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Maps of Jews in the Russian Empire

• For a map showing the percentage of Jews in the Pale of Settlement and Congress Poland, c. 1905, click here.
• To view an additional historical map showing the historical percentage of Jews in governments, click here.
  Definition of "Pale of Settlement" from Wikipedia.org:
  The Pale of Settlement (Russian: Черта́ осе́длости, chertá osédlosti, Yiddish: דער תּחום-המושבֿ, der tkhum-ha-moyshəv, Hebrew: תְּחוּם הַמּוֹשָב, tḥùm ha-mosháv‎) was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited. It extended from the eastern pale, or demarcation line, to the western Russian border with the Kingdom of Prussia (later the German Empire) and with Austria-Hungary. The English term "pale" is derived from the Latin word "palus", a stake, extended to mean the area enclosed by a fence or boundary.

Gazetteer of Jewish Communities

• Use the JewishGen Communities Database by clicking here.

Jewish History in Belarus

• Lithuanian Jews inhabited what is present-day Belarus. To learn of their history, read the Wikipedia.org article Lithuanian Jews, by clicking here].

Russian Jewish Records

• In 1835 Russia mandated the keeping of Jewish records. Two copies were made. The official copy was turned into the government usually the city council - gorodskaia duma. Beginning in 1857, a Crown rabbi, paid by the state, kept the registers.

The JewishGen Belarus Database

• More than 650,000 records from many different sources: vital records, voter lists, business directories, ghetto records. Requires free registration. To search, click here.

The JewishGen Belarus SIG

• View all the links and helps on the JewishGen Special Interest Group page by clicking here.

Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation

• For A Genealogical and Family History guide to Jewish and civil records in Eastern Europe, click here and hover over Belarus.

Archives of Belarus

• View the Archives of Belarus home page by clicking here. Includes a "Contacts" link.
• Discover over 50 web pages of Jewish information available online at the Archives of Belarus by clicking here to search. Follow up by starting a search for the word "Jewish" and clicking the "Search" button.