With coming to the throne of Alexander III in 1881, anti-Semitic sentiment intensified in the Russian Empire. They found semi-official support in government circles. In April-July 1881, a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms swept through the south and southwest of the country. Their organizers encouraged the local population to participate in the pogroms. They spread rumors about the tsar's permission to "beat the Jews" as revenge for the murder, allegedly by "Jewish revolutionaries" of his father, Emperor Alexander II. Local authorities and police practically did not prevent the pogroms, generally sympathizing with their intentions. A new wave of pogroms swept the empire under Nicholas II in the late 1890s and in the early years of the twentieth century. The largest and most violent in character were the Chisinau (Moldova) pogrom in 1903 and the massacre in Yekaterinoslav in 1905. The separate page of the history of anti-Semitism in the Russian Empire was the Beilis affair in 1911-1913.

The massacre in Chisinau took place in April 6-7, 1903. A year before the pogrom in the only weekly newspaper of the Bessarabian province, “Bessarabets”, articles on ritual murders allegedly committed by Jews began to appear regularly. The case of the murder of a boy in Dubossary became the most resonant. Although the real killer was found, it appeared to be the uncle of the deceased, but anti-Semitic leaflets with rumors about the tsar's call to "beat the Jews" during the holidays began to become popular among the local population. Similar moods caused the pogrom that took place on Easter in the capital of Bessarabia province, in Chisinau. It took away lives of 49 Jews, 586 were injured, more than 1,500 buildings were destroyed. On the right-hand side of the collage you can see the reaction of prominent figures of the Russian Empire on this bloody event.

The unique exhibit related to the events of the Yekaterinoslav pogrom, which happened on October 21-23, 1905, is in the showcase 1.16. It is a cane with a stiletto. The top of the handle is made of ivory, wood and silver and has an inscription on the handle: "who shall find a virtuous wife " (quotation from Solomon's Proverb). The cane was made in Odessa in the workshop of Gluzman in 1904.

This item belonged to Sophia Smolyanitska. On one October day in 1905, several thugs were attacked her. With this stiletto, she was able to repel her attackers, and even to injure one of them. In this way, she saved life for herself and her future baby, because at that time Sophia was pregnant. However, she was brought to court for injuring her attacker. In this case there were three open sessions of the civil court. All three Sophia completely won. Her great-grandson, a famous businessman and philanthropist Alexander Kreinin, passed on this valuable item to the museum's collection.

During that massacre, 95 Jews were killed in Yekaterinoslav, including a large number of children, 245 were seriously injured, 311 businesses were destroyed, 40 apartment buildings were destroyed, and some buildings were burned to the ground. The photos in Showcase 1.17 also illustrate the tragic events of the massacre in Yekaterinoslav.

Take a look at the Beilis affair file in the showcase. On March 20, 1911, a bloodied corpse of 12-year-old boy Andrey Yushchinsky was found on the outskirts of Kiev. The Jew Menachem Mendel Beilis was accused in this crime. At this time, there was still widespread among the uneducated population the stereotype that Jews used the blood of Christian children to make matzah. This stereotype became the basis for the accusation of Beilis in murder. The Beilis affair has provoked public resonance not only in the Russian Empire, but throughout the world. In defense of the unfairly accused spoke Vladymyr Korolenko, Alexander Blok, Maxim Gorky, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Zinaida Gippius and other writers, as well as politicians, public figures whose texts you can see on the collage. On the other hand, a number of figures have come out with openly anti-Semitic slogans and demand to condemn Beilis. Notwithstanding the unprecedented pressure and obstacles on the part of the official investigators, in October 1913 Beilis was acquitted by a jury and released from custody. Soon the real killers were found and executed, and Beilis and his family emigrated to the United States. By the way, the Beilis affair was mentioned later, after the February 1917 Revolution. In daily illustrated magazine “Life and court” the whole article was dedicated to this resonant case. In showcase 1.17 you can read its text. In the same year, Joseph Soyfer filmed the movie "Mysteries of Kiev, or the Beilis Process", dedicated to this case. Footage from this movie you can review on the screen opposite the showcase.