Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Kishinev, the capital of Bessarabia Governorate, causing the death of nearly 50 Jews and focusing worldwide attention on the persecution of Jews in Russia.

Kishinev pogrom

Anti-Jewish attack in Kishinev, Russian Empire (19–21 April 1903)

The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev, then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on 19–21 April [O.S. 6–8 April] 1903. During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, between 40 and 49 Jews were…

Chișinău

Capital and largest city of Moldova

Chișinău is the capital and largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc, a tributary of the Dniester. According to the results of the 2014 census, the city proper had a…

Bessarabia Governorate

1812–1917 unit of Russia

The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of 45,632.42 square kilometres (17,618.78 sq mi) and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate…

Antisemitism in the Russian Empire

Antisemitism in the Russian Empire included numerous pogroms and the designation of the Pale of Settlement from which Jews were forbidden to migrate into the interior of Russia, unless they converted to the Russian Orthodox state religion.