April 6-7 1903 Kishnev Pogrom in Russia

“The Kishnev pogrom was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishnev, which was back then part of the Bessarabia province of imperial Russia (currently Chisinau is the capital of independent Moldova). It started on April 6 and lasted until April 7, 1903. The riot started after a Christian Russian boy, Michael Ribalenko, had been found murdered in the town of Dubossary about 25 miles nor of Kishnev. The government chose to call it a ritual murder plot by the Jews. The mobs were incited by Pavolachi Krushevan, the editor of the anti-Semitic newspaper “Bessarabetz”, and the vice- governor Ustrugov. They used the ages-old blood libel against the Jews (that the boy had been killed to use his blood in preparation of matzo). Viacheslav Plehve, the Minister of Interior, supposedly gave orders not to sop the rioters during three days of rioting, the Kishnev pogrom against the Jews took place. Forty-seven Jews were killed, 92 severely wounded, 5000 slightly wounded and over 7000 houses looted and destroyed. This pogrom is considered the first state-inspired action against Jews of the 20th century. Despite a world outcry, only two men were sentenced to seven and five years and twenty-two were sentenced for one or two years. This pogrom was instrumental in convincing tens of thousands of Russian Jews to leave to the west and to Israel”