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Relationship with the Minorities

Life of Jews under Nicholas I

In 1851 the Jewish population numbered at 2.4 million with 212,000 of them leaving in Russian Poland territory. This made them one of the biggest minorities living under the tsarist rule.

In 1827 the edict of military conscription was introduced, which required Jewish boys to serve in the Russian military for 25 years from the age of 18. They were sent far away from their families to serve in the military so they would be unable to practice Judaism and thus be Russified. The poor, village Jews and Jews without family or unmarried especially targeted for the military service. Between 1827 and 1854 it is estimated that there were 70,000 Jews conscripted. Some of the Jews that served in the Russian military eventually converted to Christianity.

Under Nicholas I, the Jewish agricultural colonisation of Ukraine continued with the transfer of Siberian Jews to Ukraine. In Ukraine, Jews were given land, but were charged to pay for it leaving very little to support their families. On the other hand, these Jews were exempt from the forced conscription in the Russian military.

Under Nicholas I there were attempts to reform the education of the Jews in attempts to russify them. The study of the Talmud was disapproved as it was seen as text that encouraged Jewish segregation from the Russian society. Nicholas I further restricted censorship of the Jewish books in Hebrew and Yiddish by declaring that they could only be manufactured in Zhitomir and Vilna.