hundred arrested persons there
were one hundred and fifty Jews, who were locked up on the charge of
carrying fire-arms. In point of fact, the "arms" of the Jews
consisted of clubs and iron rods, with the exception of a very few
who were provided with pistols. Those arrested were loaded on three
barges which were towed out to sea, and for several days were kept
in that swimming jail.

The Odessa pogrom, which had resulted in the destruction of several city
districts populated by poor Jews, did not satisfy the appetites of the
savage crowd, whose imagination had been fired by stories of the
"successes" attained at Kiev. The mob threatened the Jews with a new
riot and even with a massacre. The panic resulting from this threat
induced many Jews to flee to more peaceful places, or to leave Russia
altogether. The same lack of completeness marked the pogroms which took
place simultaneously in several other cities within the jurisdiction of
the governor-general of New Russia. In the beginning of May the
destructive energy characterizing the first pogrom period began to ebb.
A lull ensued in the "military operations" of the Russian barbarians
which continued until the month of July of the same year.

CHAPTER XXII

THE ANTI-JEWISH POLICIES OF IGNATYEV

1. THE VACILLATING ATTITUDE OF THE AUTHORITIES

In the beginning of May, 1881, the well-known diplomatist Nicholas
Pavlovich Ignatyev was called by the Tzar to the post of Minister of the
Interior. At one time ambassador in Constantinople and at all times a
militant Pan-Slavist, Ignatyev introduced the system of diplomatic
intrigues into the inner politics of Russia, earning thereby the
unenviable nickname of "Father of Lies."

A programmatic circular, issued by him on May 6, declared that the
principal task of the Government consisted in the "extirpation of
sedition," i.e., in carrying on a struggle not only against the
revolutionary movement but also against the spirit of liberalism in
general. In this connection, Ignatyev took occasion to characterize the
anti-Jewish excesses in the following typical sentences:

The movement against the Jews which has come to light during the
last few days in the South is a sad example, showing how men,
otherwise devoted to Throne and Fatherland, yet yielding to the
instigations of ill-minded agitators who fan the evil passions of
the popular masses, give way to self-will and mob rule and, without
being aware of it,