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Revision as of 21:12, 27 May 2004 by 129.128.207.245 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Russian word pogrom ("погром") denotes a massive violent attack on people with simultaneous destroying of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). Historically the term has been used to denote massive acts of violence, either spontaneous or premeditated, against Jews and other ethnic minorities living in Europe.
History
The word became international after 1881-1884 wave of Jewish pogroms swept southern Russia, causing world-wide outcry and propelling mass Jewish emigration. According to the records of the history of the Jews in the United States, the Jewish immigration from Russia increased drastically in these years, totalling to about 2 million of Russian Jews in period 1880-1920. At least some of pogroms are believed to be organized or supported by the Russian okhranka. Although no hard evidence is presented so far, such facts as the indifference of Russian police and army was duly noted, e.g., during the three-day First Kishinev pogrom of 1903, as well as the preceding inciting anti-Jewish articles in newspapers, a hint that pogroms were in line with the internal policy of the Imperial Russia.
Many pogroms accompanied the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the following Russian Civil War. On one hand, wealthy Jews shared the fate of other wealthy people of Russia. On the other hand, Jewish settlements have undergone pogroms by the White Army, acted in the accord with their "Jewish-Bolshevik plot" view of the Russian Revolution, derived from active Jewish participation in Bolshevik movement. The organization of Jewish self-defence have stopped the pogromists in certain areas during the second Kishinev pogrom.
The History of anti-Semitism lists a number of Jewish pogroms in various countries.
Modern usage
Other peoples suffered this kind of ill fate, at various times and in different countries. Therefore this word is seen today to be used in contexts other than Jews in Russia. For example, the Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany is now usually called Pogromnacht.
Modern examples of pogroms include the August 19 1991 events in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Modern examples of pogroms against other nationals include those of
- 21 Apr 2001 - in Yasenevo market in Moscow against merchants from the Caucasus countries.
- 30 Oct 2001 - in Tsaritsyno market in Moscow.
- Acitation from : Not only did India’s BJP Prime Minister, Atal Biharee Vajpayee, fail to condemn Modi and the Gujarati state government for their role in organizing the Muslim pogroms...
Related articles
History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union - anti-Semitism - Race riot - Armenian genocide