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Евреи Петербурга. Три века истории
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Jewry

City community
1905-1917

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In 1910 the Jews accounted for less than 2% of the population of St. Petersburg. By 1917 the number of permanent residents of Jewish origin rose from almost 35 thousand to nearly 50 thousand. The capital's Jews still held the lead in the legal, and medical professions (nearly every fifth physician and more than a half of all dentists), in the printing business (more than a third), in the pharmacy business, and in watch-making and the clock trade (nearly 60%). The presence of Jews was also noticeable in St. Petersburg journalism, theater and cinema business, in banking, and wholesale trade. Despite all obstacles, there were as many as several hundred Jewish students in the capital. The Jewish community of St. Petersburg was distinguished from other communities by the level of education and knowledge of the Russian language and the variety of community institutes and organizations.A family of St. Petersburg Jews. Photograph (early 20th century)
In 1911 a Jewish almshouse was constructed on the 5th line of Vassilyevsky Island from the design of architect Gevirts. The project was financed by Moisey Akimovich Ginsburg, St. Petersburg merchant and generous philanthropist. The building was officially his personal property since the Jewish communities were not allowed to own real estate outside the Pale. The almshouse was named after Ginsburg who headed its board of trustees. From the moment of its opening until 1917 the director and the doctor of the almshouse were, respectively, Tynyanov and Professor Dembo. The rooms were designed to accommodate 2 or 3 persons. The first floor served as a prayer place. The building had a canteen, but those who could afford it were allowed to order meals from a Jewish cafeteria or to cook themselves. The almshouse was supported by private donors and charitable concerts and auctions.Almshouse building at 50, 5th line of Vassilyevsky Island
After the beginning of the First World War refugees from the front regions - Poland, Byelorussia, Baltic and Carpathian regions - began to arrive in St. Petersburg. They were cared for by the community's charitable organizations and various societies - from ORT, which set up employment offices, to the Society for the Preservation of Health of the Jewish Population. Soup kitchens were established using not only the facilities of the canteen of the Society for Relief for Poor Jews, but also various private Jewish food-preparation shops. A new children's "hearth" and shelter for refugees were set up in the almshouse building. No other national organization (Polish, Lettish, Lithuanian etc.) provided so much aid for refugees as the Jewish ones.Refugee Children. I. Pen, 1914
A number of Jewish educational, cultural, charitable, and artistic societies were set up thanks to the easing of formalities after the revolution of 1905-1907. Some of them existed for only one or two years, as, for example, the Jewish Theatrical Society or the Society for Promoting Arts, while others worked for a longer period, such as the Jewish Literary and Scholarly Society (1911-1917), Society for Jewish Scholarly Publications, Society for Settling Jewish Emigration and the Society of Lovers of the Hebrew Language (1907-1917). Some of the societies founded during this period continued their activity after the October 1917 revolution, like the Society for the Preservation of Health of the Jewish Population (until 1919) and the Jewish Society for Relief for the Victims of War (until 1929).Charter of the Jewish Literary Society, 1910
1912-1913 saw the first jubilees of Jewish social organizations of St. Petersburg. In 1912 the 40th anniversary of the OPE library was celebrated, and in 1913 the 50th anniversary of Russia's oldest Jewish educational society - ORT - which by that time had several scholarly and educational offshoots, such as the Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Society, the Society for Jewish Folk Music, and others. The varied activity of social organizations became an integral part of Jewish community life in St. Petersburg. Often it was through participation in scholarly, educational, and cultural Jewish societies that the capital's Jews understood and expressed their affiliation with the community. In this way the St. Petersburg community became a new type of community capable of exerting influence on other Jewish communities in Russia.OPE library catalogue. Title-page, 1912
With its increasing number of Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian-language periodicals, St. Petersburg remained the center of Jewish publications. New magazines and newspapers were established, like "Ha-Kedem" ("The East"), "Der Yiddisher Emigrant" ("The Jewish Emigrant"), "Yevreyskiye Izvestiya" ("The Jewish News"), "Ha-Safa" ("The Language") and "Di Yiddishe Velt" ("The Jewish World", in 1912), "Yevreyskaya Niva" ("The Jewish Field") (1913), "Dos Vort" ("The Word", 1914), "Yevreyskaya Nedelya" ("The Jewish Week", 1915) and others. The number of Jewish bookstores rose together with the number of printing-offices and publishing companies which issued literature and periodicals for Jewish readers. The largest of them were the bookstores "Ezro" (first on Kazanskaya and then on Sadovaya street) and "Vostok" (on Torgovaya street) as well as Pen bookstore (on Sadovaya street).
Between 1908 and 1913 "Brokgauz and Efron" publishers, renowned for its famous 86-volume encyclopedic dictionary, issued the 16-volume "Jewish Encyclopedia" in the Russian language. This edition included articles translated from the "Jewish Encyclopedia" published shortly before that in the USA, as well as original articles written by the best Jewish scholars upon the request of the Society for Jewish Scholarly Publications and the editorial board. Edited by Katsenelson, David Gunzburg and Garkavy, the "Jewish Encyclopedia" marked a new stage of national consciousness and cultural development for Russian Jewry. To date it has not lost its scholarly value.Volumes of the "Jewish Encyclopedia"

A family of St. Petersburg Jews. Photograph (early 20th century)
Almshouse building at 50, 5th line of Vassilyevsky Island
Refugee Children. I. Pen, 1914
Charter of the Jewish Literary Society, 1910
OPE library catalogue. Title-page, 1912
Volumes of the "Jewish Encyclopedia"

A family of St. Petersburg Jews. Photograph (early 20th century)