme aggravation of national relations. The incitement of passions on national grounds had an impact on relations with the Jews. Officially, the national Rada, the Hetman’s government, and the Directory declared their readiness to ensure the rights of national minorities, and the national Rada and the Directory even issued a law on national-personal autonomy, but all this remained only empty talk. The Poles and the entire Great Russian element of the region were the first to be suspected, i.e., in the terminology of Ukrainian chauvinists, all the “Muscovites”, with whom a fierce struggle was waged. Then the Jews, whom the new Ukrainian government at the time of its emergence declared to be the closest allies of the Ukrainians in their struggle for independence were also taken under suspicion, but with the abolition of national-personal autonomy [33] The law on national-territorial autonomy was adopted on January 24, 1918 at a meeting of the Malaya Rada of the UNR; consisted of 10 articles. Article 1 interpreted the right of “each of the nations inhabiting Ukraine” to autonomy, which was understood as the right to “an independent organization of their national life” and was exercised through the bodies of the National Union. Most of the articles defined its functions. National-territorial autonomy was granted if the General Court received a petition signed by 10,000 persons declaring their belonging to one of the national groups. Their members were supposed to create their own National Union. The National Constituent Assembly determined the competence of the National Union, which had to be confirmed by the national assembly of the UNR. The framework of the law on national-territorial autonomy in practical terms narrowed down to the problems of national-personal autonomy, where the main object of its action was the representatives of the Jewish nationality in Ukraine. With the coming to power of Hetman Skoropadsky in June 1918, the law on national-personal autonomy was abolished. With the advent to power, the Directory immediately restored the operation of the law on national-territorial autonomy (December 6, 1918). However, until the end of April 1920, in the governments created by the Directory, there were essentially no actions to ensure national autonomy.
this ended,-if not in the center of Ukraine, Kiev then in smaller localities- with a resurrection in some respects of the policy of the tsarist government. Jewry, which, like all nationalities, consists of the most diverse economic and party groups, very often sharply hostile to each other, was seen – like during the revolutionary tsarist regime – as a single entity whenever one or another part of it or a political party did what the hetman government did not like. When the Directory organized an uprising against the hetman, and the Jewish socialist parties, considering the policy of the hetman’s government disastrous for the broad masses of the people, reacted sympathetically to the new republican movement, the Volyn provincial elder S.V. Andro invited the presidium of the Jewish community represented by Ya.A. Spielberg, N.M. Evenchik (who had nothing to do with the socialist parties) and Ya.O. Rosenblat and, having received them extremely rudely, told them in the presence of many witnesses: “In Berdichev, bastard Jewish youth shoots volunteer officers who are fighting the Bolsheviks (that is, obviously, the troops of the Directory). Tell the populace that I won’t take it anymore; for the slightest Bolshevik action of the Jews, I will flood Zhytomyr with Jewish blood ”(testimony of a member of the Labor Congress P.M. Dzevaltovsky, Ya.O. Rosenblat and E.B. Elyasberg; vol. 1, l. 91). Andro’s threats resulted in the fact that not only the Jewish democracy, but also the Jewish bourgeoisie which was economically interested in the triumph of the hetman’s regime and had its representative in the hetman’s government (Minister of Trade and Industry S.M. Gutnik), changed its attitude towards the hetman’s government and met the occupation of the Zhytomyr Directory by the troops almost benevontally. The Jewish democracy greeted the troops of the Directory with a sense of joy, and when armed clashes took place in Zhytomyr between the Germans and the troops of the Directory, they provided them with a number of services, sheltering the soldiers of the army of the Directory and secretly supplying them (with danger to their lives) with food.

The first steps in the activities of the Directory were the restoration of national-personal autonomy, the formation of a Jewish ministry, and so on – strengthened, if not all, then, in any case, a significant part of the Jewish population in the conviction that the triumph of the Directory brought with it a new era for the Jews as well. But soon the Directory entered upon the path of the traditional policy of sweeping accusations and persecution against the Jews. The entire Jewish population, without distinction of class or party, was taken under suspicion. The actions of individuals or individual groups of the Jewish population began to be attributed again to all the Jewry. As Bolshevism grew in Ukraine, when the Directory, which at first was inclined to conclude an agreement with the Bolsheviks in order to fight against Denikin, began to lose ground more and more, its attitude towards national minorities, including Jews, worsened, and the national policy of its agents in the localities became more and more ambiguous. The commanders of the troops of the Directory were definitely anti-Semitic. In the actions of the local authorities of the Directory, especially the military, the desire to divert the revolutionary-minded masses from the path of class struggle and direct them to the path of national struggle began to increasingly manifest itself. Knowing that the Volhynia peasantry and bourgers had long been anti-Semitic, that it was easiest to direct passions against the Jews, the military authorities of the Directory, which were gaining more and more influence, often pursued a policy that had a clear anti-Semitic character. Representatives of the military command of the troops of the Directory in the field quite often refused to accept Jews into the army (in Chernyakhivka, Jews were not accepted into the troops even during the mobilization), and members of the Directory at the same time accused the Jews of not joining the army. The accusations leveled against the Jewish population were often mutually contradictory. Thus, the hetman authorities, as can be seen from the above, threatened to flood Zhitomir with Jewish blood because the Jewish youth were fighting against the hetman together with the troops of the Directory, and in the military circles of the Directory there were accusations against the Jews that they did not help the Directory to overthrow the hetman. During the struggle of the Germans against the troops of the Directory, Jews, again, not individual elements of Jewry, but all Jews in general, were accused, on the one hand, of sympathy for the Germans, on the other hand, the Germans themselves accused them of being anti-German and of helping the troops of the Directory; they took as hostages a number of representatives of the Jewish bourgeoisie and democracy (whereas no one from other nationalities was taken) and even expressed the view that the Petliurists were bribed by the Jews and therefore were acting against the Germans. For the Jews, everything was interpreted not in their favor, and even the fact that Jewish soldiers who understood or quickly learned to understand the German language due to its similarity with the Jewish spoken language,  were appointed translators in German prisoner-of-war camps, which entailed certain privileges, caused displeasure among the Christian soldiers who threatened, as N.D. Gladky shows, that they will deal with the Jews for this when they return to their homeland (testimony of N.D. Gladky, A.Ya. Shur, M.D. Skokovsky and E.B. Elyasberg; vol. 1).

The economic turmoil and food shortages resulting from the war gave a new impetus to the rise of anti-Semitism. The disappearance from the markets of articles of manufacturing industry and of many products necessary for the countryside, the high cost of basic necessities and the speculation associated with it extremely exacerbated the economic antagonism between town and countryside. The countryside, having a poor understanding of such complex economic phenomena as high prices and speculation, not realizing that they are an inevitable consequence of the war, and [carrying out] observation of the ever-increasing rise in prices for the products it needed and the ever-growing speculation, which proved powerless to fight against both for pre-revolutionary the government and the revolutionary government, began to be more and more hostile to the urban population, which, as it seemed to the villagers, did not give it anything and only demanded more and more sacrifices from it; and because in the cities of the Volyn province trade, due to historical conditions and the prohibition for Jews to engage in many branches of labor for several centuries, was concentrated mainly in the hands of the Jews, all the discontent of the peasantry, urban dwellers and local bureaucracy was directed mainly against the Jews. Witnesses belonging to the administration that served under the Directory, such as: the head of police [...] [114] The text has been lost., N.V. Ivanov, A.M. Yashchenko and N.A. Nemoshkalenko, Cossack junior officer N.D. Gladky and others show that becuse of the rise in prices of all consumer goods and  the emergence of speculation, a hostile attitude towards Jews was noticed among the Christian population, regardless of their occupation (vol. 1B., fol. 3-3v, 10; v. 1, l. 30). At the same time, the elements who indiscriminately accused the entire Jewish population of speculative activity, despite the fact that only a minority of them were engaged in trade, and the majority – artisans, workers,  intelligentsia – themselves suffered from speculation, did not pay attention to the fact that  the Jewish shops essentials and other goods were sold for priced that were not higher than in Christian shops (testimony of Maria Bernetevich; case No. 14), and also did not realize that speculation was due to class reasons, and not national ones.

III.

However, it should be noted that the anti-Semitic moods that were observed in Zhytomyr under the influence of all the above reasons did not spill out until the January 1919, despite the anti-Semitic agitation of the dark elements of the population, which manifested itself especially clearly in the cemetery during the funeral of those killed at the front during the days of the struggle against Germans soldiers of the Petliura army, in the form of spontaneous popular hatred, threatening a wild pogrom. On the contrary, the testimonies of numerous witnesses interrogated by the Investigative Commission established that, despite the existence of all the above facts, nothing foreshadowed the possibility of a pogrom in Zhytomyr until January 1919. Thus, the teacher of the grammar school N.N. Bernatovich certifies that the pogrom came as a complete surprise to the Zhytomyr Russian intelligentsia (Case No. 14). Speaker M.D. Skokovsky, who had the opportunity to personally get acquainted as a member of the Investigative Commission with the mood of the military units stationed in Zhytomyr, and member of the council A.Ya. Shur testify that the mood of the soldiers, although in some parts it was anti-Semitic, was by no means pogrom seeking. Having visited the Zhytomyr regiment several times, Speaker M.D. Skokovsky had an impression that until January 1919 this regiment was far from and even antagonistic to any Judeophobic mood. When examining the cases of individual Jews who served in the detachments of the sovereign Varta who were suspected of being friends with the Haidamaks, belonging to the Jewish nationality did not in the least affect the attitude of the soldiers towards the defendant and no difference was noticed in the attitude towards the accused Jews and non-Jews. Among the urban population of the outskirts and peasants coming to the city from neighboring villages, according to the testimony of Speaker M.D. Skokovsky, pogrom mood was not noticed. There were rumors that Jews were hiding goods for the purpose of speculation, but these talks were by no means national harassment. Abram Gilinsky, deputy chairman of the Volyn provincial executive committee, categorically asserts that there was no pogrom mood in the units of the Zhytomyr garrison before their contact with the soldiers of the Palienko detachment [34] Palienko Mykola (1896-1944) – Ukrainian military figure. Born in the town of Skvira, Kyiv Province. Chemical engineer by education. During the First World War, he graduated from an artillery officer school and commanded military units on the Russian-Austrian front. In 1917-1921. – lieutenant colonel of the UHP army. Since 1928 – in the service of the Polish army. He took part in the German-Polish war of 1939. In 1943-1944. – Head of the non-commissioned officer school, commander of the heavy artillery division of the Galicia division. Killed in battle with units of the Soviet army in 1944. in January days, that the pogrom mood was the result of a push from outside after the aforementioned contact, and that in Zhytomyr there was certainly no and that there surely would not have been a pogrom if the city had not been occupied by Palienko’s detachment. Deputy mayor N.O. Taran also categorically asserts that there would never have been a pogrom in Zhytomyr if the authorities had not wanted it, if the pogrom had not been organized. Deputy Mayor I.P. Voronitsyn testifies that the anti-Semitic mood that had existed for a long time in Zhytomyr, especially among the urban dwellers and bureaucracy, was in a latent state, and that in order for it to take the form of a pogrom, special conditions were necessary, namely, confidence that the authorities wanted a pogrom, would allow it and use it. Member of the Council of the Zhytomyr Jewish Community I.A. Baron testifies, as a local old-time, that relations between the Jewish and Christian populations before the pogrom were of such a nature that if the pogrom mood had not been brought to Zhitomir from outside, there would never have been a pogrom there (testimony of E.B. Elyasberg, M.D. Skokovsky, A. Ya. Shura, N. O. Taran, Abr. Gilinsky, I. P. Voronitsin, and I. A. Baron; v. 1).

Bringing together the testimonies of witnesses, one must therefore come to the conclusion that all the factors mentioned above created suitable conditions for the pogrom, but they did not in themselves cause it. This was how things stood until January 3-5, when events took place in Zhytomyr that were used by all anti-Semitic elements for a new campaign against the Jews and became, thanks to anti-Semitic agitation, on the one hand, and the behavior of the authorities of the Directory, on the other, one of the most important factors that gave an external reason for organizing the first (January) Zhytomyr pogrom.

Turning to the presentation of these events, it should be pointed out that after the first occupation of Zhytomyr by the troops of the Directory, a Soviet of Workers’ Deputies was formed here, which acted first legally, and then illegally. Local military and civil authorities, appointed by the Directory, tried to use the Council for their own purposes and took all measures to convince it to remain on professional grounds, not to seek power and not to engage in politics. However, they did not succeed. All attempts to halt the spread of Bolshevism, both by direct struggle against it and by a kind of “Zubatov” policy, expressed in the desire to persuade the Soviets to deal only with the “economy”, turned out to be fruitless. Bolshevism spread not only the among workers, but also penetrated the peasant milieu. The congress of peasant deputies which was convened on November 30 at the initiative of the head of the political department of the Oskilko headquarters [35] Oskilko Volodymyr (1892-1926) – Ukrainian military and statesman, ataman of the UNR army. Born in Volyn. Education teacher. Member of the anti-Hetman uprising in Volhynia. In 1919, by order of the Directory, he formed the Northern Group of Forces of the UNR; commander of the Northwestern Front. The organizer of the anti-state anti-Petliura coup in the city of Rovno on April 29, 1919, after the failure of which he fled to Poland (he was kept in an internment camp near the city of Krakow). Upon returning to Ukraine, he died near the city of Rivne under unclear circumstances. – N.D. Gladky and with the assistance of the local military and civil authorities of the Directory, turned out to be so imbued with Bolshevism that N.D. Gladky had to, out of fear that the congress would adopt a purely Bolshevik resolution, to propose to the congress a semi-Bolshevik resolution, which turned out to be adopted, and which stated that power in the localities should belong to the Soviets of workers’ and peasants’ deputies, but should pass into the hands of the Soviets in an organized manner throughout the Ukraine and that therefore not we should not seize power in separate places, but wait until the whole people decide the question of power at the Labor Congress, otherwise blood may be shed. Bolshevik agitation enjoyed great success among the soldiers as well. It enjoyed the greatest success in the barracks of the Levkovsky regiment, which was considered the most reliable in Soviet circles. The soldiers of the Chernyakhovsky regiment were less imbued with Bolshevism, and some elements of the Chernyakhovsky regiment provoked the soldiers to join the Bolsheviks, apparently pursuing their own provocative goals.

After the peasant congress in Zhitomir, the Joint Committee of Soviets of Workers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was formed, which included 14 representatives of the Council of Soldiers’ Deputies, 31 representatives of the Council of Peasants’ Deputies and 14 representatives of the Council of Workers’ Deputies. In total, the Joint Executive Committee of the Soviets included, as can be seen from the above, 49 people, of which 39 or 40 were Christians. (31 representatives of the peasant council, 14 representatives of the soldiers’ council and 4-5 representatives of the workers’ council) and 9 or 10 Jews. Jews were found, and they even predominated, only in the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies, which is explained by the fact that in Zhytomyr the majority of artisans and workers were Jews. The most serious and influential in the ideological sense was the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies, whose representatives conducted a certain agitation among the soldiers, who, for their part, sought to influence the villagers. But in fact, the Council of Soldiers’ Deputies was the master of the situation, since the soldiers had arms(testimony of the head of the department of the headquarters of Oskilka N.D. Gladky, E.B. Elyasberg, a member of the Council of Trade Unions M. Vaksman, A.Ya. commander K. Vozny, A. Golyansky, vol. 1, sheets 22-25, 97-99, 197-198, 112-123, 194-196).

The attitude of the military and civilian authorities was ambivalent. On the one hand, while waging a struggle against the Bolsheviks, they seemed to fight against Bolshevik-minded revolutionary organizations. On the other hand, they took measures to organize the Soviet of Soldiers’ Deputies and even gave the Soviet of Soldiers’ Deputies and the Joint Executive Committee full cooperation, since they hoped to strengthen their power with their help. Thus, the siege commandant of the city of Zhytomyr K. Vozny, as can be seen from his own testimony, as well as from the testimony of his closest co-worker in the commandant’s office, I.N. Vykidanets (vol. 1; l. 74-77 and 97-99), even before the organization of the Council of Soldiers’ Deputies in Zhytomyr he, on his own initiative, wanting to restrain decay in the troops of the Directory, decided to organize the Council of Soldiers’ Deputies and sent a telegram to Kiev about this , motivating his petition by the fact that, in the absence of a commanding staff, only such a Council can introduce a restraining force into the Soviet setting. An answer was received from Kyiv that permission to organize a Council of Soldiers’ Deputies could only be given by the Council of Ministers of the Directory. However, when the Council of Soldiers’ Deputies was formed, the head of the political headquarters of Oskilko N. Gladky became a member of the Joint Committee of Soviets of Workers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Deputies as an official representative of the headquarters of Oskilko. Gladky placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee the printing house of the general department [115] General department (ukr.)., and the military authorities not only did not take any measures to prevent Bolshevik agitation in the barracks, which was carried out completely openly and freely, they did not even agree to the admission of an elective principle in the army. The failure of the representatives of some socialist parties – the Mensheviks and the Bund – to join the Soviets was considered a fatal mistake by the local authorities of the Directory, [for example], Gladky (testimony of N. Gladky, Vozny, Vykidanets and Vaksman; vol. 1, l. 22-25, 97 -99, 74-78, 197-198).

The external success of the Bolshevik agitation among the workers and peasants in the army prompted some of the Zhytomyr communists to raise the issue of declaring Soviet power in Volhynia. Some members of the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies, close in their views to the Bolsheviks, however, found that the proclamation of Soviet power in Volhynia seemed inappropriate at the moment, since the population of Volhynia province – predominantly peasant, poorly educated, culturally backward – and begin the spread of Soviet power in Ukraine from the most backward province before the occupation of the center of Ukraine – Kyiv by the Bolshevik troops, was wrong. In response to this, another part of the Communists and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries pointed out that in the peasant environment of Volhynia, under the influence of everything experienced during the occupation of Ukraine by the Germans and during the hetman’s regime, when the system of punitive expeditions was practiced, the spirit of the Bolsheviks, and therefore the proclamation of Soviet power would meet in Volyn sympathy among the peasants. At the same time, some groups of soldiers became more and more persistent in their efforts to transfer power to the hands of Soviet organizations. This circumstance prompted that part of the communists who stood for the immediate proclamation of the power of the Soviets in Zhitomir to put this question on January 3, 1919, for discussion by the Joint Executive Committee of Soviets, which resolved it in a positive sense, deciding to publish a manifesto declaring Soviet power in Zhitomir. At a meeting of the Joint Executive Committee, of which there were 21 representatives of the Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Soviets and 14 representatives of the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies.

The transfer of power into the hands of the Soviets was completely painless. However, part of the soldiers of the Chernyakhovsky regiment declared themselves neutral, preferring not to interfere in the struggle between the Directory and the Soviet government. On the other hand, some of the soldiers, as it turned out, after the transfer of power into the hands of the Soviets, turned out to be imbued with Bolshevik slogans purely outwardly, having an extremely vague idea about Bolshevism.

The local higher military and civil authorities of the Directory, as soon as the decision of the Soviets to take power into their own hands became known in the city, outrightly changed their attitude towards the Soviets. While before that both the provincial commissar Sumkevich, and the representative of the commander-in-chief Oskilko – Gladky, and the siege commander Vozny tried in every possible way to get in touch with the leaders of the Soviets in order to persuade them to assist the authorities of the Directory, all the mentioned persons, as soon as they became aware about the decision of the Executive Committee to proclaim Soviet power in Zhytomyr, immediately left Zhytomyr, heading first to Berdichev, and from there to Kiev (testimony of N.D. Gladky, Vykidanets, commandant of the city of Zhytomyr Klechkovsky, E.B. Elyasberg and others; v. 1, sheets 22-25, 74-78, 90-91, 94).

Before their departure from Zhytomyr, neither the highest civil authority in the city nor the siege commander Vozny issued any order to evacuate government and military institutions. The representatives of the commandant’s office who remained in the city interpreted this, as can be seen from the testimony of the Cossack captain Pyotr Gladky, in the sense that they could remain in their places and fulfill their duties even after the Bolsheviks seized power. And indeed, all the foremen of the commandant’s office continued to perform their duties even after the transfer of power into the hands of the Soviets until the moment when the troops of the Directory again entered the city, apparently not seeing anything reprehensible in such quick transitions from service in the troops of the Directory to Soviet service and from Soviet service to the service of the Directory and justifying these transitions by the fact that the Bolsheviks declared in January that they would work with all socialist parties (testimony of N.D. Gladky and I.N. Vykidanets, vol. 1, l. 30 and 74-78).

On January 5, after the appearance on the streets of the “Manifesto” of the Military Revolutionary Committee on the proclamation of Soviet power in Zhytomyr, the military units that supported the Soviet power, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee, occupied the premises of the telephone network, telegraph, railway station, banks, sealed safes etc. The next day, i.e. On January 6, rumors began to reach about a Jewish pogrom in Berdichev, perpetrated by the troops of the Palienko detachment that had occupied it, and about the offensive of the Directory troops from the direction of Berdichev, which was confirmed by the sounds of artillery fire reaching the city. The Soviet authorities soon came into contact with the troops of the Directory, with the Sich people. [36] Sich Riflemen (Ss) – one of the leading military formations of the UNR army in 1919-1921. In early November 1917, the Galicia-Bukovina Committee, with the consent of the General Secretariat for Military Affairs, decided to form a military unit from the Galician prisoners of war held in the Darnitsa camp, which was called the Galicia-Bukovina kuren of the Sich Riflemen. After further replenishment, it received the name of the kuren of the Sich Riflemen (since mid-January 1918). E. Konovalets became the commander of the kuren. The structure included two infantry hundreds, a spare hundred, a machine-gun hundred and an artillery battery. On March 10, 1918, the SS chicken was deployed to the regiment at the expense of volunteers. The regiment included three infantry kurens (each with four hundred soldiers), two rapid-fire hundreds, a hundred mounted reconnaissance and an artillery battalion. During the reign of Hetman P. Skoropadsky, the Ss kuren was liquidated (April 30, 1918). Part of the archers joined the Zaporozhye Corps of the UNR army. After negotiations with the SS delegation, Skoropadsky agreed to the formation of the Streltsy unit. On August 23, 1918, a reserve detachment of the SS was created. During the uprising against the Hetman, the SS played a major role in the defeat of the hetman’s army. During the battles for the city of Kyiv, the SS reserve detachment turned into a division, then into the SS Siege Corps. He counted in his ranks about 20 thousand fighters, and according to some sources – up to 50 thousand. The corps included the Black Sea division and two Dnieper divisions. In early 1919, under the influence of Bolshevik agitation, the Ss Siege Corps self-demobilized. Only the SS division (7 thousand fighters) retained its combat capability. After heavy losses in battles with the Red Army, the SS units were reorganized at the end of February 1919. During the offensive of the Army of the UNR and UGA on Kyiv, SS units operated as part of the II Corps of the Galician Army. In early December 1919, units of the UNR army, including the SS, were surrounded by the Red Army, Polish and Denikin troops in the Ostropol-Lyubar-Chertora region. The command of the SS units announced their self-dissolution. Parts of the SS joined the units of the UNR army under the command of M. Omelyanovich-Pavlenko.. Having met with the Soviet troops, the Sich began to conduct, according to Comrade Chairman of the Volyn Provincial Executive Committee Abram Gilinsky, among the pro-Soviet soldiers, provocative agitation in the same direction in which Sokolovsky [37] Sokolovsky is one of the rebel atamans in Ukraine during the Civil War. A native of Gorbylev, 19 miles from the town of Radomysl, the son of a deacon of the same village. Sokolovsky’s detachments operated mainly in Radomyslsky and the adjacent part of the Zhytomyr region. See: Gusev-Orenburgsky S. A book about Jewish pogroms in Ukraine… P. 8. and Grigoriev [38] Grigoriev Nikolai Aleksandrovich (1878-1919) – a participant in the First World War, a staff captain of the tsarist army, after the February Revolution of 1917, was a supporter of the Ukrainian Central Rada, then supported Hetman P. Skoropadsky. In December 1918 he joined the Directory. At the beginning of 1919, he went over to the side of the Red Army, participated in the liberation of the years. Nikolaev, Kherson and Odessa. In May 1919, after refusing to go to the Romanian front, he mutinied in the rear of the Soviet authorities in southern Ukraine. Gathered up to 15 thousand fighters. After the defeat of the rebellion, he fled to the headquarters of N. Makhno. On July 27 of the same year, he was killed on the orders of Makhno as a result of disagreements between them. In connection with this murder, the Soviet press cited the resolution of the Council of Partisans of the Kherson, Tavria and Yekaterinoslav regions, which read as follows: “We consider the murder of Grigoriev by the ideological representative of the rebels, Father Makhno, a necessary fact of history, because his policy and actions (Grigoriev) were led by the counter-revolution. This is proved by the Jewish pogroms and the arming of the kulaks. We consider it our duty to take upon ourselves the historical consequences of this execution of Makhno. Down with the Jewish pogroms, long live the solidarity of nationalities, Ukrainian independence and the socialist republic!” (News of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. August 5, 1919.) subsequently conducted conducted it arguing that they, the Sich, are also for Soviet power, but against the “Yids”, that they are also Bolsheviks, but against the commissars, that they will occupy Zhitomir only for a few days of holidays to plunder, and then leave. “We only need to plunder,” the Sich soldiers said to the soldiers of the Soviet detachments. The commanding staff of the Sich soldiers conducted the same provocative agitation among the soldiers.

On Tuesday, January 7, representatives of the Jewish bourgeoisie were arrested in the city, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee, including Ya.A. Spielberg, in order to receive contributions from them, since neither the Military Revolutionary Committee nor the Executive Committee of the Council had funds. At the moment when these arrests were made, however, it already became clear that the further safeguarding of Soviet power in Zhytomyr seemed unlikely, since the troops of the Directory were advancing on Zhytomyr, and the troops sent to meet them partly retreated, partly fled, and partly went over to the side of the troops of the Directory (testimony of the former mayor A.F. Pivetsky, comrade Chairman of the Gubernia Executive Committee A. Gilinsky and member of the Council of Trade Unions M. Vaksman; v. 1, l. 197-198, 194-196).

The day of January 7 passed in Zhytomyr with extreme anxiety. Under the influence of news of the pogrom in Berdichev and rumors of the retreat of the Soviet troops the people in the city, began to speak more and more definitely about the possibility of a pogrom. The anxiety grew especially in the evening, when in some places there were cases of excesses against the Jews in the city. Thus, on Alexander II Square, some thugs broke a locker. On Petrogradskaya Street, a group of soldiers, seeing Speaker of the City Duma E.B. Elyasberg, shouted to him: “Stop!” Elyasberg stopped. “You are a Jew?” followed by a half-question, half-assertion. “Jew,” replied Elyasberg. Then someone shouted: “Beat him!” However, thanks to the intercession of one of those present, Elyasberg managed to avoid reprisals. On the same day, at about eight o’clock in the evening, obscene abuse was heard at the building of the City Duma at the address of Jews passing by. After the Speaker Golfeld, who had left the City Duma building at that time, a real chase was arranged. Golfeld had to throw off his coat and galoshes and hide. They shot at him and only by chance did he escape.

All these cases were, however, isolated. By 10 pm on January 7, the streets were completely deserted. Only small groups of soldiers of 2-3 people hurried through the streets, heading towards the square (some passers-by returned home without hindrance). The night from 7 to 8 January passed quietly. The soldiers of the quartered regiments in Zhytomyr alone and in groups left the city, as the Bolshevik units were outflanked from the right flank.

The first units of the Palienko detachment broke into the city from the side of the station and arrived by rail on Tuesday, January 7 between 10 and 11 pm. Wednesday, January 8, at 6 o’clock in the morning, i.e. even before the pogrom in the city, which arose at 7-8 in the morning, the figures of the city self-government received an order by telephone from the military authorities who arrived in the city to appear at the station, with a warning that if they did not appear within the next few hours, then artillery would  start shooting at the city. Palienko himself arrived in Zhytomyr also on Wednesday, January 8, but a few hours later (testimony of Gladky, Vykidanets, Shur, Podgorsky, Levchanovsky, Gilinsky, Vaksman, Elyasberg, Goldfeld and others; vol. 1, l. 22-25, 74- 78, 78-83, 89-91, 100-107, 112-123, 194-196, 197-198, 199).

IV.

From the early morning of January 8, the smashing of stores and shops on Alexander II Square started in the bazaar and.  At about 8 in the morning, at the corner of Mikhailovskaya and Bolshaya Berdichevskaya streets, soldiers in helmets were already breaking the windows and doors of one store (testimony of A.Ya. Shura). At the same time, the knocking down of shops along Petrogradskaya Street was in full swing. At this point, only the soldiers of the regiments stationed in Zhytomyr, who were leaving the city, did the smashing. Along Petrogradskaya Street, in the direction of Kroshna, many soldiers were moving, carrying various things, apparently looted. (testimony of the former tax inspector A.F. Tokar; vol. 1, l. 11-12).

By about nine o’clock in the morning, a truck with soldiers of the Palienko detachment arrived at Alexander II Square. A salvo was fired from the truck. The crowd fled. The truck remained on the square and began to shoot at the city, at the windows of houses. From that moment on, a total pogrom began (testimony of E.B. Elyasberg). At 9 o’clock in the morning the pogrom was in full swing.

In the center of the city, on the square, on Berdichevskaya, Kievskaya, Mikhailovskaya streets, almost uninterrupted rifle and revolver fire was heard. From time to time, deafening sounds were heard from the exploding of bombs – that was breaking stronger doors and curtains of shops. Soldiers of all kinds — in helmets and hats with red tops [116] Type of cap; a headdress having a conical shape (us.)., in various soldier uniforms, and simply in peasant and petty-bourgeois clothes, but with full combat weapons — pulled out and carried away various things from the broken stores. While sorting out the goods in the stores, the soldiers threw some of the things out of the stores onto the street and sidewalks. Groups of women, teenagers and children standing right there greedily pounced on the booty and carried it away. Along with the soldiers, civilians belonging, judging by their appearance, to the inhabitants of the city suburbs and outskirts, to the lowest service element, as well as to the inhabitants of the surrounding villages slso took part in the destruction of the stores. Among the crowd of thugs and robbers, one could also see people who undoubtedly belonged to the intelligencia judging from their appearance and clothes: officials, students. The pogrom was carried out methodically and calmly, as if in confidence in the complete impunity of what was being done. One street after another was destroyed, or a number of shops located on the same street, etc. Often there were detachments of soldiers and civilians in groups of 5-10 people, who went on the instructions of henchmen, mainly boys and teenagers, to one or another part of the street, to one or another store or apartment. The guides were often a janitor and servants.

At the crossroads of the streets there were whole outposts of armed people and soldiers who let in or did not let through individuals and passers-by, determining their attitude to the pogrom. Often, before the start of the looting of richer shops, crowds of the curious on-lookers or those waiting for the beginning of the pogrom [people] were driven away from the street where the pogrom was to begin, and only after the end of the rout by the privileged part of the pogromists crowds of the smaller robbers were allowed into the broken shop without hindrance, and they finished the work of chieftains and ringleaders. .

On the streets of the city that were remote from the center of the pogrom, groups and single people appeared, carrying whole bundles, armfuls, bags, boxes and individual pieces of various things and objects. Thus, on one street, the witness Pivetsky saw people passing by, among whom one was in a ladies’ rotunda with a pink blanket over it, others with whole pieces of fabric, and so on. Witness Podgorsky met groups of people carrying leather, cloth, and clothes on their shoulders and in bags. Witness K.P. Novikov watched as soldiers and women who looked like townsfolk, with handbags and baskets ang thugs of other types, quite calmly and unhurriedly sorted out the goods; some of them even tried on caps. The robbers felt themselves, according to the witness K.P. Novikov, “quite at home”, they calmly sorted out the booty and shared it, and each grabbed what he liked. Witness [woman] S.A. Domanovskaya watched a crowd of boys running into the city with happy faces and then returning with filled bags and baskets. Witness A.M. Levchanovsky certifies that when he went to the city on January 8, he could only reach the bishop’s house. It was impossible to go further. The road was blocked by some kind of an outpost, they fired in vollies, and it was not clear whether they were stopping the pogrom by this or did not let the unwanted witnesses of the pogrom to it pass. People who were more or less decently dressed were chased away, only people with rifles were allowed into Berdichevskaya Street, or perhaps through acquaintance or protection, since suspicious-looking people were still walking up and down Berdichevskaya Street.

According to his acquaintance V.P. Rzhepotsky, the same witness says that armed people dismantled and robbed shops, but it was difficult to find out whether they were from local regiments or from Palienko’s siege corps. After the store was broken into, everyone (mostly, city burgers and peasants from the villages near Zhitomir) would come and take merchandize. Then they said that even a kind of a fee was set for the transportation of the looted goods to the other side of the Teterev in front of Pomsh. One could also observe peasant carts arriving in the city, which then left, loaded with looted property. According to witness K.P. Novikov, among the people who carried the looted things on the first day of the pogrom, one could also see persons who looked like Jews. However, such cases were relatively rare.

Violence and robberies carried out by soldiers, both those who arrived and those who had previously been in Zhytomyr, together with the scum of the population, progressed every minute, without meeting any opposition. Shots fired exclusively by soldiers, and in some cases solely for provocative purposes, could be heard throughout the city. Groups of mounted and foot soldiers, without any system, either let groups of thugs through, or prevented them from penetrating the looted streets, and everywhere they themselves constantly took part in the pogrom, which by the evening gained enormous proportions. Doors and windows of shops were knocked out with butts, axes, and sometimes bombed with hand grenades.

The looted property was being carried through the streets in steady lines of people in soldiers’ overcoats and civilian clothes. Before the eyes of the representatives of the Duma, women were dragged into the destroyed premises and raped, which could be seen by their tormented appearance.

A truck sometimes drove through the streets of the city, on which a group of soldiers loaded goods from shops and transported them, apparently, to the station (testimony of A.Ya. Shura, I.N. Taran, A.F. Pivetsky, K.N. Novikov, S.I. Podgorsky, I.N. Ratner, A.M. Levchanovsky and others, vol. 1; report of the head of the Zhytomyr city police, vol. 1).

One could see many soldiers with whole bags of looted things: many of them threw boots, shoes and other things which they obviously had nowhere to put (testimony of I.N. Ratner) to women who were standing on the streets, mainly servants, or they sold them for next to nothing to anyone who happened to be there.

Soldiers of all units who were then in Zhitomir took part in the pogrom. However, the soldiers of Ataman Palienko’s Siege Corps, especially those who were wearing red-topped hats, considered themselves, as it were, leaders of the situation. Palienko’s soldiers tried to prevent others from plundering. Things were brought to the station on trucks (testimony of E. B. Elyasberg). Soldiers with red tops on their hats carried out a kind of pogrom guard duty, taking things from other soldiers and thugs and taking the stolen things for themselves. The same soldiers took the loot to the commandant’s office and there they disposed of it at their own discretion (testimony of witnesses Levchanovsky and Vykidanets).

For the first two days, the pogrom was in the nature of plunder and robbery; there were no systematic murders and violence against the Jews. There were cases of rape and attempts to do so, carried out right there in the apartments of the robbed persons, often in front of the parents, husbands, brothers and sisters of the raped; but these cases were relatively rare, and then mainly [occurred] when the bursting gang of robbers or one of them were drunk (Zlata’s testimony; vol. 1, l. 39; Shlioma Presman, case No. 30, etc.) . During these days, several Christian shops and apartments were also robbed, mostly from among those on which, like many apartments and shops, no crosses were painted to protect against pogrom (testimony of N.O. Taran and I.P. Voronitsyn). There was no particular enmity against the Jews, hatred, desire for bullying and abuse. In some streets, Jews stood in whole groups at the gates of estates, various people passed by them, and no one touched them (testimony of A.M. Levchanovsky). However, the anti-Jewish mood manifested itself among the soldiers in one form or another. Thus, witness M.D. On January 8, Skokovsky saw in the afternoon how a young soldier in a helmet dragged an old Jewish man in front of him along Kievskaya Street and mercilessly beat him with a whip. The same witness M.D. Skokovsky was stopped twice on the street and his documents were checked on suspicion that he was a Jew. Such was the nature of the pogrom during the first two days.

By January 10, the pogrom in the city center seemed to have subsided. However, on January 10, the pogrom broke out with renewed vigor, but the more remote parts of the city were its sphere of action: Kodovka, Sennaya Square and the outskirts. The scum of the population now took part in the devastation, mainly: residents of the suburbs of Malevanka and the surrounding villages – Sysh, Levkova, and others. At the demand of the City Hall, groups of 2-3 of reliable policemen, managed to defend a number of houses, but there were often cases when the detachment sent by the commandant Vozny itself joined the thugs (testimony of A.Ya. Shur, N.D. Gladky, etc.).

In the center of the city, the pogrom, which subsided by January 10, took on a [threatening] character and began to result in a whole series of raids on estates, houses and apartments of Jews. Detachments of soldiers and armed people broke into the apartments of individual residents and, under the threat of shooting, took away money and property. Separate cases of raids on apartments, robberies in houses and extortion took place in the first two days of the pogrom as well, but from January 10 this form of pogrom became more definite and intensive and, as it were, carried out according to a well-known system. Until Friday, January 10, there were only a few cases of apartment attacks and murders; in these first two days, the following were killed: Dal (on Ostrozhskaya St.), Psakhis, Gudenko and Feinlund (all along Kievskaya St.) and [in addition] there were 2-3 murders and injury.

Since January 10, raids on apartments, accompanied by robberies, violence and murders, had taken on a mass systematic character. Groups of soldiers of 5-7 people, sometimes with foremen, broke into apartments, gathered tenants, put them against the wall, not excluding small children; threatened to shoot them, they mocked, took away all the jewelry up to wedding rings, money and clothes, and sometimes they shot innocent people who gave absolutely everything they had to the killers. Entire neighborhoods, apartment after apartment, raided by groups of armed soldiers, mostly in helmets and with red hats; valuables and money were confiscated from the tenants, some of the tenants were taken to the station without any reason, beaten ruthlessly on the road and at the station, and sometimes shot.

Breaking into houses, soldiers and officers often declared that they were looking for the Bolsheviks. Addressing people who had nothing to do with the Bolsheviks, they often said: “You wanted Soviet power – here is Soviet power for you,” and after that they threatened to shoot them (testimony of Lieber Filstein; vol. 1, l. 168; conclusion of the commission of inquiry on the case of participation in the pogrom of Georgy Pazdernik, case No. 14). The apartments of wealthy Jews, who were obviously not inclined to Bolshevism who had even been arrested by the Soviet authorities as hostages, had special attention during the pogrom, especially from the elders (testimony of A.Ya. Shura and others). There were dozens and even hundreds of cases of complete ravage even of the poor, from whom literally the last shirt was taken away (testimony of the victims during the first pogrom; vol. 2.). But first of all, apartments of the same people from whom the thugs hoped to get more ransom were destroyed, and the largest number of raids took place in the city center, where the wealthiest part of the Jewish population lived (report of the head of the city police Yashchenko; vol. 1 B).

Many of the wealthy Jews who had been driven away from their apartments were later released by the raiders for a ransom. Ransoms were demanded in the name of, as it were, legitimate authorities, as a completely legal form of contribution or punishment imposed by someone on the entire Jewish population for their participation in Bolshevism, or simply as proof of loyalty to the Ukrainian state authorities. This is evidenced by a number of receipts of the most diverse content, issued on behalf of various foremen, junior commanders of individual units to the victims of pogroms, on behalf of these or those units or regiments, or just individual Sich soldiers and haidamaks. Many of these receipts were signed with completely illegible and fictitious names, as well as the ranks of non-existent regiments and units. Thus, at the apartment of Psakhis on Illarionovskaya st. one gang of robbers left a note: “There were Cossacks of the Ossetian regiment, they received tribute.” Another party that came later stated that the Ossetian regiment did not exist, they took away this receipt and instead issued another one with the following content: “The search was carried out, and nothing was found. Sechevik Andreevsky” (testimony of witness Genya Psakhis, case No. 15). Along with the indicated receipts, however, there were also those that were actually issued by foremen and unit commanders.

Soldiers escorted some of the persons taken away from their apartments to the France Hotel, where they were asked to pay a ransom under threat of execution; some of these persons paid a ransom and were released, while others who did not have money with them were often released in order to get it, while the other part of those arrested remained as hostages and were released after handing in money. The apartments of wealthy Jews were raided intensively by groups of people headed by foremen. The robbers drove up in cabs, presented in most cases warrants for a search signed by the commandant Dmitrenko and carefully took away all the valuables up to the earrings from the women’s ears. In apartments where the booty was especially valuable, the raiders behaved very politely and helpfully, in some cases the robbers revealed other talents, like playing the piano and carried out searches to the music. Some of the apartments were visited for the purpose of robbery by the commandant Dmitrenko himself, who did not consider it necessary to hide his last name.

On January 11-12, the work of the raiders, both soldiers and foremen, and the number of arrests for the purpose of extortion rose. This phenomenon was preconditioned, apparently, by the forthcoming departure of the Palienko detachment from the city and the desire to maximize the use of the opportunity for profit (testimony of witness A.Ya. Shura). Typical in this respect is the case of the arrest and taking to the station of 32 people from the Weinstein estate at No. 3 Teatralnaya Street where 38 predominantly Jewish families lived. When the pogrom began, the residents of this house, in order to avoid raids, closed the gates and locked all the passages. During the first days of the pogrom, there were several unsuccessful attempts by small groups of soldiers to get inside the estate. Finally, on January 11, at about 4 pm, about 30-40 armed soldiers burst into the courtyard of the estate and, stating that someone fired a machine gun from the estate and that there were machine guns hidden in the estate, they began to search. Having assembled almost all the tenants from the apartments – the men of this estate, as well as persons who were hiding in it or got there by chance, for example, the secretary of the city government Rabinovich (Bundist), the soldiers took everyone out into the yard, brought them to one place and allegedly began interrogation. At the same time, one of the soldiers in a hat with a red top, for no reason or pretext , was not satisfied with the answers [to questions] he asked one of the young people, and he immediately fired a rifle and killed him on the spot. Nukhim Epshtein, a resident of estate No. 3 on Teatralnaya Street, was killed. The soldiers led the escorted persons to the station. 32 people were arrested, including old people and teenagers. On the way, all those arrested were mercilessly beaten and subjected to violence, mockery and abuse; those who were not robbed on the spot for lack of time at the estate were robbed on the way in several bouts, and at the station they were almost completely undressed, so that almost everyone got into the prison car without boots, hats and had on only shirts. The result of this arrest was the demand and receipt of a ransom from a number of those arrested, and the ransom demand came from the Yesaul (Cossac junior officer) who was officially in charge of those arrested at the station. Part of the money that was taken as a ransom for extortionists obviously belonged not to the person from whom the ransom was required, but to the institution in which this person served – that was a case of hold up – of a loan and savings partnership. One among those arrested and taken to the station from the Weinsstein estate, Kashuk, was a board member of that institution, so they forced him to open the cash desk and give them the money (testimony of the Korol, Weinstein, Kashuk, secretary of the City Council Rabinovich, etc.; vol. 1, l. 150-193).

In total, during the pogrom days of January 8-13, 53 people were killed. and 19 were injured. Among those killed were old men, women and children (vol. 1, l. 145). It is not possible to determine the extent of the losses caused during the first pogrom with any precision, since the figures of losses determined by the victims are purely random and cannot be taken as reliable data. According to a rough estimate made by the city government, the amount of property losses from the first pogrom reaches 800 million rubles (testimony of a member of the council A.Ya. Shura; vol. 1). According to the city police, up to 99% of all stores were robbed and destroyed in the center of the city, in other parts [of the city], except for the fourth [part], 75% (testimony of the head of the city police Yashchenko; vol. 1 B).

The pogrom continued until January 13 and stopped already when there was almost nothing to rob, at least in shops, when the most ardent pogromists considered themselves completely satisfied (Voronitsyn’s testimony; vol. 1, l. 110).

v.

Turning to the question of indications in the Commission’s cases of guilt in involvement in the first pogrom of officials, the Investigative Commission states that for all the materials obtained, special attention is drawn to the role of the head of the Special Attack  Corps that entered the city on January 7 in the evening (for the Supreme Investigative Commission) [117] So in the document. Ataman Palienko (Case No. 11; Palienko’s warrant in the name of Dmitrenko and Bakh).

Ataman Palienko, whom witnesses belonging to the most diverse circles characterize as a suspicious person, who during the time of the hetman’s regime was an adjutant of the provincial commandant Berkovsky, and after the overthrow of the hetman declared himself a republican (testimony of N.D. Gladky; vol. 1, l. 25 ), a tyrant, a complete ignoramus, a stupid braggart, unable to understand any complicated issues (testimony of A.Ya. Shur and K.I. Vozny; vol. 1, l. 119 and 98v.), not always sober (testimony of S.S. Domanovskaya; vol. 1, l. 95), but executive and straightforward, fulfilling orders, in the words of Ataman Vozny, without reasoning, “like a bull” (vol. 1, l. 98v.), – was entrusted with the task of suppressing the Bolshevik movement in Zhytomyr.

The Sich detachment, headed by the Palienko detachment, and he himself arrived in Zhytomyr from Berdichev, where the pogrom took place, the main part in which was taken by the Sich members of the Palienko detachment, led by representatives of the command staff of this detachment (testimony of A.Ya. Shura; v. 1, l. 122), which the latter confirmed upon their arrival in Zhytomyr. Thus, the commandant Zhytomyr told the representatives of the city self-government who were summoned to the station after the city was occupied by the troops of the Directory, that he, the commandant, had shot so many Jews in Berdichev at the station alone, that two carriages were filled with the corpses of the dead up to the roof and that Berdichev would remember him for a long time to come (testimony of K. P. Novikov and A. Ya. Shura, v. 1, sheets 86v and 116v). Witness Avrum Gornshtein, a resident of the city of Zhytomyr, caught in a pogrom in Berdichev, escaped there with the assistance of a foreman from Paliyenko’s headquarters, who took 1,000 rubles from him and put him on a train going to Zhitomir. This foreman, whose surname remained unclear, in a conversation directly stated to the named witness that they would meet in Zhitomir, that their detachment would go there from Berdichev and there would also be a pogrom in Zhitomir (vol. 1; l. 191-192). The news that Palienko’s detachment was heading from Berdichev to Zhytomyr in order to organize a pogrom here, began to spread in the city even before it was occupied by the troops of the Directory. So, when the echelon of Palienko was still at the station Piski, witness Pyotr Gladky heard from a person dressed in a military uniform that trains were going to Zhytomyr in order to “beat the Jews” just as they “beat Berdichev already” (testimony of N.D. Gladky; v. 1, l. thirty). The soldiers of the Palienko detachment, convincing the Soviet troops sent against them not to fight with them, directly stated that they were going to Zhytomyr on holidays in order to rob (testimony of Abram Gilinsky; vol. [...] [118] A gap in the text., l. 195), moreover, the soldiers categorically stated, both before their entry into Zhytomyr and during the pogrom, that Ataman Palienko allowed them to enjoy themselves for three days (testimony of S.S. Demanovskaya, A.Ya. Shura and I.N. Vykidanets; v. 1, l 96, 118 and 75 v.; conclusion of the Investigative Commission in the case of Georgy Pozdernyak and others, case No. 14). When Vykidanets drove into the commandant’s office on January 8 in the morning and found a soldier of the newly arrived Palienko’s detachment there, distributing looted things to the women who were with him, this soldier explained to Vykidanets’ question that they were allowed to pogrom for three days, and when Vykidanets expressed doubts about this , the soldier suggested that he turn to Palienko himself for information (testimony of I.N. Vykidanets; vol. 1, l. 75v.). Anton Ber, who was brought to trial as an accused and was later shot, stood close to Palienko during the pogrom, on his part declared in the city government on the first day of the pogrom that “Jews will be beaten, and shops will be destroyed” (testimony of A.Ya. Shura; v. 1, l. 116).

The statements and actions of Palienko himself and his closest associates already in the first days of the pogrom confirmed that the military commandment, in whose hands all power was concentrated, not only had nothing against the pogrom, but actually encouraged it. At the very first conversation with representatives of the city government K.P. Novikov and S.I. Ivanitsky, which took place on January 8 in the morning, immediately upon arrival of ataman Palienko in Zhytomyr, the latter declared that Ukraine was surrounded on all sides by enemies, to which he included “Yids”, Poles, Russians, Bolsheviks, Romanians, Don and Entente, that the Bolshevik movement – is “the work of the Jews”, that “so they –Jews will not run away with it”, that he was invited by the Directory to restore order in Zhytomyr, punish the city, and that punishment and purge will be carried out with unswerving severity. According to a member of the council K.N. Novikov, Palienko’s words could be understood in the sense that he meant the massacre of the Jews. Having inquired about the national composition of the members of the city council, Paliyenko suggested that Deputy Mayor S. Ivanitsky dismiss all Jews and Poles from the council. At the request of representatives of the city government to stop the pogrom, Palienko replied that until his units were brought into the city, he could not do anything (testimony of K.P. Novikov, A.K. Levchanovsky and A.Ya. Shura; t 1, sheet 87, 16v and 116v). But even after the entry of the Sich members of the Palienko detachment into the city, Palienko did not make any attempts to stop the pogrom. Only at 5 p.m. on January 8, Paliyenko, after repeated persistent appeals from representatives of the city government, he reported that they were immediately sending a hundred reliable Cossacks to the disposal of the temporary commandant of the city of Zhytomyr, who had been appointed to replace the arrested but soon released Soviet commandant Vykidanets, who served before his appointment [119] In case 17 (Form R-1339, op. 2), there is no continuation of the document. The following text is given in case 417. (F. R-1339. Op. 1.)  to the place of the Soviet commandant and after that – in counterintelligence under the commandant’s office of Vozny. However, this promise of Ataman Palienko was not kept by him. Commandant Klochkovsky, who arrived at the council at 8 pm accompanied by one soldier and one person in civilian clothes, told representatives of the city government that the entire commandant’s office was present here, that he had no power at his disposal, and as to the 60 Cossacks that ataman Palienko promised to send – they still have not arrived, and that [he] does not quite hope for help from the promised detachment, because most of the soldiers at the station are drunk (testimony of A.Ya. Shura, fol. 117).

On the same day in the evening, a representative of the Ukrainian National Union [39] Ukrainian National Union – a bloc of Ukrainian national parties – the Ukrainian Social Democratic Labor Party, the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries, the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Federalists, the Ukrainian Party of Independent Socialists, etc.; created in August 1918; Chairman – V.K. Vinnichenko. The bloc was in opposition to the hetman’s administration, in November 1918 he was the organizer of the Ukrainian Directory.S.M. Podgorsky addressed Palienko on telephone with a demand to take measures to stop the pogrom. In a conversation with him, Palienko put forward a new reason why he could not send the soldiers of his detachment, stating that his Sich men were very tired, that he was afraid to send his people to the city, since the pogrom is a very “contagious thing”, and his people, unable to resist , will also begin to smash (in fact, the robbers were the same Sich people who wanted to rob and were already in the city in the morning). When S.M. Podgorsky began to insist that he immediately send the most reliable people to stop the pogrom, he announced that he would immediately send a patrol to the city (testimony of S.M. Podgorsky; vol. 1, l. 80), but did not do this that time. The next day, January 9, early in the morning, the city government, feeling powerless to stop the pogrom due to the lack of any real power and not receiving support from the military command convened a meeting of representatives of the Ukrainian National Union, including Pavlovsky, Podgorsky, Levchanovsky and others. The meeting selected  a delegation consisting of S.M. Podgorsky, A.M. Levchanovsky and B.P. Rzhenetsky for negotiations with Palienko to stop the pogroms. When the delegation arrived at the station, one of the senior staff of Palienko advised them not to talk with Palienko in his car, and not in the premises of the chief of staff Mantulyak, where they found Palienko, who was sitting here, such a bastard that you need to be very afraid. Palienko, inquiring about the arrival of the delegation, invited them to his carriage. S.M. Podgorsky, on behalf of the National Union, turned to him with a request to take the most decisive measures to stop the pogrom, since what was going on in the city was a shame for the Republic. To this, Palienko replied that he himself understood how bad it was, that a pogrom was taking place in the city, that he had already appointed a commandant, to whom he handed over the protection of the city, that his soldiers were [informed] that their task was to fight the Bolsheviks at the front, that to protect the city he could send the Cossacks, because this can lead to a violation of discipline and their participation in the pogrom, that he had already ordered the city self-government to take measures to restore order, and that tomorrow, i.e. January 1 [120] So in the document; follows: “January 10″., at the latest the day after tomorrow he was to Zhytomyr. Representatives of the National Union pointed out that it was he, Palienko, who should take measures to restore order in the city, because the city government had neither weapons nor people at its disposal, and [to] stop the pogrom it could not organize the protection of the city. But all this was, according to the witness A.M. Levchanovsky, “like peas to the wall”. Paliyenko, in the words of the same witness, “kept to his own talk”, that the protection of the city was not his business, that he had already given an order to the commandant and that he would stay in the city no more than one or two days. In the end, Palienko nevertheless promised that when his people had dinner, he would send a patrol to the city, as well as a truck with a machine gun, as soon as gasoline, which it was impossible to get in the city, was received from Berdichev. Meanwhile, at the very time when Palienko was telling the delegation that he could not send a truck with a machine gun due to lack of gasoline, another truck was driving around the city, calling at a military hospital along Nikolaevskaya Street, and then to the station and taking looted property to the station. In general, conversations with Palienko gave the members of the National Union and representatives of the city self-government the impression that Palienko only promised to take measures, but in fact he did nothing, and that a quick localization and cessation of the pogrom was obviously not in his interests. Having given the order for the booty to be taken away and brought to the commandant’s office and to the station, Paliyenko thereby, according to witness A.M. Levchanovsky, finally legalized the pogrom, because after this order robbing was completely open, without hiding, under the pretext that the Sich did not rob, but only carried the property taken from the robbers to [the station], according to the order of Paliyenko (testimony of S. M. Podgorsky, A. M. Levchanovsky and A. Ya. Shura, vol. 1, sheets 80-81, 103-118). When representatives of the National Union turned to Palienko with a request to release the secretary of the food department, student Trunin, for whom the city government vouches, Palienko, opening the compartment door, shouted: “Dmitrenko.” A foreman appeared, to whom Palienko addressed with the words: “Who did you arrest, you son of a bitch? You have people under arrest.” “Which arrestees?” Dmitrenko asked. “I ask you, where are the arrested?” shouted Palienko. Moreover, the words “son of a bitch” all the time, according to the witness Podgorsky, poured out of the mouth of Paliyenko. Dmitrenko again declared that he had no arrests, adding: “Ask whoever you want.” Then Palienko told Dmitrenko “go away” and, closing the compartment door, turned to the members of the delegation with the words: “I will shoot this son of a bitch, I watch him.” Having received assurances that the patrol would be sent to the city and that he had no arrests, the representatives of the delegation returned to the city, where it turned out that Palienko had deceived them again. He did not send any patrol to the city, and the arrested, including the student Trunin, were in the car at the station (testimony of S.M. Podgorsky and A.Ya. Levchanovsky; vol. 1, l. 81v. and 104).

On the evening of January 9, Palienko appeared at the council and addressed the mayor A.S., who was there, Pichetsky, member of the council A.Ya. Shura and Speaker S.S. Domanovskaya and member of the Labor Congress P.M. Dzevaltovsky with the following speech: “Ukraine is surrounded on all sides by enemies. These are the Entente, Don, Kuban, Poles, Romanians, Great Russians, Jews, Bolsheviks. All Jews are Bolsheviks. Andro made a swamp here. I was sent here to punish Zhitomir, Berdichev, and have already punished them. Rovno, knowing about my arrival, flees. I will clean up Zhytomyr [so] that there will be no Soviet deputies, no parties left in it. It will be clean. The city’s luck is that I will not meet resistance here, otherwise I would not have stopped before the shooting down of the city and would not have left a stone unturned”. To the attempt by the mayor to object that the Jews belonged to various political parties and that it was necessary to stop robberies and looting at the root, Palienko, answering to the point, continued: “I won a brilliant victory over Zhitomir, with a small detachment I defeated the Bolsheviks. I am very determined, and I have been given very wide powers. I can arrest anyone I want—the ministers and the Directory itself.” During Paliyenko’s speeches, Anton Beck’ who was well-known to Zhytomyr residents, entered the mayor’s office. He told Palienko: “It’s time to go,” after which Palienko quickly got up and left with Beck. According to witness S.S. Domanovskaya [...] [121] The rest of the text has been lost.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 17. L. 106-120. Copy; Op. 1. D. 417. L. 148-174. Copy.

No. 11. Consolidated report of an employee of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in Ukraine [40] In the twentieth of June 1919, under the auspices of the Russian Red Cross Society in Ukraine, a Department for Assistance to the Pogromed was formed. Chairman I.Ya. Heifetz; then – a former employee of the Ministry of Jewish Affairs under the Government of the UNR N.Yu. Gergel. The employees of the Department were A.D. Yuditsky, I.G. Tsifrinovich, I.S. Braude, G.I. Rabinovich and others. The committee existed until the beginning of 1921.A.I. Gillerson [41] Gilerson Arnold Isidorovich (1864-?) – lawyer. Born in Vitebsk. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Novorossiysk University (Odessa, 1886). Until 1917, he was prosecuted, including in court, for protesting against Jewish pogroms. In 1908 he was brought to trial for speaking about the Jewish pogrom in Bialystok and sentenced to imprisonment. Collaborated with the Kyiv Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and the Department for Assistance to the Pogrom victims under the ROCK in Ukraine.about the pogrom in the city of Ovruch, Volyn Province. and at the Korosten station by detachments “The Regiment of Death” [42] “The Chicken of Death” – 1) armed formations of volunteers in Ukraine, created in 1917 to fight the Bolsheviks; 2) the name of the rebel detachment under the command of Ataman E. Angel, who acted against the Bolshevik and White Guard troops in 1918-1919. in Ukraine, mainly in the Chernihiv province., Kozyr-Zyrki [43] Kozyr-Zyrka Oles – regimental ataman of the UNR army. Born in Yekaterinoslav Province. in a wealthy peasant family. Until 1917 he served in the tsarist army. Joined the Ukrainian units (Kostya-Gordienko cavalry regiment) during their formation. He served in the ranks of the Sich Riflemen; as a commander of a hundreds of partisans participated in the uprising against Hetman P. Skoropadsky; in the battles near Kiev he formed a regiment (1st cavalry partisan regiment). He was sent by the Directory to the city of Ovruch, where a pogrom took place under his leadership. S. Petliura tried to bring him to justice. Kozyr-Zyrka managed to escape to Romania, then to Galicia. Since the autumn of 1919, his fate has been unknown.and others in December 1918 – January 1919.

Not earlier than June 20, 1919 [122] It dates back to the time of the formation of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROKK in Ukraine.

Jewish population of Ovruch.

Ovruch is a county town of the Volyn Gubernia with a population of about 10 thousand people. More than two thirds of this population are Jews. The Jewish population in the mass is apolitical, notable revolutionaries in their midst were not known. Ovruch was not damaged during the tsarist pogroms.

Pogrom in December 1917

The first pogrom in Ovruch took place in December 1917 during the first Rada [44] This refers to the national representation of Ukraine – the Central Rada (March 4, 1917 – April 1918), headed by prof. M. Grushevsky (822 deputies). The leading role belonged to the socialist parties—the parties of the Social Democrats and the Socialist Revolutionaries. The Central Rada included 50 Jewish deputies, including 35 representatives of the Jewish socialist parties, and its executive body, the Malaya Rada, included 5 Jews (out of 55), including M. Rafes. On November 20, 1917, the Rada proclaimed the creation of the UNR within the framework of non-Bolshevik Russia, and on January 22, 1918, the independence of the UNR (Jewish deputies did not support this decision).. The Polish landowners living in the city and the county, as well as former tsarist officials, faithful to the tsarist instructions, sowed discord, and instilled enmity towards the Jews, attributing the increase in food prices to their machinations. Under the influence of their agitation, the 165th Ukrainian Regiment, quartered in Ovruch, during its demobilization in December 1917 began to smash Jewish shops and destroy goods. The peasants of the surrounding villages came in carts and took away what was left. By the way, the local peasant population did the same. Only shops were destroyed. The Jewish apartments were not damaged.

This pogrom gave a pretext to the Jewish soldiers who were in Ovruch to organize self-defense, which operated for a long time, and then fell apart.

Attitude towards Jews under the Hetman [45] Skoropadsky Pavel Petrovich (1893-1945) – a major Ukrainian statesman and politician, military leader, hetman of Ukraine (1918). General of the tsarist army (participant in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, World War I). He was engaged in the creation of the first Ukrainian corps. Head of the All-Ukrainian movement of free Cossacks. Was in opposition to the Central Rada. Proclaimed Hetman of Ukraine by the congress of grain growers-owners in Kyiv on April 29, 1918 as a result of a coup d’état. Forced to resign on December 14, 1918, transferring power to the UNR Directory headed by V.K. Vinnichenko – S.V. Petliura. Later in exile, mainly in Germany..

Under the hetman there were no pogroms at all. The power of the Hetman was, in essence, a restoration power; it was painted in the royal color, but, due to the circumstances of the moment, in a significantly weakened form. Under the hetman there was no pogrom agitation, but there was no lack of anti-Semitic propaganda. By the way, a secret order was received from Zhytomyr in Ovruch not to accept Jews for public service, but to gradually dismiss those previously accepted.

The power of the hetman, being a continuation of the royal power, although in a weakened form, was extremely unpopular among the Ukrainian peasants. And when the Germans, in view of the circumstances of the moment, began to leave the region, uprisings broke out in many places.

Peasant uprisings and the formation of the Ovruch Republic.

On November 30, 1918, the peasants of the Pokalev vol. Ovruch county. They declared the power of the hetman overthrown and formed the Ovruch Republic. Volunteer officers guarding the hetman’s power in Ovruch, including about 100 people fled without offering resistance.

The peasants introduced a strict order in Ovruch. They immediately released political prisoners from prison, from among whom they appointed the peasant Dmitryuk as city commissar, and the Bundist Jew Friedman as his assistant. The peasants, by the way, turned to the Jewish community with a proposal to organize a fighting detachment of 150 people from their midst. But the Jews, after discussing this invitation and recognizing that the peasant government that had been created did not provide a sufficient guarantee of its strength, prudently deviated from presenting such a detachment. At that time the power of the hetman in Ukraine finally fell, and the Petliura Directoria took its place.[46] Ukrainian Directory – the authority in Ukraine in 1918-1920. It was formed on November 14, 1918 in the context of the collapse of the German-Austrian occupation and the regime of Hetman G. Skoropadsky. Chairman of the Directory – V.K. Vinnichenko (until February 1919), commander of the troops S.V. Petlyura (since February 10, 1919, he is also the chairman of the Directory). From January 16, 1919, the Directory was at war with Soviet Russia. In January-April 1919, the main armed forces of the Directory were pushed back by the Red Army. Members of the Directory left Kiev, moved to Vinnitsa, then in the years. Kamenetz-Podolsky, Rivne, Zdolbunov (from July to August, the city of Kamenetz-Podolsky again became the next capital of the Directory). The UNR army was pressed against the river. Zbruch. Taking advantage of the offensive of General Denikin’s troops in Ukraine, the military units of the Directory, together with the Galician corps, entered Kiev in August 1919, but at the end of August they were forced out by Denikin’s military units. Rejecting the agreement with S. Petlyura, A.I. Denikin in October 1919 defeated the Petliura units; the Galician corps went over to his side. Petliura, who arrived in Warsaw, concluded the Warsaw Agreement of 1920 with Yu. Pilsudsky on joint actions against Soviet Russia. After the end of the Soviet-Polish war of 1920, the Directory was dissolved by Petliura’s decree of November 20, 1920.

Bolshevism among the Pokalevsky [commune] peasants.

Under the influence of the Byelorussian Bolsheviks, who from the side of the Kalinkovichi are the closest neighbors of the Pokalev peasants, Bolshevik tendencies began to develop intensively among the latter and Bolshevik appeals were heard more and more loudly. A majority of the Bolsheviks and a minority was formed, ready to join the Ukrainian national movement.

Dmitryuk and Fridman, who were at the head of the Ovruch Republic, protested against the Bolshevik leanings of the Pokalevites, and as a result, Dmitryuk was killed, and Fridman fled. In Ovruch, a certain Meshanchuk, was appointed commandant of the city by the Kalevites, in my opinion an anti-Semite and a Black Hundred. He secretly entered into an agreement with the Petliura authorities in Korosten, informed her about the Bolshevik sentiments of Ovruch and invited the so-called “Kuren (Regiment) of Death” there.

“(Kuren) Regiment of Death”.

This “Kuren of Death” approached the city at night, surrounded the Pokalevites and disarmed them. Then the Cossacks of this kuren began to go around the Jewish houses in order to take away their weapons. They did not find weapons, but they found money and valuable property in many houses. All this they took away. In this way the robberies in Ovruch started.

The Jews complained to the commandant Meshanchuk, and he reassured them, saying that the regular troops would soon appear, and then the robberies would stop. Indeed, on December 15, a detachment of partisans headed by ataman Kozyr-Zyrka entered Ovruch. To those who met him Kozyr-Zyrka announced that he had come to restore order in the city. Some report that Meshanchuk, presenting a report on the situation in the city, explained that Bolshevism was rampant in it and that the “Yids” were to blame.

Ataman Kozyr-Zyrka.

Legends were created about the personality of Kozyr-Zyrka in Ovruch. Some argued that he was from Belaya Tserkov and that Kozyr-Zyrka was not his real name, but only a pseudonym. Others claim that he was a runaway Galician convict and in support of this opinion, they point among other things, to the tattoo he had on his hands. But all descriptions agree that this was a handsome young man, a coal shaded brunette of a gypsy type, with good manners, a wonderful speaker who spoke exclusively in the Galician-Ukrainian dialect. He did not speak Russian, although he understood this language perfectly.

Kozyr-Zyrka first of all considered it necessary to get acquainted with the mood of various social groups. To do this, he invited the mayor, the Pole Moshinsky, and representatives of various public organizations, mainly Poles and former tsarist officials, to his place. What these invitees talked about with Kozyr-Zyrka remains unknown, but it is very easy to guess about it.

The arrest of the spiritual rabbi [47] Spiritual rabbi – in the Jewish communities of the Russian Empire of the XIX century. a rabbi not approved by the authorities, who was forced to obey an approved or government rabbi; in fact, he was the spiritual leader of the community.

After listening to the representatives of the peasant, the ataman decided to get acquainted with the representatives of the Jewish community. To do this, he ordered to arrest and bring to him the Jewish spiritual rabbi.

On December 16, the rabbi was arrested at about two o’clock in the afternoon and brought to the commandant’s office. He was kept there until 10 pm, and all the time he was subjected to all sorts of bullying by the Cossacks. Finally, at 10 pm, he appeared before the eyes of Ataman Kozyr-Zyrka. The latter received him extremely rudely and, after interrogation, announced to him with passion: “I know that you are a Bolshevik, that all your relatives are Bolsheviks, that all the Jews are Bolsheviks. Know that I will exterminate all the Jews in the city. Gather them in the synagogues and warn them about this.”

First murders.

With these words, he released the rabbi late at night. On the same night, the Cossacks surrounded a peasant cart, on which Jews rode – a schoolboy and a schoolgirl from Mozyr. The Cossacks demanded that the peasants give them the “Jewish brats”, but the peasants defended them. But  they arrested a young Jew from Kalinkovichi, who was passing through Ovruch, and brought him to the ataman. And Kozyr-Zyrka, on the grounds that he was from Kalinkovichi that was in the hands of the Bolsheviks, declared him a Bolshevik and ordered him to be shot.

Bullying.

Two Jews, small merchants of tobacco and matches who were passing from Narodichi, were also captured. They were declared speculators and brought to the ataman. There they were stripped naked, beaten with whips and forced to dance. At the same time, they put a pack of tobacco in the mouth of one of them and a box of matches to the other. Kozyr-Zyrka himself stood with a raised revolver and threatened to shoot them if they stopped dancing. Then they forced them to whip each other and kiss each other’s cut place. They were also forced to be baptized, etc. Having made fun of them to their heart’s content, they pushed out naked into the street, and then their clothes were thrown away (testimony of Rabbi Kivnis, pp. 10-11; Weiderman, pp. 13-16, etc.) [123] No evidence was found in the case..

Retreat of Kozyr-Zyrka and a new capture by the Pokalevites [of Ovruch].

The day of December 27 was spent in petty robberies in Jewish homes. At this time, the following incident occurred. A detachment of Cossacks went to Narodichi for requisition of leather. When coming back, the detachment made a halt in one village. There the Cossacks got drunk. When they rode on, the peasants ambushed and opened fire on them. Four Cossacks were killed, and the rest rode to Ovruch. This incident made an enormous impression on Kozyr-Zyrka and his partisans, and they left Ovruch that same night and retreated to Korosten.

The Pokalev peasants again took possession of the city. First of all, they broke into the prison, where the landowners and the forester who had been arrested earlier by them were kept, and they all were killed. Then they attacked several landowners who lived in the city and wounded them, and also murdered the wife of the arrested forester and seriously wounded her sister who was visiting, along with the sister’s child.

New offensive of Kozyr-Zyrki.

On December 31, Kozyr-Zyrka, with large reinforcements, again approached Ovruch and began shelling the city with heavy guns. The Pokalevites returned the fire for an hour, and then fell silent. Kozyr-Zyrka continued shelling the city, and, finally, his gangs broke into the city, where a bloody bacchanalia began.

Pogrom in the village Potapovichi and Geshov.

It should first be noted that on the way to Ovruch near the village of Potapovichi the path turned out to be torn down. Someone told the Cossacks that the “Yids” did it. Then the Cossacks decided to deal with the Jews of the nearest villages.

There were only 4 Jewish families in Potapovichi, and the Cossacks, when entering the village, began to rob them and kill and rape women. In one house, where the owner was absent, his three daughters and son-in-law remained. One of the daughters had several hundred rubles hidden on her body. The Cossacks took this and other money, as well as all valuable property, they raped the women, and since the latter, especially two girls, resisted, they were beaten until their faces turned into massive bruises. They took the son-in-law, who had just returned from captivity, into the yard, where another Jew was already there. They shot both of them, and the son-in-law was killed on the spot, and the other Jew was only wounded, but pretended to be dead and saved himself. From this house they went to a Jewish blacksmith who had recently returned from the front. They fired two bullets at him, and then prepared to shoot a hysterical Russian boy who served him. The mortally wounded blacksmith then gathered his strength and said: “Why are you killing him, he is Russian.” The Cossacks, making sure that the boy was really Russian, left him alone. But since the blacksmith, by his intercession, proved that he was still alive, they finished him off. After that, they went out into the yard where they met an old man – the blacksmith’s father-in-law and killed him, and also killed a boy – the blacksmith’s nephew.

From Potapovichi they went to the village of Geshevo to find Jews there too. Several Jews lived in this village, but they all managed to run away. Only one deaf old man remained – the melamed [48] Melamed is a teacher at a traditional Jewish elementary school in Eastern Europe.. The Cossacks took him with them and took him in the direction of Ovruch. On the way they met an old shekhet returning to his place [49] Shekhet (one of the dialectal forms of the word shochet) is a butcher who slaughters livestock and poultry in accordance with Jewish ritual prescriptions.. They also captured him and immediately hanged both old men on a tall tree, one with a telegraph wire, the other one with a strap. The latter, according to the stories of the peasants, broke down several times, but each time he was hanged again. Then they immediately removed from of them from the tall tree and hanged them on a short tree, to which they nailed a note that “whoever removes them will live no more than two minutes.” As a result, the peasants did not allow them to be removed. And only when the corpses began to decompose, the Jews managed to remove them and bury them in the nearest town.

In total, 9 Jews were killed in Potapovichi and Geshov (testimony of Glovman, pp. 33-35). Such was the prelude to what then played out in Ovruch.

Murders, violence and robberies in Ovruch.

After entering Ovruch in the afternoon of December 31 the Cossacks scattered around the city and began to rob and kill Jews. One detachment went to the bazaar and there captured about 10 Jewish girls, whom the Cossacks dragged to the Feigelzon hotel, where the girls were subjected to indescribable abuse and violence. Other Cossacks at that time killed the Jews they met. They also broke into houses and committed murders there. Thus, several Cossacks chased a Jew who took refuge in one of the nearest houses. The Cossacks, entering a house where, in their opinion, this Jew had hidden, found a father and three sons sitting at the table. They took all the 4 out into the yard and shot them all one after the other. Arriving at the house of the lawyer Glozman, they took out the old man Glozman and his son, a young intelligent man, a member of the community. But then they decided to release the old man and offered him to leave. The old man refused to leave his son. Then the Cossacks began to beat the old man with whips, and they broke his only eye, for he had long lost the other eye, and young Glozman was immediately shot. Ataman Kozyr-Zyrka was present at this execution on horseback. It is characteristic that at that time the mayor Moshinsky was passing by. Young Glozman, whom he knew well, turned to him with a request to intercede for him and tell the Cossacks whether he was a Bolshevik. But Moshinsky went on, pretending not to hear the plea that was addressed to him.

The Cossacks scattered around the city, entered houses in parties, robbed money and property, beat old people, raped women and killed young Jews. Many of those prepared for execution paid money for their relief, and the sums of the ransom could be very large. Thus, several Cossacks came to Rosenman’s house late in the evening. In the house, besides the old mother and two daughters, there were two sons, of whom one was lying sick in bed for several weeks. They mistook their healthy son for a Russian (he really didn’t look like a Jew), ordered him to leave, but having learned from him that he was the master’s son, they detained him. They demanded that the sick son also dress and go with them. But when they saw that he was seriously ill and could not get up, they only left one Cossack near his bed, and took their healthy son out into the yard where other Cossacks were waiting. There they placed him against the wall, and one of them loaded his gun. The young man began to beg them not to kill him, promising a large ransom for himself. “Will you give us twelve thousand?” one of the Cossacks asked. The young man began to assure them that his relatives would bring this sum for him. Then the Cossacks brought him into the house where his mother and sisters lay completely unconscious. The women were brought to, and the Cossacks began to look for money in the house. But there were only two thousand rubles in the house. The Cossacks agreed to accept this money on the condition that the remaining ten thousand rubles would be paid to them by 10 am the next day. By this time, they promised to come, and if the money was not paid, they would kill everyone. Indeed, the next morning two Cossacks appeared and after receiving the 10 thousand rubles, announced that the Rozenmans could now live in peace, since their name would be recorded at the headquarters, and no one would bother them anymore. The Cossacks kept their word. The Rozenmans were no longer disturbed, while to other Jews groups of Cossacks came one after one, and the subsequent ones took away what their predecessors did not have time to grab. The Cossacks did not stop at anything at all: they took off the clothes and boots from the Jews. It is characteristic that the Cossack who led Rozenman out for execution gave the impression of an intellectual; he had well-groomed hands and wore expensive rings. He spoke with a pronounced Polish accent (Rozenman’s testimony, p. 27). In another case, a tipsy centurion officer demanded from a Jew, the owner of a small hotel, that he immediately feed his entire hundred with dinner and give him personally 5 thousand rubles. On the explanation of the owner that it was impossible to do that at that time since he did not have money, or such stock as to feed a whole hundred, the centurion ordered to whip him. The daughter, who had been hiding, ran out and covered her father with her body. Then the whips fell on her and on all those who were in the house. Then the centurion took the owner away with him. His daughter followed the father. At first the centurion demanded that she leave, but then allowed her to follow her father. He brought them to his apartment, put a revolver on the table and ordered his daughter to prepare dinner for his hundred and procure 5 thousand rubles for himself by the end of the day, otherwise her father would be shot by the evening. Then the old man had an idea to take advantage of this offer for his salvation. He began to assure the centurion that his daughter would not be able to do anything, but if he would let him go even for one hour, then he would get the money and provisions. After much hesitation, the centurion agreed to let the old man go for half an hour. The old man ran to his house, which during this time was completely plundered by the Cossacks. He advised his family to hide wherever they could, and then he himself hid in the attic of his acquaintances, and later he and his whole family fled the city (testimony of Vakhlis, p. 36).

In the first two days 17 Jews were killed. The Jews turned to the mayor Moshinsky with a request to send a deputation of two Christians and one Jew to the ataman to plead with him to end the massacre. The mayor promised to do it, but as a result did nothing. Then the old men, the old women (all the young Jews were hiding) with weeping and wailing went to the ataman’s house. Ataman agreed to accept a deputation of three people from those who came. When the deputation arrived, he demanded that the next day the entire male Jewish population between the ages of 15 and 40 should come to the square near the commandant’s office.

Panic among the Jews.

This demand plunged the Jewish population into panic. Everyone was sure that the able-bodied population was required for slaughter. It was impossible, however, to disobey the order. And the next day, the Jewish male population aged 15 to 40, under the cover of old men and women, came to the indicated place to the building of the commandant’s office. An hour later [...] [124] A gap in the text. finally Kozyr-Zyrka drove up in a car. The Jews shouted: “Glory to the ataman! Glory to Ukraine!” Kozyr-Zyrka got out of the car and addressed them with a speech in which he listed all their “Bolshevik crimes.”

Kozyr-Zyrka’s speech to the Jews.

In his speech, spoken in a beautiful Galician-Ukrainian dialect, he said that he had the right to exterminate all Jews and would do this if at least one Cossack suffered. In Potapovichi he had already done this and shot a Jewish spy with his own hand. He will exterminate all the Jews of Ovruch if at least one Cossack suffers. Therefore, he advised the Jews, if there was at least one Bolshevik among them, let them strangle him with their own hands. When Kozyr-Zyrka finished his speech, the Jews shouted “glory” to him. The state rabbi[50] The state rabbi was an elective position in the Jewish communities of the Russian Empire in 1857-1917, the applicant for which also had to have a certain level of secular education, which, unlike the traditional yeshiva, was given by the rabbinical school (seminary) and the Jewish teacher’s institute (since 1873 ). The nomination was approved by the provincial authorities. The state rabbi officially represented the community in government institutions, kept a record of births, marriages and deaths.offered him to swear allegiance to Ukraine by all Jews and to send a military detachment from among them. The ataman replied that he did not need either the Jewish oath or the Jewish detachment. He allowed the Jews to breathe the air of Ukraine, but demanded that they remember his warnings. The Jews dispersed and began to discuss how to appease the ataman. They collected about twenty thousand rubles and gave him as gifts for the Cossacks.

Payments

Kozyr-Zyrka accepted the money but noticed that one could not buy many gifts with this money. He demanded another 50 thousand rubles. The Jews promised to collect them. But since everyone was robbed and ruined, it was not easy to collect such a sum. They had to turn to small artisans and Jewish servants, and they contributed their savings.

Having received an additional amount, Kozyr-Zyrka issued an ad in which he condemned the robberies. But the robberies continued those days and on the following days.

Requisition of tailors and shoemakers.

At the same time, Kozyr-Zyrka requisitioned all Jewish tailors and shoemakers and gave them the material stolen from the Jews for sewing. They sewed boots, overcoats, uniforms, bloomers, etc. They forced them to work from 8 o’clock in the morning until 12 o’clock at night, even on Fridays. They were not given food while they were working (Shekhtman’s testimony, p. 1; Stoland, p. 13).

Kozyr-Zyrka as a judge.

Kozyr-Zyrka also dealt with the resolutions of civil disputes.

To characterize him as a judge, it is enough to cite the following case. One Jewish woman owned a plot land which passed to her by right of inheritance. The original owner acquired this land from a peasant who sold it to him. The peasant, a descendant of the seller, taking advantage of agrarian confusion, even at the first Rada filed a lawsuit about this land, and his claim was denied. When Kozyr-Zyrka appeared and the peasant was convinced of the complete lack of rights of the Jews, he turned to him with a claim for the same land. Kozyr-Zyrka ordered the peasant to bring the defendant’s husband to him. But the latter, not believing that Kozyr-Zyrka was really calling him, did not go to him. Then the ataman sent for him. When the Jew arrived, he asked him why he had not come earlier. He replied that he had no reason to believe that the peasant really conveyed the will of the ataman to him. Kozyr-Zyrka ordered the Jew to be stripped naked, laid down and given 25 whips, which was done in his presence. Half an hour later he proceeded to interrogate the Jew about the land. The latter explained that, being whipped, he was not able to speak at all, and as for the land, it did not belong to him, but to his wife, who could provide the necessary information. The ataman demanded his wife. She showed him a copy of the court decision that recognized her ownership of this land. Kozyr-Zyrka was not satisfied with this and demanded that both sides present witnesses to clarify the dispute. Witnesses were presented. And they all confirmed that the Jewish woman legally owned the land. Then Kozyr-Zyrka ordered the Jewish woman to issue a receipt stating that she voluntarily cedes the land to the peasant and forever renounces any claims to this land. A receipt was issued (Heyermann’s testimony, p. 35).

Requisitions of musicians.

Kozyr-Zyrka loved to have fun. He requisitioned a Jewish orchestra, whose duty it was to play at all Cossack parties. To the sounds of the music of the same orchestra, Kozyr-Zyrka once flogged two Bolshevik peasants. They were given an uncountable number of blows and then shot down (Stokman’s testimony, p. 39).

Kozyr-Zyrka is having fun.

Kozyr-Zyrka also loved more “refined” entertainment. One evening, nine Jews were brought to him, relatively young, and one elderly and obese. The Cossacks drove them down the street in a quarry. When the Jews, out of breath, finally entered the ataman’s apartment, he himself lay undressed on the bed, and on the other lay his colleague, also undressed. The Jews who entered were immediately forced to dance, and they, especially the obese one, were urged on with whips. After that, they were ordered to sing Jewish songs. But it turned out that none of them knew Jewish songs by heart. Then the chieftain’s colleague began to suggest words to them in jargon (Yiddish); the Jews had to repeat them in a singsong voice. For a long time, they sang and danced, and both Kozyr-Zyrka and his friend-colleague laughed merrily. After that, the Jews were led into another room and put on clownish hats. They were brought back to the ataman, and each was given a candle in his hand and they were seated on chairs. In this form, they were supposed to sing songs. Kozyr-Zyrka and his friend rolled with laughter so much that the bed even collapsed under the latter. The Jews were forced to raise the bed and put it in order, while the officer who was lying on it remained in his lying position. One of the Jews could not bear these humiliations and began to cry. Kozyr-Zyrka noticed to him that 120 rods were supposed to be given for tears. The Jew said, “In that case, I will sing.” “Well, sing,” was the answer, and the Jew sang again.

During one “intermission” a friend of the ataman said: “It’s time for them to take down their pants,” but in this case Kozyr-Zyrka did not deign to do so. Having amused himself to his heart’s content, the ataman released the Jews and gave them a driver as an escort, so that they would not be shot by guards. The driver saw them off but demanded that they pay him 15,000 rubles. for saving their lives. They didn’t have that much, of course. But the driver escorted everyone home, and each one took as much as he could from the family and paid the driver (Weisband’s testimony, p. 43).

It is difficult to enumerate all the characteristic cases that took place in Ovruch, which became the satrapy of Kozyr-Zyrka. But it is impossible not to dwell on the following case.

The Herzbein case.

The Poles and former tsarist officials, in their slanders against the Jews, spread the rumor that the Jews were planning to arrange St. Bartholomew’s Night for the Christians [51] Bartholomew’s Night – the mass murder of the Huguenots by Catholics in France on the night of August 24, 1572 (St. Bartholomew’s Day). A symbol of the massacre of civilians, including on religious grounds. over the Christians and planned to deal with up to 150 victims. They claimed that there was a list of the “doomed”, and this list was written by the hand of Herzbein, who was involved in secondary scale advocacy. The latter was arrested. As often happens in such cases, those who invented this slander themselves in the end believed in their own fabrication. The Christians got worried. People turned to Kozyr-Zyrka. He confirmed the existence of the list but did not show it to anyone. The anxiety grew. Some of the Christians began to hastily leave the city.

With regard to Herzbein, it should be noted that he was not involved in politics at all. He socialized exclusively with Christians, where he had many friends, he almost did not have contacts with Jews. His wife turned to their Christian friends with a request to intercede for her husband, whom they knew well as a person far from politics and from the Jews. But they refused.

A probable story with a notorious list is presented as follows. With the fall of the hetman’s power, the mayor Moshinsky invited many Christians to the meeting, mainly landlords and officials, and offered to organize self-defense in case the Petliurists came. A list was compiled, which included over 100 people, exclusively Christians. Since Herzbein was known for his good handwriting, and perhaps for other reasons, Moshinsky asked him to rewrite this list, which he did. It is highly plausible that someone with a provocative purpose handed over this list to the commandant’s office as a list of intended Christian victims.

Herzbein’s wife turned to the mayor with a request to convene a Duma to expose the slander and restore her husband’s good reputation. Moshinsky promised, but when she came to him again, she was told that he had left the city. She then turned to his deputy. He also promised but did nothing.

Only the chairman of the City Duma, the notary Olshansky, provided some help. He sent out an invitation to the meeting. But only the Jews came to this meeting, the Christians were absent, there was no quorum, and the meeting did not take place. Since the rumors about the upcoming St. Bartholomew’s night continued to worry Christians very much, some of them again turned to Kozyr-Zyrka with a request to clarify how serious these rumors were. The notary Olshansky and the official Yudin, who knew Herzbein well, also came to him. They explained that they were deeply convinced [that] Herzbein could not be the author of such a list. Kozyr-Zyrka answered them that he himself did not attach any serious importance to this list and the rumors spread, and that he would issue an appropriate order to calm the Christian population. As for Herzbein, he promised to release him immediately. He confirmed his promise to release Herzbein to his wife. He did issue an order that the rumors about the St. Bartholomew’s night, supposedly started by Jews, were a provocation (this order, mainly interpreting the creation of house guards, which is discussed below, is attached herewith) [125] The document was not found in the case.. As for Herzbein, despite all the promises, he was not released, and in the end, he was shot (testimony of Tauba Herzbein, p. 29; Yudin, p. 28).

The dominion of Kozyr-Zyrka continued until January 16. The Cossacks continued to plunder Jewish houses, and there were individual murders.

Civil commissioner and house guard.

Rumors about the actions of Kozyr-Zyrka reached Zhytomyr, and a commissioner for civil affairs was sent from there. This commissar turned out to be a decent man, and the Jews treated him with complete confidence. But, in his own words, he was powerless to do anything significant for them, since Kozyr-Zyrka even stopped his telegraphic reports to Zhitomir. The only thing he succeeded in was the organization of house guards, which was followed by the order of the ataman (see the above-mentioned order). But these house guards, consisting mainly of Jews, did not represent a real force. The Cossacks robbed the guards and even killed one (testimony of Vlerman et al., p. 13).

Mobilization of Jews for hard work.

On January 15, the Cossacks began to drive young Jews to the station in the morning to chop wood and clean the wagons. They took mainly young Jews, but did not stop at taking the old ones either. On the way, the same Cossacks robbed them. At the station they were forced to do any, even unnecessary, menial work. They were abused, beaten with whips and rifle butts. Those who were better dressed were taken aside and their clothes and boots were taken off. By the evening almost everyone was robbed. One was killed, anther was seriously wounded. And while these were at the station, other Cossacks robbed their houses in the city.

Panic reaches its peak.

An extremely disturbing mood hung over the city. It felt like a new catastrophe was coming. The Jews were in a state of panic. They decided to die together. To do this, in the evening they began to gather in the synagogue. But the synagogue could not accommodate everyone. There was terrible lack of air. Many fainted. Some, not being able to endure being stuffed and crushed, broke windows and ran away wherever their legs could take them. Some Cossacks entered the synagogue and robbed whom they could. Other Cossacks at that time robbed members of the house guards, and one of them, as indicated above, was even killed.

Mass execution of Jews and retreat of Kozyr-Zyrka.

This is how the Jews of Ovruch spent the night from 15 to 16 January. On the morning of January 16, the Cossacks began to spread a rumor around the city that the commissar for civil affairs, in whom, as you know, the Jews had complete confidence, was inviting representatives of the Jewish population to listen to a very important order for the Jews that was received from Zhytomyr.

The Jews were exited with this piece of news, they believed in it, and more than 50 people headed for the station. On the way, they were surrounded by Cossacks on horseback who began to urge them on with whips, while they were forced to sing “maefis[52] Maefis is a Jewish dance.and other songs.” The unfortunate Jews realized that they had fallen into a trap. When this peculiar procession approached the station, the Cossacks surrounding the Jews began to chop them with sabers and shoot at them with revolvers. The Jews rushed away in all directions. Bullets were sent after them. At the same time, the Cossacks set up an ambush near the station and opened fire at the Jews with explosive shells. 34 corpses remained at the site. Many were wounded. Few people were saved. When this catacomb [126] So in the document. ended, Kozyr-Zyrka appeared among the Cossacks, and they greeted him with the words: “Thank God, father, we shot the Jews a little.”

A photograph of 3 corpses is attached here (testimony of Nemervel, p. 15, Inerman, p. 13, Kaplan, p. 1-10).

On the same night, in view of the advance of the Bolsheviks from the side of the Kalinkovichi, Kozyr-Zyrka left the city with his gang and headed for Korosten. Thus ended the dominion of Kozyr-Zyrka in the city of Ovruch.

Results.

As a result of this dominion, up to 80 Jews were killed and up to 1200 houses were destroyed. no more than 10-15 apartments survived by chance.

The pogrom in this case took place under the slogan: “Beat the Jews, because they are Bolsheviks.” But the mood of the masses in the Ukraine towards the Jews is such that any other slogan will be suitable for a pogrom. The pogrom almost equalized all the Jews in Ovruch in terms of property: everyone was in the same boat of poverty. Losses must be calculated in hundreds of millions, and at present rates, perhaps even in the billions.

Local Committee for Assistance to the Pogromed.

In Ovruch, a local committee for helping the pogromed was formed and it worked working very productively. But the help they give was, of course, too small compared to what was needed. Ovruch needed help on the widest scale, on a national scale.

On the nature of the assistance provided by this committee, as well as on the movement of sums of money in general, a report was presented by S.S. Kagan., who traveled with me to Ovruch[53] Kagan S.S. – in 1919, authorized by the Kyiv Central Committee for Assistance to the Pogromed and the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the Russian Red Cross in Ukraine..

Soviet commission for investigation of the pogroms.

In Ovruch, we found a Soviet commission that had arrived to investigate the pogrom in the city of Mozyr on the orders of the late Sverdlov, chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the SRD [54] Sverdlov Yakov Mikhailovich (1885-1919) – Soviet statesman, party leader. Participant in the preparation and conduct of the October Revolution in Petrograd. From November 8 (21), 1917 – Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, continuing to remain Secretary of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). Since January 1919 – member of the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). Participated in January – February 1919 in the work of the first congresses of Soviets of Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus, in March 1919 – in the work of the 3rd Congress of the CP (b) of Ukraine and the 3rd All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets.. On arriva, The commission issued an announcement, a copy of which is attached [127] The declaration instance was not found in the file..

Unfortunately, the activity of this commission does not give proper results, since the Jews, for obvious reasons, are afraid to name the persons involved in the pogrom, even when they are known. As a result, such persons, notorious accomplices of the pogromists, are walking free, and some of them are even in the service of the local Soviet authorities. We got in touch with this commission and learned from its members that Sverdlov promised to allocate almost 3 million rubles for the benefit of the pogromed. It is difficult to say how real this promise is, but there is no doubt that even such an amount would be too small to restore what was destroyed in this city. The material of the investigation is attached hereto.

Pogrom in Korosten.

The pogrom in Korosten began with robberies and murders of Jews at the railway station. Then the pogrom spread throughout the city. The houses near the Podolsk railway station suffered the most. In one house where 9 people lived, the thugs showed exceptional brutality. It began with raping the owner’s three daughters. Since the girls put up inhuman resistance, they all were mutilated and maimed. Until now, they lie sick, with broken arms. They killed the old grandmother, who stood up for her granddaughters, after cutting out her tongue and cutting off her nose. They also killed two men and a girl in this house. The rest of the family members were mutilated. Of these, one man recently died from his wounds. The apartment has been robbed. There were murders in other houses as well. In total, 10 people were killed in the city.

The following case, about which I do not consider it possible to remain silent, is very characteristic. In one house, from which the owners fled, only one old Jewish woman remained. The thugs came to this house and demanded food. The old woman received them graciously and fed them plentifully. They ate, thanked for the treat and left without touching anything in the house. After they left, a seriously wounded Jew ran into the house and prayed for help. The old woman rushed to for help. It was dark, and she ran into the same pogromists who were in her apartment without knowing it. They asked where she was running, and she explained what the matter was. Then the pogromists returned to her apartment, and one of them, rolling up his sleeves, washed his hands and skillfully bandaged the Jew. When they left, the Jew told the old woman that they were the same thugs who had wounded him.

I arrived in Korosten on March 12, and on the next day the following incident occurred. Two days before that, a fresh company of Red Army soldiers arrived there. On the 13th, one of them entered the shop of a Jewish woman and took all the sugar from her, about twenty pounds, without paying anything. The Jewish woman ran out into the street and raised a cry. An officer passing by detained a Red Army soldier, took away the sugar, hit him in the face and sent him under arrest.

His company comrades stood up for the Red Army soldier. They demanded from the commandant’s office the release of the comrade and the extradition of the officer to them. The Red Army soldier was released, but they were refused the extradition of the officer. Then they began to rally and at 8 o’clock in the evening they opened continuous firing into the air from rifles and machine guns. This firing was the signal for the beginning of a Jewish pogrom. The massacre began. They destroyed, according to some accounts, up to 50, according to others, up to 70 houses. One Jew, the cantor [55] Cantor (ancient Hebrew hazzan) – a person leading a synagogue service.of the synagogue, was killed. The pogrom stopped, thanks to an unexpected cannonade from the Petliurists, who launched an offensive against Korosten. Neither about this pogrom, nor about the previous one, I was able to collect detailed information, since on the next day, under the continuous roar of guns, I was forced to leave the city.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 17. L. 45-52. Copy.

No. 12. Notes from the newspaper “Narodnoye Slovo” about the events in the city of Rovno, Volyn Province on January 1919 January 16, 1919

Yesterday, on New Year’s Day, the Jewish population of the city experienced a disturbing day.

At the train stations.

In the morning it became known in the city that the trains that moved at night to Rovno were surrounded by military detachments on their arrival [128] This refers to the units of the troops of the Directory.. Under the pretext of checking documents, the Jewish passengers were ordered to stop the carriages and go to the platform. On the platform the Jewish passengers were surrounded by soldiers who began to search them. During the searches, many of the passengers were beaten to death. More respectable passengers were stripped naked on the platform. All passengers’ belongings were taken away. After the third bell, the beaten and robbed passengers were driven back into the car and sent away from the station. 5 unknown passengers were especially beaten, and after the third bell, were thrown onto the carriages of the train that followed to Zdolbunovo in an unconscious state. In total, it is believed that passengers were robbed of 500 thousand rubles in cash.

“At large”.

In the morning a series of robberies took place in the city. Several soldiers broke into Kurolapkin’s house along Shosseynaya Street, beat Kurolapkin and robbed him. Another detachment of armed soldiers did the same in Yagoda’s workshop on Shosseynaya Street. At Hayat’s house on Shkolnaya Street, soldiers also broke in and demanded money. Local residents were also robbed: Sinitser – for 800 rubles. and Usher Birzinsky for 12 thousand rubles.

In the synagogue.

At 12 o’clock in the morning, during the prayer of Rabbi Leibish, three robbers with hand grenades entered and began to ransack all the Jews who were then praying in the synagogues. The robbers took away a lot of money, gold watches, valuables for a large amount from those who prayed.

Near the Great Synagogue, 3 robbers drove up to the house of a Jew in cabs, and began to take various things out of the Jew’s apartment into a sledge. The patrol that was invited to the scene did not even want to approach the apartment during the robbery.

Mood in the town.

The mood among the Jewish population is alarming. In the morning one could notice groups of people on the streets of the town discussing events in the town and at the station and sharing their impressions. Due to the fact that the shops were closed and the signs removed, the city looked strange.

The mayor of the commander-in-chief Oskilko.

In connection with the beginning of robberies and the mood in the city, the mayor, Dr. Goldstein, visited the commander-in-chief Oskilko in the morning, whom he informed about the events in the city. The commander-in-chief promised to take appropriate measures to restore calm in the city.

Chronicle. The smashing of the workers’ club and trade unions.

At 8 o’clock [at] the workers’ club named after Bronisław Grosser, a gang of drunks in military uniform burst in and began to destroy the club’s property, tear books, red flags, etc. The door to the buffet was broken by them, and the products in the buffet, such as sugar, cigarettes, cakes, etc. were carried away. Some of the books and seals of the trade unions in the canteen were destroyed by them. 2 employees who were at that time in the club’s premises were taken away by thugs to the station.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 17. L. 66-67v. Copy.

No. 13. Appeal of the Central Committee (CC) [56] The Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms (January 1919, Kiev) is a Jewish public organization to provide assistance to victims of pogroms, as well as to collect materials about pogrom events. Practically all Jewish parties and organizations of that time (COPE, Kultur-Liga, OZE, National Secretariat, etc.) participated in its work. Chairman – Attorney at Law S.B. Ratner. Grinfeld, Limanovsky, Aizenberg, Kolker, M.L. Goldstein, F. Lander. In 1919 and again in 1920, splits occurred in the organization between the Zionists and the left wing; in 1920 it ceased to exist (the certificate was compiled based on the materials of the State Archives of the Russian Federation).of assistance to the victims of the pogroms to the Jewish population of Kiev on the organization of assistance.

Not earlier than January 1919 [129] It dates back to the time of the formation of the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms.

To the Jewish population.

Terrible trials visited the Jewish people again. Before the eyes of the whole world, the streams of Jewish blood are flowing again, the groans and cries of the tortured and raped are heard again. At the dawn of the 20th century, pictures of medieval savagery are resurrected, orgies of insane outrages against the life and honor of a person arise in a bloody fog. This is not the first time that Jews have experienced such moments. And now it will respond to its people’s suffering with endless solidary of all of its living forces, iron strong organized nationwide assistance to the ruined and destitute.

There is a Central Jewish Committee for Assistance to the Victims of the Pogroms in Kyiv. Its task is to provide comprehensive assistance to the Jewish population devastated by pogroms: assistance in of material, economic and cultural fields. The area of its activity covers all the territory of Ukraine, which was swept by a bloody pogrom wave. The same Central Committee allocated a local, city committee for rendering assistance to the victims of pogroms for work in the region of Kyiv and adjacent areas. Its task is to find in the Kyiv region, among the local Jewish population, those funds that are necessary for systematic assistance to the victims of the pogroms. The types of this assistance are extremely diverse: it is purely monetary, financial assistance, it is also assistance with all kinds of utensils, this also includes assistance with food, necessary teaching aids, etc. etc. Naturally, such activity of the Committee can only be truly fruitful when it is based on the broad sympathy of the entire Jewish population, when the basis for the activities of the city committee is the Jewish population organized for this aid. In order to create such a real basis for its activities, the Committee takes on the responsible task of organizing the entire Kyiv Jewish population for the cause of helping the victims of the pogroms. Every house in which Jews live must have its own official representative for direct communication with the Committee. Through such representatives, the Committee will communicate with the Jewish population in those cases when, in order to help the victims of pogroms, it will need to resort to organized assistance from the entire Jewish population. Therefore, the immediate task of the entire Jewish population is: in each house inhabited by Jews, to convene a meeting of Jewish tenants and elect a representative of this house for communication with the city Committee.

The Committee does not have any doubt that the entire Jewish population will respond warmly and friendly to its undertaking. No matter how burdened we are in this difficult time we are going through with our personal affairs and worries, no matter how our nerves are dulled and our conscience is lulled by all the horrors of what we have experienced, the entire Jewish population will rise as one person to help from the pogroms: this is what the tragedy of thousand years of Jewish history obliges us to do., the age-old solidarity of the Jewish people is calling us to this.

City Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 430. L. 149. Typographic copy.

No. 14. Record of the story of the witness P.L. Pilyavsky by a representative of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Jews Affected by Pogroms (Vseukrevobshchestkom) about the attack of peasants on a Jewish miller at the station Devladovo, Yekaterinoslav province. January 21, 1919

 January 26, 1922

On January 21, 1919 at the station Devladovo of the Ekaterininsky Railway, where I temporarily live in the village of Zabronkovo, [to] the owner of the mill and oil mill at night there was a knock on the window with a demand to open the door in order, they say, to feed the horses. To the answer of the owner Zabrotsky that he had no food for the horses, the peasants answered with shots from guns through the window. They didn’t hurt anyone. They shouted: “We will slaughter all the Jews.” I was the only one in this house who had a revolver. I saw that we would die anyway, and therefore I decided to defend myself to the last bullet. I had 14 rounds. Having chosen a convenient position in another room, I fired from the side and wounded one of the bandits. They obviously did not expect resistance, since after the third shot of mine they picked up their comrade who was wounded in the leg, carried him away and left

Art. Devladovo.

Peisach Leibov Pilyavsky.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 419. L. 12. Certified copy.

No. 15. Report of representative of Department for help to the pogromed of RRCO  A.I. Gilerson about the pogroms organized by the military units of the UNR army in the town of Proskurov [57] The Jewish Bulletin (September 1922, No. 5-6) responded to the four-year anniversary of the pogrom in the city of Proskurov with an article by one of its editors, I.A. Kleinman “Nightmare silhouette (Ataman Semesenko)”. The author of the article gives a description of the pogrom, which was given in the Polish newspaper “Rzecz Pospolita” (which also responded to this event) by the writer Tadeusz Opiola, interspersing them with his additions: the bulk of Semesenka entered the Jewish quarter. Going from house to house, on the order of the ataman, she slaughtered three thousand Jews. They beat them with rifle butts so as not to waste charges, they did their job in deathly silence and, as it were, in a hallucination: “Rizali, keep it secret!” Then, with the same calmness, the Jewish corpses were taken to the Jewish cemetery, and the Semesenko gang gloomily watched how they were all buried in one common grave ”(I.A. Kleinman). “One Russian priest came out with a cross to meet the blood-splattered mass of fellows. He was chopped up with checkers, and all night lay spread out in a cross across the street … The next day, the widow of the murdered priest came to him (Semesenko).

- Yesaul said that you are Ukrainian – is that true? – he asked.

- True truth.

“Write,” Semesenko turns to the captain, “give a million karbovanets for her and the children.”

But the box office is empty. Ataman Semesenko orders the surviving Jews to urgently collect a million karbovanets for the priests ”(T. Opiola).and the town of Filshtin, Podolsk Province. February 15 and 16, 1919 [58] Report by A.I. Gilerson with traces of stylistic editing, see: GA RF. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 96. L. 43-58v. In all likelihood, the text was being prepared for publication by the Evobkom-Evobshchestkom publishing house (Address: Moscow, Povarskaya st., Trubnikovsky per., 19, apt. 10). The text about the pogrom in Proskurov is listed in the prospectus of the publishing house (GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 16. L. 12-13 a).

Not earlier than June 1919[130] Dates from the time of the formation of the Department.

Pogrom in Proskurov and Felshtin [131] The modern spelling is Filshtin.in February 1919.

Proskurov and his people.

Proskurov is the busiest city in the Podolsk region. Its population extends to fifty thousand, of which 25 thousand are Jews. Its Democratic City Duma consisted of 50 members; of them 26 Christians and 24 Jews. Of the Jewish members, 18 people. passed through the Jewish lists; the rest – according to the general socialist lists. At the head of the Duma in Proskurov, as almost everywhere in Podolia and Volhynia, are the Poles. The Pole Sikora was the mayor of the city, and the Pole doctor Stavinsky was the chairman of the city Duma.

Administratively, Proskurov was ruled by military commandant Kiverchuk [59] Kiverchuk – a centurion in the army of the UNR, was at the head of the Proskurovsky partisan detachment.and commissar Taranovich. The first was a military servant of the tsarist time, and the second was a former teacher.

The city was guarded by the militia, which was mainly subordinate to the commandant. The city self-government, not completely trusting the police, organized its own guards, the so-called quarter guards. This guard was headed by the Central Bureau, which had the Christian Gursky as its chairman, and the Jew Shenkman as its deputy chairman. Since the city guards consisted mainly of Jews, they generally did not enjoy the benevolence of the commandant Kiverchuk, and he caused them all sorts of difficulties.

In Proskurov, even during the time of the tsar, there were not only all the legal parties, but also illegal ones. It goes without saying that social and political life in Proskurov became especially lively after the fall of tsarism.

Under the hetman in Proskurov, representatives of the socialist parties, and especially the Bolsheviks, were repeatedly repressed.

With the fall of the hetman and the accession of Petliura’s power, the Bolshevik cells in Proskurov survived, but existed illegally. In general, all the socialist factions, not excluding the Bolsheviks, constituted one common front in Proskurov, headed by a Bundist Ioffe.

About three weeks before the Proskurov massacre, the following circumstance took place, which turned out to be fatal for Proskurov.

Congress of the Bolsheviks in Vinnitsa.

In Vinnitsa – the residence of Petlyura himself – a congress of the Bolsheviks of the Podolsk province was held. This congress lasted two days, and its meetings were held without hindrance. This congress passed resolutions on raising a Bolshevik uprising throughout Podolsk Gubernia, and February 15 was fixed as the day of the uprising. The fact that this congress passed without hindrance gave rise to some people to assert that this congress was convened with the knowledge of the Petliura authorities for the purpose of provocation. But objective research leads to the conclusion that in this case there was no provocation and that the congress was successful only due to poor organization, and, consequently, lack of information of Petliura authorities. They point to the fact that the Bolshevik uprising took place only in Proskurov alone, while in other places of the Podolsk province, even at station Zhmerinka, where there are up to 7 thousand railway workers, no attempts to action were made. This is also seen as [argument] to the belief that in other places there was no action because more serious people were at the head of the Bolshevik organizations and they took into account that the moment for action was not right.

In Proskurov at the head of the Bolshevik cell, there were too young and poorly educated people. But besides this, there was another significant circumstance that prompted the Proskurov Bolsheviks to begin their action. Two regiments were stationed in Proskurov, namely the 15th Belgorodsky [60] The 15th Belgorod regiment was part of the 4th personnel division of the UNR army (February 1919). It was revived during the period of the Ukrainian state on the site of the 12th Belgorod Lancers Regiment. Commanders – Lermontov, Grigoriev. Place of deployment – Proskurov.and the 8th Podolsky [61] In February 1919, the UNR army included: the 7th Podolsky Regiment (deployed in the city of Kamyanets-Podilsky) and the 8th Proskurov Regiment (deployed in the city of Proskuriv)., which were definitely Bolshevik-minded. There were 340 people in the first regiment, a little more in the second.

Appearance of ataman Semosenko in Proskurov [62] The text gives a different spelling of the ataman’s surname – Semosenko, Semasenko. Colonel of the army of the UNR M. Sereda, a contemporary of the events, chronicler of the ataman region, gives the version of “Semesenko”. See: Sereda S. Otamanshchina: Otaman Semesenko. // Chronicle of Chervonoy Kalini. Lviv, 1930. No. 4. S. 12-14; see also: Ukraine. Brief Jewish encyclopedia. T. 8. S. 1222./p>

About ten days before the pogrom, the Zaporozhye Cossack brigade of the Ukrainian Republican Army named after the Head Ataman Petliura appeared in Proskurov under the command of Ataman Semosenko [63] The lack of knowledge of the topic forces us to cite two versions of Semesenko’s biography, written, on the one hand, by his contemporary, and on the other hand, by today’s researchers. According to the notes on the ataman’s contemporary Semesenko S. Sereda, the following biography of the ataman is being built. Semesenko Ivan (1898-192?) – Ataman of the UNR army. Until 1917 – ensign of the Russian army. During the period of the Central Rada in the service in the regiment. P. Polubotko (Kyiv); participant in the uprising against Hetman P. Skoropadsky. The organizer of the Iron Detachment (also known as the Ataman Doroshenko Cavalry), which was later transformed into a brigade. The organizer of the pogrom in Proskurov. By order of S. Petliura, he was arrested: he was released after the capture of the city by Denikin’s troops. In the spring of 1920, his hundred became part of the 3rd Iron Division; then he converted a hundred into a detachment to them. Ataman Doroshenko. Shot by order of the field court in Chertkovo. According to S. Sereda, who described his death, “perhaps, under other revolutionary circumstances, Ukraine could have its Mussolini in the person of its iron dictator.” See: Sereda S. Otamanshchina: otaman Semesenko. S. 14.

According to other sources, Semesenko Ivan (1894-1920) was a foreman, originally from the village. Basan’ of Aleksandrovskaya vol. (currently Zaporozhye region). In 1918, he participated in the anti-Hetman uprising, organized in the area of Art. Lozova rebel brigade, then on the orders of Colonel P. Bolbochan fought against the Bolsheviks in the Poltava and Chernigov provinces. In January-April 1919, he became the head of the Zaporizhzhya Cossack Brigade. S. Petlyura, acted with her in Volhynia and Podolia. After staying in Stanislav in April 1919, he was summoned to the headquarters of the Army in the Field and on May 1, 1919 was arrested. He was kept in a special train car, then in the Kamenets prison. The accusations brought against Semesenko amounted to his failure to comply with the orders of the headquarters of the Active Army of the UNR in January-March 1919, which “had a negative impact on the military operations of the UNR troops in the Berdychiv and Zhytomyr directions, in the Korosten region”; “Besides, his subordinates allowed unauthorized requisitions and robberies, and committed other illegal actions.” During the interrogations, I. Semesenko denied the charges against him. In July-August 1919, he repeatedly sent letters to the Rada of Ministers of the UNR and to the Chief Ataman S. Petlyura with a request for release, referring to his services to Ukraine and poor health. He died in 1920 under unclear circumstances. See: Chebotariv M. Vizvolni zmagannya ochima kontrrazvіdnik. Kiev, 2003. S. 279-280.. Together with this brigade came the 3rd Gaidamatsky Regiment [64] The 3rd Haidamatsky Regiment was part of the 1st Zaporozhye Division of the Zaporozhye Corps of the UNR Army. At the beginning of January 1919, there were 1,500 military personnel, the location of the city of Debaltseve. At the head is the centurion Maslov. also appeared . Both the brigade and the regiment, according to Semosenko’s announcement, came from the front to rest and carry out garrison service in Proskurov. On February 6, Semosenko sent an announcement to the printing house for printing, in which he announced that he was taking over the duties of the head of the garrison and, as such, prohibited all unauthorized meetings and rallies in the city. He warns that any agitation against the existing government will be punished according to martial law. Any calls for a pogrom are also prohibited, and those caught in the act of such a call will be shot on the spot.

At the same time, Semosenko sent a message to the City Duma that he had assumed the duties of head of the garrison, that he intended to pursue any violator of order, and at the same time reported that he had shot an officer at one of the stations for trying to rob.

The Comrade Chairman of the Central Bureau of Quarter Guards, Shenkman, found out about this message, and he went to Semosenko to get to know him personally. Semosenko kindly received him, promised to supply the guards with weapons and render them all assistance in preventing pogroms. This conversation with Shenkman, as well as the fact that Semosenko sent the above announcement for print, became known to some figures in the city government, and they, according to the chairman of the City Duma, Dr. Stavitsky, went to commandant Kiverchuk to find out how autorized Semosenko was and by whom those powers were granted to him. Kiverchuk replied that he did not know anything about this, and at the same time he ordered that the advertisement already typed in the printing house should not be published.

It should be pointed out that with the appearance in the city of the 3rd Haidamatsky Regiment, anxiety seized the Jews. This regiment behaved defiantly, and it was definitely said about it that it had a pogrom past behind it. No one in the city knew that a Bolshevik uprising was planned. Only two days before February 15, the police chief Kara-Zheleznyakov informed Ioffe that he had heard that a coup was being planned in Proskurov and that they were definitely saying at the commandant’s headquarters that the future Bolshevik government with Ioffe at the head was already outlined.

Ioffe was worried, and he called together representatives of the socialist factions, including the Bolsheviks. Two representatives of the Communist Party who appeared at the meeting declared that an uprising was really being prepared and that the future government was already being formed. To the protests of representatives of other factions and the indication that this uprising would lead them to collapse, and the Jews to complete crash, they replied that the uprising would take place simultaneously in the entire Podolsk province. and that in Proskurov part of the garrison will be on the side of the rebels and 16 villages are preparing to come to their aid. They did not say when the action would take place. (See Ioffe’s testimony, pp. 84-87 and 92-99) [132] Here and below, there is no evidence in the case..

On Friday evening, February 14, two young men from the Bolshevik faction appeared at the Central Bureau of the Quarter Guard and announced that a Bolshevik march was scheduled for 12 o’clock at night, and asked Chairman Rudnitsky and his comrade Shenkman what position the quarter guard took in relation to them. They were told that the quarterly guard was essentially a non-partisan organization, whose purpose was only to protect the inhabitants, and that in this case it would be completely neutral. At the same time, Shenkman pointed out that the action was untimely and that this would inevitably lead to a Jewish pogrom. But he was also told that the action would involve the whole gubernia and that a successful outcome was ensured. Later, another member of the communist organization appeared and announced that, by decision of the Revolutionary Committee, which had already been organized, he was appointed commissar of the Bureau of Quarter Guards and that they were appointing Shenkman to maintain contact with the already organized Bolshevik headquarters. He gave Shankman the password by which he could enter the headquarters. According to Shenkman, he and Rudnitsky assembled all available members of the guard and told them that they were giving them complete freedom of action and demanded that they immediately remove all external signs of belonging to the quarter guard, which was done. At the same time, all respondents confirmed that they would not take any part in any political action. On receiving the password, Shenkman went to the Bolshevik revolutionary committee, and then to the headquarters. After getting convinced that the work of the Bolsheviks was not organized and that the proposed action would turn out to be, in his words, a bluff, he turned to the most serious Bolshevik, pointing out the untimeliness of this action. He, in turn, explained to him that he would take steps to ensure that it was postponed to another, more convenient time. <Indeed, when Shenkman returned to the Central Bureau after this conversation, the commissar of the Bolshevik Revolutionary Committee who had been left there announced to him that he had received a telephone message that the uprising was cancelled. Shenkman then went around the city; [133] Part of the text in angle brackets has been restored from a manuscript in the State Archives of the Russian Federation. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 96. L. 32v. to make sure that the guards were in place. And when he returned to the Bureau, the same commissar informed him that a new change had taken place and that the uprising was appointed after 6 o’clock in the morning, which would be announced by shots.

Indeed, at six and three-quarters in the morning, shots were fired and the uprising began. First of all, the Bolsheviks seized the post office and the telegraph office and arrested the commandant Kiverchuk, considering him, not without reason, a dangerous Black Hundred man and a pogromist. In one of the apartments of the Trachtenberg house in the very center on Aleksandrovskaya street, they established their headquarters. Some of them went to the barracks of the 15th Belgorod and 8th Podolsk regiments. There they woke the sleeping soldiers and announced to them that the uprising had begun and that the organs of Bolshevik power were already being formed. They invited the soldiers to oppose the Petliura troops, which were concentrated in the carriages behind the station. When the soldiers pointed out that they did not have machine guns, they were told that the peasants, who were already approaching the city to take part in the uprising, had machine guns. Then the Bolshevik-minded soldiers arrested their officers, as well as those soldiers who were against the action. They seized the regimental weapons and marched towards the station. There they opened fire on the wagons in which were the Haidamaks and other Cossacks. But when the latter got out of the cars and the soldiers who came there were convinced of their large number, they retreated to their barracks. The Cossacks followed them and began shelling the barracks. Then the soldiers retreated to Felshtin and Yarmolintsy, where one of their units had previously been sent to raise a Bolshevik uprising, and then they scattered to different places and thus, hid from persecution.

After the retreat of the soldiers it was clear that the uprising had failed. The shooting, which took place early in the morning, worried the representatives of the city, and they began to assemble in the City Duma. Several times the mayor and the chairman of the City Duma appeared at the commandant’s office, but there they were not given any information.

Finally, they saw Kiverchuk approaching the commandant’s office and learned from him that he had been arrested. When asked who had arrested him, he replied: “The Jews – the members of the quarter guard.” He added that his orderly, whom he had just shot with his own hand, came up against him with them.

According to the testimony of the witness Marants (pp. 17-22), on Saturday morning, dressed in a soldier’s clothes, he went to Aleksandrovskaya Street to Trachtenberg’s house, where, as he later learned, was the Bolshevik headquarters. Near the house, he noticed many workers dressed in soldier’s clothes. One of them approached him with a proposal that he join them. He then crossed to the other side of the sidewalk. At this time, he noticed that from the station in the direction of Trachtenberg’s house, on horseback, was the Cossack Sotnia of commandant Kiverchuk with his assistant Novitsky at the head. He then turned to a Russian worker he knew and who was standing right there and asked what Novitsky’s appearance meant. He replied: “Novitsky is with us, and he is at the head of the uprising.” But before he had time to say this, a loud command of this Novitsky was heard: “Load the guns.” Soon there was a volley, which, as it later turned out, killed a young girl, the daughter of the house owner Trachtenberg, who was in her room. The Bolsheviks surrounding Trachtenberg’s house fled, and the uprising was finally liquidated. More volleys were heard in different parts of the city, but, apparently, the shots came from unloaded guns.

The Haidamak soldiers were once again concentrated at the station. Arrests took place in the city, but tables were served at the station to treat the Haidamaks. Ataman Semosenko, this time in full agreement with Kiverchuk, took up the duties of the head of the garrison.

He marked his entry with a sumptuous feast to the Haidamaks and Cossacks, and at dinner he treated them to vodka and cognac. At the end of the meal, he addressed the haidamaks with a speech in which he outlined the plight of Ukraine, their labors on the battlefield, and noted that the most dangerous enemies of the Ukrainian people and the Cossacks are the Jews, who must be slaughtered to save Ukraine and themselves. He demanded an oath from the Cossacks that they would fulfill their sacred duty and slaughter the Jewish population, but at the same time they must also swear that they would not plunder the Yids’ goods.

The Cossacks were brought to the banner, and they swore an oath that they would kill but not rob. When one junior Cossack officer proposed instead of massacre to impose an indemnity on the Jews, Semasenko threatened him with execution. There was also one Sotnia commander who declared that he would not allow his Sotnia to slaughter unarmed people. This commander, who had great connections in the Petliura government, was sent out of town with his Sotnia, while the rest of the Cossacks, lined up in marching order, with music in front and a medical detachment behind, went to the city and marched along Aleksandrovskaya Street where they broke into several groups and scattered into the side streets which were inhabited entirely by Jews (see vol. II, p. 14, Baliner’s testimony).

The Massacre.

The Jewish masses were almost unaware of the Bolshevik uprising that had taken place. Accustomed lately to all kinds of shooting, they did not attach much importance to the shots that were heard in the morning of that day. It was on Saturday, and in the morning the pious Jews went to the synagogue, where they prayed, and then, returning home, sat down to eat. Many of them, according to established custom, went to bed after Sabbath dinner.

The Cossacks who were scattered along the Jewish streets in groups of 5 to 15 people. entered the houses with completely calm faces, took out the swords and began to stab the Jews who were in the house, without distinguishing either age or sex. They killed the elderly, women and even babies. However, they not only hit, but also inflicted stab wounds with bayonets. They resorted to firearms only when individuals managed to escape into the street. Then a bullet was sent after them.

When the news of the beginning of the massacre spread among the Jews, they began to hide in the attics and cellars, but the Cossacks dragged them down from the attics and killed them. They threw hand grenades into the cellars.

According to the same witness Shenkman, the Cossacks killed his younger brother in the street near the house, and then broke into the house and split his mother’s skull. The rest of the family hid under the beds, but when his little brother saw his mother’s death, he crawled out from under the bed and kissed her dead body. The Cossacks began to stab the child. Then the old father could not stand it and also crawled out from under the bed, and one of the Cossacks killed him with two shots. Then they got to the beds and began to stab those who were lying under them. He himself survived only by chance.

According to witness Marants, 5 people were killed in the house of his friend Averbukh and four seriously wounded. When he turned to his Christian neighbors to help him bandage the wounded, only one peasant woman agreed to help him. Others refused to help.

Witness Grinfeld (Vol. I, p. 29) tells that from the window of her apartment she saw how a gang of Haidamaks of 20 people stopped at the opposite house of Khaseev, of which 4 people. separated and went into Shifman’s house, where they stayed for a very short time, and upon leaving there they began to clean their bloody sabers in the snow. In this apartment, 8 people were stabbed to death. Another part of this gang entered the hotel “France” which was nearby, and the old owner ran out and they chased him; the old man’s children ran after them and begged for mercy.

According to the witness Spiegel (vol. I, p. 76), he and his brother were visiting the Potekha family when they learned that a massacre was taking place in the city. Worried about the fate of his old mother, he went home and took the old woman in a roundabout way to the house of his Polish acquaintances, but they refused to accept them flat, saying that they were afraid for their own fate. He managed to shelter his mother in the house of Jewish acquaintances. When he was returning to the house of Potekha, the Christians standing near the house, the so-called townspeople, warned him not to go there, because slaughter was going on there. But he worried for his brother and he nevertheless went there and saw for sure that the entire Potekha family and everyone who was in his house, including his brother, had already been massacred. The old mother was so hacked up that he could only recognize her by her figure. Near the old woman lay the corpse of her son, cut with sabers and pierced with bayonets. Her eldest daughter was killed in the same way. The youngest daughter was also killed, and the middle one lay seriously wounded. A relative who was visiting them was also seriously injured. In the yard, the two Bresler brothers and their old mother were seriously wounded. His brother was seriously wounded, but was still breathing and died in his arms. Out of curiosity, Christian neighbors entered the house, and I turned to them with a request to help me put the wounded to bed, but they refused. Only one neighbor by the name of Sikora gave me some help. Of the wounded, two died, the rest recovered, but remained crippled.

In Wolfzup’s house (vol. II, p. 16) the whole family was slaughtered. Only one girl survived after receiving 28 wounds. The killings began as soon as the Cossacks” [134] Words enclosed in angle brackets are written by hand. approached the house with machine guns [and] a sanitary detachment. At the command “stop”, the unit lined up in a chain, and some Cossacks scattered around the nearest houses and started stabbing.

In the Zemelman house (p. 13) 21 people were killed. and two are wounded. Gaidamaks approached the house in orderly rows with two machine guns. With them was a nurse and a person with a Red Cross band, who later turned out to be Dr. Skornik [135] During the trial of a number of organizers of the pogrom, which was held by the Bolsheviks in the city of Odessa, in the press his name was referred to as Skornyak. See notes no. 68., who was in charge of the sanitary detachment.

In Blechman’s house (p. 15) 6 people were killed: one was killed by a blow to the head, causing the skull to split in half. A girl was wounded in the back of the body, the dress was pulled up to do it.

8 people broke into Krochak’s house (p. 9, v. II). and the first thing they did was smashing all the windows to smithereens. Five entered the house, and three remained outside. The intruders grabbed old Krochak by the beard and dragged him to the kitchen window, from where they threw him to those who were standing on the street and he was immediately killed there. Then they killed the old mother and two daughters, and they pulled the young lady who was their guest by braids into another room, then threw her out into the street, where she was brutally murdered. Then they again returned to the house and inflicted several severe wounds on an 8-year-old boy, who became completely deaf after that. They inflicted 9 wounds on the elder brother in the stomach and side and placing him on the corpse of the murdered mother, inflicted two more wounds on him, saying: “Now we have finished with him.”

In the house of Zazuli (p. 16) a daughter was tortured for a long time and killed. The boy in the house received several wounds and pretended to be dead. The mother offered the killers money, but they replied: “We only came for the souls.”

According to the testimony of the witness Gluzman (vol. II, p. 17), on Saturday, February 15, he found himself on the street, but the milicia men advised him to go home. Arriving home, he found 16 people in his apartment, his neighbors. From the window they noticed a detachment of haidamaks, armed from head to toe, approaching the house in perfect order. He began to persuade his wife and daughters to hide, as he was afraid for their honor. But they did not want to hide without him. The Gaidamaks drove everyone out into the yard, and then one of them approached the gate and shouted to the rest: “Come here, there are a lot of Yids here.” The Haidamaks soon surrounded everyone, Gluzman found himself near the door leading to the cellar, and his family were standing near him. He was hit twice with a bayonet, and he fell into the cellar. This saved him. His wife, who was standing upstairs, was killed. He also noticed that one wounded young man asked to be shot. A Haidamak shot him twice. To this, another remarked to him: “Why are you shooting, because the chieftain ordered to stab, but not to shoot.” He replied: “But what to do, because he himself asks.”

The massacre lasted from two to half past five. It would probably go on until late at night, but Commissar Taranovich, not being privy to all the plans of Semosenko and Kiverchuk, was horrified at the sight of the bloody revelry that broke out in the town. He ran to Semosenko and began to persistently ask him to stop the massacre, but he did not pay any attention to his words. Taranovich went to the telegraph office and informed the provincial authorities in Kamenets [136] So the text probably refers to the city of Kamenets. about what was happening in Proskurov by direct wire. From there he was told the whereabouts of Shapoval, the commander of the front, and Taranovich, by direct wire, called the latter and reported to him about what was happening, as well as about his conversation with Semosenko. Konovalov [137] Error in text; I mean M.Yu. Shapoval. wired Semosenko’s order for an immediate cessation of the massacre. Taranovich took this order to Semosenko, who then said: “Well, that’s enough massacre for today.” The sound of the horn signaled to the Haidamaks that their actions had to be ceased. The Haidamaks then assembled at a previously appointed place and from there, in marching order with songs, went to their place behind the station.

Information about the actions of Commissar Taranovich was reported by witnesses Verkhol [138] So in the text, it follows: witness Verkhola. In the future, the incorrect declension of the name Verkhola is not specified in the text. (pp. 44-65), and also recorded in the investigative proceedings carried out by the Bolshevik authorities on the actions of Taranovich. I personally got acquainted with this investigative material.

We must do justice to the Haidamaks: they faithfully fulfilled their oath; they killed mercilessly, but did not plunder. In some houses they were offered money, but they tore the money to shreds. If there were separate cases of robbery, they were exceptions. But along with the Haidamaks, other Cossacks also slaughtered Jews, mostly from the Sotnias of Kiverchuk, as well as militia men. These, not being bound by an oath, not only slaughtered, but also robbed. But mostly the robberies took place at night, after the massacre had already been finished. These were not robberies in the narrow sense of the word, but the theft of property left, so to speak, without an owner, due to the fact that entire families were massacred. <Cossacks, militia men> [139] Words enclosed in angle brackets are written by hand. took part in the plundering of this property, as well as criminals who had been released from prison, according to all data, by order of Kiverchuk, who did this, obviously with the aim of blaming them if necessary. By order of the same Kiverchuk, the militia were disarmed, and only those militiamen who were assistants to the Haidamaks retained their weapons.

Ironically, the brightly lit windows testified that all the living beings in the house had been killed. The fact is that in Proskurov all houses are illuminated with electricity, which is quite affordable there. Religious Jews, who are the majority in Proskurov, faithful to their law, on Saturday, or rather, on the night from Friday to Saturday, do not turn off the light, it is on until the morning, when it, [electricity], goes out after the current stops; then, on Saturday evening, with the supply of current, it turns on automatically. After the terrible day of Saturday, February 15, the Jews did not turn on the light. The light was bright in the windows of houses where Jewish families were completely massacred. It was after this light that the robbers went. There were, of course, misunderstandings when they ended up in Christian families. This explains those isolated attacks on Christian apartments on the night from Saturday to Sunday, which are reported in their testimony by the witness Verkhola and Dr. Stavinsky (pp. 70-75).

According to witness Verkholoy and the chairman of the City Duma, Dr. Stavinsky, they found out about the massacre only late in the evening and set out on foot through the streets. They saw a lot of corpses lying around, they also went into the illuminated apartments where slaughtered people lay, they intended to establish a dressing station for the wounded, they went into some pharmacies, but there they met the aforementioned Skornik, who had requisitioned all the dressing material for the Cossacks, arguing that among them there are many wounded brought from the front, which was not confirmed by verification.

This Dr. Skornik, along with a nurse and two orderlies, took an active part in the massacre. Dr. Skornik was especially distinguished. When another nurse, indignant at his actions, shouted to him: “What are you doing, you have a Red Cross band on you,” he tore off and threw the band to her and went on killing. According to the testimonies of 3 high school students requisitioned in Yelisavetgrad by the Haidamaks for service in the sanitary detachment, Skornik, when he appeared in his car after the massacre, boasted that in one house they found such a beautiful girl that not a single Haidamak dared to kill her, then he himself stabbed her. Indeed, according to witnesses, among the corpses in the cemetery was the corpse of a stabbed young girl of rare beauty.

Since the entire staff of the medical detachment of Dr. Skornik fell ill with typhus, none of this detachment had time to evacuate with the departure of the Petliurists. It completely fell into the hands of the Bolshevik authorities, and as a result of the investigation, the suspects were sent to Odessa without trial. I have reviewed the investigative material and I must point out that Dr. Skornik is clearly identified as an active participant. It has been established, among other things, that he was a morphine addict, and in general made a strange impression on everyone (see the testimony of Dr. Stavinsky, pp. 88-90).

The next morning continued individual killings of Jews, both in the streets and in the houses. The Jews continued to hide and very few of them went out into the street. According to the witness Tsatskis ([p.] 35-40), on Sunday morning, dressed in a peasant attire, he went to Aleksandrovskaya Street and approached a group of Haidamaks who were talking to the townsfolk. He heard the Haidamaks say that until two o’clock they would kill Jews one by one, and from two o’clock they would repeat yesterday’s massacre.

Dr. Stavinsky, as chairman of the City Duma, together with the mayor and other persons, went to the commandant’s office with a request to stop the massacre. Verkhola, the witness, also appeared there and he insisted especially on this. In the same place, in the commandant’s office, it was decided to convene the City Duma, at the meeting of which Semosenko and Kiverchuk promised to appear. When Verkhola and Stavinsky went to the Duma, on the way they had to witness individual cases of killing and injuring Jews. One Jew was shot dead in front of the Duma itself. Very few members gathered in the Duma. Of the Jews, only Raigorodsky appeared. Other Jews had to return, as attempts were made on their lives (see the testimony of Marants).

The Duma opened its session immediately after the appearance of Semosenko and Kiverchuk. Dr. Stavinsky, who opened the meeting, outlined the situation in a few words. Semosenko took the floor and in his speech he explained that what happened was caused exclusively by the Jews, who, being all of them Bolsheviks, planned to massacre the Haidamaks and other Cossacks. He will continue to do so, as he considers this his sacred duty.

Kiverchuk spoke in the same spirit.

Then Verkhola took the floor.

I consider it necessary here to say a few words about Verkhola’s personality.

Verkhola came out of the common people and was self-taught. He graduated from an art school; taught in public schools; listened to lectures at the university. According to his convictions, he is a Social Democrat and a Ukrainian patriot. At the first Rada, he was elected a member of the city Duma, as well as the chairman of the Zemstvo Council. Twice he served as Commissar of the town of Proskurov. When there was a coup in favor of the Hetman, he, considering the Hetman’s power a restorational one, did not consider it possible to personally continue public and administrative work. He resigned from all duties and retired to private life. Verkhola was very popular among the population, and especially among the Jews. When the peasant uprisings against the Hetman started, the Austrian authorities arrested Verkhola and accused him of organizing these uprisings. He was taken to Tarnopol, where he spent two months in prison, and then, when he was taken to court, he managed to escape, and he was in hiding all the time. He returned to Proskurov only on February 13, two days before the massacre. Immediately upon his return, he was asked to take back his application for the resignation of his duties as a member of the Duma, to which he agreed. When the massacre began, Verkhola took upon himself the continuous work to stop the events that were taking place.

Taking the floor after Semosenko and Kiverchuk, he addressed the Duma with a long speech in which he pointed out that what happened in Proskurov was a shame for Ukraine. Speaking about the past merits of the Cossacks, he argued that in this case Semosenko dressed the robbers in a Cossack dress and became their chieftain. Addressing Semosenko, he said: “You are fighting against the Bolsheviks, but are those old people and children whom your Haidamaks slaughtered really Bolsheviks? Don’t you know that there are Bolsheviks among other nations, Ukrainians as well? He convinces Semosenko, for the sake of Ukraine’s honor, to order an immediate end to the ongoing horrors.

After Verkhola, Raigorodsky spoke briefly, and on behalf of the Jews he wholly agreed with him.

Semosenko objected to Verkhola in the same words that he used in his first speech. He declared that he was not fighting against the elderly, women and children, but exclusively against the Bolsheviks. Looking straight at Verkhola, he said that he really had no doubt that, unfortunately, there were Bolsheviks among the Ukrainians, but he would not spare them either. He agrees to give the order to stop what is happening, so that the corpses of the dead can be interred without delay. He also considers it necessary to point out to the city Duma that, knowing about the upcoming Bolshevik uprising, it did not warn him about it.

Dr. Stavinsky and members of the Duma objected to this reproach.

Verkhola again took the floor, thanked Semosenko for his readiness to give the order to stop these horrors, but insisted that he return the Cossacks who were sent to Felshtin and other places to perpetrate Jewish massacres there.

To this Semosenko replied that there had been the same Bolshevik uprising in Felshtin as in Proskurov, and that it should have the same consequences as here. However, after much insistence, Semosenko agreed to recall the Cossacks.

At the same meeting of the Duma, in the presence of the same Semosenko and Kiverchuk, it was decided that the protection of the city was transferred to an agitation detachment, with the head of which Verkhola had managed to talk earlier. Verkhola himself was elected head of this guard. Wasting no time, he gave the following announcement to the printing house for printing: “By order of the ataman and with his consent, expressed in the Duma, the massacre of the civilian population has been stopped. The Cossacks are recalled from the city. Security is entrusted to the propaganda detachment, and the Duma guarantees the inhabitants complete peace. Life must return to normal. The order was given to shoot all those caught on the spot of the robbery, as well as the Cossacks who appear in the city after 6 pm.

When the advertisement was typed, Verkhola brought its print to the commandant’s office in order to obtain permission to post it around the town. But at the commandant’s office he was arrested, since Semosenko and Kiverchuk found that he had no right to issue such an announcement, which, moreover, was written in inappropriate terms. By order of Semosenko, Verkhola was to be sent to the station for his trial, which, in essence, meant FOR SHOOTING. But the mayor of Sikora, who came to the commandant’s office, and members of the Ukrainian National Union, when they learned about what had happened, announced to Semosenko and Kiverchuk that such a reprisal against Verkhola would provoke cruel revenge from many Ukrainian organizations that knew him well.

As a result, Semosenko ordered that an investigation be carried out over Verkhola, and he was immediately released.

Instead of the announcement that Verkhola intended to issue, Semosenko issued an order declaring Proskurov and the district under martial law and forbidding any movement on the street after 7 pm.

In this order, he, among other things, writes: “I warn the population to stop their anarchist actions, since I have enough strength to fight them. This is what I point out to the Jews most of all. Know that you, the people who are unloved by all nations – and you are creating such a mess among the baptized people. Don’t you want to live? Don’t you feel sorry for your nation? If they don’t touch you, then sit quietly, how such an unfortunate nation incites even the poor people to rebel.” Later, in the same order, Semosenko demands that all warehouses, stores and shops begin to function immediately. He also orders to rewrite all signs in Ukrainian within three days: “So that I don’t see a single Moscow sign. Signboards must be written literary, gluing letters is strictly prohibited. The perpetrators of this will be brought before a military court.”

On the same day, another order was issued, in which Semosenko writes that “on the night of February 14-15, some unknown, unscrupulous, dishonest people rebelled against the existing government. These people, according to available information, belong to the Jewish nation and wanted to take power into their own hands in order to create confusion in the state apparatus and lead Ukraine, which has suffered so much, to anarchy and disorder. The most decisive measures were taken to crush the uprising. It is possible that there are many innocents among the victims, since nothing can be without error. But their blood must fall as a curse on those who have shown themselves to be provocateurs and adventurers.”

The next day, a new order was issued, in which Semosenko writes that the sad fact showed that at the hour of the Bolshevik uprising on February 14-15, the local garrison supported the Bolsheviks, that the soldiers of this garrison clearly went over to the side of the Bolsheviks. Therefore, he declares the 15th Belgorodsky and the 8^th Podolsky regiments dismanted. For receiving from them their belongings and documents he appoints representatives of the 3rd Haidamatsky Regiment and a commission from the Zaporizhzhya Brigade (all these orders are attached, see n. 3).

As can be seen from the testimony of Verkhola, as well as other witnesses, the killings continued for three days. However, after a meeting of the Town Duma, the massacre was stopped. But throughout the whole day of Sunday, as well as on Monday, there were numerous cases of individual murders of Jews both in houses and on the streets. There were also beatings of Jews in the surrounding villages, where the Haidamaks penetrated at their own wish or at the invitation of the peasants. The Jews rushed in all directions, looking for a way out of the situation. Most of all they pinned their hopes on Verkhola.

Since Commissar Taranovich was clearly already weary of his duties and asked for his resignation, which was not granted to him due to the absence of a suitable deputy, and so public figures, mainly Jews, asked Verkhola to take over the duties of Commissar. The latter agreed, and together with Taranovich, they called the provincial commissar by direct wire. He knew Verkhola well from his previous service and willingly agreed to replace Taranovich with him. Immediately, a telegraphic order was sent on the appointment of Verkhola as a commissar, which, by the way, was extremely unpleasant for Semosenko and Kiverchuk.

After coming to power, Verkhola issued two appeals in which he pointed out that “any call for national enmity, and especially for pogroms, is a disgrace to Ukraine and is an obstacle to its revival.” Such appeals have always been a weapon for the reactionaries. Every manifestation of violence on the part of the strongest nation against the weakest proves that that nation cannot accept the structures that are based on equality and brotherhood. Such tricks only play into the hands of the enemies of Ukraine, and he expresses the hope that the population will not succumb to such a provocation. He demands that all agitators who call for a pogrom be detained for trial by court martial” (Vol. III). In another appeal, he demands that all looted items be taken to the commissariat for their return to their proper place.

As was already mentioned, on Sunday the Saturday massacre was planned to be repeated. 3 Haidamaks, who appeared on Sunday morning at the City Council, among other things, declared in the presence of Verkhola that they had been granted the right to slaughter the Jews for three days. But after the Sunday meeting of the Town Duma, Semosenko really ordered an end to the massacre, and on a mass scale it did not happen again. But the murders of individual Jews, as already indicated, were repeated on Sunday and Monday. These killings were numerous.

By order of Semosenko, the victims of the Saturday massacre were to be buried on Monday. Thus, the corpses remained in the houses and littered the streets from Saturday to Monday. Many corpses were gnawed by pigs.

On Monday morning, numerous peasant carts with corpses piled on them headed for the Jewish cemetery. The corpses were brought throughout the day and filled the entire cemetery. According to the witness Finkel (pp. 1-4), he himself, being at the cemetery, counted over a thousand corpses. Hired peasants dug a huge pit in the cemetery, which was supposed to become a mass grave for the victims of the massacre. Marauders appeared at the cemetery, according to the same Finkel, who, under various pretexts, approached the corpses, felt them and robbed them. Relatives of the dead also appeared, searched for the corpses and took out valuables from their pockets, in many cases very significant ones, but a lot of the corpses had already been robbed. Women were found with fingers cut off on their hands, on which, obviously, there had been rings.

The overseer Dobrovolsky was in charge of the funeral, and he was ordered not to leave a single corpse unburied by nightfall. However, it was possible to bury all the corpses only at 4 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday. It should be added that in addition to the common mass grave, 4 smaller graves were dug out, in which many corpses were also buried. Some people managed to bury their relatives in separate graves.

As already indicated, individual murders of Jews continued in the following days, both in Proskurov and in the vicinity. Many people were killed on the way to the nearest places, in the field and in the forest; Jews were also killed in the nearest villages.

In addition to those Jews who were killed by the unbridled Haidamak mob, the authorities themselves arrested many Jews under the pretext that they were Bolsheviks, and then shot them. In this regard, Kiverchuk’s assistant, Kovalevsky, the son of a local landlord, an extremely spoiled and cruel young man, was especially distinguished (see the testimony of Sarah Gelman, pp. 13-15).

Very interesting in this regard is the testimony of the witness Tsatskis, who, along with 10 persons, was put to death, but escaped by some miracle.

This Tsatskis, whom I have already mentioned, on Sunday morning, dressed in peasant clothes, overheard the statements of the Haidamaks – an appeal to a crowd of Christians that from two o’clock they would repeat yesterday’s massacre. Hearing these words, he went to the house of his parents, who lived on Aleksandrovskaya Street near the commandant’s office, to warn them about the upcoming massacre. In the house, in addition to his parents and sisters, he found his younger brother, another cousin and one distant relative. From the window they soon saw five Haidamaks approaching the house with the assistant commandant Kovalevsky. This Kovalevsky was well acquainted with his younger brother and even gave him permission to carry a revolver. They hastily hid the old father and the women who were in the house in the attic, and they themselves opened the door to the Haidamaks. On entering Kovalevsky declared that he had come to look for a secret apparatus and weapons in the house. His brother noticed that there was no apparatus in the house and that he had a revolver with the permission of the same Kovalevsky. This revolver, as well as the permission, he immediately handed over to him. Kovalevsky pretended to search under the beds for the apparatus, and then ordered them all to follow him. On their pointing out that they could not leave the house and that it was necessary for someone to stay, he, after long requests, agreed to leave their distant relative in the house. Two Haidamaks also remained in the apartment, while three took them to the commandant’s office and placed them in a cell, where there were already many arrested, both Jews and Christians suspected of Bolshevism. Throughout the day, many new prisoners arrived there, and finally, his father was brought there as well. It turned out that the two Haidamaks who remained in the house climbed into the attic and arrested his father there. By the evening there were 32 Christians and 15 Jews. Those arrested were humiliated in every possible way, but one Pole, a former landowner, was subjected to especially cruel abuse. He was constantly beaten with ramrods and subjected to other tortures. Some individuals were summoned for interrogation. His brother was also called. The same Kovalevsky interrogated, but it was not a real interrogation, but only its appearance, since the questions were totally insignificant.

On the next day, at about 5 pm, all those arrested were taken out into the street and lined up, Christians separately, Jews separately. One hefty Haidamak approached a group of Jews and triumphantly said: “Well, Jews, you will not return to us again, we will send you all to the Land Committee,” which in the Haidamaks language meant “we will send you to the other world.” All those arrested were taken to the station, and on the way they continued to be abused, especially the same Pole. At the station, they were all placed in a separate car. In the evening Christians began to be called in turn. It turns out that they were called to the next car, where three tipsy Cossacks asked them about something, and then transferred to the third car. Some time passed and five Jews were taken out of the car, including Tsatskis’ brother. When they did not return for an hour and no information was received about them, the remaining Jews realized that they had been taken to be shot. As indicated, the Christians, after questioning, were placed in another car, only one of them was returned back to the car where the Jews remained. Around 10 pm all of them, i.e. 10 Jews and 1 Russian were taken out of the car onto the railroad track. The Jews were taken aside and the first thing they were searched and their money was taken away. Then they put everyone in two rows and led to the river slope at a distance of 10 versts from the place where the wagons stood. It was clear that they were being led to be shot. On the way, the Haidamak, who was walking beside him, felt his sheepskin coat. He remarked: “What are you looking at, is the skin that you get after me good enough for you?” At this, the Haidamak who was threatening him with a butt, shouted: “Be quiet, zhidyuga (kike), otherwise I’ll beat you with a butt.” His father, who was walking in front, heard these arguments, turned to him in Yiddish with a request not to argue, so that they would not mock him before his death. Everyone was finally led to the slope and ordered to take off their clothes and boots. They were all only in the underwear. He asked permission to say goodbye to his father. He was allowed. He approached his father and, taking him by the hand, together with them began to shout out the words of the dying prayer, mentioning in it the names of his children. Then everyone was placed in one line facing the river, and behind them a command was heard and three volleys were fired. Everyone fell, including himself. There were groans and cries of the wounded. The Haidamaks ran up and began to finish off those who were moaning. Especially for a long time they had to struggle with the Russian, who stubbornly fought against death. Finally, everything was quiet. The Cossacks were gone. Tsatskis began to feel himself and was surprised to find that he was not only alive, but also not injured. After making sure that no one was nearby, he rushed headlong towards the nearest village. At one place, while walking along the river, he fell through the ice and found himself knee-deep in water. But he didn’t feel tired or cold. He finally reached the village and went to the house of a peasant friend, woke him up and told him about what had happened. The peasant wept as he listened to his story, but advised him not to stay with him because of the proximity of the town. He gave him boots and clothes, and he went to the next village, and from there he safely reached the town of Medzhybizh.

There were other cases of miraculous deliverance from impending death. In this regard, the story of the young man Halperin (pp. 31-34), who was put face to face with death 4 times, but survived each time, is very interesting. He was a student at a commercial school, and before the pogrom he was in the quarter guard. He was dressed in a soldier’s overcoat and hat. On Saturday afternoon, when the corpses of slaughtered people were already lying on the street, he went to his house which was located at the end of the town, in the direction of the village of Zarechye. Not far from his house, he met a crowd of Haidamaks, and one of them stopped him and asked if he was a Jew or a Russian. He replied that he was Russian. He demanded documents, and he showed him a student card of the commercial school, in which religion was not indicated. The Cossack turned the document over, looked at it somewhat suspiciously, but then said: “Well, go.” When other Cossacks then rushed to Halperin, the first one shouted to them: “Let him go, this is Russian.” Halperin approached his house, which turned out to be locked and with a broken window. He did not dare to enter the house, and only later he found out that his relatives hid and were not injured. But the wealthy Jew Blekhman, who lived in the same house, turned out to be stabbed and robbed with his entire family, which consisted of 6 people. Halperin went to the nearest village of Zarechye and went to see his Jewish friend Rosenfeld. Around 9 o’clock in the evening somebody began to break the door, and peasant boys broke into the house. They attacked the old man Rosenfeld and killed him. He himself, together with Rosenfeld’s son rushed towards the forest. Being unable to run for a long time, he stopped. The guys surrounded him and shot at him, but making sure that he was not wounded, they decided to take him to town and hand him over to the Haidamaks. Just at that time, a peasant came from the town and began to talk about what was happening there. The guys stopped to listen to the newcomer, and Halperin managed to escape at that time. He then went towards the village of Grinovtsy. He knew a family who lived in this village, their name was Bukhera, but since it was already very late, he did not dare to go to their house and stayed overnight in the field. On the next day he went to the house, but there it became known that the peasants were going to a gathering to discuss the question of what to do with the Jews who were living in the village. He then went back to the town, but since it was restless there and he did not find his relatives, he again returned to the village.

He spent the night in the village, and on Monday morning three Haidamaks came there and started looking for Jews. Then he, with two young men and one girl, ran into the forest to hide there. However, after spending some time in the forest, they decided that it would be safer if they went to the town, and they went in the direction of Proskurov. On the way, they met three peasant boys who were returning from the city to the village. One of them had a rifle. The guys stopped them and looked at their documents and said: “We need such and such.” [They] did not return [140] So in the document; follows: “turned.” to the village. He himself, with a peasant who was with a gun, sat down on the sleigh; two other guys and two young ladies went on foot, then they met those three Haidamaks who used to come to the village, but now were returning to the city. The Haidamaks stopped them. The guy with a rifle in his hands got down from the sleigh and explained to the Haidamaks that he was taking the captured Jews back to the village. Then the Haidamaks drew their swords and began to stab the young people who were walking, including the girl. All three were killed. Seeing this, Halperin, still on the sleigh, lashed the horse, and it carried him towards the village. One of the Haidamaks started to run, but could not overtake him. Having driven a considerable distance, Halperin got off the sleigh, ran into the field and fell flat on the snow. There was fog and it was not easy to see him. However, after some time, peasant teenagers turned out to be near him and they decided to hand him over, as a Jew, to the civil authorities. They took him to the village of Grinovtsy, pulling off his bracelet watch along the way. In Grinovtsy, where the Bukhers lived, all the Jews were arrested, and he was added to them.

Regarding the village of Grinovtsy, the following should be noted. About 40 Jews lived in this village, including children. All of them bore the surname Bukher and were the offspring of a certain Bukher, who had settled in this village a long time ago. There have always been good neighborly relations between the Bukhers and the local peasants. Nevertheless, when the news of the Proskurov massacre reached the village, the young peasants decided to deal with their Jews as well. Some of them went to Proskurov and from there they brought those three Haidamaks who have already been mentioned. Upon learning this, all the Jews hid, but the peasants found them, 33 people all in all, and, together with the Haidamaks, surrounded them. The question was raised whether to deal with them there or somewhere else. The Haidamaks first of all searched all the Jews and took away all their money and valuables, totaling over 30,000 rubles. Then the Haidamaks suggested to kill them all right away. But the old peasants told the Haidamaks that they themselves would deal with their Yids, not here in the village, but somewhere outside the village. The Jews with their wives and children, were put on a sleigh and taken in the direction of Proskurov. On the way, the young peasants wanted to deal with them, but the old peasants insisted on handing them over to the authorities, who themselves would carry out the execution.

They were brought to the Proskurov commandant’s office, and from there they were escorted to the station commandant at the station. He, in turn, escorted them to the headquarters of the military field court, but from there they were returned back to the commandant’s office, and from there to the cell for the arrested. Since the drive for the massacre in Proskurov had already subsided to a significant extent, it was decided to release all of them the next morning. But even after they were released, they did not returned to their homes in Grinovtsy (see Bukherov’s testimony, p. 5). As for Halperin, he managed to escape during all these movings.

The witness Marants also tells about the case of miraculous deliverance. On Sunday, February 15, he, as a member of the Duma, went to the Duma to attend a memorable meeting where Semosenko and Kiverchuk spoke. On the way, he met the Duma member Shter and went with him. On the way they noticed that a Haidamak officer was chasing them in a cab. When he got to them, he jumped off the cab, grabbed his saber and rushed at them. Another moment, and blows with a saber would rain down on them. At that moment, from the opposite sidewalk, someone called the officer. He turned in the opposite direction, and Marants and Shter managed to hide in the nearest house in this way they escaped.

I must say that since Wednesday, February 19, relative calm set in in the city. It goes without saying that the Jews did not open shops, since they were not up to it. But Semosenko issued an order for the shops to be opened immediately.

On February 22, Semosenko issued an order stating that, according to his information, there were many Bolshevik agitators in Proskurov, and therefore he demanded from the population that all these Bolshevik agitators be handed over to the authorities by 8 o’clock today, otherwise most drastic measures would be taken. At the same time, he again demands that all shops be immediately and threatened the shop owners with a fine of 6,000 rubles from each of them.

The Jews saw in this order a new pretext for harsh measures and a new threat. In order to appease Semosenko, they collected a sum of three hundred thousand rubles and decided to transfer them through the town management for the needs of the garrison. The transfer of this amount was undertaken by the mayor Sikora, who did the business so unsuccessfully that Semosenko, having received the indicated sum and knowing that it was collected exclusively by Jews, nevertheless considered it possible to issue an order in which he wrote that he had received three hundred thousand rubles not from the Jews, but “from the entire population of Proskurov”, and he thanks them for their evaluating the work of his Cossacks. He told the central authorities that the inhabitants of Proskurov, in gratitude for restoring order in the city and liberating it from the Bolsheviks, contributed three hundred thousand rubles to him for the needs of the garrison.

On February 27, Semosenko issued an order that began with the words: “Jews, I have received information that yesterday you planned to arrange a meeting on Aleksandrovskaya Street to seize power and that in 4 days you are preparing to stage the same uprising that took place on February 14-15.” It was followed with threats to match <(see Vol. Sh.)> [141] Part of the text enclosed in angle brackets is crossed out.. The Jews were completely stunned by this order since everyone knew that no meeting was planned and that the Jews least of all thought about seizing power. They rushed about and first of all they turned to Commissar Verhola. Verkhola had in his hands some data indicating that someone in Proskurov was spreading provocative rumors in his own selfish interests.

It should be noted that a commission was sent from Kamenets to Proskurov to investigate the disruption. But Semosenko, as Verkhola shows, disbanded the commission with his power and appointed his own commission to investigate not the pogrom, but the Bolshevik uprising. One of the most active members of this commission was Haidamak Rokhmanenko, whose real name was Rokhman. This Rohman, being a Jew, enrolled, in his own words, as a volunteer in the Haidamaks. He posed as a former student and the son of a wealthy tannery owner from Kyiv. But according to the information I have collected, he was a man of little intelligence, with limited means, and he made his living by giving  Hebrew lessons. This Rokhman got into the confidence of Semosenko, was appointed to the commission of inquiry, and as a member of the commission got the opportunity to arrest people at his own discretion and bring them to justice. He arrested mainly the sons of wealthy parents, and through another Jew, Prozer, with whom he shared an apartment, he received ransoms for them (see Stehr’s testimony, pp. 7-9).

Verkhola managed to find out that it was not only Rokhmanenko who was engaged in blackmail and extortion, but that other members of the commission also took bribes. He made a detailed report to Semosenko about all this and insisted that he give him the right to arrest them all. But Semosenko, after great hesitation, agreed to the arrest of Rokhmanenko, but flatly refused to give permission for the arrest of others. Verkhola searched Rokhmanenko’s house and took 18,000 rubles from him. in cash, arrested him and during interrogation, forced him to confess to blackmail and extortion. At the same time, Rokhmanenko declared that he mostly transferred the bribes he had received to Semosenko’s chief of staff – Garashchenko. Verkhola handed over the inquiries he had made to Semosenko, and Rokhmanenko he handed over to the hands of a criminal investigator. Despite Verkhola’s repeated reminders, the investigation was extremely sluggish, and then it was somehow stopped. The requests addressed to Semosenko to return at least the acts of inquiry on the case came to nothing. Rokhmanenko himself, while in prison, boasted that no one dared to bring him to justice, that he would soon be free and would take cruel revenge on his enemies. When the evacuation of the Petliurists from Proskurov began, it was decided to transfer Rokhmanenko from the general prison to another place, as they feared that his friends would release him and take him away. During the transfer from prison, someone shot him out of personal revenge. Thus this adventurer and renegade, who, among other things, boasted that he had taken an active part in the massacre of the Jews ended his days.

It goes without saying that Semosenko’s order of February 27 was issued under the influence of the provocative activities of Rokhman-Rokhmanenko and other members of the notorious commission, who, in their own selfish interests, needed to sow panic and anxiety among the Jews.

Indeed, the Jews did recover from their panic fear. Together with Commissar Verkhola, they discussed all the measures that could be taken in order to get rid of Semosenko. Finally, Verkhola turned to the chairman of the Ukrainian National Union – Mudry [65] Wise (Mudry) Vasily (1893-1966) – Ukrainian state-political figure, journalist. Born in Galicia. Graduated from Lvov University. In the early 1920s – one of the organizers of the Lviv (secret) Ukrainian University. In the mid 1920s. – one of the founders, and then – the leading figure of the Ukrainian National Democratic Association (UNDO), the author of the party program; since 1935 – the head of the Association. From 1941 he was a member of the Ukrainian People’s Committee in Poland. In 1945-1948. – in Germany, resumed the activities of the UNDO. Died in the USA., who was on friendly terms with Semosenko’s immediate superior – corps commander Konovalets [66] Konovalets Yevhen (1891-1938) – Ukrainian military and political figure, colonel of the UNR army. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lvov University. The commander of the kuren of the Sich Riflemen (1918-1919) – one of the leading regular units of the UNR army. Participated in battles against the Bolshevik and Denikin troops. Since 1920 – in exile, at the head of the Ukrainian military organization (1927), then – OUN. Killed in Rotterdam as a result of an operation by the Soviet special services., and asked to press Konovalets so that that Semosenko would be transferred to another place, since under him the reassurance of the Proskurov population was impossible. Verkhola also ensured the assistance of Kiverchuk who felt uneasy because all power was in the hands of Semosenko, whom he undoubtedly envied. In addition, Kiverchuk believed that Semosenko, having massacred a huge part of the Jewish population, had done his job, and that there was no need for him anymore. Together with Mudry, Verkhola went to the headquarters of Konovalets and there he obtained an order from him to dismiss Semosenko from the post of head of the garrison and to return him to the front. In turn, Kiverchuk was also soon relieved from the duties of the commandant of the city of Proskurov and remained only the commandant of the Proskurov district.

However, Semosenko was slow to resign his duties. He took steps to stay in Proskurov and, for his part, intrigued against Kiverchuk. Apparently, he was especially displeased with the moral satisfaction that his resignation would give to the Jews. But when he was convinced that this quitting was inevitable, he took advantage of the fact that he was suffering from a complicated [142] venereal disease, convened a council of doctors and, through his adjutant, persuaded them to give an opinion in the sense that, in the interests of his health, he needed temporarily completely get away from business and evacuate to some infirmary away from Proskurov (see the testimony of Dr. Salitronik, pp. 41-43). With great fanfare, accompanied by orderlies and a nurse, Semosenko finally left Proskurov.

This Semosenko, who filled the houses and streets of Proskurov with Jewish blood, was, according to the description of witnesses, a frail young man of 22-23 years old, who began his service as a volunteer back in tsarist times. With feigned seriousness on his face, he gave everyone the impression of a semi-intelligent, nervous and unbalanced person. Judging by some of his resolutions on the reports that I saw, it must be admitted that at the same time he <was a man”> [143] The part of the text enclosed in angle brackets has been restored from the manuscript kept in the State Archives of the Russian Federation. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 96. L. 55. of great quick wit and extremely decisive.

According to my rough estimate, over 1,200 people were killed in Proskurov and its environs. In addition, more than 300 of the more than 600 wounded died later.

Recalling that in his first order Semosenko threatened to shoot on the spot anyone who would call for a pogrom, and that this order was not published thanks to Kiverchuk, who then undoubtedly prevented the transfer of power to Semosenko; remembering also that this power was willingly granted to him by Kiverchuk when he expressed his readiness to slaughter the Jewish population, I come to the conclusion that Semosenko was mainly the physical perpetrator of those bloody horrors that took place in Proskurov. The main inspirer of the Proskurov bloody ordeal, from my point of view, is Colonel Kiverchuk – this old tsarist servant, an undoubted pogromist and Black Hundred man …

Proskurov still has the sad merit of establishing a new phase in the pogrom technique.

The previous pogroms had as their main goal robbery, that is, the plunder of Jewish property; robberies were followed by murders, but they were still in the background.

The Cossacks looked at robberies as a fair reward for their faithful service, and in the murders of peaceful and unarmed people they saw a manifestation of their valor and personal prowess.

Starting with Proskurov, the main goal of the pogroms in Ukraine is the complete massacre of the Jewish population. Robberies are also widely practiced, but fade into the background.

In Proskurov, the Uman massacre of the times of Gonta was repeated[67] Gonta Ivan – commander of the garrison in Uman during the anti-Polish peasant uprising in the 18th century. in Ukraine under the leadership of M. Zheleznyak. Passed the city. As a result of the “Uman massacre”, about 20 thousand Jews and Poles were killed. was repeated. The only difference is that both Poles and Jews were slaughtered in Uman under Gonta. In Proskurov, only Jews were slaughtered with strict neutrality on the part of the Poles and other Christians …

The town of Felshtin, Podolsk province.

Massacre on February 16th.

The Felshtin pogrom should not be regarded as an independent pogrom, but only as an episode of the Proskurov massacre.

As I indicated in my report on Proskurov, on the night of Friday to Saturday, February 15, part of the insurgent soldiers set off along the road to Felshtin to raise an uprising there. Upon arriving there, they first of all arrested the head of the militia, and everyone announced that a Bolshevik coup had taken place in Proskurov and that a similar coup was to take place in the entire Proskurov district; but soon they released the chief of militia and as well as other persons, they took a signed voucher that they would unquestioningly submit to the newly organized Bolshevik government. However, on the same day, February 15, they learned that the Bolshevik uprising in Proskurov had failed, and then they hastily left Felshtin and dispersed in different directions.

This episode with the Bolshevik coup extremely excited the local Jewish community. In the evening, this anxiety intensified when vague rumors about the events taking place in Proskurov began to reach them. The anxiety of the Jews increased even more the next day, Sunday, when these rumors became more definite. The Jews then turned to the chief of militia with a request to strengthen the guard. He promised to invite peasants from the neighboring village of Porichya [144] The document gives two options for writing the name of the village and, accordingly, the area: Porichie / Porechie., as well as from Proskurov, to help the local guard, for which he received a suitable sum from the Jews. Indeed, on Monday morning, armed peasant boys came from Porichia and surrounded the town. It was this auxiliary guard that the chief of militia recruited. He himself left for Proskurov on Monday morning. He returned at 6 o’clock in the evening, and after him appeared the Cossacks with red hats, i.e. the same Haidamaks who were definitely known in Felshtin to slaughter Jews in Proskurov.

The Jews realized that they were doomed to massacre and began to hide wherever they could. Most hid in cellars and attics. Many wanted to escape from the shtetl, but the guards surrounding the shtetl who had been invited by the police chief from Porichia did not let any of the Jews through. The Jews were thus surrounded.

The night passed with great anxiety. Occasional shots were fired.

According to the testimony of the witness Danda, whose house overlooks the square of the main street of the town, he saw from the window of his apartment how several hundred Haidamaks assembled on the square, and with them were many peasant carts that arrived from the surrounding villages. In the morning, at about 7 o’clock, he heard the sound of a horn and saw the haidamaks lining up in the square. Someone gave them a speech, after which they scattered around the town. Soon the screams of people who were being killed began to reach him. 4 Haidamaks entered, and one of them waved a saber at him, but another one stopped him. They demanded money from him, and he gave them about 6 thousand rubles, assuring that he had no more and offering all his belongings if they pare his life. They did not take things but headed for the exit. The same Haidamak who had stopped his comrade who had threatened him with a saber, said to him when leaving: “You’d better hide, as others will come and you will probably be slaughtered.”

Danda, who was alone in the apartment, since he had previously sent his wife and his only daughter to another place, with the help of this Haidamak climbed up to the attic on a ladder, which this Haidamak gave him and he hid it in the attic From the attic Danda could observe all the horrors that took place in Felshtin. He saw how old people and children were killed who were dragged out of their houses. After some time, he noticed three [145] So in the document; follows: “corpse”. women near his house and, assuming that one of them was his wife, jumped down from the attic to look at the corpse. He made sure that it was not his wife, but he did not dare to go back into his apartment, since he could not climb up to the attic because the ladder remained in the attic. He then ran into the house of a Russian neighbor and asked for shelter, but he was pushed out of there. Then he ran into the attic of a neighboring house and hid there in the straw. This was noticed by the guys from the Porich guards. They chased him, climbed into the attic, but they did not find him, they tried to set fire to the straw, but they did not succeed.

Another witness, Sviner, who recently returned from the front, says that he and his mother and sisters were hiding at home and that several Haidamak groups had come to them and he paid off from them with money. When the last group arrived he had no money. He went out to them to the street and begged to be spared. He resorted to cunning and addressing one Haidamak, declared that he had been lying with him in the trenches during the war. The Haydamak stared at him, then turned his gaze to his feet and said: “You have good boots, give them to me.” He readily agreed and, together with the Haidamaks, entered the house, where he took off his boots. Haydamak, in turn, took off his own boots and put Sviner’s boots on. Then he took fresh footcloths from his pocket, handed them to Sweener, and helped him to put on his old boots. When he also got galoshes, he turned to his comrades with the words: “We will not kill the man with whom I was sitting in the trenches.” The Haidamaks were gone. By evening, Sviner and his family, knowing that the massacre had already ended, decided not to stay in the apartment anymore, and, making their way through the corpses along the streets, they all got out of the town and spent the whole night in the field. They returned only on the next day, when they learned that the place was calm. Sviner then went to the apartment of his brother, who was the chairman of the Jewish community; walking with difficulty through the corpses, he got to his apartment and there he  saw his brother, his wife, her parents, as well as several other people hiding in this house, all stabbed to death.

The witness Kramer says that he was in Proskurov during the pogrom that was taking place there. Trying to rescue himself, on Sunday, February 16, at 12 noon, he walked to Felshtin where he lived permanently, but in the village of Malinichi he was arrested by a militiaman and taken to the militia. The militia chief announced that he was to escort him back to Proskurov to the commandant’s office. When he said that he would be shot there and asked not to be sent there, the militia chief replied that he himself was at great risk if he did not do so. He showed him a telegram he had received from the Proskurov commandant, Kiverchuk, instructing him to soot all agitators and Jews on the spot or send them for execution to him in Proskurov.

At this time the militia brought in a whole family who got out of Proskurov in the same way, heading to Felshtin. But when asked where this family was coming from and where, the head of the family was quick to invent an answer that they were heading from Felshtin to Proskurov. The militia chief then ordered that the family be escorted back to Felshtin. The witness Kramer took advantage of this and immediately, in the presence of the chief, asked this family to inform his relatives in Felshtin about the dangerous situation in which he found himself, and asked them not to stop decisively at any means to save him. After that the chief agreed to leave him in the village until next morning. But sometime later, about two hours later, the militiamen brought 16 more Jews who were fleeing from Proskurov. Then the head of the militia declared that he could not leave such a mass of people with him until morning, and decided to send all of them, including Kramer, to Proskurov immediately. They had already been put on carts, but at that time they received a phone call from Felshtin and a militia chief, an an acquaintance of his, insistently asked him for Kramer. Then again it was decided to leave everyone in the village until morning. In the evening, Kramer managed to speak with a local Jew, who, on behalf of him and 4 other Jews, entered into negotiations with the militia chief about letting them go to Felshtin for a certain sum. They agreed on a sum of 5 thousand rubles, which was paid. Thanks to this, Kramer and 4 other Jews with the families of the latter managed to leave for Felshtin on carts. Other Jews, who did not have the money to pay a thousand rubles each, were sent back to Proskurov. Kramer arrived in Felstein on Monday afternoon, and in the evening the Haidamaks arrived there. He managed to send his relatives to the nearest village in advance, and he himself hid in the cellar, where he spent the whole night, as well as the next day. Through the cracks of the boards that covered the cellar, he saw separate episodes of the massacre that was taking place, and also saw how militiamen, especially peasants, robbed goods from shops, as well as property from houses.

The witness Schneider certifies that the same telegrams that had been received from Kiverchuk by the militia chief in Malinichy were also sent to other villages, and that due to this, many Jews were shot on the spot. He knows that the Jewess Brover with her children who fled from Felshtin, was also sent for shooting, but paid off for a lot of money.

According to the same witness Schneider who was well acquainted with the head of the post and telegraph office, who at the same time was in charge of the local information bureau, he went to him on Monday at 12 noon to inquire about the situation. In his presence the chief was summoned from Proskurov by direct wire. He remained at the apparatus for about an hour. When he returned, Schneider turned to him with the question: “What did they tell you from Proskurov?” He replied that the Haidamaks went all over the Proskurov district and probably, they would be in Felshtin as well. To the question of what will happen in Felshtin, will it really be a repetition of Proskurov’s horrors, he gave an evasive answer and did not answer the repeated questions. Then Schneider began to say goodbye to him hurriedly, in order to inform the Jews about what he had heard. When he was leaving, the chief said: “Come in in the evening.” But Schneider answered him angrily that at such a time he had no time for visiting people.

It should be noted that in the evening the Haidamaks had already arrived, and they did not let the Jews out of their houses yet. Schneider spent the night from Monday to Tuesday and the night of Wednesday in the cellar, where he hid, not knowing that the massacre was already over by two in the afternoon on Tuesday. He left the cellar only on Wednesday morning, but even then there were still plenty of corpses lying on the streets. He began to help the wounded and for this purpose he went to the zemstvo hospital. The militia chief was also there, and Schneider chanced to overhear the following conversation between the chief of militia and the provincial chief official from Kamenets. It seemed that, in response to a question from Kamenets about the events that took place in Felshtin, the militia chief reported: “On Monday morning there came Cossacks who called themselves Haidamaks. Their ataman turned to me with a proposal not to interfere with them when they were doing with the Jews as they please. And when he asked if I agreed to this, I answered him: “I have no power against you, and I cannot interfere with you.”

He then reported on the massacre taking place in the town and indicated that the number of those killed was about 500. “Before leaving the town,” he said, “the same chieftain told me: “Do not interfere with the peasants to do what they see fit. Let them take away what the Jews have sucked out of the people for a long time.” And the peasants really came with carts and took the Jewish property.

Several hundred Haidamaks assembled in Felshtin, apparently all the Haidamaks who were in Proskurov, since the entire 3rd Haidamak Regiment consisted of only a few hundred. It is characteristic that some of the Haidamaks who arrived in Felshtin on Monday evening came to Jewish apartments and asked for an overnight stay. They were not only provided with lodging for the night, but were generously treated to supper and sweets. These haidamaks behaved decorously and even courteously. They assured their hosts that they had arrived in Felshtin without any evil intentions and that they would go back the next day. However, in the morning after the signal horn, these same Haidamaks slaughtered the very Jews who sheltered them.

The question arose of how to put together the Felshtin massacre with the promise which, according to Verkhola and others, Semosenko had given on Sunday at a Duma session—to recall the Haidamaks from Felshtin. The Felshtin Jews assure that Semosenko gave an appropriate telegraph order, but that it was concealed by the head of the post and telegraph office.

There is an obvious misunderstanding here. The distance between Felshtin and Proskurov is only 25 versts, and the Haidamaks who arrived in Felshtin on Monday evening, undoubtedly left Proskurov on the same day in the morning. It is clear that Semosenko was required not to recall the Cossacks from Felshtin, but simply not to send them there, but it is possible that it was no longer in the power of Semosenko to keep them in Proskurov.

It must be remembered that the Haidamaks were promised bloody entertainment with the Jews in Proskurov for three days. But the experience of the first day, Saturday, obviously exceeded the expectations of Semosenko and Kiverchuk himself. It was therefore decided to suspend the massacre in Proskurov. But at the same time, the Haidamaks, having tasted Jewish blood, got blood thirsty were eager to have more massacre. It was not so easy, apparently, to stop them; at the same time, the telegrams sent by Kiverchuk around the district, which are mentioned above, agitated the entire district. From Kiverchuk’s point of view, after what happened in the county town of Proskurov, it would be unfair and, perhaps, insulting for the county to leave it completely without Jewish blood. Be that as it may, the Haidamaks got the opportunity to go to the county. At the same time, one must think that they were given the freedom to act at their own discretion. It was up to them to do one way or another. This explains the fact that in the village of Yarmolintsy, where the Bolsheviks also visited, they limited themselves to a significant sum of money that the local Jews handed to them, leaving the town to meet them, and the Haidamaks did not massacre. But when they came to Felshtin, they found a ripe pogrom mood there. This pogrom mood was created by that guard from Porichia that was invited by the chief of the militia, as well as by this militia chief himself, who, according to all reports, sympathized with the pogrom and assisted in it. Even his 80-year-old father during the massacre, a thick board in his hands, finished off the wounded Jews, which is confirmed by several witnesses who saw this from the attic in which they were hiding. This pogrom mood was also supported by the head of the post and telegraph office, who was aware of everything, but did nothing not only to prevent the pogrom, but even to mitigate it, which is sufficiently clear from the testimony of the witness Schneider. Under the influence of this pogrom mood, the revelry of the Haidamak rabble in Felshtin was unrestrained.

The Felshtinsky pogrom continued for several hours. 485 people were killed and 180 were wounded. Of the wounded, over a hundred people died of wounds. Thus, 600 people were killed, which is almost a third of the Jewish population of the town which numbered only about 1900 Jewish inhabitants [68] Modern historiography cites the following figures for those killed in the Proskurov-Filshtinsky pogrom: in the city of Proskurov, there were 1,650 of them. (1200 killed and 300 died of wounds later), and in the Filshtin m. – 485 dead. See: Ukraine // Brief Jewish Encyclopedia. T. 8. S. 1221.

Gilerson in the published document has more than 1,500 people in the Proskurov pogrom. killed, and in Filshtinsky – 600 victims (485 people were killed during the pogrom and over 100 died of wounds later). In the newspaper information about the trial in Odessa of a number of perpetrators of the pogrom, carried out by the Bolsheviks, there was a hypothetical figure of 5 thousand killed. The note stated that “the Odessa Revolutionary Tribunal heard the case of the active participants in the Proskurov pogrom, which took an incredible form of brutal reprisals, during which 5,000 Jews were killed. The tribunal sentenced Dr. Skornyak and paramedic Koltsov to death, others to a five-year prison (ROSTA) ”(Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. July 19, 1919). From April 5 to August 23, 1919, Odessa was under the control of the Red Army; A provisional Council of People’s Commissars was formed. In addition, in the notes of one of the witnesses to the pogrom, P.F. Adamchik “Bloody Flood. A true incident in the 20th century”, which, however, are devoid of documentary accuracy, gives a figure of 6 thousand dead. (GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 443. L. 33-35.)

The scatter of evidence regarding the number of those killed is explained by the difficulties in counting the victims immediately after the tragedy by the forces of the surviving Jewish population authorized by Jewish public organizations; the unwillingness of the Directory to quickly present the true numbers of those killed in the pogrom. As a result, in the eyes of contemporaries of the Proskurov-Filshta pogrom, who were aware of its scale, the number of victims increased several times..

It should be noted that in Proskurov, the Haidamaks, having taken an oath on Saturday to kill but not to rob, faithfully fulfilled their holy oath. Robbery by the Haidamaks was rare there. But from Saturday to Tuesday, when the Felshtin massacre took place, several days passed, and during this time the sanctity of the oath was obviously wiped out from the consciousness of the Haidamaks. In Felstein, looting went hand in hand with massacres.

It should also be noted that while in Proskurov cases of rape were few, in Felshtin there were too many of them. Most of the slaughtered women had previously been raped. But many of the survivors suffered the same fate. 12 cases were registered when unfortunate women had to be treated for the consequences.

Leaving after the signal horn, the Haidamaks doused five best houses in the town with kerosene and gasoline and set them on fire.

This is how these soldiers completed their work for the benefit of the Ukrainian fatherland. Thus ended this Proskurov-Felshtinskaya bloody bacchanalia.

* * *

Remarks on Gilerson’s report on the Felshtin pogrom (L. Beiser from Felshtin) [146] Comments are published on one of the versions of Gilerson’s report on the Filshta pogrom. See: GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 443. L. 81v, 86v.

To p. 1. It is not true that the Jews turned to the head of the militia with a request to strengthen the guard. He decided to strengthen it, so that in the event of an invasion by a small Bolshevik detachment, he would resist it. He was also afraid of the Poles, with whom he had hostile relations in connection with the persecution and arrest of the local priest Grushevsky. No matter how much the local Jews, represented by representatives of the community, asked him not to strengthen the guards, the commissioner did not leave his position. The members of the community were left with one option: to take into consideration the fait accompli and reluctantly promise him the required sum of money. As for the guards from Proskurov, there was not even talk of it. On the contrary, members of the community asked him to telegraph to Proskurov that it was calm in Felshtin and that he did not need help, which he promised. The Porech guards came not in the morning, but in the afternoon, at two o’clock in the afternoon. The commissar, having arrived on Monday at dawn from Porechye, was at home all day.

To p. 6. Apparently, the Haidamaks left Proskurov on Sunday, since the mayor, Felshtin, Vilavsky, informed Sviner on Monday night that the Haidamaks had left Proskurov heading for Felshtin. They stopped in the villages and massacred the Jews. So it is possible that Semosenka’s order was hidden by Basyuk. As for the reference to the fact that it was not in the power of Semosenka to keep them in Proskurov, it should be noted that the pogrom in Felshtin took place in an organized, orderly manner. At the signal, it began and stopped, no disobedience of the authorities was noticed. The main role in keeping the Haidamaks from massacre in other places in the Proskurov district was played by the local authorities. They assured the ataman that they had no Bolsheviks and that the Jewish population was very sympathetic to the Petliura government. The chieftain agreed, and the Haidamaks obeyed. During the pogrom in Proskurov, the Directorate was quite strong, and the conductor’s baton was in the hands of the authorities. The same month later, when Petliura had only a few districts left and his army fled, despite the firm unwillingness of the authorities to organize pogroms, they did not occur in our area. Even then it was able to keep two organized bands from robbery and murder, so that the reference to the impossibility of holding back the dispersed Haidamaks has no firm support. Either Semosenko, despite his promise, sent them on Monday, or Basyuk hid his order.

GA RF. F. R-1318. Op. 24. D. 17. L. 30-46. Copy.

There. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 443. L. 4-21v.; 80-86 rev. Copy.

There. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 96. L. 43-58v. Copy.

No. 16. Extract from the registration journal of the Jewish city hospital about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the town of Proskurov, Podolsk province. in February 1919 7 August 1921

№№    First and last name   Age     Wounds and complications              Outcome

1. Yakov Weitzer 19        Stab wounds of the arms and back     Recovery (transferred to post)
2. Esther Weintraub 19        Stab wounds of the back and abdomen          Recovery (transferred to post)
3. Khan Balagur 17        Stab wounds of the chest, abdomen and arms            Recovery (transferred to post)
4. Voba Kleinerman 24        Stab wounds and chopped wounds of the legs and sides       (continues outpatient treatment)
5. Sura Rivka[147] Last name not listed. 60 leg wounds     Recovery (transferred to post)
6. Hana Pachter 48        Gunshot wound of the right leg          Recovery (transferred to post)
7. Johved Pachter 26        Gunshot wound to the right thigh, damage to the thigh, arteries and massive blood loss      Death half an hour after being taken to the hospital
8. Moishe Bresler 16        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery
9. Yitzchok Sverdlik 60        Stab wounds of the face          Recovery (post)
10. Leiser Roizman 19        Stab wounds of the trunk and left arm, bilateral inflammation of both lungs and phlegmon of the left arm and right side     Recovery
11. Golda Soshik 17        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
12. Clara Zeltsman 25        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
13. Feiga Grinzweig 17        Significant blood loss, stab wounds to the torso        Recovery (post)
14. Akiva[148] Last name not listed. 19        Gunshot crushed open fracture of the bones of the right elbow joint Treatment in the hospital
15. Gdalia Grinzweig 17        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery
16. Hana Fishman 25 Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
17. Malka[149] Last name not listed. 57        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (item)
18. Malya Gluzman 27        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
19. Esther Gluzman 30        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
20. Duvid Gluzman 32        Stab wounds of the trunk, strong and persistent coughing     Recovery (post)
21. Golda Rosenfeld 15        Stab wounds of the torso
22. Rivka Rosenfeld 18        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
23. Beirish Kogan 14 Chopped wound of the left leg           Continues outpatient treatment
24. Beila Kogan 14        Chopped head wound Continues outpatient treatment
25. Rosya Vinokur 25        Stab wound of the torso          Recovery (post)
26. Shmoishman 11        Chopped head wound Recovery (post)
27. Frida Shapiro 52        Stab wound of the torso and head, inflammation of the lung and pleura, fracture of the 6th and 7th left ribs       Treatment in the hospital
28. Enta Zemelman 46        Stab wounds of the trunk and arms, right-sided inflammation of the lungs and pleura          Death
29. Elya Bresler 24        Stab wounds of the trunk, fracture of the lower half of the body      Treatment in the hospital
30. Feiga Krupnik 32 Stab wounds of the torso, fracture of the right rib, purulent inflammation of the left pleura. Bilateral pneumonia, paralysis of the right leg    Treatment in the hospital
31. Rasya Oberman 18        Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery (post)
32. Aron Shmulev Kogan 30 Stab wounds of the face and chest, chopped wounds of both arms, inflammation of the right lung, phlegmon of the left arm, purulent infection of the blood   Death in the Zemstvo hospital, where he was transferred on March 3
33. Lelya Kogan 23        Stab wounds of the torso and arms     Recovery
34. Haya-Sura Kogan 25        Stab wounds of the torso and arms     Recovery
35. Reiza Kogan 29        Stab wounds of the left arm    Recovery
36. Yisroel Kogan 8 Stab wounds of the torso        Recovery
37. Menya Kogan 55 Stab wounds to the torso, inflammation of both lungs           Death
38. Hasya Golender 24        Torso stab wounds, inflammation of the peritoneum, galloping consumption and acute psychosis       Death (was transported to the zemstvo hospital, from there after the operation – to the post, and from the post – back to the hospital)
39. Laser Blank 9          Chopped wound of the left knee, purulent inflammation of the knee joint.   He was taken to a local hospital, where his left leg was amputated.
40. Sura Blank 31        Chopped wounds of the head and torso          Transferred to local hospital
41. Leah Blank 7          Chopped wounds of the right arm and left leg           Continues outpatient treatment. Right arm amputated
42. Joseph Reinish 19        Chopped forehead wounds, inflammation of the meninges   Recovery
43. Malya Keyser 33        Stab wounds of the abdomen, inflammation of the peritoneum, premature delivery           Death
44. Milya Barzak 9          Stab wound of the abdomen, prolapse of the omentum         Recovery
45. Ruhlya Sandler 14        Stab wounds of the torso and head     Recovery
46. Etya Sandler 13        Stab wounds of the torso and head     Recovery
47. Mariam Shmulevich 50        Stab wound of the torso, contusion of the right shoulder joint            Transferred to post (died)
48. Reyza Tiverskaya 33        Stab wounds of the face and torso      Moved to post
49. Gitel Pikovskaya 23        Chopped wounds of the neck, back and head   Recovery
50. Brunya Shekhvits 22        Stab wound of the torso          Moved to post
51. Esther Polek 6          Stab wound of the abdomen, prolapse of the omentum, inflammation of the peritoneum      Recovery
52. Eni Ashkenazi 56 Stab wound, spinal paralysis of the lower half of the body   Treatment in the hospital
53. Leah Langburd 19        Stab wound of head, torso and arms   Continues outpatient treatment
54. Meer Saltzman 20        Chopped wound of the head, face and left arm, pneumonia  Recovery
55. Chaya Shoihed 19        Stab wound of the torso          Recovery (post)
56. Inda Rabinovich 55        Stab wound of the torso          Recovery
57. Ita Ivankovitser 20        Stab wound of the trunk, right-sided pleural resection of the 7th right rib            She is being treated in the hospital (operated at the Zemstvo hospital)
58. Abram Saltsman 55        Stab wound of the trunk, bilateral pleurisy     Death
59. Sosya Senderovich 22        Stab wound of the torso and arms, bilateral pneumonia and pleurisy            Death
60. Shmul Senderovich 30        Stab wound to the torso and right arm            Recovery
61. Basya Soroka             30        Stab wound of the head and trunk, inflammation of the right lung and pleurisy            Continues outpatient treatment
62. Sheindlya Shaner 14        Stab wound of the torso          Recovery (post)
63. Bunya Fayert           19        Stab wound of the torso          Recovery (post)
64. Moishe Chaikov 5          Gunshot wound of the right ankle      Continues outpatient treatment
65. Tauba Lerner           14          Chopped wounds of the head, back and left shoulder joint, with vdamage to the humerus         Continues treatment
66. Hanya Lerner            12        Chopped wounds of the head and left arm     Recovery
67. Ita Lev 18          Stab wound of the trunk and chopped wound of the head and inflammation of the peritoneum         Recovery
68. Braina Lev          20           Stab wounds of the chest, arms and face        Recovery
69. Sura Stolyar          6             Stab wounds of the torso                                Recovery
70. Rivka Stolyar          3             Stab wounds of the torso                                Recovery
71. Tuba Portnoi          4             Chopped head wound             Continues outpatient treatment
72. Surka Portnoi          56           Stab wound of the torso, right arm and pleurisy Recovery
73. Bruntsya Zozulya 30        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
74. Pasha Zozulya 6          Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
75. Hersh Zozulya 5          Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
76. Meer Veretin           28          Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
77. Zelman Preseizen 45        Chopped wounds of the right half of the face and head, open fracture of the right upper jaw bone, fracture of the dental processes of both jaws, removal of all teeth of the right half of the mouth, paralysis of the right facial nerve             The wounds have healed
78. Leah Natanzon 13        Stab wounds of the torso                           Moved to post
79. Zisel Averbukh 14        Stab wounds of the torso and face, inflammation of both lungs                                                                                                                           Death
80. Malya Averbukh 7          Stab wounds of the face, inflammation of the left lung                Recovery
81. Hertz Averbukh 46        Chopped wounds of the head and face, inflammation of both lungs                                                                                                                Death
82. Motel-Ber Krochek 30        Chopped body wounds                                  Recovery
83. Joseph Kleiman 15        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
84. Rivka Oleksenitzer 13        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
85. Avrum Volitsky 15        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
86. Ita Weissman 17        Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
87. Isaac Balitsky 12        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
88. Shulim Balitsky 17        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to postt
89. Moishe Kogan 50        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
90. Lipa Korekman 35       Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
91. Ruchel Ivankovic             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to postt
92. Noech Hershhorn             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
93. Leah Baltzer             Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
94. Mariam Balzer             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
95. Sheindlya Baron             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
96. Dvosya Freeman             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
97. Srul Ivankovitser             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
98. Duvid Kaplun            Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
99. Chaya Kaplun            Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
100. Mariam Shamis             Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
101. Chaya Fish 38        Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
102. Chaya Segal 16        Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
103. Mariam Katz 28        Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
104. Duvid Keselbaum 43        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
105. Einoch Reznik 17        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
106. Slyoma Polyak 19        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
107. Meer Reisman 15 Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
108. Fani Barik 15        Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
109. Mordechai Barmak 16        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
110. Nachman Schneider 16        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
111. Wolf Berman 8          Stab wounds of various parts of the body                  Moved to post
112. Sheindlya Finger 40        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
113. Fanya Feldman 17        Stab wounds of various parts of the body      Moved to post
114. Motel Katz 14        Chopped wounds of the head and hands, inflammation of the brain Moved to post
115. Golda Mudaber 66        Chopped head wounds, cerebral hemorrhage             Death
116. unknown woman 50        Chopped head wounds, cerebral hemorrhage             Death
117. Chaya Schleifer 19        Stab wounds to head and right eye, loss of right eye Recovering in the hospital
118. Malka Rabinovich 30        Stab wounds of the torso and left arm, inflammation of the right lung and pleurisy     Continues outpatient treatment
119. Etya Bresler 56        Head bruises, concussion        Recovery
120. Shprinz Zilberman 18        Chopped head wound                                Moved to post
121. Hana Kepelman 15        Stab wounds of the torso, inflammation of the right lung and pleurisy                                                                                                  Treatment in the hospital
122. Neha Vayburd 12 Chopped wounds of the head with violation of the cranial integrity of the bones                                                                                                  Treatment in the hospital
123. Leib Lekman 55        Stab wounds of the torso                       Recovery
124. Dora Lekman 22        Stab wounds of the torso and arms        Recovery
125. Yankel Grinstein 58        Stab wounds of the trunk, fracture of the 7th and 8th left ribs, inflammation of the pleura                                                         Moved to post
126. Ruvin Glazer 23        Stab wounds of the trunk, bilateral pneumonia, right-sided purulent pleurisy, spontaneous opening                                                      Recovery
127. Yukel Blechman 42        Stab wounds of the arms, torso and face, nose, extraction of teeth, inflammation of the right lung                                                   Recovery
128. Hersh Derazhner 57        Chopped wounds of the head and the left half of the neck with a violation of the integrity of the nerves                                     Recovery
129. Joseph Rein 22        Stab wounds of the right arm and right leg    Treatment in the hospital
130. Leib Katz 18        Chopped wounds of the head and arms and right leg, inflammation of the meninges                                                                                            Death
131. Reizya Lerner 20 Stab wounds of the head, arms and torso       Moved to post
132. Srul Tepman 7          Chopped wounds of the head and left ear       Moved to post
133. Simcha Steiman 5          Chopped wounds of the head with violation of the integrity of the cranial bones                                                                                     Treatment in the hospital
134. Joseph Katz 34        Stab wounds of the torso of the head and arms, inflammation of the right lung and pleura                                                                                 Treatment in the hospital
135. Israel Shaiter 28        Chopped chest wounds                                                      Recovery
136. Zus Tyomny 30        Stab wounds on the left half of the chest and left arm, hemorrhage in the subcutaneous tissue, violation of the integrity of the carotid artery, aneurysm on the right half of the body                                                                                   Went to Kyiv for surgery
137. Malka Tyomnaya 22        Stab wounds of the head and body                 Recovery
138. Freema Scheinker 20        Stab wounds of the forehead and hands         Recovery
139. Beyla Yusim 17        Chopped wounds of the head with violation of the integrity of the cranial bone and prolapse of the brain         Treatment in the hospital, was operated on in the Zemstvo hospital
140. Sarah Kepelman 8          Chopped wounds of the head with a violation of the integrity of the bone            Transported to the post, and from there to the Zemstvo hospital
141. Sura Bernstein 42 Open gunshot comminuted fracture of both bones of the right leg    Transferred to local hospital
142. Lozor Barsuk 21        Chopped wound of the left side          Continues outpatient treatment
143. Ita Schildiner 26        Chopped wounds of both arms and head       Recovery
144. Yekhil Fishman 16        Stab wounds of the trunk, inflammation of the left lung and pleura                                                                                                                                      Death
145. Mendel Reitel 12 Stab wounds of the perineum                                      Recovery
146. Leah Bernstein 75        Head injury, concussion                                  Death
147. Hana Gitelman 20        Stab wounds of the trunk, inflammation of the right lung and pleura                                                                                                                                Recovery
148. Etyl Kopyt 22        Stab wounds of the right forearm and immobility of the right elbow joint. Bladder blood                                                                                         Recovery
149. Hersh Epstein    19     Stab wounds of the torso, paralysis of the right half of the body                      Death
150. Pearl Wolfzup 20     Stab wounds of the torso and arms. Left hip injury     Treatment in the hospital
151. Bitel Shtelman 10     Chopped head wounds                   Continues outpatient treatment
152. Dvoira Roit    15     Stab wounds to the head and torso, paralysis of the left arm, inflammation of the right lung and pleurisy                                                    Treatment in the hospital
153. Tzipa Zimelman 17        Stab wounds of the torso, paralysis of the lower half of the body                                                                                                         Treatment in the hospital
154. Shloyma Zeltser 55        Chopped wounds of the head and both arms, amputation of half of both arms                             Recovery. He was operated on in the local hospital
155. Leib Polyak 13        Stab wounds of the torso                                      Recovered
156. Yenta Dinitskovetska 46        Stab wounds of the torso, head and forehead, chopped wounds of the head and face and left arm                                                                Recovery
157. Shoel Blutreich 21        Loss of right eye, bladder duct paralysis        Continues outpatient treatment, was operated on in a Zemstvo hospital
158. Leyser Neimitschnitzer 22        Chopped wounds of the right elbow joint, immobility of the joint,  chopped heads  Continues outpatient treatment
159. Moishe Gendelman 17        Head injury, paralysis of the left arm, facial injury                Continues outpatient treatment
160. Dvoira Zelenger 22        Stab wounds of the head and torso, purulent right-sided pleurisy, tension of the 7th right rib       Treatment in the hospital, was operated on in the Zemstvo hospital
161. Yisroel Zelenger 7          Chopped wounds of the head with violation of the integrity of the cranial bone    He is being treated in the hospital, he was operated on in the Zemstvo hospital
162. Rukel-Leya Yusim 38        Stab wounds of the torso, frostbite of the leg              Treatment in the hospital, was operated on in the Zemstvo hospital
163. Frma Katz 21        Stab wounds of the head and left arm            Recovering in the hospital
164. Joseph Natanzon 4          Chopped wounds of the head with violation of the integrity of the cranial bone and prolapse of the brain                 Death, was operated on in the Zemstvo hospital
165. Sheiva Tenzer            17        Stab wounds of the torso, frostbite of the leg         Recovery

In addition to the above, on Sunday, February 16, 8 wounded were delivered in a state of agony. They all died on the same day. Among them there were 2 girls from Potikha family. The names of the rest are unknown.

The head of the hospital, doctor Liser.

True with the original: Authorized [plenipotentiary] prosk[urovsky] of the Evgobshch[estkom].

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 443. L. 23-26v. Copy.

No. 17. Extract from the registration journal of the dressing station No. 3 about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the city of Proskurov, Podolsk province. in February 1919

 2 August 1921

№№    First name, patronymic, last name Age     Arrival date   Gender           Listed wounds, what and where inflicted           Reference

1. Morduchai Mordkov Barmak 16 28.2     Male    Bayonet in  and rib      Left for Mogilev
2. Sarra Davidovna Kapelman 12        25.2     Female     Bayonet to the head and chest        Went to her relatives at the station
3. Rosa Davidovna Kitsis 18        20.2     Female   Bayonet and saber  to head, chest, back and left side      Located at post number 3
4. Tsipa Srulevna Zemelman 16        20.2     Female    Bayonet to belly and left side          Muved to a Jewish hospital
5. Gadaliy Menashevich Berezin 19        16.2     Male.   Explosive bullet in the leg      Went to parents
6. Duvid Shlemov Kitsis 44        16.2     Male    A saber to the head and right hand     Located at post number 3
7. Velvel Moshkov Aizman 16        16.2     Male.   Saber wound in the leg with a violation of the side            Went out to relatives
8. Rukhlya Berkovna Samdshurskaya 16        22.2     Female            Saber wound in the left hand with amputation of the middle 2 fingers     Departed to relatives
9. Rivka Fridelevna Aleksinitser 13       16.2     Female    With a bayonet in the chest, stomach, back and rib    Departed to relatives
10. Feiga Srulevna Grinzweig 18        16.2     Female   Saber wound  on the left side           Departed to relatives

11        Leib Itskovich Fayer   11        16.2     male     Bayonet in the back, chest, left shoulder, side and arm            Went out to relatives

12. Malka Tevyevna Khusozhnik 18        16.2     Female     Bayonet and sword wounds in the side, neck and shoulder       Went to her husband
13. Shlima Tevievna Peya    15     16.2     Female            Bayonet wound to the shoulder and neck   Went to Medzhybizh
14. Meer Tevievich Peya 8          16.2     Male.   Bayonet perforatng wound in the neck           Went to Medzhybizh
15. Sura Hershhorn 15        29.2     Female            Bayonet wound in both sides and arm            Departed to relatives
16. Etlya Popyt 22        16.2     Female            2 saber penetrating wounds in the arm           Departed to relatives
17. Tuba Yankelevna Flaksman 43        16.2     Female            4 bayonet wounds in the abdomen            Moved to home
18. Zus Meerov Flaxman 48        16.2     Male    Bayonet wounds in the abdomen and chest    Moved to home
19. Meer Zusiev Flaksman 20        16.2     Male  Moved to home
20. Srul Iosifovich Tsatskis 45        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the chest, neck and spine            Moved to home
21. Yankel Moshkov Aizman 19        24.2     Male    Bayonet and saber in the head and hand        Went to relatives
22. Yankel Nekhemov Veytselit 54        26.2     Male.   Bayonet to the head, right leg and arm            Moved to home
23. Tsirel Shmulevna Rabinovich 17 26.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the neck, right arm, back, paralysis of the legs    Situated at post number 3
24. Abraham Davidovich Volitsky 14        22.2     Male

.           Bayonet in the right side and arm       Moved to Priobr.[150] The name of the locality could not be determined.to friends

25. Rukhel Yankelevna Ivankovitser 14        28.2     Female    Bayonet wound to the head, right side and arm           Went to relatives
26. Srul Yankelevich Ivankovitser 6          28.2     Male    Bayonet wound to the head, side and leg            Moved to orphanage
27. Shlima Moiseevna Oks 12        16.2     Female            Bayonet 2 wounds in the side Moved to orphanage
28. Aizik Moiseevich Oks 3          16.2     Male    Bayonet 2 wounds in the stomach and back            Moved to orphanage
29. Iona Borokhov Grindvaig 41        20.2     Male    Bayonet wounds in the neck, paralysis of the right side      Moved to orphanage
30. Moishe Leib-Meerov Vaiserman 55        6.2       Male.   Bayonet wound to the head and neck with damage to the pharynx            Went to the hospital
31. Yudko Davidov Volitsky 12        18.2     Male    Bayonet wound to chest and arm        Went to uncle
32. Sura Abramovna Hershkovich 8          16.2     Female   Bayonet wound in the chest area     Went to relatives
33. Sura Oviivna Safyan 45        11.2     Female    Saber wound in the head     Went to father
34. Reizya Ihelevna Schweig 20        11.2     Female      Bayonet wound in the left arm       Located at post number 3
35. Leya Khaimovna Vinikova 20        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the right hand            Departed to relatives
36. Gita Abramovna Vinkovetskaya 50        16.2     Female Bayonet wound to the head, arm and right side      To city hospital
37. Hanzya Wuberman 15        16.2     Female      Bayonet wound in the right side and arm  At the pediatric hospital
38. Hana Davidovna Kepelman 16        16.2     Female   Bayonet wound in the back  In the Jewish hospital
39. Gisya Peim 25        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the chest    Town hospital
40. Shloyma Pole 24        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the stomach           Zemstvo hospital
41. Sura Sandigurskaya 45        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound to the head with bone damage, to the left shoulder and right arm            Zemstvo hospital
42. Shaiva Sheinzer 22        16.2     Female      Bayonet wound in the back, paralysis of the legs            Zemstvo hospital
43. Meer Kamenev 5          16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the head, arm and back     Went to acquaintances
44. Yankel Shloymov Bratslavsky             16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in arm, fracture         Went to relatives
45. Kirich             16.2     Male    Bayonet wound in the abdomen         Discharged
46. Etya Ichilevna Shmit 25        16.2     Female            Wounds to head and chest      Zemstvo hospital
47. Perel Chaim-Mordov Shifman 14        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the back            Departed to relatives
48. Joseph Rosenfeld 10        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the arm      Went to relatives
49. Fanny Filmman 17        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the head, back, left arm, in the groin    Departed to relatives
50. Ida Weissman             16.2     Female     Bayonet wound in the back, arm    In the lZemstvo hospital
51. Itzek Meerov Meilakh 9          16.2     Male.   Bayonet wounds in the face and arm  To orphanage
52. Orshik Katz 10        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wounds in the face and arm  To relatives
53. Sura Schneider 12        16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the chest, pneumonia        In the Zemstvo hospital
54. Ber Spatser             16.2     Male.   Wound in the chest     In the Zemstvo hospital
55. Nuhim Naldat 11 16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the arm      To relatives
56. Tuba Moiseevna Oks 6                      Female            Bayonet wound in the stomach           To the foster mother
57. Maryam Shpol 12     16.2     Female            Bayonet wound in the back    Home
58. Abram Hershkovich Kuzhumnik 17        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the chest, left arm and face     To relatives
59. Grisha Moiseevich Epstein 23        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the head, back and paralysis of the legs            To the town infirmary
60. Ashkinazine 40        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the head    Went home
61. Mendel Abramov Gershkovich 2          16.2     Husband.         Bayonet wound to the chest    To Dr. Stavinsky’s orphanage
62. Leib Drevitsky 27        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the hand    To relatives
63. Chaya Mildrom 45        16.2     Female    Bayonet wound in the back and arm            To relatives
64. Abram Tsatskis 5          16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the arm      Discharged
65. Chaya Grinzweig 18        16.2     Female     5 bayonet wounds in the chest        Discharged
66. Natanzon 10        16.2     Female     Bayonet wound in the arm  Discharged
67. Ita Ivankovitser 25        17.2     Female      Bayonet wounds to the head, chest and back        In the Zemstvo hospital
68. Fanya Idelevna Barmak 17        28.2     Female            Bayonet wound to the face
69. Leyzer Khaimov Tsimichinitser 22        10.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the hand    In the Jewish hospital
70. Shaya Abramovich Bludreich 21 16.2     Male    In the head, eye and arm         In the Jewish hospital
71. Lev Aizik Srulevich 75        16.2     Male.   Bayonet wound in the abdomen and arm       Home
72. Feiga Shreibman 42        10.2     Female            In the head and in the hand     Home
73. Chaya Kraingaber
74. Velvel Rosenfeld
75. Zen Hersh Moshkovich 20        10.2     Male    Bayonet wound in the arm      Discharged
76. Polyak (Helmets’ brother) 17        8.2       Male.   Bayonet wound in the chest    In the Jewish hospital
77. Veniamin Davidov Voletsky 7          12.2     Male    Bayonet wound in the back    To the orphanage
78. Iosif Shlemov Zeifman 15        12.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the abdomen and head            Home
79. Rivka Shifman 23        12.2     Male (?)                       Home
80. Rivka Landa 20        27.2     Male (?)           Purulent pleurisy, removal of a rib, wounds in the back            Located at post number 3
81. Motel Meerov Katz 13        29.2     Male.   Bayonet wound to the head, paralysis of the legs and arms    Located at post number 3
82. Nada Rabinovich 50        29.2     Female            Bayonet wound to the head    Located at post number 3
83. Shevil Vinnikovetsky 50 4.3       Male.   Several bayonet wounds to the head  Located at post number 3
84. Masya Stolyar 39 4.3       Female   Heart disease             Located at post number 3
85. Hersh Faert 12        4.3       Male.   2 wounds to the head and arm            Located at post number 3

Head paragraph of the post Dr. Zeltsman.

Verified  with the original: Commissioner of the Evobshch[estkom] for the Proskurovsky district.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 443. L. 31-31v. 28-28 rev. Copy.

No. 18. Report of the newspaper “Life of Nationalities” on the publication of the Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR on the inadmissibility of inciting ethnic hatred.

 March 23, 1919

The Ukrainian Council of People’s Commissars recently issued an appeal to all workers, peasants and Red Army soldiers, calling on them to fight against anti-Semitic agitation and pogroms.

“Life of Nationalities”. 1919. March 23.

No. 19. Telegram from the Chief Ataman of the UNR S. Petlyura to the authorities of the republic about the support of the population of the Ukrainian army.

 March 23, 1919

  (rough translation from Ukrainian)

Viyskov.

Kamyanets-Pod[ilsky] Svіtlіy Directorії, zrazok of the Head Council of Ministers, Presid[ії] of Labour[th] Congress, Viysk Minister, Head[of] Staff [abu] of the Dієvoi Army (Stanіslavіv), Secretariat, all commissars in kolip and  Podolia.

It is with great joy that I share with you all that I had a chance to watch out for the hour of my trip to Zhytomyr, the calls of our troops from Muscovites-bandits. There, a great uplift of spirit, that seizure, with which the inhabitants of Volin rose up to fight. Guessing me to rebel against the Hetman, as if it ended in a new rout of the restless guardians of the people. Robbery, plunder, brutality and impudence, with which the Bolsheviks governed in Ukraine, called out in great rages of the Ukrainian people against them, these new robbers-Muscovites and Jews. The population of the volosts of Zhytomyr was helpless. There were five thousand people from the Gornakhivsk Vol[ost]. From different places news comes about ruining of the Ukrainian population in the rear of the Bolsheviks, which illustrates that the population organized its own peasant regiment, the place sank – and reunited with our troops. Great animation, striving forward and self-sacrifice, this advancing mood among all the republican troops on the front. The onset of the war is being successfully continued. From Zhytomyr I see to the front, telegraph Korosten 23 Bereznya 1919 r[oku].

Head Ataman Petliura.

Verified with the original. District Commissar of the Podilskaya Zaliznytsia.

Copy from copy is good.

Commandant’s Osaul Khorunzhiy Lubarsky.

March 27, 1919 r[oku].(year)

The town of Yarmolintsi.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 1. D. 423. L. 31. Copy.

No. 20. Draft memorandum of the chief of militia of the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. I.V. Abbarius to the leadership of the UNR on ensuring security in the city.

Not earlier than January 10 – not later than March 1919 [151] Dated according to the content of the document. Created in the period between the first and second Zhytomyr pogroms.

Memorandum (draft) compiled by the head of security of the city of Zhytomyr Abarius to present the Directorate.

Zhytomyr city self-government considers it its civil duty to bring to the attention of the Directorate the present, extremely difficult, completely hopeless and fraught with terrible consequences situation that has arisen in Zhytomyr. As the first provision, which should be the main idea of the entire memorandum: the city self-government demonstrates its complete loyalty to the high democratic body that is currently building Ukrainian statehood – to the Directorate. The city self-government is convinced, and the conviction rests on the widest awareness, that the entire population of Zhytomyr is imbued with the same feeling of loyalty and that all its thoughts are concentrated entirely on the Directorate, as on the only institution that can provide the town with the basic conditions for a democratic state existence.

After the difficult days of the mass pogrom that took place on January 7-10 of this year, a situation has arisen in the city that is the most difficult for all classes of town dwellers. Food issues, understood in the broad sense of the word; questions of arranging an external order and security, creating conditions under which it would be impossible for a repetition of the menacing phenomena of the pogrom, which profoundly corrupts large sections of the population of the city and the population of adjacent villages, have become the most pressing issues of the day. The city self-government believed, and together with it the entire thinking population of Zhytomyr was convinced that only the most intensive and systematic work, which is the fruit of close cooperation between the civil, military and public authorities, was able to lay some foundations for a normal civil life. And the city self-government considers it its duty to declare that in the institution of the town self-government it met with a benevolent attitude towards all its efforts and full support for its aspirations to establish civil order in the town.

But, on the other hand, the city self-government considers it a categorical will of its conscience to bring to the attention of the Directorate that it does not see a sincere desire on the part of the military authorities to put an end to phenomena that profoundly violate the normal course of life and disturb public legal consciousness.

The inaction of the authorities, on the one hand, and ill-conceived orders, on the other, instill in the masses of the population the conviction that the military authorities, represented by the commandant’s office and the corps command, are completely powerless in relation to malicious persons who closely surround it, and in relation to the masses of Cossacks, who continue to be outside the basics of sound discipline and systematically corrupted by anti-Semitic propaganda and those crimes into which all this mass is gradually being drawn without exception.

The scheme that the city self-government laid as the basis for its actions was as follows: 1. Replacing the staff of the militia with new people, since the present members in many cases turned out to be involved in the robberies that took place during the pogrom. 2. The use of the already existing apparatus of night watchmen and armed night rounds by citizens, organized by a special commission of public security under the Zhytomyr town government. 3. Creation of militia reserves of up to 500 people, whose cadres were to be recruited from persons recommended by loyal national, political and public organizations. 4. Assuming that with the help of these factors, the tranquility in the city will be quickly restored, in the absence of any external obstacles that are insurmountable, the town government asks to withdraw from the city all military units, except for the Galician Sich, in the discipline and high civil loyalty of which the town government has been convinced from the moment they first entered the city. Unfortunately, the general state of affairs caused the Sich men to leave the city, while the other military units that were in the city during the pogrom, undoubtedly deeply corrupted by the pogrom and not engaged in any specific business, continue to remain in the city, causing fear and horror, together with the scum of the population in the heart of every inhabitant.

And above all, what has been said should be attributed to the staff of the commandant Sotnyas. The city self-government and the Commission of Inquiry had a full opportunity to verify how persons in army overcoats, caught with looted things, turned out to be in the service in the commandant’s Sotnyas, and being transferred as arrested on this occasion to Mr. [-] the commandant, they were immediately released by him and had the audacity to repeatedly appear in the local government and the Investigation Commission demanding the return of stolen things and money to them, which the Investigation Commission, due to the defiant behavior of the criminals and their complete previous impunity, partially carried out. Subsequently, these same persons drove around the city armed in cabs, undoubtedly continuing to do their dark deeds.

Among the persons close to the commandant’s office and influential in it, by the way, was a certain Beck, well known to the city self-government as an evidently criminal person, with multiple criminal convictions, who in 1917 attacked the city’s food administration, and Beck was arrested , imprisoned and escaped during a mass breakout. Despite repeated presentations on this occasion, the town government is still not sure that Zhytomyr is free from the influence of this criminal.

These are singular occurrences. Far more significant in terms of bringing ruinous chaos into the restoration of normal life are the actions of the military authorities, which are of a general nature, and the inaction of these authorities where this action should have taken place.

Even during the pogrom, provocative rumors were created among the robbing masses: “Yids are slaughtering Christians,” “Yids are arming themselves in order to attack the Cossacks.” One of the initiators of such rumors was Beck, who was mentioned above. Upon the cessation of the pogrom, the city self-government, in view of the repeated instructions of the commissariat, the commandant’s office and the Directorate itself, about the need to ensure security for the city by appropriate forces, to begin the formation of militia reserves, called for the functioning of the apparatus of night watchmen and armed detours of residents. The city asked the commandant’s sanction for this, having received from him a promise to provide the commission of public safety with 600 rifles equipped with commandant’s certificates. At the same time, the city government asked the commandant to issue an order for the return of all the loot, so that the idea would not take root in the population that everything that happened during the robbery would go unpunished. The city self-government even submitted to Mr. [-] the commandant a draft of such an order. But the order has not yet been issued.

According to the suggestion of the commandant, the city self-government announced through the press and distribution and posting of appropriate announcements [for] all persons who arrived in the city about the purpose and appointment of night rounds, as an organization completely apolitical, pursuing the sole goal of protecting the life and property of civilians.

And immediately after this, at the very first actions of night rounds, the city self-government came face to face with a number of grave misunderstandings. First, the commandant issued an order forbidding anyone to arrest the Cossacks, making no exceptions in this respect for any circumstances. By this order, thus, they were deprived of the opportunity to fight all the atrocities committed by persons in soldier’s overcoats. On the other hand, despite the request addressed to Mr. [-] the commandant to issue a special order informing the military units located in the city about the goals and objectives of night rounds and the institutions of night watchmen, such an order has not yet been issued. The rifles received by the public security commission in the amount of only 250 pieces were provided with certificates by the commandant only in the amount of 120 pieces: the commission has not yet been able to obtain certificates for the rest of the rifles that are at the disposal of night rounds.

And immediately after this, partisan actions began on the part of persons dressed in soldier’s uniform and in the form of foremen, in relation to night rounds. Night patrols of citizens began to be disarmed at first occasionally, and then more and more often, and in recent days this disarmament has taken on a systematic and all-encompassing character. And then peaceful patrols were fired upon by persons in military uniform and driving in cabs with revolvers. Then these persons went to the barracks occupied by the Kinburn regiment [69] This refers to the 5th Kinburn Cavalry Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Cavalry Division of the UNR Army (in tsarist times and under Hetman P. Skoropadsky – the 7th Kinburn Dragoon Regiment). Location – Zhytomyr., took a patrol with them and disarmed the guatd of, inflicting beatings and insults on them, despite the fact that the round was provided with commandant’s certificates. These cases were immediately brought to the attention of the commandant’s office. But the city government has not yet seen such cases being investigated.

On the contrary, the people in army overcoats, obviously relied on the force of the order prohibiting any actions against them, and they began to take bolder actions every day. The next day after the described incident, a gang of 8 people at one in the afternoon walked along the main streets of the city, robbing passers-by of purses and jewelry under the pretext of searching for weapons. As far as the self-government, which immediately brought this to the attention of the commandant’s office is aware, this outrage remained completely unpunished.

Meanwhile, on the one hand, raids on apartments became more and more frequent, on the other hand, the disarmament of night patrols assumed a systematic character. Detachments of soldiers under the leadership of foremen, preceded by reconnaissance, leaving and again entering the commandant’s office with the weapons that they had taken away, undertook widespread round-ups around the city, inspecting the citizens, taking dozens of rifles, inflicting insults on patrol officers and shouting anti-Semitic slogans.

The inhabitants, who saw in the night rounds the last hope for ensuring their safety, who steadfastly and selflessly performed this hard duty, were, on the one hand, terrorized, on the other hand, a feeling of the deepest indignation began to grow among them. The city self-government had to make every effort to keep it and detours [from] resistance to people in overcoats who brazenly mocked them. On the night of [...] [152] Part of the text is missing. in the evening [the number of soldiers] who disarmed [the patrols] increased to 30 people in a group, because the attackers, obviously, took into account the heavy mood of the citizens. But at the same time, all the “fig leaves” were thrown aside and the disarmament of the patrols and the attack on the already unarmed patrols took on the character of a simple robbery. Cossack astrakhan hats, watches, boots were taken away, insults and anti-Semitic cries were heard in each individual case.

And the city self-government, after its report to the commandant and commander of the corps, was amazed to read in the newspapers the order by which military patrols were charged with the duty to shoot on the spot, together with the robbers, also persons whom the patrol recognizes as enemies of the republic and leading Bolshevik propaganda. This order handed over the entire civilian population to the unlimited outrage of the corrupted and unbridled masses in gray overcoats and ruined any possibility for the city self-government to organize any kind of struggle against robbery and violence in the city. For all the other formations found themselves in a situation similar to our patrols.

GA RF. F. R-1339. Op. 2. D. 17. L. 103-105v. Copy.

No. 21. Report of Representative Ya.B. Livshits about the pogrom in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn Province. March 22-26, 1919 [70] After the first Zhytomyr pogrom (January 1919), a Jewish delegation from the city of Zhytomyr turned to the UCR Ministry for Jewish Affairs with a request to help the victims of the pogrom. The Ukrainian government allocated 2 million hryvnias to help the victims of the pogrom. (Robitnicha newspaper. 25 September 1919.) After the second pogrom (March 1919), the Zhytomyr deputation tried to get an audience with the Head Ataman S. Petliura, which was denied. A public investigative commission was formed to investigate the circumstances of the pogrom. As is clear from a letter to EKOPO in Moscow dated August 11, 1919, from F. Lander, one of the leaders of the Kiev Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of the Pogroms, it was the Central Committee that initiated the investigation (one of its representatives, Ya. B. Livshits, joined the commission of inquiry ). “I take this opportunity to send you extremely important material from the commission of inquiry on the Zhytomyr pogroms,” Lander wrote. — The material is very valuable in many respects. It, of course, must be made public both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, and so on. But at the same time, it is extremely important that it be indicated that this enormous work was carried out for six months (ie, an objective examination), on the initiative and forces (material, etc.) of the Central Jewish Committee. The Zhytomyr leaders are even asking us to publish this in a separate pamphlet, but since we only received this material yesterday, the presidium should discuss this issue earlier, and then, for some reasons, it would probably be inconvenient to do it now. (GA RF. F. R-9538. Op. 1. D. 63. L. 11-11v.)

 Later than March 26, 1919 [153] Dated according to the content of the document.

On March 21, Zhytomyr was abandoned by the Soviet troops and on March 22, Petliura’s troops entered Vrangelevka. After the departure of the Soviet troops, Zhytomyr public figures decided to send a deputation to meet the troops of the Directorate in order to influence it so that they would not organize a pogrom in the city, about which there were certain rumors in the city. These rumors were based on the fact that intensive anti-Semitic, pogrom agitation was circulating in the city. In order for the agitation to be a great success, rumors were circulated among the dark circles of the population, and especially among the peasantry, that the Bolsheviks or, as various provocateurs consistently spread rumors, the “Yids”, slaughtered 1700 Christians during the stay of Soviet troops in Zhitomir. In fact, according to the most accurate information, by order of the Cheka [71] This refers to the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage; known as Cheka, Cheka, Cheka., 6 people were shot during the time from the moment Soviet power was proclaimed in the city until the Bolsheviks left Zhitomir, one Jew among them, Aizik Rudenko, who was accused of provocation and participation in Ovruch pogrom. Of the remaining five shot by the Cheka there were 4 bandits and 1 former representative of the commandant’s office (Skalsky). In addition to these 6, more people were shot during the entry of Soviet troops into Zhytomyr and found in its vicinity – 16 Petliurists. In total, 22 people were shot and killed in this way during the period from March 12 to March 21. That the list of the executed is limited to these 22 people is proved, among other things, by the fact that when the Ukrainian authorities wanted to show that not only the Petliurites shot innocent people by organizing a pogrom in Zhytomyr, but that the Bolsheviks also shot many, they could only publish lists with 22 killed. Soviet leaders claim that the number 22 is also exaggerated, since some of the people on the list of those who were shot were actually killed during the fighting. But even if we assume that the number 22 corresponds to reality, then this also shows how far the reality is from those fantastic rumors (1,700 shot) that were spread with a provocative purpose in order to create bitterness against the Jews (which was considered a synonym for the Bolsheviks) and to provoke a new pogrom. It is extremely characteristic that rumors about 1,700 “Christians” shot by the Cheka were spread, by the way, by officials, who apparently, sincerely believed in this fable or pretended to believe it. The bureaucracy vigorously exaggerated rumors that all the institutions in Zhytomyr had been seized by “Yids” and that Bolsheviks and Yids were one and the same. In fact, the Jewish population of Zhytomyr treated the Bolsheviks, as elsewhere, very differently. The bourgeoisie, large and small, and a significant part of the intelligentsia were hostile to the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, for their part, among the persons arrested by them as hostages, kept in the same Cheka, until the payment of contribution, a very significant percentage of Jews. Under such conditions, it was possible to speak about the identity of the concepts of “Bolshevik” and “Jew” only either out of extreme ignorance or with an obvious provocative purpose.

Be that as it may, by the time the Petliurists returned to Zhitomir, the atmosphere for the pogrom had been prepared not only by those who went along with the Petliurists, but also by those who remained in Zhitomir. The pogrom was already being talked about on Friday evening as something inevitable. Masses of Jews left the city. By the way, almost all Jewish youth left. Among those who left, a very significant percentage, if not the majority, were people who had nothing in common with the Bolsheviks. They only left because they feared a second pogrom. Nevertheless, all those who left together with Bolsheviks were declared Bolsheviks, and when they returned, some of them were considered as Bolsheviks who had fled the city. Only thanks to the energetic efforts of the city government and several public figures – Christians – it was possible to save from execution a group of young people who returned from Berdichev and who had nothing to do with the Bolsheviks.

On Saturday morning, a deputation went to Wrangelevka where the first detachments of the Petliura troops were located, consisting of: Mayor Pivotsky, member of the Labor Congress [72] The Labor Congress of Ukraine (TKU) is the temporary supreme legislative body of the UNR during the period of the Directory. It was convened by the Directory to organize power in Ukraine and determine the forms of government after the overthrow of P. Skoropadsky (held in Kyiv on January 23-28, 1919). The Congress approved the provisional constitution of Ukraine. Its temporary nature was explained by the forced suspension of the activities of the Congress due to the offensive of the Red Guard on the city of Kyiv. Until the next session of Congress, the supreme power and defense were entrusted to the Directory. Laws issued by the Directory had to be approved at a subsequent session of the TCU. The executive power was to belong to the Council of People’s Ministers, who were appointed by the Directory and were accountable to the TCU (during the break in the meetings of the latter – the Directory). The Constitution indicated the need to create a commission for the development of bills by the next session of the TCU. The TCU called for the preparation of a law on parliamentary elections in Ukraine. Power in the localities was entrusted to be exercised by commissioners, who were supposed to act under the control of local Workers’ Councils, elected proportionally from the peasantry and workers. After the departure of the Directory and the departure of the Petliura troops from Kiev due to the offensive of the Red Guard, the commissions of the TCU took part in meetings of the authorities of the UNR in the city of Kamenetz-Podolsk and others. In the spring and summer of 1919, the commission lost its influence on public life in Ukraine and July 11, 1919 in the city of Kamenetz-Podolsk, at a meeting of the commission, a decision was made to end its work.Dzevaltovsky, deputy chairman of the mayor Dintskoy and one of the members of the Jewish community. The delegation had only one task: to influence the troops so that they did not arrange any excesses in the city. On the way to the headquarters of the first detachment that entered the city, an officer met the deputation. He inquired what kind of delegation it was and who was included in it. When he learned that there was, among others, one Jew in the delegation, he declared that he did not advise them to go to the headquarters, making it clear that in the event of further advances of the delegation, which was traveling in the same cab together with a member of the Jewish community, the life of this member of the Jewish community is in great danger. The delegation then decided that the member of the community should not go further, and with great difficulty, already [not] along the highway, but by another way, he returned to the city and was not killed only because he did not look much like a Jew and was mistaken for Christian. When returning to the city, this representative of the community already saw on the way the first corpses of murdered Jews, killed by the soldiers who had entered the city. The first to be killed on the way from Vrangelevka to the city was a 70-year-old old Jew who was walking to the synagogue with a tales in his hand. According to eyewitnesses, he was put against a tree and shot at, but not immediately killed. The wounded 70-year-old man still had the strength to walk a few sazhens along the highway, staggering from the loss of a large amount of blood – then he fell and died immediately.

When the delegation of the City Administration arrived at the headquarters of the first detachment that arrived in the city they were told about 1,700 Christians shot by the “Yids”. The delegation began to assure them that the number of those executed did not reach even a hundred, with the most obvious exaggeration, and could be much less than this number. When the members of the delegation gave their word of honor that they certainly knew this, they were told at headquarters that intelligent people, of course, can be dissuaded, but that soldiers cannot be dissuaded from this. The soldiers, according to the officers who were at the headquarters, were strongly opposed to the “Yids”, and the headquarters could not cope with this mood, it was powerless.

On March 22, a pogrom began, which lasted 5 days, of which the largest number of victims was in the first three days of the pogrom. The total number of victims of the pogrom in Zhitomir alone, not counting those buried in the villages adjacent to Zhitomir  was 317 people. A complete list of those killed during the pogrom on March 22-26 is attached [154] There is no list of those killed in the case.. The overwhelming majority of those killed were old people, women and children. There were very few young people, because the youth left with the Bolsheviks or hid. During raids on apartments, in some individual cases, it was possible to pay off with money, and there were cases when the raiders first took the money, and then killed those who gave this money. In general, unlike the first pogrom, when the robbers were mainly engaged in robbery, now the Petliurists tried to kill as many Jews as possible, and if the number of victims reached only 317, this is, firstly, due to the fact that many Christians hid a lot of Jews and they were saved by this, and mainly by the fact that on March 24 in the evening a new offensive of the Bolsheviks began on Zhitomir, which stopped the further development of the pogrom. All soldiers were sent to the front.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.

Ex. – former

Military commissar – military commissar

Vol. – parish, parish

Volost executive committee – volost executive committee

Volsobes – volost department of social security

Vseobuch – universal military training of workers

VSUR – Armed Forces of the South of Russia

VUTsIK – All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee

VTsIK – All-Russian Central Executive Committee

VChK (a.k.a. Cheka) – All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Profiteering and Sabotage

city – city

G., Mr. Mr.

General Staff – General Staff

Commander – Commander-in-Chief

Gorsobes – city department of social security

Gr. – citizen

lips. – province

Provincial executive committee – provincial executive committee

Gubnarobraz – provincial department of public education

Gubretribunal – provincial revolutionary tribunal

Provincial section – provincial section

Gubchek – Provincial Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Profiteering and Sabotage

1. - village
2. - business

Dobrarmia – Volunteer Army

Dr – doctor, doctor

Dr. – another

Evobshchestkom – Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms and Natural Disasters

EBOPO – Jewish Society for Assistance to Victims of War and Pogroms

EKOPO – Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to War Victims

Evotdel – Jewish department

heb. – Jewish

Evsamooborona – Jewish self-defense

Evsektsii – Jewish sections of the Communist Party

Female – female

Railway – Railway

Head of the Regimental Chancellery – Head of the Regimental Chancellery

Deputy – Deputy

Deputy People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs – Deputy People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs

app. – western

Zapfront – Western Front

Executive committee – executive committee

Komandyugozap – Commander of the Southwestern Front

Kombed – committee of the poor

Kombezh – Committee for Refugees

Composition – commanding staff

Cavalry – Cavalry Army

KP (b) U – Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine

Committee – committee

1. - sheet
2. - town

million – million

husband. – male

Narkomnats, NKN – People’s Commissariat for Nationalities

People’s Commissariat of Labor – People’s Commissariat of Labor

nachdiv – head of division

nachuezduchastka – head of the county district

chief of staff – chief of staff

NKVD – People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs

People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs

NKSO – People’s Commissariat for Social Security

Regional Commission – Odessa Regional Commission of the Evobshchestkom

OZE – Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jewish Population

Op. – inventory

OPE – Society for the Propagation of Education among Jews in Russia

ORT – Society of handicraft and agricultural labor among Jews in Russia

Osvag – Information agency

Parkom – party committee

Per. – lane

Pl. – square

Poalei Zion – Jewish Communist Workers’ Party Poalei Zion

Pomzhekor

Etc. — other

Food department – food department

District commission – district commission

Raiprodkom – regional food committee

RVSR, Revolutionary Military Council – Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic

Revkom – revolutionary committee

Red Army – Workers ‘and Peasants’ Red Army

district – district

RRCS – Russian Red Cross Society

rub. – ruble

Rumborder – Romanian border

1. - village, page

S.-r. – socialist revolutionary

Sekpompogr – help section for the pogromed

Sovdep – council of deputies

Council of People’s Commissars, SNK – Council of People’s Commissars

Sovnarkhoz – Council of the National Economy

SRD – Soviet of Workers’ Deputies

Art. With. – old style

Art. – station

1. - volume

T., com. – comrade

Terpolkokrug – territorial-regimental district

thousand – thousand

1. - Street

UNR – Ukrainian People’s Republic

uparkom – county party committee

Uprodkom – county food committee

trade union bureau – county trade union bureau

1. - fund

CEC – Central Executive Committee

Central Committee – Central Committee

people – Human

Cheka – Extraordinary Commission

CHON – special purpose units

Southern Bureau of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions – Southern Bureau of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions

CONTENT

Introduction ………………………………………… ………..III

Historical and geographical reference………………………………XXIX

Archaeographic Preface…………………………………………..XXXIII

1. UKRAINE.

No. 1. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the growth of pogrom sentiments in Ukraine. January 18, 1918 ………………………….1

No. 2. Message from the weekly “Jewish Week” with a call for financial assistance to Jewish self-defense squads in the city of Odessa and the province. January 18, 1918 3

No. 3. The report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom incidents in Ukraine. January 31, 1918 4

No. 4. Appeal of the Jews – Knights of St. George of Odessa with a call for the creation of national military units to protect against pogroms. January 31, 1918 5

No. 5. From an article in the newspaper “Unzer Togblat” about the events in the city of Glukhov, Chernihiv Province. March 1918 April 19, 1918 6

No. 6. Recording of the story of an eyewitness Samuil (surname not established) by a representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about a pogrom in the city of Glukhov, Chernihiv province. in March 1918 August 4, 1921 ……………….. 7

No. 7. Inquiry of the representative of the Zionist faction in the Lesser Rada of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) M. Grossman to the ministers of military and internal affairs about violence against Jews. April 16, 1918 9

No. 8. Report of the weekly “Jewish Week” about the pogrom in the city of Novgorod-Seversk, Chernigov province. April 1918 June 15, 1918 11

No. 9. Announcement of the military commandant’s office of the metro station Belaya Tserkov, Kyiv province. on the responsibility of the Jewish population for agitation against the German authorities. July 18, 1918 11

No. 10. From the conclusion of the commission of inquiry on the case of the pogrom by military units of the UNR in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. in January 1919 Not earlier than July 28, 1919 12

No. 11. Consolidated report of A.I. Gilerson about the pogrom in the city of Ovruch, Volyn Province. and at the Korosten station by the detachments “Kuren morta”, Kozyr-Zyrki and others in December 1918 – January 1919. Not earlier than June 20, 1919 32

No. 12. Notes from the newspaper “Narodnoye Slovo” about the events in the city of Rovno, Volyn Province. in January 1919 January 16, 1919 ……………………….44

No. 13. Appeal of the Central Committee (CC) for assistance to the victims of the pogroms to the Jewish population of Kyiv on the organization of assistance. Not earlier than January 1919 ……………………………………….. ….45

No. 14. Record of the story of the witness P.L. Pilyavsky by a representative of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Public Committee for Assistance to Jews Affected by Pogroms (Vseukrevobshchestkom) about the attack of peasants on a Jewish miller at the station. Devladovo, Yekaterinoslav province. January 21, 1919 January 26, 1922 ……………46

No. 15. Report of A.I. Gilerson about the pogroms organized by the military units of the UNR army in the town of Proskurov and the town of Filshtin, Podolsk province. February 15 and 16, 1919 Not earlier than June 1919 47

No. 16. Extract from the registration journal of the Jewish city hospital about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the town of Proskurov, Podolsk province. February 1919 August 1, 1921 70

No. 17. Extract from the registration journal of the dressing station No. 3 about the wounded who were being treated after the pogrom in the city of Proskurov, Podolsk province. in February 1919 2 August 1921 80

No. 18. Report of the newspaper “Life of Nationalities” on the publication of the Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR on the inadmissibility of inciting ethnic hatred. March 23, 1919 84

No. 19. Telegram from the Chief Ataman of the UNR S. Petlyura to the authorities of the republic about the support of the population of the Ukrainian army. March 23, 1919 …85

No. 20. Draft memorandum of the chief of police of the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. I.V. Abbarius to the leadership of the UNR on ensuring security in the city. Not earlier than January 10 – not later than March 1919 85

No. 21. Report of Ya.B. Livshits about the pogrom in the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn Province. March 22-26, 1919 Later March 26, 1919 ………………………… ……….89

No. 22. Report of I.S. Braude about the pogroms on steamships committed by the detachments of Struk and Klimenko in April 1919. Not earlier than June 1, 1919. 94

No. 23. Appeal of the Rivne Jewish community to the Chief Ataman of the UNR S. Petliura and the Chief Ataman of the Northern Group of Forces of the UNR V. Oskilko on measures to stop the pogromist agitation. Not earlier than April 22, 1919 .103

No. 24. Order of the Main Directorate of Troops of the UNR No. 259 with the announcement of order No. 77 of April 10, 1919 on the cessation of pogrom agitation in military units. April 19, 1919 105

No. 25. Report of the worker of the M. Duma of the Kyiv commission of the Evobshchestkom, authorized by the Evobshchestkom for the Tarashchansky district, about pogroms in the city of Tarashcha, Kyiv province. in 1918 and in April 1919 by Yatsenko-Gonta detachments. June 15, 1921 106

No. 26. Summary of information materials and testimonies of witnesses about the pogroms in the spring of 1919 in the town of Gornostaipol, Radomysl district, Kyiv province. and its surroundings. May 26, 1919 108

No. 27. Extract from the diary of the official rabbi D.B. Luchinsky about the robberies and murders of the Jewish population in the town of Boguslav, Kanevsky district, Kyiv province. in April-May 1919 Not earlier than August 29, 1919 112

No. 28. Recording of the report of witness L. Dashevsky by authorized representatives of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine I.G. Tsifrinovich about the pogrom by gangs in the city of Lebedin, Kyiv Province. May 5, 1919 Not earlier than the beginning of July 1919 ..115

No. 29. Report by Leshchinsky, authorized by the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine, about the pogrom of the first days of the Grigoriev uprising in the town of Gorodishche, Kyiv Province. May 11-12, 1919 Not earlier than May 20, 1919 116

No. 30. From the report of Kh.D. Proskurovsky at a meeting of representatives of the public and a number of parties in the city of Uman, Kyiv Province. about the riots in the city. Not earlier than July 5, 1919 ………………………………………. ….. 118

No. 31. Appeal of representatives of the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood of the city of Uman, Kyiv Province. to the Christian population of the city against the pogroms. Not earlier than May 12, 1919 131

No. 32. Recording of the story of student A. Shvartsman, a representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROCK in Ukraine, about the pogrom on May 13, 1919 in the town of Talnoe, Uman district, Kiev province. Not earlier than July 1919 131

No. 33. Recording of the story of student B.Z. Rabinovich by a representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROCK in Ukraine about the pogrom in the city of Uman, Kyiv Province. May 12-14, 1919 Not earlier than mid-June 1919 ….. 133

No. 34. Order of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the city of Uman, Kyiv Province. on tougher punishments for participation in pogroms in Uman district. Late May 12-14, 1919 136

No. 35. Recording of witness reports by M. Rekis, authorized by the Editorial Board for collecting and publishing materials on pogroms in Ukraine, about the Grigoriev pogrom in the town of Smela, Kyiv province. May 1919 Late May 18, 1919 137

No. 36. From the message of one of the participants in the defense of the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. about the Grigoriev pogrom on May 16-20, 1919 Not earlier than May 20, 1919 140

No. 37. From the message of the former chairman of the City Duma of the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv province. V. Petrov to I.G. Tsifrinovich about the Grigoriev pogrom on May 16-20, 1919. Later on May 21, 1919. 142

No. 38. Recording of the story of the victim M. Dubnikova by I.G. Tsifrinovich about the Grigoriev pogrom in the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. May 16-20, 1919 Not earlier than mid-June 1919 146

No. 39. From a recording of a message from an unidentified person by M. Rekis, authorized by the Editorial Board, about the Grigoriev pogrom in the town of Alexandrovka, Elisavetgrad district, Kyiv province. May 18-20, 1919 Not earlier than May 21, 1919 147

No. 40. Report of the Commissioner for the Cherkasy region I. Vernik of the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of the Counter-Revolution of the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR on assistance to the population after the Grigoriev pogroms in May 1919. Later on June 5, 1919 ……….148

No. 41. Report of an unidentified person about a pogrom by military units of the UPR in the city of Rovno, Volyn province. in May 1919 Not earlier than May 23, 1919 153

No. 42. Message from authorized E. Sklyar with a letter from Misha (surname not established) about the raid by the Lisitsa detachment on the village of Trostyanitsa, Radomyslsky district, Kyiv province. May 24, 1919 Not earlier than May 24, 1919 155

No. 43. Report of the Livshits Commissioner for the Nemirovsky District of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom by the Sokolovsky detachment in the town of Pechar, Podolsk Province. June 12, 1919 May 31, 1921 158

No. 44. Recordings of the stories of victims of the pogrom on June 12, 1919 in the town of Pechara, Podolsk province. detachment of Sokolovsky, made by Livshits, authorized by the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom for the Nemirovsky district. May 31, 1921 159

No. 45. Recording of the story of the teenager I. Lentzier by Livshits, authorized by the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom for the Nemirovsky District, about the pogrom by Sokolovsky’s detachment in the town of Pechar, Podolsk Province. June 12, 1919 May 31, 1921 161

No. 46. Information of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the victims of the pogrom on June 12, 1919 in the town of Pechara, Bratslav district, Podolsk province. June 13, 1921 163

No. 47. Recording of witness Goldfarb’s report by a representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the RRCS in Ukraine about the pogrom by Yatsenko’s detachment in the city of Tarashcha, Kyiv province. in June 1919 June 27, 1919 ………………………..164

No. 48. Report of the Commissioner for the Uman region at the Mission of the RRCS in Ukraine Kh.D. Proskurovsky to representatives from the public and a number of parties from the metro station Dubovo, Kyiv province. about the pogroms in the town. Not earlier than July 9, 1919 165

No. 49. Appeal of the Minister for Jewish Affairs of the UNR P. Krasny to the Minister of Justice of the UNR A. Levitsky on stopping the arrests of Jewish citizens in the city of Kamenetz-Podolsk, Podolsk Province. June 23, 1919 170

No. 50. Recording of the story of witness E. Gorshtein, representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine S.S. Kagan about peasant pogroms in M.M. Gorshik, Ushomir, Volyn Province. in July 1919 July 17, 1919 170

No. 51. Recordings of the stories of victims and witnesses by the representative of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine S.S. Kagan about the pogrom in the town of Slovechno, Volyn province. in July 1919 22 July 1919 172

No. 52. Message from the representative in the Central Committee for assistance to victims of pogroms about pogroms by Ukrainian military units in the city. Zhmerinka, Bare and others in May, July 1919 August 16, 1919 176

No. 53. Recording by representatives of the Kharkov Jewish community of testimonies of victims of violence by military personnel of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYUR) in June-July 1919 in Kharkov. Not earlier than the beginning of July 1919 177

No. 54. Recording by representatives of the Kharkov Jewish community of eyewitness accounts of executions by units of the All-Russian Union of Youth in June-July 1919 in Kharkov. Not earlier than the beginning of July 1919 187

No. 55. Recording by representatives of the Kharkov Jewish community of an eyewitness account of excesses on the part of the military personnel of the All-Union Socialist League in the town of Mikhailovka, Lebedinsky district, Kharkov province. in July 1919 Not later than November 18, 1919 189

No. 56. Recording by a representative of the Kharkov Jewish community of the testimony of an unidentified person about robberies and violence at st. Lozovaya by units of the All-Russian Union of Socialist Youth in July 1919 No later than November 18, 1919 190

No. 57. Recording by a representative of the Kharkov Jewish community of the testimony of an unidentified person about the taking of hostages by the units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the town of Valki, Kharkov province. in July 1919 Not later than November 18, 1919 191

No. 58. Memorandum of the Chairman of the Board of the Skvir Jewish Savings and Loan Association to the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of the Counter-Revolution of the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR on the insurrectionary movement in the Skvirsky district in mid-June 1919. Later June 15, 1919 …….. …………………….192

No. 59. Report by the head of the agitation and educational center in the town of Fastov K. Novak of the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of Counterrevolution of the Ukrainian National Socialist Commissariat of Socialist Republics about a bandit attack on the town of Kornin, Skvirsky district, Kiev province. in June 1919 Not earlier than July 2, 1919 195

No. 60. Recording of a message from a member of the self-defense detachment of the city of Alexandria, Kherson province. N. Levin, a representative of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROCK in Ukraine, about the second Grigoriev pogrom in the city on June 24, 1919 July 8, 1919 196

No. 61. Recordings of the stories of witnesses Labunsky, M.I. Gelman, the representative of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine, S.E. Maizlish about the events in the city of Skvira, Kyiv Province. December 1918 – late June 1919 July 10, 1919 197

No. 62. Report of the witness P.O. Taslitskaya to the representative of the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom by a detachment of General Shkuro in the city of Yekaterinoslav in early July 1919 on August 7, 1920 199

No. 63. Minutes of the meeting of representatives of the county bodies of Soviet power and county settlements in the village of Tyutkovichi, Rovno district, Volyn province. July 6, 1919 ………………………….200

No. 64. From the report of an unidentified representative of the Soviet authorities in the town of Borshchagovka, Skvirsky district, Kyiv province. to the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of the Counter-Revolution of the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR about the attack of the Sokolov detachment in July 1919. Not earlier than July 9, 1919 ……………………. ………201

No. 65. Message from the Commissioner of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the RRCS in Ukraine I.S. Braude to the Department on the Situation in Uman, Dubovo, Ladyzhenka, Golovanevsk after the pogroms. July 10, 1919 203

No. 66. Recording of reports by witnesses Sheinvad, Logovinsky by a representative of the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of Counter-Revolution of the Ukrainian National Socialist Commissariat of Socialist Republics about the attack by insurgent detachments on the Volodarka metro station, Skvirsky district, Kiev province. in April, June-July 1919 Not earlier than July 11, 1919 205

No. 67. Report of the commissioner for the Tarashchansky district, M. Duma, to the Kyiv commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom by the Red Army soldiers under the command of F. Grebenko in the city of Tarashcha, Kyiv province. July 17, 1919 1921 207

No. 68. Reports of the chief of police of the 2nd district of the Rivne district of the Volyn province. to the head of the Rovno district police department about the pogrom in the city and its environs by the Red Army soldiers of the Novgorod-Seversky Ukrainian regiment July 17-18, 1919 July 17-18, 1919 209

No. 69. Statement of residents of the Shpola metro station, Kyiv province. to the Kiev provincial section for assistance to victims of pogroms under the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR about violence by the Red Army soldiers of the armored train “Avenger” on July 18, 1919 in the area of the metro station Fastov, Kyiv province. July 20, 1919 …………………………………210

No. 70. Message from a member of the volost executive committee of the city of Makarov, Kyiv province. G.L. Temsky on the establishment of Soviet power in the city in July 1919 July 22, 1919 212

No. 71. Record of the story of the witness P.L. Pilyavsky by the representative of the All-Ukrevobshchestkom about the pogrom in the village. Sofiyivka, Yekaterinoslav Province. parts of General Shkuro in July 1919 January 26, 1922 …………..214

No. 72. Message from the authorized Jewish community of the city of Khristinovka, Uman district, Kyiv province. Kyiv Jewish community about the pogroms in February-July 1919 by the UNR military units and rebel groups. Late July 1919 ………………………………………. ….215

No. 73. From the memorandum of authorized I. Aronovich to the Central Section of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms of the Department for Assistance to Victims of Counter-Revolution of the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR on the results of a survey of the town of Volodarka, Skvirsky district, Kiev province. August 11, 1919 ………………..217

No. 74. Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General V.Z. May-Maevsky No. 302 on the inadmissibility of harassment on ethnic and other grounds. August 13 (July 31), 1919 219

No. 75. From the diary of an eyewitness P. Deichman about the pogroms in the city of Kremenchug, Poltava province. units of the All-Union Socialist League in August 1919 Not earlier than August 15, 1919 .219

No. 76. Record of the report of the witness S.L. Bekker authorized the Editorial Board about the pogrom by the units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. August 16-21, 1919 Not earlier than November 1, 1919 222

No. 77. Appeal of the Chief Ataman of the UNR S. Petlyura to the Ukrainian army servicemen with an appeal to stop the pogroms. August 27, 1919 224

No. 78. Recording of a report by witness I. Roytbok, a representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom, about a pogrom in his house in the city of Skvira, Kyiv Province. August 29, 1919 June 15, 1921 227

No. 79. Testimony of a member of the ESDLP Poalei Zion I.D. Meisterov of the Commission of Inquiry under the Main Committee of the Party on the events in the city of Korsun, Kyiv Province. in August 1919 January 28, 1920 228

No. 80. Recordings of reports by an unidentified person M. and doctor Slepak by a representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine about a pogrom by local peasants in the Tagancha town of the Kyiv province. Not earlier than August 24, 1919 230

No. 81. Recording of an eyewitness report by Seydes, a representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine, about a pogrom in the village of Orlovets, Cherkasy district, Kyiv province. August 24, 1919 Not earlier than August 24, 1919 …231

No. 82. From a review of the information of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on pogroms in the town of Belaya Tserkov, Vasilkovsky district, Kyiv province. in 1918 – August 1919 End of 1920 ………………………………… ……………..232

No. 83. Recording of a message from an unidentified person by a representative of the Editorial Board about the murder of ensign M. Panich on August 31 in Kiev. Not earlier than September 3, 1919 236

No. 84. Letter from an unidentified person to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of South Russia, General A.I. Denikin about the pogroms in the years. Elisavetpol and Yekaterinoslav in July-August 1919 Late August 1919 ……………………………………..237

No. 85. Recording of a report by an unidentified person by a representative of the Editorial Board about pogroms by units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the village. Kolid-Balod Kherson province. and railway stations on the way to Kyiv in August-September 1919 Not later than October 1919 238

No. 86. Summary of materials of the Editorial Board on pogroms in the city of Elisavetgrad and settlements of the Elisavetgrad district of the Nikolaev province. in January-September 1919 Later on September 13, 1919 ………………………..239

No. 87. Recording of the story of the victim P.L. Pilyavsky by a representative of the All-Ukrevobshchestkom about the raid of the Makhnovists on September 8-9, 1919 on p. Sofiyivka, Yekaterinoslav Province. January 26, 1922 ………………………….240

No. 88. From the report of B.O. B-ago of the Editorial Board on the pogroms in the city of Fastov, Kyiv Province. in January-August 1919 Not earlier than September 24, 1919 ..241

No. 89. Report of an employee of the Editorial Board X. Hoffmann on the pogroms in the city of Fastov, Kyiv Province. in August-September 1919 September 30, 1919 244

No. 90. From a letter from the head of the Fastov Committee for Assistance to the Pogromed E. Gurtovoy to Committee member L. Godik about the pogrom in the Fastov borough, Kyiv province. in August-September 1919 September 1919 251

No. 91. Order of the military commandant’s office of the All-Russian Union of Youth in the city of Fastov, Kyiv province. No. 2 on maintaining order after the pogroms. September 23, 1919 252

No. 92. Message from the representative of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine G.I. Rabinovich of the Editorial Board on the consequences of the pogrom in the city of Fastov, Kyiv Province. in September 1919 Not earlier than November 1919 253

No. 93. Petition of a retired ensign A.-Kh.R. Shafira to the Commander-in-Chief of the All-Union Socialist League A.I. Denikin on the issuance of documents for traveling abroad. September 24, 1919 255

No. 94. Statement by witness N.A. Sulkovsky to the representative of the Central Committee for assistance to victims of pogroms committed by units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the town of Povorochi, Skvirsky district, Kyiv province. pogroms in September 1919 Not later than January 1920 257

No. 95. Appeal of the Jewish community of Pavolochi, Skvirsky district, Kyiv province. to the council of the Kyiv Jewish community for material assistance after the September pogrom of 1919. No later than November 8, 1919 258

No. 96. Summary of the materials of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine on the pogroms by the detachment of ataman S. Dyakov in the Germanovka town of the Kiev district on August 28 and September 15-18, 1919 Not earlier than September 19, 1919 260

No. 97. Recordings of interviews with victims of acts of violence by units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League at the railway stations of the Kharkov province. in June-September 1919, held by the Jewish community of Kharkov. Earlier November 18, 1919 …261

No. 98. Recording the story of a resident with. Streams of the Kanevsky district of the Kyiv province. L. Bursuka, representative of the Mogilev-Podolsk district Jewish community council A. Kritsshtein, about the pogroms in the village in March-September 1919. Late September 1919 266

No. 99. Order of General V.A. Irmanov on measures to prevent incitement to ethnic hatred. September 24, 1919 267

No. 100. Recording of the story of doctor Fleck by a representative of the Mogilev-Podolsk district Jewish community council about his service in the army of the UNR in August-September 1919. Not earlier than September 24, 1919 ………………. ……267

No. 101. Eyewitness reports M.I. Khabensky and Sh. Zayaruzny to the representative of the Central Committee for assistance to victims of pogroms about the raid of ataman Struk on the Dymer metro station, Radomysl district, Kyiv province. in September 1919 Not later than October 29, 1919 276

No. 102. Statement of the delegates of the Krasnyansk Jewish community A.P. Rabinovich and I.A. Borisovsky to the Mogilev-Podolsk District Jewish Community Council on the situation after the pogroms by the UNR army units in July-September 1919. Late September 1919 ……………………….. ………277

No. 103. Recording of the report of the witness M. Sheinkern by the representative of the Editorial Board B. West about the pogrom by the units of the All-Union Socialist League at the station. Popelnya of the Southwestern Railway in September 1919 Not earlier than September 1919 278

No. 104. Summary of messages from the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROCK in Ukraine about pogroms in the Kyiv and Chernigov provinces. in August-September 1919 by various regular military units, ataman detachments and gangs. Not later than September 19, 1919 ……………………..280

No. 105. From a summary of the materials of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine on the fate of its employees during the events of August-October 1919 in Kiev. Not later than the beginning of March 1920 290

No. 106. From the Consolidated Report of the Editorial Board on the Events in Kiev in September, October 14-18, 1919 Later October 20, 1919 …………..301

No. 107. Recording of the story of a schoolgirl A. Teitelbaum by a representative of the Editorial Board about the events in Kiev on October 19, 1919 Not earlier than October 19, 1919 309

No. 108. Report of an eyewitness I. Rekviborsky to a representative of the Editorial Board about forced labor for Jews in Kiev in October 1919 Not later than October 27, 1919 310

No. 109. From a summary of materials on the events in Kiev in October 1919, collected by the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine. Late October 30, 1919 312

No. 110. Recording of the story of witness M. Shtoffmakher by a representative of the Central Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms about the robberies of the Strukites in the Pushcha-Voditsa metropolitan area of the Kyiv province. September 29-October 3, 1919 No later than January 1920 ….. 316

No. 111. Record of the story of the witness P.L. Pilyavsky by the representative of the All-Ukrevobshchestkom about the pogrom in the village. Sofiyivka, Yekaterinoslav Province. October 1919 January 26, 1922 317

No. 112. Letter from authorized M.I. Mestechkina in the Central Committee of Assistance to Victims of Pogroms on the organization of assistance in the city of Vasilkov, Kyiv Province. after the pogrom in October 1919 November 4, 1919 318

No. 113. Recording of the story of a minor R. Rosenwasser by a representative of the Central Committee for assistance to victims of pogroms about the events in the city of Vasilkov, Kyiv province. in 1919 Late November 1919 320

No. 114. Report of representatives of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the city of Poltava at the end of 1917-1919. 1921 321

No. 115. Petition of witness S.L. Shubb to the Odessa Jewish community about the return of money spent on the ransom of the victims of the pogrom on the Kremenchug-Kyiv railway December 7, 1919 July 17, 1920 ……………….. ……327

No. 116. Recording of a report by witness I. Galperin, A.D. Yuditsky about pogroms by units of the All-Russian Union of Socialist Youth in the town of Smela, Kyiv Province. in August-December 1919 November 26, 1920 .328

No. 117. Message from doctor S. Margolina to authorized editorial board M. Rekis about the pogrom by a group of volunteers in her house in Smela, Kyiv province. in December 1919 Not later than April 19, 1920 …………..330

No. 118. Recording of the story of the public rabbi of the metropolitan Smela of the Kyiv province. Me, authorized by the Editorial Board, M. Rekis, about the pogroms in the town carried out by units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in August, November-December 1919 April 5, 1920 ……………………. ……………..333

No. 119. Recording of the story of an eyewitness I. Kramarovsky, a representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom, about the violence committed by the military personnel of the All-Russian Union of Socialist Youth in the town of Smela, Kyiv province. in December 1919 June 7, 1921 337

No. 120. Record of the report of witness N.Kh. Eidelstein, a representative of the Department of Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROCK in Ukraine A.D. Yuditsky about the pogrom by units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. in December 1919 Not earlier than the end of December 1919 338

No. 121. Summary of information from the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms of 1917-1919. in the city of Skvira, Kyiv province. June 1921 ………………..339

No. 122. Recording of the story of the victim G. Brodyansky by M. Rekis, authorized by the Editorial Board, about the pogroms by the units of the All-Union Socialist Youth League in the Moscow Region. Rotmistrovka and Smela, Cherkasy district, Kyiv province. in December 1919 April 18, 1920 .. 341

No. 123. From the records of the reports of the doctors Gandlevsky, S. Polyak and Zlochevsky to the authorized Editorial Board M. Rekis about the victims of the pogrom carried out by the AFSR detachments in the town of Smela, Kiev province in December 1919 April 18, 1920 .. 342

No. 124. Recordings of messages from victims by an employee of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed at the ROKK in Ukraine Ya.M. Taem about the pogrom by the Romashko detachment of the Bobrovitsy town of the Chernihiv province. January 2, 1920 January 23, 1920 344

No. 125. From the report of representatives of the Department for Assistance to the Pogromed under the ROCK in Ukraine on assistance to the Jewish population of Boguslav, Kyiv Province. January 13, 1920 348

No. 126. Recording of the story of the refugee S. Rosenkranz by the representative of the Editorial Board about the situation in the Boyarka borough of the Kyiv province. after the pogroms in December 1919-January 1920 January 22, 1920 349

No. 127. Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the VSYUR, General A.I. Denikin about restoring order in the troops. February 5 (January 23), 1920 351

No. 128. Information of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the pogromed population in the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. Spring 1920 Late 1920 …..351

No. 129. Report of the authorized S. Kotlyar of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms of 1919 – March 1920 in the Dzyunkovo metropolitan area of the Kyiv province. Late August 1920 353

No. 130. Recordings of surveys of city medical personnel by M. Rekis, authorized by the Editorial Board, about the victims of volunteer pogroms in the city of Cherkasy, Kyiv Province. in December 1919 Not earlier than March 28 – not later than April 18, 1920 353

No. 131. Recording of the story of witness F. Krasnaya by a representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about a pogrom by bandits from the local population in the town of Tetiev, Tarashchansky district, Kyiv province. April 1920 Late July 1920 .356

No. 132. Report of the commission of inquiry on the pogrom by the Red Army of the 391st Tarashchansky regiment of the Red Army in the town of Korsun, Kanevsky district, Kyiv province. May 11-18, 1920 May 24, 1920 358

No. 133. Report of the military commissar of the 131st Tarashchan brigade Buzhko-Zhuk to the military commissar of the 44th division of the Red Army criticizing the conclusions of the Investigation Commission on the pogroms by the 391st regiment in the town of Korsun on May 11-18, 1920. Later on May 24, 1920. …………………………………………. 361

No. 134. Summary of materials of the Editorial Board on the pogroms by the servicemen of the Polish army in May-June 1920 in the Kyiv province. Not earlier than June 16, 1920 362

No. 135. An article from the Kharkov newspaper “Der Kommunist” about the pogroms by Polish military units in April – early July 1920 in Ukraine. August 20, 1920 365

No. 136. From an essay by the Statistical and Information Department of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the city of Vasilkov, Kyiv Province. in 1919 and May 1920 October 1922 366

No. 137. Report of the representative of the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR E. Dantsman on the organization of assistance to the pogromed population of the city of Vasilkov, Kyiv province. August 22, 1920 380

No. 138. Recording of the story of the chief of the city police of the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. I.V. Abbarius on the actions of Polish military units in the city from June 9 to June 12, 1920. Later on June 12, 1920 .382

No. 139. Recording of the story of the mayor of the city of Zhytomyr, Volyn province. I.P. Voronitsyn about the pogroms by Polish military units in the city in June 1920. Later on June 12, 1920 390

No. 140. Summary of the materials of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the town of Pyatki, Zhytomyr district, Volyn province. from March 1919 to June 1920 with the attachment of records of the stories of the victims. Not earlier than July 3, 1921 395

No. 141. Ataman M. Klimenko’s leaflet to the population with an appeal to join the “green” detachments. July 10, 1920 ………………..405

No. 142. Report of the Commissioner I. Aspiz to the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR on the situation of the Jewish population in the city of Kamenskoye, Ekaterinoslav Province. in September 1919 – August 1920 No later than August 24, 1920 405

No. 143. Summary of information from the Kyiv Department of Internal Affairs in the NKVD

Ukrainian SSR about banditry in Ukraine in the summer of 1920 September 17, 1920 ……..407

No. 144. Recording of the story of a resident of the Boyarka metro station, Zvenigorod district, Kyiv province. Nekhamov as a representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms committed in 1918-1920. detachments of atamans Kazakov and Popov and others, as well as Budyonny. Not earlier than September 1920 415

No. 145. Report of L. Levin, authorized by the KOPE, on the organization of assistance after the pogroms of the Goly gang in September 1920 in the town of Gorodishche-Vorontsovo, Kyiv province. Not earlier than September 27, 1920 416

No. 146. Minutes of the interview of witnesses by the secretary of the subdivision of social assistance S.V. Eppel for the Kyiv Provincial Section of Assistance to the Pogromed under the NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR about the pogrom perpetrated by the Budennovsky units in the town of Spichentsy, Berdichevsky district, Kyiv province. October 4-9, 1920 October 75, 1920 422

No. 147. Telegram of the chairman of the RVSR L.D. Trotsky, Commander-in-Chief S.S. Kamenev and military commissar of the RVSR Field Headquarters K.Kh. Danishevsky to the Revolutionary Military Council of the 1st Cavalry with the requirement to check the report of the head of the 8th Cavalry Division V.M. Primakov about the pogroms of the Budennovites. October 3, 1920 423

No. 148. Report of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission to the Revolutionary Military Council of the 1st Cavalry on the crimes of the soldiers of the 6th Cavalry Division. Not earlier than October 1, 1920 424

No. 149. Summary of information from the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms of the Jewish population by units of the 1st Cavalry Army in Kyiv Gubernia. at the beginning of October 1920 Not earlier than October 8, 1920 ………………………… 426

No. 150. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom with an appendix of a record of the story of the victim I.Z. Altman about the pogroms in the city of Tarashcha, Kyiv Province. in August-September 1919, October 1920 May 16, 1921 ………….. 428

No. 151. Report of the instructor of the Kyiv Provincial Section for Assistance to the Pogromed NKSO of the Ukrainian SSR on the situation of the pogromed population of the town of Pogrebishche, Berdichev Uyezd, in the autumn of 1920. Later, November 3, 1920 ……. 431

No. 152. Information note of the Commission for collecting information on the evacuation of refugees under the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on pogroms in the town of Stepantsy, Kanevsky district, Kyiv province. in February 1919 – November 1920 May 26, 1921 432

No. 153. Report of a member of the ESDRP Poalei Zion Kh. Rogovy to the Party’s Right-Bank Bureau on the pogroms in the town of Stepantsy, Kanevsky district, Kyiv province. September-November 1920 Late November 1920 434

No. 154. Recording of the questioning of witnesses Sh. Braginsky and P. Rabinovich by the authorized representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms in the Ivankovo borough of the Chernobyl vol. Kyiv province. in 1919-1920 May 27, 1921 436

No. 155. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom with an appendix of a record of the story of the witness Sh.A. Poltorak about the pogroms in the Koshevatoe borough of the Tarashchansky district of the Kyiv province, perpetrated by the detachments of F. Grebenko, Zeleny, military units of the UNR and others in 1918-1920. May 16, 1921 ………………..438

No. 156. Report of the Commissioner of the Odessa Regional Commission Evobshchestkom A.N. Zuckerman on the situation of the pogromed in the city of Balta, Odessa Province. in December 1920 Later on December 6, 1920 ………. 441

No. 157. Memorandum of representatives of the Jewish population of the city of Boguslav, Knevsky province. to the provincial section of assistance to the pogromed of the Kyiv Gubernia Security Service on the preservation of self-defense units in the town. March-May 1921 443

No. 158. Message from a member of the Jewish self-defense, m. Steblev, Kyiv province. B. Odessky to the representative of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the activities of self-defense in the town from May 1919 to December 1920 March 1921 .447

No. 159. Recording of responses to the questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the activities of self-defense in the Korsun town, Kyiv province. in October 1917 – December 1920 Not earlier than May – not later than October 1921 448

No. 160. Memorandum of the Commissioner of the Provincial Section for Assistance to the Pogromed of the Kyiv Gubernia Security Service on the need to maintain self-defense detachments in Boguslavsky, Kanevsky and other counties of the Ukrainian SSR. February 18, 1921 ….. 450

No. 161. Memorandum of authorized A. Bakaleinik to the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the conditions of illegal Jewish emigration in the region of the Ukrainian-Romanian border. November 29, 1920 457

No. 162. Report of S. Gilels, authorized by the Rybnitsa Commission for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms, on the situation of refugees in M.M. Rashkov and Kamenka, Podolsk provinces. February 14, 1921 458

No. 163. Statement of the victim A.F. Vinnik-Minsk to the Special Department of the Cheka of the city of Mogilev-Podolsky, Podolsk province. about her arrest by the Special Department of s. Kosnitsy March 3, 1921 March 23, 1921 461

No. 164. Communication of representatives of the Rybnitsa Commission for the Administrative-Investigative Commission for the Inspection of the Activities of the Special Section for the Protection of the Romanian Border on refugees on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. March 4, 1921 462

No. 165. Message from the Chairman of the Administrative-Investigative Commission for the Survey of the Activities of the Special Section for the Protection of the Romanian Border Serafimov to an unidentified addressee on the results of the survey of the Special Branches on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. Not earlier than March 15, 1921 ………….463

No. 166. Memorandum of the Head of the Jewish Department of the Odessa Provincial Committee of the CP(b)U to the Central Bureau of Jewish Sections of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U on control of illegal Jewish emigration on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. March 15, 1921 .464

No. 167. A poem by a refugee Sonya Obodyanik, who died while crossing the Dniester on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. Not later than March-May 1920 ………….. 466

No. 168. Memorandum of authorized M. Khaselevich of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of refugees in the village of Dzygovka, Yampolsky district, Podolsk province. spring 1921 Not earlier than March 3 – not later than March 29, 1921 .467

No. 169. Letter from the delegation of the Rashkov Commission on Refugees to the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars V.I. Lenin with a request for admission. March 23, 1921 ………………..469

No. 170. Letter from the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee M.I. Kalinin to the chairman of the VUTsIK G.I. Petrovsky on the normalization of the situation of refugees on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. March 24, 1921 ……………………………………….. 469

No. 171. Extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR No. 20 on the establishment of a commission for the resettlement of Jewish refugees abroad. April 2, 1921 ………………..470

No. 172. Minutes of the meeting of the commission of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR and the VUTsIK on the resettlement of Jewish refugees abroad. Not later than April 13, 1921 …………………. 471

No. 173. Memorandum of S. Belkin, a representative of Canadian Jewish organizations to help the pogromed, to the Jewish Department of the RSFSR People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs on streamlining the emigration of refugees. April 15, 1921 ………………………….472

No. 174. From the message of the head of point No. 1 of the Special Department, Kin, to the head of department No. 3 of the Special Department of the Cheka for the protection of the Ukrainian-Romanian border about the normalization of the situation of refugees in the area of the point No. 1. April 17, 1921 ……. 474

No. 175. Memorandum of the Deputy Head of the Jewish Department of the ICN of the RSFSR Z.L. Mindlin in the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on the situation of refugees abroad. Not earlier than April 28, 1921 ……………………………………….. 475

No. 176. Minutes of the interdepartmental meeting under the NKN RSFSR on the settlement of the emigration of Jews from the country. April 28, 1921 ………………..477

No. 177. Appeal of the delegation of Jewish refugees from the Shpola town of the Zvenigorod district of the Kyiv province. to the Rashkovsky kombezh about assistance in crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border. Not earlier than May 1, 1921 ………………………….477

No. 178. Report of the Commissioner for Podolia Chernyavsky of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on assistance to refugees on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. September 30, 1921 479

No. 179. Order of the Podolsky Gubernia Executive Committee to Klymenko, authorized for the re-evacuation of refugees, on the return of refugees to their places of residence. October 26, 1921 …………………………. 479

No. 180. Report of the representative of the Evobshchestkom Skomarovsky to the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the pogromed population in the Volyn province. in August 1920 – March 1921 March 22, 1921 ……………………………. ….480

No. 181. Verdict of the Volyn Gubernia Tribunal in the case of participants in the pogrom in the town of Slovechno, Ovruch district, Volyn Gubernia. in June 1919 by D. Dubnitsky and A. Khilevich. March 31, 1921 ……………………………………….. 482

No. 182. Testimony of the watchman of the Ivankovsky State Sugar Factory S.D. Kolomeichuk to a representative of the Department for Combating Banditry of the Kyiv Gubchek about an attempted attack on the plant. April 13, 1921 ………483

No. 183. Report of the Livshits Commissioner for the Nemirovsky District of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom with a review of events in the town of Pechera, Podolsk Province. in 1917-April 1921 Not earlier than April 21, 1921 ……………………………………..483

No. 184. From a note by the Information and Statistical Department of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom with a review of events in the Smela borough of Kyiv province. and Smelyansk region in 1919 – June 1921 June 10, 1921 ………………………… ..486

No. 185. Statement by witness L.V. Vershansky to the representative of the Odessa regional commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the Jewish population in the town of Ternovka, Podolsk province. in 1921 Not earlier than June 8, 1921 ………………………..487

No. 186. Memorandum of the assistant chief for the political part of the Special Purpose Units (CHON) and Vseobuch of the Ukrainian SSR to the Department of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U on the preservation of Jewish self-defense in Ukraine. July 22, 1921 …………………….488

No. 187. Report of the Information Department of the Odessa Regional Commission of the Evobshchestkom in the Evobshchestkom on the organization of assistance to the Jewish population in the Odessa region in 1921 July 8, 1921 …………………………… ………..489

No. 188. A summary of information from the Evobshchestkom on pogroms in Jewish colonies in the Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Yekaterinoslav provinces. in 1917-1921 Not earlier than August 20, 1921 496

189 S. Zusya about the situation of the Jewish population of the province in 1920-1921. No later than August 10, 1921 501

No. 190. Report of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the trial of representatives of the Pereyaslav Committee of Jewish Self-Defense. September 2, 1921 502

No. 191. Sample questionnaire for the program of collecting materials on pogroms, developed by the Information and Statistical Department of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom. Before May 1921 ………………………………………..502

No. 192. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms and the situation in the Teofipol metropolitan area of the Volyn province. May 1921 May 21, 1921 ……………504

No. 193. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation in the town of Khodorkov, Skvirsky district, Kyiv province. after the pogroms. June 1921 505

No. 194. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the Novofastov borough, Skvirsky district, Kyiv province. June 1921 506

No. 195. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms in the Pavolochi borough of the Skvirsky district of the Kyiv province. in 1917-1920, filled in by the district commissioner. June 1921 507

No. 196. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the Jewish population of the town of Shepetovka, Volyn Province. for the summer of 1921 Not later than September 1, 1921 .509

No. 197. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the city of Izyaslavl, Volyn Province. August-September 1921 ………………………………511

No. 198. Questionnaire of the Kyiv Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms in the town of Litin, Podolsk Province, filled out by the local commissioner. August-September 1921 …. 514

No. 199. Questionnaire of the Odessa regional commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms and the situation in the city of Tulchin, Bratslav district, Podolsk province. Summer 1921 September 29, 1921 516

No. 200. Report of the Jewish Department of the RSFSR NKN on the situation of Jewish refugees in the city of Odessa in May-June 1921. November 1921 …………..519

No. 201. Report of the Odessa Regional Commission of the Evobshchestkom in the Evobshchestkom on overcoming the consequences of the pogroms of 1918-1919. in the m. Novo-Vorontsovka, Kherson province. December 11, 1921 ………………………………526

No. 202. Application of the refugee Ts. Levenberg in the Evobshchestkom for assistance in providing assistance after the Makhnovist pogrom. December 22, 1921 530

No. 203. Report of the Odessa Regional Commission of the Evobshchestkom in the Evobshchestkom on the situation in the city of Berislav, Kherson Province. after the pogroms of 1919-1920. December 27, 1921 531

No. 204. Message from L. Ioffe, Commissioner of the Jewish Department in the Right-Bank Ukraine, to the Jewish Department of the NKN of the RSFSR with a refutation by the American press about bandit attacks on Jews in Ukraine in June-July 1922. August 5, 1922 535

No. 205. Report of L. Ioffe, authorized by the Jewish Department in Right-Bank Ukraine, to the Jewish Department of the RSFSR NKN about the murders of Jews by the Zagorodny gang at st. Serdyukovka, Kyiv Province. August 5, 1922 537

No. 206. Extract from the protocol No. 19 of the meeting of the Kyiv provincial military conference on self-defense. December 5, 1922 537

1. BELARUS.

No. 207. Report from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the pogrom movement in Belarus. February 18, 1918 ………………………………539

No. 208. Report from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the pogrom in the city of Vitebsk April 29, 1918 May 18, 1918 539

No. 209. Article from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the causes and nature of the pogrom in the city of Vitebsk April 29, 1918 May 18, 1918 540

No. 210. Message from the emissary of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs of the People’s Commissariat for Jewish Affairs of the RSFSR Lipkin to the Bezhensky department of the Commissariat about the pre-pogrom situation in the city of Orsha, Mogilev Province. August 6-7, 1918 August 7, 1918 541

No. 211. From the report of the Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain under the leadership of S. Samuel on executions and pogroms by Polish military units in the city of Pinsk, Minsk province, Lida, Vilna province. and other cities in April 1919 July 28, 1920 542

No. 212. An article from the newspaper Izvestiya VTSIK about anti-Semitic propaganda in the villages of the Mogilev province. in June – early July 1919 July 4, 1919 550

No. 213. Report of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of Polish Troops under the Bobruisk Revolutionary Committee on the Murder of the Geckler Family and Excesses in the City of Bobruisk, Minsk Province. in September-October 1919 Late July – August 1920 551

No. 214. Statement of the victims to the council of the Jewish community of Bobruisk, Minsk province. on excesses by the Polish military October 4, 1919 November 1919 553

No. 215. Testimony of a resident of the city of Bobruisk, Minsk province. E. Sheinin of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of the Polish Troops on the Poles’ Stay in the City. July 25, 1920 ………………………………554

No. 216. Report of the Astrakhan doctor of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the victims of pogroms by Polish military units in the town of Seliba (Itel), Bobruisk district, Minsk province. in November-December 1919 and assistance to the victims. June 10, 1921 …………………………………..555

No. 217. Protocol of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of the Polish Troops on the Robbery of the Jewish Population in the Township of Lyubonichi, Bobruisk District, Minsk Gubernia. in March 1920 July 21, 1920 ………557

No. 218. Newsletter from the Gaint newspaper about the pogroms in the city of Volkovysk, Grodno Province. in March-April 1920 April 12, 1920 …….. 559

No. 219. Newsletter from the Gaint newspaper about attacks on Jews in the city of Brest, Grodno province. May 2, 1920 May 21, 1920 ….559

No. 220. Report of the Commissioner G.M. Runkevich of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of Polish Troops on the Situation in the Lyubonichi and Batsevichy Volosts of the Bobruisk District of the Minsk Province. in the period from July 18 to August 8, 1920 August 9, 1920 ………………………………………559

No. 221. Message from an unknown person to the Minsk Department of the Jewish Committee for Assistance to Victims of War and Pogroms (EKOPO) about the presence of Polish military units in the town of Smolevichi, Borisov district, Minsk province. in August 1919 – July 1920 Not earlier than July 11, 1920 561

No. 222. Report of the authorized Raykhman to the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of the Polish Troops on the pogroms on July 8-11, 1920 in the town of Glusk, Bobruisk district, Minsk province. End of July – August 1920 ………….563

No. 223. Report of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of Polish Troops on the Pogrom in the Town of Glusk, Bobruisk District, Minsk Gubernia. July 8-10, 1920 Late July – August 1920 566

No. 224. An article from the newspaper “Forverts” about the pogroms by Polish military units in Minsk in August 1919 – July 1920 August 5, 1920 .567

No. 225. Report of the Legal Commission of the Minsk Department of EKOPO on pogroms by Polish military units during the retreat from Minsk on July 9-11, 1920 July 21, 1920 568

No. 226. Testimony of the victim Ts. Fishkin to the representative of the Minsk department of EKOPO about the pogrom in the village of Pyatovshchina, Minsk district, Minsk province. July 11, 1920 Not earlier than July 19, 1920 571

No. 227. Report of the Minsk department of ECOPO on the pogrom actions of Polish military units in the town of Stolbtsy, Minsk district, Minsk province. July 10-12, 1920 Not earlier than July 22, 1920 572

No. 228. Indications of the doctor L.I. Perlina Commission to investigate atrocities and illegal actions of Polish troops in the village. Gorki and Gorkovskaya vol. Bobruisk district, Minsk province. July 9-13, 1920 July 24, 1920 ……. 577

No. 229. Testimony of residents of Uzda, Igumen district, Minsk province. to the representative of the Minsk department of EKOPO on looting and violence by Polish military personnel July 10-13, 1920 August 2, 1920 …………………………579

No. 230. From the report of the Minsk Department of ECOPO on the pogroms by Polish military units in the town of Nesvizh, Slutsk district, Minsk province. July 10-14, 1920 July 28, 1920 580

No. 231. Report of a representative of the Minsk department of ECOPO on the pogroms by Polish military units in the town of Gorodeya (Zamirye station) of the Novogrudok district of the Minsk province. July 9-15, 1920 July 26-27, 1920 ………………………..582

No. 232. From the report of the Minsk department of the ECOPO on the pogroms by Polish military units in the Mir town of the Novogrudok district of the Minsk province. July 11-16, 1920 July 24-25, 1920 590

No. 233. Information report from the newspaper “Forverts” about the pogroms in the city of Grodno on July 15-19, 1920 August 6, 1920 595

No. 234. Information report from the newspaper “Forverts” about the pogrom at the station. Porechye of the Grodno province. in July 1920 30 August 1920 596

No. 235. Report of the Commission for the Investigation of Atrocities and Illegal Actions of Polish Troops in 1919-1920. in the Bobruisk district of the Minsk province. December 1, 1920 596

No. 236. Report of the commissioner for the Pinsk region Ya.I. Kantor to the Jewish Committee for Assistance to Victims of Pogroms (Evobshchestkom) about the situation in the region. September 15, 1920 597

No. 237. Report of the authorized representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom for the Pinsk region Ya.I. Cantor in the Evobshchestkom. September 20, 1920 605

No. 238. From a summary of the materials of the Information and Statistical Department of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms perpetrated by Polish military units in Belarus in the summer of 1920. Not earlier than October 20, 1920 607

No. 239. Recording of the story of teacher Margolin by a representative of the 2nd sanitary and epidemiological detachment of the People’s Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR and the Evobshchestkom about the Balakhovsky pogrom in the town of Turov, Mozyr district, Minsk province. in October 1920 Not later than October 1, 1921 609

No. 240. Report of an unidentified person to the NKSO of the BSSR about the Balakhovsky pogrom in the village of Petrikov, Mozyr district, Minsk province. November 4-10, 1920 February 12, 1921 611

No. 241. Recording of the stories of the children of the Jewish school in the town of Petrikov, Mozyr district, Minsk province. representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the Balakhovsky pogrom on November 4-10, 1920 Not later than February 1921 612

No. 242. Message from the authorized OZE E.S. Rafalkes in the Central Committee of the OZE about the attack of the Balakhites on the Khoiniki metro station of the Rechitsa district of the Gomel province. November 9, 1920 November 29, 1920 619

No. 243. Report of the instructor of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom A. Naidich in the Evobshchestkom on the stay of S. Bulak-Balakhovich in the city of Mozyr, Minsk Province. in October-November 1920 Not later than December 2, 1921 620

No. 244. From the record of the story of the clerk of the Jewish army detachment S. Bulak-Balakhovich about ensign Zeitlin. No later than October 1, 1921 ….. 624

No. 245. Recording of the story of the doctor A.N. about conversations with B. Savinkov in the city of Mozyr, Minsk Province. in November 1920 Not earlier than November 20, 1920 625

No. 246. Message from residents of the city of Mozyr, Minsk province. to the representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the speech of S. Bulak-Balakhovich and B. Savinkov to the Jewish population of the city on November 13, 1920 Not earlier than November 20, 1920 629

No. 247. Recording of the story of witness X. Katsenelson, representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom A. Goldin, about the stay of Balakhovites in the village of Yurovichi, Rechitsa district, Minsk province. mid-November 1920 March 9, 1921 630

No. 248. Memorandum to the Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR from representatives of the Borisov Revolutionary Committee of Barnaya and Oksyuchits on assistance to the residents of the city of Borisov, Minsk province. November 17, 1920 631

No. 249. Report to the European Community Commission on the registration of victims of the raid of S. Bulak-Balakhovich’s gangs in the Mozyr district of the Minsk province. in November-December 1920 Not earlier than December 14, 1920 632

No. 250. Report of the authorized OZE M.L. Lifshitz to the Minsk Department of the ECOPO on the situation in the settlements in the Mozyr district affected by the raid of S. Bulak-Balakhovich’s detachments in November 1920. Not later than January 18, 1921 634

No. 251. From the decision of the military tribunal of the Western Front in the case of the pogrom on November 25, 1920 in the village of Bolshie Gorodyatichi, Mozyr district, Minsk province. January 30, 1921 643

No. 252. Recording of the story of the victim E. Lifshits by the representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the attack of the gang on November 26, 1920 on the village of Ubibachki, Bobruisk district, Minsk province. June 23, 1921 647

No. 253. Report of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom in the Evobshchestkom on the Balakhovsky pogroms in the Bobruisk and Mozyr districts of the Minsk province. in November 1920 January 27, 1921 648

No. 254. From the minutes of the meeting of residents of the Lyuban metro station, Bobruisk district, Minsk province. about the organization of self-defence. November 30, 1920 650

No. 255. Message from the authorized OZE E.S. Rafalkes in the Central Committee of the OZE on the situation of refugees in the Gomel province. in November 1920 November 26, 1920 651

No. 256. Memorandum of authorized M. Serebryany in the Evobshchestkom on the organization of assistance to the population of the Gomel province, who suffered from pogroms in October-November 1920 December 12, 1920 652

No. 257. Memorandum of authorized M. Serebryany in the Evobshchestkom on assistance to the population of Cherikovsky district, who suffered from pogroms in October-November 1920. Not later than December 29, 1920 655

No. 258. Memorandum of the authorized Krasnopolsky Council A.Ts. Rubinshtein in the Evobschestkom about banditry in the Krasnopolsky district of the Gomel province. in the summer and winter of 1920 and the fight against it. December 1920 657

No. 259. Telegram from the Chairman of the Krasnopol Revolutionary Council Meerman to the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee M.I. Kalinin about the placement of Red Army soldiers in the town to protect against pogroms. December 17, 1920 ……….. 659

No. 260. Memorandum of M. Serebryany, authorized by the Evobshchestkom, to the RVSR on pogroms and the fight against banditry in the Gomel province. in the autumn-winter of 1920 December 29, 1920 ………………………… 659

No. 261. Report of the authorized medical and nutritional detachment A. Lanis to the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the pogromed population in a number of regions of Belarus. January 9, 1921 663

No. 262. Memorandum of Utkes, head of the Jewish subdepartment of the Gomel provincial department for nationalities, to the provincial executive committee on the actions of the Galaka gang in the Gomel region in February 1921. Late February – March 1921 664

No. 263. Memorandum of authorized OZE M.L. Lifshitz to the Minsk Department of EKOPO about the pogroms in the Bobruisk district in mid-March – April 1921 April 26, 1921 665

No. 264. Review of information prepared by Vainer, Deputy People’s Commissar of the NKSO of the BSSR for Evobshchestkom, about the pogroms in the Bobruisk district in March-April 1921. Not later than May 7, 1921 667

No. 265. Message from an employee of the 2nd consolidated sanitary and epidemiological detachment of the People’s Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR in the Evobshchestkom Zeitlin to the Gomel provincial department for nationalities about the pogrom in the village. Vasilevichi, Rechitsa district, Gomel province, committed by the Galaka gang April 15, 1921 April 22, 1921669

No. 266. Letter from a member of the trade union bureau of the city of Bragin A. Rabinovich to the authorized representative of the Evobshchestkom for the Gomel region I.L. Zlotnik about banditry in the Gomel province. in April 1921 April 28, 1921 …………………..670

No. 267. Report of the authorized OZE M.L. Lifshitz to the Minsk departments of ECOPO and ORT about the pogroms on December 20, 1920 and April 17, 1921 in the Bulakovskaya Seliba (Itel) colony of the Bobruisk district. May 7, 1921 ………………..672

No. 268. Memorandum of the commissioner for the Gomel region I.L. Zlotnik in the Evobshchestkom about the pogroms in the region in April 1921 and assistance to the victims. April 30, 1921 ………………………………………..673

No. 269. Memorandum of Briskin, commissioner for the Rechitsa region, to the Evobshchestkom on the elimination of the consequences of banditry in November 1920 – May 1921 May 11, 1921 676

No. 270. Recording of the story of the victim R.I. Fel authorized by the Evobshchestkom for the Gomel region I.L. Zlotnik about the attack on the Skorodnoye metro station of the Mozyr district May 12, 1921 May 14, 1921 677

No. 271. Report of E. Kopshits, authorized by the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom, to the Evobshchestkom on the attack on the Lyuban metro station of the Bobruisk district on May 26, 1921. Not later than June 27, 1921 ……………… ………..678

No. 272. Memorandum of the authorized Kavalerchik to the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogroms in the Bobruisk district in February-May 1921 Not later than July 4, 1921 ………………. ……………..683

No. 273. Order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Western Front No. 1009 on the fight against banditry and desertion. May 27, 1921 ………………………………………..685

No. 274. Memorandum of the People’s Commissar of Social Security of the BSSR S.Z. Katsenbogen in the NKSO of the RSFSR on assistance to the population of the republic affected by the pogroms in April-May 1921 May 29, 1921 687

No. 275. Address of the representatives of the Jewish community of Osipovichi, Bobruisk district B.G. Tsvik and Z. Aizikovich to the chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the BSSR on the protection of the population of the county. June 2, 1921 688

No. 276. Memorandum of authorized OZE M.L. Lifshitz to the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom about the attack on the Pukhovichi metro station of the Igumen district on June 8, 1921 Not later than June 25, 1921 ……………..689

No. 277. Memorandum of the secretary of the trade union organization of the town of Osipovichi, Bobruisk district to the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom on the situation of the town in connection with the growth of banditry in the district. June 10, 1921 ..690

No. 278. Report of the representatives of the People’s Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR, the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom in the Evobshchestkom on the attack on the Kopatkevichi metro station of the Mozyr district on June 10, 1921 and assistance to the affected population. July 1921 ……………………………………….. ……691

No. 279. Memorandum of the commissioners of the NKSO of the BSSR and the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom on the inaction of the authorities of the Mozyr district on the eve of the attack on the Kopatkevichi metro station on June 10, 1921 Not later than June 27, 1921 ….. 702

No. 280. Report of M.K. Amdursky in the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom on June 10, 1921 in the town of Kopatkevichi, Mozyr district. June 14, 1921 …………………….706

No. 281. Note by the head of the IV Department of the Secret Political Department of the Cheka to an unidentified addressee on the investigation into the circumstances of the pogrom in the village of Kopatkevichi, Mozyr district June 10, 1921 July 2, 1921 709

No. 282. Statement by representatives of the Jewish population of the Bobruisk district in the Evobshchestkom on protection from bandit attacks. No later than July 19, 1921 710

No. 283. Report of I. Avrutin, commissioner for Borisov district, to the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogrom in the village of Rovanichskaya Sloboda, Borisov district, June 13, 1921. Not later than July 7, 1921 710

No. 284. Recording of the story of G.Ya. Goldman by the representative of the NKN BSSR about the pogroms in the town in July 1919 – June 1921 September 20, 1921 712

No. 285. Statement by the representatives of the Jewish population of the town of Pechishche, Bobruisk district Farber and Freinklakh to the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the creation of Jewish self-defense. June 17, 1921 715

No. 286. Report of members of the RCP (b) A. Drapezo and E. Khramenko to the NKSO of the BSSR about the actions of gangs in the Oktyabrskaya vol. Bobruisk district in June 1921 June 25, 1921 716

No. 287. Report of I. Avrutin, commissioner for the Borisov district, to the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom on the pogrom in the village of Shabynki, Belchanskaya vol. Igumensky district June 19, 1921 Not later than July 6, 1921 717

No. 288. Memorandum of a member of the Evobshchestkom Rashkes to the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on the fight against banditry in the Gomel province. June 23, 1921 718

No. 289. Message from A. Simkhovich, chairman of the OZE branch in the town of Berezino, Igumensky district, to the Belarusian commission of the Evobshchestkom about the growth of banditry in the district in May-June 1921 June 25, 1921 719

No. 290. Report of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on the work for the period from December 1920 to June 1921 June 25, 1921 721

No. 291. Report of an employee of the 2nd consolidated sanitary and epidemiological detachment to the People’s Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR on the consequences of pogroms in the counties of Belarus bordering the RSFSR in June 1921 June 29, 1921 725

No. 292. Memorandum of Y. Estrin to the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom on banditry in the Bobruisk district in the spring and summer of 1921. Not later than December 8, 1921 729

No. 293. Minutes of the meeting of the refugees of the Bobruisk district on the protection of the Jewish population from bandit attacks. July 1, 1921 ………………..733

No. 294. Application of representatives of the Jewish population of the village of Petrikov, Mozyr district R. Golubitsky and B. Zaritsky to the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom for help in organizing self-defense. July 6, 1921 736

No. 295. Appeal of the leaders of Jewish public organizations to the Council of People’s Commissars of the BSSR on the establishment of a commission to provide material assistance to victims of pogroms. End of June – July 1921 ……………… 737

No. 296. Recording of the story of the victim M. Fundominsky by the representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom on July 10, 1921 in the village of Glubokovichi, Bobruisk district. July 27, 1921 738

No. 297. Report of the People’s Commissar of Social Security of the BSSR and the representative of the Belarusian Commission of the Evobshchestkom to the Presidium of the CEC of the BSSR on the damage caused by the pogroms in 1920-1921. Not later than May 13, 1922 …… 739

No. 298. An article from the Izvestiya newspaper by M.E. Gorodetsky on measures to eliminate banditry. June 1, 1922 ………………….. 740

No. 299. Memorandum of the Central Committee of the Jewish Communist Party Poalei Zion to the Department of the People’s Commissariat of National Affairs of the RSFSR on intensifying the fight against banditry in the Vitebsk and Gomel provinces. June 10, 1922 741

No. 300. Report of the head of the department for nationalities of the Vitebsk province. and authorized by the Evobshchestkom to the Evobshchestkom Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR and to the Evobshchestkom on banditry in the Minsk, Gomel and Vitebsk provinces. in the first half of 1922 August 8, 1922 743

III. EUROPEAN PART OF RUSSIA

No. 301. From the article “For the Year” in the journal “Jewish Week” about the growth of pogrom sentiment in Russia. January 8, 1918 ………………….751

No. 302. Extract from the transcript of the 5th meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the 4th convocation on the inclusion of the issue of Jewish pogroms on the agenda at the initiative of the United Jewish Socialist Labor Party and the faction of the Left SRs. April 11, 1918 …………………………. 752

No. 303. Extract from the journal of the meeting of the Council of People’s Commissars of Moscow and the Moscow Region on Jewish pogroms and the organization of self-defense. April 17, 1918 ….754

No. 304. Appeal of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs of Moscow and the Moscow Region to the Council of People’s Commissars on measures to combat pogroms. April 19, 1918 ……. 754

No. 305. Letter from I.G. Dobkovsky to the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars V.I. Lenin to discuss the issue of combating pogroms. April 19, 1918 ………………….755

No. 306. Letter from representatives of the Jewish population p. Staro-Sokolniki, Nevelsky district, Vitebsk province. Commissioner for Jewish Affairs of the NKN RSFSR S.M. Dimanshtein about the eviction of Jewish tenants from the village. May 9, 1918 756

No. 307. Report from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the meeting of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Red Army Deputies about the growth of anti-Semitic sentiments in connection with the food crisis. May 18, 1918 ……………..757

No. 308. Report from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the growth of anti-Semitic sentiments in Petrograd factories and plants. May 9, 1918 ……..757

No. 309. Report from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the case of anti-Semitic agitation in Moscow in February 1918. Not earlier than May 9, 1918 …………….758

No. 310. Note from the journal “Jewish Week” on the consideration of the issue of self-defense at the conference of the All-Russian Union of Jewish Warriors in Moscow (May 8-10). May 10, 1918 758

No. 311. Message from the journal “Jewish Week” about the speech of the representative of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs of the Integral People’s Commissariat Yu. Shimeliovich at the conference of the All-Russian Union of Jewish Warriors May 8-10, 1918 May 10, 1918 …759

No. 312. Note from the journal “Jewish Week” about the activities in Petrograd of the organization “Kamorra of People’s Reprisal”. Not earlier than May 25, 1918 ….. 759

No. 313. Note from the magazine “Jewish Week” about the pogrom agitation in Moscow. June 1, 1918 760

No. 314. An article from the magazine “Jewish Tribune” about a rally against Jewish pogroms in Petrograd on April 21. June 3, 1918 ……………………… 761

No. 315. Note from the journal “Jewish Tribune” about attempts to organize Jewish self-defense in the city of Kursk in March-April 1918 June 3, 1918 763

No. 316. Statement of the Cheka on counteracting anti-Jewish agitation. June 22, 1918 764

No. 317. From a review of the Jewish press by the Information Department of the Inspectorate of the People’s Commissariat of the RSFSR for the period from June 15 to June 30, 1918. Not earlier than June 30, 1918 764

No. 318. Address of the Commissar for Jewish Affairs S.M. Dimanstein to People’s Commissar for Military Affairs L.D. Trotsky about sending inspection teams to the regions to combat anti-Semitism. July 22, 1918 ….765

No. 319. Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars “On the root suppression of the anti-Semitic movement.” July 27, 1918 766

No. 320. Article by the Commissar for Jewish Affairs of the NKN of the RSFSR S.M. Dimanstein “About new Jewish pogroms” in the newspaper “Life of Nationalities”. December 1, 1918 ………………………………………..766

No. 321. Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars on assistance to victims of Jewish pogroms. June 5, 1919 769

No. 322. An article in the newspaper Izvestiya VTSIK about the trial of the Chistyakovs accused of anti-Semitic statements. July 2, 1919 ………. 770

No. 323. Decree of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs of the NKN RSFSR on the collection of materials on pogroms. July 6, 1919 770

No. 324. From a report by authorized OZE about pogroms in the city of Balashov, Saratov Province. Cossack units of the corps of General K.K. Mamontov in July 1919 December 1919 ……………………………….771

No. 325. Recording of the story of the witness Eidelman to the representative of the OZE for the Evobshchestkom about the pogrom in the city of Balashov, Saratov Province. Cossack units of the corps of General K.K. Mamontov in July 1919 Not earlier than March 1921 772

No. 326. Letter from an unknown correspondent to the representative of the Yekaterinoslav Community Council I.M. Rotshtein about the pogrom in Balashov, Saratov Province. units of the All-Union Socialist League in July 1919 August 13, 1919 …. 775

No. 327. Minutes of the meeting on July 29-30, 1919 of representatives of Jewish community councils from a number of localities in Russia and Ukraine, occupied by military units of the All-Russian Union of Youth Leagues. July 29-30, 1919 …………………….776

No. 328. A note from representatives of the Jewish community councils of a number of regions liberated by the Volunteer Army to the Deputy Supreme Ruler of Russia, General A.I. Denikin with a protest against the pogroms. Late July 30, 1919 ………………….778

No. 329. Recording of a conversation between representatives of the Yekaterinoslav, Kharkov, Rostov and Taganrog Jewish communities with the Deputy Supreme Ruler of Russia, General A.I. Denikin on the prevention of pogroms committed by the Volunteer Army. August 8, 1919 …………..780

No. 330. Message from a member of the Jewish Public Commission for Assistance to the Pogromed in the Town of Kozlov, Tambov Province. I. Rudov to the Moscow Jewish community about the pogrom in the city by the Cossack units of the corps of General K.K. Mamontov August 23-24, 1919 Later August 24, 1919 784

No. 331. Memorandum of the Yelets Uyezd Department for National Affairs in the NKN of the RSFSR on the events of August 31 – September 7, 1919 in the city of Yelets during the invasion of the Cossack units of the corps of General K.K. Mamontov. September 20, 1919 785

No. 332. Memorandum of the Tambov Provincial Jewish Commission for Assistance to the Victims of the Cossack Raid to the Tambov Gubernia Security Service on the organization of assistance. End of August 1919 787

No. 333. Message from an unidentified person to the Jewish Commissariat of the NKN of the RSFSR about the events in the city of Yelets, Oryol Province. September 1919 Late September 4, 1919 789

No. 334. Appeal of the Union for the Revival of Russia (Main Committee in Ukraine) to the Commander-in-Chief of the All-Union Socialist League, General A.I. Denikin. September 6, 1919 .790

No. 335. Attitude of the Commissar for Jewish Affairs of the TCH RSFSR S.M. Dimanshtein in the People’s Commissariat of Labor of the RSFSR on assistance to the population of Ukraine affected by the pogroms. February 18, 1920 795

No. 336. Memorandum of EKOPO representative Havkines on assistance to Jewish refugees from pogroms in the city of Penza. April 13, 1920 ………796

No. 337. Extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) on the organization of Jewish committees to help victims of pogroms. June 19, 1920 .799

No. 338. Agreement between the NKSO of the RSFSR and the Directorate of the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in the RSFSR on assistance to the “victims of the counter-revolution” and subsidizing the Evobshchestkom. November 26, 1920 ….. 800

No. 339. Note of the Evobshchestkom to the NKSO of the RSFSR on the organization of work to provide assistance to victims of pogroms. November 26, 1920 ……. 801

No. 340. Report by doctor Rabinovich to the OZE and the NKSO of the RSFSR on the examination of injured children in the city of Livny, Oryol province. in November 1920 with the appendix of materials on other cities. November 30, 1920 …………… 802

No. 341. Relations of the NKSO of the RSFSR to the Small Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR on the conclusion of an agreement with the Joint on subsidizing the activities of the Evobshchestkom. December 29, 1920 805

No. 342. Abstracts of Z. Mindlin, Deputy Head of the Jewish Department of the Integrator’s Commissariat of the RSFSR, on strengthening the role of the Department for Assistance to the Victims of Counter-Revolution under the Integral Commissariat of the RSFSR in assisting the victims of pogroms. Not earlier than July 1920 807

No. 343. Report of the authorized Tovvin in the Evobshchestkom on organizing assistance to the pogromed population in the city of Tsaritsyn. January 10, 1921 …… 808

No. 344. Directive of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR to the Gomel Provincial Executive Committee on rendering assistance to “victims of counter-revolutionary actions.” April 6, 1921 810

No. 345. Circular of the Evobshchestkom to the Commissioners in Ukraine on the provision of additional information on the provision of assistance to the victims of pogroms. May 10, 1921 811

No. 346. Resolution of the interdepartmental meeting in the NKSO of the RSFSR on the establishment of an Extraordinary Commission for Assistance to Victims of Counterrevolution. May 14, 1921 …………………………………812

No. 347. Note of the RVSR in the Evobshchestkom on the non-involvement of the Red Army in Jewish pogroms. January 18, 1922 …………………………. 813

No. 348. Appeal of the Evobshchestkom to the Vseukrevobshchestkom about the inadmissibility of publishing materials about the involvement of the Red Army in the pogroms. Not earlier than January 1922 814

No. 349. From Minutes No. 95 of the meeting of the Central Bureau of the Evsektsiya under the Central Committee of the RCP(b) on organizing a campaign in support of the delegation of the RSFSR at the Genoa Conference. January 28, 1922 814

No. 350. Appeal of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR to the Deputy People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR M.M. Litvinov about the publication of materials about the pogroms of the First Cavalry Army. March 14, 1922 814

No. 351. Report of A. Tsukerman, Commissioner of the All-Ukrevobshchestkom for Elisavetgrad Uyezd, to the Jewish Department of the RSFSR People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs about the verdict on the rioters from the First Cavalry Army. March 22, 1922 …………….815

No. 352. Information from the Jewish Department of the Inspectorate of the People’s Commissariat of the RSFSR to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on the losses caused by the pogroms for the Soviet delegation at the Genoa Conference. March 28, 1922 ………………………………… 816

No. 353. Telegram from the correspondent bureau of the newspaper Vorverts about Russia’s claim for compensation for losses from the pogroms at the Genoa Conference. April 2, 1922 816

No. 354. Article by the Deputy Head of the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR Z. Mindlin “Pogromed Jewish Masses and the Genoese Conference” from the newspaper “Life of Nationalities”. April 14, 1922 817

No. 355. Telegram from a representative of the population of Usviaty, Velizh district, Vitebsk province. Leikina V.I. Lenin, M.I. Kalinin, in the NKN RSFSR, in the RVSR about banditry in the district. June 1, 1922 819

No. 356. Appeal of the Jewish community of the city of Velizh, Vitebsk province. to the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on the adoption of measures to combat banditry in the Velizh district. June 14, 1922 819

No. 357. Petition of the Commissioner from the Jewish population of Usviaty, Vitebsk Province. S.G. Orshansky to the provincial department for nationalities to investigate cases of murders of Jews. June 19, 1922 …….. 822

No. 358. Petition of a representative of the Jewish population of Usviaty, Vitebsk Province. S.G. Orshansky to the provincial department for nationalities on the protection of Jews evacuating from banditry. June 20, 1922 824

No. 359. A note from the Evobshchestkom to the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on the conditions for the return of refugees to their places of residence. May 6, 1922 ………….825

No. 360. Draft appeal of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) to the provincial committees of a number of regions of Russia and Belarus, the Bureau of the Communist Party of Belarus on measures to eradicate banditry. June 1922 ………………………………………..826

No. 361. Memorandum of the Gorki Uyezd Commission on the Investigation of the Actions of a Gang Operating on the Territory of the Uyezd in December 1922, for the Uyezd Executive Committee. January 10, 1923 ……………………… 827

No. 362. Message from the representative of the Evobshchestkom for the Smolensk province. Z. Kuschelman to the Jewish Department of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR on the fight against banditry in the province. January 12, 1923 834

No. 363. From the report on the activities of the Jewish Department of the Inspectorate of the People’s Commissariat of the RSFSR for December 1922 and January 1923. Not earlier than January 22, 1923 ………………………………………… 835

No. 364. Letter from the NKN of the RSFSR to the head of the Main Police Department of the RSFSR on the draft Regulations on rural guards. February 26, 1923 835

THE BOOK OF POGROMES.

Pogroms in Ukraine, Belarus and the European part of Russia during the Civil War of 1918-1922.

Collection of documents.

Editor G.L. Bondarev.

Artistic design by D.A. Morozov.

Computer layout V.G. Verkhozin.

L.R. No. 066009 dated 07/22/1998. Signed for printing 08.12.2006

Format 70×100 1/16. Offset paper No. 1. Offset printing.

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