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GLOSSARY H = Hebrew; R = Russian; U = Ukrainian; Y = Yiddish Agro-Joint—a unit of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee created to support Jewish agricultural settlement in the Soviet Union. Black Hundreds (Chernaia sotnia)—far-right political organization in the Russian Empire espousing extreme ethnic-Russian nationalism and antisemitism. Cossacks—autonomous militaristic communities in southern Russia and Ukraine whose members often fought alongside regular units in the tsarist army. desiatin (R.)—Russian measure of area, equal to approximately 2.7 acres. Hasidim (H., Y.)—followers of the mystical-pietistic stream of Judaism that emerged in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century. heder (H.), Kheyder (Y.)—traditional Jewish elementary school teaching religious subjects such as Bible and Talmud, and sometimes secular subjects as well. kahal (H.,Y.)—governing body of the Jewish community. kippa (H.)—head covering traditionally worn by Jewish men, also known as yarmulke. kolkhoz (R.)—Soviet-era collective agricultural settlement. Nestor Makhno—leader of the peasant-anarchist Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine (“Black Army”) during the Russian Civil War. Pogromshchik (pl. pogromshchiki) (R.)—perpetrator of pogroms. Symon Petliura—Ukrainian politician and military leader and head of the Directorate (government) of the Ukrainian National (or People’s) Republic during its brief independence after World War I. pood, pud (R.)—Russian measure of weight, equal to approximately 36 pounds. shtetl (Y.)—market town where Jews formed a substantial minority or even a majority of the population, usually in the territories identified with the Pale of Settlement and Congress Poland or adjacent regions. Sometimes identified with the Russian mestechko. varta (U.)—Ukrainian “guards” or paramilitary organization. zemstvo (R.)—system of local government introduced during Alexander II’s Great Reforms. The zemstvo system was never implemented in the provinces of the Pale of Settlement or Congress Poland. zhid (R.)—pejorative term for Jew, often translated as “Yid” or “kike.” ...

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