Jewish component in the ethnical structure of the commercial bourgeoisie in Bessarabia (1812-1868)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
In the present article the archive data is used to determine the ethnical attribution of the commercial bourgeoisie of Bessarabia in the first half of the 19th century. The author claims that this stratum of Bessarabian society was formed gradually and was ethnically and socially heterogeneous. This heterogeneity was deepened by the Imperial administration which contributed to the formation of the Bessarabian commercial bourgeoisie by implication (26 September 1830) of guild reform and introduction of new commerce policies. Notwithstanding the privileges for a 10 year term to the merchants from Bessarabia granted by the reform which allowed all social strata to start commercial enterprises regardless of the ethnicity, as well as the requirement to declare the capitals in order to be assigned to a commercial guild, the chances of the Moldavians to enroll into the category of the guild merchants were reduced.
Heterogeneous and poorly structured, both ethnically and socially, the commercial bourgeoisie was forced to allow foreign elements in its ranks. The Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Russians, Ukrainians etc., shortly became dominant in the commercial life of Bessarabia.
The proportion of various ethnic groups among guild merchants is worth of attention. The analysis of commercial certificates issued in 1840s - 1860s suggests that the main role in the Bessarabian trade belonged to the Jews. They owned ca. 62% of the total number of the commercial certificates; they were followed by the “Christians”, Armenians and Greeks. Although the Jews played a prominent part in Bessarabian commerce, the wholesale merchants of the first and the second guild were mostly the Greeks, “Christians” and Armenians. The Jews, the second-hand dealers, were involved normally in petty trade. Therefore, the tsarist colonial policy in Bessarabia was obviously aimed at protecting the interests of its own bourgeoisie or its representatives in the region by offering privileges, which eventually lead to a constitution of a distinct social class. The weak national commercial bourgeoisie was distanced (especially due to the commercial activity of the Jews) from the privileged and dominant foreign business.
This politics slowed down the process of formation and constitution of national commercial bourgeoisie, replacing it with foreign settlers.
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character. The first involves the image of the head of the young Heracles (Heracles - Ἡρακλῆς) (beardless), the most favorite hero of antiquity, wearing on his head the skin of the Nemean lion - Λέων της Νεμέας, a vicious monster from Greek mythology who lived in Nemea and was eventually killed by Heracles. The first labor of Heracles, of the twelve set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to kill the Nemean lion and bring his skin to the king. It is also known from Greek mythology that the lion of Nemea took the form of a beautiful woman in order to seduce the inhabitants of neighboring villages, who wanted to save the girl from danger. Upon entering the cave, a man saw the woman, who usually pretended to be wounded, and rushed to help her. When he approached her, the woman turned into a lion and killed him. Then the lion devoured the man, giving his bones to Hades - ᾍδης, the god of Hell, who lived in the kingdom of shadows. The second version of the anthropomorphic image interpretation suggests Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia in the second half of the 4th century BC, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek world, who sometimes is depicted as Hercules - wearing a lion's skin. Some researchers consider the custom of wearing the skin of a slain lion a sign of royal power. The word βασιλεύς itself, translated from ancient Greek, means "walking the path of the lion", that is, the king. This title was held by the Greek kings from the Homeric period, and later, starting from the 7th century AD - by the Byzantine emperors.
