Pogroms

The term Pogrom is used to describe a large-scale wave of anti-Jewish riots that swept through south-western Imperial Russia. The Pogroms started in 1881 and lasted until 1906, during this time period many Jews were killed or become refugees and fled to other countries such as the UK, US, and elsewhere in Europe. What triggered these Pogroms was the fact that Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and rumors were spread by the press that the Jewish people were responsible for this. Due to this factor many Jewish communities were attacked and many were killed, many lost their homes, and many were made homeless. As the Pogroms continued throughout the years the new Tsar of Russia Alexander III blamed the Jews for these incidents and riots, so in 1882 he issued what would be known as the “May laws”, which placed hard restrictions on Jews. Due to factors like this many Jews left Russia and headed towards such countries as the United States. One of the worst Pogroms occurred in 1906 in Odessa leaving an estimated 2,500 Jews dead. An interesting fact to note is that historians such as Edward Radzinsky say that most of the Pogroms enjoyed official support from the government and many were instigated by the government.