Pervomaysk
The city of Pervomaysk is situated where the Siniukha River flows into the Southern Buh. It is 180 km away from Nikolayev, with a population of 82,000. Pervomaysk is an amalgamation of three earlier settlements: Olviopol, Holta and Pervomaysk. During the 18th century, the Olviopol settlement belonged to the Russian Empire, Holta belonged to Turkey, and Bogopol belonged to Poland. In 1919, these settlements were merged into a single city, thereafter called Pervomaysk. My locationGet Directions Olviopol In 1676, on the left bank of the Siniukha River near the Polish-Turkish borders, Cossacks built a fortress. Shaped like an octagon, it was called Orlik. This territory was sparsely inhabited and frequented by Crimean Tatars. It was a wild territory, near the deserted steppes of the Black Sea coastal region. Jewish population of Olviopol: 1867 — 199 Jews 1897 — 1482 (21%)...
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Вознесенск(Russian), Вознесенськ(Ukrainian) Voznesensk is a town and a district center in Nikolayev region. The city’s estimated population is 35.843 (as of 2015). In the XIX – early XX century it was a shtetl of Elisavetgrad Yezd of Kherson Gubernia. My locationGet Directions When the foundation stone was laid on May 10, 1795, the population was composed of a mix of Ukrainians, Russians, and Moldovans. From the late XVIII century when Poland was partitioned and merged with the Russian Empire, Jews began to arrive, quickly contributing to the growth of the town. From the nineteenth until early twentieth century, it was a shtetl in Yelizavetgrad uyezd, Kherson gubernia. From 1828 until late in the nineteenth century, the town held the status of a military settlement, thus limiting the number of Jewish residents. Nevertheless, according to the 1897 census, by the...
Read MoreDomanevka
Domanevka is an urban-type village, a district centre in the Nikolayev region. It was established in the early XIX century. In the XIX to early-XX centuries, it was a shtetl in the Ananyev Uyezd district of the Kherson gubernia. When we visited Domanevka in the summer of 2018, we were unable to collect any meaningful information about local Jews. There were no Jews in the town, and local Ukrainians could tell us very little. We were shown only the remains of a New Jewish cemetery on the “Jewish mountain”. It was so overgrown by the forest that it would have been impossible to find without help. However, in the winter 2019, I came across a novel by Valery Varzatsky, in which he described Jews of post-war Domanievka in detail. Much of this article is based on information gathered from...
Read MoreKrivoye Ozero
Krivoye Ozero is an urban type village founded in the 18th century. It is located on the banks of the Kodyma River and holds a long history of both vibrant and tragic Jewish life. Since the 1970s, the village became the district centre of the Nikolayev region, having previously belonged to the Odessa region. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Chumaky Way, a trade road through which products from Southern Ukraine were delivered to the center, laid across Krivoye Ozero, including during the time of the Russian Empire. In the late 19th to early 20th centuries, the village became part of the Balta Uyezd (Podolia Gubernia). My locationGet Directions Beginning Jewish life in Krivoye Ozero came about parallel to the founding of the village in 1762. Almost a century later, there were three functioning synagogues. In 1896, five years...
Read MoreGoloskovo
Goloskovo is a village in Kryve Ozero district, Nikolaev region. In the XIX– early XX centuries, it was a shtetl of Balta uyezd, Podolia gubernia. Nowadays Goloskovo has completely merged with the neighboring village of Oniskove wiith one common village council. However, ini 1917 they had been two separate villages inhabited by people of different nationalities, the Jewish shtetl of Goloskovo and the Ukrainian village of Oniskove. My locationGet Directions Information about Jews of Goloskovo was collected during our ethnographic expedition in the summer 2018. More information can be provided by local former teacher of history Valentina Volodimirivna Granovska +38(096)544-91-77 . You can download her book about Jewish history of Goloskovo (in Ukrainian). In 1863 there was a synagogue in Goloskovo and in 1889 there were two synagogues there. In 1909, after Yakov-Elia Shapiro’s death, his son Khaim Shapiro...
Read MoreNovaya Odessa
Novaya Odessa is a district center of Nikolayev region. It was founded in 1776. In the XIX – early XX centuries, known as a shtetl of Novaya Odessa (Fedorovka), Kherson uyezd and gubernia. During our ethnographic expedition in the summer of 2018 very little information was found on the Jewish history of Novaya Odessa. Jews settled in Novaya Odessa in the late XIX century. In 1897 1,010 Jews lived in the town, where they comprised 18.3 percent of the total population. My locationGet Directions In 1868, there was a working synagogue in Novaya Odessa. In 1910, two synagogues were registered in the shtetl. Jewish population of Novaya Odessa: 1897 – 1010 (18%), 1910 – 4205 (42%) 1923 – 389 Jews 1939 – 228 Jews 1990х ~ 45 Jews 2018 ~ 10 Jews In the 1890s, Lev Kagan was appointed...
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