Виленское губернское правление

The collection comprises the records of the Governorate Board (Gubernskoe Pravlenie) of Vilnius from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Provincial boards were legally designated as the main administrative bodies of the governorates. In practice, however, they were completely subordinate to the governors and had rather limited authority. The governorate boards addressed various administrative issues and were responsible, among other things, for the supervision of law enforcement throughout the governorates and for arbitration between individuals and institutions. The governorate board addressed numerous Jewish-related issues and its archival collection contain documents that refer to various economic, social and religious topics. Among these are Jewish communal affairs in Vilnius and other localities – elections of the members of the Kahal and their activities; community institutions; complaints and appeals on various issues; election of Jewish representatives ("Jewish deputies") and crown rabbis; data on taxation. The collection also contains materials regarding the activities of the Jews in the fields of lease holding, trade and manufacturing, Jewish printing houses in various locations, Jewish education (including teachers, traditional schools and the Yeshiva of Volozhin). Several files contain vital data of Jewish residents and the collection includes residents’ lists that the authorities compiled for the purposes of taxation and military recruitment (Revizskie Skazki). Other files include data on travel, residence and settlement permits including appeals against expulsions from different localities. Some materials refer to the Napoleonic Wars. There are documents that mention the damage inflicted by the 1812 invasion and other records that include data on Jewish merchants and contractors of the Russian army. An important part of the collection are materials related to the conscription of Jews to the Russian army. Documents from various years include data on criminal activities such as smuggling and counterfeiting of money. A number of files contain data on the Karaite communities in Trakai and other localities -- اقرأ أكثر