Judaism In Moldova

The history of the Jews in Bessarabia, a historical region in Eastern Europe, dates back hundreds of years.

Early history

Jews are mentioned from very early in the Principality of Moldavia, but they did not represent a significant number. Their main activity in Moldavia was commerce, but they could not compete with Greeks and Armenians, who had knowledge of Levantine commerce and relationships.

Several times, when Jewish merchants created monopolies in some places in north Moldavia, Moldavian rulers sent them back to Galicia and Podolia. One such example was during the reign of Petru Şchiopul (1583–1591), who favored the English merchants led by William Harborne.Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Basarabiei'', Cernăuţi, 1923, reprinted Chişinău, Cartea Moldovenească, 1991, pp. 201-02

In the 18th century, more Jews started to settle in Moldavia. Some of them were in charge of the Dniester crossings, replacing Moldavians and Greeks, until the captain of Soroca demanded their expulsion.

Others traded with spirits (''horilka''), first brought in from Ukraine, afterward building local ''velniţa''s (pre-industrial distilleries) on boyar manors. The number of Jews increased significantly during the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812), when the Podolia-Moldavia border was open.

When this war ended, in 1812, Bessarabia (eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia) was annexed by the Russian Empire.

Governorate of Bessarabia (1812–1917)

Status

The 1818 Statutory Law (''Aşezământul'') of the Governorate of Bessarabia mentions Jews as a separate state (social class), which was further divided into merchants, tradesmen, and land-workers. Unlike the other states, Jews were not allowed to own agricultural land, with the exception of "empty lots only from the property of the state, for cultivation and for building factories". Jews were allowed to keep and control the sale of spirits on government and private manors, to hold "mills, ''velniţa''s, breweries, and similar holdings", but were explicitly disallowed to "rule over Christians". During the 1817 census, there were 3,826 Jewish families in Bessarabia (estimated at 19,000 people, or 4.2% of the total population).

Rural colonies

Over the next generations, the Jewish population of Bessarabia grew significantly. Unlike most of the rest of the Russian Empire, in Bessarabia, Jews were allowed to settle in fairs and cities. Tsar Nicholas I issued an ukaz (decree) that allowed Jews to settle in Bessarabia "in a higher number", giving settled Jews two years free of taxation. At the same time, Jews from Podolia and Kherson Governorates were given five years free of taxation if they crossed the Dniester and settle in Bessarabia.Ion Nistor, pp. 208–10

As a result, the merchant activity was not enough to sustain all Jews, which led the Tsarist authorities to create 17 Jewish agricultural colonies:

In Soroca County

*Dumbrăveni (now part of Vădeni commune)
* Brăciova (Bricevo, now Briceva, part of Târnova commune in Dondușeni district)
* Mărculești (Starăuca/Starovka, for some period)
* Vârtojani (Vertiujeni, Șteap for some period)
*Lublin (later Nemirovka, now Nimereuca)
* Căprești
* Zguriţa
*Maramonovca
*Constantinovca

In Orhei County

* Șibca (now Șipca)
*Nicolaevca-Blagodaţi (now Neculăieuca