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Commerce and Trade [125] Jewish Commerce and Trade in Moscow (1790) RGADA, f. 19. op. 1, d. 335, ll. 2–4 ob. “Petition of the Moscow Mayor Mikhail Pavlovich Gubin and Chairman of the Moscow Merchant Society [on behalf of the Moscow merchants] to the Commanderin -Chief of Moscow, Petr Dmitrievich Eropkin (13 February 1790)” to his excellency, the commander‑in-chief of moscow and all the province of moscow, general-in-chief, senator petr dmitrievich eropkin: Your Excellency’s patriotic efforts on behalf of the general welfare are quite well known to all. Your Excellency has denied none of our requests and has made evident Your paternal protection in all instances of public need. Feeling Your compassion toward us and knowing full well how You are burdened with state matters, we would not take the liberty to trouble Your Excellency. However, given the extreme danger now before our society, we are compelled to turn to You, gracious Sire, with our most humble petition. According to the decree of April 1727, zhidy [Jews]1 may not enter Russia under any circumstances and are strictly admonished that this be observed everywhere. Moreover, a personal manifesto from Her Imperial Majesty, our most compassionate monarch, on 4 December 1762 permits foreigners of all different nations—except the zhidy—to settle in Russia. This imperial injunction was reiterated in the imperial decrees of 23 May and 9 July 1763. Indeed, according to article 124 of the City Statute [of 1785],2 the wisdom of the Russian sovereign, Her Imperial Majesty , established and confirmed the freedom of the non-Orthodox and foreigners to practice their faith. As a result of these decrees, on 21 May 1786 and 24 December 1789, the Governing Senate denied the petition of Belorussian zhidy to permit them to register in the tax rolls of a Riga suburb and in the Smolensk merchant estate. Nevertheless, zhidy from abroad and from the Belorussian provinces have recently appeared here in the capital [Moscow] in considerable numbers. Living in inns that they have rented, they sell there (and distribute among private homes) various foreign wares that they import illegally from abroad that are cheaper than our own goods—in violation of the decrees of 30 October 1752, 29 April 1756, and 20 November 1760 that banned such retail trade. This has caused tangible harm and disruption to all of the local business. Their sale of cheap goods, in contrast to [the practice ] of all Russian merchants, clearly demonstrates that they clandestinely smuggle [goods] across the border and do not pay custom duties. In addition, the whole world believes that any gold or silver coin, especially Dutch gold coins, that have passed through their hands, never remain intact and have al- [442]   work ways been reduced or debased. These very actions make [the Jews] absolutely intolerable in many well-organized societies. Herein lies the main danger—that the pernicious activities of the Jews will bring harm and the impermissible destruction of the government’s gold and silver coins. They have long been known for this, as is evident from Her Majesty’s personal decree of 26 April 1727 that expelled the Jews from the state and, at the border, specifically ordered a thorough inspection to ensure that they not take gold or silver abroad. Above all, some of the newly arrived Jews— concealing their real origins from the state and identifying themselves only as new merchants arrived from Koenigsberg or Mogilev—secretly register in the Moscow merchant ­ estate under the simple category of merchant. This false registration alone manifestly reveals their deceptive schemes and actions. Thereby many of those who do not rightfully belong to the local merchants not only engage in the wholesale and retail sale of foreign goods in various parts of the local city, but they also provide a convenient conduit for illegal retail trade by their coreligionists (as if they belonged to the local citizenry), whom they control and support. We will refrain from giving Your Excellency a more detailed description of the Jewish trade in foreign goods that is harmful to the state and commerce. The Jews transport (by various subterfuges and deceptions) such imports through overland customs, which they use to satisfy their foreign creditors. Nor shall we delve into the circumstances favorable to their commerce; in this respect, one can believe public opinion. For now we only want to report that those coming from abroad, especially Polish and Belorussian Jews (who are generally characterized by the greatest poverty...

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