Jewish Community of Nizhny Novgorod - History

History

Jews have lived on the territory of Nizhny Novgorod since the 19th century. The laws of the Russian Empire prohibited Jews from living in the center of Russia, allowing them land only in the Pale of Settlement. Only merchants of the top guild and retired soldiers of the imperial army could live there. Nevertheless, the high trade and industrial development of Nizhny Novgorod attracted people, and Jews started arrive at Nizhny Novgorod from western regions of the empire. The majority of migrants were dealers and merchants. They arrived at Nizhny Novgorod to different trade fairs on the territory of the famous local fair. But there was no permanent Jewish community in the city until 1840, prompted by the decree of the tsar that started to recruit Jews for military service.

Read more about this topic:  Jewish Community Of Nizhny Novgorod

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.
    Imre Lakatos (1922–1974)

    The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.
    Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

    No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)