Russian Imperial Law and Georgian Jewish Identity

• In Event: Legality and Justice in the Caucasus, 1850-1930

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, Russian imperial expansion brought Russian Jews and Georgian Jews, two communities that shared Judaism but were utterly unalike in so many ways, into the same empire. Russian imperial law, which sought to regulate and shape the lives of the empire’s Jews, served as a point of contact between the two communities. Jewish legislation was typically crafted by officials who had the characteristics and circumstances of Russian Jews in mind but then applied to Jews of the empire writ large - including Georgian Jews. When Georgian Jews found themselves restricted by legislation that they believed should only apply to Russian Jews, they advocated for themselves by asserting a unique Georgian Jewish identity to demonstrate that they should not be subject to these restrictions. The Municipal Statute of 1892, which curbed Jewish participation in local politics, evoked a characteristic response from Georgian Jews. Georgian Jews mobilized and articulated a unique identity in a bid to defend their right to participate in institutions of municipal self-government. This paper draws on archival material held in Georgia, as well as newspaper coverage in Russian, Hebrew, and Georgian, to underscore the complications posed by unique local circumstances surrounding central legislation. Law served as a conduit between center and periphery, through which local actors articulated unique identities as a part of negotiation between local and imperial interests.

Author

• Aaron M. Schimmel, Stanford U