The Velizh Affair: Blood Libel in a Russian Town

249 Pages·2017·21.31 MB·English

by  Eugene M Avrutin

T V A
HE ELIZH FFAIR
•
ii
THE VELIZH AFFAIR
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Blood Libel in a Russian Town
•
EUGENE M. AVRUTIN
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1
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Avrutin, Eugene M., author.
Title: The Velizh affair : blood libel in a Russian town / Eugene M. Avrutin.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2018] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017011535 (print) | LCCN 2017012749 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190640538 (updf) | ISBN 9780190640545 (epub) |
ISBN 9780190640521 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Blood accusation—Russia—Velizh—History—19th century. |
Antisemitism—Russia—Velizh—History—19th century. |
Jews—Persecutions—Russia—Velizh—History—19th century. |
Trials (Murder)—Russia—Velizh. | Russia—Ethnic relations. |
Velizh (Russia)—Ethnic relations.
Classification: LCC BM585.2 (ebook) | LCC BM585.2 .A97 2017 + (print) |
DDC 305.892/404727—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011535
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To Yingying and Abi
for being there
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Contents
•
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
1. Fedor Goes for a Walk 13
2. Small- Town Life 31
3. Tsar Alexander Pays a Visit 57
4. The Confrontations 79
5. Grievances 101
6. The Investigation Widens 117
7. Boundaries of the Law 133
Epilogue 153
Appendix: Jewish Prisoners Held in the Town of Velizh 161
Notes 163
Selected Bibliography 197
Index 213
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PrefaCe
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On the mOrning Of December 5, 1919, in revolutionary Petrograd,
the historian Simon Dubnov walked several miles along a maze of dark
and empty streets to a meeting of the newly inaugurated Commission
for Investigating Blood Libel Materials.1 This was a desperate time in
the city. The brutality and chaos of the Civil War wreaked havoc on the
early Soviet state. In the nearly two years after the collapse of the tsar-
ist regime in February 1917, the population of Petrograd decreased by
50 percent. The death toll skyrocketed, as did the unemployment rate.
Shortages of fuel, electricity, clean water, and basic food staples such as
flour, eggs, bread, and potatoes meant a drastic fall in the standard of
living for those who remained. The sudden collapse of all institutions
of law and order resulted in an unprecedented number of petty thefts,
muggings, robberies, and rapes. Empty apartments and boarded- up
buildings could be found on every street corner. Rubbish littered court-
yards and alleyways. The closure of markets, shops, factories, and restau-
rants brought an eerie silence to one of Europe’s most dazzling cities.2
In the early days of the revolution, Dubnov had led a modest but
privileged existence as an academic. The beneficiary of a special schol-
ar’s ration—c onsisting mainly of bread, thin soup, cabbage, and salted
fish— the distinguished historian immersed himself in work. Like so
many politically engaged writers, Dubnov worked tirelessly to build a
new Jewish cultural sphere that lay dormant under the shackles of tsar-
ist oppression.3 Dubnov converted the kitchen, the only room in the
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