Kiev, capital of Ukraine

  Nadene Goldfoot                                      

Kiev is a Russian city but the capital of the Ukraine.  It was founded in the 8th Century, possibly by the Khazars. The Khazars were a Turkic-speaking, semi-nomadic people who built a powerful trading empire in southeastern Europe and Central Asia from the 6th to the 10th century CE. They were called the White Ugrians in contrast to the Hungarians who were the Black Ugrians.  Their Royal House intermarried with Byzantium.  

From 786-809, their king BULAN and 4,000 of his nobles accepted Judaism.  Prince Obadiah was very active in securing their Judaization.  Judah Ha-Levi believed the Khazars belonged to the Lost Ten Tribes, and wrote to their last king, Joseph, in 950.  

 Jewish merchants visited the town in the 9th and 10th centuries which would be at time in the 800s-900s.  

The Jewish population grew steadily, despite persecutions which commenced in 1113, and scholars from Kiev are known from the 12th century.  The community was destroyed by the Tatars in 1240.  Descendants or Gazaria, as Italians called them, probably survived among the Crimea Karaites, the Krimchaks, and other Jews of European origin.  

From the end of the 14th century, Jews were encouraged to return, and both a Rabbanite and Karaite community existed there during the 15th century.  Expulsions were decreed in 1492, right after Columbus with a few working his ships were on the sea in 1492,   March 31, 1492: The Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, issued the Alhambra Decree (also called the Edict of Expulsion).  July 31, 1492: The final deadline given for all unconverted Jews to leave Spanish territories or face death,  and again in 1619.                                 

Peter the great permitted Jews to trade in Kiev from 1708.  Peter I (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725), known by the epithet the Great, was the tsar of all Russia from 1682 to 1721, and the first emperor of Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his brother, Ivan V, from 1682 until Ivan's death in 1696.                                       

In 1827, Kiev was excluded from the PALE OF SETTLEMENT, owned by Catherine the Great of Russia. The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire where Jewish subjects were legally required to live from 1791 until its formal abolition in April 1917, the end of WWI.  My paternal grandparents came from Lithuania and Poland, in the Pale.  

After a Russian pogrom in Kischinev, January 1, 1905  

Jews were allowed to live in Kishinev (modern-day Chișinău, Moldova) because the city became part of the Pale of Settlement—the western region of the Russian Empire where permanent Jewish residency was legally permitted.        

 Resettlement dated from 1857, and Kiev became one of the largest Russian communities. It was the scene of pogroms in 1881 and 1905, and of the BEILIS ritual Murder trial in 1913.  

• The Defendant: Menahem Mendel Beilis, a 39-year-old Jewish factory clerk and supervisor at the Zaitsev brick factory in Kiev, Russian Empire. The Victim: Andriy Yushchinskyi (Andrei Yushchinsky), a 13-year-old Christian boy who disappeared on March 12, 1911, and whose mutilated, blood-drained body was found in a cave near the factory on March 20, 1911. The Charge: Fabricated blood libel accusation claiming Beilis murdered the boy to use his blood for making Passover matzo.  The Prosecution & Instigators: Driven by far-right antisemitic groups (the Black Hundreds), local agitators like Vladimir Golubev, and Justice Minister Ivan Shcheglovitov, who used coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence. True suspects pointed toward a criminal gang led by Vera Cheberyak.

1,200 families were expelled in 1910. Most of the families are Paupers and are forced to leave the Russian City in wagons nd on foot.  

      On September 15, 1947, defendant Paul Blobel pleads not guilty during his arraignment at the Einsatzgruppen Trial. Blobel was the commander of the unit responsible for the massacre at Babi Yar (near Kiev). He was convicted by the military tribunal at Nuremberg and sentenced to death. Blobel was hanged at the Landsberg prison on June 8, 1951.

350,000 Jews lived in Kiev in 1939;  most of those trapped by the Nazi advance were massacred in 1941.  BABI YAR was a gruesome attack. It was the scene of a ravine where tens of thousands of Jews were killed in September 1941.   No one posted a memorial for the Jews there until the 1980s in memory of the Jewish victims who turned it into a symbol of anti-Semitism.  It was used by the Soviet poet Evgeni Yevtuschenko in his poem  "Baby-Yar"in 1962.  Later, Shostakovitch incorporated it into his 13th symphony.  A novel has been written about it by Anatoly Kuznetzov.  

 In the post war period, Soviet anti-Semitism has been felt, particularly strongly in Kiev. 

By 1988 the estimated Jewish population was 152,000. 

           Kiev after attacks by the Russians to present 2026,  Russia started attacking Kyiv on February 24, 2022, when it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

• The Initial Attack: Russian forces launched the initial offensive against Kyiv and surrounding northern areas on February 24, 2022, aiming to capture the capital city.
The Battle of Kyiv: The initial battle for the capital lasted from February 24, 2022, to April 2, 2022 (with Russian forces withdrawing from the northern front by April 7, 2022), resulting in a Ukrainian victory as Russian troops were repelled.
Ongoing Attacks: Russia has continued to target Kyiv with periodic missile strikes, drone attacks, and bombardments throughout the war, including recent escalations.                                             

The current President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is the first Jewish president in the country's history. He won a landslide victory in the April 2019 presidential election with 73% of the vote,  

Hit TV Show: Zelenskyy was a famous actor and comedian. He starred in the hit television series Servant of the People.
Fictional President: He played a high school history teacher who accidentally becomes president after a rant against government corruption goes viral.
Real-World Parallels: The show made him a household name and blurred the lines between his on-screen persona and real-world politics. 
                             PRESENT DAY WAR
Russian Strikes on Infrastructure: Russian forces have targeted major transport links in Kyiv, including the Northern and Southern bridges over the Dnipro River, causing severe disruptions to traffic, metro service, and public transit.
Zelenskyy's Intelligence Warning: President Zelenskyy stated in interviews with Reuters and the Financial Times that Ukrainian intelligence obtained documents showing Vladimir Putin authorized a new wave of attacks on wider civilian targets, roads, schools, and hospitals to force residents to abandon major cities before winter.
Ukraine's Deep-Strike Response: Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is doubling down on long-range drone and missile strikes deep inside Russia—targeting strategic oil refineries, energy facilities, and military logistics to pressure Russia's war economy.
Broader Regional Tension: The conflict continues to see wider international friction, including reports of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces, escalated hybrid/sabotage operations across Europe, and ongoing diplomatic stagnation.
 


Resource:
AI
Wikipedia
The New Standard Jewish Encclopedia