Development and distribution of the Jewish settlement in the Ukraine

The Jewish settlement in the Ukraine preceded the unification of the area and the formation of the Ukrainian nation.  Jewish settlements already existed on the banks of the River Dnieper and in the east and the south of the Ukraine and the Crimea in the periods of the  Khazar kingdom, while ancient Jewish communities were only established in the west, in Volhynia and "Red Russia" (eastern Galicia), in the 12th century.  Of these the most ancient was apparently Vladimir-Volynski.  It seems that the  "Russia" mentioned in the 13th century rabbinical literature refers to "Red Russia."  These communities absorbed the Jewish migration from Germany and Bohemia caused by the persecutions and massacres of the 14th (the Black Death) and the 15th centuries; later Jews were drawn to the Ukraine by the colonizing activities of the Polish nobility that intensified in the 16th and 17th centuries with the consolidation of the rule of Poland-Lithuania over the region.  The important role taken by the Jews in the economic sphere in this colonization made the Ukraine on of the Jewish centers in Poland-Lithuania.  The number of the communities there increased from 25 during the 14th century to 80 in 1764.  Even the Chmielnicki massacres in 1648-49 did not halt Jewish migration to the Ukraine and they played a prominent role in the economic recovery during the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries.  After the Ukraine was annexed by Russia, according to the census of 1764, about 15% of the Jewish population lived in provinces, having communities over 1,000 Jews, while in other provinces - Volhynia, Podolia, Kiev, and Bratslav - their proportion was only 11%.>

After the abolition of the Pale of Settlement, with the October 1917 Revolution, the civil war and, and the disorders which accompanied it, more than 300,000 Jews left the Ukraine for other parts of the Soviet Union.  Hence they formed only 5.4% of the total population and 22% of the urban population of the Ukraine in 1926, 4.1% and 11.7% respectively in 1939.  In 1926, 44%  of them lived in 20 towns, each having over 10,000 Jews; while in 1939, 39% lived in the four cities of Odessa, Kiev, Kharkov, and Dnepropetrovsk.  This intensified urbanization did not, however, give them predominance in the cities, since there was also a a stream of Ukrainian peasants from the villages into the towns, which assumed a pronounced Ukrainian character.

Economic situation

The migration of Jews from the western provinces of Poland to the Ukraine in the 16th century was mainly due to their economic role in the arenda business on a large or small scale.  Hence, the Ukraine became a region where Jews managed a considerable proportion of the agricultural economy.  Jews also engaged in arenda there in the collection of customs duties and taxes, and played an important role in the export and import trade in the region.
 

The Cossack authorities of the part of the Ukraine annexed by Russia beyond the Dnieper opposed the frequent expulsions of the Jews from there (1717, 1731, 1740, 1742, 1744), and argued in favor of their free admission to the Ukraine (1728, 1734, 1764) stating that the Jews promoted the region's trade.  When the Ukraine became part of the Pale of Settlement after the partition of Poland-Lithuania, the Jews continued to play a considerable and dynamic role in the economy of the region.  In 1817, 30% of the factories in Ukraine were owned by Jews.  they were particularly active in the production of alcoholic beverages.  In 1872, before the anti-Jewish restriction in this sphere, 90% of those occupied in distilling were Jews; 56.6% in sawmills; 48.8% in the tobacco industry; and 32.5% in the sugar industry.  Only a limited number of Jews were occupied in heavy industry, where they were generally employed as white-collar workers.  In 1897, the occupational structure of the Jewish population of Ukraine was 43.3% in commerce; 32.2% in crafts and industry; 2.9% in agriculture; 3.7% in communications; 7.3% in private services; 5.8% in public services; and 4.8% of no permanent occupation.
 

Under the Soviet regime 20.6% in arts and crafts; 20.6% in public services (administrative work); 15.3% workers (including 6.6% industrial workers): 13.3% in commerce: 9.2% in agriculture; 1.6% in liberal professions; 8.9% unemployed; 7.3% without profession; and 3.2% misc. (pensioners, invalids, etc.)